Simmons Consulting » Stuff

Oh, the irony

Toby Simmons — Tue, 18 Aug 2009 21:04:16 +0000

A while back I was driving to work and passed the University of Arkansas at Little Rock campus. Outside was a large electronic billboard flashing different notices for students and faculty. As I approached the board, I saw a large image of a cigarette with a circle/slash appearing over it, followed by these words:

UALR campus is smoke free as of Aug. 16!

Then, a few seconds later, the very next message appeared:

Art of the Peyote Religion and the Native American Church

Hmm … cigarettes = bad but peyote = good?

Breathtaking promo video

Toby Simmons — Thu, 19 Feb 2009 17:47:45 +0000

A promotional video was just released by thisisnext.org for their upcoming conference and it is beautiful. Go watch it and be moved.

Kids say (or e-mail) the funniest things

Toby Simmons — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 17:42:27 +0000

Penny has a niece that has started writing her e-mail. Her niece is seven or eight years old and is very precocious. She is kind of quiet but once she gets to know you, she is a real hoot and says the funniest things. Her latest e-mail went something like this:

I e-mail you. You e-mail me. It all works together.

–Emma

Oh, so THAT’s how it works! Maybe you just have to know her, but this just cracks me up.

Matt Mullenweg in Generation Kill?

Toby Simmons — Wed, 20 Aug 2008 04:08:09 +0000

I’ve been watching an HBO mini-series called Generation Kill. It’s a grim and gritty look at Marine forces that were involved in the second Iraq war. It is extremely well written and the actors seem to be authentic. But did anyone else realize that one Matt Mullenweg (the mastermind behind WordPress) is apparently moonlighting as Lt. Nate Fick? Inquiring minds want to know …

(It is actually Stark Sands that plays Lt. Nate Fick, but c’mon, you can see the resemblance, right?)

Cheap gas!

Toby Simmons — Thu, 06 Sep 2007 13:41:57 +0000

I don’t know how it happened but I suspect someone may have goofed. Typically when I fill my car with gas, I try to do it at the Kroger gas station where we get a 10 cent discount because we buy so many groceries. When I went to gas up my car yesterday I got a stunner of a deal. The sign outside said the price for unleaded should have been $2.71 (which should have been $2.61 with the discount.) I inserted my card and started pumping. I looked down and couldn’t believe my eyes: I was paying $2.17 a gallon!!! I thought this can’t possibly be right, but after filling up, I drove past the other pumps and they all had the price fixed at $2.27. I don’t bet it is still that cheap, but what a deal. I had to snap a picture just to prove it.

J&J sues American Red Cross … over red cross

Toby Simmons — Thu, 09 Aug 2007 13:09:27 +0000

It seems so typical and yet so disappointing that Johnson & Johnson is suing the America Red Cross over their use of a red cross. I think Penny summed it up well saying “That is just so petty.”

Slashdot: The sky is falling! (again, still)

Toby Simmons — Thu, 26 Jan 2006 13:36:23 +0000

Is it just me or does Slashdot tend to have an overabundance of "global-warming" scare articles? I’m all for being responsible and being a good steward of what we have here (after all, I happen to believe it is on loan from the real owner, God Himself) but the Slashdotters seem to get lathered up all the time about this issue. They bang that gong an awful lot.

Danger, Will Robinson!

Toby Simmons — Fri, 22 Jul 2005 20:16:17 +0000

The National Weather Service released the following warning today since it’s extremely hot right now (the current temperature is 100 °f with a heat-index of 110 °f)

…HEAT ADVISORY EXTENDED UNTIL 6 PM CDT SUNDAY…

A COMBINATION OF HEAT AND HIGH HUMIDITY LEVELS WILL ALLOW HEAT INDICES TO REACH 105 TO 110 DEGREES SATURDAY AND SUNDAY AFTERNOON. THIS WILL OCCUR IN AN AREA MAINLY SOUTH OF THE ARKANSAS RIVER… OR IN AREAS SOUTH OF A CLARKSVILLE TO AUGUSTA LINE.

CHILDREN…THE ELDERLY AND PEOPLE WITH CHRONIC AILMENTS ARE USUALLY THE FIRST TO SUFFER FROM THE HEAT. HEAT EXHAUSTION…CRAMPS…OR IN EXTREME CASES HEAT STROKE CAN RESULT FROM PROLONGED EXPOSURE TO THESE CONDITIONS. FRIENDS…RELATIVES…OR NEIGHBORS SHOULD CHECK ON PEOPLE WHO MAY BE AT RISK.

STOP OUTDOOR ACTIVITIES…DRINK LOTS OF WATER OR OTHER NON ALCOHOLIC BEVERAGES…WEAR LIGHT COLORED/LIGHT WEIGHT CLOTHES…AND IF POSSIBLE…SPEND MORE TIME IN AIR CONDITIONED OR WELL VENTILATED PLACES.

I’ve always thought that the NOAA guys had a great way with words.

Incredibly cool website

Toby Simmons — Mon, 09 May 2005 15:22:35 +0000

Dunno if you have seen this or not, but it’s good to go back and view it.

Vertigo: Then and Now

Catching planes in flight

Toby Simmons — Wed, 13 Apr 2005 18:00:41 +0000

A new Internet trend: Google sightseeing. One of the things to do with the satellite pictures Google has acquired is look for planes in flight.

Here’s one landing at the Little Rock Air Force Base in Jacksonville, Ark. It is probably a C130.