The Straits

Need For Speed Filming in Downtown Detroit

2013-06-28T23:28:00.000-04:00

Earlier in the week, we received a company wide email at work letting us know that Campus Martius and all connecting streets would be shutdown on Thursday, June 28th, for the filming of the new Need For Speed movie.

I thought I would put together a compilation of some of the amateur photos and videos that were posted to Twitter and Youtube to give you a feel for what was going on.

I have to start with my favorite video clip, which puts things in perspective.

Here's another one from ground level, this time with a camera mounted on a lead car to film at street level.

And here's one more that shows a take from higher up.

There's probably at least 5 more videos out there when you search for "Need For Speed Detroit" on YouTube.

Here's a pic shared by @MotorCity that shows one of the filming rigs:

Did anyone get downtown to catch a glimpse of the filming for Need for Speed? #detroit #movie #NeedForSpeedMovie pic.twitter.com/r9Xtx7gzxM
— Motor City Connect (@MotorCity) June 27, 2013

And here's another pic of one of the prop cars:

One of the prop cars from the new Need For Speed movie filming in Detroit today pic.twitter.com/WMKDmKPXqL
— Jerel Bernasek (@JerelBernasek) June 27, 2013

And one more, this one from @SkidmoreStudios. This was actually taken today as they filmed just a block over in the Capitol Park area.

Need for Speed is filming & the Transformers 4 is set being built down the street from the studio! pic.twitter.com/PEVPh8QK2n
— Skidmore Studio (@SkidmoreStudio) June 28, 2013

I'm going to have to check out the movie now, since I'm curious to see how those Detroit scenes turn out. It's being directed by Scott Waugh, who recently directed Act of Valor. To give you a flavor for the movie, here's a behind the scenes teaser trailer:

Playing around with Time- Lapse in Detroit

2013-04-21T16:08:00.000-04:00

I've always thought time-lapse videos were pretty interesting and amazing. If you're not familiar with what I'm talking about, check out The Best City Time-Lapse Videos of 2012 (according to the Atlantic Cities site) or 25 time-lapse videos reeking of awesomeness.

I started doing a little research into what it takes to create my own, and since I have an 8 megapixel camera on my iPhone, I figured I'd try out an app to see what I could do. A few months back I downloaded the TimeLapse App on my iPhone that allows you to easily create time-lapse videos. It's so easy, it's practically point-and-shoot.

I used the app on consecutive days to create some short videos back in January. They're both looking out my office building from the 12th floor, looking West/Northwest towards Woodward. I uploaded them to YouTube and thought I would share them with you here. Enjoy!

Here is my first attempt:

Here's my next attempt:

Christmas in Downtown Detroit

2012-12-25T22:24:00.000-05:00

I was able to take a few pics of the lights and scenes of downtown over the last month and wanted to share them with you. Enjoy and Merry Christmas!

Santa Claus' Seat in the Compuware Building Lobby

View of Campus Martius on the night of the tree lighting from the 15th Floor of the Compuware Building.

View of Woodward looking west from the 15th floor of the Compuware Building.

The Penobscot Building viewed from Campus Martius.

Waiting in line at The Fillmore for Quicken Loans IT Holiday Party.

Detroit River Days 2012

2012-12-18T06:46:00.000-05:00

We were able to attend the Detroit River Days this year in downtown Detroit. The company I work for put together a company event that opened up the carnival the night before so we could bring our families down for a night of fun. I grabbed some pics of the night and wanted to share them with you (even if it's 6 months late.) All the photos were taken on an iPhone 4S with Path. I hope you enjoy!

South Entrance to Detroit River Days

Quicken Loans sponsored the event. This is all they were able to create before a big storm came in earlier in the evening. The Ren Cen sits in the background.

Ren Cen sitting behind the midway.

A severe storm pushed it's way through just before we got there. The clouds and the sunset were in it's wake.

A view of the Ren Cen at sunset.

A view of the midway as we left. The Detroit River and Windsor, Canada are in the distance.

My Grandfather, Merchant Marine.

2012-05-31T06:25:00.000-04:00

Back in March, my grandfather brought his old military uniform to a family function to show everyone. He was going to be donating it to a local museum and wanted us to be able to see it before he dropped it off later that week. He was part of the United States Merchant Marines right at the end of World War II. He was on a ship that was picking up unused armaments from the war. The ship took a full trip around the world during his tour.

