Happy New Year to all! Looking forward to a great 2007. I’m not sure what my resolutions will be yet (besides updating this blog more regularly), but I”m curious to hear about yours. Please comment.

About a week ago I was wolfing down some McDonald’s on the go in my car (yes, McD’s, The Bell, and BK are still my kryptonite). Anyway, I was trying to fit my medium fries into my cup holder, but it just wasn’t fitting. I’m thinking, why don’t they make these containers circular so they fit in cup holders? I can’t be the only one thinking of this. Sure enough, I go to Burger King today and what do they have? The “Frypod”… a new holder for fries (and onion rings) that fits in a cup holder. Sometimes it’s just the little things that make the difference

From Paul Sadowski’s Birthday Calculator:

As of 5/30/2006 10:10:01 AM EDT
You are 40 years old.
You are 480 months old.
You are 2,087 weeks old.
You are 14,610 days old.
You are 350,650 hours old.
You are 21,039,010 minutes old.
You are 1,262,340,601 seconds old.

I’ve had a lot of different jobs since I was 15 years old (some of them in the food services industry). I’ve seen the good, the bad, and the ugly when it comes to personalities. I think this USA Today article raises some valid points in assessing a person’s character. I also like “Swanson’s Unwritten Rules” in the sidebar.

[via Digg]

Would YOU return an iPod if you found one? I think a good percentage of people would… if they knew of a way to locate the owner. Enter Craigslist Lost & Found.

BOSTON — Maureen Silliman felt her empty pocket and gulped: Her new $300 iPod must have bounced out as she ran to catch a train. While she sobbed, her boyfriend suggested a message on the lost-and-found section of Craigslist, an online bazaar of classified ads.

[via Newsvine]

Timeline

As the year winds down it’s that time again for compilations of the best (and worst) things of 2005. There are a whole mess of lists out there, but Fimoculous has compiled the ultimate list of lists. Looks like they have it all covered. Special thanks to Amanda Congdon at Rocketboom for the tip!

[Lists: 2005]

I had the pleasure of visiting the Jersey shore yesterday for a family celebration. We took the beloved Garden State Parkway from Exit 171 down to Exit 91 and had a great day. Although the GSP is not my favorite highway to travel in NJ, it does get you to the shore.

It was great to see that several of the toll plazas on the GSP have either been removed or converted to “high-speed” EZ-Pass lanes. Of course they ding you for double the amount on your way back North, but at least they’ve alleviated some of the traffic and congestion that was associated with those toll plazas.

I could not believe how fast people were driving on the GSP. Now I’ve been known to drive pretty fast over the years. e.g. 130 MPH on my motorcycle (Route 78), but there’s just something not right about a Toyota Echo passing me on the right side doing about 100 MPH. The way people were driving made it look like the speed limit was at least 90 MPH.

The Jersey tall-tale over the years has been that if you don’t drive fast enough on the GSP that people will run you off the road. That’s still the case, but I wasn’t expecting it when I was driving 80-85 MPH myself! It was amazing to watch people drive so recklessly. I lost count of how many of these erratic drivers were young girls in VW Jettas TALKING ON THEIR CELL PHONES (without a headset) while weaving in and out of traffic around 90 MPH. Unreal. The other reckless speeders were old cars with bumpers hanging off and mini-vans filled with people. I guess one shouldn’t waste time on the highway when they can be in Atlantic City at the Blackjack tables.

Some of my driving pet peeves that were rampant yesterday on the GSP:

1) Drivers who don’t clear all of the snow off their cars (in particular their roofs).

This is simply a dangerous scenario. It’s not so bad when it’s soft fluffy snow that flies off the car in front of you, but when that laziness becomes a sheet of ice, it can kill someone. Every year you hear a news story of someone getting killed by someone else’s laziness.

2) Drivers talking on their cell phones without a headset.

I don’t think headsets are the all-in-one fix for people driving and talking on their phones, but it can help. It’s simple, if you’re mind is involved with the conversation you’re having on the phone, it’s probably NOT paying attention to what’s happening on the roadway. I don’t care how well you can multitask… get a headset, it’s the law.

3) Slow drivers in the left lane.

“Keep Right, Pass Left” — how many years has this been a New Jersey law? Wake up people! If you want to drive 40 MPH, do it in another lane. Plain and simple. One of them yesterday was a yellow cab doing about 40 MPH in the left lane (and of course there was a bumper to bumper convoy of 20 cars behind him waiting for him to get out of the lane)!

Honestly, a lot of these issues boil down to a lack of common sense. It’s no wonder the insurance rates in New Jersey are so high.

Do you have any driving pet peeves? Please comment.

This blog will be on hiatus. See you soon…

7:30 AM… The construction crew worked through the night and we now have (clean?) running water. All the trucks and lights are gone, so I think we’re good. Whew!

11:42 PM… still no water and the construction crew is now in full effect. Jack hammers are at full volume and the flood lights look like Yankee Stadium. Forget about the water, I don’t think anyone will be sleeping in the neighborhood tonight…

Well, I knew I couldn’t escape the full moon without something weird happening. Apparently there’s a leak in the water main on my street and the water company isn’t sure when they’ll be able to fix it. The water has been on and off for several hours now and who knows when it will be stabilized. Should be interesting for the family gathering we’re planning for tomorrow…