Cable Bill Math

Calculus behind decision to pay cable bill every third month out of sheer laziness:

Savings
Stamps: 2 x $0.37 = $0.74

Additional Costs
Late Fees: 2 x $2.38 = $4.76

Silent on Matters Political and Audible

* Today was the Virginia primary. I didn't vote.

Granted, one individual's vote really doesn't matter (civics propaganda be damned), but still.

* My laptop wasn't playing sounds. This was more than annoying -- I needed to listen to an audio blog entry.

After much wailing and gnashing of teeth, I remembered that the laptop has a hardware mute button, in addition to the software controls.

Anniversary Missed

According to the footer on my Platonic Friends page:

This page was conceived and brought forth, fully formed, on this day, June 7, 1995.

Breaking out the calculator, preliminary analysis means it just turned 10 years old.

Not a lot has really changed since then.

Random Dumbness

* Reasoning behind today's temporary closure of a western stretch of I-66 because of blasting:

"Traffic must be stopped to ensure worker and driver safety while explosives are detonated, the officials said."

(Dumb because one would think that "closing a road because of blasting" wouldn't require much additional explanation.)

* Annoying, repeated promo line from for yet another young, hot, blonde serial killer profiler TV series (Fox's 'The Inside,' this time):

"This girl has a gift, Paul, FORGED IN PAIN." (emphasis added)

Clothing Issues

* Fruit of the Loom boxer briefs (Medium) are larger than Hanes boxer briefs (Medium)

* My white J. Crew pants have an infernally annoying buttonfly. My only saving graces today are 1.) I'm wearing a long shirt, untucked and 2.) I'm not going out drinking tonight.

Rollerblade Update

Bolt on my skate is still stuck.

The first screw extractor I bought was the wrong size, so I bought the 5-pack.

After much drilling and swearing, I think the bolt steel is just too hard for the bits.

I would try heat, except I don't want to melt the surrounding plastic, and besides, the holes are too rounded out to try unscrewing.

Next step? Not sure, might involve dremeling a slot so I can use a screwdriver.

Of course, it was near-perfect skating weather on Sunday (if a bit hot.)

Stripping

Broke down my rollerblades last night so I could clean the bearings and rotate the wheels.

Of course, on the one wheel that really needed to be flipped (the toe wheel of my right foot), I managed to strip the heads of the bolts. Both sides.

Dumb Thing I Learned This Morning

The guy who does the announcer voice in the (supremely annoying) Budweiser "Real Men of Genius" commericals is also the voice of Halo's Captain Keyes.

That is all.

Scratch That

My magnetic clip-on sunglasses are pretty beat up.

The lenses were scratched pretty badly, so I decided to polish them up.

I tried toothpaste, though it didn't seem to be doing much.

So, I switched to 2400 grit sandpaper.

Now, I've used it to polish out a scratch in the butter door of my fridge.

But I knew there was some inherent risk.

Apparently, the glass in the lenses is a little more sensitive than the polycarb of the butter door.

I need to find another abrasive.

Meanwhile, I'm squinting a lot more.