Good for you Microsoft, good for you.
Realizing that people are sheep and that they hated Vista just because other people hated Vista, Microsoft did something about it. Check out the beginnings of their new advertising campaign.
(This entry typed on a computer running Windows Vista)
Tuesday, July 29, 2008
Mojave
Good for you Microsoft, good for you.
Realizing that people are sheep and that they hated Vista just because other people hated Vista, Microsoft did something about it. Check out the beginnings of their new advertising campaign.
(This entry typed on a computer running Windows Vista)
Realizing that people are sheep and that they hated Vista just because other people hated Vista, Microsoft did something about it. Check out the beginnings of their new advertising campaign.
(This entry typed on a computer running Windows Vista)
Monday, July 28, 2008
Did Anyone Say Marriage??
To keep your marriage brimming
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.
Ogden Nash (A Word To Husbands)
One thing that bugs me sure and often, is how a man and a woman can stay together in matrimony, year after year, decade after decade, when it is so obvious to me that men and women are not meant to stay together.
With love in the loving cup,
Whenever you’re wrong, admit it;
Whenever you’re right, shut up.
Ogden Nash (A Word To Husbands)
One thing that bugs me sure and often, is how a man and a woman can stay together in matrimony, year after year, decade after decade, when it is so obvious to me that men and women are not meant to stay together.
Marriage, as a concept, fails dreadfully. It involves the constant cohabitation of two people who do not share families, upbringings, perspectives and are not even of the same gender. It seems to be, from the beginning, a power struggle, one party doing its best to dominate the other party, which either gives in passively, or schemes and struggles to overthrow the power hierarchy in a bloodless (or even bloody) coup. They hold each other back; make their partners feel guilty for whatever it is that they enjoy doing, whether it’s shopping or beer. They are mostly incompatible. If one likes to sleep with the window open, the other cannot sleep unless it is shut and curtained. If one loves parties, the other avoids them like the plague.
And yet, the miracle is that marriage, as a practicality, is generally a brilliant idea. And people who are married will moan and complain and grumble, but they will, without fail, try to convince all their unmarried friends, children, children of friends, friends of children, that married is THE ONLY WAY TO BE. And though the two halves of a couple may be as different from each other as chalk is from a cheese pizza with pepperoni and anchovies, they still manage to develop an inexplicable friendship. And I think what keeps most marriages ticking for years, in spite of the theoretical impossibility, is not love or romance or even dependence, but this very friendship, this understanding that grows with cohabitation.
And since I began with Ogden Nash, I’ll finish with some favorite lines, also from Nash.
And since I began with Ogden Nash, I’ll finish with some favorite lines, also from Nash.
“…That is why marriage is so much more interesting than divorce,
Because it's the only known example of the happy meeting of the immovable object and the irresistible force.
So I hope husbands and wives will continue to debate and combat over everything debatable and combatable,
Because I believe a little incompatibility is the spice of life,particularly if he has income and she is pattable”
Ps- I want to thank my ma and baba for not listening to their wiser instincts and quitting a long time ago. Today their marriage turns 28 years old.
Ps- I want to thank my ma and baba for not listening to their wiser instincts and quitting a long time ago. Today their marriage turns 28 years old.
Sunday, July 27, 2008
Nerf Vulcan Thoughts
Today I officially tested my brand new toy that was just released: The Nerf Vulcan!
I first experienced the Vulcan at Toy Fair 2008 and was amazed. Seriously, it was one of the coolest Nerf guns I'd ever seen and it shot incredibly far. When I started my job at Hasbro I kept seeing it, EVERYWHERE! There were Vulcans in the model shop, Vulcans in design land, Vulcans in the Toy Preview hallway. It's almost like the kid on the Vulcan box was just laughing at me. But, finally, after months of waiting, the day came. The Vulcan was set loose on the world and I bought it the day it came out. One online order and employee discount later I was ready for a big box to arrive at my door.
It arrived yesterday. I ripped it open and assembled it. I tried to fire it. No batteries. Curses! I checked what kind of batteries it needed. D cell. Crap. Six of them. CRAP! Rapid fire would have to wait until the next day (aka today). Today I went and burned up some Stop & Shop gift cards I had and bought 12 D cell batteries. Into the Vulcan they went! I loaded up the 25 round ammo belt, loaded it into the ammo box, and let loose. Here are the results:
Apart from the one random dud round, the rest of the shots went off flawlessly and when the belt was empty it fell to the ground. A couple of observations:
> The gun will EASILY jam if the Nerf darts are protruding at all from inside the belt. Make sure they are shoved in all the way.
> It's also fairly important to lay the belt in the ammo box correctly, otherwise you have this weird folding pattern that can cause jamming.
> This thing has three rails for sites, lights, and scopes. Mine currently has two sites and one sniper scope.
> The streamline darts work just as well (those are the ones in the video, in fact), as do normal suction cup darts. Basically, if it's a Nerf dart, the Vulcan will fire it. Here's my video of the suction cup rounds being shot:
> This gun is freaking sweet, especially with two ammo belts since I don't have to reload as often. It makes a great addition to the collection.
Maybe if Hasbro decides to be awesome and start selling them in the boutique at work I can get one for $20.00! Come on Hasbro, you know you want to!
So that's it, new toy, Nerf Vulcan, sheer awesome. I'd buy one if you're into Nerf, it's a blast.
I first experienced the Vulcan at Toy Fair 2008 and was amazed. Seriously, it was one of the coolest Nerf guns I'd ever seen and it shot incredibly far. When I started my job at Hasbro I kept seeing it, EVERYWHERE! There were Vulcans in the model shop, Vulcans in design land, Vulcans in the Toy Preview hallway. It's almost like the kid on the Vulcan box was just laughing at me. But, finally, after months of waiting, the day came. The Vulcan was set loose on the world and I bought it the day it came out. One online order and employee discount later I was ready for a big box to arrive at my door.
