Sunday, April 19, 2020
Sunday, August 02, 2009
A rant about classified ads
The dogs woke me up this morning needing to pee, and the need for fresh coffee and internet time outweighed the need for sleep, so here I am surfing Craigslist, drinking dark roast with a touch of half-and-half, and generally enjoying life.
Until I realize that I have a rant welling up inside me... and I have to let it out.
Okay, listen up people. I'm only going to say this once:
RULES FOR SELLING THINGS ON THE INTERWEBS:
1. LIST WHAT YOU ARE SELLING IN THE TITLE.
This should go without saying, but so do a lot of things. You will get a lot more attention if people actually know what you're trying to sell. When they browse, they cannot see your whole ad. Now I know you're looking at the whole ad when you write it because it's on the same form and all, but try to stop thinking about NASCAR and when you can drink your next Bud Light without getting fired long enough to wrap your mind around this: We can't see your whole ad when we browse. We need to click on the link. We're less likely to click on the link if all we see is "FOR SALE."
Saying "FOR SALE" on a site devoted things that are, in large part, entirely "FOR SALE" in the first place is not only redundant, it makes us question your sanity, intelligence, a little of both, or a lot of both. After all, if I'm interested in buying some sort of consumer product second-hand, I'm going to be interested in what sort of condition it's in, and whether it's been taken care of. If the person I'm buying it from (this would include you, Mr. I put FOR SALE in the title on Craigslist person) appears to harbor faulty thought processes, then I'm not entirely predisposed to take the transaction much further than a shrug or a subvocal "meh."
One example of a faulty thought process is this: "I know everything for Craigslist in the FOR SALE section is being offered for sale, but just in case people don't know, I'll be safe and put FOR SALE in the title... I don't want anybody emailing me asking if they can rent my old truck wheels with 70% tread left on the tires."
The reason I'm not interested in buying from those with faulty thought processes is that there's a certain amount of trust involved. Let's look at Zeke, who has just listed a mint-condition Nikon F100 film camera on Craigslist, entering "FOR SALE" into the subject line. He keeps his camera on his workbench, where he also does household repairs and crafts NASCAR memorabilia out of beer bottle caps. Now if Zeke were a right-thinking person, he'd know about the FOR SALE rule. He'd also know not to use the F100 as a hammer to get those troublesome bottle caps to line up after he'd glued them to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Official Bottle Cap Model Kit that he bought at Wal-Mart. But since I obviously can't trust him to know the FOR SALE rule, I have no reason to trust that he knows the "Don't use cameras as hammers" rule. See how that works?
2. INCLUDE A PICTURE
It was okay not to have a picture in 1992. Less okay in 2002. Now, it's not acceptable. Digital cameras that can take decent pictures can be had for $20. If you can't muster up the $20 and the effort to post a picture, then I can't muster up the effort to click through to your ad.
Posting a stock picture is worse than no picture. Putting a picture that was obviously taken in a studio and used for marketing purposes and saying "it looks exactly like this!" makes us wonder how much it doesn't look like that any more after it's been in your hands. We can just imagine the dents created in our potential purchase as you used it to beat those pesky beer bottle caps into place.
3. SPELL WHERE YOU LIVE CORRECTLY
Seriously. We can overlook typos and spelling mistakes and gross abuse of the English... sorry, American language. But please spell your town of residence correctly.
Until I realize that I have a rant welling up inside me... and I have to let it out.
Okay, listen up people. I'm only going to say this once:
RULES FOR SELLING THINGS ON THE INTERWEBS:
1. LIST WHAT YOU ARE SELLING IN THE TITLE.
This should go without saying, but so do a lot of things. You will get a lot more attention if people actually know what you're trying to sell. When they browse, they cannot see your whole ad. Now I know you're looking at the whole ad when you write it because it's on the same form and all, but try to stop thinking about NASCAR and when you can drink your next Bud Light without getting fired long enough to wrap your mind around this: We can't see your whole ad when we browse. We need to click on the link. We're less likely to click on the link if all we see is "FOR SALE."
