Hi There! You Still There?

Well, I don't have any excuse for not posting, except for the fact that I've been exhausted lately. I've been getting up at around 5:30 and going to bed about 11 or 12. And I'm a guy who needs a full night's sleep. So, I'm tired and cranky, but I still feel the need to at least put up a placeholder here.

So, I'll do the traditional thing and present bullets of crankiness.

• The higher ups said that due to horrible budget cuts we must do the very unpopular and horribly unfortunate x, y, and z, and I'm the point of contact between the screwer and the screwee. Ok, I suck it up and try to put the best face on the situation. I explain firmly that x, y, and z are going to happen no matter what, and while we are all very sympathetic, there is nothing we can do. X, Y, and Z happen. The screwees were very unhappy. Then the higher ups suddenly find a way to un-do X and Y. But really it's kind of too late because everyone we wanted to participate has already gone elsewhere. And I'm the guy who now has no credibility and a horde of unhappy screwees.
• running is really hard to fit into this term's schedule.
• My PDA, which runs a program vital for my academic life (really!) made an appointment with Dr. Kervorkian, and I can't seem to convince it that there is so much to live for.
• Unwritten papers...
• Money. Money. Money.
  

Ugh. The funny thing is that I'm such a freakish optimist that I feel I need to balance things out:

• Big Sis (and I mean BIG sis :) ) and fam, including the two bestest nieces in the whole wide world are coming near enough to me that I can hang out with them this weekend. Woot!
• The class I'm teaching is difficult, but very fun and rewarding.
• PDA shopping could be fun :)
  

More o' the Same

OK, I realize that all I seem to do anymore is post links, but well, yeah. That's what I'm going to do again. Things are starting to get crazy over in academic land, but for now it's all link-o-riffic.

First, have you guys seen the Amazon MP3 download store? I really dig it. No digital rights management (although it does have a non-personal watermark), pretty high quality (256 kbps) and, since it's an MP3, you can do whatever you want with it. iPod? no problem! any other MP3 player? no problem! burn onto a CD? sure! copy it to your laptop? why not! Very cool. They still need to get more artists signed up. They do make you use a downloader, but it'll file the new music into your iTunes or your WMP. Coolness.

Ok, other strange and beguiling links:

1. Funny little lego-looking illustrations. Can you recognize them? hover your cursor over the image to get the answers. I did very very badly :)
2. Simpsons scenes and the movie scenes they reference.
   
3. Wacky conspiracy theories - aren't they all?
4. A really strange game from the 'Got Milk' people. Who funds this?
5. Allow the magic of the internets to choose your presidential candidate for you! (some of the questions are a wee bit leading - do you favor torture?)
   

Need Humility? Try this quiz! :)

So, first ya gotta go take this geography quiz.

Then you gotta watch this cartoon. (seriously, I don't think there is a way that I could possibly love this clip better than I do.)


Then take the quiz again.

I still really stunk.

Bookworms

Image from Shorpy


also:

Scrivener-ish book art

For Crying Out Loud

OJ SIMPSON IS NOT NEWS.


Arrrr....

Who Knew?

I live at a university-run apartment complex for graduate students, and last year they occasionally tried to get us all together and forcibly socialize the poor little gradfolk.

It seems that that was last year, this is this year. Today, there was a 'fair' set up for us. Really nice deal. There were about 30 booths out there each with their own branded swag. I got a water bottle, two bags (one from Whole Foods with a box of macaroni and cheese, 2 funky health drinks and some nice coupons, oh, and a tube of coconut 'foot cream.' - eh?). I got cookies and muffins and apples and starbursts.

Oh yeah, the transportation folks gave me a bus map and a combination compass/led light/emergency whistle. Odd.

But still, as Jack Handy or perhaps Brightstar might say, free dummy.

Need Strange Videos? Of Course You Do.

You remember these guys? They would make the perfect librarians.


Beware of flume rides.


If you survive the flume ride, maybe you could go on this game show. Japan makes me laugh.


Funky music video with old revival video


And a link to a table I want. You know, eventually, when I actually have a place to put it.