It arrived yesterday. I ripped it open and assembled it. I tried to fire it. No batteries. Curses! I checked what kind of batteries it needed. D cell. Crap. Six of them. CRAP! Rapid fire would have to wait until the next day (aka today). Today I went and burned up some Stop & Shop gift cards I had and bought 12 D cell batteries. Into the Vulcan they went! I loaded up the 25 round ammo belt, loaded it into the ammo box, and let loose. Here are the results:
Apart from the one random dud round, the rest of the shots went off flawlessly and when the belt was empty it fell to the ground. A couple of observations:
> The gun will EASILY jam if the Nerf darts are protruding at all from inside the belt. Make sure they are shoved in all the way.
> It's also fairly important to lay the belt in the ammo box correctly, otherwise you have this weird folding pattern that can cause jamming.
> This thing has three rails for sites, lights, and scopes. Mine currently has two sites and one sniper scope.
> The streamline darts work just as well (those are the ones in the video, in fact), as do normal suction cup darts. Basically, if it's a Nerf dart, the Vulcan will fire it. Here's my video of the suction cup rounds being shot:
> This gun is freaking sweet, especially with two ammo belts since I don't have to reload as often. It makes a great addition to the collection.
Maybe if Hasbro decides to be awesome and start selling them in the boutique at work I can get one for $20.00! Come on Hasbro, you know you want to!
So that's it, new toy, Nerf Vulcan, sheer awesome. I'd buy one if you're into Nerf, it's a blast.
Nerf Vulcan Thoughts
Today I officially tested my brand new toy that was just released: The Nerf Vulcan!
I first experienced the Vulcan at Toy Fair 2008 and was amazed. Seriously, it was one of the coolest Nerf guns I'd ever seen and it shot incredibly far. When I started my job at Hasbro I kept seeing it, EVERYWHERE! There were Vulcans in the model shop, Vulcans in design land, Vulcans in the Toy Preview hallway. It's almost like the kid on the Vulcan box was just laughing at me. But, finally, after months of waiting, the day came. The Vulcan was set loose on the world and I bought it the day it came out. One online order and employee discount later I was ready for a big box to arrive at my door.
It arrived yesterday. I ripped it open and assembled it. I tried to fire it. No batteries. Curses! I checked what kind of batteries it needed. D cell. Crap. Six of them. CRAP! Rapid fire would have to wait until the next day (aka today). Today I went and burned up some Stop & Shop gift cards I had and bought 12 D cell batteries. Into the Vulcan they went! I loaded up the 25 round ammo belt, loaded it into the ammo box, and let loose. Here are the results:
Apart from the one random dud round, the rest of the shots went off flawlessly and when the belt was empty it fell to the ground. A couple of observations:
> The gun will EASILY jam if the Nerf darts are protruding at all from inside the belt. Make sure they are shoved in all the way.
> It's also fairly important to lay the belt in the ammo box correctly, otherwise you have this weird folding pattern that can cause jamming.
> This thing has three rails for sites, lights, and scopes. Mine currently has two sites and one sniper scope.
> The streamline darts work just as well (those are the ones in the video, in fact), as do normal suction cup darts. Basically, if it's a Nerf dart, the Vulcan will fire it. Here's my video of the suction cup rounds being shot:
> This gun is freaking sweet, especially with two ammo belts since I don't have to reload as often. It makes a great addition to the collection.
Maybe if Hasbro decides to be awesome and start selling them in the boutique at work I can get one for $20.00! Come on Hasbro, you know you want to!
So that's it, new toy, Nerf Vulcan, sheer awesome. I'd buy one if you're into Nerf, it's a blast.
I first experienced the Vulcan at Toy Fair 2008 and was amazed. Seriously, it was one of the coolest Nerf guns I'd ever seen and it shot incredibly far. When I started my job at Hasbro I kept seeing it, EVERYWHERE! There were Vulcans in the model shop, Vulcans in design land, Vulcans in the Toy Preview hallway. It's almost like the kid on the Vulcan box was just laughing at me. But, finally, after months of waiting, the day came. The Vulcan was set loose on the world and I bought it the day it came out. One online order and employee discount later I was ready for a big box to arrive at my door.
It arrived yesterday. I ripped it open and assembled it. I tried to fire it. No batteries. Curses! I checked what kind of batteries it needed. D cell. Crap. Six of them. CRAP! Rapid fire would have to wait until the next day (aka today). Today I went and burned up some Stop & Shop gift cards I had and bought 12 D cell batteries. Into the Vulcan they went! I loaded up the 25 round ammo belt, loaded it into the ammo box, and let loose. Here are the results:
Apart from the one random dud round, the rest of the shots went off flawlessly and when the belt was empty it fell to the ground. A couple of observations:
> The gun will EASILY jam if the Nerf darts are protruding at all from inside the belt. Make sure they are shoved in all the way.
> It's also fairly important to lay the belt in the ammo box correctly, otherwise you have this weird folding pattern that can cause jamming.
> This thing has three rails for sites, lights, and scopes. Mine currently has two sites and one sniper scope.
> The streamline darts work just as well (those are the ones in the video, in fact), as do normal suction cup darts. Basically, if it's a Nerf dart, the Vulcan will fire it. Here's my video of the suction cup rounds being shot:
> This gun is freaking sweet, especially with two ammo belts since I don't have to reload as often. It makes a great addition to the collection.
Maybe if Hasbro decides to be awesome and start selling them in the boutique at work I can get one for $20.00! Come on Hasbro, you know you want to!
So that's it, new toy, Nerf Vulcan, sheer awesome. I'd buy one if you're into Nerf, it's a blast.
Birds go Boom
Dan brought up a good point the other day. I seem to have an affinity for birds exploding. First I published the "Be a Man" entry, then the magician one. I then realized that I could name two other exploding bird videos right off the top of my head, so I think I'll post a little exploding bird medley here. Ready?
