life – Page 8 – Maduko World Headquarters

A Yellow Alfa

Those of you who remember the Maduko World Headquarters Building in downtown Tulsa might remember Trent Fowler. He was an associate at the firm who helped me stretch Italian car parts, antagonize patrons and generally terrorize the neighborhood.

I recently discovered a blog about his first car. It was an Alfa Romeo of course, so it seemed worth sharing.

It’s a touching tale of the wind in your hair on a crisp October morning- and your sister chauffeuring you around in your own car. I laughed. I cried. See what you think…

Trent’s First Car.

End of the World Sale

First there was Black Friday.
Then there was Cyber Monday.
This year we discovered Grey Thursday.
Now it’s time to prepare for the end of the Mayan calendar. By shopping at Sam’s Club!

A recent email promo touts the wonderful selection of emergency supplies available from the Bentonville-based warehouse club. This is the first concrete proof I have seen that supports this theory that the world will end on December 21, 2012.

Pictionary Extreme

If you have ever done an image search on Google you probably realize the results can be a little jumbled.

Now imagine creating a dictionary based from the first image you found for each and every word. What would it look like? Well, it just so happens Ben West and Felix Heyes have the answer: it’s a 1,240 page tome with over 21,000 images representing all the words found in your basic dictionary.

Now just how useful such a dictionary might be is… well, questionable. But it does offer a unique insight into our current culture. Maybe we can make another one in ten years and compare.

Google Image Dictionary

He Can Walk!

Well, sort of.

Eleven weeks after knee surgery I saw the doctor for my third follow-up yesterday. He finally gave me the go-ahead to begin bearing weight on my right leg! Of course after nearly 3 months on crutches it’s hard to just start walking around. I’m not even sure I remember how!

Fortunately the knee feels great. But my right foot has been out of action so long it’s almost painful to walk on! Tomorrow is my first physical therapy session with this new weight-bearing aspect thrown in. We’ll see how it goes.

This entire ordeal has been quite a learning experience. But the best part is I can finally drive!

Separation of Charge and State

I have a real problem with Oklahoma’s new policy for income tax refunds.

Oklahoma's Way2Go Card Beginning in 2012 if you do not provide direct deposit info (those funky looking numbers along the bottom of a check) any refund will be sent to you as a debit card. This bright idea is the product of a new law requiring all transactions from the State to be electronic.

I had never heard of this- and apparently my accountant hadn’t either. When it arrived in the mail we thought it was a scam (albeit a very professional-looking scam) and nearly tossed it in the shredder. Many years ago credit card companies would send people pre-approved cards in the mail hoping they would activate them and become a customer. Of course scammers had a field day as they intercepted the cards from mailboxes all over town. I digress…

Continue reading Separation of Charge and State