run mice run rat run

I think local commercials are hysterical. While living in St. Louis I couldn't not laugh when a "Becky's Carpet and Tile" commercial came on. I mean what's not to love about a women in her 50s with heavy makeup, a pageant crown, and a prom dress flying around the Arch on a magic carpet.

The East Coast certainly does not disappoint. I just saw a great one tonight for a local company called "Run Mice Run Rat Run." The commercial is of a guy in a mouse costume jumping on a bed and then running out of a house. The product is just a spray that keeps rodents out of the house and apparently it's a green product. Even the local guys are cashing in on the green trend.

Having DVR means that I rarely see these local gems, but it's nice to know they are still out there.

zippers

While researching CurtainWall Systems made by YKK AP for my current project I accidentally went to their main website and was pleasantly surprised to find that YKK not only makes CurtainWall, but are also the zipper monopoly of the world. I'm sure you've looked down at your coat zipper or the zipper on your jeans and noticed the emblazoned YKK letters.

Wanting to know more I checked out the Wikipedia entry for the YKK Group and this is what I found out:

The initials YKK stands for Yoshida Kōgyō Kabushiki-kaisha (吉田工業株式会社) and the original company was established in 1934.

It's made up of a group of Japanese manufacturing companies. They are best known for zippers (they are the world's largest producers) but they also make fasteners, architectural products, and machinery.

Zippers!

1980

what happened on this day in 1980? i know!

Besides being the 124th day of the year (125th in leap years) in the gregorian calendar there are a variety of other random events that have taken place, most of which are rather depressing.

1886 - haymarket roit
1904 - construction of panama canal began
1953 - Hemingway receives pulitzer for Old Man and the Sea
1970 - Kent State Shooting

Other items associated with May 4th:

astrological sun sign - Taurus

gem - emerald (the only precious gem in which the flaws are considered "assets")

food association - garlic, some people can't live with May 4s and some can't live without them, strong, spicy, provocative, and cheerfully aggressive, they are virtually incapable of toning down their personality. And why would they want to? Those who love May 4s find them utterly engaging and indispensable; and those that don't will never know what they are missing. It's their loss!

associated color - sky blue, May 4s then to be dreamers, drifting off into deep interior space at the slightest provocation. All those hours spent in the "blue beyond" are not for naught, however. When they touch down, the deliver - on time and on the mark. Sure, 4s are dreamers, but they can be more than that 0 they can be dream makers too!

animal affinity - zebra, nothing in life is black and white...except the zebra! It's crazy strips perfectly epitomize the union of opposites. It blends the forces of mystery and enlightenment, the known and the unknown, into a sleek, beautiful image with room enough for both. May 4s also posses this unique ability. They allow all "strips" to coexist without compromising the integrity of any!

so all this might be a load of b.s. but it's entertaining.

behaviour guide by jean touitou

BEHAVIOR GUIDE (in order to avoid mere survival)
Intended for younger generations by JEAN TOUITOU

1. Although appearance shows quite the reverse the natural trend of the system is to turn you into a slave. Your mission is to remain erect and never crawl.
2. when learning, you must know how to make the clear distinction between what is ideology and what is genuine knowledge.
3. Be fully aware of the difference between making a compromise and compromising yourself.
4. Whatever happens, heart break hotel is sure to be your dwelling place, for one or several stays. This is no reason to overindulge in the pangs of love for too long.
5. Learn how to make simple and excellent meals.
6. Fear no gods, whatever appearance they may have.
7. For girls: all boys are more or less the same. For boys: all girls are different.
8. Keep well away from competitive sport that will only cause wounds that will make you suffer when you are over forty.
9. There is no such thing as good and evil. There is what is right and what is bad, what is consistent and what is wrong.

Jean Touitou is the founder/ head designer the French minimalist label APC (Atelier de Production et de Creation)

notable thinkers

Here are some of my favorite quotes:

"the great essentials for happiness in this life are something to do, something to love and something to hope for."
-joseph addison

"experience is what you get when you didn't get what you wanted."
-rany pausch

"the only people for me are the mad ones, the ones who are mad to live, mad to talk, mad to be saved, desirous of everything at the same time, the ones that never yawn or say a commonplace thing, but burn, burn, burn like fabulous yellow roman candles exploding like spiders across the stars and in the middle you see the blue centerlight pop and everyone goes "Awww!""
-jack kerouac (from on the road)

"I am a weirdo...thank god"
-dra

"life is much to important to be taken seriously"
-oscar wilde

"do today what your instincts tell you could wait until tomorrow"
-sir john major

"there is no one you need to impress more than yourself."
-unknown

"ever self-conscious even obsessive about my place in the world"
-jm

"to be nobody but yourself in a world which is doing its best, night and day, to make you everybody else means to fight the hardest battle which any human being can fight; and never stop fighting."
-e.e. cummings

"I have decided to be happy because it is good for my health"
-socrates

"inspiration is for amateurs. The rest of us just show up and get to work"
-chuck close

"so bring [your kids] up believing in god and they'll be good and law-abiding. It's a perfect system. Well, nearly. 75% of Americans are god-fearing Christians; 75% of prisoners are god-fearing Christians. 10% of Americans are atheists; 0.2% of prisoners are atheists."
-ricky gervais

"john cage tells us that not knowing where to begin is a common form of paralysis. his advice: begin anywhere"
-bruce mau

"i must learn to love the fool in me - the one who feels too much, talks too much, takes too many chances, wins sometimes and loses often, lacks self-control, loves and hates, hurts and gets hurt, promises and breaks promises, laughs and cries. It along protects me against that utterly self-controlled, masterful tyrant whom i also harbor and who would rob me of human aliveness, humility, and dignity but for my fool."
-theodore rubin