4) Randy Johnson's 95 mph Fastball
3) FordSportka: The Ka's Evil Twin
2) The Amazing Jonathan
Amazing Jonathan - Bird Trick
1) Be a Man!
How to Deal with an Annoying Baby Chick
4) Randy Johnson's 95 mph Fastball
3) FordSportka: The Ka's Evil Twin
2) The Amazing Jonathan
Amazing Jonathan - Bird Trick
1) Be a Man!
How to Deal with an Annoying Baby Chick
Birds go Boom
Dan brought up a good point the other day. I seem to have an affinity for birds exploding. First I published the "Be a Man" entry, then the magician one. I then realized that I could name two other exploding bird videos right off the top of my head, so I think I'll post a little exploding bird medley here. Ready?
4) Randy Johnson's 95 mph Fastball
3) FordSportka: The Ka's Evil Twin
2) The Amazing Jonathan
Amazing Jonathan - Bird Trick
1) Be a Man!
How to Deal with an Annoying Baby Chick
4) Randy Johnson's 95 mph Fastball
3) FordSportka: The Ka's Evil Twin
2) The Amazing Jonathan
Amazing Jonathan - Bird Trick
1) Be a Man!
How to Deal with an Annoying Baby Chick
Second Chance
Alright Facebook, let's try this again.
You were perfect when you first came out. You were text only, you were clean, and you were full of legitimate people. Then, for some reason that god only knows, you decided to mySpace-ify yourself into a load of crap. That was just over a year ago. I dropped you like a bag of rotten meat, and I'm glad I did. Here's the explanation I gave last year:
Facebook came out with a new format this last Friday that everybody keeps complaining about. "It takes all of my applications off the main page!" "I hate the new tabs!" "My bumper stickers aren't displaying correctly!" "I whine a lot!"
Ok, you know what they did ladies and gentlemen? For those of you who just jumped onto the Facebook bandwagon, lemme fill you in: THEY MADE IT BETTER!
All your apps are smashed to the left and out of the way, where they belong. All that other annoying crap has been put into tabs along the top. That means, when I look at your Facebook page I'm not inundated with 30 Mb of flashy crap. Instead, I get to actually see the things I want to see.
As such, since Facebook has agreed to make amends, I am recreating my Facebook page. Just until they decide to screw it up again, and then bye bye Facebook round 2.
You were perfect when you first came out. You were text only, you were clean, and you were full of legitimate people. Then, for some reason that god only knows, you decided to mySpace-ify yourself into a load of crap. That was just over a year ago. I dropped you like a bag of rotten meat, and I'm glad I did. Here's the explanation I gave last year:
First off, I'd like to explain why I deleted my Facebook account. With the creation of the "Top Friends" list, fortune cookies, and embedding videos, I've decided that Facebook has become too much like MySpace. I joined Facebook with reservation and only to talk to future classmates. Now that Facebook has grown out of control, I dumped it, I don't want to have to deal with a site that's going to slip into the land of emo sophomores. I'll continue to blog regularly and you can always get to me through this blog. I read every single comment, they are all automatically e-mailed to me. I hope deleting my account doesn't bug anybody, because I just had to do it.
Facebook came out with a new format this last Friday that everybody keeps complaining about. "It takes all of my applications off the main page!" "I hate the new tabs!" "My bumper stickers aren't displaying correctly!" "I whine a lot!"
Ok, you know what they did ladies and gentlemen? For those of you who just jumped onto the Facebook bandwagon, lemme fill you in: THEY MADE IT BETTER!
All your apps are smashed to the left and out of the way, where they belong. All that other annoying crap has been put into tabs along the top. That means, when I look at your Facebook page I'm not inundated with 30 Mb of flashy crap. Instead, I get to actually see the things I want to see.
As such, since Facebook has agreed to make amends, I am recreating my Facebook page. Just until they decide to screw it up again, and then bye bye Facebook round 2.
Second Chance
Alright Facebook, let's try this again.
You were perfect when you first came out. You were text only, you were clean, and you were full of legitimate people. Then, for some reason that god only knows, you decided to mySpace-ify yourself into a load of crap. That was just over a year ago. I dropped you like a bag of rotten meat, and I'm glad I did. Here's the explanation I gave last year:
Facebook came out with a new format this last Friday that everybody keeps complaining about. "It takes all of my applications off the main page!" "I hate the new tabs!" "My bumper stickers aren't displaying correctly!" "I whine a lot!"
Ok, you know what they did ladies and gentlemen? For those of you who just jumped onto the Facebook bandwagon, lemme fill you in: THEY MADE IT BETTER!
All your apps are smashed to the left and out of the way, where they belong. All that other annoying crap has been put into tabs along the top. That means, when I look at your Facebook page I'm not inundated with 30 Mb of flashy crap. Instead, I get to actually see the things I want to see.
As such, since Facebook has agreed to make amends, I am recreating my Facebook page. Just until they decide to screw it up again, and then bye bye Facebook round 2.
You were perfect when you first came out. You were text only, you were clean, and you were full of legitimate people. Then, for some reason that god only knows, you decided to mySpace-ify yourself into a load of crap. That was just over a year ago. I dropped you like a bag of rotten meat, and I'm glad I did. Here's the explanation I gave last year:
First off, I'd like to explain why I deleted my Facebook account. With the creation of the "Top Friends" list, fortune cookies, and embedding videos, I've decided that Facebook has become too much like MySpace. I joined Facebook with reservation and only to talk to future classmates. Now that Facebook has grown out of control, I dumped it, I don't want to have to deal with a site that's going to slip into the land of emo sophomores. I'll continue to blog regularly and you can always get to me through this blog. I read every single comment, they are all automatically e-mailed to me. I hope deleting my account doesn't bug anybody, because I just had to do it.
Facebook came out with a new format this last Friday that everybody keeps complaining about. "It takes all of my applications off the main page!" "I hate the new tabs!" "My bumper stickers aren't displaying correctly!" "I whine a lot!"
