Saturday, February 27, 2010

this is MY town / G-stuff / hungry dog

Man, this is my town!  I just had dinner at the restaurant across the street, and as soon as I walked in, it was "Hi Jeff", "Hi Jeff", "Hi Jeff" from like 5 different directions at once.  I know the waitstaff very well, since I normally eat there when they're dead empty, like at 2:00pm.  And having dinner there tonight was one of my therapists, a speech therapist from the early days.  It's just one more slice of the cake that Jeff 2.0's making-- Jeff 1.0's problem was that he didn't get involved much, and therefore felt kinda isolated.  Jeff 2.0 is involved in as much as I can, to the point where one out of every half-dozen times I walk down Main St., someone says "Hi Jeff", and I may or may not even recognize them.  I'm likin' this 2nd lease on life, and I'm gonna keep on adding more things on my plate...

So I keep a pretty close eye on what Google's doing, since they've made so many products that just make sense and work amazingly (Gmail explained by puppets).  So pretty much the day they opened the Google Voice service, I signed up. (that's how I snagged 735-SAIL, it pays to be an early adopter)  They've just made some videos explaining why this service is so freakin' useful: http://googleblog.blogspot.com/2010/02/google-voice-explained.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed:+blogspot/MKuf+(Official+Google+Blog)  (if you scroll down, there's 10 separate videos, each explaining a feature)

And last but certainly not least, a whimsical dog video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FvqmrFPpLqo

Friday, February 26, 2010

what to do with that old cell phone/calculator/movie/video game/etc.

So last night, I appointed myself advertiser of my new Greenville Humane / Gazelle site.  So I'm spreading the word some more on my blog now (again).  Please check out the flyer I made for 'em to hand out to foot traffic and with adoptions: http://docs.google.com/fileview?id=0B5nKqFuFRFukMWY1Y2Q3YTQtMzQwYi00ZmJiLWFkMTktYzljMmU1ZTM3ZGVh&hl=en
And the trick is that your shipping label is pre-paid from anywhere in the U.S., like say... I'm just picking some totally random places here... the Philadelphia area, New York or Menlo Park, CA.  (Sorry Chad & Janet, no free shipping from Britain yet, or ever probably)

Thursday, February 18, 2010

quick laugh

I get my daily dose of the news by getting Google News' top stories emailed to me.  Today:

HA!  It says "Suicide bomb killing 12 rattles Anbar ahead of Iraq elections - Christian Science Monitor", but I read "Suicide bomb killing 12 rattlers...", like the snake.  I thought "Boy was that lucky!  Oh... wait, no, never mind."

Tuesday, February 16, 2010

opencongress.org

Sweet fancy moses is that site cool-- I just had a chance to go to the website I was blabbering about last night, opencongress.org.  Registering to stay up to date on the bills I care about, and my representative & senators, all via email, was a snap.  And after I clicked the "I support HR3160" button, it shows me that 99% of users support it.  What are the odds it'll ever see the light of day?  Any bets?

"Food, Inc." is making me a bearded hippie

Already got the beard, time to become a hippie. (who showers) (every dad-gummed month) (you think I'm kidding around) (I am-- I kinda look forward to my annual shower, kinda)  ;-) ... :-)

WHOA.  I just watched the indie film Food, Inc.  WHOA AGAIN.  I'm never gonna eat a fast-food hamburger ever again.  Any food that comes with a slight risk of death is OFF the menu; since it will happen to somebody and it ain't gonna be me.  For the Americans, you really have to see this. (Chad & Janet, Brits probably don't care; Uncle Jim, you'll come home from Cambodia someday... probably)

In very brief, it's a behind-the scenes look at America's fast-food-production industry-- beef, chicken, etc.  It's what our "he who does it cheapest, wins" system has produced.  I useda think democracy was the greatest system ever, but what you will find out will scare the ever-loving crap out of you.  Like the story of Kevin, a 2 year old who ate a fast-food hamburger and died 13 days later, prompting Kevin's Law, which has yet to be passed. (show support for the bill in Congress)  And it's sadly amusing that the food-processing mega-corporation Monsanto that the movie mercilessly goes after has made their own web page in a feeble half-hearted defense.  I say it's feeble since their rebuttal says this: "Throughout this film, Food, Inc.:"