I took the opportunity to take some pictures of him and the items he would be donating and wanted to share it with you as well. I'm incredibly proud of my grandfather for serving our country and I want to thank everyone who has served or is currently serving.

This is an emblem on the side of the uniform.

The uniform hanging with his hat and some documentation for the museum where it will be displayed.

Here's my grandfather with his uniform.

He also had his original dog tags that he would be donating.

This is something my grandfather had put together to
explain the different awards and bars on his uniform.

Happy Little Inchworm

2012-05-11T07:45:00.000-04:00

While we were camping, I found a little inchworm. My wife took the opportunity to take a video of it and my son decided to cheer the little guy on. I can hear how cute my son thinks the inchworm is in the pitch and tone of his voice. I laugh every time I watch it.

Here's a still shot of the little guy before the video was shot. My thumb took the focus on this one.

Back from Camping

2012-05-08T07:24:00.000-04:00

Well, we made it through the 3 day weekend. It was a very relaxing time and the kids had an absolute blast. We met my sister-in-law and her kids half way at Circle B Campground in Angola, IN. We had never been to this campground before, but we we were very happy with how nice it was. It was a little chilly and overcast most of the weekend, especially with the breeze coming off the lake, but I would much rather have that than 90 degrees and no shade.

Here's a few pics from the trip. Enjoy!

This was the view from our campsite, right on Hogback Lake.

There's our tent and clothesline. The beach and docks are in the background.

You can't do camping without some baked beans in a skillet over the fire.

Here was our mascot for the weekend. Meet Mr. Inch Worm.

Our fire pit that kept us warm during the evening hours.

Here's my attempt to get a picture of the supermoon on Saturday. It was covered by clouds most of the early evening, so I couldn't get a picture until the clouds cleared out.

This was our first night. Full moon over Hogback Lake.

A Camping We Will Go

2012-05-02T06:25:00.000-04:00

My wife and I are going to take the kids camping this weekend. I'm glad it's going to be a warmer weekend. It might even be warm enough to go swimming, but we'll wait and see. We've embraced the whole camping thing and have a pretty size-able inventory of camping gear.

Here's some pictures from our first camping trip last year with our boys. It was one of the hottest weekends of the year, but we still had a blast.

Did I tell you it was extremely hot with no breeze? This was my attempt to cool down.

Chillin' out at the fire pit.

Late night fire chats.

The mud pit. Yes, our kids made it into the pit and back again.

Pictures of Downtown Detroit

2012-05-01T07:12:00.001-04:00

I started working in downtown Detroit at the end of March. I have been taking some pictures of downtown and I'd like to share some of those pics with you. Most of the pics were taken with my iPhone using Path. I hope you enjoy them!

Taken in Campus Martius Park, looking towards the Detroit Financial District.

A look at the Ren Cen from Campus Martius Park.

Tiger's Opening Day 2012 from the 12th floor of the Compuware Building. Comerica Park can be seen in the distance.

Another view of Comerica Park on Tiger's Opening Day 2012 from the 12th floor of the Compuware Building.

View of Comerica Park from the 15th floor of the Compuware Building.

Stopped at a light on Grand River Avenue, headed downtown.

Looking at the Ren Cen from one of the 12th floor balconies of the Compuware Building.

Looking east from the 12th floor balcony of the Compuware Building. Greektown Casino Hotel can be seen in the distance.

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of February 27th, 2012

2012-03-24T17:45:00.000-04:00

Here's a roundup of my favorite songs from the Week of February 27th. I know I'm a little behind, but I hope you enjoy them!

Monday, February 27th
"Second Chance" by Peter Bjorn and John - My Original Tweet

Second Chance by Peter Bjorn and John on Grooveshark

Tuesday, February 28th
"Level" by The Raconteurs - My Original Tweet

Level by The Raconteurs on Grooveshark

Wednesday, February 29th
"Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap - My Original Tweet

07 - Imogen Heap - Hide & Seek by Imogen Heap - Hide & Seek on Grooveshark

Thursday, March 1st
"Anna Sun" by Walk the Moon - My Original Tweet

Anna Sun by Walk the Moon on Grooveshark

Friday, March 2nd
"We're All No One (Original Remix)" by NERVO - My Original Tweet

We're All No One (Original Mix) [feat. Afrojack and Steve Aoki] by NERVO on Grooveshark

Having fun with Facebook Cover Photos

2012-03-21T06:20:00.000-04:00

Since Facebook converted over to their timeline format, they introduced the ability to add a cover photo to your page. Some people have completely embraced it and made some really creative photos. Here's a list of 10 really cool covers and photos and here's another one. If you want to find a ton more, try doing a Google image search for unique facebook cover photos.

