I don't know why, but some things really, really irk me. I think it has to do with people trying to take more than their share.
That's how I felt when I read an article in today's (Thursday) L.A. Times about a man who tackled a would-be bank robber, thus thwarting the attempt, but got shot in the thigh while doing so.
The bank sent him flowers, an invitation to lunch, and made an offer to pay for the medical bills incurred as a result of his injury. He says that isn't enough, and has hired an attorney to sue the bank for negligence. He says he should get some sort of reward for what he did, and the bank was negligent with respect to keeping its customers safe because the security guard was in the parking lot at the time the attempted robbery took place.
Who asked this guy to be a hero? Is the bank liable because he was stupid enough to endanger his life and those of the other customers and bank employees because of his actions? And last I looked, most banks have a security guard who patrols not only the inside of the bank, but the parking lot as well.
Had something happened to a customer in the parking lot, should the bank be sued because the guard was inside watching that part of the bank?
It's like if I give you a donut, which you didn't ask for, then I demand that you pay me $25 for it.
I got so mad I sent an e-mail to the reporter. And when I think about it, it gets me mad again so I just had to write about it on this blog, too!
After running Speedtest on my internet connection the other day and posting about it, and then reading Donna's comment, it made me curious as to what speeds other people are getting from their connection.
Obviously if you are reading this you must be on the internet so you have no excuse not to head over to Speedtest.net, click on the button to conduct the test, and then see your results. So please do that, then come back here and take the poll below. Thanks!
Today I was looking at the internet plans that U-Verse offers because I was thinking Charter charges too much and even if I don't switch I could threaten to and maybe they'd lower the rate.
U-Verse's fastest connection is 18 Mb/s, which is a very fast download time. Then I remembered the Speedtest website, where you can click a button and measure the speed of your internet connection. I figured I would see what sort of speed I was getting from Charter. Here's a screen print of the result:
Whoa! 29 Mb/s?? That's pretty darn fast! I notice that my connection times are much faster at home than at work, so I guess that explains why. I decided to just leave well enough alone and stick with Charter.
Well here is my latest purchase:
Oh my, isn't that sad? Yup, it is getting harder and harder to read small print. I used to just take off my glasses and focusing would be no problem but these days it gets harder and harder.
So when we went to Wal Mart the other day, I headed over to the school supplies section to look for a magnifying glass. I knew I could count on them to have one. Actually it is not a magnifying glass, it is a magnifying plastic but it does the job.
I bought a couple of electronic chips recently and the print on them was so tiny and faint that I simply could not read them. I figured a magnifying glass is something that is always good to have on hand.
At least I haven't had to start ordering large-print versions of books yet. Or loud-sound versions of CD's. Or large-picture versions of DVD's.
I was supposed to do my income taxes today. Supposed to.. so you know the ending. Instead, since Julie went shopping this afternoon, I spent most of the time listening to a bunch of music on CD's and DVD's. A much better use of time, if you ask me!
Here's the playlist:
San Lorenzo - Pat Metheny Group. This is one of my all-time favorite songs from one of my favorite albums. This first track I would describe as the soundtrack for the best vacation you've ever had. It is simply an incredible composition.
Last tracks on Abbey Road, from, You Never Give Me Your Money, to the end of the album - The Beatles. This is such a great progression of songs. If you ever forget why the Beatles were so revered, just listen to this.
Thunder Road and Born to Run - Bruce Springsteen. The volume was turned up fairly high on the preceding tracks but went higher for these two. The Boss was so amazing back in the 70's. This stuff is better than anything in the rock and roll arena that anyone came out with in the following three decades.
Mother and Child Reunion, Duncan, Me and Julio Down By the Schoolyard, Something So Right, and American Tune - Paul Simon. I played these albums a LOT back in the 70's but can't remember the last time I listened to any of these except for hearing one or two on the radio. It was just nice to hear and appreciate them again.
Dialogue Part I and II, Saturday in the Park, and Goodbye - Chicago. Before they got goofy, they used to be really good. This fifth album was a departure in style from what came before but it is still one fine album. Dialogue really rocks; Saturday in the Park is the perfect weekend celebratory tune.
I Feel the Earth Move, So Far Away, It's Too Late, and Home Again - Carole King (on SACD). It's a little early to play this one because for me it is a summertime album. Takes me back to 1971, one fun summer. This is one of the best albums ever recorded. I am so happy that Carole is still going strong after all these years, too!
Pines of Rome, Rhapsody In Blue, and Piano Concerto No. 2, Allegro, Opus 102 - from Fantasia 2000 (on DVD). I wanted to have some video accompaniment to the music and you can't go wrong with this disc.
Spiral, and If - Hiromi Uehara (Live in Concert DVD). This is an odd DVD because it is recorded in regular stereo. And the recording level is on the low side so you have to really turn up the volume. Those quirks aside, if you want to see/hear one fantastic piano player, watch and listen to this. She is amazing. The bassist and drummer are incredible, too, but the spotlight is on Hiromi. Her fingers fly so fast over the keyboard that you soon stop paying attention to her big hair, haha..
There's simply too much to listen to and not enough time! I was thinking maybe I should have one of those music servers that people use so I can pick and choose what tracks to play instead of getting up and down to change discs.
I don't have much to report about my weekly Costco visit, only this: my normal routine is to stop at their gas station and fill up the car (no matter how little gas is needed; since I'm there I might as well take advantage). By the time I finish with that, it is usually a few minutes before the 9:30 opening time.
Today I parked the car at 9:26 and noticed that there wasn't the usual line of people crowded at the door to get in. In fact, there wasn't anyone. I wondered if they had changed the time they open.
I decided to get out and get a good place in line - well actually, a good position since there was no line. Apparently a few others had the same idea because by the time I pulled out a shopping cart and got to the door, there was someone in front of me.
As I stood there waiting for the door to open I thought, "wow, what a luxury, here I am way up in the front of the line. No waiting!" By that time a lot more people had gathered but they were all behind me. Haha, isn't it funny what things we value in life..
That made me think back to the one and only time when I had front row seats for an event - way back in college days. Amy and I went to the ice capades. Or at least I think it was the ice capades. Or some show on ice. Or maybe it was the circus? That was so long ago.. well, anyway it was something where there were a bunch of people and the show took place in the middle of the arena which was either the Forum or the Sports Arena. Gee, now you are probably thinking maybe this never even happened and I am imagining it.
But whatever it was, we did have front row seats! When the show was over, the skaters came over and shook hands with all of us lucky folks in the front row. Made us feel kind of important. Well, there's really no point to this except that I happened to think about it after this morning's rare occurrence of being nearly at the front of the line at Costco. Some advice: do not attempt this at Wal Mart on Black Friday.
Did I already use this title before? I don't remember.. well, that was so long ago it doesn't matter anyway.
My good friend J sent me a link to a blog that she said brought back lots of memories so naturally I had to check it out.
The blog is called Summer Sun: the Los Angeles Asian American Dance Scene. Here's the blog description from the site:
This blog is devoted to your stories and recollections on the Asian American dance scene in Los Angeles at places like Rodger Young's and the Elks Club, listening to the bands Carry On, Free Flight and Winfield Summit. Collecting the stories is important because it was “our” time as Asian Americans. The decade of the 1970s was a period in the awakening of Asian pride following the Civil Rights movement, and minority groups were instilled with self-esteem in ethnic identity.
Now for someone like me (and perhaps some or many of you out there), how could this blog NOT be interesting? Those were some great times..
Hey, happy Friday to you all - too bad there's no dances going on this weekend, haha.. or did anyone check out Blarney's or Rodger Young to be sure about that?