Ok, you know what they did ladies and gentlemen? For those of you who just jumped onto the Facebook bandwagon, lemme fill you in: THEY MADE IT BETTER!
All your apps are smashed to the left and out of the way, where they belong. All that other annoying crap has been put into tabs along the top. That means, when I look at your Facebook page I'm not inundated with 30 Mb of flashy crap. Instead, I get to actually see the things I want to see.
As such, since Facebook has agreed to make amends, I am recreating my Facebook page. Just until they decide to screw it up again, and then bye bye Facebook round 2.
Thursday, July 24, 2008
iPod Update
As you may have noticed (or maybe not), there has been a bit of a change to the fundraising thermometer in the sidebar. Instead of a goal of $300.00 it now reads $150.00. Why? Here's what happened.
My iPod didn't fall out of my pocket at Blue Man Group. As everybody left the theater we were crowded together and I was pick pocketed. That's right, somebody reached into my pocket and took the iPod out.
Today I got an e-mail with the subject "I HAVE YOUR LOST IPHONE."
E-mails with subjects like this pique my interest. I read it. The person who sent the e-mail to me purchased my iPod from somebody for $150.00, not knowing that it was stolen. When he looked at the iPod he noticed an engraving on the back that said "Michael Snively MIT 2011." (This, folks, is the reason you should always have your Apple products laser engraved). He realized, at this point, that the iPod was probably lost or stolen, so he googled the laser engraving and found my e-mail address (you try googling Michael Snively MIT 2011 and see what you find). He wants to give the iPod back in hopes that some day, when he loses something, it will be returned to him.
With your help I've saved up almost $83.00 for a replacement iPod, but that money is going somewhere else now. I'm not spending it on myself, I'm using it to help offset the $150 that this gentleman lost when he purchased my iPod. Please continue to help, it's selfless acts like eating $150.00 just to do the right thing that restore my faith in the world.
My iPod didn't fall out of my pocket at Blue Man Group. As everybody left the theater we were crowded together and I was pick pocketed. That's right, somebody reached into my pocket and took the iPod out.
Today I got an e-mail with the subject "I HAVE YOUR LOST IPHONE."
E-mails with subjects like this pique my interest. I read it. The person who sent the e-mail to me purchased my iPod from somebody for $150.00, not knowing that it was stolen. When he looked at the iPod he noticed an engraving on the back that said "Michael Snively MIT 2011." (This, folks, is the reason you should always have your Apple products laser engraved). He realized, at this point, that the iPod was probably lost or stolen, so he googled the laser engraving and found my e-mail address (you try googling Michael Snively MIT 2011 and see what you find). He wants to give the iPod back in hopes that some day, when he loses something, it will be returned to him.
With your help I've saved up almost $83.00 for a replacement iPod, but that money is going somewhere else now. I'm not spending it on myself, I'm using it to help offset the $150 that this gentleman lost when he purchased my iPod. Please continue to help, it's selfless acts like eating $150.00 just to do the right thing that restore my faith in the world.
iPod Update
As you may have noticed (or maybe not), there has been a bit of a change to the fundraising thermometer in the sidebar. Instead of a goal of $300.00 it now reads $150.00. Why? Here's what happened.
My iPod didn't fall out of my pocket at Blue Man Group. As everybody left the theater we were crowded together and I was pick pocketed. That's right, somebody reached into my pocket and took the iPod out.
Today I got an e-mail with the subject "I HAVE YOUR LOST IPHONE."
E-mails with subjects like this pique my interest. I read it. The person who sent the e-mail to me purchased my iPod from somebody for $150.00, not knowing that it was stolen. When he looked at the iPod he noticed an engraving on the back that said "Michael Snively MIT 2011." (This, folks, is the reason you should always have your Apple products laser engraved). He realized, at this point, that the iPod was probably lost or stolen, so he googled the laser engraving and found my e-mail address (you try googling Michael Snively MIT 2011 and see what you find). He wants to give the iPod back in hopes that some day, when he loses something, it will be returned to him.
With your help I've saved up almost $83.00 for a replacement iPod, but that money is going somewhere else now. I'm not spending it on myself, I'm using it to help offset the $150 that this gentleman lost when he purchased my iPod. Please continue to help, it's selfless acts like eating $150.00 just to do the right thing that restore my faith in the world.
My iPod didn't fall out of my pocket at Blue Man Group. As everybody left the theater we were crowded together and I was pick pocketed. That's right, somebody reached into my pocket and took the iPod out.
Today I got an e-mail with the subject "I HAVE YOUR LOST IPHONE."
E-mails with subjects like this pique my interest. I read it. The person who sent the e-mail to me purchased my iPod from somebody for $150.00, not knowing that it was stolen. When he looked at the iPod he noticed an engraving on the back that said "Michael Snively MIT 2011." (This, folks, is the reason you should always have your Apple products laser engraved). He realized, at this point, that the iPod was probably lost or stolen, so he googled the laser engraving and found my e-mail address (you try googling Michael Snively MIT 2011 and see what you find). He wants to give the iPod back in hopes that some day, when he loses something, it will be returned to him.
With your help I've saved up almost $83.00 for a replacement iPod, but that money is going somewhere else now. I'm not spending it on myself, I'm using it to help offset the $150 that this gentleman lost when he purchased my iPod. Please continue to help, it's selfless acts like eating $150.00 just to do the right thing that restore my faith in the world.
A Bubble in a Bus
This morning, I saw a miracle.
Actually, what I saw was a man and a woman on a bus. A very crowded, sweaty, smelly bus, full of mostly rustic villagers on their way to the station.
The woman was at least 35. She was fat. She was plain to look at, but she was decidedly urban. She looked educated. And she was married.
The man was scruffy. He was wearing dirty trousers and a five-day old beard. He couldn't have been younger than 40. And because I was sitting next to him, I could distictly smell stale whiskey.
