A True Death Ride

I'm a proponent of euthanasia. However, I'm too lazy to write much about my view of it. I found this interesting... a bit macabre, but interesting nonetheless. What a crazy and deadly ride.

Euthanasia Coaster Wiki

Euthanasia Coaster: Inventor's Video

Ireland, Part 1: Dublin

So, here's the first installment of my Ireland trip report. Hopefully, I can avoid being lazy often enough to finish this report. I guess we'll see. Here we go...

It took a long time to get from San Francisco to Dublin. The flight to Philadelphia wasn't too bad, and the layover was more or less fine. The longer leg of the trip from Philly to Dublin was a whole different story. In any case, we made it without incident.

Rental Car - A Serious POS
(this photo doesn't come close to telling the whole story)

Upon arriving, we picked up our rental car, which turned out to be a complete piece of shit (during our trip it started making some horrible engine noises, and I do believe that there was a real chance that it would just stop functioning). After some settling in time of getting used to driving on the wrong side of the road and not knowing the road rules fully (for example, there is no left turn on red), we managed to make it to our first destination, Cassidys Hotel.

It was too early to check in, but we dropped off our bags and obtained a city map. We walked around a bit soaking in our new surroundings despite us both being exhuasted from the trip over. First thing to note, there are quite a few Asians in Dublin. They were definitely the predominant immigrant group around. Second thing to note, the weather sucked... it was gray, cold, and raining. Not that that was going to stop us from exploring a bit.

Allow me to interject briefly here and say that one really strange things about Ireland is that the people are obsessed with ice cream. They absolutely love ice cream. It will be cold and rainy, and you'll see quite a few people toughing it out eating their favorite flavor. And, another thing... the women there seem to have a penchant for miniskirts too. It was not uncommon to see the trifecta -- lady in a miniskirt standing in the rain eating ice cream... seriously!

Okay, where were we... oh ya, so we walked down O'Connell (a main street cutting through Dublin), and I went into a bank to change some money only to find out that there's been a recent counterfeit bill problem and so they refused to change my $100 bills. Bummer. At least they pointed me to some travel exchange place further down the street that would take them.

O'Connell Street Post-Rainfall

With money in hand, we figured it was time to grab a bite to eat. Having no clue about anything and not being in the mood to seek out specific recommendations from our tour book, we wandered into a pub called the Bachelor Inn. I had some Guinness Stew, which I thought tasted pretty good, but I'm no expert. I also had my first Irish Guinness here, and I have to agree that Guinness does taste different over in Ireland. Hard to explain, but it tastes more concentrated... a more enhanced dark flavor.

Bachelor Inn - Guinness Stew

Anyway, after the meal we talked for a little bit with the bartender. He was really helpful about giving us directions to my company's Dublin office, the run down on basic driving rules, and also recommended that we go check out KilKenny (when introducing the city, he asked if we were familiar with South Park -- Kill Kenny, ha ha).

Afterward, we headed out to my company's Dublin office (outside the city center in a rather nice business park area), met with a contact there, and hung out for a little bit. I was a bit envious of the Dublin office since it was just so much nicer than the one I work in. But, enough on that.

By the time we made it back to the hotel, it was time to check in. The hotel room was nice enough. Nothing to write home about, but I didn't expect anything more. It was a very reasonably priced 3-star hotel situated conveniently near the Dublin Spire (Monument of Light), the world's tallest sculpture, in the City Center.

O'Connell Street and the Dublin Spire

Here's a picture of a Full Irish Breakfast over at Kingfisher's, a restaurant very close to where we stayed.

Kingfisher's - Full Irish Breakfast

While in Dublin, we put in some tourist hours checking out the Dublin Castle and the Christ Church Cathedral. The cathedral was the more interesting building in my opinion. We walked around on a self-guided tour and got to examine various artifacts while admiring the old Gothic architecture. One strange thing that we saw was a mummified cat and rat that got stuck in an organ a long time ago. Apparently, the mummified animals were referenced in Joyce's Finnegans Wake.

Christ Church Cathedral

Stained Glass of St. Patrick
in Christ Church Cathedral

The Dublin Castle was not a castle at all. They were explaining that it used to be a castle back in the day, but then it burned down. However, when it was rebuilt, it no longer took on a castle form. I think there was still a standing tower, but other than that it was fairly modern. The 'castle' is now an important Irish government building. Can't say I was really impressed by the tour, but I guess we did see the underwater river that is only exposed on the castle grounds.

Dublin Castle - Damsel Room

We never did make it out to St. Patrick's Cathedral, but I did manage to get a picture of it when we walked past it.

St. Patrick's Cathedral

One of the nights, we went out to the Temple Bar area and we ate at some place called the Quays Restaurant. I liked my bangers and mash quite a bit, and I think JC was pleased with her cottage pie. It was a fairly touristy place, but I thought it was a good experience overall.

