Meeting Karaoke

I recently downloaded the new Google Mobile App for Blackberry, which has location based searching and voice input. I was playing around with it during a meeting and discovered something fun. If you hold down the input key while someone is speaking during the meeting, the term Google tries to search for is pretty funny.

Here are what I got -

• jet air ohio is for allah
• crime in stereo in jersey city
• 2 officers and literacy west law
• ivy cap on and off
• youtube williamsburg working class hero bag
• the river ranch florida 100 warrenton
• meeting in san jose charity

Best ice cream in LA ?

We went to Fosselman's in Alhambra for ice cream this weekend. While they have good fresh ice cream in lots of flavors literally made in the same building you eat it, I have always been a bit disappointed by them.

I think these days for ice cream (not gelato or frozen yogurt!) my two favorites are Dr. Bob's and Scoops.

Dr. Bob used to teach at Cal Poly Pomona and decided to quit to make ice cream. It is pretty dang good. However the do not have retail stores. You can get it at the LA County fair, but that is only once a year. Frank's Kitchen in La Crescenta has it all year 'round though.

Scoops is a kind of hipster place over near LA Community College. They have a lot of ever-changing wacky flavors (like Brown Bread and Fig Goat Cheese). They are always happy to let you taste them all and their prices are cheap. If you go late tough, they may be out of most or all of the ice cream for the day.

And while I am on a roll, I will mention a couple out of town places.

Dewar's in Bakersfield is great old fashioned fountain that makes their own ice cream. It like it a lot (don't miss their candy either). The Disney soda fountain next to the El Capitan in Hollywood serves Dewar's ice cream, but somehow it is just not the same.

Amy's in Austin is also quite good. Kind of like a Texas Ben and Jerry's type place. I want to try in again when I get back there.

ps - I first blogged this at work, but figured it would be a good post here too.

Renting a car in Austin ?

If you are flying to Austin and need to rent a car, do yourself a favor and pick the cheapest thing possible from Advantage. Apparently their lowest end car at the Austin airport is a Hyundai Sonata. For only about 20 bucks a day, it is a good deal ! They will even let you pre-buy 1/2 a tank for gas instead of a whole tank.

Time to do some drilling and cutting !

I bought a Makita cordless drill a long time ago (10 years?). It lasted a while, but the battery crapped out a few years ago. And it didn't make to the new place.

So whenever I need to use a drill, I have to beg/borrow/steal.

Buying a good quality drill alone can run $200. Buying a tool set is a better deal, but the sets tend to have a lot of crap in them.

I found the DeWalt DC6PAKIA set had a good assortment of tools (Hammer Drill, Circular Saw, Reciprocating Saw, Impact Driver, Cut-Off Tool, Flexible Floodlight, 2 Batteries, Charger, and Bag). Amazon has been carrying it for about 40% off, but it recently went down to 57% off (new, not a refurb).

So if you need anything cut or drilled, I gots the tools now !

Europcar car rental damage scam !

When I was in Australia recently, I needed to rent a car to get around town and such. In the US there is not much difference between car rental places, so I investigated online and made a booking with National.

It turns out National is some how partnered with Europcar. I didn't see a National counter at the Adelaide airport, so I checked with Hertz, Avis, etc. They were all sold out (weird), but I finally figured out that Europcar==National.

Like a good little renter, I declined the obscene insurance offered. I have car insurance and a platinum credit card after all.

Upon returning the car, the guy noted this 'damage' to the left front wheel skirt. Not much all if you ask me. Maybe it was there when I got it. I didn't run into anything while driving !

The Europcar people ask me if I want to wait for the damage assessor to make an evaluation. I say "no thanks" as THIS IS AN AIRPORT AND I HAVE A FLIGHT TO CATCH.

I return home to find a charge of $1180 on my credit card for damages. WTF !?

I call and dispute the claim and then speak to the Visa rental car insurance people. They explain all I need to do, so then I get on the phone to National.

The lady with National was *very* nice and competent. She gave me her name, number, and email address for follow-up. It turns out since I booked through National, they would go ahead and get all the documentation from Europcar.

When I receive it, I notice the only repair bill is $98 for paint touch-up. Hmm. I forward this to the Visa insurance people and they said this means they would only pay out $98. The insurance guy says this is definitely something to pursue with Disputes.

I finally heard back from the Disputes people today. They found in my favor !

I am not the only person who has had this happen. So be careful renting from Europcar !

Dioramas ! What year is it ?

If you are in the 3rd grade, I guess May is diorama month.

But this got me thinking how many dioramas are needed until the hot glue gun and such are mastered. Because I don't think this medium is too educational beyond the craft-skills level.

How about teaching the kids to use Google SketchUp to make a virtual diorama ? Or iStopMotion to make a little educational movie set in a diorama ?

sigh ....

I know it is hot, but get outside !

This is just a quick post to remind you of various great thing you can do outdoors.
And, hey, they are all FREE!

• Yoga in Runyon Canyon
• Shakespeare in Barnsdall Park
• Hiking. Almost. Everywhere.
  
• Grand Performances in Downtown LA
  
• Movies at the cemetery