Saying "FOR SALE" on a site devoted things that are, in large part, entirely "FOR SALE" in the first place is not only redundant, it makes us question your sanity, intelligence, a little of both, or a lot of both. After all, if I'm interested in buying some sort of consumer product second-hand, I'm going to be interested in what sort of condition it's in, and whether it's been taken care of. If the person I'm buying it from (this would include you, Mr. I put FOR SALE in the title on Craigslist person) appears to harbor faulty thought processes, then I'm not entirely predisposed to take the transaction much further than a shrug or a subvocal "meh."
One example of a faulty thought process is this: "I know everything for Craigslist in the FOR SALE section is being offered for sale, but just in case people don't know, I'll be safe and put FOR SALE in the title... I don't want anybody emailing me asking if they can rent my old truck wheels with 70% tread left on the tires."
The reason I'm not interested in buying from those with faulty thought processes is that there's a certain amount of trust involved. Let's look at Zeke, who has just listed a mint-condition Nikon F100 film camera on Craigslist, entering "FOR SALE" into the subject line. He keeps his camera on his workbench, where he also does household repairs and crafts NASCAR memorabilia out of beer bottle caps. Now if Zeke were a right-thinking person, he'd know about the FOR SALE rule. He'd also know not to use the F100 as a hammer to get those troublesome bottle caps to line up after he'd glued them to the Dale Earnhardt Jr. Official Bottle Cap Model Kit that he bought at Wal-Mart. But since I obviously can't trust him to know the FOR SALE rule, I have no reason to trust that he knows the "Don't use cameras as hammers" rule. See how that works?
2. INCLUDE A PICTURE
It was okay not to have a picture in 1992. Less okay in 2002. Now, it's not acceptable. Digital cameras that can take decent pictures can be had for $20. If you can't muster up the $20 and the effort to post a picture, then I can't muster up the effort to click through to your ad.
Posting a stock picture is worse than no picture. Putting a picture that was obviously taken in a studio and used for marketing purposes and saying "it looks exactly like this!" makes us wonder how much it doesn't look like that any more after it's been in your hands. We can just imagine the dents created in our potential purchase as you used it to beat those pesky beer bottle caps into place.
3. SPELL WHERE YOU LIVE CORRECTLY
Seriously. We can overlook typos and spelling mistakes and gross abuse of the English... sorry, American language. But please spell your town of residence correctly.
Saturday, September 13, 2008
and now a word from Owen...
hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh n ccc vvv mnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnnn cm nn m n nmmmmmmmmmmmmmmmv cvcmdddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddddxc m m n/'p0n n zx;'.b xccxm 1 v mkjngbunbji8vnvmc B V N B 0
.LB B
.LB B
Saturday, September 06, 2008
Google Chrome
Day 2 of using Google Chrome.
It. Is. Awesome.
Fast, simple. More screen real estate. When they get caught up with all the add-ons, it will simply rock. Right now I'm missing "Blog This" but that's about all.
Use it for a while and see what you think.
It. Is. Awesome.
Fast, simple. More screen real estate. When they get caught up with all the add-ons, it will simply rock. Right now I'm missing "Blog This" but that's about all.
Use it for a while and see what you think.
Sunday, August 31, 2008
Friday, August 29, 2008
Ferrari Wagon
Ferrambo up for sale - Autoblog
This may be the coolest car I've ever seen.
Only thing missing is a rack.
This may be the coolest car I've ever seen.
Only thing missing is a rack.
Thursday, August 28, 2008
Tuesday, August 26, 2008
Oh please.
It's not about who is going to make history by being the first to be elected president. It's about who the people (and that means the majority of people who vote*) think is best to lead the country for the next four years.
