Mishmash Musings

There are always big St. Patrick’s Day celebrations in Chicago and I usually do go out to have at least a couple of green beers or whatever. But the combination of feeling a bit under the weather and of St. Patrick’s Day falling on a Saturday means I’m going to be staying in tonight. I’m sure it’s going to be pretty crazy out there, and I’m just in no shape to deal with that right now.

If you’re out, have a safe one. If you’re staying in, there are plenty of alternatives. Rent a couple of movies or watch some college hoops with your friends or family. That’s what I’m going to do!

It’s March 15 today, aka the Ides of March — the day that Julius Caesar was assassinated on the steps of the Roman Senate. I studied Latin once upon a time and used to be very interested in everything pertaining to Caesar’s life. I have to admit, though, that I haven’t given him much thought in the past 15 years or so…. However, I have some free time later this afternoon and might just pull out my copy of The Gallic Wars and read a few passages in honor of Caesar’s passing!

Have you heard about a website called KONKAN TV? If you haven’t, then you’re really missing out! KONKAN TV is a South Asian (INDIAN) video distribution website that not only allows users to upload, stream, share, and view videos on the web, but also provides video streaming on cell phones. How cool is that?! They’ve partnered with more than 85 mobile service providers worldwide to bring you this feature, which is something that a lot of other viral video sites can’t do.

I spent some time on the KONKAN TV site and really liked what I saw. It’s easy to register (all you have to do is provide an email address, desired User Name, and password) and get started uploading or viewing videos. Plus, browsing through the site for interesting videos is very easy too, as the categories, Featured Videos, and Recently Viewed links all help out in that respect. And, if you have your own domain, you can even add a viral video component to it right there through KONKAN TV!

Overall, this definitely seems like a site worth checking out. I’m sure it’s going to become huge in the near future!

I was so busy yesterday that I didn’t have time to post about my weekly Tuesday project. It’s not hard to guess what was on the agenda this week: Unpacking from my 9-day vacation. I got most of it done, but am not quite finished yet. We actually bought lots of souvenirs on the trip so I’ve got a bunch of junk to put away in addition to washing all the dirty laundry that accumulated during that time.

Today I’m going to finish the rest. There are just two piles of clothes left, so it should be manageable!

I recently stayed with my mother for a couple of days, and I couldn’t help but worry about how safe her home was. I am naturally more attuned to these things now that I have a child of my own to take care of, so the first thing I noticed was how easy it would be for an intruder to enter her home. For example, my mom doesn’t even have a deadbolt or chain on her front door. There’s just a simple lock in the handle, which I’m sure a determined burglar would be able to overcome in a matter of minutes.

That’s why I’m trying to convince my mom to purchase and install a home security system. I was doing some research this morning and came across a good alarm monitoring company that offers all the features and services I’m looking for. They’re called Sentinel Security and they take the time to customize the various conditions that customers want monitored at their home or business. Instead of them telling me which services I’ll be getting, I can tell them what I want. Plus, Sentinel Security implements redundancy to ensure that backup systems are in place to provide customers with continuous protection without any downtime.

Right now it appears as though Sentinel Security only serves the greater Orlando area, but if they ever expand out this way, I’ll definitely give them a call!

I don’t really like the questions for this week’s Manic Monday Meme, so I’m going back and doing the ones from last week since I missed those while on vacation. Anyway, here they are:

What is your favorite part of spring? Your least favorite?
My favorite part of spring is the start of the baseball season. I love baseball! My least favorite part would have to be all the rain and mud. It makes everything so messy and disgusting outside.

It’s Severe Weather Preparedness Week this week. What’s the most severe weather event you’ve experienced?
I was once out in a pretty severe typhoon in Japan. They have a good warning system over there and many businesses (including major companies like Toyota) shut down early when a typhoon is expected.

But the outfit I was working for at the time chose to disregard the typhoon warning and forced me to report for duty as usual. So I ended up trying to drive through fierce wind and rain. It was pretty brutal, but fortunately there weren’t many other cars on the road so I was able to make it to work safely.

The kicker? As soon as I got there, the boss admitted he had made a mistake and told everyone we could go home!

Daylight Savings Time begins next Sunday, three weeks earlier than in previous years. How do you feel about DST? Love it, hate it, couldn’t care less?
Doesn’t matter to me one way or the other….

Well, I’m finally back home after an eight-day vacation and am trying to ease back into my routine. Of course that’s easier said than done, as I’ve got piles and piles of laundry to do plus all the unanswered emails and such that I have to attend to. I hate being away to begin with and the vacation I took wasn’t exactly a relaxing one, so I’m not in a particularly good mood right now.

At any rate, I hope to get everything cleared off my to-do list by the end of the week!

My young cousins (12 and 10) wanted to take my son out to Chuck E. Cheese for his birthday today. We went there and spent about $30 on food and another $50 on game tokens. I didn’t care much for the place, but the kids had a blast.

The location we were at had a bunch of those “claw” machines where you try to pick up various prizes. We managed to win like 5 stuffed animals from those machines. We also won hundreds of tickets from Skee-Ball and other games, which we redeemed for things small toys, candy, and a mini Chicago Cubs basketball.

The kids are already talking about going back, but I think I’ve had enough for at least another year!!