Added bonus:
Ah, for days gone by in the Oklahoman schoolhouse: fingernail inspection. Optional caption: "You're soaking in it."

I wish this map of all humanity were bigger so I could try to find out where I live.

And finally, the true argument against Star Wars and for Star Trek: despots vs. populists.

Ok, my tabs are clear.

Happiness is...

When I left for Japan, what, like three months ago, I put a bag of dark chocolate M&Ms behind the bottle of pasta sauce.

Tonight I found it.

Joy.

TV Branding

Ah, yes. I forgot. I'm sure you've seen this before, but it gives me great joy:

It's Got Bionics, That's Got To Be Good, Right?

You can watch to first episode of the Bionic Woman and a couple other NBC shows on Amazon Unbox for free. I guess that's NBC trying to dig themselves out of the whole they fell in when they pulled out of their iTunes deal. Anyway, it's pretty hard to imagine a show that I should like more. Geeky, gorgeous woman, tech stuff and nostalgia. Ah, should be great.

It's not.

Just like all the other nostalgia porn out there (Fantastic Four, Transformers, etc...), there's some good in it. I actually do like the main actress a bit. She is pretty, and she also seems to be able to act a little bit, even if she does have a bit of the Keanu Reeves disease (blank, stupified, but easy on the eyes). Hopefully that's just because most of the role in this episode called for it.

The other actress worthy of note is the 'other' women (you'll see what I mean if you bother to watch). She's just awful. I though maybe she was trying to go the cold heartless route, but no, I really think she's just an awful actress.

There is some good geek stuff in there, although I think the 'through the bionic eye cam' looked a little too reminiscent of the Terminator, but hey, maybe that's just me. There was also a nice bit when she's waking up from the surgery that was properly panicky and fairly well-done. This probably had a bit to do with the fact that there wasn't much dialogue there.

The biggest problem is the writing, of course. The things that those poor people were forced to say, the clichés, oh it was just embarrassing. Of course, there's a father-thing plot element. Of course there's a giant government related black-ops organization that's gone wrong with a past experiment on the loose. I'm going to go out on the limb and say that the leader of the group is of -gasp- ambiguous morals and loyalty! Of course, there's a insanely young looks-like-he-belongs-on-the-cover-of-Teen-Beat-Magazine doctor. Why wouldn't our heroine be a down on her luck bartender who just happens to have a genius IQ and knockout looks. Ugh, I could go on and on.

Still, I watched the whole episode. I probably won't watch any more, but it'll probably do ok. After all, this is what passes for female empowerment these days.*

* There was a really strained push for this in the show, too. Bionic Woman is running through the woods next to a road and a little girl in the back seat of an SUV sees her and tells mommy - a stern businesswoman cutout with a bluetooth headset. Mommy says something like, "what did I tell you about making things up." and the little (little little) girl says, "I just thought it was cool that a girl could do that." ugh.

Back at Black Rock

I've been having an odd summer academically. See, I ran off and did something only mildly related to my real studies (but required to get my PhD) all summer long. I wasn't really in a good position to keep going on my own stuff (that's my story and I'm sticking to it). So now I'm back and trying desperately to get back into the groove. I've got a couple of projects on my plate, and I would love to get a little bit of progress, but the inertia of the summer is soooo hard to overcome.

So, long story short, I'm in the library today getting really excited about one of my topics, but realizing that I'm wanting to look in a different direction than I had in the past. I guess it's just because I've been away from it for a little while, but I guess I've gotten a new perspective on the topic. I did want to look into topic A, but now I'm thinking it might be better to look into topics B-F and how they orbit topic A. That seems so much better and even perhaps a little (buzzword alert) interdisciplinary of me. 'Course it also means more work, too. harumph.

In any case, it's time to go home, heat up some frozen pizza and watch some football.

Enter The Roommate

I just got a phone call from my new roommate.* Since I'm still in the university-owned apartment, it's all been handled by the housing department. He's moving in on the 15th, coming from the Great White North. Well, close to the great white north anyway, but still in the US. Anyway, should be interesting. He's a musician, maybe trumpet? Very cool really, but I'm wondering if he'll be practicing in the apartment.

