New ATM Software

Our bank’s downtown location just got some new ATM software installed. Pretty colors and clunky graphics. You now have to hit the enter key after putting in you PIN number, before, as soon as the 4th digit was pressed you were taken to the next screen. A minor inconvenience compared to what’s next. When ever you do a transaction, fast cash, balance inquiry, anything it pops your card back out. If you want do more than one transaction you now have to remove the card and reinsert it and enter your PIN and hit enter, geez.

Chicken Breast

Way back when, I lambasted the frozen TV dinner folks for changing what they call chicken tenderloins from breast meat to thigh meat, well they’ve got me again.

Ever since then, I have buying only the dinners that say “Chicken Breast”. Today’s entree was Chicken in Wine Sauce with Whipped Potatoes and Vegetables. It was supposed to cook on medium for 8 minutes. All the microwave that have a temp control were in use, so I stuck the dinner in one on high for 4 minutes figuring mathematically I was OK. The dinner was hot like is should have been, but the chicken was kinda rubbery. It did not have the right consistency for real breast meat, so I checked the label. Ingredient # 2 after potatoes, was chicken breast meat made from chicken breast meat, water and seasonings (the seasonings were made out of about a dozen things including xanthan gum, mmmm.)

Not even chicken breasts are real breasts, they are molded from multiple chicken breasts bits….

Selling E.T.

Did they decide to re-release ET just for the commercial aspects? Toyota Sienna mini-vans, Special Olympics, Kodak Photo Quilt, Universal Theme Parks, Reese’s, Dairy Queen, Kraft….

And will I be in trouble, if when I see Drew Barrymore the kid, and think of Drew Barrymore the grown-up, flashing her boobs at David Letterman.

Taking Money Seems, Dirty

Seeing as I have a high speed connection a friend at work asked if I would download Slackware 8.0 for him. Did it and I just finished burning the ISO’s. All I wanted in return was for him to give me 3 blank CDRs. He doesn’t have a burner so he doesn’t have any CDRs, he will give me $2 for my troubles. For whatever reason, taking money seems, dirty, but I’ll take it and buy a big bag of chips or something. Would have rather had the CDRs….

Started down, went up, back down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 73

Columbia House

I can’t help myself. The 12 for a penny or the price of one or whatever is too good a lure for me. I usually join, fulfill my obligation and get out. 6 months later I get back in. I am about to get back out again.

Got a flyer in the mail today, who are these people think they are kidding? A “Hot Pick” is highlighted on page 5 – Chris Issak’s Heart Shaped World! The album is from 1989. how can that be hot unless they still have several thousand copies in the warehouse and some boss is HOT to get rid of them. How about this? They have a two page spread entitled “Then & Now” with 2 albums from the same artist from the past and then one from the present, one such pairing is the Back Street Boys’ then, Milenium (1999) and now, Black & Blue (2000). Wow, their sound really has evolved over all those year.

CD Mix Of The Month

Used the cockpit cover under actual conditions for the first time this morning. Took about as long as putting the boot on. I had help from my wife so I didn’t have to run from one side to the other. Taking it off at work took about as long. May actually use it. Just wish it was a little bigger, still seems small.

My friend Jim Mullan at work finally got the use of a cnc mill to do the trimming on the Blaupunkt’s trim ring. He took .281″ off all around on the outside, so now the gaps around the HU will be filled in and the face doesn’t have to stick out so far. Probably get it installed this weekend.

Got my 2 CDs in the mail from Josh in TX. One was his March mix and the other was, I guess because I was an early sendee, February’s mix from Tam.

Started down, still down.
Top Transitions since 02/01/02: 71

AI

I’m sure if I was much younger and hadn’t seen all the SciFi movies I have seen, AI would have been a monumental movie. Unfortunately, as often as it was so original, it was also so derivative. Blade Runner, Star Wars, Wizard of Oz, even John William’s score seemed to be, at times, by Phillip Glass. Still, I did watch the whole thing and at 2 hours, 25 minutes that was a serious commitment of time.