Author: Sean

Due to conflcting schedules, Tricia and I have been missing one another for a month. But, luckily my wait is over. Last night we tore into some good sushi and some better conversation at Esashi in the historic East Village. As we left, we took this shot with the camera on the sidewalk. Oh what a lucky penny you would be to be found by two such as us.

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Site of the Day: For the ladies, why is the axel the Olympics’ hardest jump? For the fellas, why is Sasha Cohen the Olympics’ hottest jump, she is 21.

What’s new in SeanT.Conrad.com land? The site is long overdue for some technical love. A whole bunch of changes both above and below the covers are on the horizon. These are in part to do some research for some work products, part to better present myself here, and part to fill the gaping hole left by the end of football season.

What does that mean for you, my dear friends, looking to avoid a few minutes of work? Well, the bad news is that there will be fewer posts this week. The good news is that the site navigation should be greatly improved which should make your slacking more efficient. Here is the list of improvements I have planned:

1. Pic of the Day Solution – The quirky image that heads 90% of the entries is a pain to post. I hope to use a great Moveable Type plugin by the very intelligent Kevin Shay called Right Fields to further automate the process. Completed 2/19/2006
2. TAR Backup – A zipped version of the site on CD before I do anymore wacky changes. Just in case. Completed 2/20/2006
3. Tag Solution – If you have missed all the hullabuloo over the "Web 2.0," don’t worry…it’s as overblown as all Internet phases. The big hype that is in web development today is tags. "Oh. My. God. You totally need tags!" What are tags? Tags are nothing more than exposing the keywords for a piece of content and linking to other pieces of content with similar keywords. It makes the browsing experience more of a web instead of drilling down into categories and subcategories. When you say it like that it is not pretentious but a decent idea. Anyways, it’s coming to SeanTConrad.com Completed 3/20/2006 using tagwire. Also tries tag.app. Neither is ideal.
4. Source Control – I have set up a Subversion repository on my domain for templates, CSS, and possibly export files. If you don’t know what that means, I envy you. Completed 2/20/2006
5. Archive 2005 – Have you noticed no "2005" over to the right next to "2004?" I need to get on that. Possibly with a year solution (year based archive) or maybe just the old-fashioned way.
6. Keyword Cleanup – With at tag solution, you need decent keywords. I hope to automate that. Somehow.
7. Front Page Redesign – With new navigation and new archives, it’s time to redo the front page. Ideas are welcome. Completed 03/18/006
8. XHTML Compliance – I mean, why not? Completed for front page 03/20/006
9. New About – If the site is all new and pretty, it needs a new About. Completed 03/20/006
10. New CSS Style Sheet – I may offer one of my graphic desing friends a c-note plus a sixer for this. Completed 03/18/006
11. SEO – See "Source Control" above.
12. New Comment/Trackback Solution – I had to go to Haloscan because my server was beaten down by Spam. I’m convinced I can get this back in house.

Really, why bother with all this? Two reason: 1.) At work, I’m in charge of getting a lot of stuff like this done for multiple websites. It’s important to stay abreast. 2.) I’m pitching a few freelance writing pieces in my other spare time right now and I need a better clip site. Since I have only one clip, I need to add some sizzle to a very small steak.

Yes, I know programmers are geeks, but thank-you for thinking it. Check back often and watch as things get done.

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Site of the Day: Although I side with Bryant Gumbel that the Winter Olympics are pointless, you may not. If so, you may want to know the actual rules to curling. Or to look at naked curlers.

I love shredding. Love it. I bought a shredder a few months ago and I shred anything that has my name or address on it before it goes out the door. Credit card applications, old bills, Value Pak Coupons, the address label on my New Yorker; all going into the bite of that monster’s teeth. I find it very soothing.

Despite these precautions, I was recently the victim of identity theft, or “fraud” as they used to call it back in the day. Someone purchases a single item with a copy of my debit card at a Duane Reade deep in Brooklyn for $611. So now there are many mysteries:
– How did someone use my debit card when it is still safely chained to my belt in my wallet?
– What on earth costs $611 at the Duane Reade?
– How is it the even my money can’t avoid going to Brooklyn?

Please put your theories (particularly to #1 and #2) in the comments.

After I registered a fraud watch with the major credit report companies, I received several emails that appeared to be from my bank, claiming that they noticed an error on my account. These are LIES. It’s called PHISHING. Never ever trust an email from any bank, Pay Pal, eBay, or anything at all that asks you to click a link and enter your login or any information. They do it by using domain names similar to the real company’s (i.e. http://ebay.FRAUDULENT_DOMAIN.com). eBay users are particularly vulnerable. Basically, follow these two rules:
1.) Never follow a link in an email, rather..
2.) If you have questions with your eBay or PayPal account, type “ebay.com” or “paypal.com” in your browser and login there. You can access any alerts or bills by logging in from the front page.

These tips are for mothers everywhere.

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Site of the Day: Think you are the victim of identity theft, go here: Take Charge: Fighting Back Against Identity Theft immediately and follow the instructions. You can’t close the barn door after the horse is gone, but you can keep the remaining animals locked up.

Want to prevent identity thefy? Get a shredder and enjoy the rendering like I do. Also, try these tips from our friends at the AARP.

My friend Alex celebrated his 30th this weekend, because the real date was too close to Christmas to get the kids out in numbers. This time the folks packed the house at the Wollman Skating Rink in Prospect Park, Brooklyn. I was too unsure of my skating abilities to take the camara onto the ice, plus the Blizzard of 06 would have obscured any photos. It was a blast skating through the pleasant snowfall, though.

