Justin Cox's Mindless Chatter » life

Where in the World Am I?

Justin — Sat, 13 Jun 2009 01:46:35 +0000

Yes, I’m still out of the country. No, I not writing this and beaming it across the interwebs as we speak. It was all written before I left so that my one reader could be throughly entertained. And besides, I thought you might want to know where I’m at and what I’m doing.

The answer: I don’t rightly know. Well, the second part of that I don’t. I know where I am. I mean, I have an idea of what we’ll be doing, but until I actually get down there, I won’t know for sure. This is going to read very awkwardly. Oh well.

Ok, so I’m currently on the Western Pacific coast of Nicaragua working with an organization called World Missions Outreach. Their main purpose is feeding children, some 20,000 a day, in the country. So I presume we’ll be doing that. I’ll be splitting time between the coast and the capital city of Managua.

I’m excited and, by the time your read this, will have been to some amazing places that God has laid out. One of the places, the Managua dump town, is a place I think God has been calling me since I first heard about it back in January. It’s going to be an amazing experience and, well, at this point already has been an awesome experience.

I’ll be back on Sunday and, if you guys are extra nice, I might actually show some pictures and give a run down. One thing is for sure, I will not be jumping off any cliffs this year.

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The Day I Ate the Kitchen Sink

Justin — Thu, 04 Jun 2009 01:03:46 +0000

It was a day like any other — the sun was shining and the birds were chirping. But soon a monstrosity was about to be placed on a table in front of myself and four other people. A monstrosity that we would eventually devour in a diabetes-inducing rage. The abomination that which I speak? The Kitchen Sink

This behemoth is made up of eight scoops of ice cream, every topping in the house and “a whole can of whipped cream.” Yes, a whole can. It’s a gluttons dream and a parent’s nightmare but on that day it was our treasure, our triumph, our mountain to conquer. And conquer we did.

You, too, can attempt to tackle this lactose nightmare if you ever visit the Beach Club Resort at Walt Disney World. Find Beaches and Cream and prepare yourself for the fury that will soon be unleashed.

Want to know what bounty lies inside the silver sink’s belly? Watch this video:

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The Clock on My Wall

Justin — Sun, 08 Feb 2009 04:01:06 +0000

I have a clock on my wall. I got it for my birthday last year. It’s a Florida State clock. It’s pretty cool. But there’s something about this clock that’s just not quite right — it’s five hours slow.

Ok, now this is most likely my fault but for the life of me I can’t seem to figure it out. You see, when I first hung the clock in September, the time was correct. Then, at the set date, I took the clock down and adjusted for the end of Daylight Savings Time. I assume I made the correct adjustments and placed the clock back on the wall.

About a month ago I realized that, in fact, the clock is 5 hours slow. I’ve been watching it and it hasn’t changed or gotten any slower which would obviously happen if it was slow enough to loose five hours in a few short months. So that leaves me to blame. But honestly, I don’t think I’m stupid enough to fall back five hours instead of only one. But who knows.

Either way I have a clock on my wall that’s five hours slow and I don’t really want to change it just in case it changes itself. And besides, there’s something to be said for having a clock that is five hours slow. In fact, there’s a lot to be said. Don’t believe me? Well, you just read four paragraphs about a five hour slow clock. So there.

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I Have a Hole in My Back

Justin — Sat, 10 Jan 2009 03:52:00 +0000

Pretty simple actually, I have a hole in my back. See, hole in my back:

Sweet iPhone picture dude!

It’s not really as gruesome as it looks, I just had a mole removed yesterday. Problem is, the doctor cut deep — how deep? — so deep that I’ve got two layers of stitches. There’s one layer of normal stitches on the skin’s surface, what you see in that sweet picture, and then another layer deeper down that will dissolve out in 60 to 90 days. That’s right, 60 to 90 freaking days.

