I just discovered Wil Wheaton's blog, WWdN: In Exile, and I'm loving it. And I'm loving that I found it from a tweet from Neil Gaiman on Twitter. Ah, technology how I love thee. I've been surfing back through some of Wil's posts and had come across this, hit play and then kept reading. It's beautiful. Hit play and sit back and just listen. Her name is Zoe Keating and this is her website.
Taken directly from Mr. Wheaton himself.....
"See that MacBook next to her? She uses that to sample herself several times to build a rhythm, and then she plays over it, like a one-woman string quartet. Or quintet. Or awesometet. I didn't realize this the first time I heard her; I just thought her music was haunting and beautiful, but once I knew what she was doing, I was awestruck. In fact, knowing how she does it, I defy you to listen to it again and keep your jaw off the floor."
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Showing posts with label technology. Show all posts
Friday, February 27, 2009
Tuesday, December 30, 2008
I'm amazed I don't just drink all day
This is why I drink at night....
Step One: Email is sent to Program Coordinator (that's me!) from Board member with some random question.
Step Two: Program Coordinator sends said email to a un-named Manager with intro question "Do you want to reply to this, or do you want me to?"
Step Three: Manager replies with "I will - please forward her email so I can respond"
Step Four: Program Coordinator calls Manager, confused, and asks, "what do you mean - forward the email? As in something different than the email I just sent you?"
Step Five: Manager says "Why don't you forward me the original email, so it doesn't have your question on it and I can reply to it that way"
Step Six: Program Coordinator replies (dumbfounded) "Okay"
Step Seven: Program Coordinator silently shakes head as she thinks about the forwarding/replying email process. Knowing that Manager is going to have to use the forward function on her email regardless of which version it is. Program Coordinator then comes to the conclusion that apparently it's just too difficult for the Manager to delete the intro.
Step Eight: Program Coordinator takes break outside while contemplating job options.
Step One: Email is sent to Program Coordinator (that's me!) from Board member with some random question.
Step Two: Program Coordinator sends said email to a un-named Manager with intro question "Do you want to reply to this, or do you want me to?"
Step Three: Manager replies with "I will - please forward her email so I can respond"
Step Four: Program Coordinator calls Manager, confused, and asks, "what do you mean - forward the email? As in something different than the email I just sent you?"
Step Five: Manager says "Why don't you forward me the original email, so it doesn't have your question on it and I can reply to it that way"
Step Six: Program Coordinator replies (dumbfounded) "Okay"
Step Seven: Program Coordinator silently shakes head as she thinks about the forwarding/replying email process. Knowing that Manager is going to have to use the forward function on her email regardless of which version it is. Program Coordinator then comes to the conclusion that apparently it's just too difficult for the Manager to delete the intro.
Step Eight: Program Coordinator takes break outside while contemplating job options.
Monday, August 25, 2008
Lousy 3 percent
A few months ago, I think April to be exact, I met a guy. I had heard about this guy from a mutual friend who thought we would hit it off and she really wanted to hook us up. Catch was, he was just getting out of a long term relationship and it was an ugly break up. I briefly interacted with him at a party that our mutual friend was hosting and quickly made clear to all my friends that I was not interested. While he did show up with gin, and was not horribly unattractive, the guy was just in too dark a place for me to even begin to get involved in. Plus, there were a few extra complications that just made the whole situation icky.
Fast forward to about a month later. Early May and we run into each other again at earlier mentioned mutual friends A Capella concert. Apparently by that time all my misgivings had dissipated because I began to eyeball the guy as a possibility. Play the night on high speed and by the end I had made my move. A brief make out session on a street corner, a quick invite with the rules laid out (I wouldn't sleep with him), and we were soon in a cab on the way to my apartment.
What followed was what I could only presume to be a good time had by all. We left with no exchange of info and had an awkward/slightly cute exchange between mutual friend to set up plans again. Within the week we hung out again, again at my place, and again he spent the night (same rules as night #1 - I do have some standards).
The rest is pretty simple and slightly painful so I am making the executive decision not to go into gory details. Basically after date #2 - nothing. A few feeble attempts at email exchange and then bam! off the grid he went. It took me awhile to get him off my mind, wondering what I did wrong, what move I should or should not have made, but eventually he dissipated from my thoughts.
