Stupid by design

The North Texas Tollway Authority needs a swift kick in the pants. For something they did many years ago, yes, but a good kick in the pants is still warranted...

The Dallas North Tollway and the President George Bush Turnpike are major, major arteries in the endless labrynth that is DFW. To countless Dallas citizens, it is the primary means of transporting one's self from one end of the city to another, in a timely and efficient manner(most of the time). That being said, you'd think they would have thought out every possible scenario when they set out to build these all-too-important roads way back when. The recipient in need of the swift kick in the pants is the one who designed the junction between these two toll roads. Going south on the Dallas North Tollway from Plano, I must brave this horrid intersection upon leaving work for the evening. I fully understand that rush hour is a tough time, and everyone's on their way home, so I can expect much traffic. On the other hand, the blockhead that designed the intersection in question must have thought that there'd be no more than 5 or 6 cars at a time trying to go east/west from their southbound Dallas North Tollway ride. So here's the deal, when you take the President George Bush Turnpike exit, all exiting traffic must merge into 1 lane. That's ONE LANE!!! Only after driving a good distance in this one lane, will you be able to part to either the eastbound or westbound direction. It's bad enough that ALL the people who wish to drive on the PGBTP* must merge into one lane, but just to make things interesting, there's a toll booth directly preceeding this one-lane exit ramp. That means there are even more people jockeying for position, some trying to merge to the far left so they can travel southbound on the DNT*, and others who wish to join the already merging exiting traffic heading for the PGBTP. So there you have it. Imagine for a moment if your vena cava (veins that carry blood into the heart) were designed this way; as three major bloodlines are forced to enter one single miniscule blood vessel; don't you think you'd have a heart attack?!?! It certainly feels this way every single weekday. And it's all thanks to a dunderheaded imbecile who got paid to design this monstrosity. Not very efficient at all, to say the least.

As a simple solution to this ever-so-stupid design, I propose that the NTTA close the toll booth preceeding the exit to the PGBTP, thus eliminating the extra fleet of cars vying for position during the daily pile-up that is rush hour. It would at the very least make things much easier for the massive amount of cars merging to take the PGBTP exit. Besides, all one has to do to enter the DNT is continue south on the frontage road, through the light at Plano Parkway, because right there is an entrance that does not require a toll. They'd save some coinage in the process! See, I'm always thinkin' of the little guy.


*PGBTP and DNT are the President George Bush Turnpike and the Dallas North Tollway, respectively. Just in case you weren't clever enough to figure that out... ;)

Quote of the Day

"You know, the Courts might not work anymore, but as long as everybody is videotaping everyone else, justice will be done!"

-Marge Simpson
The Simpsons
"Homer Badman" episode
Season 6, disc 2
1994


Amazing how much it pertains to the present day, no?

Monthly Classic Movie Review

Boy, you're in for a treat. This old clunker is funny without trying to be! I'm talking about that incomperable horror classic: The Car! That's right, the demon-possessed car straight from the higway of death! This film is downright goofy, yet it doesn't try to be, which makes it all the more funny. Filmed in 1977 in Utah, it chronicles the trials and tribulations of a small mountain town terrorized by an evil car. It zooms out of nowhere like a bat out of hell, then proceeds to run down every good person it comes across. This car was created by George Barris, "King of the Kustomizers". Just in case you don't know who that is, he's the man who designed and built little-known cars such as the original Batmobile, KITT of Knight Rider fame, the Munster Koach, Elvis Presley's personal limo, and "Supervan", just to name a few. As such, the title character of this movie, the "car", is one mean-lookin' machine! If ever there's a spokescar for road rage, this is it. George basically took a Lincoln Mark III Coupe, added all new sheet metal, beefed it up with large bumpers, a massive grille, and big, mad headlights.