Quays Restaurant - Bangers and Mash

Quays Restaurant - Cottage Pie

On another night, we ate at a Nepalese restaurant called Montys of Kathmandu. The food was mostly good there, but quite expensive. The appetizer sampler we got was decent, but far from amazing. The main courses were very good in my opinion, and I really enjoyed their award-winning monkfish dish. I have never had Nepalese before, so it's hard to make any direct comparisons. But, I would say that while the food is indeed similar to Indian food, I felt that the flavors were different enough to make a distinction.

Montys of Kathmandu - Nepalese Restaurant

Montys - Award-Winning Monkfish Tareko

Montys - Khasi Ko Chilli (Lamb)

That same night, we found ourselves at Messrs. Maguires, a three-story 'super pub' right near the O'Connell Bridge. They brew their own beer there, but I can't really recommend their own brews after having a couple of them. I much prefer Guinness or MGD for that matter. In any case, we met a couple youngsters that night (I believe the drinking age there is 18). Anyway, it was a pretty fun night hanging out with them and their group. Lots of drinking and general partying was that night's theme.

Random Shot Taken Inside Messrs. Maguire

Afterward, we met up with some guys outside and after talking to them some about where we were from and getting past their fascination with medical marijuana, we learned that they (at least some of them) were part of a semi-famous band called the Coronas. We didn't think much of them until several days later in a different town, we saw a poster of them at a Ticketmaster booth. Anyway, they told us that the best chips in town could be had at Burdocks and that we'd be doing ourselves a serious disservice if we were to leave the city without giving them a try.

Despite the rather rough night out, we found the time to grab fish and chips over at Burdocks as was recommended by both the band and our guidebook. I liked it very much. The fish is for real, skin and all. The chips were great, and the portions were huge. Some have said it used to be way better, back with the Burdocks guy was alive, but I thought what we got tasted awesome. No complaints from me.

Burdocks - Best Chips in Town


Burdocks - Cod and Chips

Now, there is some food that Ireland just plain sucks at. The one that comes to mind is Mexican food. They simply do not get it over there. It's really crazy what you see being displayed as Mexican or Tex-Mex. We figured it might be interesting (and cheap) to grab a bite at one of Ireland's fast food chains called Abrakebabra. I chose wisely and went with a lamb kabob (it was not too bad). The less wise one went with an incredibly overpriced Taco Nachos. It was about the worst tasting nachos conceivable. First of all, salsa should not be based on a marinara sauce. That's just wrong. I could go on, but I'll give them a word of advice: CostCo -- just import gallons of pre-packaged salsa and use that instead.

Abrakebabra - Taco Nachos (amazingly bad)

Before we left Dublin, we went over to the Guinness Storehouse. It's definitely worth checking out. It's a fun and informative self-guided tour, and with paid admission, you get to pour your own pint of Guinness after some instructions on how to pour the perfect pint. At the very top of the building is a bar dubbed the Gravity Bar. From there, you get a wonderful 360-degree view of Dublin.

Perfect Pint Poured By Yours Truly at the Guinness Storehouse Bar

Dublin As Seen From Guinness Storehouse Gravity Bar

Here's a short video I took of a pretty cool room that you pass through on your way out of the Guinness Storehouse.

Video: Guinness Storehouse - End of the Tour

I guess that's all I have the energy to say about the first three nights in Ireland. Next stop: Kilkenny. If you want more Dublin, don't worry as we eventually make it back for our final two nights.

Scumbag Story Time: Lenny Dykstra

Not sure how many of you have been keeping up with the Lenny Dykstra (former baseball player) and his recent woes, but it's fascinating in an accident on the freeway sort of way. He's a serious nutjob and a very shady guy if all that I've read about him is even remotely true. Anyway, if this might entertain you check all of this out.

Two articles that really highlight his really screwed up nature and his current state of financial affairs.

GQ Story
ESPN Story

Cool Stuff

Just saw these recently, and I thought they were cool enough to share.

Here's a really neat infinite photo mosaic thingy.

And, here are a few videos from Ukraine's Got Talent showcasing Kseniya Simonova's talent, Sand Animation.

Hands-Free Motorcycling

This video is about a year old, but it's just nuts. That is one crazy dude.

KFC vs El Pollo Loco

Well, I did go and redeem my free Grilled Chicken Meal from KFC today, and I was pleased with it. I liked it, and I'd probably order it again. However, I think I still prefer El Pollo Loco for the grilled chicken. I was looking up what others thought about it, and then I came across this advertisement from El Pollo Loco, which I found highly entertaining only because of how poorly the KFC corporate guys did with pretending to be someone else. El Pollo Loco makes a really good point about "Highway 5." Ha ha. Enjoy.

ShamWow Update

I'm sure you have all seen the ShamWow commercial. Here it is to refresh your memory.



And, you have probably heard that the guy was recently arrested for beating up some prostitute after she bit his tongue and wouldn't let go... details here.

Anyway, here's the updated commercial.

Go (Ukrainian) Army

This is at least a couple of years old, but it's new to me. Pretty ridiculous ad for the Ukrainian military.