And then out of nowhere he pops up again. But not in any kind of actual form of communication, oh no that would be way, way to simple. No, I randomly got a friend request a few weeks ago through a book site I am a part of called Good Reads. No message, no warning, just a "Hey, So-and-so wants to be your friend!" standard message. Being the fool I am I thought, what the hell, I'll accept it, maybe I can get some good book recommendations off the kid. Turns out, he doesn't even have any freaking books listed. WTF?
So we have sat in this stasis for a few weeks, where I have no idea what the hell he wants or if he even realizes who I am that he has invited to be friends with. Turning 28 this weekend kicked my ass into gear apparently because I decided this was 7th grade BS and I sent him a quick and basic message asking if he had a particular reason for friending me, or was it one of those add all your friends from your email address book kind of things.
And now I wait. I wait to see if he replies. I wait to see if he has anything to say for himself. And as I wait, I find myself in the most unsettling of situations. 97% of me is pretty ticked off. I finally got this guy off my internal radar, and wham he jumps back on with no explanation at all. 97% of me is filled with a fuck you attitude that says unless you've been trapped in a damn coal mine for 3 months I've got nothing to say to you. 97% of me knows I am better than this, knows I kick ass and take names, and has no time for folks with no decency to have a conversation with someone if they aren't interested, but instead just leaves them hanging. But 3% of me, the 3% that lives somewhere down in my big toe, the part that is crushed into my high heeled, muscle cramp causing shoes for work, 3 fucking percent of me knows that if he emailed and said sorry, want to get coffee? I would say "okay". 3 bloody percent.
Fast forward to about a month later. Early May and we run into each other again at earlier mentioned mutual friends A Capella concert. Apparently by that time all my misgivings had dissipated because I began to eyeball the guy as a possibility. Play the night on high speed and by the end I had made my move. A brief make out session on a street corner, a quick invite with the rules laid out (I wouldn't sleep with him), and we were soon in a cab on the way to my apartment.
What followed was what I could only presume to be a good time had by all. We left with no exchange of info and had an awkward/slightly cute exchange between mutual friend to set up plans again. Within the week we hung out again, again at my place, and again he spent the night (same rules as night #1 - I do have some standards).
The rest is pretty simple and slightly painful so I am making the executive decision not to go into gory details. Basically after date #2 - nothing. A few feeble attempts at email exchange and then bam! off the grid he went. It took me awhile to get him off my mind, wondering what I did wrong, what move I should or should not have made, but eventually he dissipated from my thoughts.
And then out of nowhere he pops up again. But not in any kind of actual form of communication, oh no that would be way, way to simple. No, I randomly got a friend request a few weeks ago through a book site I am a part of called Good Reads. No message, no warning, just a "Hey, So-and-so wants to be your friend!" standard message. Being the fool I am I thought, what the hell, I'll accept it, maybe I can get some good book recommendations off the kid. Turns out, he doesn't even have any freaking books listed. WTF?
So we have sat in this stasis for a few weeks, where I have no idea what the hell he wants or if he even realizes who I am that he has invited to be friends with. Turning 28 this weekend kicked my ass into gear apparently because I decided this was 7th grade BS and I sent him a quick and basic message asking if he had a particular reason for friending me, or was it one of those add all your friends from your email address book kind of things.
And now I wait. I wait to see if he replies. I wait to see if he has anything to say for himself. And as I wait, I find myself in the most unsettling of situations. 97% of me is pretty ticked off. I finally got this guy off my internal radar, and wham he jumps back on with no explanation at all. 97% of me is filled with a fuck you attitude that says unless you've been trapped in a damn coal mine for 3 months I've got nothing to say to you. 97% of me knows I am better than this, knows I kick ass and take names, and has no time for folks with no decency to have a conversation with someone if they aren't interested, but instead just leaves them hanging. But 3% of me, the 3% that lives somewhere down in my big toe, the part that is crushed into my high heeled, muscle cramp causing shoes for work, 3 fucking percent of me knows that if he emailed and said sorry, want to get coffee? I would say "okay". 3 bloody percent.
Friday, July 25, 2008
Shall we play a game?
25 years ago a brilliant movie was released. I watched this movie countless times as a kid - on TV, on beta max, on VHS. Yesterday that brought that movie back for one night to the big screen all over the country. That movie was War Games. If you are not familiar with this film than I highly recommend you go out and rent it - trust me, it's the best 114 minutes you will spend this weekend.