See? It is all about me.

Also, I asked if he was going to need any help moving in. He said that he was going to just be flying in with a couple of bags. I didn't ask specifically, but it seems he's not bringing anything else. Cool to travel light and all, but um... you're going to be here for a while, yaknow? Then he asked if the apartment was furnished. Hehe. Furnished. Funny guy.

* Very fun information. I killed my contract with AT&T and switched over to their Gophone pay-as-you-go plan. So far it's quite cool. I went from ~$40/month to nada. 'Cause, well I don't have any friends who might call me. I just bought a $30 card and all is good (although the card expires in 3 months, which is patently evil, but evil on a scale I'm prepared to accept from a cell phone company). Anyway, I discovered when he called that incoming calls are free. I mean, they should be and all, but still. Bonus cool.

Lonk-o-rama

• Blogging for dollars!
• How is it possible that I never read Twain's version of Eve's Diary? This is wonderful! (also bonus cool points to the Gutenberg Project for including the illustrations)
• Non-link. DVDs are way too expensive. No wonder people pirate.
  
• Completely random, but I love old photos. I could spend hours here, and perhaps only a little less time here.
  

Lessons Learning

Wisdom from the land of the online dating sites:

• Photos:
• Ok, I'm superficial. Fine, I can handle that. I need pictures, plural. (and eHarmony, I really don't want to pay you for the pleasure. grrr...)
  
• I know, I'm a camera geek, but surely you can see that the quality of the picture you uploaded is bad, right?
  
• Half face covered in shadow
• 16 pixels total
• blurry because the camera didn't focus or blurry because you blurred it?
• Red eyes? ix-nay on the demonic irlfriend-gay
• Dark hair? Dark clothes? Dark background? bad photo? Ah! Floating HEAD!
  
• Where are you? Disneyword? Cute. Paris? Cool. The bathroom? Awkward. Also, is that a rifle in the background?
• Why are you clutching lovingly at the guy there? If that's a brother or friend or something, a note would be nice.
  
• related - Disturbing crops. Who or what did you crop out of that photo. Are you leaning on a photogenically ugly wall or Bin Laden?
  
• I know that you are trying to show that you are active and all, but if you are in mortal danger in each of your photos, perhaps you ain't for me.
• Cute picture of you at the bar with friends? cool, shows you are sociable and what you do for fun.
• Several photos of you completely sloshed and slightly drooling? Not so cool. Shows you are sociable and what you do for fun.
• Glamor shots. Ok, this may be just me, but a woman who can dress up or down for anything is very attractive. A woman who wears an inch and a half of pancake, chisel-proof hair, tilts her head at a 45 degree angle and looks back over her head with a runaway bride look in her eyes - not so much.
• Cleavage. Now don't get me wrong, I'm a huge fan of cleavage, and there's nothing wrong with showing it in your pictures, but c'mon cameraman, the eyes are up here. If the photo is focused on your boobs, and I can see more than your plastic surgeon could, I'm going to assume that's all you have to offer.
• Animals. Again, I get it. You love animals. I do too. But if there are significantly more pictures of your beloved Bingo then of you, I'm curious if there's room in your world for anyone else.

I'm learning more and more every day :)

Earworm of the Morning Plus Bonus Funky Dream!

Cool Change by the Little River Band (had to look that one up too. See? I would have failed all of my own quizzes)

Funky Dream - I'm running a D&D game with an old friend from many schools ago - we're going to make money at this by charging the people who play - genius! Odder is that the people seem to be willing to pay. We play in a barn on a campus near the sea. Seriously, like a big red barn that maybe needs only a silo. My friend (who actually runs the game) leaves early and then later I drive home apparently drunk (did I drink there? maybe some tumblers of red stuff?). Several times, the road veers left and I try to turn the wheel left but my arms turn the wheel right - stupid arms. One time I'm impressed that I don't go over the guardrail off the cliff over there into the sea. Is this Hawaii? Looks a lot like Hawaii. Now I'm on raised overpasses, but I still don't go over the railings. Eventually I pass some place I seem to remember from other dreams. Then I finally go off the road and onto some kind of latticed girder work (construction? Still raised high over the ground). I stop the car (it's an SUV! Good god - I'm driving an SUV! The shame of it all!) and a car pulls up behind me. It's not a cop, but he asks me to hand over my keys and I do.

