Zombie Proof - Storm Proof?

They claim the house is zombie proof. (It is worth the click to see the other images.) After the recent storms, I think I want one as it looks to be weather proof.

Fortunately, my house did not suffer any damage during the storm. My car wasn't so lucky. I had to go to Nashville for meeting. A couple of guys rode with me for the one day trip. We made it through heavy rain and wind on the way out in the morning. On the way back, it wasn't as bad - until we got off the interstate and on to Mourfield Road - a quick look and map below. Try the Street View for a better sense of the road if you aren't familiar with it.

View Larger Map

Mourfield has crazy curves, is steep, and is cave-like due to the surrounding trees. Driving it at night, in the rain, with heavy fog, and a blanket of green debris was challenging to say the least. I was going about five miles an hour and had to stop multiple times to figure out where the road was. It felt like something out of a Swamp Thing movie. And that wasn't the worst of it. Minutes later, the car took a beating from a hail storm. We made it to Dano's house, but he was stuck in the car during the hail. It was deafening when the hail hit the car. I am very surprised that the windshield didn't shatter.

After the hail passed, the remainder of the trip was fairly uneventful. (Although, we did have to turn around as a tree had fallen on Bluegrass between the time we dropped Dano off and began to back track.)

I'm really lucky it wasn't worse. God protects fools and children.

Native Google Docs for Android

I was excited to see that a native app for Google Docs was released for my Android phone. I use Google Docs for a few things and really like having access from any machine - I thought this would just add to the utility of the service. Unfortunately, it isn't as useful as I had hoped.

My anal retentive nature requires that I log every tank of gas that goes in my wife's car. I have a Google spreadsheet to track the fill-ups, mileage, MPG, etc. The app was a lot slower than I thought it would be. Also, it isn't very robust. I needed to add a row below my last entry, but above my formulas. The only option I saw was to add a row at the bottom.

I still have hope for it - assuming Google will develop it like they do Google Docs services.

Via Business Insider

Out of Pocket

I had a wedding to attend. Here is some video from the event.

They chose...

...poorly. Unlucky teen thieves crack open a van full of SAS.

Via Fate of Legions

Stream of Consciousness Art Discovery

I saw the Mario images below on ENDO and that lead me to Fro Design Co. Fro has a lot of great stuff on his site - especially some Lost themes and the fake business cards from TV, movies, etc.

That reminded me of the Samurai Pac-Man that I had seen in the past. (I may have found that on ENDO, too.) A quick google search lead me to the Pop Monkey blog where I found the Pac-Man image. Turns out that Pop Monkey has become Beast Pop.

Ultimately, that led to this gem... ZOBAMA!

When I win the lottery and build my ultimate man cave, I will plaster the walls with these sorts of prints.

Cheese & Onion

Speaking of the UK, I love Walkers Cheese and Onion Potato Crisps. When I was in London, I'd often enjoy a pint or two of Carling accompanied by these crisps/chips. The only time I can get them now is when we go to Atlanta and stop by Harry's. Since Walker's is owned by Frito-Lay, I'd like to see them sell some of the UK flavors here.

Slippery Slope

I hope my iPad won't be a gateway drug to liberalism. Slim was warning me of the dangers of the Mac Cult this morning. And now I see this neat chart. The key: 58% of self-described Mac users are liberal. Hopefully, managing hundreds of Windows boxes will offset my experimentation.

Via Slashdot.org

Jobs.gov

"Government doesn't exist to be an employment agency."

Exactly.

Via No Silence Here.

Shootout in the Lake District

How's that for a sensational headline? Second runner-up, was "size matters."

The story in question is actually about a comparison of various antennas for the 2 meter band. The author lives in Cumbria, the Lake District in the UK. (My in-laws lived there and I managed to visit once. It is a very beautiful place.)

What I found most interesting is how poorly some of the antennas performed. You never want an "upgrade" that moves you in the wrong direction. G4ILO says the telescoping antennas are inexpensive. Sounds like they'd be worth having around for a doubling of effective power and their convenient form factor. It is amazing how the last three antennas can really make a huge difference in your performance. Hams always talk about investing in antennas over everything else and this really drives that lesson home.

Here is a summary... measurements are relative to the stock antenna and I've done some rounding.

- 2in. 144MHz stubby ................................................................. -5dB
- A-137 dual band stubby ............................................................ -5dB
- 2m Stubby Duck from Smiley Antenna ................................... -2dB
- 6in. 2m helical antenna (from a TH-205E HT) ......................... -1dB
- Nagoya NA-701 dual band BNC antenna ................................... +0dB
- 8in. 2m helical antenna ............................................................ +0dB
- Standard Yaesu VX-8GR antenna ............................................. +0dB
- Yaesu FT-817ND standard antenna ........................................ +1dB
- A quarter wave telescopic BNC whip (19in) .............................. +3dB
- Nagoya NA-767 (38in) ............................................................ +9dB
- Sharman RH-770 dual band antenna (Diamond RH-770 clone) ..... +10dB
- 45.5inch Black Whip (5/8 wave single band) .............................. +11dB

Public Service Announcement

We take a break from our normally scheduled programming for this PSA.