Tip of the Day: GetHuman (.com)

Does anyone use the phone anymore? I mean for TALKING, not texting! Okay, some of us old-timers still do. And even youngsters need to at times, when you just can't get something done via e-mail. Sometimes you need to talk to a real live human being.

Problem is, companies try to avoid letting you talk to a real person. They have e-mail addresses and chat windows, but many of them try to hide their phone numbers. And if they do publish a number, good luck getting through the voicemail mazes they set up.

So when I saw this website, I had to share it. Okay, I admit it, by publishing it to my blog it will be easier for ME to remember it when I need it. Regardless, it's a great site.

GetHuman.com
"Need a company phone number? Other tips or information? GetHuman is the ultimate consumer tool with phone numbers, shortcuts, reviews, tips, and more for companies worldwide."
http://gethuman.com/

Song of the Day: Gemma Hayes - At Constant Speed

Saw this song online. Beautiful and sad. Listen to it a few times, see if it doesn't grow on you.

Gemma Hayes - At Constant Speed
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ur1ji8Rg0IU

Songs of the Day: Eva Cassidy - Time After Time; Allison Crowe - Time After Time

I posted yesterday about how some songs just make great covers. As good as "Use Somebody" is, this is probably my favorite: Time After Time, by Cyndi Lauper. I don't know what it is, but I don't think I've ever heard a bad version of it.

Here are two great versions of Time After Time:

Eva Cassidy - Time After Time Live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lWJ3GCWTqqs

Time After Time (Cyndi Lauper) - Allison Crowe live
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-LbqgTR9XHk


Here is a search for the song on YouTube:
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=time+after+time&aq=f

And an unexpected find:
Matchbox 20 - Time After Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UuxCOjoFp7Y


And the original (with the CLASSIC video):
Cyndi Lauper - Time After Time
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VdQY7BusJNU


Bonus points to anyone out there old enough to remember watching this on Friday Night Videos (as I did!), by the way.

What's that? You don't remember Friday Night Videos????????

It was a music video show on broadcast TV, launched after MTV took cable by storm. Yes, those were the good old days, when music channels like MTV actually played ... MUSIC! I know, hard to believe, but they really did play music once upon a time! No, really, they did!

Look up Friday Night Videos on YouTube. Looks kind of dated now, but I assure you it was very cutting edge at the time. Those of us who didn't get cable TV relied on Friday Night Videos!
http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=friday+night+videos&aq=f

Songs of the Day: Laura Jansen - Use Somebody; Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody

You know how there are some songs that can be covered a bunch of times and still touch you? How the song just brings out the best in an artist? Use Somebody by Kings of Leon is one of those songs.

Here are two great covers of this great song.

Laura Jansen - Use Somebody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rBzcOUOY5YY

Bat For Lashes - Use Somebody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6Y10cEM353k

And, of course, the original:
Kings Of Leon - Use Somebody
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gnhXHvRoUd0

Polar Bear

Went out to Lake Superior today (Black River Harbor). Water was cold, but I always make it a point to get in and swim when I get an opportunity to visit the greatest of the Great Lakes, it's a point of pride with me.

Long story short: That's the coldest water I've ever been in. By far. When I got in my body kind of shut down for a moment, it was shocking how cold it was. Anyway, I didn't think much more about it, and I even went in a second time.

But then back at my dad's house we started talking about how cold the water was. He said that the last ice only melted about two weeks ago (and there are still patches of snow on the ground, by the way).

So I looked up the surface temperature online. Surface temps for Lake Superior can be found here, courtesy of CoastWatch, by Michigan Tech:
http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/

Here is the link for the western part of the lake:
http://www.coastwatch.msu.edu/superior/s1.html

I was shocked to find that the temperature was 37 degrees!!! No wonder it felt so cold! Yes, I swam for a bit and I got my head under the water. But DAMN, it was COLD!

It was so cold that it reminded me of one of my favorite jokes. I've heard this joke told slightly differently, but this is the best link I found:
"The Funniest Joke: Baby Polar Bear"
http://hubpages.com/hub/The-Funniest-Joke-Baby-Polar-Bear

Yes, I was wondering if I was 100% pure polar bear at that moment, when I dunked my whole body into the water. Because I was fucking freezing. :)