Tuesday, November 25, 2003

Happy Birthday Julie!!

Julie Ann Everett was born today, November 25th, 36 years ago.

Happy Birthday!!!

I hope you have a great day

Love,
Tim

(no pictures or clipart... adding entry at work... will modify later tonight, make it a little more festive)

Joke Contribution via Sandy E.

The United States Treasury has announced they are recalling the new Michigan quarters.

"We are recalling all of the new Michigan quarters that were recently issued", Treasury Undersecretary Russell Shackelford said in a press conference Monday. "This comes in the wake of numerous reports to this agency that the quarters will not work in parking meters, toll booths, vending machines, pay phones, or other coin-operated devices. We believe the problem lies in a
design flaw," said Shackelford.

The winning design for the Michigan quarter was submitted by a Yooper named William Doutrieux, a student attending Northern Michigan University.

"Apparently, the duct tape holding the two dimes and nickel together keeps jamming the coin-operated devices."

Gotta love those UP'ers

More links to the magical world of the Yoopers:




Monday, November 24, 2003

Weekly Update on Sharks In the Pool

Here is the weekly update on the battle for Hockey bragging rights. With the Sharks beating the Phoenix Coyotes with a final score of 5-0, there was a chance for a big swing to take place. I was worried since I got 0 (zip, nada) points from that game that I might not be in the lead of the Friends/Family competion.

Overall Leader:
FriesenFan (MS) 22 (once again, don't know this person, but they are in the lead overall)

Friends/Family leaderboard:
teverett96 (TE) 12 (Tim E., still holding on to the lead with Sheryl)
finfanatic (SA) 12 (Sheryl, making a small move into 1st)
sharkfanatic (SH) 7 (Stacy, no comment)
puckinnet (SE) 5 (Steve E., still struggling)

Seems like Sheryl and I are pulling away from the rest of the gang...

Sunday, November 23, 2003

Interesting Site / Itunes Related

Interesting site that uses a file that is generated by Itunes that allows me to find possibly other music that I might enjoy.

Music Mobs - Musicmobs is a community for iTunes users that allows you to share your listening habits and discover new music.

My collection is located at http://www.musicmobs.com/user.php?userId=327.

I like the site because it will give you the total number of times I have played a particular artist. Gives a better perspective of my music taste.

Based on the total number of songs played by a particular artist, here is my top 5 artists:
1. Smashing Pumpkins - 51 songs played
2. Joe Jackson - 46 songs played
3. The Rolling Stones - 45 songs played
4. Talking Heads - 43 songs played
5. Eminem - 32 songs played

Saturday, November 22, 2003

Headache Maker

Not sure what this has to do exactly with math... but I found this on the site MathWorld.

Description from the site:

In the above illustration, black dots appear to form and vanish at the intersections of the gray horizontal and vertical lines. When focusing attention on a single white dot, some gray dots nearby and some black dots a little further away also seem to appear. More black dots seem to appear as the eye is scanned across the image (as opposed to focusing on a single point). Strangely, the effect seems to be reduced, but not eliminated, when the head is cocked at a 45' angle. The effect seems to exist only at intermediate distances; if the eye is moved very close to or very far away from the figure, the phantom black dots do not appear.

The illusion is known as the scintillating grid, and was discovered by E. Lingelbach in 1994.



Link to the Grid on MathWorld.

Friday, November 21, 2003

Web Fishing for a High School Friend

Jeff Miller's website

The above is a site from a high school buddy. Last time I saw him was probably close to 12 years ago. It will be interesting if he notices my site from his web server logs.

I suppose I could have just emailed him... but then I couldn't go "fishing"

Weekly Lyrics

A possible new feature on Everettblog, lyrics on a weekly basis of a song that I find interesting (enjoyable). We could make it a contest to see if anybody can recognize them...

