The Sub Commander's new clothes

02-28-06_1033
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Cleaning is fun! Look at what I found. Expect to see me sporting the old letter jackets soon.

Nothing tells the ladies more about a man than a little high school BLING.

02-28-06_1036
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

No Work - Day one

Today I did not go to work. Right now, I am in a t-shirt and sweats. Regis and Kathy Kelly is on. I do not think I have ever watched this show before. What should I do?

Well, going to work is out of the question, cause I ain't got no job!

Rain = no bike ride.

Search the internet for fun things to share with you? ON IT!

Cute OVERload

Gabbi sent this in - http://www.cuteoverload.com

Here is a taste - Kittens in outfits in a Fatboy Slim video remix of Steve MIller's The Joker.

Errant Lego Post

Sorry about the errant Lego post from earlier. It was acutally for my professional Blog. If you want to geek out and read about technology and what I do when I am not on the sub, check it out. (Yes there is a correlation between Legos and what I do.)

KempMullaney.com

Penultimate Lunch

Penultimate Lunch
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

It took the two and a half years, and it happened to me my last meal there, but the cafeteria finally hit one out of the park. Cuban Sandwich with Habanero Mayo, the right kind of pickels and all the fixins done up just right. Then, the surprise success from no where, SLAW THAT DOES NOT TASTE LIKE VANILLA! Food has always been a tough subject with this job, so those of you long time readers will appreciate how important this is. Then again, they did wait until my LAST MEAL to do it. One more day....

2 days left....

... and certain realities are setting in. I have begun shopping for a new cell phone. This is fun. I really dislike the idea of paying my own cell phone bill after 2.5 years of not seeing one.

People keep coming by my desk to ask where I am going. That is nice, but now I wish I could just hold a meeting in one of the conference rooms and get everyone done at once.

My going away lunch has been scheduled for Friday at Chevy's. Before you get critical (and before I do), Chevy's is to Pleasanton what Butterfly is to San Francisco (that is, it is the best of what's around.)

So that is life. Stay tuned, a new phone number is in my near future...

Here is the lunch invite (thanks Michelle!):

oh no, Kemp is leaving us!!!

Let's celebrate his life and times at AvantGo! (Kemp... you can join too!)

Join us all for lunch at noon on Friday, February 24th at:

Chevy's
5877 Owens Drive
Pleasanton, CA


If you can, please rsvp to me by 2pm tomorrow so we can secure a reservation.

Meow, meOW!

cat-piano
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Step One - Get a bunch of cats.
Step Two - Listen to them meow.
Step Three - Insert cats into the Cat Piano according to their pitch.
Step Four - Press the keys to poke each cat with a spike to make them meow in time with your playing.

Read more at Gizmodo.

I am not a turtle

img0076
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

I always liked the turtles in Finding Nemo, and everyone knows they taste good, but who knew I shared my name with one? I have got to get out of the sub more often.

Here are some facts about the Kemp's Ridly and the corresponding facts about Kemp.

- The Kemp's Ridley is the most endangered of all marine turtles. Only 580 females nested in 1994, compared to 40,000 on a single day in 1947.
- I am the only Kemp I know

- Named for Richard M. Kemp, a fisherman interested in natural history who submitted the type specimen from Florida
- I used to live in Florida.

- Feeds mainly on crabs
- I like crabs

- Nesting information: 40,000 females nesting in 1947, estimated 5,000 in 1968, and in years 1978-1991, nesting rarely reached 200 females
- I am respectively witholding comment on my nesting with females.

- Adult Kemp shells are as round as they are wide
My arm-span equals my height

- Nesting season from April through July, at Rancho Nuevo, Mexico; almost no nesting takes place at any other beach
- I nest all year long, and am not particular about which beach

- The largest single source of Kemp mortalities is drowning in shrimp nets
- I avoid fishing nets.

Read more at turtles.org.

Another job I do not want

Not me
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

This is not me. I am not a ballet dancer, nor do I want the job. Still, it is humourous that we share a name.

Let';s be clear - I am NOT Will Kemp, nor do I have the ego to do what he did to his Website. See it all at WillKemp.org.

Office Water Tourture

Office Water Tourture
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Some of you may remember that I complained about my cube mate's zen fountain. Amazingly enough it 'broke' shortly afterwards. Well now she has stepped it up and brought out the big guns. I wonder what would happen if gum got into the filter?

Bathroom count - 4 trips this morning.

New Job #2 - Hotel Heir

Photo_02
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

If Paris can do it, why can't I? If they could only spell my name right!

Then again, I would have to get one of those 'pocket dogs' and name it after some cute Disney character.

A little help for our VP

cheneychart
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Read more at Needlenose.

New job

Photo_03
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Let's be honest - Commanding a sub, though highly rewarding, does not pay the bills. I have to surface and work for a living. The time has come to change employers. But where is a Sub Commander to go? The next couple of posts will show places I thought about going and will culminate with my new job.

Avant - Card? Though a logical step from my current employer, this is not where I am going. More to come.

Use the Force this Valentine's Day

mofolotopo
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Ah, Valentine's Day. It just warms my heart like the second sun setting on Tatooine.

And now you too can express exactly how you feel with Star Wars Valentine cards. Click Here to see the whole collection.

Thanks to Boing Boing.

Drinks

Drinks
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Some days are more caffinated than others. Starting from left to right, steel coffee mug, refilled once, water from cafeteria, refilled once, tea from the break room, and finally a large latte from Peet's.

Earthquake-proof version of San Francisco

02alamoM
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Liz Hickok likes Jello. Liz Hickok likes San Francisco. Mix them together and you get....this.