The basic idea of the movie is that a high school kid hacks into the back end of a military computer and starts a worldwide nuclear war, though he thinks he's just playing a game. This was before personal computers were common place in the American household. There were no laptops in every coffee shop, no such thing as the internet. It was the forefront of what was soon to be possible. It was also released at a time when the threat of an all out nuclear war was something that still hung in the minds of most individuals as one of the scariest things imaginable (not to say that this is not something that is still pretty freaking scary today).
My family loved this movie. So yesterday my mom drove to Harvard, IL and took a Metra into the city. My brother jumped on the Metro in DC and headed out to Virginia (he originally wanted to go to NY but by the time he got in touch with his friend, they were sold out). And even though we were separated by time zones and many miles we all settled into watch this long time favorite on the big screen together.
It aired at 7:30 p.m. regardless of where you were so my brother actually got a jump start on the viewing pleasure. Here in Chicago we got to the theater probably about the time he was starting (so basically ridiculously early) and settled into wait. The show began with nice never before seen interviews and history of the film, a really crappy preview for the sequel they are making and eventually the originally story began. The audience was pretty decent, some loud laughter at moments, especially during the old technology scenes, but overall not too chatty. Then two thirds of the way through it happened.
The scene is at night and the two kids have decided not to give up hope and are trying to find a way back to the mainland (watch the movie and this will all make sense), when the screen goes dark. Yup. Dark. Movie stopped, no idea what has happened. The whole audience audibly groans. People start to get fidgety and complain. Then we all burst out laughing. Because there in the corner of the screen, faint and almost ghost like is the image of a "start" button from a computer screen. That's right. A start menu button. In the middle of the movie about a computer who learns and takes over military nuclear warheads. It was great. Almost as good was when I pulled out my phone to see what time it was and saw I had a text message from my brother. It read - "Hope ur movie went ok. Ours crashed towards the end. Computer problem. The irony is great."
Halfway across the country the movie crashed in the same damn place. He was right, and the irony was just getting better. Our film eventually started back up and we got to go to the glorious end. Turns out they never got the east coast up and running again - guess being an hour behind isn't such a bad thing some days.
The basic idea of the movie is that a high school kid hacks into the back end of a military computer and starts a worldwide nuclear war, though he thinks he's just playing a game. This was before personal computers were common place in the American household. There were no laptops in every coffee shop, no such thing as the internet. It was the forefront of what was soon to be possible. It was also released at a time when the threat of an all out nuclear war was something that still hung in the minds of most individuals as one of the scariest things imaginable (not to say that this is not something that is still pretty freaking scary today).
My family loved this movie. So yesterday my mom drove to Harvard, IL and took a Metra into the city. My brother jumped on the Metro in DC and headed out to Virginia (he originally wanted to go to NY but by the time he got in touch with his friend, they were sold out). And even though we were separated by time zones and many miles we all settled into watch this long time favorite on the big screen together.
It aired at 7:30 p.m. regardless of where you were so my brother actually got a jump start on the viewing pleasure. Here in Chicago we got to the theater probably about the time he was starting (so basically ridiculously early) and settled into wait. The show began with nice never before seen interviews and history of the film, a really crappy preview for the sequel they are making and eventually the originally story began. The audience was pretty decent, some loud laughter at moments, especially during the old technology scenes, but overall not too chatty. Then two thirds of the way through it happened.
The scene is at night and the two kids have decided not to give up hope and are trying to find a way back to the mainland (watch the movie and this will all make sense), when the screen goes dark. Yup. Dark. Movie stopped, no idea what has happened. The whole audience audibly groans. People start to get fidgety and complain. Then we all burst out laughing. Because there in the corner of the screen, faint and almost ghost like is the image of a "start" button from a computer screen. That's right. A start menu button. In the middle of the movie about a computer who learns and takes over military nuclear warheads. It was great. Almost as good was when I pulled out my phone to see what time it was and saw I had a text message from my brother. It read - "Hope ur movie went ok. Ours crashed towards the end. Computer problem. The irony is great."
Halfway across the country the movie crashed in the same damn place. He was right, and the irony was just getting better. Our film eventually started back up and we got to go to the glorious end. Turns out they never got the east coast up and running again - guess being an hour behind isn't such a bad thing some days.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
3...2....1....