Aside from the sweet car, the rest of the movie is gut-busting corn. It's got cheese smeared all over it. The acting is downright scary, not even worthy of an afterschool special. Dialog is fraught with laughable lines, the best by far being spoken by a young Ronnie Cox: "It's been so much... It's been a lot." Not worthy of the worst soap opera! Oh, and then there's the car itself. Not only does it make weird engine noises as it does doughnuts in the sand, but it has a signature honk that is repeated countless times throughout the film. I'd post a soundbyte of it but I can't find the DVD, so maybe tomorrow. Trust me, you'll want to hear how cheesy it is!

If you're looking for true horror involving seemingly unstoppable vehicles, look no further than Steven Spielberg's directorial debut Duel. It has recently been released to DVD in Special Edition form, and it's well worth the purchase.
Speaking of DVD, you can pick up The Car for around $5, so add it to your basket the next time you go shopping. You'll get a good laugh! HONK HONK!

Randomatia Relevanta

I have created a little web site to house my audio blogs and other miscellaneous files. You may visit the site here.

Here's the audio introduction: Click to download!

Worst Song Ever

I nominate "All Apologies" by Nirvana.

Geez, this song is horrible! So incredibly dull, simplistic, and annoying. Kurt Cobain's vocals go from a mushy, quiet and off-key hum to loud, hoarse yelling, all while the accompanying instruments drone along, completely devoid of any life. They even bolster the depressing tone of the song by adding a dreary cello line during the second verse. This song is the pinnacle of Generation X's hatred of living. It's like Grunge Unplugged. True, Nirvana set the tone for countless bands of the day, but with this travesty of a tune, they suck all the remaining life out of their fans. There wasn't much there to begin with anyway. It's unfortunate that many people consider this junk "real music". What a shame.

Audio Post #1.5

Just a little follow up. Tell me what'cha think.

Audio Post #1

Be gentle, it's my first time.

Back in Action

Well, sort of.

I still feel like crap.

I had a horrible stomach sickness on Sunday, which caused me to miss work Monday, I had hit my knee on a table on Saturday, so that's still sore enough to make me limp, I am adjusting to these new glasses, so my eyes are hurting and my head is swimming, I'm still weak from my sickness so I feel sore all over, but there is light at the end of the tunnel. I have an appointment with my Chiropractor after work today. That'll ease my pain.

Other than all that, I'm just peachy.

This time she's gone too far

Cindy Sheehan has lost it. Really gone off the deep end. Now she's blaring to Liberal U. (San Fransisco State University) that Bush is the world's biggest terrorist! Honestly, does she not care at all for the millions of oppressed Iraqis? Does she not care about the Kurds who lost their lives mercilessly at the hands of Saddam? Does she not see that these Al Qaeda suicide bombers would kill every last American if they could? Listen lady, the people we are fighting don't give a rat's ass about your dead son. They welcome it. They rejoice in it. They don't care one bit about international laws, they don't treat anyone with respect, and you are dishonoring the memory of your son by lashing out at our own leader, and not the enemy. This is the true purpose of terror: to cause political and physical backlash to our own leadership, to destroy us from within. They are winning the battle every time we blame ourselves and not them. They are the true threat, to freedom, to democracy. They see the American way of life as the threat to the world. If you are so against Bush, why not let them rule their own lands and have our troops back out completely? Why? Exactly the reason we're fighting them. They hate America, they hate democracy. They want to rule as dictators with an iron fist, torturing and killing those who dare to break their laws. We are the greatest threat to their oppression, and the sooner they're stopped, the sooner freedom can stand.

Now as you read all this, be aware that my opinion is just that. My opinion. And no, I cannot even begin to know the pain and suffering that one must endure when their own child is killed. I hopefully will never know that pain. But to suggest that Bush is the true cause of this atrocity, is wrong in my opinion. Every time we blame ourselves, we let the terrorists accomplish their mission. That's why all these car bombings continue to occur. That's why they kill their own people along with ours. They want us to leave the middle east, and take our democracy with them. They don't care about the rest of the world, and don't care about the U.N. The whole oil-for-food scandal is a testament to this.

http://www.drudgereport.com/flash3.htm

Joe Ranft 1960-2005

This is horrible, tragic news.

