Aug
15
Daily chuckler
August 15, 2009 | Leave a Comment
As most internetizens do, I occasionally Google myself and my domain and see what’s up.
Aetataureate shows up on some spammy-looking website that compiles a list of “Websites with ‘tata’ in the name.”
Sorry folks, no tatas here. Move along.
Aug
14
August 14 Miscellany
August 14, 2009 | 2 Comments
• The Caustic Cover Critic has a funny roundup of the obscenely irrelevant covers of a print on demand (POD) outfit dealing in public domain works.
• Today’s Garfield Minus Garfield mimics my life, and I am not ashamed.
• Another genuinely funny and clean Jerkcity.
• Andrew Sullivan’s blog has these three posts on shitty work: first and second lists of reader thoughts on menial jobs and some opinions on President Obama’s job history.
• No Caption Needed examines photos of the death of the Virgin Megastore in New York:
More importantly, we are privy to the mourning process; we see human grief for the loss of commerce, exchange, goods often enjoyed in common.
• This is poignant in a consumer climate where, the New York Times reported this week, consumers are still saving over spending, totaling in a .1% loss instead of the .7% gain expected:
Major clothing chains including Macy’s, Nordstrom, Liz Claiborne and Kohl’s posted earnings declines this week. Even Wal-Mart Stores, the nation’s largest retailer and one of the hardiest survivors of this recession, reported lower sales on Thursday.
Jul
30
July 30 (Quick) Miscellany
July 30, 2009 | 1 Comment
Busy day.
Today’s Jerkcity is genuinely funny, instead of the usual abstruse and baffling.
Seth Godin tells us why it’s never okay to say “I just work here”:
Susan said, and I’m quoting precisely the same line, “All I do is work here. They pay my salary, but I’m me, not them.”
No, Susan, you are them.
The reason your brand is falling apart is because so many of your colleagues are saying the same thing, denying the same responsibility. Consumers don’t believe (or care) that there are warrens and fiefdoms and monarchies within your company.
From the Frugal Vegan (such a good blog!), a thoughtful, resonant post on choosing childlessness:
More than once, I have spoken to parents who said that knowing what they know now, they would have chosen not to have children. [ . . . ] I am always told “Oh, don’t get me wrong, I love my kids but if I had to do it all over again, I wouldn’t have them.” My mother in law even said the same thing after a long discussion.
Popular wisdom does hold that the people who should have children are the ones most likely to choose not to. Maybe it’s because they grasp the full ramifications of their decision and have the most genuine sense of fear of inadequacy as parents.
Jul
22
If
July 22, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Yesterday’s Minimalist is an exhaustive list of salad ideas sorted into vegan, vegetarian, seafood, meat, noodle, and grain. It’s wonderful and inspiring, but the funniest part is this five-times-repeated instruction every time Mark Bittman mentions cucumbers:
(if they’re fat and old, peel and seed them first)
Good advice, regardless.
It includes this brilliant idea (one of many in the list):
78. What happens when your Chicago hot dog falls apart: Toss together tomato wedges, chopped pickles, hot peppers, shredded lettuce and a few slices of broiled or grilled hot dog. Dress with a vinaigrette made with mustard (should be yellow for authenticity, but …) and celery salt. (You could throw in freshly made croutons; inauthentic, but better than a hot dog bun.)
Why he fails to mention cucumbers in the Chicago hot dog salad, I can’t say. Dirty pool though. Wikipedia says the cucumber is considered optional. Dirty pool again!
Jun
26
June 26 Miscellany
June 26, 2009 | 2 Comments
• Billy Joel and his newest wife are divorcing. This aside on their ages made me chortle:
(she’s 27, he’s 60; if the age difference were a person, it would arguably still be too old for her)
• Sonia Zjawinski recently published one of the stupider ideas in recent memory: Trolling popular photo website Flickr, making and framing your own prints of photos you like for free. As the commenters (and the Nytpicker) point out, this is to photography what unauthorized downloads are to the music industry: Illegal.