So if your preferred candidate didn't win, stop whining, suck it up, and try again next election cycle. We don't care how you feel. Or how close it felt, or how potentially significant it might have been. It wasn't. Deal.
Jesus, people. Get a brain, morans.**
*people in the electoral college
** this picture should help.
So if your preferred candidate didn't win, stop whining, suck it up, and try again next election cycle. We don't care how you feel. Or how close it felt, or how potentially significant it might have been. It wasn't. Deal.
Jesus, people. Get a brain, morans.**
*people in the electoral college
** this picture should help.
Sunday, August 24, 2008
Crossfit 2008-08-24
For time:
Run 800 meters : 4:07.70
95 pound Shoulder press, 21 reps : 4:09.34
Run 800 meters : 4:23..07
95 pound Push press, 21 reps : 1:49.47
Run 800 meters : 4:25.22
95 pound Push Jerk, 21 reps : 1:58.62
All runs done on treadmill at 2% grade. Takes a while to get spun up. Runs done at 8:00 pace.
Felt good. Push press 95lb x 21 is hard for me. Started out doing sets of 4, then 3's, then down to 2's for the remainder.
Run 800 meters : 4:07.70
95 pound Shoulder press, 21 reps : 4:09.34
Run 800 meters : 4:23..07
95 pound Push press, 21 reps : 1:49.47
Run 800 meters : 4:25.22
95 pound Push Jerk, 21 reps : 1:58.62
All runs done on treadmill at 2% grade. Takes a while to get spun up. Runs done at 8:00 pace.
Felt good. Push press 95lb x 21 is hard for me. Started out doing sets of 4, then 3's, then down to 2's for the remainder.
Friday, August 22, 2008
CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness: Friday 080822
CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness: Friday 080822
"Angie"
For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
...
22:25.88. Off PR by about 1:15. Better than last time by 7:00.
Pull-ups slower than PR, pushups slower than PR. New PR for situps and squats.
This is a good one. Happy to be back to almost the same level as before Owen was born. I really used my legs for the pullups, and was on track for record pace at the halfway point, but then fatigue set in and the pace slipped a bit.
Pullups- sets of 5. Pushups- sets of 5 then however I could get them (4:3:3). Situps 50:10:10:10:10:10. Squats 75:25 or so.
"Angie"
For time:
100 Pull-ups
100 Push-ups
100 Sit-ups
100 Squats
...
22:25.88. Off PR by about 1:15. Better than last time by 7:00.
Pull-ups slower than PR, pushups slower than PR. New PR for situps and squats.
This is a good one. Happy to be back to almost the same level as before Owen was born. I really used my legs for the pullups, and was on track for record pace at the halfway point, but then fatigue set in and the pace slipped a bit.
Pullups- sets of 5. Pushups- sets of 5 then however I could get them (4:3:3). Situps 50:10:10:10:10:10. Squats 75:25 or so.
Thursday, August 21, 2008
Recent Crossfit Progress
Shoulder press: 130lbs
Back Squat: 310lbs
Deadlift PR: 420lbs
CF total: 860lbs
...
Deadlift 7x1:
315
365
385
405
405
405
405
Helen:
Run 400m
55lb dumbbell swing x 21
12 pullups
11:50 (PR is 11:30 or so)
Must work on pullups when my hands aren't so shredded. They are still my weak link.
Back Squat: 310lbs
Deadlift PR: 420lbs
CF total: 860lbs
...
Deadlift 7x1:
315
365
385
405
405
405
405
Helen:
Run 400m
55lb dumbbell swing x 21
12 pullups
11:50 (PR is 11:30 or so)
Must work on pullups when my hands aren't so shredded. They are still my weak link.
Sunday, August 03, 2008
Out
In more ways than one.
Had a gnarly knee tweak on Friday during lunchtime soccer. Muy painful. I said "Aaaa!" like I meant it, and fell down. I was twisting and driving, and let my left knee drop too far to the inside. Something went, and I went down.
