In The Pipeline – Chemistry related: This blog written by Dr. Derek Lowe focuses on Chemistry (and more specifically biochemistry drug related) research. Being a former Chemistry major and eventual Chemistry minor, I find Dr. Lowe’s writing very entertaining. I first found his site when someone posted a link to his series of posts about Things I Won’t Work With which have some fantastic gems about some incredibly volatile compounds he refuses to work with.

I Will Teach You To Be Rich – Personal Finance: Ramit Sethi is a Stanford educated entrepreneur that writes some very useful pieces in the realm of finance.

Bruce Schneier – Computer Security: Bruce Schneier is the defacto guru in the computer security space. He writes some very poignant pieces on security in the computer world as well as how those same principles apply to the real world.

Tim Ferris – 4 hour workweek – Lifestyle Design: I was very skeptical of Tim’s book but it was an enjoyable read with some really good information. His blog is also very entertaining and worth following.

Hacking Netflix – Netflix Movies: An interesting blog that keeps up with what is going on with the company Netflix and the movie rental market.

Blackbag, Barry’s weblog – Lockpicking and security: A very eclectic site that I found via Bruce Schneier that talks about physical security measures and countermeasures.

The Tom Kyte Blog – Oracle database: Tom Kyte is a well known guru in the Oracle world. His site Ask Tom is the place to go when looking for answers dealing with Oracle. His books are also incredible.

Travelzoo Top 20 – Travel: This site compiles a list of weekly travel deals (vacation packages, cruises, flights, hotel deals, etc).

I’m always looking for other sites with interesting content, if you have some favorites, please post them in the comments.

Unfortunately a mere months after the 3 year warranty expired on the car, the touchscreen display went out. All the functionality appeared to work, but the display was so dim that you could only tell it was on by shining a flashlight at it. So to the dealer it went for a repair estimate. The Toyota dealer decided that it could not be repaired and should be replaced. Cost to replace a radio unit that cost $2,000 3 years ago…..$3,000 dollars. So apparently in 3 years, the price of this technology went up 50%. The dealer was supposed to charge labor for looking at it but the rep was so shocked himself by the price that he waived the fee. Pretty bad when their own service reps can’t believe the costs of their own parts.

As Philip Greenspun has lamented multiple times (here, here, and here), this is a good reason the car manufacturers deserve to go under: selling a $200 device for $2,0000, not to mention the outrageous cost of navigation updates (~$350). It was extremely depressing to hear that this was the recommended outcome from the dealership on a device they sell. I could not stomach this recommendation since it seemed that everything worked on the device except for the display. Pity to toss all those fancy electronics because of a failing LCD screen. After copious searching on the internet for others with similar problems and suggestions for repair, I came across a recommendation on a Toyota Tundra forum for a company out of California that repairs these units.

The company is Hi-Tech Electronic Services out of Van Nuys, CA. I contacted them via e-mail and described the problem. They said they could fix it and would give a free official estimate once they received the unit (though the gave me a rough estimate via e-mail). I found some instructions online about removing the radio (one of the easiest cars I’ve ever seen for removing a radio I must add), and $30 of UPS shipping later they had it at their shop.

They examined the unit, repaired the 3 parts that had gone bad, and shipped it back all within a week for $585 total including return shipping. So a new replacement unit is $3,000 from Toyota, repair of existing unit, $585. A much, much better deal. They only offer a 90 day warranty on their repairs, but I suppose that is to be expected with electronic repairs in general. Overall a wonderful experience. I reinstalled the unit into the car and it has been working great ever since.

I highly recommend checking this company out if you have any kind of in-dash navigation unit that needs repair. And when buying a new car, I highly recommend you do not purchase the in-dash navigation unit. It is convenient, but the cost is way too high considering the advances in technology and that the dealers do not stand behind their product enough to warrant that risk/reward.

Below is the obituary that was run for him:


SIMMONS Mr. Alvin T. Simmons-A native of Alabama and a resident of Mobile, died on Saturday, January 16, 2010. He was born on January 5, 1922 in Monroeville, Alabama. He received his B.S. Degree from Livingston State College in 1953, and a Masters Degree from University of Alabama in 1971.

Mr. Simmons taught Physics and Chemistry in the Mobile County School System for 31 years. After retiring in 1984, he taught 10 years at Mobile Christian School.

He served in World War II in the Pacific. Mr. Simmons was an active member of Regency Church of Christ and a volunteer Treasurer for 40 years. He was preceded in death by his parents Alvin T. Sr., and Eva Simmons, two sisters, Berniece Gaston and Laura Kathryn Roth.

