Chance Bliss

I’ve pretty much migrated away from anything Yahoo over the past 3 years.

• Yahoo Mail – Too much spammy span.
• Yahoo Movies – Too much Flash
• My Yahoo – Too much AJAX wizardry.
• HotJobs – Too much bloody purple (Ok that’s a cheap shot)

So why do I still visit their site at 3 times a day? For their news section. Why? Because it a simple list of current headlines. I can easily scan it in seconds and get a sense of what the heck is going on outside my office.  Also it seems like a actual human might have picked the articles. A novelty in a world of computer generated picks, rankings and buzz.

I strained my lower back a few days ago and ended up in bed for almost a week. I watched a lot of daytime TV. Because I kept losing the remote, I was “forced” to watch a multitude of info commercials. It was the typical faire. Amazing food appliances, weight loss programs and bathroom cleaners. Most were pitched by that yelling guy with the beard that looks like it was painted on his face. God I hate that beard.

I half paid attention until I saw Vince from ShamWOW! I don’t know what it is about Vince, but I found myself actually thinking about buying ShamWOW. I’m guessing it’s his matter-of-fact delivery. No yelling. No crazy demonstrations with trucks or sledgehammers. Just Vince, a piece of carpet, a bottle of coke and a bowl of water. It’s like his saying, “Psssss…hey you…yeah you. Stop being a paper towel buying jerk and get the ShamWOW. Don’t be a loser. Call now.”

I think this guy has got what it takes to wipe the beard off that OxyClean dude.

I came across this cool article about the Chinese using RC cars to bring back the discuses, javalins and hammers thrown in the track and field events. Talk about an awesome job. You get to see everything first-hand and drive a midget-sized electric car. See full story.

Good luck to the United Kingdom on topping the Chinese ingenuity. I kinda feel sorry for the Brits.

RC Guys - Photo from Gizmodo

Before I left for Beijing I saw a lot of reports about the terrible air quality at the Olympics. They weren’t exaggerating. This is a photo taken of the now famous Bird’s Nest Stadium. That’s not fog in the distance. You can maybe see a half a mile or so.

Smog - Bird's Nest Stadium

A rain storm did come through and cleared out the smog and heat. Unfortunately, I was caught in that rain storm at the Great Wall. Lightning hit one the the guard towers on the wall where 9 people were taking shelter. No one was hurt seriously, but a few had to be taken down in stretcher. Seeing the shock on the face of a wife whose husband was injured more than convinced me it was not worth going up the mountain.

Thunderstorm - Town below Great Wall

Other than the air quality and humidity, the trip was fantastic. Amazing city and gracious people. They did a great job of organizing such a mind-blogging huge event.

Clear Skies - Temple of Heaven