Waiting for Speedway Fowler

Found this video while doing some Spring cleaning. This was a class project to create a :30 second PSA. It has some VHS break-up on it, but it wasn't in bad shape for lying in the dust for more than 10 years.

I usually dislike these pop philosophy internet memes, but this one is good:


When things in your life seem almost too much to handle, when 24 hours in a day are not enough, remember the mayonnaise jar...and the beer. A professor stood before his philosophy class and had some items in front of him. When the class began, wordlessly, he picked up a very large and empty mayonnaise jar and proceeded to fill it with golf balls. He then asked the students if the jar was full. They agreed that it was.

So the professor then picked up a box of pebbles and poured them into the jar. He shook the jar lightly. The pebbles rolled into the open areas between the golf balls. He then asked the students again if the jar was full. They agreed it was. The professor next picked up a box of sand and poured it into the jar. Of course, the sand filled up everything else. He asked once more if the jar was full. The students responded with an unanimous "yes."


The professor then produced two cans of beer from under the table and poured the entire contents into the jar, effectively filling the empty space between the sand. The students laughed.

"Now," said the professor, as the laughter subsided, "I want you to recognize that this jar represents your life. The golf balls are the important things--your family, your children, your health, your friends, your favorite passions--things that if everything else was lost and only they remained, your life would still be full. The pebbles are the other things that matter like your job, your house, your car. The sand is everything else--the small stuff. If you put the sand into the jar first," he continued, "there is no room for the pebbles or the golf balls.

The same goes for life. If you spend all your time and energy on the small stuff, you will never have room for the things that are important to you. Pay attention to the things that are critical to your happiness. Play with your children. Take time to get medical checkups. Take your spouse out to dinner. Play another 18. There will always be time to clean the house, and fix the disposal. "Take care of the golf balls first, the things that really matter. Set your priorities. The rest is just sand."

One of the students raised her hand and inquired what the beer represented.

The professor smiled. "I’m glad you asked. It just goes to show you that no matter how full your life may seem, there’s always room for a couple of beers."

I've mentioned Joe Manning a few times in the past. He's the original North Adams evangelist. He's written about the strange pull the city has on him and I know exactly what he's talking about.

Anyway, Manning has a couple of great websites, and his photos always impress me.




Here's a page from his 'Mornings on Maple Street' website. Just great stuff. Here's another great photo. I never tire of of looking at that one. And check out this picture.




















His pictures are available for sale at his website. Go there. Buy stuff.

Wonderful artwork.

Boy, the past few weeks haven't been kind to one of the internet's most well-liked sites.

FARK has always been a hang-out for some of the web's wittiest and most creative people. It was also arguably the net's premier news aggregator site, with a simple, easy to use design.





But Drew Curtis, FARK's founder, has made some bad decisions coupled with bad timing.


He decided to freshen the site - not a bad idea - and introduced a new look that virtually EVERYBODY hates. It's crowded with ads and hard on the eyes.

He more or less sprang the re-design on the FARK crowd with no announcement and zero input for a site that prides itself on its image as a real community.

And both bad moves happened just as Reddit and Digg are finding their stride.

As a result, Fark seems like a ghost town lately. The TotalFARK submissions consist of row upon row of zero-comment items. The stories that make it to the main page now get 30 or 40 comments rather than numbers in the hundreds.

It's a startling example of the fickle tastes of the 2.0 crowd.

I still like FARK. I hope Drew can regain his groove.

But right now, it feels like the clock is ticking on FARK's peculiar brand of cachet.

I am always on the lookout for great onion rings. Up to this point, I hadn't found rings that matched those that were served at the now-defunct Abdow's in Worcester.


But now I have.



The onion rings at Beshoff's in Dublin are the best I have ever had. They are large and well-breaded and perfectly seasoned and not as oily as one might expect. The fish and chips are pretty good, too... but I've had better. There is a place in Cranston, Rhode Island that sells phenomenal fish and chips. But, talking strictly about onion rings, Beshoff's is the place.




Still, I find it hard to believe that the best onion rings in the world come from a shop that serves them more or less as an after-thought.

So, while Beshoff's is currently the king, I will continue to search for better, and invite suggestions.