They got on at different stops. They scuffled and shoved till they managed to find seats next to each other. And then, in that moving hell, they proceeded to create a little bubble of intimacy and tenderness, nearly completely oblivious to what the people aroud them were thinking, saying, or doing. In that bubble they held hands, whispered, touched each other, and the woman rested her head on the man's shoulder.
For an entire hour,the bubble remained unbroken. Then the lady got up. The man touched her hand, she looked at him, and then she got off and walked away briskly.
After a while, he got off too, and ambled away. And i sat there, in the little smelly bus, puzzling it all out. Middle aged adulterous lovers meeting secretly in public buses every day?! It seemed too bizzare to be real. Too out of this world. What could I call it except a miracle.
And yes, it makes me blanch to think i live in a city where the only possible rendezvous of clandestine lovers is a crowded public bus.
Wednesday, July 23, 2008
Tuesday, July 22, 2008
Donations? What?
As you may have noticed, there is a new button on my sidebar. It's big, yellow, says "Donate" on it, and has a bunch of little credit cards underneath it. This magical button gives you the opportunity to transfer funds directly from your bank account to mine. No, this is not just a random attempt to become filthy rich, there's actually a reason behind this.
I went to blue man group on Saturday and was listening to my iPod on the way there. I met a friend there, we went in, and I put my headphones away (therefore, the iPod was still in my pocket). After the show I stuffed my crepe paper headband (free headbands for everybody in the audience, woo hoo!) into my pocket and left the theater. About 30 minutes later I dug into my pocket to get my iPod and check my e-mail. . . it wasn't there. I checked all of my pockets and my backpack, no iPod. I backtracked in my mind and knew that I had it when I went into blue man. I thought back to putting my headband into my pocket and realized that I didn't feel my iPod when I did that. It must have fallen out of my pocket during the show.
I called the theater twice asking if they'd found it and telling them where I was sitting and they never found it. Bye bye iPod, gone forever. It was an 8 gigabyte iPod touch and I just can't bring myself to spend paycheck money on something I lost, so I'm doing two things:
1) Donation button on blog
2) Sell random crap on ebay
I don't have any of my auctions up yet, but I'll post them if I do. Is there anything in particular that you guys would like me to sell? Keep in mind, I can nab random MIT souvenirs for you (little baggies with grass from Killian Court, a copy of the Tech, Chapel moat water, etc). I'll have a thermometer on the sidebar keeping track of how much I've raised.
We can do it guys! I just need your help, donate today!
I went to blue man group on Saturday and was listening to my iPod on the way there. I met a friend there, we went in, and I put my headphones away (therefore, the iPod was still in my pocket). After the show I stuffed my crepe paper headband (free headbands for everybody in the audience, woo hoo!) into my pocket and left the theater. About 30 minutes later I dug into my pocket to get my iPod and check my e-mail. . . it wasn't there. I checked all of my pockets and my backpack, no iPod. I backtracked in my mind and knew that I had it when I went into blue man. I thought back to putting my headband into my pocket and realized that I didn't feel my iPod when I did that. It must have fallen out of my pocket during the show.
I called the theater twice asking if they'd found it and telling them where I was sitting and they never found it. Bye bye iPod, gone forever. It was an 8 gigabyte iPod touch and I just can't bring myself to spend paycheck money on something I lost, so I'm doing two things:
1) Donation button on blog
2) Sell random crap on ebay
I don't have any of my auctions up yet, but I'll post them if I do. Is there anything in particular that you guys would like me to sell? Keep in mind, I can nab random MIT souvenirs for you (little baggies with grass from Killian Court, a copy of the Tech, Chapel moat water, etc). I'll have a thermometer on the sidebar keeping track of how much I've raised.
We can do it guys! I just need your help, donate today!
Donations? What?
As you may have noticed, there is a new button on my sidebar. It's big, yellow, says "Donate" on it, and has a bunch of little credit cards underneath it. This magical button gives you the opportunity to transfer funds directly from your bank account to mine. No, this is not just a random attempt to become filthy rich, there's actually a reason behind this.
I went to blue man group on Saturday and was listening to my iPod on the way there. I met a friend there, we went in, and I put my headphones away (therefore, the iPod was still in my pocket). After the show I stuffed my crepe paper headband (free headbands for everybody in the audience, woo hoo!) into my pocket and left the theater. About 30 minutes later I dug into my pocket to get my iPod and check my e-mail. . . it wasn't there. I checked all of my pockets and my backpack, no iPod. I backtracked in my mind and knew that I had it when I went into blue man. I thought back to putting my headband into my pocket and realized that I didn't feel my iPod when I did that. It must have fallen out of my pocket during the show.
I called the theater twice asking if they'd found it and telling them where I was sitting and they never found it. Bye bye iPod, gone forever. It was an 8 gigabyte iPod touch and I just can't bring myself to spend paycheck money on something I lost, so I'm doing two things:
1) Donation button on blog
2) Sell random crap on ebay
I don't have any of my auctions up yet, but I'll post them if I do. Is there anything in particular that you guys would like me to sell? Keep in mind, I can nab random MIT souvenirs for you (little baggies with grass from Killian Court, a copy of the Tech, Chapel moat water, etc). I'll have a thermometer on the sidebar keeping track of how much I've raised.
We can do it guys! I just need your help, donate today!
I went to blue man group on Saturday and was listening to my iPod on the way there. I met a friend there, we went in, and I put my headphones away (therefore, the iPod was still in my pocket). After the show I stuffed my crepe paper headband (free headbands for everybody in the audience, woo hoo!) into my pocket and left the theater. About 30 minutes later I dug into my pocket to get my iPod and check my e-mail. . . it wasn't there. I checked all of my pockets and my backpack, no iPod. I backtracked in my mind and knew that I had it when I went into blue man. I thought back to putting my headband into my pocket and realized that I didn't feel my iPod when I did that. It must have fallen out of my pocket during the show.
