okay hit me up with suggestions.

i’m inspired to start the list with Smooth Criminal by Alien Ant Farm.

edit: clarifying one-hit-wonder. If it wasn’t their only hit, it has to be their biggest hit.

Found via digg.com:

from http://techdirt.com/articles/20060110/1818234_F.shtml

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Unintentionally Geeky Joke in Apple’s Share Price

Unless you’re the sort of person who immediately recognized why the folks at Google originally sought to raise $2,718,281,828 in its IPO, you might want to just pass over this story. A reporter at News.com noticed an extremely unintentional inside joke with Apple’s closing share price today. On the very day the company officially announced its first Intel-based product, Apple’s stock price closed at $80.86. If you don’t get it, it’s time to read up on your computer history. No, there is no way at all that this was intentional. However, that doesn’t make it any less amusing.
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That is totally awesome.

In the last 5 years or so, the number of people running studded tires has grown. This is a shame, as traction technology has been improving and more and more cars offer AWD.

I mean really, a ridiculous amount of people run studded tires. And people put them on rigs that just plain don’t need them. Subaru Outbacks, for example (of which there are 3.1723 per licenced driver in Bend). Have any of you that have an Outback tried driving it in the slick without studs? They are completely solid. No problems at all, unless you drive too fast for the conditions, in which case, studs will do little to save you.

SUVs. Brand new 4Runners and Honda Pilots and Xterras and such, running studs! This, my friends, is totally unnecessary. I have a 92 Pathfinder, and if you put that thing into 4WD, it holds the road like a tank. You can drive HARD, and unless it’s solid, thick ice on the roads, it performs admirably. You have to flog it to get it to slide. And as for iced over roads in Bend, it just doesn’t happen often enough to necessitate studded tires. Of course, even in the Pathfinder, you have to be more careful on solid ice, but that thing is extremely capable in all winter conditions.

I have a set of studless winter tires on rims for my Protege. The stock tires are 195/50/16, which is quite an uncommon size, and not a size which lends itself to a wide selection of all-season radials. The Toyo Proxes I have on it in the summertime get really bad really quickly when the temp gets cold. I find my winter tires to be better all-around in winter than studs. I hate driving on studded tires.

The winter tires, a set of Bridgestone Blizzak WS-50s in a 195/55/15 configuration, are really excellent tires. They are unfortunately very soft however, and I wonder how many seasons they will last. I know I’ll get a third year out of them, but I would doubt much more.

Studs, since they actually have metal bits protruding, actually *lessen* traction in dry conditions, and even wet conditions where the temp is above freezing. Bend roads are most often wet, not icy, during winter days. At least that’s what I’ve noticed in the last 12 years or so since I’ve been on the road in wintertime.

Anyway, if you are one of those “OH MY GOD IT’S NOVEMBER I HAVE TO GET MY STUDDED TIRES ON RIGHT NOW OH MY GOD OH MY GOD” people, and you drive a Subaru, or really anything with AWD/4WD, try studless winter tires if you really think you must have another set for the winter. You likely will discover you don’t really need them.

Subaru drivers: Try a set of Toyo Z800 Ultras all year long. They are great tires, and coupled with AWD, you’ll have plenty of traction to get around.

SUV people: Open Country A/Ts. These are conservatively styled but incredibly capable.

Everyone: Winter driving is not anything to get completely freaked out about. Just slow down, and make sure you know what your rig will do when you try to stop quickly in the slick weather. Try it somewhere when no other cars are around. Slow down - that’s the most important part.

Okay, I have been far to busy to post anything - frankly, too busy even to see my family.

Anyhow, I wanted to bring up two stories I heard about but really haven’t read up on or anything:

Pirates attack cruise ship off the coast of Somalia. Food poisoning was enough of a reason to avoid cruises…

Ralph Nader defends NFL star Terrell Owens. Um, Ralph, I don’t really think this was a free speech issue. Had I gotten in front of the media and publicly decried my boss or coworkers, they’d have every right to fire my dumb ass.

So, I have some friends that went and saw Green Day this weekend in San Francisco. They live in Bend. They flew to SF on Saturday, and returned on Sunday. I imagine that is not cheap.

Also, it cost $70 a ticket for general admission on the floor (field?) at SBC Park.

SEVENTY FUCKING DOLLARS! To see Green Day. And they flew there to do it. I don’t get it. I just don’t get it.

I would however pay $70/ticket to see Billie Jo (Dookie-era) beat the living shit out of Makeup-wearing, Pseudo-punk, Money-hasn’t-changed-me Billie Jo (American Idiot-era).