He is survived by his wife, Wilma Clark Simmons, of 49 years; one sister, Dorothy Zorn, Mobile, Alabama and two nephews, George and Travis Roth, Tampa, FL. Funeral services will be held on Tuesday, January 19, 2010 at 10:00 AM from the chapel of Radney Funeral Home.

The family will receive friends at the funeral home 9:00 AM until service time. Interment will be in Magnolia Cemetery.

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to The Alzheimer's Association Research Fund or American Cancer Society.

Funeral arrangements by RADNEY FUNERAL HOME, 3155 Dauphin Street, Mobile, Alabama 36606.



Some of the memories I recall of him were his impeccable dress. He always wore a jacket and tie during every classroom session. His wife would coordinate his outfits and he would tell us that when she would go out of town, she would number the jacket, pants, and ties, and then leave him a key as to which numbers to associate for each day she was gone. The man always looked sharp.

I remember him relating a story from his public school days of a kid that was sitting by the window in the classroom on the first floor, and kept throwing things out of the window. After being told to stop repeatedly and not listening, Mr. Simmons tossed him out the window. Probably shocked the kid more than anything. I would say he didn’t throw things out of the window anymore after that. Unfortunately that kind of thing today would get you tossed from the school system, but back then was a different time, and it seemed like a perfect way to not hurt anyone but set the tone for the classroom and his expectations.

I still remember the “factor-label” method he used for diagramming out solutions to conversion problems and that in his class, there was much tasking of the students to show their solutions on the board to the rest of the class.

It is amazing to think of how many lives he touched after 41 years of teaching. It definitely showed me the wide reach teachers can have. Truly a noble profession to those that take it on.

The last time I saw Mr. Simmons was a couple of years ago at my grandmother’s funeral (they attended the same church). He still had an incredible, witty personality. He seemed thrilled that I ended up with a minor in Chemistry from college and that my future aspirations involve a Ph.D. and teaching at the college level.

He was truly a man that lived a good life and left the world a much better place than he found it. Definitely a life that can be an inspiration to us all. Thank you, Mr. Simmons, for all of the lessons and the ability to continue teaching me even now after you are gone.

One of the pieces of equipment that is used for improving various skills is the parallette. It is a small set of mini parallel bars that can be used for pushups, L-sits, planche moves, handstand pushups, and more. The set of parallettes demonstrated on that site are simple Do-It-Yourself models created out of PVC.

Today I set out to create my own set of parallettes so I could begin practicing various movements from the Beast Skills site. The cost to build a set of PVC parallettes is only about $20 and take 10-15 minutes to assemble.

I built mine out of 1 1/2″ PVC pipe and the pieces needed are:

• 10′ section of 1 1/2″ PVC pipe
• 4 T-joints
• 4 90 degree elbow joints
• 8 end caps (though I’m an idiot and only bought 4)

Here are 2 great tutorials about the actual build process though it is pretty self-explanatory.

Homemade Parallettes

DIY Parallettes

I did not use cement to put mine together and it doesn’t look like it will even need it. Plus, no cement, means I can disassemble them for easy storage. I used 18″ pieces for the parallel portion of the parallettes and 6″ pieces for everything else. I will probably change it to use 12″ pieces for the vertical sections to get a bit further off the ground and be able to do L-sit dips. 6″ is a bit low for that. Other than that I’m very happy with how they turned out.

As far as exercise routines for the parallettes, American Gymnast has a set of workouts on their site here (requires free registration).

This is their recommended beginner training guide (though I think I need the remedial training program):

• Tuck Sit 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• L-Sit 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• Tuck Planche 3-5 sets of 10 seconds
• Straddle Press to Handstand Against Wall 2 sets of 3-5 reps
• Handstand Against Wall 2 sets of 30 seconds
• Handstand Pushups Against Wall 2 sets of 5-7 reps
• Push-ups 2 sets of 7-10 reps
• Handstand Forward 1/2 Pirouette 5-7 reps

Probably take me a year to get worked up to that level of fitness (especially pirouettes without killing my self) but it is a good start and a great way to build my core. If you have a free afternoon, put a set of these together and get to training.

American Heart Association
American Cancer Society

Of course if you have a friend or family member that has been afflicted by some disease,then you may like to adopt a charitable organization related to helping people with that illness. There are plenty of worthy charities out there. Find them and give back if you can.

If you are unsure whether a charity or non-profit that you are thinking of donating to is on the up and up, then check them out via the BBB Wise Giving Alliance.