It's feeling much better now. I got a nice bike ride in with Megan on Saturday, and we did some walking in Duluth on Sunday, which helped.
No CF since rolling over in bed has been a challenge, so I can't imagine doing deadlifts or running. I'm going to take this week off and hit it hard again next weekend.
Off to Sturgis on Monday, so I'll be a little out of touch. Nothing like riding a fully loaded bike for 14 hours to work the kinks out of your knees.
I will take lots of pictures. You know me. :)
Had a gnarly knee tweak on Friday during lunchtime soccer. Muy painful. I said "Aaaa!" like I meant it, and fell down. I was twisting and driving, and let my left knee drop too far to the inside. Something went, and I went down.
It's feeling much better now. I got a nice bike ride in with Megan on Saturday, and we did some walking in Duluth on Sunday, which helped.
No CF since rolling over in bed has been a challenge, so I can't imagine doing deadlifts or running. I'm going to take this week off and hit it hard again next weekend.
Off to Sturgis on Monday, so I'll be a little out of touch. Nothing like riding a fully loaded bike for 14 hours to work the kinks out of your knees.
I will take lots of pictures. You know me. :)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Helen
5-a-side soccer at lunch for 40 minutes. Brutally hot and humid, but with 5 per side it was easier (usually we play with 4, or 3 and a roaming goalie.)
3 rounds for time:
Run 400m
21 Kettlebell swings @ 55lb (sub 55lb dumbbell swings)
12 pullups
Time: 11:32.68
32 seconds faster than PR set on 20080101, and a couple of minutes faster than in March.
I got stuck within 20 seconds of 12:00 for about 6 months last year. Every time I'd do this workout, I'd give it my all. Once I finished within a second of my previous time. Consistency is good, but it's nice to be making gains again.
That's a bunch of PR's for me in the last 2 weeks. I'm happy with that.
Don't get down, Joanne: What matters is your time compared to your previous times.
3 rounds for time:
Run 400m
21 Kettlebell swings @ 55lb (sub 55lb dumbbell swings)
12 pullups
Time: 11:32.68
32 seconds faster than PR set on 20080101, and a couple of minutes faster than in March.
I got stuck within 20 seconds of 12:00 for about 6 months last year. Every time I'd do this workout, I'd give it my all. Once I finished within a second of my previous time. Consistency is good, but it's nice to be making gains again.
That's a bunch of PR's for me in the last 2 weeks. I'm happy with that.
Don't get down, Joanne: What matters is your time compared to your previous times.
Monday, July 28, 2008
Crossfit and new website
First of all, I'm launching my photo website:
www.jholroyd.com
Things are very much in their infancy. The selection of photos is limited (just some random stuff I grabbed off my hard drive), and not representative. Expect things to change as I get time to organize. Lightroom says I have almost 40,000 photos. I filled another hard drive. Half a terabyte here I come...
Yes, Joanne, I'm wading through the learning curve on Lightroom. Very cool stuff.
At some point, you'll be able to order prints of my work, but I have some figuring to do on how to turn that feature on and get it working properly.
Crossfit:
Crossfit Total.
Rode to gym on the commuter bike. It felt good, even though it was about 85 degrees with 99 percent humidity.
Push press: 130 pounds (new PR!) This was tough. I've been stuck at 125 forever, and I've tried 135 a few times but always stalled out. I wavered quite a bit, but managed to get the weight all the way up.
Back Squat: 305 pounds (tied with my PR.) It felt so easy that I went for 325 and failed. Should have gone for a 310 or 315. Oh well.
Deadlift: 415 pounds (tied old PR that I haven't hit in over a year, and with much better form.)
Overall, my total weight went from 835 on 20080709 to 850! Woohoo! I'f I'd been a bit smarter, I could have done 860, I think. It's nice to see all the hard work paying off. That number hasn't moved upwards in a long time. Feels good to be making gains again.