This week (and last) are really really busy so I don't have much time for a full fledged update or rant. So far this summer I've seen Feist at Ravinia, Public Enemy at Pitchfork, Hulk and Hancock. I'm going to War Games tomorrow and hopefully will get to see the newest Batman sometime soon. Also coming up is a trip to a horse race track (first time for me!), my birthday with possible festivities, and a visit from my brother as he swings his way around the country before jettisoning off to a tropical island to live and play.
But today I saw something I just had to share. The newest gadgetry found at Staples. DVD's that will self destruct in 48 hours. Okay, so maybe they don't actually blow up (my coworker wouldn't let me use the company credit card to find out) - but how else would this work? I could read the webpage, but that's no fun. Instead I like to believe that after two days of activation they have a James Bondian demise.
But today I saw something I just had to share. The newest gadgetry found at Staples. DVD's that will self destruct in 48 hours. Okay, so maybe they don't actually blow up (my coworker wouldn't let me use the company credit card to find out) - but how else would this work? I could read the webpage, but that's no fun. Instead I like to believe that after two days of activation they have a James Bondian demise.
Monday, June 30, 2008
More Wordle
I assume I will get tired of this at some point...This one is from the whole blog so far. Thanks to Will for actually getting me the text document this morning, glad to see someone has even less to do at their job than me. It seemed that the words changed each time I went to mess with color or font so I stopped when I saw that it had pulled "fucking" and "gaiman" because that made me happy.
And again, here is the tiny linked version to the gallery pic.
Tuesday, February 12, 2008
One in a ...?
I would love it if someone better at math than me (and don't get me wrong, I'm not too shabby when it comes to the numbers, I just don't have the time to lay this one out) could figure out the odds of this conundrum. In a city of 3 million, what are the odds that a Missed Connection posted on the website Craigslist will be found by the actual intended recipient? Because depending on the results of that math, I just may need to take my ass into a casino and roll with it.
Here's how the story goes....there's this boy (isn't there always?) who has caught my eye on a few occasions and I was interested in knowing more about him. Catch is he works in one of my favorite hang out/relax and unwind places so it made it slightly awkward to approach him as the situation is undoubtedly me=customer, him=working....and who really wants to get hit on while at work? So I decided on some high tech recon by way of the glorious internet. I mean really, what can you not do these days by way of the good old WWW? It's almost as if the internet's main goal was to elevate stalking to a higher grass-stain free plane of existence... but I digress.
So, clever as I thought I was, I posted myself a pretty much 90 percent false missed connection on Craigslist. I find it not even remotely possible that there are readers out there unfamiliar with at least the concept of Craigslist, but if there are check it out here and prepare to have the rest of your day sucked away down the rabbit hole.
The whole idea was to try and flush out information about the kid, so I pretended that I had just recently stopped in the store for the first time and saw him and that said store was not really in my neighborhood. Truth - I'm in there all the damn time, I have been checking him out for awhile now, and it's completely and totally in my hood.
So the hours pass and I actually get a reply from a supportive neighbor who suggests "if hes single you should totally go for it, i live in the area and ive seen him a few times and thought he was totally cute!" (all punctuation and spelling complete from original sender). Not quite what I was looking for, but hey it's good to know strangers got my back.
Then it happens. The email comes in to my inbox like a stealth bomber and knocks me completely for a loop. I get a reply, with all the information I could of ever wanted. I get a reply from him. Complete with last name so now he is Google-able (which may not be a word quite yet, but ya'll know exactly what I mean).
And now I am stuck between a rock and a really embarrassing place. If/when I reply I have to now fess up that the original missed connection was pretty much a recon mission and that in reality he knows perfectly well who I am. As soon as he sees my name on the email he will probably figure it out.
So as I formulate my eventual reply, and I will reply because now I have to see what will happen, I just need someone to do the math for me on the odds of this whole damn thing happening, because if I need to rearrange my schedule to get to an East Chicago riverboat....
Here's how the story goes....there's this boy (isn't there always?) who has caught my eye on a few occasions and I was interested in knowing more about him. Catch is he works in one of my favorite hang out/relax and unwind places so it made it slightly awkward to approach him as the situation is undoubtedly me=customer, him=working....and who really wants to get hit on while at work? So I decided on some high tech recon by way of the glorious internet. I mean really, what can you not do these days by way of the good old WWW? It's almost as if the internet's main goal was to elevate stalking to a higher grass-stain free plane of existence... but I digress.