Yes folks I’m talking about the Angola Prison Rodeo at the Louisiana State Penitentiary in Angola, LA. I had never heard of such a thing until a couple of years ago when the GF Casey attended and could not stop talking about how great a show it was. Though she talked it up something fierce, I still wanted to hold on to my disdain for most things related to livestock and country music. Fast forward a couple of years and Casey was dead set on attending again. I decided that now was the time to branch out and try something new, and boy am I glad I did.

For the uninitiated Angola Prison holds a prison rodeo one weekend in April and every weekend in October. This is a full fledged rodeo with the inmates competing in the events. Angola is a maximum security prison with the majority of the prisoners serving life sentences. This creates an environment where the prisoners are looking for excitement without a whole lot of regard for their individual safety. They compete for the adventure and for the chance to win money for their prison bank account. For spectators this means lots of excitement and daring feats.

Tickets to the rodeo can be purchased online (they currently use Tickets.com but they really should switch over and use Birmingham’s TicketBiscuit) or via telephone, but they sell out almost immediately after going on sale. So if you think you might like to go, you really need to plan ahead and get your tickets. The rodeo takes place in a very nice covered facility built by the inmates and all seats are assigned (the best seats are in the upper sections opposite the shoots since these keep the sun out of your face).

A couple of things to be clear about, the rodeo takes place inside of a state maximum security prison. It is one of the few times people are allowed to roam freely around. By attending the event you agree to have your car or person searched if they so desire. Also, no cellphones or cameras are allowed into the prison (as well as weapons and drugs of course). I was expecting to be wanded or patted down but during our time there we were not searched. If you leave your car unlocked, they will search it (got to make sure no inmates are hiding in there). Approved media personnel can bring cameras and film the event.

That said my experience was completely pleasant. I was a bit uneasy about giving up my privacy rights while inside the prison but there were no incidents and I would definitely go again. While the rodeo is the main event, there is also an arts and crafts show that is equally amazing. The prisoners create all kinds of crafts for sale. From t-shirts to leather goods to drink cozies to fantastic wood-working projects, they have something for everyone. The level of craftsmanship is really incredible. It is obvious these guys have lots of time to spend perfecting their creations.

The prison facility itself is a sight to see. It encompasses 18,000 acres of land in Angola, LA (about 50 miles from Baton Rouge) and is bordered on 3 sides by the mighty Mississippi River. It is a full working farm with the inmates growing much of the food they consume. In the warden’s words related to running a peaceful maximum security prison “you’ve got to keep the inmates working all day so they’re tired at night.” I like the concept of the inmates being able to work and create while incarcerated versus just spending 23 hours per day in isolation. It seems like a model facility though it does cost $98 million/year to house around 5,000 inmates. That works out to about $20,000/year per inmate. At least for that $20k/year the good people get entertainment value from the Rodeo.

When it comes to the rodeo itself, the inmates compete in a range of events that go from mildly amusing to downright life threatening. They ride the bucking bulls, they wrestle calves to the ground, ride horses bareback, and even try to play tug of war against wild horses. But where it really gets crazy are in events like Convict Poker. In this event they seat 4 inmates around a poker table each holding cards. Then they release the angry bull into the arena. Last man still sitting and holding his cards wins. What we saw in this event was a bull running full speed ahead ramming into the back of one of the players and knocking the entire table and everyone seated at it into the air. Amazingly no one was injured.

We did see one poor prisoner get knocked out when trying to wrestle a calf to the ground (an event called Bull-Dogging). He must have taken a stray hoof to the head because he went completely limp. The medical staff immediately sprang to action and got him to an ambulance for attention.

In another event they placed nine hula hoops on the ground and placed one inmate in each hula hoop. They then released the angry bull with the last man still standing in his hula hoop winning the event. Apparently the bulls trigger off of any movement so the prisoners tried to remain as still as possible. Unfortunately when the bull would get to close, someone would invariably lose their nerve and flinch causing the bull to charge full speed ahead sending those poor fellas flying.

In addition to the untrained inmates, they had professionals on hand as well. The Girl’s Rodeo Association performed an event of barrel racing. It was an incredible sight to see extremely young girls riding with such skill. A professional MC, rodeo clowns, and cowboys are on hand to ensure the safety of the inmates (as much as possible). The rodeo clowns and cowboys make sure that after someone has been dismounted from a bucking animal they are able to get to safety and the animal is corralled out of the arena. I had never really seen cowboys work livestock before, but the way they maneuvered their horses and used their lassos was unbelievable. I never realized the amount of skill required for such a thing. They really blew me away. The rodeo clowns showed an remarkable speed and agility. To be able to taunt a bull and then out maneuver him takes serious guts.