...and it looks like it's Helen tomorrow! Sweet! Running, dumbbell swings, and pullups. I've finished this one 4 or 5 times with the same time within seconds. Time to move the bar.
www.jholroyd.com
Things are very much in their infancy. The selection of photos is limited (just some random stuff I grabbed off my hard drive), and not representative. Expect things to change as I get time to organize. Lightroom says I have almost 40,000 photos. I filled another hard drive. Half a terabyte here I come...
Yes, Joanne, I'm wading through the learning curve on Lightroom. Very cool stuff.
At some point, you'll be able to order prints of my work, but I have some figuring to do on how to turn that feature on and get it working properly.
Crossfit:
Crossfit Total.
Rode to gym on the commuter bike. It felt good, even though it was about 85 degrees with 99 percent humidity.
Push press: 130 pounds (new PR!) This was tough. I've been stuck at 125 forever, and I've tried 135 a few times but always stalled out. I wavered quite a bit, but managed to get the weight all the way up.
Back Squat: 305 pounds (tied with my PR.) It felt so easy that I went for 325 and failed. Should have gone for a 310 or 315. Oh well.
Deadlift: 415 pounds (tied old PR that I haven't hit in over a year, and with much better form.)
Overall, my total weight went from 835 on 20080709 to 850! Woohoo! I'f I'd been a bit smarter, I could have done 860, I think. It's nice to see all the hard work paying off. That number hasn't moved upwards in a long time. Feels good to be making gains again.
...and it looks like it's Helen tomorrow! Sweet! Running, dumbbell swings, and pullups. I've finished this one 4 or 5 times with the same time within seconds. Time to move the bar.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Crossfit 20080724
Fran
21,15,9 of
95 lb thrusters
Pullups
7:07.80
39.2 seconds faster than PR set on 200081117
New PR.
w00t!
21,15,9 of
95 lb thrusters
Pullups
7:07.80
39.2 seconds faster than PR set on 200081117
New PR.
w00t!
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Crossfit 7-23-08
Soccer at lunch, 40 minutes. Took a soccer ball to the left eye. Minor vision loss in low-light situations.
Little voices inside my head still telling me "buy more cameras." Trying to ignore them.
Catchup day, as yesterday was:
Filthy 50 in 31:47 or so. About 5 minutes faster than last time, and a PR by about 4 minutes. Happy with that.
Today:
Row 2k
Goal: 7 minutes (1:45 pace)
Actual: 7:17 (1:49 or so pace)
Push Jerk 5x3
3x95
3x115
3x135
3x155
3x165
Could have gone harder, but legs a little tired from soccer and the brutal group ride on Saturday with the happy sadists from the Bikery (our new coffee shop in Stillwater, which rocks.)
Little voices inside my head still telling me "buy more cameras." Trying to ignore them.
Catchup day, as yesterday was:
Filthy 50 in 31:47 or so. About 5 minutes faster than last time, and a PR by about 4 minutes. Happy with that.
Today:
Row 2k
Goal: 7 minutes (1:45 pace)
Actual: 7:17 (1:49 or so pace)
Push Jerk 5x3
3x95
3x115
3x135
3x155
3x165
Could have gone harder, but legs a little tired from soccer and the brutal group ride on Saturday with the happy sadists from the Bikery (our new coffee shop in Stillwater, which rocks.)
Wednesday, July 02, 2008
Crossfit-20080702
Five rounds for time of:
135 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
135 pound Hang power clean, 12 reps
135 pound Front Squat, 9 reps
135 pound Push Jerk, 6 reps
Humbling. Started strong and went downhill from there. Something tweaked on my first round of front squats, but I soldiered through it.
34 minutes and change. Lots of resting. Form was pretty good though. I just gassed heavily, which is understandable given the relative paucity of metabolic conditioning I've had in the last couple of years. Marathons are a bad habit for Crossfit.
My hands are highly abraded.