Joe Ranft, one of the most important members of Pixar has passed away at age 45. He was killed in a car accident.

Not only did he voice such timeless charcters as Heimlich, the caterpillar in A Bug's Life and Wheezy, the squeeze toy Penguin in Toy Story 2, but he was co-writer of both Toy Story and A Bug's Life, and provided invaluable contributions to all the Pixar works. He worked with Disney before joining Pixar, and contributed to classics such as Beauty and the Beast and The Lion King.

All those who knew him confessed to his massive heart and kindness. My sincerest condolences go out to all his friends and family, and to all those at Pixar, whom I am sure are feeling great sadness at his loss.

Rest In Peace, Joe, and thanks for all you've given us; allowing our imaginations to run wild, and touching our hearts. You are sorely missed.

Click here to read from Ronnie del Carmen, a Pixar employee and one who worked closely with Joe.

Hollywood Reporter Story

The Simpsons: Season 6 on sale TODAY!!!

Yipee!!! Woo HOO!!!

Must go buy it. Must go buy it. Must go buy it. Now. Now. Right NOW!

And check out that nifty packaging! A nice cover, much more eye-catching than the previous releases. It remains to be seen how the insides pan out. I haven't so much liked the current releases, with their 5 panel folding cases, they were hard to hold open without having to lay it out on a table. Maybe the new packaging will make things easier. We'll know tonight! :)

Summer Fun

Went to Six Flags yesterday. My sister, her husband, and I took the trip and had a blast, hellish heat and all. I honestly don't remember how long it's been since I've been to Six Flags. I am quite sure it's been more than 10 or 11 years. Maybe more. Not too much has changed, save for the addition of some new rollercoasters and such. The best of the new had to be Mr. Freeze. This of course refers to the character in Joel Schumacher's borefest Batman and Robin movie. This sucker was sweet! You get into your seat, and the entire platform holding the cars moves over to the center and connects with the tracks, and you are launched forward with great speed into the ride, which lasts less than a minute, and at the half way point you are led up to a vertical position, in which you get the feeling of weightlessness, after which you are led back to the beginning of the ride. It's like forward, then backward. I loved it! Second best of the new coasters was the Batman ride, which is an overhead coaster, in which your feet are allowed to dangle freely. That was lots of fun, and a new experience for me. The Texas Titan was another fun coaster, complete with an astoundingly high first drop, which was as scary as ever, though not nearly as scary as the Superman ride, which I did NOT go on. The Superman ride is really just a huge tower that has three legs, each of which holds 16 people that are shot upward at great speed, then allowed to descend in a bungee fashion. No CHANCE I'd go on that thing.

Lines weren't all too long, though a few of them were annoying. At least we weren't unfortunate enough to have to deal with that annoying old man dancer, though we did have to hear his crappy theme song all over the place.

And finally, no summer trip to Six Flags would be complete without the other "sights". Gorgeous women EVERYWHERE!!!! ;)

12:01 a.m.

Happy Birthday to me...

Happy Birthday to me...

:p

Tell Us How You Really Feel

Here we are again,

An English rock star expresses his extreme displeasure with President Bush.
How original.

Read all about it


Did anyone tell Jagger that humans aren't supposed to live past 150? He should pass the word to his mummified bandmates.

A Perfect Gift

Oh yeah, T.V. shows on DVD rock!!!
And tomorrow, I'll treat myself to a long-awaited DVD collection, seeing as how it's being released a day before my birthday. I turn 28 on Wednesday. Did I mention that? Anyway, here it is:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/detail/-/B0009IW8AI/ref=ase_comingsoon/002-4423793-2536868?v=glance&s=dvd

I'll buy this set for the opening animation and the ending song alone!

A plot?