  • "Demonizes American farmers and the agriculture system responsible for feeding over 300 million people in the United States."  UM NO, I don't even think we were watching the same movie... "demonizes American farmers"???  Yeah, I'm sorry, it's just that I have a brain.  No, the movie demonizes YOU-- nice friggin' try.
  • "Presents an unrealistic view of how to feed a growing nation while ignoring the practical demands of the American consumer and the fundamental needs of consumers around the world."  'Blah blah blah blah' is what my ears hear, but my eyes see your lips saying: we want more profits, and not recognizing that is just "unrealistic."  Now, they do have a valid point about the demands of the American consumer, but for me, that stops right now.  I found out tonight from other members of the audience about how to get all kinds of locally grown foods and also reminded that we have a farmer's market-- oh, right, I saw that once and it slowed me down on my way to McDonald's.
How can you see this?  DVD or Netflix (follow the links).  Do it, trust me.  Maybe have the neighborhood pitch in to get one copy, and throw a neighborhood-party to watch it.  You really are gonna-- or oughta-- appreciate it.  I just wouldn't, hypothetically, let anyone hypothetically named Isaac (who's hypothetically 2.5 months old) grow up on fast food.  Do hamburgers come in baby bottles yet?  "Protect our future"?  This is me doing my part.

Monday, February 15, 2010

Thursday, February 11, 2010

zebra humor (you don't get THAT every day)

FIRST, read the news:
http://news.google.com/news/more?pz=1&cf=all&cf=all&ncl=drJFqGyQVZZiHhMJiNi4Zv5RiKZmM

SECOND, a zebra's commentary:
"Hey Bob, they took us to a zoo!  Aw, look at the cutesy lions behind the fence... wait a minute... I see lions.  I do not see a fence."
"BOB NOT HAPPY"
"Okay, look at this calmly and rationally.  If we listen to our animal instincts and run like hell, every lion's animal instincts will also kick in, and he-- or she, mustn't neglect the lionesses-- will think "chase, kill, eat" but I'm not really concerned right now with anything after the proposed 'kill' phase of this project, I just know that they're fast as lions since, face it, they're lions.  If, however, we approach the pride like we're approaching a pretty girl across the room at a party, slowly, casually, making flitting eye contact only ever so oft-- OW HE'S EATING MY LEG!  RUN, BOB, WHILE I SO THOUGHTFULLY AM GRABBING HIS ATTENTION!  OOH I KNOW-- THE LAST TIME I RECITED POETRY, A MEMBER OF THE AUDIENCE LYNCHED HIMSELF.    ODE TO A PIECE OF GOO I FOUND IN MY ARMPIT... HE'S STILL EATING!  OK, NEW ONE, COMPOSED ON THE FLY, VERY AVANT-GARDE: OH HOW GRAND IT IS TO BE A LION WITH YOUR JAWS ABOUT TO CHOMP DOWN ON A ZEBRA'S HEA--"
"Bob not happy.  Bob running.    Bob not as fast as the--"

Tuesday, February 9, 2010

I've been busy...

1) Getting my Humane Society hooked up on Gazelle.com.  That should prove to be very useful to everyone involved-- them & you.  They'll now accept donations of all kinds of old gadgets you thought were junk, or forgot you had.  Just use this website to find the item you want to donate, it'll have you immediately print a pre-paid shipping label, and all you gotta do is find a box to drop your old or new (& carefully packaged) gadgets (cell phones, etc.) in the mail for free!  Once Gazelle gets your gadgets, Greenville Humane Society reaps the reward!  How cool is that?  All you need is an old gadget, a box, and you can help with animal welfare!  C'mon, you could hang on to that old cell phone, even though you bought a new one last year, or you could donate it and help animals get saved to better lives.  Elephants don't do this.  Dolphins don't do this.  Help me show that compassion is an upper-level human trait.

2) Watching the feel-good video of the year.

