Taking a Trip To College Station

All I ever knew about College Station my whole life was that it was the home of Texas A&M. Last week I had a chance to take a trip through this lovely slice of the country, though, and was surprised to learn a few things about this city. So my apologies for giving this from my lowly Yankee perspective, but here's some observations.

Oh, and before I get started, after spending some time in the South I'll preface this with "thanks to all y'all who were so nice to me throughout my travels."

Look, there's a college called Corpus Christi College!

• The temperatures are HOT, but the dry heat makes it a bit more bearable than what we've seen in the midwest this summer. I can't believe I just said that, but it's true.
• There are some fun Aggie bloggers to meet!
• The economy's booming there. Nearly everyone I talked to spoke about the job boom in Texas and how easy it is to find a job. That's a stark contrast to what I've seen and heard throughout my travels to other regions of the country but good to hear nonetheless. It seems the news I've been reading kind of backs this up as well (see http://www.mysanantonio.com/business/article/Texas-to-help-fuel-national-growth-3714005.php and http://www.bizjournals.com/dallas/news/2012/07/05/north-texas-job-growth-leads-to-robust.html)
•  There are no shortage of rec centers and places to exercise. I'm always big on keeping my fitness in order as I travel, so this was a nice bonus for me while I was on the road. 

Anyhow, I'd ramble on some more, but needless to say, there's more to the town than just a slew of Aggies fans.

Photo credit: http://www.flickr.com/photos/kaet44/1464759684/sizes/m/in/photostream/

Cheap Businesses Don't Get My Respect!

You better appreciate that Soy Sauce, and that.. other thing (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Today, I go to fill up my gas tank at a local gas station that I never go to. This one always seems to be empty, and there's never a wait for gas here. I slide my credit card in the pump and proceed to fill up my tank. While I’m waiting, I go inside and grab a bottle of Pepsi. The bottle costs $1.39 and I don’t have any cash, so I take out my credit card to pay for it. The guy points to a sign and says “There’s a $0.50 charge for purchases under $5.00.”

I tell him I’m paying $50.00 for gas outside! I’m charging well over the $5.00 minimum. He’s says it’s a $5.00 minimum per charge. How ridiculous! I just left in amazement. I wish I could have unfilled my tank cause I’m obviously never coming back.

Why do some businesses lose customers over a few pennies. Was he not going to make a profit off the $1.39 Pepsi?

Here are some huge pet peeves of mine when it comes to cheap businesses.

1) I once went to a hamburger/hotdog place that charged extra for condiments. Seriously, it was like $0.10 for onions, $0.10 for relish, $0.10 for ketchup! The place was out of business a few months later.

2) Italian restaurants that don’t give you enough pasta. Come on! That’s the cheap part of the meal. Piling on the pasta gives the impression that you give huge portions.

3) Chinese restaurants that charge extra for sweet & sour or soy sauce packets on take out orders. Is it really costing you that much money? Are people just hoarding soy sauce so they don’t have to buy the bottle?

4) Fast food places that don’t let you get your own napkins. Then when you go ask for some they give you “one” napkin. Ok, how am I suppose to eat your greasy food with one napkin.

Any others?

Related articles

• Man arrested after 'knife and soy sauce' incident

  ---

• Credit Cards Might Shut Off the Gas Pump

  ---

• The Story Behind the Iconic Soy Sauce Bottle That Hasn't Changed in Over 50 Years [Design]

  ---

Summer Comedy Shows

English: Stand-up comedian Jim Gaffigan after a performance at the State Theatre in Easton, Pennsylvania. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

Summer is the season to go to live shows, and there are quite a few great commedians coming to the Michigan area in the next few months. Here are a few of the big ones:

Jeff Dunham - Island Resort & Casino in Harris, MI
Jeff will be bringing his puppets along the road to Harris MI for the weekend after the 4th of July. He will be there July 13 and 14 and he's a great commedian you wouldn't want to miss if you're up in that area.

Jim Gaffigan - DTE Energy Music Theatre - Clarkston, MI
One of my all time favorites, he will be there on Saturday July 21. Known for his bacon and hot pocket jokes, Gaffigan also has appeared in movies.

