What I've Been Doing Lately

For the past month or so I've been funding my continued career search by driving a pedicab (bicycle rickshaw) around the streets of Austin a couple nights a week.

If you want to see what it is like, check out Ron Swafford's excellent 2009 documentary about pedicabbing in Austin: Who Want's a Ride? Part one is below, parts 2-4 are after the break.

Click to read more ...

I'm a CeWEBrity

At this year's SXSW Interactive festival, the crew from SoBe was on the street, roping random suckers such as myself into shilling for their revamped line of sugar water. I may be working for free green tea, but at least I'm working.

This Is Why The Census Pays $17/hour

Via: KXAN--

"Barnes reportedly pointed her gun at Gittel, and then fired the weapon five times as Gittel tried to run. Williamson County Sheriff's Office spokesperson John Foster said none of the bullets hit the census worker."

Kids Write The Darnedest Things

As many of you know I just wrapped up a stint scoring standardized tests. Part of this time was spent working on scoring 11th Grade Writing responses to the prompt, "Describe a time you felt independent." Stats I gathered from that project pointed at about 60% of the stories describing getting their driver's licence and/or first car/driving experience. Other popular topics included times spent alone/away from family, resisting peer pressure, getting a first job, and teen pregnancy. Most of these essays were poorly written, riddled with errors, and just plain boring. But enough were entertaining (intentionally or not) that I didn't go completely out of my brain.

Without further ado, I present the best of 11th grade written composition:

Click to read more ...

The Audacity of Craigslist shoppers never ceases to amaze me

Trying to sell a computer case on Craigslist, here is my post:

Make you HTPC fit in with the rest of your home entertainment equipment with this Fusion Black Veris case from Antec. Designed to match in color and size with your current equipment, this case will add new dimensions to your entertainment experience. The interior is split to minimize heat transfer between the system and the 430W PSU. Two side-mounted 120mm TriCool fans keep the air quietly moving and your system cool.

The front panel has an external bay for an optical drive with a matching cover to keep the lines smooth and a LCD so you can monitor system functions. Front panel jacks include 2 USB, 1 FireWire, 1 headphone and 1 microphone. A master volume control plus power and reset buttons complete the look.

Inside the case are two 3.5" hard drive bays with silicone grommets to minimize vibration and noise. There are also rubber strips and cushions throughout the case to eliminate rattle and other transient noises.

I built a HTPC in this case about a year ago, and only used it for a few months, it is in like-new condition, very sharp and clean.

Call or email with questions:
Gabe-
512-553-****
first with cash gets it

The following is a series of emails between a prospective buyer and myself:

Click to read more ...