Interesting Stuff - Random Thoughts and Resources I'd Like to Share

Just saw this photo on the front page of MyYahoo! Who in the world is taking/editing the photos over at Reuters. Come on guys. Is this guy really short? Did you slip? Is he hiding from someone? What’s going on?

I received this little story from a discussion board I frequent. Thought it was pretty clever. This guy was literally thinking “outside” his “box” cell.

An old italian man lived in the country.
He wanted to plant his tomato garden,
but it was very hard work as the ground was hard.
His only son, Vincent, who used to help him, was in prison.
The old man wrote a letter to his son and described his predicament.

Dear Vincent,

I am feeling pretty bad because it looks like I won’t be able
to plant my tomato garden this year.
I’m just getting too old to be digging up a garden plot.
If you were here my troubles would be over.
I know you would dig the plot for me.
Love Dad

A few days later he received a letter from his son.

Dear Dad,

Not for nothing, but don’t dig up that garden.
That’s where I buried the BODIES.
Love Vinnie

At 4 a.m. the next morning,
FBI agents and local police arrived and dug
up the entire area without finding any bodies.
They apologized to the old man and left.
That same day the old man received another letter from his son.

Dear Dad,
Go ahead and plant the tomatoes now.
That’s the best I could do under the circumstances.
Love Vinnie

I’m up way past my bedtime to be coherent for work tomorrow. Just working on a few websites and doing a little surfing.

First let me say, the financial problems we’re trying to recover from are kicking my butt. Had to do the ol’ cashing in o’ the change, which prompts me for two short rants.

1.) Banks must be stupid (or smart depending on how you look at it). Insufficient funds fees, they know what my balance is and charge me a penalty for going over my balance. Then another one because there’s less money in my account now since they pulled out their $30!! I know, I know, it’s my fault, that’s what I get for trying to catch up on my bills and pay everyone I can.

2.) If banks are going to charge me $30 for these fees, the least they can do is take my big-bag-o’-change and let me deposit it into my account. BUT NO…… Heaven forbid a bank would actually have a change machine that would count it all and separate it out. NO, I’ve got to go down to the local grocery store and use CoinStar’s machine and let them take their 8% cut off the top! ARRGHH! I’m all for online banking, but can we please offer something immediately related to banking and actually accept change again?

Okay, stepping down off the soapbox.

On another interesting note, while updating my address book I decided to Google an old roommate of mine while I was living in Franklin, TN. Haven’t talked to him in forever. Turns out he’s doing pretty well for himself. He’s opened a new studio (Paragon Studios) a few years ago and like I said, seems to be doing quite well. It’s amazing what you can find on Google about somebody. It looks like at some point he got rid of the maroon Blazer he was driving and moved up to a 2000 BMW Z3, cause he was listed as the person to contact for one that was for sale online awhile back. However, what I didn’t find listed on Google were some of the great memories of playing N64 till all hours of the morning, helping him foley edit sound effects for Carman’s Mission 3:16 video, and the arguments we had about how to evenly split up the cost of our 3-bedroom apartment when he was using 2 of said bedrooms, one for his then in-home studio. Hope to talk to you soon Fred, maybe I’ll drop in when I’m down south this fall. I think you may still owe me for some back rent! =)