Today was the first time I dropped off my Audi for service. I must say I was delighted with the experience.

While I’ve always liked Audis and always aspired to own one some day, I never imagined the quality of service that would come with it! Last year, when I purchased the car I was similarly wowed by the pleasant experience (I know - crazy isn’t it?) at the dealership. I guess it comes with the price tag, but really its the kind of service and professionalism all car salesmen and dealerships should strive for. Several months later, I still LOVE MY CAR.

This level of service should not be limited to luxury cars. Its the way it should be for all!

Upon arriving at the service bay, I pulled up to two electric garage doors. One with the Porsche logo, one with the Audi circles. I lined up outside the Audi logo and the door magically opened. It was a rainy icky morning today, so that was a huge plus! Once inside, the door closed behind me and as I was stepping out of my vehicle I was greeted by my service adviser, who had a sheet ready with my appointment information and was taking notes on any additional details I needed had to provide.

Not 5 minutes later I moved on to the loaner/rental counter, where despite a computer system problem (unrelated to Audi - it was the rental company’s), I was given a car to drive at no charge - other than gas - which I will return tomorrow when I pick up mine.

I drove back to work with a smile on my face, and recall past service experiences with my previous cars. What a difference! Kodus to Audi!

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OK… I haven’t written any rants yet, and as hard as I’m trying to I just cannot accept that in the year 2008 I’m still getting bombarded with all sorts of pharmaceutical products in my in-boxes. Its interesting to see how different mail services handle spam better or worse, and I used to chuckle at deleting those caught in the fishnet of the spam filters and marvel at those that escaped, but now its getting to the point where I’m thinking there has to be something that can be done to stop this SPAM MACHINE.

I’m assuming its a model that works. Someone somewhere sometime must be clicking on the links on these emails, buying these medicines that normally require prescriptions from less than reputable sources and ‘over the counter’ or ‘over the e-mail’ and who knows what the pill that gets shipped is, what it contains, what its expiration date is and how many hands its gone through before it makes to the poor individual who will take it and God knows what the result will be - but for every time this happens, someone else is making money.

On top of the health risks of the free trade in these medications and deregulated consumption, I cannot help but denounce and protest the wasted bandwidth, cost and strain on the Internet as a system, as well as the ISPs from having to deal with the enormity of unsolicited, unwanted and unneeded crap mail. Every e-mail sent has a cost associated with it. Every byte of data transmitted, routed, rerouted and delivered is getting in the way of legitimate (one would hope) Internet traffic making my page to load slower and my downloads to finish later. I say enough already!

How many of us legitimately need to use words like xanax, vicodin, codine, viagra and the rest of the medicine cabinet on a daily basis in our e-mail communications? In the spirit of this rant, I propose that these words are regulated and unless you have some sort of digital signature which entitles and authorizes the use of such terms, the e-mail doesn’t even get sent! Straight to the trash. This of course isn’t the best solution, but as we can go to the moon, plan to go again and can browse satellite pictures of our houses from the Internet, we can also protect ourselves from unsolicited e-mail.

Now excuse me while I go send my bank account information to someone who needs to deposit $5,000,000,000 dollars for a few days, but fear not, because I get to keep 1% after the money is withdrawn a week later!

Filed under: Rant, internet, technology | 3 Comments »

This installment of optical illusions is dedicated to Akiyoshi Kitaoka’s anomalous motion illusions. The effects are much more noticeable in full size, so be sure to click on the images for a better view.
 

Shifting Crows

The top portion appears to move to the left, while the bottom appears to move to the right.

(Click the image for a full size view)

“Purple Donguriko” is the name of this image, but I like to call it Neon Jelly Beans.

The rows of beans appear to be on the move.