3) Realizing my 5-week coma was really 5 weeks of hibernation.  Similarities I've found so far:

I didn't appear to lose any intelligence
I out-and-out ate like a pig for 1.5 years afterwards ("Are you done with that?")
I lost a lot of weight during my hibernation, just like bears do
I woke up when it was warm outside, just like bears do
          When a bear wakes up, they have a hard time walking for a while, because they haven't used their limbs for so long...just like me
          Huh!  I found this quote on Wikipedia: "The epaulette sharks have been documented to be able to survive for long periods of time without oxygen, even being left high and dry, and at temperatures of up to 26 °C (79 °F). Other animals able to survive long periods without oxygen include the goldfish, the red-eared slider turtle, the wood frog, the bar-headed goose, and Jeff Knox."

Friday, February 5, 2010

this joke will go awry someday

So I don't really know what started this, but not long after my traumatic brain injury, I started continually making references to the "fact" of mom using lots of illegal drugs (she doesn't-- that we know of (we're still looking)).  It became a common joke in my immediate family that mom's a crack addict, or name any other drug, such that she's always hiding the needle marks on her arms, theories as to where she hides her stash, etc.
Now this joke almost took a bad turn about a year into my brain-recovery.  We were eating lunch at a table at some fast-food restaurant.  In comes a police officer in uniform, and he gets in line.  Keep in mind that this is REAL EARLY in my brain's recovery, and what I thought was funny just kinda isn't.  So I stand up, walk over to the officer, and flat-out say "Excuse me sir, would you arrest my mom for drugs?"  Since mom could still hear me, she almost choked on a burger.
Don't get worried-- he just chuckled, said no, and told me to take care of her.  Now I see the error in my ways: using the word "mom."  Sheesh, if I'd just said "that lady over there", it'd be wham, bam, thank you ma'am, and mom would have bunked down for the night with Big Sue in the big-house.  The TBI's evident since I still think that's at least worth a chuckle.  But I know much better now about this kind of humor-- best to keep it almost entirely private (inside my head, to dad, and on my blog only).
But that didn't stop us from making continual private references to mom's "habit" ever since then.  And it reached a pinnacle today when mom was incredulous at something I'd said, and asked "Are you into my crack-cocaine?"
WOW.  Just shy of a an ending involving the phrase "visitation hours", this is as far as a joke can go.  When the person the joke's about starts making the joke themselves, you have accomplished something.  Not sure what, but you've accomplished something.

life story in 6 words or less

So have a look-see at what I just randomly found.  Please read through the comments, where you'll find my attempts at humor.  Since the background is needed, I left out
Stopping drunk drivers-- just stand THERE

Tuesday, February 2, 2010

Robin Williams - Bush & Obama - we are most amused, london

HA!  I was looking for Obama's recent thing on Youtube I saw mentioned in the news, didn't find it, but found this gem.

Monday, February 1, 2010

god I love this apartment

So they're finishing knocking down the building across the street, and for a few years, it'll be a park.  A park!
"What are you doing today, Jeff?"
"Ah, going to cross the street and sit in a park with my schoolwork.  Sigh.  Life's rough.  It's all the way across the street, I mean come on!"

And two blocks away is The Barkery Bistro, a store for all of your four-legged friend's needs.  (I was just there)  They have the two sweetest golden retrievers you've ever seen, Bentley & Duncan.  So whenever I need some fur therapy, all I gotta do is walk 2 blocks away!

And I won't tell you about the waterfall 5 blocks away.  Whoops, I just did.  There is NOT a waterfall 5 blocks away.  It is NOT gorgeous, it does NOT have a foot-bridge right over it, it does NOT have a park next to it, and it does NOT have a walking trail that goes to the zoo.

So this apartment complex is currently taking lease applications...

Yeah, I'm staying in Gvegas... that's being continuously reaffirmed.

Hide -n- go seek

Profile for CacheDeal

In between Q & S is Arrr!

My pirate name is:
Captain Jack Kidd
Even though there's no legal rank on a pirate ship, everyone recognizes you're the one in charge. Even though you're not always the traditional swaggering gallant, your steadiness and planning make you a fine, reliable pirate. Arr!
Get your own pirate name from piratequiz.com.
part of the fidius.org network