Thinking about Xmas, I could totally use one of these jet packs. With one of these, I could get to work in about five minutes, which would translate into about another 20 minutes of sleep.
The NYC Taxi and Limousine Commission has voted to double the cost that the meter charges when the taxi is idle. “Idle” is currently defined as:
120 seconds (at a rate of twenty cents per minute), when not in motion or is traveling at less than 6 miles an hour
It will now double to forty cents per minute.
I’m OK with this change. The average fare for a ride will go up by about a dollar, but to be honest, cabs in NYC are fairly cheap.
I just took a cab ride in Chicago from the hotel to the office, a distance of about a mile, and it was seven dollars. That same ride in NYC would cost less than five dollars.
The sad thing is that they approved this change in October, and it won’t take affect until December, well after the gas prices have gone down from their summer highs. I’m sure the drivers could have used the extra money this past summer.
Joe Cocker covered U2’s “One” on his recent album Heart & Soul. It’s very Joe Cockerish, but I like U2’s version better. I tend to prefer the original version of songs unless the cover artist changes it drastically. I like Johnny Cash’s version of “One” because of this.
I think Joe Cocker has taken U2’s basic arrangement, and sang it with his voice. Shoot, I could do that, but I will spare the world from that monstrosity.
I liked Limp Bizkit’s cover of George Michael’s “Faith” because it was completely different from the original. I love Sid Vicious’s cover of Sinatra’s “My Way” for the same reason.
I may prefer U2’s version because I got to meet them, but I’m hoping that that isn’t clouding my musical taste.
My recent trip to Chicago only served to remind me why I don’t like to travel on airplanes. It’s not that I’m afraid to fly. It’s not that dealing with airport security, delays, and airport food is just such an unpleasant experience. It’s not even the minuscule snack they claim to give you. It’s the simple fact that airplanes were built for people who are under six-foot-two.
David Pogue, the NY Times personal technology columnist, has a funny anecdote that illustrates how difficult speech recognition really is.
The plane that crashed into a high rise apartment building today happened about seven blocks from my apartment.
As I walked home from work tonight, I could smell the faint smell of fire in the air. Other than that, everything was normal. As normal as living in NYC can be.
How to shoot yourself in the foot in any programming language. I actually laughed quite a bit when I read it. One commenter, B Gab, who added C# to the mix, was the best:
C#: Copy how Java shot itself in the foot. Explain how you did it better.
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