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At first it seemed somewhat unreal, that the person I was speaking to on the phone was possibly a robot or one of those “Madame Merconi” fortune-telling carnival machines come to life. You know the ones with spooky glowing eyes, a rigid Charlie McCarthy puppet-like jaw and palm facing up eager for your quarter and an open-mind.

The voice on the other end of the line quickly went from semi-unintelligible to socks-in-the-mouth syndrome and then silence. Silence? Did I say something? Offend someone possibly? No, probably not. It wasn’t one of those kind of conversations, where two people manage to agitate one another in 15 words or less. Following the silence, the person, a woman, maybe in her mid-30s, I wasn’t sure, chimed back in. She finally spoke, “Yes? Hmm? What you want?”.

I slid the menu across my desk, quickly scanned some food choices and then responded that I wanted a combo. “What combo? Yes? What? Hmm?”, she said once again in a rushed, there-isn’t-enough-time left today attitude. Right then I had an impulsive desire to ask her some of the questions I had on my mind throughout the week.

Questions like if there really is a meaning to life (and I’m sure that answer could be quite lengthy) I’ve often wondered if there’s a condensed answer in the form of a tabbed, color-coded Cliff Notes guide? Or, would I ever be able to schedule a meeting with the Dalai Lama in my lifetime and had if were blessed with such an opportunity, what would be the first thing I’d say?

Eventually I snapped out of that mental state and told her that I’d have the orange chicken today, with an extra fortune cookie because if anything I was convinced that little slip of paper might be able to answer at least one of my questions.

If you grew up in the mid-80s like I did, you probably remember Full House, a wholesome family sitcom that first aired September 22^nd, 1987 and had a run of almost ten years, ending in May 1995.

The premise of the show was rather simple and mostly sugar-coated and the issues were, for the most part, contemporary. Basically, it centered on a widowed father named Danny Tanner (performed by Bob “America’s Funniest Videos” Saget) who is responsible for raising his three children; D.J. (Candace Cameron), Stephanie (Jodie Sweetin) and Michelle (famously performed by both of the Olsen Twins; Mary-Kate and Ashley) after his wife is tragically killed in a car accident.

To help raise his children and soothe the healing process over losing his wife Danny enlists support from Joey Gladstone (Dave Coulier), his best friend from his old high school days, and his wife’s younger brother Jesse Katsopolis (John Stamos). Throughout the course of the show, every character–especially the children–deals with typical sitcom issues like drug use, safe sex, morality, dating, you name it, it was most likely covered and then discussed with sincerity and emotion.

It seems like everyone can associate themselves with a particular character or rather disassociate themselves for some reason or another. Whatever your reasoning might be for liking or disliking a character, it’s an interesting study nonetheless.

Consider for a moment that you happen to like a character purely because they seem sociable and agreeable in most cases and likewise you consider these virtues a part of your own personality.

On the other hand, you might enjoy a character because they aren’t like you at all. They may be dishonest, heartless or shallow and you enjoy this because it’s an alternate version of yourself or it’s just entertaining, that or the actor performs the part in a dysfunctional and yet appealing manner, maybe comedically or straightforward, whatever the case you enjoy that character.

Which is why I’m conducting a random poll (by random I mean, hey you had no idea I’d do this) on who your favorite character is from Full House is. There is no scientific reasoning behind this other than just for curiosity and fun. Please, feel free to participate in the poll and leave any comments as to why you chose a particular character over another.

I’m using PollPub, a shiny Web 2.0 polling service to see how this turns out.

The Poll

Please use the direct link (served by PollPub on their servers) for the poll: Who is your favorite character on Full House?.

There was an A&E documentary on the World Trade Center the other night, discussing–as well as criticizing–the early planning phases and construction of the WTC.

It also focused somewhat on the shortcomings of the WTC, such as stairwells hugging the core of the building providing what they thought was extra stability, that led to so many civilian casualties during the 2001 attacks.

There was obvious concern over the methods used for high-rise building evacuation. In most cases stairways are used, provided that they are in working condition. The planes that struck the WTC buildings destroyed a large portion of the stairs which in turn contributed to the lack of proper evacuation.