So, clever as I thought I was, I posted myself a pretty much 90 percent false missed connection on Craigslist. I find it not even remotely possible that there are readers out there unfamiliar with at least the concept of Craigslist, but if there are check it out here and prepare to have the rest of your day sucked away down the rabbit hole.
The whole idea was to try and flush out information about the kid, so I pretended that I had just recently stopped in the store for the first time and saw him and that said store was not really in my neighborhood. Truth - I'm in there all the damn time, I have been checking him out for awhile now, and it's completely and totally in my hood.
So the hours pass and I actually get a reply from a supportive neighbor who suggests "if hes single you should totally go for it, i live in the area and ive seen him a few times and thought he was totally cute!" (all punctuation and spelling complete from original sender). Not quite what I was looking for, but hey it's good to know strangers got my back.
Then it happens. The email comes in to my inbox like a stealth bomber and knocks me completely for a loop. I get a reply, with all the information I could of ever wanted. I get a reply from him. Complete with last name so now he is Google-able (which may not be a word quite yet, but ya'll know exactly what I mean).
And now I am stuck between a rock and a really embarrassing place. If/when I reply I have to now fess up that the original missed connection was pretty much a recon mission and that in reality he knows perfectly well who I am. As soon as he sees my name on the email he will probably figure it out.
So as I formulate my eventual reply, and I will reply because now I have to see what will happen, I just need someone to do the math for me on the odds of this whole damn thing happening, because if I need to rearrange my schedule to get to an East Chicago riverboat....
Tuesday, December 11, 2007
Video of the Day
Banned books, kids movies that get the religious right all pissed off - these are things that entertain me throughout the day. So now I have the joy of bringing you this video - a banned Durex commercial....Enjoy!
Thursday, December 6, 2007
Friday, November 30, 2007
Tis the Season...
....that all the cool toys come out to play. As a closet geek, I love this stuff and while Christmas and I aren't exactly on speaking terms most years, I am secretly excited to see the new techno toys that will be bombarding us. First up is Kindle from Amazon. I haven't looked too much into it (it's still $400 and bound to be bug filled) but first got wind of it through Gaiman's blog (November 20th entry). Opening general gist - it's a portable, reloadable, downloadable book. Which means I'm probably gonna love it. Though there is no way to infuse the plastic with the smell of an actual book (which is one of my most favorite smells), I hope I know someone that gets one so I can play with it.
Today I came across a random "What to buy the techno geek in your life" list that are always so popular at this time of year. This list ranged from $100 - $140,000 so I guess it's something for everyone. My favorites were the $7500 digital, personal soda/booze fountain, and the magic card that allows me to download pics from my camera to the net wirelessly whenever I walk by a wi-fi spot (which I think I should of known about before now, I guess I just haven't paid that much attention to my own camera).
Also intriguing was the Les Paul Robot Guitar. I know the name Les Paul, I dated the "guitar ex" for long enough to know that one, but that is about the extent of it. I defer to all my more well versed musicians out there to tell me if this thing is neat or just a sham to allow unknowledgeable impostors behind the curtain, cause if that's the case I take back my support.
And finally, the be all end all toy that if I had $300, to casually throw away that is, cause I might have $300 if I thought about it but it should probably go towards student loan payments (wow, I digress), I would have to have. First of all because I would use it not only on airplanes but on the El. And secondly because the two paragraph promo references X-Men, so you know the product has to be cool. No hints, check out the link and see for yourselves. Ah, the joys of the holiday seasons!
Today I came across a random "What to buy the techno geek in your life" list that are always so popular at this time of year. This list ranged from $100 - $140,000 so I guess it's something for everyone. My favorites were the $7500 digital, personal soda/booze fountain, and the magic card that allows me to download pics from my camera to the net wirelessly whenever I walk by a wi-fi spot (which I think I should of known about before now, I guess I just haven't paid that much attention to my own camera).
Also intriguing was the Les Paul Robot Guitar. I know the name Les Paul, I dated the "guitar ex" for long enough to know that one, but that is about the extent of it. I defer to all my more well versed musicians out there to tell me if this thing is neat or just a sham to allow unknowledgeable impostors behind the curtain, cause if that's the case I take back my support.