So, in the same spirit, I wanted to have a cool photo to act as a cover. I searched through all of the pics I had in Facebook, tried a few out and just couldn't find the right one. Then, I found the perfect pic for the job. So, here it is...

This pic was taken on Mackinac Island last year at my cousin's wedding. I was handed a camera and asked to take a family photo of my parents and my aunts and uncle. I decided I should be in the first picture so I turned the camera around, and the rest is ingrained in digital history. If you want to take a look at it on Facebook, check it out here.

Have you added a cool or unique photo to you timeline? Share it with us in the comments.

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of February 20th, 2012

2012-03-09T06:35:00.000-05:00

Here's a roundup of my favorite songs from the Week of February 20th. Enjoy!

Monday, February 20th
Strange Attractor by Animal Kingdom - My Original Tweet

Strange Attractor by Animal Kingdom on Grooveshark

Tuesday, February 21st
Tainted Love (Cover) by Stella Starlight Trio - My Original Tweet

Such a slick cover song.

Tainted Love by Stella Starlight Trio on Grooveshark

Wednesday, February 22nd
The Remedy (I Won't Worry) by Jason Mraz - My Original Tweet

This is an acoustic version of the song.

The Remedy (acoustic) by Jason Mraz on Grooveshark

Thursday, February 23rd
Allies by Mute Math - My Original Tweet

Allies by MUTEMATH on Grooveshark

Friday, February 24th
The Island by Pendulum - My Original Tweet

The Island (Steve Angello, AN21, & Max Vangeli Remix) by Pendulum on Grooveshark

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of February 13th, 2012

2012-03-05T06:27:00.003-05:00

I've got some catching up to do. I'm using Grooveshark again to share these songs. I realize it's using flash, so until a find an alternative, there may be some of you who will be out of luck if you're not running flash in your browser. Let me know if you have problems with it. Other than that, here's my favorite songs from the week of February 13th. (I realize I'm missing Monday. Sometimes I get to work and don't remember to check in to Path at all.)

Tuesday, February 14th
Hang It Up by The Ting Tings - My Original Tweet

Hang It Up by Ting Tings on Grooveshark

Wednesday, February 15th
Midnight City by M83 - My Original Tweet

Midnight City by M83 on Grooveshark

Thursday, February 16th
Holocene by Bon Iver - My Original Tweet

Holocene by Bon Iver on Grooveshark

Friday, February 17th
Use Somebody by Kings of Leon - My Original Tweet

Use Somebody by Kings Of Leon on Grooveshark

Getting Up Early

2012-03-04T22:11:00.000-05:00

I'm not one who puts much time or effort into New Year's resolutions. I always found them to be unattainable and unsustainable when I attempted to implement them into my life. With that being said, my wife and I decided to make a bold change in our lives at the beginning of this year that I have been able sustain for over a month now. We decided to no longer be night owls and have instead turned into morning people. No longer would we be sitting in front of the TV until midnight, tinkering around on the internet and being less than productive.

When did I realize we could do it?
During the week of January 9th, someone retweeted a post by Peter Shankman about why you need to get up early and how to do it. That same week, Business Insider had a story about 23 successful people who wake up really early. It was just the motivation I needed to make a serious change in my life. After talking it over with my wife, we decided this would be a good change and so far, I've been really happy that we've started this new routine.

We started on Monday, January 16th, and haven't looked back. There have been some mornings when I was sick that I slept in for an extra hour, but for the most part, we've been getting to bed around 10AM each night and then getting up between 5AM and 5:30AM each day of the work week.

What are some of the positives that come out of getting up early?
Here's a list of some of the things that are going well.