(Click the image for a full size view)

 
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I’m a long time enthusiast of Argentine wines. There is no question about it. The richness, flavor, body and overall taste of even the inexpensive varieties is incredible. Having lived in Argentina for a number of years, I developed a long list of favorites. Personally the Cabernet Sauvignon is my top choice, but Malbecs have also captivated my taste buds. My favorite ‘brand’/vineyard is Luigi Bosca, but there is a long list of excellent wines I enjoy. I may begin to write more about this…The full experience of a good Argentine Vino Tinto is hard to describe. I’m not well versed in the terms and jargon necessary to accurately convey the feeling into words. This past weekend, with great company, I opened a 2005 Gala 2 Luigi Bosca bottle. I’ve had this bottle for about 2 1/2 years and thought it was the right time to have it. This is a blended wine, harmoniously combining Cabernet Sauvignon, Cabernet Franc and Merlot. What an amazing wine. Fortunately only 2 of us where drinking red wine. Regardless, the bottle did not last long. I haven’t enjoyed a wine this much in quite some time.

I have a nice collection of wine bottles from Argentina, but I have a hard time uncorking them. On the one hand they are wonderful, but on the other hand, each bottle I open is a bottle less in my collection!

Tasting notes, from the Luigi Bosca website:

This Cabernet Sauvignon combined with Cabernet Franc and Merlot is extremely seductive at first sight. It is an elegant wine with outstanding structure. The concentration of black berries and toasty aromas obtained after 14 months of ageing in French oak is crowned with a long and velvety mid-taste.

Link: http://www.luigibosca.com.ar/2007/v8/en/gama/detalle.php?id=22

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I recently posted a number of amazing works of art by Julian Beever (3D Pavement Drawings).

The following is a time lapse video of the making of the “Girl In The Water” Aveeno advertising painting. It shows his technique, attention to detail and stunning execution. Enjoy!

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(click the image, or click here, for a full size view)

Its hard to imagine who would fork out $1,500 dollars for the top model, which comes with all active keys. Those who did either already got theirs, or will be getting it shortly. This certainly falls into the ‘must have’ gadget category… but its way too pricey for me.

One of them actually went on e-bay already and sold for $2,750 - almost double the retail value. Unbelievable! (http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=290202635658)

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I was lucky enough to get one of these the last time these were available, right after they launched, but then they quickly ran out. There were no black ones left in stock when I ordered this amazing backpack, so I got the “Sheet Metal” model instead. They are available on oakley.com once again!

At first I wasn’t entirely convinced it was as versatile and practical as it proved to be. In all honesty I wanted it because it looked like the baddest, meanest backpack I had ever seen and I just had to have it.

After traveling with it all over, I must admit that its he most comfortable and ‘packable’ (can get A LOT in it) I have ever seen.

To this day is still get funny looks from TSA personnel as the bag goes through the X-Ray machines at the security checkpoints in the airport. This bag looks more like a parachute than a pack-everything-you’ll-ever-need-on-your-trip backpack. I don’t go anywhere without it.

Product description from oakley.com:

Each Oakley pack has its own prime features. Get them all in one design. The KITCHEN SINK PACK offers every conceivable innovation, from a mobile phone pocket to a padded sleeve that holds a laptop up to 17″. The top storage compartment is compression molded to protect eyewear — or use it for a media player and take advantage of the headphone port. Cable zipper pulls let you add a lock to secure the main compartment. The mid-body access flap includes an inner organizer, and a compartment at the bottom has drainage ports for wet or soiled items. You also get plenty of pockets, attachment points and tie downs. Import.

Link: Oakley Kitchen Sink Pack

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The detail and realism in these is stunning. These paintings are great!

Click on each image for a larger view.

 
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This is by far the most vivid and pulsating image I have found so far. Deserves a post of its own.

To see it in full size, and get the full effect click here!

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For years Julian Beever has created amazing street art. These “anamorphic illusions” are drawn at a special distortion that results in the 3D effect when seen from a specific distance and angle. The results are quite amazing.

When seen from the “wrong angle”, the true dimensions and distortion is clearly visible.

But seen from the right angle, distance and perspective, produces a phenomenal effect.

 
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