Whenever I run
Whenever I run to you lost one
It's never done
Just hanging on

Just past has let me be
Returning as if dream
Shattered as belief

If you have to go don't say goodbye
If you have to go don't you cry
If you have to go I will get by
Someday I'll follow you and see you on the other side

But for the grace of love
I'd will the meaning of
Heaven from above

Your picture out of time
Left aching in my mind
Shadows kept alive

If you have to go don't say goodbye
If you have to go don't you cry
If you have to go I will get by
I will follow you and see you on the other side

But for the grace of love
I'd will the meaning of
Heaven from above

Long horses we are born
Creatures more than torn
Mourning our way home


Thursday, November 20, 2003

Current Top 25 Songs Played

Here is the current Top 25 songs played on my Ipod. Not completely an indication of my musical tastes, since I do tend to play music via the random shuffle mode.

A good example is that N'Sync song (not a big fan of the boy band, sorry Sheryl...) I am a big fan though of Beer for my Horses...



































































































































































































NameArtistAlbumGenrePlay Count
Nick of TimeBonnie RaittNick of TimeRock/Pop3
BusinessEminemThe Eminem ShowRap/R&B3
Cleanin Out My ClosetEminemThe Eminem ShowRap/R&B3
SoldierEminemThe Eminem ShowRap/R&B3
DarknessThe PoliceMessage In A Box- The Complete Recordings (Disc 3)Rock/Pop3
Everyday Is a Winding
Road
Sheryl CrowSheryl CrowRock/Pop3
Try, Try, TryThe Smashing PumpkinsMACHINA/The Machines of GodRock/Pop3
Tonight, TonightThe Smashing PumpkinsMellon Collie and the Infinite SadnessRock/Pop3
Beer for My HorsesToby KeithUnleashedCountry3
Vocal InterludeWorld PartyEgyptologyRock/Pop3
Digital Get Down*NSYNCNo Strings AttachedRock/Pop2
Candy Everybody Wants10,000 ManiacsMTV UnpluggedRock/Pop2
Hey Jack Kerouac10,000 ManiacsMTV UnpluggedRock/Pop2
Gold Rush Brides10,000 ManiacsMTV UnpluggedRock/Pop2
AmazingAerosmithThe Ultimate Hits (2 of 2)Rock/Pop2
Deuces Are WildAerosmithThe Ultimate Hits (2 of 2)Rock/Pop2
Ob-La-Di, Ob-La-DaThe BeatlesThe Beatles [White Album] (Disc 1)Pop2
Why Don't We Do It In
The Road?
The BeatlesThe Beatles [White Album] (Disc 1)Pop2
I WillThe BeatlesThe Beatles [White Album] (Disc 1)Pop2
HotwaxBeckOdelayRock/Pop2
Number ThreeBen HarperThe Will to Live [US]Rock/Pop2
RaptureBlondieThe Best Of BlondieRock/Pop2
One Way Or AnotherBlondieThe Best Of BlondieRock/Pop2
Mulling It OverBlues TravelerBlues TravelerRock/Pop2
Gotta Get MeanBlues TravelerBlues TravelerRock/Pop2

Wednesday, November 19, 2003

Sharon says...

For the benefit of this blog's readers, I recently asked Sharon her views on the following subjects:

Michael Jackson's impending arrest: GUILTY
Arnold (our new governor) borrowing money through a bond issue to pay off California's debt: ACTION, ACTION, ACTION

If Windows was a car

Below is a humorous (at times) comparision of Microsoft Windows to a car. It is a parody piece that made its way around the computer world at least a year ago. Some of the comparisions are a little outdated, but still pretty close on to the mark.

I have been having many "ranting" type conversations about computers and the various things that go with them on how unfriendly they can be to people. Fortunately, I am paid too much money to sit in front of one every day, therefore I get lots of practice on dealing with them.

Enjoy!!

At a recent computer expo (COMDEX), Bill Gates
reportedly compared the computer industry with the
auto industry and stated, "If GM had kept up with the
technology like the computer industry has, we would
all be driving $25.00 cars that got 1,000 miles to the
gallon."