I called the theater twice asking if they'd found it and telling them where I was sitting and they never found it. Bye bye iPod, gone forever. It was an 8 gigabyte iPod touch and I just can't bring myself to spend paycheck money on something I lost, so I'm doing two things:
1) Donation button on blog
2) Sell random crap on ebay
I don't have any of my auctions up yet, but I'll post them if I do. Is there anything in particular that you guys would like me to sell? Keep in mind, I can nab random MIT souvenirs for you (little baggies with grass from Killian Court, a copy of the Tech, Chapel moat water, etc). I'll have a thermometer on the sidebar keeping track of how much I've raised.
We can do it guys! I just need your help, donate today!
Monday, July 21, 2008
Mean on Monday
Handsome Chocolate-Boy friend moans- “ Marriage? Marriage is ages away! I have too many other things on my mind, I can’t think of getting married. Anyway I don’t think there is really any girl who is meant for me.”
Me : Don’t worry shona, lots of girls around who are gorgeous AND dumb.
HC-B friend: They wont do for me. Amar tader poshabe na.
Me : They are the only ones who’ll do for you. You see, unless they’re gorgeous you wont think they are good enough for you. And unless they are dumb, really really dumb, they wont be able to stand you at all.
Soul-crushing, if unoriginal. Bitchy mood today. Monday morning. I rest my case.
Saturday, July 19, 2008
Adventures are Injurious to My Health
My friend Sagar, when he was jobless, used to be an enthusiastic rappeller. Rappeling, I found out from him, is the activity of scrabbling over huge rocks for no discernable reason.
My friend Kiran has discovered and unleashed the mountain biker in himself.Earlier, he restricted himself to football and the occasional clandestine fishing boat excursion off the coasts of his native Kerala. Now he saddles his bike and vrooms off to Leh from Delhi every other weekend. He also rafts and does various other scary things.
My jeej is an experienced para-glider/ bungee-jumper/ air-floater/ something of the sort that requires you to fall miles through the air. He is also tattoed all over.
My brother spent the previous month in a series of god-forsaken tiny villages in MP, voluntarily working for an NGO. He lived without electricity, toilets, phones/ network coverage, and in constant threat from naxalites, hostile tribals, and wild boars. On his way back, he bathed in the very dangerous Allahabad sangam, with half charred dead bodies from nearby cremation grounds floating past.
When I talk to these people, I hear them tell me how they nearly (always nearly) lost their lives, how they saved somebody else, how they enjoyed the most spectacular views, and how they are going back next week for more. Then they ask if I’ve done anything interesting lately, and I say “ I… ummm…. I…. oh, I’m reading a new book.”
If these people wrote blogs, such blogs would be full of cliff hanging, breath taking, soul chilling adventures, not boring home-office-friends posts. But of course they have much better things to do than write blogs. Go snorkeling for instance.
Actually, no. I do get my share of adventures sometimes. Some mornings, I accidentally get off my bus while it is still moving (!!). And once, not many weeks ago, a mad person chased me across the street a couple of yards with a brick in his hand (then he saw a foreigner and lost interest in me).
But there must be something wrong with me, because I do not tie ropes to myself and clamber over boulders, I don’t swim around in diving gear hoping to meet sharks, I do not jump into extremely unsafe looking rafts/ rope-cars/ skis, and I DO NOT jump out of airplanes, no way. Not only do I not do these things, I do not crave to do them. That must make me sub-normal. Maybe I am missing a hormone or an enzyme that drives these people to their insane hobbies. Yes, I would like the lovely views and stuff, but I’d rather spend my holiday in bed, thank you, and see the views on my computer when my friends send me the photos.
PS: What drove me to write all this in the first place? My colleague asked me this morning if I’d like to go rollerblading with her on Sunday(that’s tomorrow).
I said “ummmm, I’d love to but I have a book to finish.”
My friend Kiran has discovered and unleashed the mountain biker in himself.Earlier, he restricted himself to football and the occasional clandestine fishing boat excursion off the coasts of his native Kerala. Now he saddles his bike and vrooms off to Leh from Delhi every other weekend. He also rafts and does various other scary things.
My jeej is an experienced para-glider/ bungee-jumper/ air-floater/ something of the sort that requires you to fall miles through the air. He is also tattoed all over.
My brother spent the previous month in a series of god-forsaken tiny villages in MP, voluntarily working for an NGO. He lived without electricity, toilets, phones/ network coverage, and in constant threat from naxalites, hostile tribals, and wild boars. On his way back, he bathed in the very dangerous Allahabad sangam, with half charred dead bodies from nearby cremation grounds floating past.
When I talk to these people, I hear them tell me how they nearly (always nearly) lost their lives, how they saved somebody else, how they enjoyed the most spectacular views, and how they are going back next week for more. Then they ask if I’ve done anything interesting lately, and I say “ I… ummm…. I…. oh, I’m reading a new book.”
If these people wrote blogs, such blogs would be full of cliff hanging, breath taking, soul chilling adventures, not boring home-office-friends posts. But of course they have much better things to do than write blogs. Go snorkeling for instance.
Actually, no. I do get my share of adventures sometimes. Some mornings, I accidentally get off my bus while it is still moving (!!). And once, not many weeks ago, a mad person chased me across the street a couple of yards with a brick in his hand (then he saw a foreigner and lost interest in me).
But there must be something wrong with me, because I do not tie ropes to myself and clamber over boulders, I don’t swim around in diving gear hoping to meet sharks, I do not jump into extremely unsafe looking rafts/ rope-cars/ skis, and I DO NOT jump out of airplanes, no way. Not only do I not do these things, I do not crave to do them. That must make me sub-normal. Maybe I am missing a hormone or an enzyme that drives these people to their insane hobbies. Yes, I would like the lovely views and stuff, but I’d rather spend my holiday in bed, thank you, and see the views on my computer when my friends send me the photos.