The party was in a room beside the snack bar and had the nostalgic feeling of every public rink, pool, or bowling alley. Our group of 30-somethings tottered around the ice until our noses got pink while local kids weaved expertly in and out of our groups. The kids were more talented than us (two laughed heartily when I attempted a hocky stop on my first run and went ass over teacups), but we had bourbon and hot chocolate in the private room. So I call the event a push.

Epilogue: Today my right thigh hurts in places that I used to think were just winter fat storage and I had to get help putting on my shoes.

Site of the Day: For no reason, The Puppy Mover. You all know that Dick Cheney shot someone, right?

You will always be older than me.

I think this is my favorite picture of the two of us because 1.) We are thin, 2.) We are young, and 3.) Other than a few details, it could be any year from 1920 on.

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The temperature of the water that sprays from the shower is the weighted average of the mixture of the hot and cold lines as they pass through the fixture. Everyone knows that you have to let the cold water run awhile, especially in the top floor of an old building, before it gets really cold. If the shower is the first thing turned on, this phenomena causes the shower to slowly get colder as time goes by. To compensate, I subconciously turn the heat up as the shower progresses. If you leave the faucet at high afterward, the next morning when it is turned on and the cold stream is really the lukewarm water in the pipes, the output could be scolding hot. Especially on the area between the knees and the navel where it first hits, especially, especially, certain places that are more precious than any other.

In short, I’m not having a very good day.

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Site of the Day: The Case of the Plane and the Conveyor Belt. I say that it doesn’t take off. But I want the Mythbusters to prove it.

Update: Assuming a very long conveyor belt, about the length of the runway, the plane will take off. The wheels will spin freely, the plane’s wheels will be moving at 200 knots relative to the belt, the plane will be moving at 100 knots relative to the air and obeservers, it will move down the conveyor belt and take off.

Similar to the Monty Hall Problem, it is very difficult to sway someone away from their intuition. Many people online are trying to come up with the correct metaphor to convince people. Here is my attempt. First, do not picture a treadmill, rather a giant conveyor belt the length of two runways. Second, do not imagine the plane standing still, imagine it moving down the runway at normal speeds, but with the wheels turning at double speed. It can do this, because unlike a car that pushes against the ground to move forward, an airplane pushes against air. A propeller or jet essentially swims through air to gain propulsion. They must swim really fast because air is not very solid, but still that is how they work. The air the plane is in, is not moving, even thought the ground is, due to the conveyor belt. So the plane can swim through the air, moving down the conveyor belt no matter how fast it goes backwards, and create air movement over the wings. The wheels only have to spin twice as fast, and if they are well oiled, the increase in friction wouldn’t matter.

I like to have obsessions. A former one from my youth included taxidermy, which lead to a very elaborate, yet unsuccsessful squirrel trap. For the past month, it has been playoff football, but now that it is over, I must move on. My new topic that I will use to monopolize conversations: Lasik eye surgery. I want it. I want to know about it. If you or anyone you know has had it and can recommend a doctor, please email me.

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On a completely unrelated note, I was always convinced that there were no children in New York. Then, I got up one morning at 7AM instead of my usual 9ish. There were kids everywhere on the street! They walked to and fro, holding the hand of some bleary-eyed parent or nanny. How about that? I never see them at 10AM or 1AM when I am out and about. Like the owl who never meets the bluebird, I never knew the little buggers existed.

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Site of the Day: Drinking With Steve, for the problem drinker in your life.

Ever since Janet Jackson’s boob at the Super Bowl, the media had been aware that viewers can pause live TV with Tivo or a DVR. “Lost” especially programs for this. Last night when I was watching my four hundred and seventieth hour of Super Bowl coverage, I saw a Coke commercial where they blinked the “secret” formula on the screen for the briefest of moments. Like the sheep I am, I paused, rewound, and took the picture above to share with you.

Huh, how about that? Rat poo. I think I always tasted it, but just never guessed.

UPDATE: Welcome, Gawkers. I should note, in case anyone of you is a high-priced Coca-cola lawyer, that this is satire and the work of Photoshop.

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Site of the Day: Brokeback to the Future

When I was growing up, Jack Lambert was bigger than Santa Clause (both literally and esteemwise). He looks like Pittsburgh. Watch this film to see lesson in pain. About two-thirds of the way into it, there is a shot of Dallas defender Cliff Harris taunting field goal kicker Roy Gerela by patting him on the helmet. Lambert comes to the small kicker's defense and procedes to turn Harris into a virtual ragdole. Awesome.

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What to do for the Super Bowl? These guys have a good idea (From Mike), but I don't think it will pan out.

My options:

• Have a party. Pros: Traditional. Can hear the game. I like my friends. I make good food. Inexpensive. Cons: My place seats only eight comfortably. Maybe nine. Biggest con: If the Steelers lose, everyone must leave immediately. Seriously.
• Reservoir. Pros: Lots of Steelers fans. Decent wings. Anyone can come. Cons: To get a table I would have to get there at 11AM.
• Watch alone. Pros: I can really hear the game. No distractions. Cons: Might indicate that I am a little *too* into it.
  Ideas? Suggestions? Please leave comments.

Or you could say I weigh 77 kilograms. Or that I only have 8 toes. How much do you weigh in stones or kilograms? Enter it here and click the button to find out.

Site of the Day: I fathered a child during my wild days in grad school. I never knew, though, until I stumbled upon his website http://www.steelerbaby.com/