Cash Cab - now you know.

Cash Cab is easily one of the most addicting tv game shows on, and although that claim is based on the opinion of someone who watches no other game shows. . .  it is, isn't it!? So, today, I am going to research the secret behind the elusive cab.
I cannot handle surprises, or magic tricks, or not knowing in general. I like to have the answers to all the questions my brain pokes itself with. Hence, my severe affection for Google.


link1: ABOUT.COM: is cash cab real?
Here, I learned that Ben Bailey, a comedian by trade, is actually a cab driver, having passed all the necessary tests. The cab is a real cab. Oh, and this:

"If you've watched the end credits of the show closely, you've seen the line, "Some contestants have been pre-screened prior to their appearance on the show." This opens up a whole can of worms that leads to all kinds of rumors and assumptions."

So, most contestants - most, not all, according to About - know that they are going to be on a game show. They take a quiz and pass it, then are told they will be getting picked up to go to the show. TA-DA, Cash Cab arrives. Must account for the surprised faches. I also learned that he has an earpiece in, so he knows the questions and answers and all sorts of other info without  taking his eyes off the road.

link2: MEDIABISTRO.COM: how to get on cash cab
One of my favorite sites. They offer a first hand account. There is no way to really test the validity, but I trust mediabistro. Here's a snippet:

"Without giving away too much, I was a contestant on the Cash Cab in late May, 2006. There was a screener that approached my group talking about a "Reality show" and how we were just what they were looking for. We were inside a bar at South Street Seaport and kind of in the bag at the time. After the front company arranges a spot for us to get a ride to the destination of the reality show, Ben's cab convienently shows up. There is quite a bit that is cut out during the taping, I guess to keep the show at a "G" rating. I was told that it is 50/50 random/staged pick-up (I am thinking nighttime is random)"

Also, learned that the money he hands the contestants is fake. They get mailed a check.

FINALLY, an interview with Ben Bailey from the Daily News: 7 questions for cash cab host
Eeenteresting:

What rules wouldn't the average rider know about?
There's a law that if I make eye contact with a customer, and it's understood between us that I'm going to pick them up, I can't pick anyone else up.

Rosendale, Spring

 

I have seen/learned/done MANY good and interesting things in the last few days, but I'll write about them later. so now,

 photos!

click here, too. good things.

Happiness, and pointless amusement.

I like my emails to be short and concise. GET TO THE POINT, then go away. So I rarely subscribe to any type of daily mailing, newsletter, etc. A few weeks ago, I took the Dosha Quiz at whatsyourdosha.com, and inadvertently got enrolled in a "daily wisdom message." I love it! They are only a few lines always inspiring. Here is today's:

"If you are unhappy, you are too high up in your mind."

-Carl Jung

And, just for fun, Flower discovering the complexities of a drinking straw.

leaving and other new things

So, I'm moving to Asia for a year.

The plan has been in motion since New Years, but it is only now starting to hit me. I'm nervous. I know I can be in contact with important people, (Skype is definitely on the way to verbdom), and I know I will enjoy myself and appreciate the experience - how could I not? 

New has always proved to be a good thing. But still - the anticipation is like digesting a ball of tinfoil.

New is also something I haven't done in a while. And I think that's the problem. Luckily, it's also something the earth hasn't done in a while.
It makes it feel ok.
I went on the muddiest, snowiest sweaty hike yesterday. Wintery snow and dead plant life still loom, but blooms and buds and other new things are popping up and the sun is getting warmer. 
It was probably the worst possible day to do such a thing, the second 50+ degree day only weeks after 2 snowpocolypses (snowpocolypsai?) covered the tri-state area. I went to be in nature, whatever that means, and by the end of the 2.6 miles I was exhausted from steadying myself on sheets of shaded ice and my toes were swimming in sopping wet socks inside fully saturated boots. It was gross. But I felt renewed and stronger.
It reminded me that most people can do a lot more than they think they can, that you should follow your heart and that pushing yourself promotes growth. It's all in the getting up and doing.
It's all about perseverance now - I think better days are ahead. Winter can't last forever!

There is a camera hanging around my heart.

(Joni is a conduit)

Just a little green
Like the color when the spring is born
There'll be crocuses to bring to school tomorrow
Just a little green
Like the nights when the Northern lights perform
There'll be icicles and birthday clothes
And sometimes there'll be sorrow

the earth is defrosting.

"The mind can store an estimated 100 trillion bits of information - compared with which a computer's mere billions are virtually amnesiac."