Creepiest. Robot. Ever.
From Japan, of course.
From Japan, of course.
Sometimes I have a day where I’m given more to read and look at by friends online than I can actually process. Sometimes I’m busy enough during a given day where even two items are too many to handle. Yesterday was one of these days. So, I present you with the COPIOUS amounts of materials now:
Did you know you can comment on these posts? There’s a tiny “0” in the upper right corner. See him up there? Very tiny, very green, but there. Clicking on this “0” gives you the opportunity to share your thoughts, just like you may have done on ARoB. So, feel free!
That being said, a commentary on my work right now: I’m exhausted.
Well, that’s not all, really. Work has been really busy of late because we’ve got a plethora of large-scale projects running through the department at the same time. We’ve also got no extra people or money to pull them off and we have to keep up the same amount of stuff we were doing before the major projects arrived with no loss of quality or speed. So, you figure that out.
On the upside, the summer should see some very interesting new technologies like Zimbra and Blackboard 9. I’m curious to see how the students take to those powerful tools. Oh, and new MacBook Pros for Beck and my office. Thank god – this one is getting rather long in the tooth as a production workstation.
Observations from evening number one with High Definition DirecTV service:
That is all for now, I think. I’m rather enjoying this upgrade but I feel that, as we enter into hour 4, my brain is starting to rot. It might be time to read.
On today’s exciting episode of my life, we’ll be discussing this weekend’s admittedly crazy plans. Kate and I are going to Pittsburgh come Friday to visit her parents/crash at her place/pick up her sister before we depart for Weston, WV. Why are we heading into the heart of red neckery, you ask? Well, the three of us are being locked in the Trans Allegheny Lunatic Asylum from 9pm Saturday until 5am Sunday. Intrepid explorers that we are, we’ve signed ourselves up for an overnight, free-wheeling ghost hunt in this half million square foot, Victorian mental institution. Yes, it’s going to be fun…and totally scary.
So, I need to make a list of what to take along (we are permitted any equipment we want) and I could surely use some ideas of what to do once inside. Here’s what’s going along so far:
Any other ideas? I plan on spending an extended stay in perhaps 2 or 3 rooms after an hour or so touring the grounds. Brian has suggested that I do some long exposure photography in these areas by setting up tea lights for increased ambient lighting. Sounds like a plan. I also want to duct tape up the security cam here and there while we walk about to see if anything shows up while we interact with certain rooms…and when they are empty. Maybe we should try EVP? I personally really want to try out some provocation during the dead hour. We’ll see what Kate and Beth have to say about this. 😛
Nick: “Can I place this order online?”
Verizon: “Yes, you can.
N: “Is there any fee associated with doing this?”
V: “I’m not sure…they may have charges that we don’t?”
N: “Aren’t ‘they’ Verizon, too? You are all one company, correct?”
V: “The online orders division has its own procedures and policies.”
N: “That’s totally ridiculous.”
I hate it when companies act as though their individual pieces are wholly separate entities. Especially when talking to customers. Really, it makes the MOST sense from a customer service standpoint to present one solid set of talking points – the same prices, rules and methods. Don’t make me order online because it’s cheaper and then slap me with a fee that I wouldn’t have encountered over the phone. That’s fucking ludicrous.
And don’t make me sign up for another two years of service because I want to change my account to save some money when I’ve already been a loyal customer for one and a half years. Dicks.
Kate, Dusty and I have started a brand new blog on the topic of the technological singularity. It’s just getting off the ground now, but I hope it can very quickly become a real time capsule of this dawning of a new era. Or whatever it turns out to be.
The singularity is coming: do you know where your children are?
For awhile now I’ve been quietly dealing with a nihilistic quality in the very core of myself. Maybe I was consciously aware of its presence and maybe I wasn’t, at least not entirely. This little voice deep down inside has been there, always causing me to negate the value of things I really want to hold valuable. For example, I may think “Man, that is a truly beautiful Mercedes…the lines, the color, the presentation of the design language!” but my personal Nietzche will then counter with “Think of the resources depleted to build it and the money required to buy it…it’s destroying the world! How dare you care!” I get really, really excited about art and design and purpose-built beauty – but then find myself feeling guilty because of the impracticality of these things, or the attention they may draw away from what I perceive to be bigger concerns.
Of course, some things fall outside of this sphere. Love, friendship, family, humor, sadness, sex, achievement and learning are just a few “pure” elements that cannot fall victim to my analytical dissection. They do, though, occasionally get lost in the silt clouds as I muddy the waters with near-constant mental struggles.
How sad, right? How utterly ridiculous…how arrogant to think that it’s my sworn duty to worry about “the BIG picture” at all times.
Well, enough is enough. I can’t be rid of my nihilism – indeed, I think it’s probably one of my most important characteristics, one that creates a tension that’s extraordinarily valuable for viewing my world – but I can decide that some things are worthy of passionate exploration, devotion and interest. I think I’m going to start listing these things as they come to me and I’m not going to allow myself to question them.
Today’s items that matter are:
Since I’m at work, I should probably stop and, you know…work. But, this list had to come out this morning while it was still fresh and felt important.
Frankly, I feel better already. 🙂
“If you are going to reach for a star, reach for the lowest one you can. I’m going to work at the fake flower plant plant!”
(Strangers With Candy – Season 2, Episode 1)
…I’ve installed Leopard today. It’s such a strange beast of an Apple OS. I described it to Alex as 40% OS X as we knew it, 40% Windows Vista, and 20% NeXT-ish. Basically, if you’ve seen iTunes recently, you have a general idea of what Leopard is going for. It’s really interesting to see Apple trying to blend several different interface paradigms into one product. We have a smattering of iPhone references (System Preferences icon, rounded menus,) iPod references (CoverFlow, flat Menu Bar) and other various design elements from across the board. I’m glad to see the incorporation – and consolidation – of numerous design languages, but the overall feel for me is a bit jarring. I am starting to like it, though, much the same as I eventually grew to like the newest iTunes. It’s a novelty and breathes some excitement into my nearly 2 year old MacBook Pro. That and a few well-placed caffeine stickers from Kate. 😛
In other geek news, Google has finally deemed my Gmail account worthy of IMAP. So, I’ll be done with multiple inboxes on my iPhone and computer. Hoorah! I hope there are no major hiccups in this transition.
Now, off to get Time Machine working on the lovely Desmond. Ciao!