A Study in the bizarre

hellogritty
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Bizarre fact 1 - There are in fact belt sander races. That is to say, people take a beltsander from their hardware store/garage/yard sale, soup it up, and then race it against other belt sanders.

Bizarre fact 2 - This was a charity event for Community Servings. (This is a good thing, but still bizarre.)

Bizarre fact 3 - There is a New England Belt Sander Racing Association.

Bizarre fact 4 - Someone made this Hello Kitty sander.

You may call my Blog a waste of time, but I think this takes the cake.

Read all about it on Boing Boing.

Lyric Malfunction

After Janet Jackson's Wardrobe Malfunction during last year's halftime show, ABC decided to air this year's show with a 5 second delay.

So what did you miss? Well two words were edited from the Rolling Stones' performance. CNN has an article today explaining exactly what was cut. It is interesting to read how CNN refers to words and terms that are indecent for TV.

In "Start Me Up," ABC's editors silenced one word, a reference to a woman's sexual sway over a dead man. (The song hit No. 2 in 1981, lyric included.) The lyrics for "Rough Justice" included a synonym for rooster that the network also deemed worth cutting out.

According to thesaurus.com, synonyms for rooster include:
banty, biddy, buzzard, capon, chick, chickadee, cock, cock-a-doodle-do, cockalorum, cockerel, gump, heeler, hen, poultry, pullet, rooster

I am sure the Stones were talking about a "gump."

Read the deatils at CNN.

Once they start....

...they don't stop. Here is the latest twisted movie trailer.

Fight Club - a romantic comedy.

Elevation

Elevation
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Yesterday I got a $60 haircut. This was my first salon visit and it was an experience to be remembered.

I went to Elevation Salon + Cafe. Immediately I was impressed - a haircut AND food? That is cool. I didn't get any food since I was there at 4:30, but I like the idea of multitasking. Unfortunately, they did not have booze. (Then again, you may not want to have lowered inhibitions when getting a haircut).

After checking in at the front desk, I met a very sweet girl who took me to their coat closet. She handed me a hanger with what looked like a nylon robe on it, pointed me to a dressing room and instructed me to change.
"But I am just here for a haircut," I protested, imagining they had me down for some sort of painful waxing procedure, because that robe was going to be VERY revealing.
She told me that all customers had to change to keep the hair off of their clothes. I just needed to take of my shirt and put on the robe. Ah, just my shirt? Okay, I am cool with that. All of a sudden it is very clear that I am NOT at Supercuts.

After changing I met Russ, my stylist. There is an old proverb that you should never trust a skinny chef. I think this applies to barbers and stylists as well - you should never trust a bald barber. Well Russ shaved his head, but considering the fancy space and that he had a very close shave, I put my hair in his hands. Literally. He examined my head, pulled and prodded. I began to feel like a monkey.

After telling me what he was going to do, I met the shampoo girl. She was VERY cute and she worked over my scalp as if it were pizza dough. All of a sudden $60 does not sound like too much for a haircut.

Then it was back to Russ. He worked slowly and methodically. I had so much hair he put three hot pink clips in to separate the hair on top from the hair on the sides. Sorry, I did not get a picture. Unlike Supercuts, Russ did not use an electric razor – he cut all my hair manually. It took quite a while. After about 30 min of cutting, he dried my hair, and then started to cut again! I began to wonder when it would stop.

Then it stopped. Russ told me to stand, but I was confused since I was still in my smock and haircut poncho. He walked me over to the shampoo station and rinsed my hair! Now this makes a huge difference. All the little cut hairs that usually grace your shoulders, face and ears after a haircut are gone!

We walked back to his station and he put some stuff in my hair (don’t ask me what) and then he brushed it. One thing that is the same from every haircut experience was when he was finished he gave me the hand mirror and turned me around so I could see the back of my head. I wish I could say something like, “the back of my head looked the better than it ever had before,” but that wasn’t true. It looked good, but you just don’t see the back of your head enough to form a solid opinion about it’s appearance.

Finally Russ told me about the ‘Free Maintenance' that comes with Men’s haircuts at Elevation. I can come back anytime between haircuts, for a ‘clean-up’ trim around my ears and neck. Now that sure beats trying to do it myself at home!

I went back to the dressing room, put on my clothes and paid (with my gift certificate from C. Thanks!) I like my cut, but it needs a little time to recover from the shock. I think the real difference will be how it grows out.

Here is the breakdown –

Supercuts
Haircut $14
Time 15 minutes

Elevation
Haircut $57
Time 60 minutes

Both places coast about $1 per minute. I can tell this is a better quality cut than Supercuts, but on the whole it does not look that different. I think time will tell the difference. Now if I count the scalp massage/shampoo, free maintenance, cool atmosphere, availability of food and the fact that they rinse before they are done, Elevation becomes a better value. I will have to go back to Elevation again.

Take a look a tthe pics below and let me know if you think it was worth it!

Before
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

After
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

Don't waste precious bathwater!

bath_water
Originally uploaded by Sub Commander.

I am not one to waste water. I have been through droughts in Florida and know what it is like to have to follow state laws when it comes to the time and place you can do certain activities (water you lawn, wash your car, etc.) Still, there are some places I will splurge - like bathwater. This is a bathwater cleaner. After you bathe, plug this guy in and drop him in the water. The device cleans your bathwater AND keeps it warm.

This one is a little weird, but definately is something a certain couple I know in SF might look into considering the time they spend in the bath!

Thanks to Engadget.

McFly! Don't touch my flux capacitor!

Okay, these movie mix-ups are getting really wild. What if Back to the Future were really a love story between Marty and Doc? Well, you would have Brokeback to the Future. This is work safe.