And finally, the be all end all toy that if I had $300, to casually throw away that is, cause I might have $300 if I thought about it but it should probably go towards student loan payments (wow, I digress), I would have to have. First of all because I would use it not only on airplanes but on the El. And secondly because the two paragraph promo references X-Men, so you know the product has to be cool. No hints, check out the link and see for yourselves. Ah, the joys of the holiday seasons!
Monday, October 29, 2007
English does not equal American
Two posts in one day, yikes! Just couldn't let this one slip by without throwing my two cents in... Now I love me some tattoos, have three of them myself and am working to eventually get more if I can rake up the cash and find a new Chicago based artist (spending 4 hours on a bus with a fresh tat does not sound pleasant to me at all). Personally, branding is taking it a step too far for my own tastes, but I have always been a to each his own kinda gal. But I am getting ahead of myself and digressing from my original reason for the double post. Let me set the stage for you.
Months ago I was introduced to a website called Fark - it's basically an aggregate of entertaining headlines and note worthy news from around the world. I check it out every couple of days, though sometimes the fark intro is better than the actual article. It keeps me up to date, provides me with entertaining retelling opportunities at the bar/coffee shops, and often makes me shake my head in disbelief at what is considered acceptable writing and grammar from our journalistic friends (and before you comment on my grammar fuck ups - I'm a blog, I'm usually sneaking these in at work, and I'm allowed to suck now and then).
So today, I'm cruising through the headlines list and saw this, listed under "stupid" and I couldn't resist...
Anything with "Bacon" in the title will get my attention. The link takes me to an article from the Daily Mail, which happens to be a UK publication (knowledge which I gathered by the web address ending in .co.uk and prices in the article having the funny little euro symbol instead of the $). The article goes on to say that branding is becoming more and more popular as a form of expression now that tattoos and piercings are becoming more commonplace. Not a big deal, pretty much what I was expecting from the lead in. But then I start to read the comments and come across this -
My problem with this comment? The guy is from Casper fucking Wyoming - which means (unless there is a Casper, WY in England) this guy is writing from the good old U.S. of A.
So basically what we seem to have is 1) a European article, 2) regarding a European trend (which may or may not be happening here in the states), and 3) an American commenter automatically assuming it's all about him. I love that the Internet has opened up an eight lane super highway of information, readily available to everyone/anyone (ie those with money and time but that's a post for another day), but apparently I need to point out that just because something is written in English, does not mean it originates from America.
Months ago I was introduced to a website called Fark - it's basically an aggregate of entertaining headlines and note worthy news from around the world. I check it out every couple of days, though sometimes the fark intro is better than the actual article. It keeps me up to date, provides me with entertaining retelling opportunities at the bar/coffee shops, and often makes me shake my head in disbelief at what is considered acceptable writing and grammar from our journalistic friends (and before you comment on my grammar fuck ups - I'm a blog, I'm usually sneaking these in at work, and I'm allowed to suck now and then).
So today, I'm cruising through the headlines list and saw this, listed under "stupid" and I couldn't resist...
Old and busted: tattoos. New hotness among idiots: branding.
""It was an incredible experience. There was smoke coming out of my arm and my
burnt flesh smelled like a cross between chicken and bacon"
Anything with "Bacon" in the title will get my attention. The link takes me to an article from the Daily Mail, which happens to be a UK publication (knowledge which I gathered by the web address ending in .co.uk and prices in the article having the funny little euro symbol instead of the $). The article goes on to say that branding is becoming more and more popular as a form of expression now that tattoos and piercings are becoming more commonplace. Not a big deal, pretty much what I was expecting from the lead in. But then I start to read the comments and come across this -
"I thought I seen it all with the tattoos and body piercings. We as a country
must have gone off on the deep end." (Emphasis all mine)
My problem with this comment? The guy is from Casper fucking Wyoming - which means (unless there is a Casper, WY in England) this guy is writing from the good old U.S. of A.
So basically what we seem to have is 1) a European article, 2) regarding a European trend (which may or may not be happening here in the states), and 3) an American commenter automatically assuming it's all about him. I love that the Internet has opened up an eight lane super highway of information, readily available to everyone/anyone (ie those with money and time but that's a post for another day), but apparently I need to point out that just because something is written in English, does not mean it originates from America.