In response to Bill's comments, General Motors issued
a press release stating, "If GM had developed
technology like Microsoft, we would all be driving
cars with the following characteristics:

1. For no reason whatsoever, your car would crash
twice a day.

2. Every time they painted new lines on the road, you
would have to buy a new car.

3. Occasionally your car would die on the freeway for
no reason. You would have to pull over to the side of
the road, close all of the windows, shut off the car,
restart it, and reopen the windows before you could
continue. For some reason you would simply accept
this.

4. Occasionally, executing a maneuver such as a left
turn would cause your car to shut down and refuse to
restart, in which case you would have to reinstall the
engine.

5. Only one person at a time could use the car unless
you bought "CarNT," but then you would have to buy
more seats.

6. Macintosh would make a car that was powered by the
sun, was reliable, five times as fast and twice as
easy to drive -- but it would only run on five percent
of the roads.

7. The oil, water temperature and alternator warning
lights would all be replaced by a single "general
protect ion fault" warning light.

8. The airbag system would ask, "Are you sure?" before
deploying.

9. Occasionally, for no reason whatsoever, your car
would lock you out and refuse to let you in until you
simultaneously lifted the door handle, turned the key
and grabbed hold of the antenna.

10. GM would require all car buyers to also purchase a
deluxe set of Rand McNally Road maps (now a GM
subsidiary), even though they neither need nor want
them. Attempting to delete this option would
immediately cause the car's performance to diminish by
50 percent or more. Moreover, GM would become a target
for investigation by the Justice Department.

11. Every time GM introduced a new car, car buyers
would have to learn to drive all over again because
none of the controls would operate in the same manner
as the old car.

12. You'd have to press the "start" button to turn the
engine off.

Tuesday, November 18, 2003

Tim E. Christmas plans

I have (I hope) made my travel arrangements for heading back to MI for Christmas. The reason I say "hope" is that the American Airlines dude seemed to be not quite sure what he was doing.

I think he got confused for a couple of reasons.

The first is that I was flying in South Bend (which American Airlines doesn't fly into any more), but I knew he would be able to book the United flight for me.

The second is that I am using a voucher that I picked up last year during another flight.

If it wasn't for the voucher, I would have just booked the flight via American Airlines website, but they don't support vouchers via online booking.

I don't have an offical itinerary but here is the approximate info:

SJC to SBN: Dec 19th, leave 8:38 am arrive 6:00 pm
SBN to SJC: Dec 29th, leave 12:55 pm arrive some time later

Flight numbers and exact times will be forthcoming.


Monday, November 17, 2003

In the Pool Update

Quick update on the San Jose Sharks In the Pool contest.

Overall leader:
NomadX (DD) 19 (Not somebody I know, just the leader of the entire contest)

Friends/Family leaderboard:
teverett96 (TE) 9 (YEAH!!! I am in the lead)
finfanatic (SA) 8 (Sheryl is hot on my tail)
sharkfanatic (SH) 6 (I believe this is Stacey (or Stacy))
puckinnet (SE) 4 (Steve seems to be struggling, for a while I though he had quit playing since his score wasn't moving off of 3)

Sunday, November 16, 2003

Toot Toot

I find this video very funny. Call me immature, but I expect to always find such things funny... It is from a commercial (not sure what they were selling).

Saturday, November 15, 2003

Thanksgiving Recipe??

I was checking out my college website and I have been tempted to attempt the below recipe though I am not sure anybody will eat them with me. Thankfully I tend to have an iron stomache because I sure do enjoy spicy food.

B&B's Pickled Egg Recipe
Ingredients:
2 dozen hard boiled eggs (peeled)
4 cups vinegar
1 jar or can jalapenos
1 onion
1 cup water
1 tablespoon tabasco
1 tablespoon salt
Directions:
Bring ingredients to a boil. In sealable jar pour over peeled eggs. Let sit for 3 days to 3 months. Shake once a day while chanting "Yah--eggs are great, eh?". Serve with salt, pepper, Tabasco, and a beer...(doesn't have to be a Gilt Edge)


B&B is a local Houghton bar that my friends and I would occasionally visit. It tended to be not crowded (meaning no wait for the pool table). Spent many of nights, drinking Bud light (my beer of choice in my early drinking days), having a couple of pickled eggs, and shooting a few games with the gang.