One of my favorite events was put on by Team Ghostriders. This was a demonstration of dogs working sheep into a corral. But it was not just any dogs, they were beautiful Border Collies (considered by many to be the most intelligent dog breed). Oh, and these dogs were not working solo. Oh no, they were being ridden by monkeys. Did you hear me? Dogs wearing saddles being ridden by monkeys dressed in full cowboy gear (hats, vests, chaps). Now that is my kind of entertainment. The monkeys rode their faithful steeds with acumen and corralled the sheep into their pen with no problems. That is worth the drive over to attend all by itself.

Oh, but wait there is more. The last event of the show is called Guts & Glory. In this event, they place a poker chip onto the forehead of the meanest bull they have. Then they release a group of inmates to try to take the chip off of the bull’s forehead. Definitely guts required for that one. Apparently it usually takes quite a while for the inmates to finally get the chip, but during our show someone must have been looking out for these guys. The bull got distracted by one group of inmates and another was able to rush in and grab it within 60 seconds of the start of the event. He was a very happy camper indeed winning $500 into his prison bank account.

I can’t speak highly enough about the Angola Prison Rodeo. It was an incredible experience. The inmates we talked with were all polite and courteous. The prison staff were extremely organized and efficient, and I felt completely safe at all times within the facility. It is definitely a first-rate event. I would have to say that everyone should attend at least once. Careful though you may get hooked and make it an annual thing.

*Pics from Frank3.0′s Flickr set. Click the pics to view the details or see the whole set here: Angola Prison Rodeo, 18 October, 2009 (Set)

So I was reading Brian Battjer’s photoblog site (warning some content NSFW) and ran across this entry about his trip to Japan (man that guy has a wild life). In that entry (Ctrl-F for frisbee) he shows off his illuminated flying disc from FlashFlight. After seeing this I knew I must have one, so I popped over to their online store and ordered up this combo

of their red illuminated disc and their plain white Ultimate disc. A bargain at $27 plus shipping (which was $6 to Mobile).

I received the discs a couple of weeks ago and I must say they are absolutely incredible. The illuminated disc is powered by a watch type battery and light is provided from an LED. The interesting part is that there are fiber optic lines that run to the edge of the disc so that all of the disc’s surface get lit up. It comes in many different colors with the red getting the longest battery life (150 hours!!). At night the light up disc looks like a little flying red UFO when thrown. It is a great fun to throw and very entertaining at outdoor parties. It is also incredibly durable. No matter how many times I said don’t throw the disc in the pool because I’m not sure what will happen, it of course ended up in the pool. 3 or 4 times actually. And guess what….nothing happened. It kept on glowing and did not end up electrocuting anyone in the pool. When I got home that night I removed the battery and let it dry out, and it is still going strong. For you purists, their illuminated disc is 185 grams which is 10 grams heavier than the regulation disc but it flies great. It actually flies better than regulation in the wind due to the increased weight.

The plain white ultimate disc (regulation 175 grams) is also a great disc. We used it at our last game and other than my complete lack of talent in all things frisbee-related it performed flawlessly. It is also extremely durable. Teddy spent an entire afternoon (sorry Teddy ) the other weekend trying to see how many times he could skip it off of the asphalt with errant flicks or nosedive it straight into the pavement from 30,000 feet with flawed hammer throws and other than lots of nicks and scrapes it still flies great.

So, run don’t walk to their site and see if there is room for a FlashFlight disc in your life. You will not be sorry.

Of course the real question is whether my light up disc will make it through airport security next month when I head out to California to see Brian and Rob. After reading tales like this, I wonder.

Dwyer, Ryan, and I were planning on attending the Foghat / Blue Oyster Cult concert this past Saturday night. While not a tremendous fan of either groups I do appreciate their contribution to rock and roll and enjoy quite a few of their hits. So that in mind, I was really looking forward to the show.

Dwyer, Ryan, and I had some dinner down at Heroes Sports Bar and were planning on walking over to the venue to enjoy the show. As we were walking over, we noticed there really weren’t many people downtown like one would expect for a show. As we approached the venue it seemed strange that it would be completely dark with no people going in or out. Sure enough we walked up to the door and saw that the show had been canceled. Bummer.

Now, where my gripe with Ticketmaster comes in is that they did not send any kind of e-mail notification that the concert had been canceled. Apparently it was announced two days prior that it was canceled but we did not hear about it on the radio or TV.

Now if you have purchased any tickets from Ticketmaster you know the drill:

* Confirmation E-mail after you purchase them.
* Follow up e-mail telling you the tickets have been printed and are on their way.
* Then numerous marketing type e-mails trying to alert you to upcoming shows and convince you to buy more tickets.