Now the location of said soon-to-be-scar is such that I can’t lift anything or engage in certain strenuous physical activity for 60 to 90 days for fear the internal stitches will rip. This is one instance where my sedimentary lifestyle will be beneficial, or something like that.

The thing is, it doesn’t hurt at all. In fact, I can’t even feel it — except for the fact it itches like crazy. Twice a day I have to clean it, smear Polysporin all over it, and cover it back up. It’s a 10 minute task, but I guess it’s better than infection.

The moral of this story is this: don’t spend any time in the sun, ever. Especially if you have fair skin.

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I might be cursed…

Justin — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 03:54:38 +0000

I had a flat tire today. You might be thinking, big deal. In the grand scheme of things it isn’t a big deal. Though this is, roughly, my sixth flat tire over the course of the last three or four years. Like I said, I think I might be cursed.

This all started back in 2004 with Hurricane Charlie. Prior to returning to Tallahassee I caught a flat tire from some of the debris. No big deal. It happens. However, that set off a chain of events that no man should have to go through.

Over the course of the next 18 months I ended up with another four, I kid you not, flat tires. The worst of which was a hole in the sidewall of a tire that was so bad I had to put on a spare in the middle of nowhere on I-10 and spend the night in the exact halfway point between Tallahassee and Lake City (see nowhere). That wasn’t much fun at all.

I thought the streak ended after I bought a new set of tires two or so years back. Surely when I bought a new car last July my luck had changed. But sadly I was wrong. I caught a nice screw, about an inch and a half long, right in the tread this morning. The good news is that I can change a tire using those crappy jacks in under 20 minutes. The bad news is that now I’m going to be absolutely paranoid as to when the next one’s going to go.

Think you have worse luck when it comes to tires than me? Share your horror story in the comments.

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Dear Blockbuster

Justin — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 01:26:37 +0000

Dear Blockbuster Total Access:

We’ve been together since 2005. Our relationship started out so well. You were sending me great movies and coupons which let me rent more movies and video games in store! Then you went and did something even better. You told me I could exchange the movies you sent me in store for even more free movies. It was great. We really had a good thing going.

Then things started to change. I guess you realized your stores were no longer making any money. So before I could exchange a movie for a free rental, you made me weave through a maze of cheep candy and over-priced movie posters. Then, at the counter, you asked if I wanted to take advantage of the great deal on popcorn. Frankly, you were being too pushy and I felt a bit smothered.

Then you changed the rules. You told me I was no longer getting any coupons. In fact, I could now only exchange movies in store twice a month. You became too overbearing. I couldn’t take it any longer.

I hate to tell you this, but last Saturday I cheated on you. Netflix told me to give it a try, so I did. I didn’t want to at first, but their site was so much easier to use and recommended better movies. Sure, I can’t take stuff into a store with Netflix, but honestly Blockbuster, you’re stores are pretty old and disgusting. You really should clean every now and then. Besides, Netflix told me that by the middle of next month I’ll be able to download and watch movies on my XBox instantly and sometime soon I’ll be able to do that on my Mac too.

What I’m trying to say, Blockbuster, is that it’s over between you and me. We had some good times, but it’s time to go our separate ways. I’d like to say it’s not you, it’s me, but this time it really is you. I wish you the best in the future.

Signed,

Justin Cox

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PAX BABY!!!

Justin — Thu, 28 Aug 2008 20:00:34 +0000

Today is August 28th and that means that I’m somewhere between sunny Orlando and dreary Seattle. That’s right, I’m leaving on a jet plain for a long weekend in the brittle north west. No, I won’t be enjoying the local grunge scene or partaking in a fine cup of joe, I’ll be getting my geek on at this year’s Penny Arcade Expo!

PAX is a three day conference created by the one and only Penny Arcade, an awesome web comic. It’s going to feature bands, video games, speakers, video games, movies, video games, geeks, and video games. I’m excited.

It's Penny Arcade Expo or Bust!