Joan Rivers - Andiamo Celebrity Showroom - Warren, MI
I don't know all that much about Joan, but I've heard great things. It's hard to find commedians in the Fall, and she will be one of the last big ones to come to the Detroit area for a while.

Related articles

• Jim Gaffigan - Beyond the Pale Movie Download Full Movie (emfavsba.typepad.com)

Patch Adams Medical Humor

Film poster for Patch Adams (film) - Copyright 1998,Universal Pictures (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

One of my favorite Robin Williams movies from the 90s is the 1998 comedy "Patch Adams". Based on a true story, Robin Williams portrays a first year medical student who understands from his own history that one of the most powerful and effective medicines that any patient can receive is laughter and humor, however his nontraditional means and methods do not go over well with his teachers and instructors. They believe that doctors should never make emotional bonds with their patients as it can damage their emotions and motivation over the course of time.
Although received poorly by critics, the film was a huge success and grossed over twice the budget they used to make the movie. Unfortunately, the real Patch Adams did not think highly of the film, and criticized Williams for not portraying an accurate picture of the person he was. He argued that many parts of the film were cut out just to make more money, and many of the props and scenery of the hospital were not in the least bit accurate. Maybe if they had used real real equipment like surgical screws and other real medical equipment instead of balloons and fake noses Mr. Adams would not have been so upset.

Related articles

• Netflix nightcap: Good Will Hunting
• Robin Williams on His "Leading Penguin" Sofia Vergara and Why Kids Are the Toughest Critics
• Bone Technology Changes

Top Comedians, my opinion only

I hope I'm not opening a can of worms when I list my favorite stand up comedians of all time. I know people can be very picky about comedians, and not everyone's humor is the same. But here we go, here's my top 7 list. Why 7? Because everyone does a top 10.

1. Richard Pryor
2. Bill Hicks
3. Eddie Murphy
4. Steve Martin
5. Robin Williams
6. Denis Leary
7. Louis C.K.

I actually have a  very open sense of humor, and I like most comedians. As long as they are not annoying. By the way, I don't like Dane Cook. No one should.

Stainless Steel

Image credit: Getty Images via @daylife)

I was sitting around and wondering today what makes stainless steel stainless. So I thought I would look up the topic and write a quick article on it. Turns out, the big part of stainless steel is adding chromium to the outside of it. When you look at stainless stell, what you are really looking at is a coat of chromium with steel behind it. Because chromium is more precious and valuable than steel, the coating of chromium is only hundredths of an inch thick.
Many products today use stainless steel, including grills on the front of semi trucks, surgical instruments, handguns and valves, like this NBT stainless steel ball valve. Other famous things that have stainless steel on/in them are the Chrysler Building and the Gateway Arch in St. Louis.
To learn more about stainless steel and all their great physical properties, take a look at the Stainless Steel wikipedia page.

Trench Shoring Accidents - Nothing Funny About it

(Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I’m quite amazed that I made it out of childhood all in one piece. Climbing trees, digging holes, and playing in underground tunnels were some of my favorite things to do outside. As a kid, you think everything in your environment is stable, unmovable and cannot hurt you in any way. Unfortunately, that holds true for adults. Deaths in the construction industry are higher than any other industry besides the fishing industry. A big part of that is because of trench cave ins, where workers build a trench for construction work, do not put up proper trench shoring equipment, and the walls of the trench cave in on them.

I became interested in the topic after reading a story in the New York Times about the staggering injuries and accidents, which really are accidents that can be easily avoided with proper equipment, training and knowledge about trenches. Unfortunately, since trench cave ins rarely ever occur, workers never take proper safety precaution when working in them. When a cave in does occur, it can bury any workers inside in over 10 feet of soil or gravel, and crush or suffocate them. 

If you ever work in a construction zone with trenches around, be sure they are reinforced with proper hydraulic shoring methods, and any road surrounding the area won't damage the trenches. There are many companies that offer trench shoring rentals that can help construction companies save a lot of money if they only need shoring equipment for one occurrence.