PS: What drove me to write all this in the first place? My colleague asked me this morning if I’d like to go rollerblading with her on Sunday(that’s tomorrow).
I said “ummmm, I’d love to but I have a book to finish.”
Tuesday, July 15, 2008
My Boss, The Feminist
This morning my boss (hereafter to be known as 'The Monster') called me to his cabin and showed me a painting he had done.
I had to admit, it was good. It showed a naked woman, or at least a mass of shapes that could just about be recognised as a naked woman, in a claustrophobic rectangle, straining to get out.
As the other trainees fawned sycophantically, The Monster eyed my reaction. Then, maybe because he was worried I would think it was something out of the Kamasutra, he proceeded to explain. : "This, you see, is how i see womankind being suppressed by society. Crushed, caged, deprived of any freedom..."
The trainees looked as if they might wet themselves any minute in sheer servile delight. As he went on, I stared at him, nonplussed. Just a few months ago, on my first day here, this man, this very same hideously ugly bully, had told me (eyes darting gleefully all over my person) that in his opinion, women were really no good in the corporate world. They were inefficient, unknowledgable, grossly dumb (well, he used nicer sounding words but this is the gist of what he meant). He would never let his wife work, not outside home anyway, (Mrs. Monster is a qualified chartered accountant). Since then, I have seen him harrass female colleagues, female trainees, female subordinates, with the sole purpose of proving his supremacy over them. And now apperantly his heart is bleeding at the plight of womankind, and he has gone and drawn a picture about it.
Now what in the world is more vexing than a male chauvinist PIG pretending to be a feminist?
I had to admit, it was good. It showed a naked woman, or at least a mass of shapes that could just about be recognised as a naked woman, in a claustrophobic rectangle, straining to get out.
As the other trainees fawned sycophantically, The Monster eyed my reaction. Then, maybe because he was worried I would think it was something out of the Kamasutra, he proceeded to explain. : "This, you see, is how i see womankind being suppressed by society. Crushed, caged, deprived of any freedom..."
The trainees looked as if they might wet themselves any minute in sheer servile delight. As he went on, I stared at him, nonplussed. Just a few months ago, on my first day here, this man, this very same hideously ugly bully, had told me (eyes darting gleefully all over my person) that in his opinion, women were really no good in the corporate world. They were inefficient, unknowledgable, grossly dumb (well, he used nicer sounding words but this is the gist of what he meant). He would never let his wife work, not outside home anyway, (Mrs. Monster is a qualified chartered accountant). Since then, I have seen him harrass female colleagues, female trainees, female subordinates, with the sole purpose of proving his supremacy over them. And now apperantly his heart is bleeding at the plight of womankind, and he has gone and drawn a picture about it.
Now what in the world is more vexing than a male chauvinist PIG pretending to be a feminist?
Friday, July 11, 2008
WATCH!
Watch this video as many times as possible. It needs another 300 hits by July 16th in order to win a contest that it's entered in.
WATCH WATCH WATCH SHARE WATCH SHARE SHARE WATCH!
WATCH!
Watch this video as many times as possible. It needs another 300 hits by July 16th in order to win a contest that it's entered in.
WATCH WATCH WATCH SHARE WATCH SHARE SHARE WATCH!
True Story
So you know why the marching band clips in this video are funny (except for the first one)? Because they're totally legitimate things that could happen! In fact, I've seen all of them (or at least variations of all of them) happen at one time or another. Actually, the cheerleader running into the pole after one of the marching band clips, I've done that. Well, sort of, I was marching and actually knocked the pole over, but same type of thing.
Half Time Show
Half Time Show
True Story
So you know why the marching band clips in this video are funny (except for the first one)? Because they're totally legitimate things that could happen! In fact, I've seen all of them (or at least variations of all of them) happen at one time or another. Actually, the cheerleader running into the pole after one of the marching band clips, I've done that. Well, sort of, I was marching and actually knocked the pole over, but same type of thing.
Half Time Show
Half Time Show
Thursday, July 10, 2008
Desert Rain
Pigeons
On my windowsill,
Its raining!
My friends in other states do not believe it rains in rajasthan. They go, "Oh, its a desert state, right? Of course you don't get any rain!"
No, we do not wake up to find our beds turned to rafts. We do not paddle on tyres to cross the road. We don't even have to wade through waist-deep water to get to office.
But we do get our share of the monsoons.
Yesterday morning i woke up to find that it had rained all night and the street in front of our house had turned into a mountain brook. And it was not as much rain as a bone drenching pour, continous, unrelenting, like being inside a waterfall. And of course the truant schoolkid in me danced a little jig "No Office dang pota dang dadang dadang dang".
It cleared up a little later, but i cocked a snook at the dry-washed morning. No way was i heading for office now that i was back in bed...
(my apologies for my friends in Mumbai/Kerala/the North-east, for getting so excited over what must seem to you a puny drizzle, but you have to admit, there is something sleepily romantic about desert rain)
Oh, by the way, I wrote the haiku up above.
Saturday, July 5, 2008
Ingenious
Yesterday was the fourth of July, a holiday that is welcomed with open arms in Boston MA. A couple of things come with the the fourth of July around here. The first are airplane advertisements and helicopters. Seriously, the airspace is so busy I'm surprised there wasn't an accident.
Next come emergency service personnel . . .
Boats . . .
500,000 people . . .
And just as many cops (why does everything I do involve cops!?)
Night fell on Boston but before the festivities and the music began I'd like to note two more things. Number one, the sunset was AMAZING!
My camera simply can't do it justice, but I tried my hardest!
And, there was obviously an issue in the brain and cog building because they accidentally let some zombies out.
Then it was time for the music. The Boston Pops performed the National Anthem and then at the very end, synchronized perfectly (which is no small feat, I appreciate the work you do, whoever was in charge of getting that set up), was a flyover.