But a canceled show (which was posted as canceled on their site Saturday night), no messages whatsoever. Where the evil comes in is that I’m sure the reason they do not send out notification of cancellation is that they are hoping someone will lose their original tickets and then be denied a refund. Now that is just bad customer service all the way around. But from Ticketmaster that is their normal way of doing business.

Remember if you have the option of buying tickets through any other mechanism than Ticketmaster, do it. They consistently sell out their customers to make themselves more money. Yep, Ticketmaster is Still Evil, but unfortunately they have cornered the ticket market so completely that often it is the only option.

—————————————–BEGIN LETTER—————————————–
Dear Britt,

Sorry for the delay, but wanted to wish you a happy graduation. I was out of town and missed your actual graduation day but maybe I’ll catch the next one (probably not though considering I didn’t attend either of my college graduations ).

Definitely a big step for you and I’m sure there are great things in store at college. If I can offer any collegiate advice based on the fact that you had a similar experience to me in high school (not much studying required, kind of breezed through) then here it is:

• Don’t be afraid to drop a class (some teachers seem to have some chip on their shoulders and relish the fact that students will not succeed). If it isn’t looking good and the drop date is looming, you may want to eject.
• Learn study habits early. I never had to do much in high school since most things came naturally, but college is an entirely different story. I’m a notorious procrastinator so take it from me, don’t wait till the last minute. One can’t memorize 300 pages of material in one night (though I have tried before).
• Listen to your Dad. He actually has some pretty good ideas on the politics of college. I probably should have listened and not been a Chemistry major initially but hey, it all works out in the end. I’ll end up with a Ph.D. not an M.D. but I’m happy with the results.

Now you may notice the enclosed check has an odd amount. I wanted to give you Doug’s 20-second introduction to economics in the form of a graduation gift. When your brother graduated two years ago, I sent him $200. Now there is an economic concept at play called Inflation (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Inflation) that you may hear about in the news. It basically means money doesn’t have the same buying power as the years go by. Just ask your grandpa how much bread cost when he was a kid. Probably a nickel, now it is $2. That is inflation. The value of money degrades over time, so you need more of it to buy the same things.

So, that is where your gift comes in. The rate of inflation is measured annually, and here is what it was for the past two years (taken from http://minneapolisfed.org/Research/data/us/calc/hist1913.cfm).

So if we crunch the numbers, the $200 given to Brad in 2004 would be equivalent in buying power to $205.40 in 2005 ($200 * 1.027). For 2006 the same buying power that $205.40 had in 2005 would be $212.38 ($205.40 * 1.034). So $200 in 2004 money = $212.38 in 2006 money.

And thus while it looks like I gave you more than Brad, alas it really is the same in terms of buying power. Now all of your other relatives that wanted to be fair and gave you the same amount as Brad….they really gave you 6.19% less than Brad. What a bummer, and they said they loved you ?

OK, enough teaching. Enjoy, don’t spend it all in one place, study hard, eat well, get lots of sleep, wash your hands frequently, always floss, don’t kiss on the first date, try and observe all posted speed limits, and remember to always have fun and try to look on the bright side of life.

Love
Cousin Doug
—————————————–END LETTER—————————————–

Holly Miller (former University of South Alabama Volleyball extraordinaire and CIS graduate), now Holly Hunt has returned from her time in Japan. She, her husband Billy, and their son Aidan are finally going to be back in the US for a while. Billy is in the Navy and is being stationed in Virginia Beach, VA for at least 3 years.

It was really great to see them (it’s been about a year and half to two years since I heard from them). I actually got to meet them for dinner last Friday and then for lunch again on Monday, so double the time to catch up. And now they are off to VA.

Their newest addition Aidan is a little handful. He has his momma’s red hair and an endless supply of energy. He was a very happy baby too (which was good considering how well babies and I tend to get along).

You can keep track of their goings on by checking out their site at http://www.billynholly.com. She has a quasi-blog set up here: The Hunt’s Journal, but no RSS feed. Come on Holly, RSS is what all of the cool kids are doing, be a good afternoon project for you when the little one is napping, plus then I can read your site from my Feed Aggregator. E-mail me if you need any pointers.

And for those of you that want to contact Holly and Billy, their e-mail is listed here: Contact Holly And Billy. I’m sure she would love to hear from any of the old gang (wonder if anyone has the pics from the ACM Oozeball Tournament we all played in).

Great seeing you Holly, I will try and keep in touch better this time