http://jim.medding.net/blog Gifted the ability to know higher truth Tue, 27 Jul 2010 16:00:10 +0000 http://backend.userland.com/rss092 en A recent text message exchange between my wife and myself has convinced me that perhaps it’s time to consider a cell phone upgrade. Wife: I found some glasses today and they are on order. They were reasonably priced although I am looking at some pricey sunglasses. Me: Ugh! Ok thanks for the warning Wife: I like ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2010/07/27/txtg-on-stoopid-phne-hurtz-am-hppy-much/ Even though it’s one of the most famous motorcycle races in the world, the Isle of Man TT get’s very little attention here in the States. Well, perhaps outside of the motorcycle racing world here in the states. Then again, motorcycle racing just doesn’t get any attention here in the ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2010/06/15/a-quick-drive-around-the-isle-of-man/ Recently, a date encoding in an auto-generated e-mail subject heading caught my eye. It was an interesting pattern. Being the type of person to see the street number of a house and think “I like that number” before realizing that it’s my birth date, I decided to treat myself and ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/10/10/the-answer-to-life-the-universe-and-everything-day/ Recently, after I shared one of my favorite racing videos with a coworker, he responded by suggesting that since I liked old racing videos, I might like this one: On an August morning in 1978, French filmmaker Claude Lelouch mounted a gyro-stabilized camera to the bumper of a Ferrari 275 GTB ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/09/28/a-quick-drive-through-paris/ While reading one of the numerous Stephen Ambrose books I own, I found this quote from Major General Fox Conner who was Dwight Eisenhower’s mentor and supervisor in the Panama Canal Zone in the between-war years. Always take your job seriously, never yourself. Major General Fox Conner, from The Supreme Commander by ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/09/23/on-the-job-advice/ The feature article in the Fall 2009 edition of Eagletter, which I was able to borrow, from the National Eagle Scout Association is an interview of Mike Rowe the host of Dirty Jobs. While the whole interview is well worth your time to read, I found a couple of quotes ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/09/21/mike-rowe-%e2%80%93-eagle-scout/ Wikipedia says this is unsourced, I find to too good to not use. Men occasionally stumble over the truth, but most of them pick themselves up and hurry off as if nothing ever happened. Sir Winston Churchill http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/09/16/more-churchill-truisms/ In a recent news event, it was mentioned that any e-mail sent to the White House must be retained, by act of Congress, forever. It occurred to me that this was a really cool feature which would allow you to send a message into the future for your decedents. I mentioned ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/09/14/your-government-at-your-service/ Any one who considers arithmetical methods of producing random digits is, of course, in a state of sin. John von Neumann http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/09/02/random-digits/ In my grandfather's, Walter L. Medding, memoir of WWI is an engaging vignette which reminds me so much of the stories he would tell during our frequent visits with him during my childhood. We had a hard boiled motorcycle driver who rejoiced in the name of “Spike” Adams. One day ... http://jim.medding.net/blog/2009/08/31/adventures-with-spike-adams/