So many ideas, such little time.

Every day something happens that I think I'll share on here. But by the time the evening rolls around I never actually get around to posting anything.

Cold Remedy

Hot apartment, meet your match. Here's the solution to my AC blues. Delivered by UPS from Costco.com today, this 110 lb monster is my new best friend. Even though temperatures have dropped and are supposed to remain in the 60's through the weekend, I've already set it up and tested it out. Now I almost can't wait for the temperatures to rise so I can see what this thing will really do.
(cue old western showdown tune...)


It even has a remote so I won't have to break a sweat getting up to turn it on!

Feel this, does my apartment have a fever?

Most of the year I enjoy living in my older apartment building where the utilities are included in the rent (and the rent is reasonable). There's only twice a year, at the beginning and end of summer, when I really question why I live here. Although I have my own thermostat, the building controls when the heat is turned on for the winter or the AC for the summer. Once the switch is made, that's it for the season, you don't get both a heat or AC option at the same time. Living on the 6th floor (7th really, since G is ground level and L is 1), I've never found myself too cold. On the flip side though, I do sometimes find myself very hot. The last two nights were definitely two of those times.

Mmm Mmm Good

I just finished my last cupcake. It wasn't just any cupcake though, I actually drove about an hour away and waited in a two hour line to get that cupcake. Well, not just that one, I think I ate three but that was the only one I took home.


I've heard of cupcake bakeries (like Just Cakes in Bethesda, MD) that make gourmet cupcakes that sell for more than $6 each. This wasn't one of those. In fact, I think this cupcake was baked in a home oven in Massachusetts. I actually got it at an art gallery from a company that doesn't sell cupcakes but has built a million dollar company on them. They have three old style 'bakeries' in premium locations in MA and CA and even have the word 'cupcakes' in their name. Confused? Then, just like me until about a week ago, you've apparently never heard of Johnny Cupcakes.

What does Johnny Cupcakes do if they don't sell cupcakes? They sell T Shirts with cupcakes on them. It sounds silly but in less than 7 years in the business, Johnny was voted America's #1 Young Entrepreneur of 2008 by BusinessWeek magazine. It's now 2010 and he's going stronger than ever. Once I heard about him and the story behind his brand I wanted to attend one of the stops on his 'suitcase tour', where he's touring the US and UK selling T Shirts out of suitcases from the back of his car as a tribute to his early days, and see what all the hype was about.

There was a line well before the event started and Johnny takes the time to have a personal conversation with everyone that shows up so it moved quite slow even when it did start. Of course, he was a nice guy, which is what his business is built on, so I didn't feel bad buying an overpriced T shirt. Besides, the actual cupcakes, lemonade and water were free and so was the story behind the design. I'm actually excited for my next day off so that I can wear my new Johnny Cupcakes shirt.

You can learn more about Johnny Cupcakes here or view the first stop on the Suitcase Tour here.

Random

Economic Times

There has already been a good amount of snow in this area this winter. I haven't really been paying attention to the news recently as I've been keeping busy but I think there's even a chance of more snow tonight. In fact the news in the background is talking about another East Coast snowstorm in the background right now. I received this image in an e-mail with the subject line 'Government Snow Plow'. A Government employee I sent it to called it 'Job Security'.

Tastes Like Chicken. Kung Pao Chicken.

Gilbert Arenas Suspended From... The Washington Redskins?

I know it happens but it's funny when nobody points it out. Fox 5 DC's Dave Feldman reports that the Wizards Gilbert Arenas has been 'suspended indefinitely by the Washington Redskins'.

While the Redskins probably could have used any help they could get this season, I think he meant to say that he was suspended by the Washington Wizards.

The Only Thing That Doesn't Want My Money

I took some money out of an ATM today. It was one of those ATM machines that doesn't require a slip to make a deposit. After I received my cash and card, I realized that I had taken out more than I needed. I re-inserted my card to deposit the extra cash. After inserting the money to be deposited, the machine rejected a couple of the bills. It said something like 'some of your items were unable to be identified, please try again'. After several attempts I gave up and went inside the bank. I thought it was ironic that my money wasn't good enough for the machine that just gave it to me. The teller in the bank didn't.

It May Be Too Early To Be Thinking About This...

The Washington DC Cherry Blossom Festival runs from March 27th - April 11th. Every year I say that I'm going to go but I never do.

I live so close.

This year I'm going.

I think.

Pork Dispenser

Hot Pocket Wisdom

It's all politics... and I'm no Politician

I've lived in the DC metro area all my life. It's a great place to live... I think. I've never actually lived anywhere else so I don't really have anything to compare it to. I've always had this idea that I wanted to move to California even though I've never been there. It just seems that in all the images of California that I've seen, from watching movies about surfing, skating and bmx as a kid, to the movies and television coverage of today, California culture has always seemed more laid back and interesting to me.

I saw this license plate a while ago. I was kind of jealous that I didn't think of it first.

YMINMD? (Why am I in Maryland?)

New Years Day 2010

I had a choice. I could go into work a couple hours early on Monday, or go in for a couple hours this weekend. Since I'm not really good at waking up early, I decided to go in today. I figure it's a Friday and I'd usually be at work anyway so it shouldn't be so bad... right?

Well the drive to the office wasn't bad. In fact, it was almost enjoyable since there was no rush hour traffic to deal with. The fact that I didn't have to be there at any certain time was nice because I didn't have to rush. Even after I got settled in and started to work it was kinda nice. After all, I was working in casual clothes, in a quiet office and I didn't really have any deadlines to meet.

I guess it was just the feeling that I got, for that brief moment, when I first pulled into the parking lot and realized that I'm the only one in my building working today.

Large Johnson's Internet

In the heart of Rockville, on the Pike between Crisp & Juicy and Best Buy, my iPhone picked up this wireless network.


It was the only network connection available and I lost the signal before the phone actually connected. Not that I necessarily would have wanted it to, being that it was unprotected... I mean unsecured (sorry, I couldn't resist).
It wasn't until a few days later flipping through the images on my phone that it made me think. How many people would have to broadcast inappropriate network names before they made it illegal? I guess it would really only take one person to find it offensive, it would just have to be the right one person. If this network were near a popular wifi hot spot like Panera Bread or Starbucks where lots of people could see it on a daily basis, do you think the retailer or a patron could file a complaint?