Blog Master G

This is so gross I don’t know what else to say about it. Apparently you can climb through this giant colon as if it were one of those tube slides at a playground. No thank you. I won’t be going to see this on its San Francisco stop.

National Colorectal Cancer Awareness Month 2003 Colossal Colon Tour

(Thanks, Jen, for grossing me out with this link.)

Continuing with my self-indulgence for another moment, I have just discovered that a Google search for Gabe now puts my home page as the #1 result. This totally rocks. Back in December I wrote about Movin’ Up the Ranks when the same search put my Vassar Blogs page at result #3.

Of course, I was first inspired to achieve such a feat by fellow Vassar alum David Gallagher, who wrote about this very topic in Business 2.0. The one difference, though, is that I was less direct in how I went about achieving this goal: I strove for creating good content on my site (and still do) so that people would link to me without my prompting them to do so. Only in a handful of cases did I ask fellow Vassar alums to link to my Vassar Blogs page, but most who do have done so without my needing to ask.

Pretty exciting, I think. Now we’ll have to see how long I can stay at the top of the heap.

Here’s a screenshot to capture this proud moment.

If you have the Google Toolbar installed in your browser, you may have noticed the section called PageRank with the little green meter. Google has always been very secretive about its technology and algorithms, but this handy meter is the only public indication of the popularity of any given Web page, based on Google’s PageRank system. It’s not linked to an exact number, but I’ve read in the past that it goes from about 1 to 10.

For quite some time, my blog was weighing in at around 1 or 2 on the PageRank meter. The past couple days, I’ve been noticing that some of my monthly archives have an even higher ranking — around 3 or 4. And today I noticed for the first time that the PageRank for my blog home page has suddenly skyrocketed to about 5 or 6. I think that’s pretty cool. It means that my blog is more popular than I realized.

In the past, a search of Google for pages linked to my blog has turned up 0 results, but today it’s a different story:

Google Search: link:http://www.blogmasterg.com/life/

This search currently produces 288 results, most of which are my own blog linking to itself in previous posts, but I did notice one other blog, A Klog Apart, which lists my blog under “Random Favorites.” Very cool. Thanks for the link and props, Phil. I’m glad you enjoy my blog.

I’ve also heard recently from a number of folks I’ve never met but correspond with from time to time that my blog is among their daily reads. That’s also very flattering.

The point of all this being: That’s really cool and I appreciate all the support. My blog has really become my passion, my outlet, and it’s great to hear that others are enjoying it, too.

Thanks for reading.

For me, the most shocking part of Bush’s State of the Union speech last night was not the constant look of the undead in his eyes, his plastered hair, or his determination to go to war with Iraq — those things are all expected — but his proposal of $1.2 billion in federal funding to research hydrogen-powered automobiles. I just about fell out of my chair as he said these words:

In this century, the greatest environmental progress will come about not through endless lawsuits or command-and-control regulations, but through technology and innovation. Tonight I’m proposing $1.2 billion in research funding so that America can lead the world in developing clean, hydrogen-powered automobiles. (Applause.)

A single chemical reaction between hydrogen and oxygen generates energy, which can be used to power a car — producing only water, not exhaust fumes. With a new national commitment, our scientists and engineers will overcome obstacles to taking these cars from laboratory to showroom, so that the first car driven by a child born today could be powered by hydrogen, and pollution-free. (Applause.)

What? Was this Bush the oil man speaking? Was this the same Bush who, along with his VP and entire cabinet, has oil-is-thicker-than-blood-and-innocent-lives ties to the oil industry? I could hardly believe what I was hearing. Of course, it all sounds good, but the reality of hydrogen-powered vehicles is a far cry from where we stand today — espeically with a measly $1.2B, which sounds like a lot, but really isn’t.

Consider this: $1.2B is just 3.6% of the 2001 profits of General Motors, just one of the many car makers. If you want to compare this proposed research amount against GM’s 2001 earnings, it’s even more depressing: 0.68% of 1 year of earnings of 1 car company. In other words, it’s jack squat.

But hey, at least it’s a start, right?

Except for this little detail: In order to split hydrogen from oxygen you need one thing. Take a guess at what that is. Yup, you got it: Energy. BBC has a good analysis of this point:

BBC NEWS | Science/Nature | The long road for hydrogen

And here we are back to Bush’s obsession with controlling the oil supply in Iraq. Either that or burning lots of super-polluting coal to power the processes that split hydrogen from oxygen.