The first 2 hours of my day are much more productive than the last 2 hours of my day. By the end of the day, I'm done. I'm mentally tired, I'm physically drained, and all I want to do is veg. I don't feel like blogging or reading emails or engaging on social networks. My nights were full of TV and mindless internet surfing. My mornings are now full of answered emails and thoughtful internet engagement.
I'm on time to work. I'm no longer rushed to get out of bed, take a quick shower and. I now have time to collect myself and get the brain and body moving. I'm out the door with enough buffer time in case
I get a good breakfast or at least some time to digest my breakfast. I'm usually eating a bowl of cereal or getting some oatmeal instead of eating a granola bar on the run (that is, if I even remembered it).
I get to spend some time with my wife and talk about things while were actually awake. Many times, we're both just too tired to deal with anything at night. The morning gives us time to reflect properly on the day before and to talk about the things that are coming up.
I take shorter showers. It's a time saver for sure. I'm finding that I don't need the shower to wake me up any more. I'm already awake, which leads to a quicker shower.
My blog is getting updated. It's nothing spectacular, but I find that I have more motivation to update during the morning time.
I'm ready to go at work. Getting some 'Me' time in at the beginning of the day helps my mind start moving and I've been up and at it for 3 hours before that time.
I have time to read. I haven't been reading anything hard copy, but I do have time to catch up on my favorite news and blog sites.

All this to say, that being a morning person has totally changed the way I operate. My days are much different and I really want to get up each morning to have that time. I never thought in a million years that I could do this. I have always hated mornings ever since high school and have never had any motivation to get up in the mornings. I would've snoozed all morning if I could have.

Hopefully this is motivation for you if you're thinking about trying it yourself. I'd love to hear if any of you have made this kind of change in your life. How did it go? Are you still doing it? Why did you change? Any positives (or negatives) you'd like to share?

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of February 6th, 2012

2012-02-18T13:56:00.000-05:00

So far, posting my morning commute songs has provided a way for me to consistently update my blog, but I've gotten behind a little lately. Here's a roundup of the songs from the week of Feb. 6th. Enjoy!

Monday, February 6th
Trojans by Atlas Genius - My Original Tweet

Here's the original Album version:

Here's an acoustic version they have out there as well. Great track.

Tuesday, February 7th
Short Skirt/Long Jacket by Cake - My Original Tweet

Short Skirt/Long Jacket by CAKE on Grooveshark

Wednesday, February 8th
Mahna Mahna by The Fray - My Original Tweet

This is a cover tune by The Fray of the original Muppets song. I've heard a few songs off of this cover album and they sound great.

Mahna Mahna by The Fray on Grooveshark

Thursday, February 9th
Cold Shot by Stevie Ray Vaughn & Double Trouble - My Original Tweet

Cold Shot by Stevie Ray Vaughn on Grooveshark

Friday, February 10th
Promises by Nero - My Original Tweet

Promises (Skrillex & Nero Remix) by Nero on Grooveshark

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of January 30th, 2012

2012-02-09T06:55:00.002-05:00

Looking back through my tweets and my Path timeline, it looks like I didn't post any songs for Monday or Tuesday. That would've been the last 2 days of the month, so I'm not surprised. January is our busiest month at work. Either way, here's my morning commute songs from the last half of the week. Enjoy!

Wednesday, February 1st
Paradise by Coldplay - My Original Tweet

I attempted to embed the original song and the original music video, but Vevo and EMI don't allow embedding on other sites (I'll have to post my thoughts on that later). Instead, here's a live version of the song from their visit to the Austin City Limits Music Festival.

Thursday, February 2nd
Love Is Here by Tenth Avenue North - My Original Tweet

Friday, February 3rd
Allies by Mute Math - My Original Tweet

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of January 23rd, 2012 [Update]

2012-01-30T06:35:00.001-05:00

Update [3/8/12]: I continue to get traffic from people who are searching for the Barbara Streisand (Llamanator Mix) by Duck Sauce, so I went searching myself for the song to see if I could find a legal copy of it. What I found instead was a post on Sirius XM's Kids Place Live's Facebook page that explains why I can't find it:

Here's a roundup of my favorite songs of the week from my morning commute. Enjoy!

Monday, January 23rd
Lucid Dreams by Franz Ferdinand - My Original Tweet

Tuesday, January 24th
Barbara Streisand by Duck Sauce ~~(Lorenzo Llama Remix)~~ (Llamanator Mix) - My Original Tweet

This remix appears to be exclusive to Kids Place Live on Sirius XM Radio, since I can't find it online (legally, that is). I was in the car with the kids that morning, so it wasn't my normal commute music. Either way, it's a hoot of a song if you ever get a chance to hear it. I was going to embed the music video for the original remix, but the artist doesn't allow embedding (good luck with that).