On a positive note: My 1991 Kawasaki EX-500 turned over and ran for the first time in 5+ years. It's been a multi-year project, and I've finally got around to finishing it. The paint on the tank and tail section is complete, but I think I need one more round of wet sanding and paint on the fairing.
It will be up for sale soon, for around a grand. I want to get some commuting miles on it for a while to make sure it's in a condition I'd feel good about selling it.
Plus, when you have something that gets 49 mpg and does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, you kinda have to enjoy it. I love this bike, but I just don't have the room to keep it anymore.
135 pound Deadlift, 15 reps
135 pound Hang power clean, 12 reps
135 pound Front Squat, 9 reps
135 pound Push Jerk, 6 reps
Humbling. Started strong and went downhill from there. Something tweaked on my first round of front squats, but I soldiered through it.
34 minutes and change. Lots of resting. Form was pretty good though. I just gassed heavily, which is understandable given the relative paucity of metabolic conditioning I've had in the last couple of years. Marathons are a bad habit for Crossfit.
My hands are highly abraded.
On a positive note: My 1991 Kawasaki EX-500 turned over and ran for the first time in 5+ years. It's been a multi-year project, and I've finally got around to finishing it. The paint on the tank and tail section is complete, but I think I need one more round of wet sanding and paint on the fairing.
It will be up for sale soon, for around a grand. I want to get some commuting miles on it for a while to make sure it's in a condition I'd feel good about selling it.
Plus, when you have something that gets 49 mpg and does 0-60 in 3.7 seconds, you kinda have to enjoy it. I love this bike, but I just don't have the room to keep it anymore.
Gun Camera Adds Graffiti to Other People's Photos | Gadget Lab from Wired.com
Gun Camera Adds Graffiti to Other People's Photos | Gadget Lab from Wired.com
Hmm. I had this exact same idea about two months ago as I was flying back from Detroit. Although my plan was to use my Bronica medium format gear and a specially modified film back to do the projecting.
Awesome.
Hmm. I had this exact same idea about two months ago as I was flying back from Detroit. Although my plan was to use my Bronica medium format gear and a specially modified film back to do the projecting.
Awesome.
CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness: Tuesday 080701
CrossFit: Forging Elite Fitness: Tuesday 080701
Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
50,100,110,120,130(fail)
Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
100,110,120,130,140 (PR by 5)
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps
100,110,120,130,140 (PR by 5)
Run home 2.43 miles in 19:56.97. PR by 4:00. Pace: 8:13
Course is a bit hilly, but there's an overall elevation drop from the gym to here. Legs felt a bit sore at the beginning, but it worked itself out. I did some walking in a couple of spots.
Plan is to keep doing this run, either as an out-and-back with a workout in between, or as a one-way deal. I plan to do it at the beginning and end of a Crossfit cycle (Days 1 and 3, with day 4 being the rest.)
We'll see how it goes.
I'd like to break 1:25 on the Lumberjack Days 10- miler. I need to break 18:35 on this run in order to do that, then hold onto a similar pace for over an hour.
Shoulder press 1-1-1-1-1 reps
50,100,110,120,130(fail)
Push press 3-3-3-3-3 reps
100,110,120,130,140 (PR by 5)
Push Jerk 5-5-5-5-5 reps
100,110,120,130,140 (PR by 5)
Run home 2.43 miles in 19:56.97. PR by 4:00. Pace: 8:13
Course is a bit hilly, but there's an overall elevation drop from the gym to here. Legs felt a bit sore at the beginning, but it worked itself out. I did some walking in a couple of spots.
Plan is to keep doing this run, either as an out-and-back with a workout in between, or as a one-way deal. I plan to do it at the beginning and end of a Crossfit cycle (Days 1 and 3, with day 4 being the rest.)
We'll see how it goes.
I'd like to break 1:25 on the Lumberjack Days 10- miler. I need to break 18:35 on this run in order to do that, then hold onto a similar pace for over an hour.
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