The Italian Dance

For Thanksgiving, my family took a trip to Rome, Italy! It was an awesome trip, and you should stay tuned for an entry on the trip with some pictures. Italy is a bit different than the US (although, I would imagine most countries are). I took a cab from the airport to meet up with my parents and brothers (sister had to work :( ). Driving out of the airport, no big deal, just realizing that lane lines are just suggestions and not rules, along with the speed limit.

In Rome, the roads can get pretty narrow, and parking can be, well... wherever there's space. I wish I had some pictures of the spots cars would get through and makeshift parking spots on the side of building. The drivers may appear reckless at first as they zoom past a poorly parked car with pedestrians hugging the walls as the car passes, but rest assured, the Italians have some skills driving. They certainly know the boundaries of their cars... something I would venture to say that a lot of people from the States are not so good at.

Along with knowing their boundaries, they adjust very well to changing conditions. Say for instance a person tries walking out into the street. The car has a few options. The car can A) run over the human, B) brake for the human, C) swerve around the human. Usually it'll be B, which is nice for the walkers because you can just walk in front of a car and not worry about A, but sometimes it's C. If the car brakes or swerves though (and it's not really a swerve, just a quick move around the person), the other cars have to react (if the person gets run over, everyone can carry on (except the late pedestrian of course)). Italians are very good at this. If one car shifts to the left, the next car will do so to avoid a collision and perhaps move into oncoming traffic. At this point the cars on the other side will shift or brake to avoid a collision as well... and then everyone is a happy camper. I feel that those of us here in the States stay in our lane a little better, so if a car comes into a driver's lane, typically there won't be as much movement.

It's show a big difference with the culture and the way drivers drive. I think for the average American, seeing the roads there is a little different and takes a bit of adjustment, especially when walking in front of a car and seeing cars cut each other off with no hard feelings. Either way, in the end, I left feeling very comfortable when the taxi driver would go on a narrow road where a mistake could end in a lost side-mirror or a flattened foot.

PLEASE READ THIS!!!!!!!!!!!!

We've all gotten them, and maybe even been duped by them... hoaxes! They've been around for a long time. With the advent of the internet, spreading the word has become all too easy. Sometimes things get a little out of hand, but it is up to us to determine what is real and what seems out of place.

I don't know if it's just me, but I feel like there is a stereotype that Grandma's forward on hoax emails a lot (this stereotype may have arisen and been bolstered by my own Grandma). Well I happen to receive emails about crazy things that are going on in this world... like the worst virus announced by CNN, or last minute photo of the World Trade Center from the observation deck. Typically they are latent with words like, "You will not believe this..." or "Please tell EVERYONE" or "You will DIE if you don't forward" (ok, maybe not that drastic).

Even though I seem to get one of these emails once or twice a week from co-workers or my grandma, I find them rather entertaining because I like to see what kind of things people come up with to circulate. Be prepared to find different entries that I get from time to time....

The most recent one I got is from my Grandma regarding thieves using your VIN to request a duplicate key from the dealership and then stealing your car. What's interesting is that apparently this is based on true events, but if you think about it, is something the average person won't need to watch out for. As the Snopes article points out, the criminals used this tactic to steal cars from used car lots. Reason being the thief first has to get your VIN from the car, then forge documents, request and obtain key, then go back to the car to steal.

This would most likely take a few days (although, I'm sure if you thought about this very issue, and wished extremely hard for it NOT to happen to you, Murphy's law might work for the thief and they will have your car in an hour or less). So, unless the criminal really has it out for you and your car, you're probably safe.

So there ya go Grandma (and other people too)... as the Mythbusters would say:

Free Stuff

We all love free stuff! I mean, it costs nothing but acceptance and satisfaction (typically).

Well the other day, it just happened that Proctor and Gamble decided that they wanted to shower me with their gifts and make sure that I am using their product. They shipped to me a brand new Gillette Fusion Proglide! Well that's pretty nice of them. Despite the fact that it is only about $5 to get at a store, still pretty nice.

What makes this story even better is that on my birthday, they also sent me another razor, exactly like this one... free! But I didn't need to use since my normal razor was still working just fine. So about now, both of my razors are running pretty low (one blade left for my normal razor), and Gillette came to the rescue.

Considering I have one blade left and a brand new razor now, the new goal will be to extend the life of my razor coupled with well timed shaves to last until Gillette sends me a new razor... I think it's possible.

Wooo free stuff!