Though since it was usually empty, I had to listen to my friend's musical taste (Tracy Murchison). Not that his musical taste were bad, just very repetitive. If I remember right his song of choice one year was Willie Nelson's City of New Orleans. He would play that song at least once every visit if not multiple times in a single night.

Reminds me of a bar that Paul Greenway and I used to hang out in Lafayette CA, called the Round Up. Essentially we didn't leave until we heard Sweet Home Alabama by Lynard Skynard. That song must have been the unoffical theme for the bar. Though we usually left because the bar would be closing, so there tended to be a few hours of opportunity for the song to be played.

Many many humorous stories that start with visiting the Round Up...




Friday, November 07, 2003

Student of the Month

We just received the news today that Dale was selected Student of the Month for October at Redwood Middle School. He's one of about 15 students who were selected from the whole school of almost 1000 students. We are very proud of him!



Here's his latest soccer picture


Here's the letter we received from the school:
To the Parents of Dale Everett,
We, the staff at Redwood Middle School, are happy to recognize students who demonstrate qualities that bring credit to themselves, their families, and their school. We have designated these individuals as Student of the Month. Each staff member may nominate a student who has demonstrated postive qualities in academics, service, citizenship, or special talents. often these students not only do what is required but voluntarily offer more. Their actions contribute to the improvement of our school. Here is what one staff member has written about your child:

If you're ever in a tight squeeze, call on Dale. He is someone you can count on to follow through and get things done even if he takes on all the responsibility himself. he gives that extra ounce when others seem to have given up to make things a success. He is an example of what persistence can accomplish.

We are pleased to share with you our pride in the selection of Dale as Student of the Month. We invite you to visit the school library to view the pictures of this month's honorees, which will be placed in our Student Hall of Fame.

Sincerely,
The Redwood Staff

Glad to be in CA

Check out the webcam from Michigan Tech... makes me glad to be in CA. Yesterday there was no snow, today they have snow.

BTW: For those that don't know, I am alumni of Michigan Tech (1989 BSEE).

WebCam from MTU

Monday, November 03, 2003

iPod!

Last Friday at work, we had a Halloween party where everybody wearing a costume received a raffle ticket for some fabulous prizes. If you must know, I was an Oakland A's player. I wore my A's jersey, A's hat, baseball socks, cleats, cheap flip-up sunglasses and I put that fun, black, sun-reflecting stuff under my eyes. They had some real nice prizes like a digital camera, DVD player, and best of all, an iPod. I mouthed off all morning to people that I was going to win the iPod and here's what they said: "Yeah, yeah, yeah". Fast forward to the raffle. The vampire won the digital camera. The pimp won the DVD player. And, I won the iPod!

You may be asking yourself, what's an iPod? I think Tim may have wrote about it earlier, but an iPod is a portable music player, with a miniature hard-disk which allows the iPod to contain literally thousands of songs. You use a cable to plug the iPod to the computer and then download the songs. I could probably fit my whole CD collection on my iPod, which is smaller than a Sony Walkman.

What's great about it

  • It looks very cool.
  • It has a fun user interface, no buttons, all fingertip sensing controls.
  • Can hold thousands of songs and has the ability to randomly play one song after another.
  • Not only is it portable like a Walkman, but also can be hooked up to computers (I listen to my iPod on my work computer) and using a special FM transmitter, to the car stereo
  • Works seamlessly with iTunes. iTunes is a music service from Apple where you can download whole albums or even better, individual songs for $0.99 each. I like some Meat Loaf songs, but not enough to buy the whole album. Last night, I bought "Two out of Three Ain't Bad" for 99 cents. It's fun to just browse through iTunes and remember a lot of songs from my youth (you know, the 70s and 80s!).


What I don't like so much
  • It's a bit pricey. The version I won cost $399 at a local electronics shop. I'm sure the price will come down over time.
  • It has a rechargable battery but the charge doesn't quite last all day, especially when using the shuffle mode. But still acceptable.