While the music played, little kids played with glowsticks and families chatted happily. Dan Sauza and I decided to walk the length of the river and check things out. This is when we saw the sign that said "Fried Dough!"
I'm not sure there's anything more American than finding a perfectly good, wholesome food substance and soaking it in boiling fat. The proud Americans we are, Dan and I got in line for our fried dough.
While in line we glanced over and saw the hot dog booth. The only thing more American than fried dough is a hot dog. I saw no reason why the two of us couldn't be the uber-Americans of the evening, so after another quick wait in another line, Dan and I were in possession of the most American, most awesome, most delectably wholesome food known to man: The fried dough-dog. Just use your fried dough as a hot dog bun, poof, magically delicious!
Next were the fireworks, something I didn't record but thoroughly enjoyed. I'd say the two best things about these fireworks were
a) the fact that you could actually feel the sound waves hit you
b) they had fireworks that exploded in the shapes of cubes! How!?
4th of July is something else, you should try to make it out here for it sometime, you won't regret it!
Next come emergency service personnel . . .
Boats . . .
500,000 people . . .
And just as many cops (why does everything I do involve cops!?)
Night fell on Boston but before the festivities and the music began I'd like to note two more things. Number one, the sunset was AMAZING!
My camera simply can't do it justice, but I tried my hardest!
And, there was obviously an issue in the brain and cog building because they accidentally let some zombies out.
Then it was time for the music. The Boston Pops performed the National Anthem and then at the very end, synchronized perfectly (which is no small feat, I appreciate the work you do, whoever was in charge of getting that set up), was a flyover.
While the music played, little kids played with glowsticks and families chatted happily. Dan Sauza and I decided to walk the length of the river and check things out. This is when we saw the sign that said "Fried Dough!"
I'm not sure there's anything more American than finding a perfectly good, wholesome food substance and soaking it in boiling fat. The proud Americans we are, Dan and I got in line for our fried dough.
While in line we glanced over and saw the hot dog booth. The only thing more American than fried dough is a hot dog. I saw no reason why the two of us couldn't be the uber-Americans of the evening, so after another quick wait in another line, Dan and I were in possession of the most American, most awesome, most delectably wholesome food known to man: The fried dough-dog. Just use your fried dough as a hot dog bun, poof, magically delicious!
Next were the fireworks, something I didn't record but thoroughly enjoyed. I'd say the two best things about these fireworks were
a) the fact that you could actually feel the sound waves hit you
b) they had fireworks that exploded in the shapes of cubes! How!?
4th of July is something else, you should try to make it out here for it sometime, you won't regret it!
Ingenious
Yesterday was the fourth of July, a holiday that is welcomed with open arms in Boston MA. A couple of things come with the the fourth of July around here. The first are airplane advertisements and helicopters. Seriously, the airspace is so busy I'm surprised there wasn't an accident.
Next come emergency service personnel . . .
Boats . . .
500,000 people . . .
And just as many cops (why does everything I do involve cops!?)
Night fell on Boston but before the festivities and the music began I'd like to note two more things. Number one, the sunset was AMAZING!
My camera simply can't do it justice, but I tried my hardest!
And, there was obviously an issue in the brain and cog building because they accidentally let some zombies out.
Then it was time for the music. The Boston Pops performed the National Anthem and then at the very end, synchronized perfectly (which is no small feat, I appreciate the work you do, whoever was in charge of getting that set up), was a flyover.
While the music played, little kids played with glowsticks and families chatted happily. Dan Sauza and I decided to walk the length of the river and check things out. This is when we saw the sign that said "Fried Dough!"
I'm not sure there's anything more American than finding a perfectly good, wholesome food substance and soaking it in boiling fat. The proud Americans we are, Dan and I got in line for our fried dough.
While in line we glanced over and saw the hot dog booth. The only thing more American than fried dough is a hot dog. I saw no reason why the two of us couldn't be the uber-Americans of the evening, so after another quick wait in another line, Dan and I were in possession of the most American, most awesome, most delectably wholesome food known to man: The fried dough-dog. Just use your fried dough as a hot dog bun, poof, magically delicious!
Next were the fireworks, something I didn't record but thoroughly enjoyed. I'd say the two best things about these fireworks were
a) the fact that you could actually feel the sound waves hit you
b) they had fireworks that exploded in the shapes of cubes! How!?
4th of July is something else, you should try to make it out here for it sometime, you won't regret it!
Next come emergency service personnel . . .
Boats . . .
500,000 people . . .
And just as many cops (why does everything I do involve cops!?)
Night fell on Boston but before the festivities and the music began I'd like to note two more things. Number one, the sunset was AMAZING!
My camera simply can't do it justice, but I tried my hardest!
And, there was obviously an issue in the brain and cog building because they accidentally let some zombies out.
Then it was time for the music. The Boston Pops performed the National Anthem and then at the very end, synchronized perfectly (which is no small feat, I appreciate the work you do, whoever was in charge of getting that set up), was a flyover.
While the music played, little kids played with glowsticks and families chatted happily. Dan Sauza and I decided to walk the length of the river and check things out. This is when we saw the sign that said "Fried Dough!"
I'm not sure there's anything more American than finding a perfectly good, wholesome food substance and soaking it in boiling fat. The proud Americans we are, Dan and I got in line for our fried dough.
While in line we glanced over and saw the hot dog booth. The only thing more American than fried dough is a hot dog. I saw no reason why the two of us couldn't be the uber-Americans of the evening, so after another quick wait in another line, Dan and I were in possession of the most American, most awesome, most delectably wholesome food known to man: The fried dough-dog. Just use your fried dough as a hot dog bun, poof, magically delicious!
Next were the fireworks, something I didn't record but thoroughly enjoyed. I'd say the two best things about these fireworks were
a) the fact that you could actually feel the sound waves hit you
b) they had fireworks that exploded in the shapes of cubes! How!?
4th of July is something else, you should try to make it out here for it sometime, you won't regret it!
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