Thursday, October 18, 2007
Just a few bits of news to get that song out of your head
A day on the front page of the Chicago Tribune tells me this about the world....We are still senselessly killing each other and ourselves. Just when you thought that stupidity and hate were reserved for those obviously less educated then yourself, life smacks you in this face with this guy (complete with disturbing quotes, though the one about not reading the Bible might have some weight to it). A smoking ban I'm actually okay with since it makes sense and I don't spend a lot of time at the beach - my only question is can I get busted walking down the sidewalk next to a park? Cause that would suck. And the article that will hopefully keep a smile on my face for the rest of the day. Now I can stop the internal debate over the ethics of stealing (thanks Will!) and just get my Stewart for free.
Tuesday, October 9, 2007
It's all about the G Man
I have long predicted that some day Google will take over the world - even though it still shows up with the little red squiggly line in my spell check. The top two stories this morning in the online edition of the Chicago Tribune just give us more evidence in that direction.
First up is how pissed off the American right is about Google's random doodles on its homepage. I guess it's a slow day at church. Second, Chicago has become the next city on Google's all seeing mapability list. It's simultaneously intriguing and creepy. I can see the front door (and alley) of my work...I'm just waiting for one of the pics to bust me smoking.
First up is how pissed off the American right is about Google's random doodles on its homepage. I guess it's a slow day at church. Second, Chicago has become the next city on Google's all seeing mapability list. It's simultaneously intriguing and creepy. I can see the front door (and alley) of my work...I'm just waiting for one of the pics to bust me smoking.
Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Links Galore
I started keeping a running draft of articles that I came across that intrigued me, figuring that at some point I would do more in depth posts about each...yeah that ain't gonna happen. So instead, because they really should be shared with the world, I will do a quick summary and let you read the rest....
In an attempt to thwart the bureaucracy that is the New Zealand government, a couple is doing an end run in naming their baby. When The Man shot down their attempts to name their baby "4Real" they decided to be tricky and choose "Superman" (but will be calling the baby 4Real to its face). Yes, this is a legitimate story. And yes, I am making just about as much fun as I can of it....4 Real!
I don't drink a lot of milk so I was in the dark that there is a clandestine milk market out there. I think my favorite part was the quote about the Amish supplying the black market in NY and Boston.
According to the New York Times layout guy, women ordering meat on their dates is considered "Fashion and Style" (and of course I am thrilled that I finally have permission to order what I want when dating - ugh)
Why does this never happen to me? I think it's time to start putting aside the books, knick-knacks, and old clothes that I'm trying to hawk online and move on to good old saintly images - $1500 bucks for a grease stain? Sold!
And in case you missed out on getting the son of god to show up on your garage floor - you can always get good old dad to show up in your vegetable drawer
Some kid is getting killed in Texas because of a law that says because he was in the car when someone else got out (with no warning to the rest of the vehicle) and shot someone he can be held accountable - this is my WTF for the day. It's a short article so if anyone has any more information I would gladly take it (I have to work at some point in the day)
Anyone have $208 they want to just randomly give me? It could be a lot of fun!
Oh dear god. Why do they let these people run the world? With weapons?
And as a follow up to the camo bible link (the one right above) today's Chicago Tribune was kind enough to have this story on the cover of their Metro section.*** Some asshole has started the new sport of extreme aerial bowfishing. Yes, that's right, they go out in boats, and shoot big fucking arrows at fish that jump from the tremors from their motorboats. And as an extra special bonus, the online article comes with video, now I am work so can't watch it, but I started it and the first two seconds show a girl in a bikini on a towel and a guy holding a bottle of Bud Light. I think I have to go throw up now.
Cheers, enjoy the links and have a great day!
***Update - my apologies for the corrections I need to make about this article. One, it was actually the cover of Tempo, not Metro. And two, the Bud Light and bikini girl was a commercial before the story not part of the actual story. Still, it's fucked up and weird
In an attempt to thwart the bureaucracy that is the New Zealand government, a couple is doing an end run in naming their baby. When The Man shot down their attempts to name their baby "4Real" they decided to be tricky and choose "Superman" (but will be calling the baby 4Real to its face). Yes, this is a legitimate story. And yes, I am making just about as much fun as I can of it....4 Real!
I don't drink a lot of milk so I was in the dark that there is a clandestine milk market out there. I think my favorite part was the quote about the Amish supplying the black market in NY and Boston.