As I watching this, I was thinking about better ways for efficient and safe evacuation during high-rise building emergencies. One solution (not necessary failsafe) that occurred to me was an enclosed slide that essentially loops around the building. The slide itself would be oiled so that when groups of individuals are preparing to evacuate, they descend in such a manner where clogging of the slide would be prevented.

Again, not a failsafe method of course, but I believe one that doesn’t rely on the shortcomings that occur with stairways. If you’ve ever used the stairs in a high-rise building you know that this isn’t an efficient means of getting people out of the building in a timely fashion, especially during an emergency when people typically lose the ability to think sensibly.

Yet, when I was thinking about this I realized that using a slide could also lead to oversights in the process of evacuation. It’s possible that like the stairs in the WTC building, a portion of the slide could also be destroyed. That said, it’s difficult to try and come up with various ways to efficiently transport people out of a building and at the same time making sure the means of doing so are safe and expedient.

There are other methods such as zip lines (think James Bond or the military), extendable slides and chute systems that could work but again, which of these would actually work when the real thing occurs, as opposed to just testing them in labs.

I personally don’t think we’ve found a perfect system yet, despite how much technology has improved in the past 20 years, and I don’t feel like we ever will.

What should be stressed however is that we need to have alternate ways of evacuating people from structures to prevent massive casualties when an emergency occurs.

I’ve noticed that web folks are diligently recapping the events that occurred to them in the year 2006.

Always willing to follow suit when it comes to tradition, it’s no surprise to me that last year was one of the more plentiful years in my lifetime. There were many experiences that I’ll cherish for a lifetime and those can be attributed in most cases to the friends that I met for the first time (in person, and not through a computer screen) at SXSW.

Bear with me, as I’ve got a plethora of info to cover, but also know that while it’s intentionally “wordy” it’s also pretty meaningful to me.

To recap:

• My son, Quinn Harrison, was born February 9th, 2006. I remember receiving the call while I was at work from my father-in-law informing me that I needed to make a mad dash to the hospital. He didn’t use “mad” or “dash”, but I certainly didn’t need any more convincing. Quinn is a joy to have around–as is our daughter Zoe–and while they drive us a bit batty sometimes, it’s worth it.
• I also transitioned to a new job with new hours, after being let go from a job I held for close to 3 years. It wasn’t the easiest move to make, but turned out just fine in the end. If anything, it allowed me to spend more time with my kids and that to me is more important than anything.
• Going to SXSW ‘06 was a treat for sure. Meeting many talented, funny and down to earth people made me realize that deep down we’re all in the same boat. Honorable mentions, or shout outs, go to Jonathan Snook, Dave Seah, Eric Shepherd, Robert ‘The Swede’ Nyman (who carried on the tradition of calling me ‘Sagen’, passed down many generations no thanks to the US military), Nathan Smith, Joshua Lane, Zach Inglis, Derek Featherstone (thanks for the Star Wars arcade time) and many, many others. This year will be the first time that I’ll be participating on a panel with the likes of Dan Rubin, Anton Peck and Glenda Sims. (more to follow on that)
• Tragically, however, my mother passed away at the age of 45. It came as quite a shock to my brother and I as we had no clue that she was so sick. For the both us, it was a heartfelt and coming-of-age experience shared with our sister whom we’ve had little contact with over the years, or I should say not as much contact as we’d like.
• As a family we traveled once again to California (our old stomping grounds) to visit friends and family. It was too short but full of meaning and good memories to boot.
• Towards the end of the year my daughter Zoe turned 3 years old, proclaiming, every hour of every minute of every second of the day, that it was indeed her birthday. She even let complete strangers know of her wonderful day.

In the end, 2006 was pretty eventful and a year I’ll remember for a long time. I’m crossing my fingers and scrunching my face that 2007 will be just as good and alongside that thought that I’ll meet many others and continue pursuing my personal goals in life.

To my readers, thank you for staying with me this long (yes, you know who you are) and interacting with what I have to say. You, alone, have made this site something completely different than what it originally was supposed to be.

I hope every one of your resolutions came true last year, and that those you’ve set this year will carry you along.