Aug 20
The first picture is a look eastward from Dillsburg, PA
The second is westward.
By the way, this post is mostly so I can try out Posterous to see how well they handle images.
Apr 22
I listen to a variety of podcasts. Everything from techie, to comedy, to skeptical, to freethinking. Most of the ones that I subscribe to are strictly created as podcasts. There are others that are originally produced as radio shows (and released several days later in podcast form).
National Public Radio (NPR) has been great about releasing radio shows as podcasts. I never thought I would be into listening to NPR since I'm not a 50-something Volvo-driving former hippie now residing in Vermont or New Hampshire. As it turns out, some of their shows have caught my interests. The first one I subscribed to was 'Car Talk'. I have learned quite a bit about car repair from listening to Click & Clack through humor to the callers that get on the air to ask questions. I also kept hearing about 'Wait Wait ... Don't Tell Me'. It was supposed to be a great radio game show. I checked it out and now I'm addicted.
Apr 1
I've been getting sick of looking at my old picture everywhere I went online. I took a new picture today and screwed around with it on Gimp. Enjoy!
The logo contained within is the widely accepted symbol of Atheism. Click here to read about it's meaning on the website for the American Atheists.
Mine excludes the 'A' in the center as not to confuse me with the administration of their organization.
Mar 7
My name is derek martin. I openly and freely state that religion is ridiculous, and all gods are fictional. I also state that Islam, specifically, is a barbaric religion, based on the teachings of a false prophet, that promotes ignorance, hate, and violence (including terrorism). I plead guilty to blasphemy and promise to do so in court if need be. I do this in direct violation of the UN resolution, and I personally challenge President Obama to rebuke this resolution, or order my arrest.
click here for the story...
My statement above was ripped off of the American Atheist's blog. Their post can be found at by clicking this link.
Feb 23
I was driving to the bank today and saw the following vehicle in a nearby parking lot:
Now, there are two things that you'll notice. First of all, this isn't the actual vehicle (since I don't live in a desert with a mirrored ground surface). Also, I slightly pizelized the back half of the car as not to spoil the moment.
From the first picture, it appears to be a small suv (or "cute ute"). It's an Inifiniti so it probably drives real nice and comes with a hefty price tag. No complaints yet.
Now, if you will click here you will see the full image.
Do you see what I see? The front looks like a very nice sedan (that is riding a bit high). The roof line looks like it's starting to melt (and causing the back end to slope way too early). The back end is also supposed to resemble an suv, but unfortunately it isn't nearly tall enough. The total height of this car (including the roof rails) is 62.6". My wife is 63" tall. No offense, but any vehicle that is shorter than her is not a sport utility. Here is a height comparison of the EX35 to some actual suvs.
Infniti EX35: 62.6"
Honda CRV: 66.1"
VW Touareg: 68"
Toyota RAV4: 68.7"
To be honest, Inifiniti doesn't call this an SUV on their website. That makes it even worse. If it's not considered an SUV, then it's just an ugly undersized station wagon that comes with a starting MSRP of $35,450.
[digg=http://digg.com/autos/I_just_saw_an_Infiniti_EX35_today_and_it_is_UGLY]
Feb 7
I have great news to share with you fine readers of this crappy website. It's my turn to leave you little people in the dust as I proceed in the business world on my way to fame and fortune. At least that's what I gathered when I received the following letter from 'Biltmore Who's Who':
click to enlarge image
I hope that I don't need to explain to you why this is a scam. Click here to read about the
"Who's Who Scam" on Wikipedia. A company claims to "choose" you to be in their registry of notable people. They publish your information along with the other suckers' information. They then convince you to buy copies of their publication at very high costs. This type of scam is really to appeal to certain people's need for self-assurance. They feel special knowing that there is a real book on their shelf that has a short biography of them contained within it's pages.
Worse than that, I did a search for
"Who's Who" at ripoffreport.com and found 172 reports of people being scammed. Some lost more money than the cost of a book. Credit card bills will show fraudulent charges for hundreds of dollars. Calls to these companies aren't returned. Companies like this are bought and sold almost as if to leave no trace behind.
If you received a letter like the one above from one of these companies, I hope you found this page before giving away your credit card information. If it's too late, call you credit card company and dispute the charges that will show up. The credit card companies know about these scams and should be able to fix the problems.
Maybe I should call this place and let them know that I won't be available to return any more correspondence from them. My time and money have been tied up trying to help a Nigerian prince escape exile with his billions of dollars.
[digg=http://digg.com/comedy/Biltmore_Who_s_Who_Unsucessfully_tries_to_rip_me_off]