According to the New York Times layout guy, women ordering meat on their dates is considered "Fashion and Style" (and of course I am thrilled that I finally have permission to order what I want when dating - ugh)
Why does this never happen to me? I think it's time to start putting aside the books, knick-knacks, and old clothes that I'm trying to hawk online and move on to good old saintly images - $1500 bucks for a grease stain? Sold!
And in case you missed out on getting the son of god to show up on your garage floor - you can always get good old dad to show up in your vegetable drawer
Some kid is getting killed in Texas because of a law that says because he was in the car when someone else got out (with no warning to the rest of the vehicle) and shot someone he can be held accountable - this is my WTF for the day. It's a short article so if anyone has any more information I would gladly take it (I have to work at some point in the day)
Anyone have $208 they want to just randomly give me? It could be a lot of fun!
Oh dear god. Why do they let these people run the world? With weapons?
And as a follow up to the camo bible link (the one right above) today's Chicago Tribune was kind enough to have this story on the cover of their Metro section.*** Some asshole has started the new sport of extreme aerial bowfishing. Yes, that's right, they go out in boats, and shoot big fucking arrows at fish that jump from the tremors from their motorboats. And as an extra special bonus, the online article comes with video, now I am work so can't watch it, but I started it and the first two seconds show a girl in a bikini on a towel and a guy holding a bottle of Bud Light. I think I have to go throw up now.
Cheers, enjoy the links and have a great day!
***Update - my apologies for the corrections I need to make about this article. One, it was actually the cover of Tempo, not Metro. And two, the Bud Light and bikini girl was a commercial before the story not part of the actual story. Still, it's fucked up and weird
Monday, August 6, 2007
A little news to start the week
I spent the weekend holed up in my studio apartment and it was great. I read the final Harry Potter book (mock me later if you must) in approximately 24 hours. Started Friday at around 1 p.m and finished Saturday at about a quarter to 2 in the afternoon. And that includes dinner out Friday night. I realized about 10 pages in that I either a) never read book 6 or b) had completely forgotten any and all details but decided to read on anyway. With a book like Harry Potter, it doesn't really matter anyway. Overall it was entertaining, somewhat of a let down, and almost entirely forgettable (by page 450 I had forgotten what had transpired on the first 100 pages). In other words it was exactly what I was looking for in a weekend read.
On to more worldly items....Let me start by saying that I have lost many, many things in my life. I have lost car keys, house keys, books, and papers. I have lost my mind, my virginity, and once in awhile I even thought I had lost my soul in a deal gone wrong. But I am proud to say I have never lost 190,000 of anything. Our government however can not make that same claim. We counted on this side of the water and we counted again on that side and somewhere inbetween almost 200,000 rifles and pistols dissapeared. Just flew away, never to be seen again (felt, but not seen). If I ever lost 200K of anything; pens, notepads, computer files, dollars (all the things I deal with on a daily basis in my own job) I would be fired in an instant. But alas, like so many other government interactions/attrocities (you pick the word) this will most likely go down as an unsettling headline in today's paper, never to be heard from again.
On to more worldly items....Let me start by saying that I have lost many, many things in my life. I have lost car keys, house keys, books, and papers. I have lost my mind, my virginity, and once in awhile I even thought I had lost my soul in a deal gone wrong. But I am proud to say I have never lost 190,000 of anything. Our government however can not make that same claim. We counted on this side of the water and we counted again on that side and somewhere inbetween almost 200,000 rifles and pistols dissapeared. Just flew away, never to be seen again (felt, but not seen). If I ever lost 200K of anything; pens, notepads, computer files, dollars (all the things I deal with on a daily basis in my own job) I would be fired in an instant. But alas, like so many other government interactions/attrocities (you pick the word) this will most likely go down as an unsettling headline in today's paper, never to be heard from again.
In other, happier news, my long held dream of eventually owning my very own KITT is quickly becoming more than just a hazy, far off idea. Nissan is making a car that will deaccelerate when an accident is approaching. How fucking cool is that. It can also auto correct when you start to fall asleep at the wheell and swerve into other lanes, and has a way to measure the alcohol in your sweat (which even I will admit, is a little creepy). Someday soon I will be able to own a car with a mind and personality of it's own. All I need after that is a hoverboard.
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