Sparse Random Thoughts

The wife and I enjoy the mockumentry genre of film and recently had a blast watching “Unflinching Triumph“. This film brings you into the underground world of proffessional staredowns, interviewing the big competitors, the self proclaimed staredown historian, and the NASP (National Association of Staredown Proffessionals) founder/commissioner. While not only being a fun look into this “sport” it also happens to be distributed free over the internet (be sure to check out the Director’s Manifesto at the above link).

I just read that a Doctor Robert Bohannon has come up with a way to add caffeine to baked goods without adding a bitter taste. This means you could grab a bagel or doughnut and a glass of juice and still have your dose of caffeine, no more worries of spilling your hot java on your lap. He’s apparently approached Krispy Kreme, Starbucks and Dunkin’ Donuts with the idea. If Starbucks picked it up that may not be good for your local neighborhood Matt (me). Making it easier for me to ingest large quantities of caffeine with a doughnut and esspresso.

So i read this article in the New York Times and I’m feelinging pretty conflicted about the whole thing. Here’s a breif quote to give you an idea what the news was:

Cellular phone carriers like Verizon, Sprint and Cingular, now the new AT&T, are beginning to test and roll out advertising on mobile phone screens, and by next year, cellphone advertising is likely to be more common.
In exchange, the companies say, their subscribers will enjoy improved mobile Internet services and content provided free or at reduced prices. Other companies like Virgin Mobile USA and Amp’d Mobile are taking the idea a step further, rewarding customers for viewing ads by lowering their cellphone bills.

First off I guess I should be forthright and say I only use my phone to talk on and check voicemail. I’ve never sent a text message and really never have any desire to, let alone check email, play music, or watch videos. So, I don’t want ads if it’s to improve services I don’t use. On the other hand if I can watch a few ads occasionally and lower my cell phone bill I might be willing to do that, but I don’t want it to be something I have to do. Then again, I can see them changing it down the road to just be there without any discount, so I think I’d rather not see them start this at all.

I know I’ve mentioned to my wife (if not other passengers in my car) that I wish there were a device such as this:

My only complaint is that it’s not programmable. It’d be nice to be able to create your own emoticons or messages.

Ok, so there’s this site that lets you search census info to see how many people have your first/last name combination in the US (saw this on DG’s blog). Well, I knew that there was at least one other person sharing my name in the state of KY, but the whole US, this peaked my interest and the result:

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 12 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?