The Big Think

I really like this pic of us:

Good news: anyone can become great in just about any field. It only takes 7300 hours.

Not to be a pessimist, but I suspect that today’s odd 60 degree weather is the last gasp of Old Man Winter. We shall not see his like again. For about eight months. Thus begins my least favorite season: the three quarters of a year we Texans like to call Summer. Here comes the triple digits.

I think this year I’ll finally break down and get the A/C in my truck working. I’ve toughed it out for the last three years but I’ve about had it. Melting away in a 120 degree car in the Texas sun has gotten old.

Sorry to be cranky, but I really do hate the hot weather around here. Bleah.

Just discovered Expertvillage. Lots of DIY and other how-to videos there. Great if, like me, you learn by watching and doing, not so much by reading.

I went to a party the other nigh where a photographer had been hired to document the event. He just posted some of the pictures he did and I was really happy with a couple of candids he caught of me. Don’t worry, this won’t become the Vain Jason Photo Page, but I thought they were cool pictures so I wanted to post them.

Now I’m just missing an introspective acoustic album. I have the perfect cover shots.

Stop motion cardboard Tron lightcycle chase. Awesome.

Do you know the name Frankie Housley? You should.

Top 10 reasons to watch the new season of Battlestar Galactica on Letterman…. announced by the cast of BSG. Is it just me, or did they really phone this one in? Can you say “contractual obligation”? As in all top 10 lists, some were funny and some were dumb. I particularly liked Roslin’s.

Upgrading my cellphone to a nice spiffy new Razr. The problem with the old one was that it wouldn’t “pick up” when I opened the clamshell. The new one was only $50 after rebate and I got a bluetooth earpiece, which will definitely be nice when I’m driving.

Anyway, I’m filling out the rebate form today and noticed this in the fine print:

“Offer is valid only with the purchase of a qualifying handset upgrade at wireless retail stores that are authorized to sell T-Moblie products and services (locations not owned and operated by T-Moblie)”

followed immediately by this paragraph (emphasis mine):

“Offer is NOT valid for purchases made at T-Mobile owned and operated retail locations”

Huh? I called T-Mobile and told him I bought it from a T-Mobile-only storefront and he told me I was okay, but am I the only one thrown by this fine print? It seems to be saying that if I bought it from a T-Mobile store directly the rebate wouldn’t apply, even though the store was advertising it with the rebate. It’s probably just a case of the rebate form being overlawyered, but it’s annoying anyway. I’m the kind of person that fills out all my rebate forms and tracks their progress, i.e. the kind of person the industry hates because I actually get my money back. This silliness seems to be giving them a way out, not that they’ll take it.

UPDATE: Wow, it turns out I’m not crazy after all. Other people have been having a problem with the same exact thing. It seems T-mobile is denying perfectly legitimate rebate forms because of this very same fine print. Who’da thunk it? T-mobile has always gotten good marks for customer service, so this surprises me. I’ll definitely keep an eye on this. This guy (same link) says he filed a complaint with the BBB and heard back from T-mobile only to be rejected again in a letter a few weeks later. He called the office of the president and got it taken care of, but please… do you really need to go to those lengths to get a legitimate rebate back? Shame on T-moblie if this is a common practice.

For the record, I’ve spoken to two different people at T-mobile (Michael at my local store), and they assure me I’ll get the rebate. This is why I try not to mess with rebates much. Too much trouble.

… but take Him out of Easter:

The pastors at this church in Raleigh, North Carolina, were perplexed when they saw the Holy Week Sunday school lessons for preschoolers from “First Look,” the publisher of the one to five year-old Sunday school class materials. There wasn’t a mention of the resurrection of Jesus. Naturally, the pastors inquired about the oversight. It turns out it was no oversight…

“Easter is a special time in churches,” the letter from the publisher says. “It’s a time of celebration and thankfulness. But because of the graphic nature of the Easter story and the crucifixion specifically, we need to be careful as we choose what we tell preschoolers about Easter.”

So now the story ends with the Last Supper - and presumably afterwards Jesus and His friends watch Elmo and then go to bed. That the foundational event of your faith is now excessively “disturbing” is almost too parodic a reductio of the Wimp Christianity of the mainline churches.

article here.

Australian auctions his life to get a fresh start.

Happy 40th Birthday to Tim!. I know I’m a day late but I’m just now getting caught up. Hope your day after is as good as the actual day, bud!

I am the worldline
I am the worm
coo coo ca choo
I am the walrus 
(you had to be there) 

Epiphany has little to do with either creativity or innovation. Instead, innovation is a slow process of accretion, building small insight upon interesting fact upon tried-and-true process. Just as an oyster wraps layer upon layer of nacre atop an offending piece of sand, ultimately yielding a pearl, innovation percolates within hard work over time.

link

Sorry for the lack of posts lately. I’m buried in charts. And I’m building a castle.

So you gotta have priorities.

My good friend Matt starts a blog! Ah, they grow up so fast. Everybody go over there and welcome him to the net. Just don’t visit there more than you visit here.

Check out this webpage next time you’re searching for good deals at Amazon.