1. Join Ukrainian Army
2. ???
3. CHICKS!

Journey of a Dead Skin Ball

Some will find this video clip gross, some others will relate to it, and others yet will find it inspirational. Enjoy.

Bo Burnham

I suspect that most of you have seen Bo Burnham's videos on YouTube already... he's been putting up videos since 2006 I think. For those of you who haven't, you're really missing out. This kid is talented, and his songs are hilarious. Sure, they're a bit offensive to those who are overly sensitive or to those without any sense of humor, but I just find myself cracking up at his lyrics.

Anyway, here's a taste of his style...

Neat Wario Land Ad

Even though I don't know anything about Wario Land and don't own a Wii, I thought this was a really cool marketing/advertisement idea. You'll know what I mean when you watch it. Check it out.

Wario Land: Shake It YouTube Ad

Iceman Documentary

I just spent a couple hours watching an older HBO documentary on a rather scary contract killer named Richard Kuklinski. This guy is just plain scary. He was known as the 'Iceman' to the authorities after it was learned that he sometimes froze his victims as a means to alter the time of death.

As far as cold-blooded for-profit killing goes, this guy was the best. I found the story to be scary, yet fascinating. It is amazing he was able to keep his family in the dark about all of his activities. At least most of his victims were shady criminal types. Though, there was at least one that was just random.

Anyway, if you're interested in this sort of thing, here are the links:

Iceman Part 1
Iceman Part 2
Iceman Part 3
Iceman Part 4
Iceman Part 5
Iceman Part 6
Iceman Part 7
Iceman Part 8
Iceman Part 9
Iceman Part 10
Iceman Part 11
Iceman Part 12

MMA for Bugs

If you like Mixed Martial Arts, you might also be interested in the arthropod equivalent. I am now presenting to you the coolest set of MMA videos ever... Japanese Bug Fighting!

Some of the coolest matches involve some really nasty looking centipedes. Anyway, here's one of a mantis fighting a spider.

Binaural Recording

Okay, this is just freaking cool. You need headphones, and don't worry it's not some weird prank thing with loud noise to scare you. This is a special type of recording method called binaural recording that apparently dates back to the late 1800's.

Anyway, turn up your sound a little bit and put on headphones. Close your eyes when you listen to the recording. It really is amazing.

The algorithm used for this particular recording is called Cetera.

Here's the audio in YouTube video format. Remember, close your eyes and use headphones.


And, here's one that tries to demonstrate the difference between stereo and binaural.

West Is Best Screw The Rest aka WIBSTR

I was down in LA over the weekend... more on that in a future post.

Anyway, while I was down there, Day 2 of the College Jeopardy Finals was aired. A young kid from Harvey Mudd College named Andrew Chung had made it to the finals. (Congratulations!)

By the time they got to the very last question, I guess he had drawn a blank and was resigned to the fact that he would be coming in third place, so instead of giving a real answer (err, question), he submitted a shout-out to HMC's West Dorm. For the curious, here's a link to HMC dorm descriptions.


All I can say is... that's just awesome.

Even more awesome than this Mudder's 15 seconds of fame.

Santa Clara Traffic Cams

I had no idea that there were so many traffic cameras in Santa Clara County providing live streaming video.

Check this out... you can access each camera individually and pull up a live stream. Santa Clara Traffic Cams.

Here's a direct link to one of the live streams. This is a camera that is showing the Montague Expressway and Great Mall Pkwy/Capitol Ave intersection in Milpitas. Anyone from around these parts knows this spot. But, did anyone know that you're on camera when you're there?

---- Edit #1 ----

More traffic camera fun... here's a live stream (updated every 2 seconds) of the Las Vegas Blvd / Flamingo intersection in Vegas. (Bah... you have to click the image, which takes you to the main web site to view it. Still pretty cool though.)

Neat Music Stuff

I thought this was a neat video demonstrating some cool sound editing technology. I don't know much about music or editing, but I think it's pretty cool that this is possible.

South Park Studios

For anyone that likes South Park, check out: South Park Studios

It's in beta right now, but you have free access to 100% of the episodes. Really sweet.

Hulu -- Awesomeness

There's a site that recently opened up to the public called Hulu. From what I read, it only works for those in the U.S. But, man, it's pretty sweet. They have a decent list of movies that I presume will continue to grow. You get the choice to watch movies with a some commercial breaks, or you can choose to watch a trailer for some other movie and watch the film commercial-free.

Many of the videos are just trailers, but quite a few are full length features, including:

The Big Lebowski
The Jerk
Sideways
The Usual Suspects

Anyway, here's a link to the entire list.

Well, the site also lets you embed video, so here's a test... Here's Stallone in Daylight. Okay, the white dots mark where the commercials are, and they're not bad. So far, I've run into 15 and 30 second commercials. Not bad at all!

Ken Lee

This is pretty funny... it's from the Bulgarian version of American Idol. The song being performed here is Mariah Carey's famous Ken Lee.