Category: Conspiracy

Rant – Valet Parking on the North Side

Picture this…  You’re taking your spouse, date, etc. out to a nice dinner in the Northern Indianapolis Suburbs .  When you pull into the parking list you see the Valet Parking sign…  What do you do?

Me?  I drive on by and find a parking spot.  In most cases parking is available right there in front of the restaurant.  I assure you Mr./Ms. restauranteur, I know how to park my car and I’m more than capable of walking the 100 feet to the front door of your place of business.  I don’t need to hide all of my valuables in the glove box and give the valet key to a total stranger you have employed to park my car in the same spot for me…

Now in the case of some crafty establishments (Bonefish for example) they block off 25% of the already too small parking lot and you are all but forced to partake in their elaborate scheme to squeeze a few more gratuity dollars from you.  Don’t get me wrong, I actually LIKE eating at Bonefish, I just think their valet parking service is crap.

Some of the higher end eateries (Peterson’s, Eddie Merlot’s and Sullivan’s) also have this service.  The funny thing is they are surrounded by parking and it takes longer to get your car than it does to just walk to it!

Valet parking at the “Fashion Mall” cracks me up too…

Head to downtown Indy or a city like Chicago where parking is all but non-existent and the Valet concept makes more sense.  I still self-park when I can but have been known to turn my keys over from time to time (especially when the weather is bad (and I tip well for it)).

What’s the appeal of Valet parking on the north side?  I just don’t get it.  Please educate me…

FICO Medication Adherence Score

It may just be me but I think this is going a little to far. What happens if you are scored “low”? How do you dispute an inaccurate score?  Can you be institutionalized for not taking your meds?

From the New York Times article:

The FICO medication score is based on publicly available data, like home ownership and job status, and does not rely on a patient’s medical history or financial information to predict whether he or she will take medication as directed. So, like a credit rating, it can be compiled without a person’s knowledge or permission.

Here’s a link to the FICO site that gives additional details.

I’d love to hear from those of you in the health care industry.  Do you support this kind of program?  How can we be assured it’s not taken too far?

 

NutriSmart Prototype Embeds RFID Tags Directly Within Food!

Amazing potential use for RFID technology.  I can see this being a huge benefit to dieters and persons with various food allergies.  Like anything else though, there’s a dark side to this too…  Insurance companies could use this data to deny you coverage, databases of your food consumption could be created…

NutriSmart from HannesRemote on Vimeo.

Blogs I’m Following (Part 3) – Misc.

This is the third and final installment of my favorite Blogs and RSS reeds on the Internet.  This is a small sample of the other sites I follow.  Everything from comedy to crackpots to cigars.  I hope you find something new in the list.

FAIL Blog – If you like seeing people paying the price for stupid actions this is the site for you.  There’s usually some pretty good signage mistakes too.

The Oatmeal – I’m really not into modern-day cartoons and comics (Dilbert is lost on me & The Far Side no longer exists) but this guy hits my funny bone just about every time.  Fair warning, these are usually not kid friendly or safe for work.

David Allen Company – In my opinion Getting Things Done (GTD) is the best life management system ever created.  I started with the book, attended the seminar, and intently read every newsletter from the David Allen Company.  This guy is a former hippie (for lack of a better term) turned entrepreneur and productivity demigod.  If you are looking for an alternative to all of the other systems, give this one a try.  It’s been truly life changing for me.

The Art of Manliness – From shaving to shoe shining to being a better man, this site has it all.  Sometimes it’s a little “old fashioned” but the articles are well written and have a lot of good content.  This concept would make a great magazine.

ThinkGeek : What’s New – The premier geeky toy store in the internet.  It’s also one of the best sources for everything caffeine (and bacon) related.  Where else can you buy Caffeinated Marshmallows?

Cool Tools – Not as active as it once was but you can still learn about such things as the Bombproof laptop case and Dependable soldering irons.

No Agenda – This podcast stars former MTV VJ Adam Curry & and tech columnist John C. Dvorak.  It covers mainstream and not so mainstream media.  Always good for a laugh and exposure to a new conspiracy theory.

Daily dose of imagery – As a photo hobbyist I always enjoy seeing other peoples work.  More often than not I get inspiration from these images.

Every Day Carry – I always called it “Being Prepared” but there’s a cult following to the Boy Scout motto.  This site posts user submitted images of their EDC items.  From watches to knives to guns, it’s all there.  I’ve found a few neat tools on this site that I’ve added to my daily carry.

Cigar Aficionado – The website is a treasure trove of information to the cigar enthusiast.  Just about all of their back issue articles are online and the review database is a great resource.

So there you go, some of the more non-traditional items that pique my interest.  If you have read all three posts you can probably put together a more accurate picture if me and my lifestyle.  There’s a few things you probably don’t know about too.  Stick around and check the blog for future posts.

Part 1 & Part 2 of this series.

Scientists Grow Pork Meat in a Laboratory

test-tube-pork_1SCIENTISTS have grown meat in the laboratory for the first time. Experts in Holland used cells from a live pig to replicate growth in a petri dish.

The advent of so-called “in-vitro” or cultured meat could reduce the billions of tons of greenhouse gases emitted each year by farm animals — if people are willing to eat it. [MORE]

Sewers at Capacity, Pollution Spills Into Waterways

It was drizzling lightly in late October when the midnight shift started at the Owls Head Water Pollution Control Plant, where much of Brooklyn’s sewage is treated.

A few miles away, people were walking home without umbrellas from late dinners. But at Owls Head, a swimming pool’s worth of sewage and wastewater was soon rushing in every second. Warning horns began to blare. A little after 1 a.m., with a harder rain falling, Owls Head reached its capacity and workers started shutting the intake gates. [MORE]