Or wait, here’s an idea: Solar and wind energy! Why is it that every new house built — especially here in the Golden State — is not equipped with solar panels on the roof to make it self-sufficient? Oh yeah, here’s why: money.

And then there’s that tax cut that benefits only the super-rich who make more than 300 grand per year. But I digress…

This is great. Jen just forwarded me this link from a coworker. I believe this is just as good a reason as any to buy some beer on my way home tonight before the State of the Union address:

The State of the Union Address Drinking Game

And now that I have a printer at home, I will actually be able to print it out and play along.

The Onion has a great piece about dot-com memorabilia of yesteryear:

The Onion | New Economy Wistfully Recalled As Tiny Dot-Com Promotional Object Found In Drawer

It certainly brings back many of my own memories from the Headlight.com “All the skills you need are just a click away” days of Champagne Fridays, foosball tournaments, Mahir obsession, and weekly launch parties. Ahh, the memories.

What do you do when you’re minding your own business on your drive to work and suddenly a pair of skis is flying toward you? You think to yourself, “Thank God I saw that coming and hallelujah for all-wheel drive!”

Just now right before exiting from 101 on my way to work, I was tailing a white BMW X5 SUV with a ski rack (trying to pass the vehicle, but not able to do so because of the Subaru Outback to my left). Next thing I know, the ski rack on the Bimmer has shaken loose and the poles fly off into the left lane, forcing the Outback to swerve (good thing that driver had AWD, too). Keeping a close eye on the now-open ski rack and pair of skis, I made my move, attempting to get past the X5 as quickly as possible. Sure enough, just as I was passing, I see a pair of skis flying at me at 75 miles per hour. This is a scary thing. I imagined the worst in that split second, but managed to swerve, avoiding all contact by flying skis. And without a scratch on my WRX.

I honked and pointed at the X5 driver’s roof as I passed him, and he began to pull over to collect his now-mangled skis (according to a coworker who arrived a few minutes after I did and saw what was left of the skis).

There was a moment when I wasn’t sure I had avoided contact by the skis — due to the thud I heard — but it must’ve been the skis whacking the freeway surface, and thankfully not my skull or my car.

It was anarchy on the streets of East Oakland last night following the Radiers’ 48-21 Super Bowl slaughtering by the Buccaneers.

As Jen and I watched the TV news coverage of the riots last night, we couldn’t help but laugh our asses off as Raiders-obsessed fans marched through the streets of Oakland, trashing neighborhood businesses and lighting cars on fire. Not that these things are inherently funny — especially if you’re the business owner, car owner, police officer, or tax payer who has to pay to clean up the mess — but something about the way NBC covered the scene struck a particular chord with us. The media — in particular, the television media — always sensationalize everything. And what better venue for sensationalized coverage than a street riot in Oakland? It was covered like the place was a war zone, which is ironic given the current state of the world.

The icing on the cake of last night’s coverage was when the reporter on the scene was shoved away from the camera by members of Raider Nation eager for some facetime. And the reporter continued speaking into his mic.

Thanks to the many great suggestions I received regarding a new Web host, I’ve decided to go with TotalChoice Hosting. I signed up for the silver account (500MB of disk space, plus all my other requirements, for only 5 bucks per month). I’m still waiting for my account activation email, though.

I started by signing up with only 1 domain, capitolaction.com, and will transfer my others as I begin the migration process.

I’m also interested in having two separate Web hosts so as to schedule an automated daily SCP data backup between the two. It makes me nervous to put so many eggs in one basket. I haven’t yet decided on my strategy for that, but with so many low-cost Web hosts out there, it should be pretty easy to set up for less than 10 bucks per month total (which is what I pay now for one host with unreliable service).

In honor of tomorrow’s State of the Union address, I bring you a snippet from John Robbins’ catchy tune, If You’re Happy And You Know It Bomb Iraq:

If you cannot find Osama, bomb Iraq.
If the markets are a drama, bomb Iraq.
If the terrorists are Saudi,
And your alibi is shoddy,
And your tastes remain quite gaudy,
Bomb Iraq.

If you never were elected, bomb Iraq.
If your mood is quite dejected, bomb Iraq.
If you think that SUVs,
Are the best thing since sliced cheese,
And your father you must please,
Bomb Iraq.

Be sure to sing along to the rest of this great tune here.