Grey Area

new blog

Here's the new location of my blog.

posted by Evan @ 10:23 PM 0 comments

Two words

Freakin' Windows.

Who thought this one up? If you use Windows, you'll know what I'm talking about:

Start > Shut Down... > Restart

What the hell is that all about? Why do I need to click through three different terms that totally contradict one another to restart the computer? Is that the most logical terminology? So many questions... I'll stop now.

No, wait - while we're talking about it, what is up with having to click a link to show me the content of the Program Files directory? Oh yah, I just got here by accident and I don't need to know what's inside. Yah, that's it.

posted by Evan @ 4:47 PM 0 comments

A new film from Michael Levy

A lovely film made in Maya.

posted by Evan @ 11:38 AM 0 comments

47th dumbest state in America

And the winner is... California. Today I heard that I live in the 47th dumbest state in America. The only states dumber than this one are Louisiana, Nevada and another that I can't remember right now... oh man now I'm a victim. How we were scored was by aptitude testing of our kids in school. It seems California is not good at preparing kids for college and lacks even the availability of college preparatory classes. Nevermind that you want to take the class - sorry, it's not available.

As an educator in the state college system, I agree with this assessment. For the most part, kids today are showing every sign that they don't have the drive it takes to succeed once they get into college classes. My kids, depending on the class, would rather go on MySpace, keep their headphones hard-wired to their brains during class and IM their friends. Don't forget that this is a class that they (or their parents) have directly paid for, and are required to take. Actually the students respond much better to elective courses. These are usually the ones they want to be in, so they pay attention. It seems like students are getting dumber and dumberer every year.

The Inland Empire is the dumbest region in California, the survey mentions. This is not surprising to me. I see where the importance is placed to steal our youth's focus. Material things, like golf carts for 10 year-olds to drive around the neighborhood, lip piercings, iPods and even cell phones for kids in grade school. What's next? How can the last gift be topped? With something even bigger and better, that's how! There's no accountability. There's no reward for doing well. There are no goals; only rewards for mediocrity. Parents are looking for the next thing to get their kids off their backs; to steal their attention so they can get more work done.

I have been guilty of this. There is "so much to do" that there is no time to just hang out and be together. I feel remorse for those actions in the past. I was doing a disservice to my kids.

So teachers are filling up their kid's plates with busy work. Parents are working two jobs and struggling to get their kids to daycare from 6am to 6pm every day of the week because they don't even have time to drop them off, yet they still make it to Starbuck's before sitting in traffic. Our kids are being trained to be the same as everyone else. Don't you dare try to stand out. Don't make goals. Don't be excellent. Don't try to change anything. It's fine just how it is. Live in your dull little house. Sit in traffic. Have dull relationships. One day you'll wonder, "How did I get here?"


Talking Heads - "Once in a Lifetime" (emphasis mine)

And you may find yourself living in a shotgun shack
And you may find yourself in another part of the world
And you may find yourself behind the wheel of a large automobile
And you may find yourself in a beautiful house, with a beautiful Wife
And you may ask yourself-well...how did I get here?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
How do I work this?
And you may ask yourself
Where is that large automobile?
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful house!
And you may tell yourself
This is not my beautiful wife!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

Water dissolving...and water removing
There is water at the bottom of the ocean
Carry the water at the bottom of the ocean
Remove the water at the bottom of the ocean!

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

And you may ask yourself
What is that beautiful house?
And you may ask yourself
Where does that highway go?
And you may ask yourself
Am I right? ...am I wrong?
And you may tell yourself
My god!...what have I done?

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/in the silent water
Under the rocks and stones/there is water underground.

Letting the days go by/let the water hold me down
Letting the days go by/water flowing underground
Into the blue again/after the moneys gone
Once in a lifetime/water flowing underground.

Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...same as it ever was...
Same as it ever was...same as it ever was...

posted by Evan @ 8:11 AM 0 comments

Only in L.A.

A mock-up of a plane crash is displayed as part of a Halloween display in the garden of a home in Los Angeles October 20, 2006. Los Angeles police visited the scene after thinking the crash was real. The homeowner is an aircraft mechanic in training and the parts are from a real Gulfstream jet. REUTERS/Lucy Nicholson (UNITED STATES)

posted by Evan @ 1:46 PM 0 comments

links for today

some video goodness:

Flight Patterns

Evolution

Paint Explosion

Body Pong (yes, that's two links)

posted by Evan @ 8:19 AM 0 comments

Easy Cheese - one of my favorite snack foods

A must-read from Wired Magazine: What's Inside: Squirt-On Cheese

Find out what make Easy Cheese the scrumptiolicious* snack that it is.

Bacon Cheddar is my favorite flavor. What I like the most is that you can be artistically creative and fulfill your hunger at the same time. By the way, I have only ever tried Easy Cheese on Ritz crackers. Have you ever tried it on anything else? Is it worth a recommendation?

*extra points for naming the reference

posted by Evan @ 10:52 AM 0 comments

Links for the day

Get crazy with the goldfish. This one's questionable just plain wrong.

Jackson Pollock fun.

posted by Evan @ 9:57 AM 0 comments

oh snap!

oh snap!

posted by Evan @ 3:43 PM 0 comments