People in the comments drew all kinds of analogies, but there’s no need: this is a crappy thing to do. You aren’t stealing from faceless millionaires or record label corporations, it doesn’t have any awkward nobility the way music downloading does, and many of these photographers would likely give you the permission if you’d only ask — they’d probably be delighted to know their work was in someone’s home. And if cheapness is the key here, hell, offer to PayPal each photographer ten bucks.
The real craw-sticker here seems to be that this blog post ran in the New York Times, which apparently has no common-sense regulation anymore.
• My new breakfast of choice: 1/2 cup Grape Nuts, 1 6-oz Dannon All Natural Nonfat Plain Yogurt, 4 packets of Truvia, and a few drops of pure vanilla extract. The yogurt and subsequent ingredients basically recreate the vanilla Dannon Light n Fit, with Truvia instead of a digestively caustic artificial sweetener, and straight yogurt instead of a long list of ingredients studded with chemicals. 280 calories, 1 gram of fat (0 saturated), 28% of daily fiber, 28% of daily protein.
Jun
24
Insooomnia
June 24, 2009 | 3 Comments
I haven’t been sleeping much, or well, for reasons unclear. The weather finally fell over into summer here so that could have something to do with it; I’ve started swimming again, but this week my work schedule is backwards and my body may just be screwed up. Either way, I don’t love this.
My new favorite late-night time killer is this Flash game on FreeArcade called Globs. (The site is loaded with ads and most of them have soundtracks, be forewarned.)
Also, I’m intrigued by TotalNetGuard, a Christian-themed ISP whose purpose is to block whatever scale of objectionable material you choose. Obviously I’m not religious and this isn’t a product marketed to me, but the internet is full of unavoidable inappropriate stuff. I like that people can make an informed decision to avoid what they don’t want coming into their homes.
Jun
17
Welles Park and the (alleged) fast lane
June 17, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Consistent features of any recreational lap-swimming facility:
• Cute retired women who inevitably end up naked in the shower (this used to make me feel awkward)
• Thirtyish dudes trying to reclaim something (not sure what)
• Men wearing swim caps (never, in ten or twelve years of competitive swimming, did I see a boy wear a cap at practice)
• Waterobics types who mostly float
• A small clump of something unalluring floating near the bottom (usually a hairball)
• Too-warm water
I got out this morning and went into the locker room, where a charming naked lady (see first point) asked about the water temperature (see last point). I said it was warm enough that I felt sluggish, and she said, “That’s perfect for me! Well, and anyone else who has arthritis.” That explains the temperature.
Swimming in the summertime makes me remember the outdoor meets that lasted all weekend, in giant 50-meter pools sometimes eight lanes wide like the Olympics. In the pool we’d freeze and run into each other during warm-ups, and out of the pool between events we’d bake in the sun. Diving back in for races was always, well, let’s just say bracing.
May
19
May 19 Miscellany
May 19, 2009 | Leave a Comment
• Research Beyond Google compiles some tools you might not know about for use in educational research.
• New Videos to Demonstrate Durability of Tungsten, well, we all know how I feel about tungsten.
• The New York Times recently offered a recipe for homemade yogurt, but I trust Alton Brown’s methodology more.
• Do you know what a killer cancel is?
May
13
May 13 Miscellany
May 13, 2009 | Leave a Comment
Today is my half birthday. I’ve been quiet lately, and it’s because I’m a lousy jerk!
Today’s Miscellany is a short but meaningful lady edition.
The New York Times has an eye-opening piece about woman-on-woman workplace bullying. Last night I had dinner with one of my favorite women, and we talked about how relating to coworkers can be difficult, but I’ve never seen or heard of anything like this in workplaces — however, every female in America who went to or currently goes to public school knows how mean girls can be.
This Guardian piece offers 10 things you must tell your teenage girl, even if she won’t know how true they are until later. Especially interesting to me: “New research shows that girls who are given alcohol before the age of 18 by their parents are more likely to develop a drinking problem.”
May
8
This is all I needed to know
May 8, 2009 | Leave a Comment