Wednesday, January 25th
Crystalised by The xx - My Original Tweet

Thursday, January 26th
Get It Daddy by Sleeper Agent - My Original Tweet

Friday, January 27th
Shuffle by Bombay Bicycle Club - My Original Tweet

Saturday, January 28th
Comeback Kid by Sleigh Bells - My Original Tweet

Yes, I had to work on Saturday, but I did get to hear this new song from Sleigh Bells on XMU. Pretty slick. Oh yeah, and I did steal the stapler.

A New Way to Subscribe to The Straits

2012-01-23T06:21:00.002-05:00

Now that I'm getting my blog back in order, I keep finding things I want to tweak. I just found one of those things and I wanted to make sure you're aware of it.

I now have a way to subscribe to my blog by email. All you have to do is click on the link on the right hand side of my blog. Once you are subscribed, you'll receive a notification by email when I post to my blog. Pretty cool, huh?

Morning Commute Music Roundup: Week of January 16th, 2012

2012-01-22T23:53:00.000-05:00

Since I started using Path on my iPhone (I'll have to blog about Path later), I have been sharing one song per day from my morning commute. I have Path push it to Twitter and Facebook most of the time so my friends and followers get an feel for the kind of music I'm listening to.

On average, I'm in the car for 40 minutes in the morning. I listen to XM Radio for most of that drive and I primarily listen to Alternative and Modern Rock, although I will listen to almost any genre.

With all that being said, I've decided to recap or roundup all the songs I have shared from the previous week into one post. It's an easy way for me to start delivering more consistent content to the blog.

Monday, January 16th
Not Your Fault by AWOLNATION - My Original Tweet

Tuesday, January 17th
You Will Leave a Mark by A Silent Film -My Original Tweet

Wednesday, January 18th
Isolation by Alter Bridge - My Original Tweet

Annoying Side Note: I wanted to embed the original music video for the song, but the record company didn't think it was worth it to allow blogs on blogger to have that right. So, instead, I linked to the song so you can play it here.

Thursday, January 19th
One Month Off by Bloc Party - My Original Tweet

Friday, January 20th
Icky Thump by The White Stripes - My Original Tweet

Another note: The original music video for this song was also blocked from embedding.

Tidying Up the Ol' Blog

2012-01-11T07:44:00.000-05:00

When I decided to revisit my blog yesterday for the first time in two years, I found there were some things that needed to be cleaned up as part of the design. Today, I took some time to clean up the sidebar to make it a little more relevant. Here's what I did:

I removed my Facebook badge. I really can't remember the last time I friended someone on Facebook that I haven't met in person. That's what Facebook will continue to be for me, for now. I'd much rather connect on Twitter and G+ right now, it's a simple fact. (reminder: blog about my social media habits)

I added a link to my Google+ profile. I haven't done much on G+ as far as posting is concerned, but I have started to comment and +1 to try and get myself more involved with it. Twitter is still my 'go to' network to share and post for now.

I removed my FriendFeed link. Yes, the last time I blogged, FriendFeed was relevant.

I removed my "What Am I Reading" section. It was linked to my Google Reader feed. While I still maintain that feed so I can push it into other aggregating apps on my iPad and iPhone (like Zite), I haven't been pushing anything to that feed in a long time.

I made a minor modification to my tag/label cloud, removing the amount of tags number from each tag. It makes it look a little cleaner.

That's about it for now. I'll keep making small tweaks until I decide to either do a major overhaul (if that will ever happen) or to switch platforms altogether. This was more of an update to make sure all my links are relevant. I want to make the blog more about my writing than anything right now, instead of aesthetics.

Two Years!

2012-01-10T06:10:00.002-05:00

It's been two years since I last blogged on this site. That's ridiculous. A lot, and I mean a lot has happened to my family in the last two years. I think it's time to pull this blog off the shelf, dust it off, give it some love and start blogging again.

Help... My Blog Is About How Little I Blog

2010-01-10T18:48:00.003-05:00

I think my blog is officially a spot for me to write about how I don't blog enough. It's a place where I mention other blogs and other web sites that have inspired me to start blogging again. I'll be inspired by the post, I'll send out a shout-out link and share about how it's going to be different, and then you won't see me again for another 4 months.

Just to prove my point, here's the latest post that got me thinking about blogging again. It's a tweet by @DavePeckens where he shares a blog post by @nealschaffer. The post gives you 7 reasons why you should start a blog. It's an excellent post and it really motivates.

But how do you keep it going? I can always give excuses about how I don't have the time or I don't know what to write about, but I don't know how to keep it up.

What inspires you to blog? How do you keep up with it? Where does your drive come from?