The official schedule is available on the PAX website and it’s almost mind numbing to try and decipher it all. One session I’ve been looking forward to for awhile, however, is the screening of The Guld with creator and star Felicia Day. That should be pretty cool. Other things that caught my eye were sessions on the history of Harmonix, a screening of the movie The Wizard, and the keynote with the creator of BioShock. One thing’s for sure, the deal will be a lot of fun.

While I’m there I hope to explore a bit of Seattle as well. Considering I’ve never been west of Texas this should be an adventure. I’ll be making PAX updates on Twitter, so follow me if you haven’t already. There probably won’t be a PAX specific post here until sometime next week. We’ll see.

Are you going to PAX? Have you been to Seattle? Leave some “must see and do” things in the comments below.

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All Screened Out

Justin — Thu, 21 Aug 2008 13:33:10 +0000

Technology seems to be everywhere these days and definitely permeates my life. In fact, it is so intertwined with my life that I spend almost every waking moment staring at a screen of some sort. I mean, in the morning I check email and RSS feeds while eating breakfast, then it’s off to work where I spend most of the day in front of a computer, then it’s home where time is split between the TV and MacBook — and don’t forget all the looks at the iPhone and iPod throughout the day as well. I do nothing but stare at screens. So, for fun, here’s a breakdown of my favorite screens:

iMac
This screen is a whopping 24″ and might possibly have a hand in causing me to go blind. Even at it’s lowest brightness setting it’s too bright. The good news is I can code and design like a fiend on there.

MacBook
This screen, compared to the iMac, is a tiny 13″. Unfortunately those 13″ are what I spend almost all day looking at as the MacBook is what I use in the office — and everywhere else. This one will probably cause me to go blind but not because of the brightness.

iPhone
This screen is an even smaller 3.5″. Since OS 2.0 came out I find myself staring at this screen more and more. The Twitterriffic and Facebook apps don’t really help. Oddly I don’t think this one will cause me any future blindness.

TV
This screen is a very nice 32″. If you spend any time reading this blog then you know I spend way to much time watching TV. It’s really hard not to watch it when it’s on a beautiful Aquos HDTV. Let me tell you, there is nothing like the Olympics in HD. But that’s the story for another day (probably not because that’s really all I have to say on that subject).

There you have it. The collection of my typical daily screens. It seems like the bottom line is I spend too much time in a stationary position and will more than likely drive myself blind.

Do you stare at too many screens? Let me know about them in the comments section below.

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1982 in Pictures

Justin — Thu, 14 Aug 2008 17:02:09 +0000

Today I noticed OhMySeven has an oddly named post. Just a simple 1982. Having been born in 1982 I was curious. Evidently it’s one of those web games that goes around the blogging world. This one lists pictures found on a Flickr search of your birth year. Since I needed some content and because this one was actually interesting I decided to play.

Sweet Van Halen Guitar by vintageguitarz

Johnny Mac at the Wimbledon Final by ~Its_Me!

Sharp MZ-700 by Sameli

Cool huh?

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WE107

Justin — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 01:29:40 +0000

The great State of Florida has seen fit to have people’s car registration expire on their birthday. It’s kind of like the government saying, “Hey, I’m glad you’ve made it through another year. We really hope you have a great day. And by the way, since we’re talking, you owe us some money.” Since my birthday happens to be in September this year, it was time to renew.

For some reason the great state in which I live has also decided that every five years drivers are issued a new license plate. This I don’t understand at all. I mean, I kind of liked my former license plate. AAS9M. It was simple, sort of suggestive, easy to remember. It was great. But no, good ole Florida decided to send me a new one and, let me tell you, it’s no AAS9M.

My lame new plate.

That’s right, I am now the proud owner of WE107. It sounds like a lame adult contemporary radio station. “Welcome back to WE 107, your home for today’s light rock. Here’s the latest from John Tesh. We hope you enjoy it.” Needless to say I’m not exactly thrilled about my new plate, nor am I exactly sure why it makes sense to send a new one.

Got a plate number better than mine? Let me know in the comments.

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