The Blinker
People of Orlando, for the love of God, use your damn turn signal! When I moved to Orlando, Florida from New York a few years ago there were a number of cultural differences of which I had to adjust. Some adjustments were easy. I learned to love beef jerky, and I now understand what real barbecue is all about. The biggest cultural adjustment was sharing the road with so many pickup trucks. The Ford F-Series pickup is one of the top selling vehicle of all time, and by my estimate, 85% of them travel on I4 between the hours of 4 and 6. I eventually, sort of , got used to the truck being used as personal transportation, but I will never understand why Floridians refuse to use their turn signals.
Now, I'm to picking of Florida, and I'm not a New York snob. Trust me, there is a TON of things that irk me about the Northeast, and I will most likely blog about them in the future. I just cannot comprehend how an entire region of the country tries to merge onto highway traffic without the aid of a device that was invented 1907. Traveling on Orlando roads, you will see drivers desperately trying to get over two or three lanes, the worried expression on their faces as if to say, "I wish the other drivers knew that I have to get across all these lanes to make the left turn. If only there was an invention that would allow me to signal to them that I need to turn!" Eventually, the driver gets over and makes the turn but not before almost killing a van full of nuns. I think they were nuns. They may have been penguins being transported to Animal Kingdom.
Even worse than the 'lane traveler' is the 'merger'. This driver thinks the white line on the right side of highway ramp is a virtual 'rail' that they can ride from the side road onto the highway. This driver believes that he has the right of way, and that every other driver must make a space for him because, like it or not, here he comes! Of course, there's the 'cowboy' too. He's the guy who is weaving in and out of rush hour traffic, trying to get to the next traffic jam before you do. This driver will knock the rain drops off your bumper as he squeezes between you and another car. Man, if you did that in New York without using your turn signal...well, let's just say that EMS would be involved at some point in the future.
Buyers Remorse
To some extent, I always regret what I purchase. As much as I may love the item, parting with my hard-earned cash always takes a toll on me. As a result, I am VERY critical of every good and service that I purchase. I wouldn't have it any other way. When you buy a car, rent a DVD, or dine out at a fancy restaurant you have not only purchased that good or service, you have also purchased the right to bitch about it!
I have noticed that some people never negatively criticize something they have purchased, a sports team they follow, or anything on which they have spent money, time, or energy. I assume that they subconsciously feel that their choice of purchase reflects on them to a very large degree. Not me. I'll tell you straight up that I purchased a Chrysler PT Cruiser in 2002, and it was the biggest piece of crap that I've ever owned, but others would never admit it. They would defend the Cruiser and tell you how great it is despite their deep hatred for the car. This mentality is completely foreign to me. What's the use of being alive if you can't complain about living?!
If you are a regular reader of BackingIn, you know that I'm a Microsoft enthusiast, but don't get me started on how much I hate Microsoft Outlook. I live for the New York Mets, but I could do a thesis on why they suck out loud. I bought a 2009Volkswagen Rabbit, and it is a great car, but it gets horrendous gas mileage and the fit and finish are sub-par. I own a Motorola Droid, and it is way cool, but rest assured, I will give you a true assessment of it below.
Shhh! Cool Tech…
Sony Vaio L-Series
Microsoft is making a big mistake. They have a great deal of amazing technology, but they are keeping it all a secret from the public. It's not just Microsoft. Many tech companies are failing to market their products effectively. It's not that they don't advertise, but they don't produce the right type of advertising, and in some cases, not enough.
Last week, two friends and I took a trip to the mall for lunch. After a quick bite at the food court, we strolled the mall and hit the usual spots. We stopped in the Apple store, browsed the over-priced gadget stores, and popped our heads into SonyStyle. Among the huge and brilliant LCDs sat an all-in-one Sony Vaio desktop computer, similar in function to an iMac but with a industrial look.
The Sony Vaio L-Series computer is an all-in-one desktop computer with a multi-touch touchscreen display and Windows 7. Prices range from $1200 to $2000, but the one we played with had these specs:
- 24 inch HD touchscreen monitor
- Quad-core processor
- 6 GBs of RAM
- Wireless Keyboard & Mouse
- 1/2 TB Hard drive
- BluRay
- Windows 7 64-bit
- TV Tuner with Remote
Adverts Dilemma
One of my biggest pet peeves is animated advertisements on the web. I'm talking about Flash ads that you can find on almost any popular website. The less annoying ones animate some text or logo upon load and then stop moving. More annoying are the ads that continue to animate as long as the web page is displayed. The most annoying animated ads have rapid movement or flashing animations.
Advertising pays the bills, and I have little problem with it as long as the reader understands that the website has sponsors, and their sponsors can apply editorial pressure on the content. The same can be said of BackingIn.com.
Week In Review
It has been a week since I launched this blog on Christmas day, and I'm still enjoying it. Yes, an entire week, and I haven't lost interest yet. :-)
I have already accomplished one goal...launching the blog. Believe it or not, just getting going is the toughest part. Inertia is a powerful force. After one week, I have learned the following:
- Thomas Edison was quoted as saying: "Genius is one percent inspiration and ninety-nine percent perspiration." This can be applied to writing. It is easy to be inspired to write a post about something for which you feel passion, but actually writing it is the hard part. I think my posts to date are good, but they are not what I envisioned in my mind. I hope to continue to get better as I create more content for BackingIn.