Oh, B* - Pandas are on the way!

Looking For Love In All The Wrong Places

I've discovered that I follow through on things more when I make them slightly more public, so I'm going to try to do that a little more here on the blog, and maybe I'll be able to actually have a social life this year - believe in miracles, friends and neighbors.

This spring I promised myself that I would, so I've been surfing the dating sites almost all day today. Ach, depressing. So far the results are... limited and confusing - much like my love life in general, I suppose.

I actually like the eHarmony system quite a lot, but either I'm a bigger freak than I assumed (quite possible), or everyone who wasn't hyper-Christian already left eHarmony after all the bad press they got. I think I ended up with two results within my state. And I like in a big state. And I think dating someone in Germany or Turkey would be cool, but perhaps not right now - The first date at a coffee shop might be... expensive.

The other two I've tried so far are Match.com (which I've heard has had some quality successes :P) and Chemistry.com. Match.com looks good - plenty of people - but a little overwhelming, and I'm not sure how well they match up with me. Anyway, that's where I've spent the most time today, and I might have screwed up the questionnaire on Chemistry, because their summary of my personality is a bit odd. Either that or I don't know myself as well as I thought. Also possible.

Also, dang! These things ain't cheap! Free versions for me for now.

iAm Sick Of It All

I'm geeky - that's obvious. I'm also often opposed to whatever is popular, for no other reason than its popularity, even when it's to my detriment. Thus, I was horrified and tickled at the same time when I heard that Apple dropped the price of the iPhone from $599 to $399 this morning. Bear in mind that all the early adopters and hardcore Apple fanboys lined up to buy those things when they were released, what, a little over two months ago? I guarantee that there are folks who just got together enough money to get one just last week. Oh, so ouch. I wonder if the stores will honor the price change if they come in to argue.

Not A Natural Man

Almost every morning I wake up with a song in my head. I don't know why, I don't know how. Often it's a song I haven't heard in years. For example, this morning: Pusherman by Steppenwolf (had to look that up). Does this reflect on my sanity or lack thereof?

Smoooth. Real Smooooth

• Two Japanese young women get on a very crowded bus and end up standing next to that guy. You know that guy. The overly-friendly, overly-loud guy who never really says anything horribly offensive, but makes everyone on the bus uncomfortable anyway. The women don't have a very good command of English, but the guy is trying his best to tell women number one how much he really loves her. Welcome to the US.
• (sidenote) After the women get off (he kisses their hands), a couple of sk8r bois (with boards) take their place in front of the guy. Said bois are quite young. That guy proceeds to tell a, um... rather blue joke and then explain that marijuana is ok, they'd better not do crack, 'cause he did that for seventeen years and it just about killed him.
  
• After the bois leave he announces that he is going to learn Japanese next so he can talk to all the sexy Japanese women. Then he announces his departure and lets everyone know that he'll be riding again next week, same time same bus. Good to know.
  
• In the grocery store, there's a older very skeezy looking guy following around a cute young stocker who looks to be taking him to some other aisle. The only part of the conversation I catch is the guy saying "... You don't know what that means? That means 'beautiful little one.' That's what you are." This followed by an exasperated sigh and a quickened pace from the stocker.
• Elsewhere in the grocery store, geeky-looking but large and imposing man has stunning women backed up against the diet sodas. She: arms folded across chest glancing from him to her shopping cart a few times. Him: one hand casually leaning against the display next to her, the other gesturing as he talks. As I pass by, she starts suddenly and, interrupting him, says that it was nice to meet him and starts to push away her cart, stopping only briefly to half-heartedly shake his proffered hand. As she moves away with a quickness, he makes no effort to hide the fact that he's staring right at her butt.

Gah. What a day for love. Does cupid have a hangover or something?

Crosstown Traffic

Also, Labor Day bus schedules suck. Boooo.