The Time to Share is Now

2009-10-11T23:22:00.003-04:00

I'm not sure what it is and how it happens, but the internet has the uncanny knack to pull us in. It gives us the ability to create connections and share our story, even before the story is finished. I read a blog post by my friend Kevin a few days back that has inspired me to get back to this blog and share my story. Kevin simply points out that:

...we don’t have to wait until we’re old and gray to have something valuable to say.

It's so true. We all have a story and it's worth sharing. I want to be in on that.

How are you sharing your story?

9 Things I Learned From Friday's Snowstorm

2008-12-21T22:56:00.000-05:00

For those of you in the Detroit area, you got a chance to experience the first major storm of the snow season on Friday. Most of the schools were out for the day and it seemed like half of the workforce was home as well. According to the National Weather Service, the area received between seven and 12 inches, most of it coming down during the morning period.

This led to a long commute for myself (I drive 30 miles one way each day from Westland to Troy) and it also provided some lessons for me to learn. I thought I would share some things I learned from this unordinary day.

1. Good Samaritan's still exist.
I witnessed 3 acts of kindness on this day. 3 different people helped stuck cars right outside my window at work. Each time, a car got stuck in the snow coming out of a parking lot or going in. Another person ended up stopping within 5 minutes, got a shovel out of their trunk, shoveled the snow away and then helped rock and push them on their way. It made me proud to see fellow Detroiter's help each other out. It was pretty cool to witness 5 stories up.

2. Yes, you can get stuck in 10 inches of snow
These weren't really snow drifts, it was just snow from the day that these cars were getting stuck in.

3. And yes, your bumper can get ripped off trying to get your car unstuck.
Yep, I saw it happen. One of those good samaritan's ended up connecting it back on so the person could drive away with some diginity.

4. If you don't feel comfortable driving faster than 10 mph on the highway, you probably shouldn't be driving during a snow storm.
I passed at least 4 vehicles that were on 3 and 4 lane highways driving around 10 mph. The average speed of everyone else was 30 mph. What's even worse, each of them had their hazards on. It just seemed that driving way to slow was just as unsafe as driving too fast. I would suggest you stay at home or maybe you should consider spending the night in the office so you don't have to drive in during the storm.

5. Just because their are 3 lanes on the road, doesn't mean you should go 3 wide on the road.
You can't see the lanes, so why not follow everyone else. Most people were taking a safe approach and staying away from other vehicles. The closer everyone is to each other, the better chance a spinout will take out more vehicles. Is it really worth it?

6. Your SUV/truck obeys the same laws of physics that my car does.
Really, it does. No, seriously. I'm not kidding. If you drive 55 mph and you expect to stop in the same distance as a car moving at half that speed, it's not going to happen.

7. Sometimes it's worth it to pay the neighborhood kid to snowblow your sidewalks and driveway.
My wife worked from home during the day and a neighborhood kid stopped by to ask if he could snowblow our walk ways and driveway (for a donation of course). I'm sure glad she said yes. It saved us a ton of time since we were going to have to shovel the 8 inches of snow. And, it rewarded a kid who's actually out doing work and helping people in the community, instead of a kid who's out throwing eggs at parked cars (see #9)

8. You will feel bad for your dog if the snow is up to their chest.
I feel really bad for our dog. She hates the cold. She goes outside, shivers, goes the bathroom and comes back. The only problem is, the snow is too high to even do that. We cleared out a path for her, but it's still pretty sad.

9. Teenagers in Milford have nothing to do on a Friday night other than throw eggs at parked cars.
We were at a Christmas Party and when we were ready to leave, we found a nice frozen omelette on the side of our vehicle. Needless to say, we had to stop at a self-serve car wash at 1:30AM in the morning.

Gmail Team Introduces Themes and Colors

2008-11-22T14:23:00.000-05:00

With email hooked up to my Samsung Instinct, I don't always sign in to my Gmail account on a PC. I happened to log in today and notice something a little different. Gmail now offers colors and themes for your inbox. The Gmail team announced it on their blog earlier this week.

While I tend to be a minimalist when it comes to my desktop (I still use the old-school Windows desktop theme instead of the XP theme), I think it's great that Google continues to evolve their products. They create products that are robust and simple and then continue to make them better.

There are 15 new colors and 15 themes for your inbox. The funniest them by far (probably because I'm such a geek) has to be the "terminal" theme. It changes your entire inbox into a green-screen AS400/Bboard theme. Classic.