I went to Oklahoma City this weekend for a kind of pre-birthday celebration. My 28th birthday is Wednesday, so we made Sunday our time to get together. It was all well and good, and the nephews are growing as fast as ever. I suspect they'll be walking very soon.

As the time to return to Dallas drew near, my Mom went into her normal spiel about not wanting me to leave. "You could just stay here, and get a job here. There's no need to leave."

"Yes, but I love my job at JCPenney's. It's really one of the only reasons I'm still in Dallas." -Me

"But what if you found a job here that was just as good, or better? Then you could stay."-Mom

And so, I came to a decision.

"I'll tell you what. If ever I should lose my job at Penney's, I'll move back and look for a job here." -Me

But then, the conspiracy begins. My Mom decides to tell my sisters to join her in praying that I'll lose my job at Penney's.

Mothers. They're relentless. ;)

The Weight of the World

I can't take much more of this!

Big Brother's watchin' and ACLU's cryin'

Now that security's high as a result of the bombings in the London Underground, the civil rights groups are out there pissin' and moanin' about their privacy being trampled. Here we go again. Although I don't want my personal activities to be captured on video, I don't mind in the least if I am in a public place. If I take a train somewhere, I don't mind for a second if my every move is captured on video: from the time I walk into the station to the time I get in the train. Of course, in my personal room, I'd not want a camera, but you get my drift. Not only is the presence of a camera in public places a decent deterrent for potential mischeif makers, but it's an essential tool to help catch law-breakers in the act.

I was watching CNN and a segment was about a guy who is part of some type of civil rights group, who has mapped out the locations of all the video cameras in New York, or something like that. He's also part of a group of protesters who go up to certain cameras, mostly in the subway, and hold up their protest signs and do their whining. And I bet this guy's super proud of his accomplishments. I'm glad he's dedicated his life to whining and not to solving problems. Why not dedicate your talents and assests to stopping these terrorists from causing all this crap in the first place?! Of course, he'd no doubt blame America and everyone else for the terrorists resorting to these "extreme", yet violent measures. I guess Woodstock will never leave us. Darn hippies.

A Rather Glorious Discovery

As a Star Wars fan, it is important to understand that my passion is based on a fictional story. A fictional universe. I don't take it too seriously. Some fans go so far as to model their way of life based on the characters and ideals they see onscreen. While I don't subscribe to this completely, it is easy to get caught up in the vastness and believability of it all. That being said, I think it is important to be able to sit back and laugh from time to time. Laugh at yourself. Come back to reality every once in a while.

While parusing the Master Replicas weblog this morning, I came across an entry describing what is known as "Incredulous Cross-sections", which is based on "Incredible Cross-sections", a series of books with artwork displaying the design and build of Star Wars based spacecraft. The person who created these "Incredulous Cross-sections" is Al MacDonald. After following the link provided on the Master Replicas website, I realized that this was all part of a comic strip called Diary of a Crazed Mimbanite. I have not stopped laughing since! This guy is amazing, brutally funny, has a great sense of artistic style, whose character designs are very simple, yet exude emotion and caricatured comedy. In short, a laugh RIOT!!

Here's a small sample:


Diary of a Crazed Mimbanite

The Barber of Spikeville

What is it about Salon women? It seems to me that every woman who has ever worked in a salon has short, spikey, color-dyed hair. Who tells them it looks good? The gay guy working next to her? What compels these women to make themselves look like crazy porcupines? I'll never understand that.

A Piece of Geek History

You'll never believe this!

Remember that auction I was telling you about a few posts ago? No? Here's the link to that post.

I had mentioned that the original Luke Skywalker lightsaber prop, the first lightsaber ever seen by the movie-going public, sold at auction recently, and was expecting to fetch upwards of $80,000. Well, to say it fetched "upwards" of that amount is an understatement. It fetched... are you ready for this?

$200,600!!!!!

That price includes the hefty 18% buyer's premium added to the $170,000 sell price!
Holy shnikeys!

Click here for a rundown of the merchandise.