~jg3

Let’s talk about meh, maybe

Meh.

It’s a word.  It’s a sound.  It’s an expression of near-apathy.

Definition of meh :.

(mÄ“’)

1. (n.) A multi-purpose response, primarily used to imply a degree of indifference. Tone of voice and circumstance often implies a meaning. Can be used when you don’t want to answer an awkward or embarrassing question, or if you just plain have nothing else to say, and you want the other person to interpret the “meh” however he/she chooses. As in: Q: “What do you think of my new dress?” A: “Meh.” or Q: “What do you want to do tonight?” A: “Meh.”

Thanks for pointing out this definition go to Cruel Dave who would be thrilled to know that I’m still tricking my friends into playing more than half-and-half of the games he taught me.

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Cashback

Last night I re-watched a movie I had sorta forgotten about, a movie that really makes me think about the way I appreciate beauty and time. And for all that, it’s a kind of simple story about a normal, sensitive guy. It is called Cashback because the main character, Ben, gets a job at a supermarket. But he really looks at it as though he’s selling his time to the man and the man gives him cash (back). I won’t tell you any more because I don’t want to spoil it, but I should warn you that if you’re afraid of the female anatomy, this might not be the right movie for you. It is tastefully and wonderfully done (camera, sound, casting) and it won a fistfull of awards, mostly Internationally, but it was nominated for an Oscar (not that any of that really means anything).

Of all the strangely familiar things about this movie, it was the song that played during the end credits that clinched it for me. A hauntingly familiar and yet strange song that was playing on my shuffle and for months while I was loving it but didn’t realize who or what it was.

Royskopp’s What Else Is There?

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Colorjunction

This just got out of hand.  I’ve been a little addicted to Colorjunction

since I added it to my iGoogle start page a few weeks ago.  But the version on the iGoogle page only has 100 pices.  i found that Karl Stulik, on his home page has a board with 400 pices.  And no distracting gTalk or gMail panels, either.  Just focus … on connecting the colors.

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Tryst off

Hey Tryst: screw you

One of the features of my job is that one week of every month I am on-call around the clock. At any time during that week I could potentially be called to address a situation and doing so requires access to the Internet. Normally I just stay home and watch movies that Friday night. Last night that just didn’t seem right. I figured I could find a place to stay connected and caffeinated and maybe get some work and some people-watching done. Tryst, I thought, would be perfect. They have Internet access, caffeine, couches, and people watching aplenty. I told .jeff. and he said he’d meet me down there around 9:30. I arrived about 8:50 and grabbed a couch, popped open my lappy, and got connected. I sent some work-email and some gmail, and looked over the menu that the waitperson had brought me. I decided on some kind of froo-froo coffee and put the menu down and resumed doing “stuff” on/to/with/for the Internet.

But then it stopped. My SSH session wasn’t connecting. My gTalk client was reporting “technical difficulties”. I refreshed a web page and felt a moment of relief when my browser showed that a page was loading, but the relief was short-lived because I saw this page, which explained that…

Wireless access at Tryst is turned off at 9pm on Fridays and comes back on at 6:30am Monday mornings.

Take some time off from your work! Enjoy Tryst on the weekends as a place away from both home and office.

Try a coffee or a cocktail…sit back and relax.

But … I need my Internets! I’m not sitting here updating my myspace page! I’m working and, yes, it is Friday night. And, yes, Tryst will probably make more money from pairs of lovers rotating through here for 30 minutes to drop $40 on some fancy coffee cocktails and dessert than they would profit from me filling up the same space all night with two cups of coffee. I get it. What pisses me off, however, is that they don’t bother to mention on their public website that they turn off Internet access. I’m glad I had not yet placed my order, or I would have had a dilemma. Instead I guess I did what Tryst probably sees as the second-best option. I put my laptop in my bag, put my bag on my shoulder, and walked out … just as .jeff. was coming through the door. ugh. So we took our business elsewhere.

Make no mistake, Tryst is still a cool place, but getting cut off unexpectedly kinda sucks. So you can be sure I’m going to trash them on Yelp for it.

My dad would say: if that’s all you’ve got to complain about, you’re not doing too bad. I suppose that’s true.

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until ($OVER) do ( work_it(foreach @adverb));

While reading the slack-hacker blog this week I noticed a link to graphjam, a site by the same peeps who did LoLcats that is all about graphs that amuse.   Here’s an example that cracked me up:

Work it

 

If you’re unfamiliar with or suddenly feel the need to listen to Daft Punk, here you go:

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Jesus: the Awkward Years

Jesus' crisis

Here’s a webcomic that you’ll either love or hate.  Jesus: the Awkward Years is drawn to evoke that classic Archie comic style and addresses a topic I’ve personally spent a lot of time wondering about.  What did Jesus do when he was a teenager?  The blend of old and new with styles is great and really adds to the humor.  Without spoiling the plot, I can tell you that as a youth not a lot of people listened to Jesus but he was followed by [a] sheep.

The archives for this one aren’t very deep yet, the strip began through a miracle on December 25th, 2007, so it won’t take you all day to read the whole thing (16 and counting). But when it comes to TAW it’s about quality, not quantity.  If you love it or hate it consider dropping Chris Henderson and Matt Burke a note letting them know how you feel, eh?  (they’re Canucks)

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xkcd

Holy granola!  First of all, I can’t believe that it is after 10am on Friday and I’m just now pushing out some junk for you to slack to, sorry.  It has definitely been an un-slackful week for me, and is showing no signs of slowing.  Secondly, I can’t believe that there is no mention of xkcd around here before.  That is inexcusable.  For network nerds this is required reading.  Not only does this comic really dominate the stick-figure genre, the way it covers romance and the use of sarcasm are endearing.  Ok, enough.  If you haven’t read xkcd before, have a good afternoon working through the archives.  Don’t miss the mouse-over messages, either.

You math and science types will especially like this comic.

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Exit info for the Beijing bound

How to get out of the subway.

This weekend three new subway lines in Beijing will undergo testing to ensure they’re ready to carry passengers before crowds of olympians and fans descend upon the city.  As you might expect, China is prepared with propaganda, including really cute  pictorial description of how one should exit the station.

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Bohda Te

Frequently in this space you will find links to amusing webcomics where you can waste your half a day.  Or even an entire day if you’re a slow reader.  Well this time I’ll cut you a little break by introducing you to what is essentially four webcomics that all fall under the label Bohda Te.  And no, I have no idea what that means.  Except for four exceptionally cute little comics that you should be able to at least skim through before that snack you’re eating is digested.

At least after you read through these you’ll understand what people are talking about when they reference the ALR or Angry Little Robot.

I would tell you that this is all springs from the mind of Jamie Stewart but … maybe we’ll look at in the coming weeks.  (That, and a lot of it says “coming soon”.)

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