Nightmare

I would rather not imagine this happening to me. Although I must say, I am not a fan of the Blackberry wheel, hence not a fan of the Blackberry. Can't wait until I get my hands on an iPhone.

Quicksilver + Yubnub

I decided to check out LifeClever's post about integrating Quicksilver and Yubnub because

(a) It seemed like a cool tool
(b) I'm procrastinating (am I ever not?), and
(c) What's up with the name Yubnub?

Apparently, the guy remembers the phrase from a Star Wars movie (surprise!) and it means "hooray" in Ewok.

Anyway, I love the shortcut!! Try it out.

Life Imitates Art

Coincidence? I think not.

Kryptonite Discovered

The question is, why do we have to follow international naming coventions when everyone knows what kryptonite is? I say we vote on this.

Now This is A Will Ferrell Movie

Just A Friendly Reminder of Who You Are

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MITCNC Events: Week of April 16 - April 22
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Check out MITCNC website:

Check out MITCNC Upcoming Events RSS feed:

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Summary of upcoming events for MITCNC (MIT Club of Northern California):
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This week:

Tue 04/17/2007 6:00pm VLAB Event: The Next Wave in Online Ad Distribution Networks

Fri 04/20/2007 8:00pm Nerd Pride Movie Night at Instructables HQ

Sun 04/22/2007 11:00am MITCNC hike: Gerbode Valley and Tennessee Valley, Marin Headlands (N. Bay)

Creativity

I had an interview the other day and was asked about my creativity. That was probably the toughest question for me. I am solidly in the box. I may poke a finger out once in a while, and I do look at all the people outside the box. Some of them look ridiculous, some of them look brilliant. I found this web site via Graceful Flavor. I'd say this is a brilliant way to promote a book.

Professionalism

"I think I hired someone on the spot."

"Who was it that you hired?"

"Victoria**."

"And she was the one trying to take off your jacket?"


**Names have been changed to protect the innocent.

Now I Know

Have I ever mentioned how much I love Strawberries Wild? It makes me a better person...until I have to run to the bathroom. It's been a mystery to me because I always get the non-dairy option (sub sorbet.) Yet since the temporary inconvenience does not even compare to the euphoria of consumption, I've let it be.

Well, I came across this post today, and suddenly, I can see clearly.

Careful readers will notice though, that the update includes new claims by Jamba Juice that they don't sell a non-dairy blend.

For now, this is just a hypothetical struggle between Jamba longing and a healthy stomach. It's not too hard to stay away from Jamba out here, but I will need to smoosh this knowledge come May, when I will again be surrounded by Jamba in the land of Cali.

This is How You Do It

Fun Fun Fun

Yes, geeky fun.

Kelly Clarkson's Beautiful Disaster was stuck in my head all day, so of course I kept playing it on iTunes. I didn't put it on repeat cuz I didn't want to overdose. So I was pleasantly surprised by Jordis Unga's rendition of Man Who Sold the World, and it made me wonder what happened to her.

Her web site isn't great, but it did point me to a cool site - Frappr!. What fun!! Here's "my" map, though I haven't even signed up yet. We'll see how well this works.

Update: Ok, I signed up. Here's the new map.

In the Words of Others

When I return from an extended overseas trip, I often feel behind on everything regardless of how hard I try to keep up with the news. Part of it is being cut off from the local (US) media and part of it is being away from people. People are generally great, efficient sources of information, hence the simile "spread like wild fire." Accuracy is always questionable, but at least I get a sense of what's going on. I vividly remember missing Britney's debut summer and feeling all confused by this new superstar upon my return.

While we had to deal with slow internet connections and censored content in the Dubai hotels, having access to e-mail and the world wide web while away has been wonderful. I do not feel so disoriented after this last trip. Still, it is a shock to return home and find Sundance Head booted off of American Idol while Sanjaya Malakar is still prancing around on stage. He's not even that cute. And the hair is heinous. It is therefore with great pleasure that I share with you today's Achenblog.

And while we're on this entertainment kick, I must also share with you this rant about Justin Timberlake.

Airport Security

We planned a nice dinner out before our flights to Dubai, but the food did not agree with blogger14. By the time we got to the modern but grim Frankfurt airport, nothing seemed more appealing than some fresh air. The lady at the information desk told us that the only way to get "fresh air" was to go through passport control. I swear, she used air quotes. It's like she was too polite to flat out warn us against the dangers of breathing Germany's polluted air, but still wanted to teach us the advantages of mechanically filtered and ventilated air.

Passport control was a breeze, but then we got stuck in this purgatory-esque room. For some reason, no one was allowed to go out into the pre-security terminal area, yet we had to go through an extremely long x-ray line to return to the gates. People moved back and forth between the two options, getting nowhere, while the room filled up with more unknowing travelers coming through passport control. Some uniformed personnel came through and were accosted by people who wanted to know if we would ever in our life see the outside of the room again. It looks big here, but trust me, it was not a fun place to be with a thousand other people in it.



Plus, doesn't it look more like a danky subway station than Europe's busiest airport?

After we were finally let out of the room, we wandered about looking for a bench outside. We were dressed for balmy Dubai, so I couldn't last too long out in the cold. We ended up going in and out of the terminal every few minutes to both get fresh air and stay warm. Not the most dignified way to spend our 4 hours of transit time, but look what we found!



That's right. An adult novelty store by the baggage claim. You know a country is progressive when the airport has facilities to meet all your needs.

Priorities

Sometimes I feel guilty about the leisurely nature of my blog, and I wonder if I should be writing about more meaningful topics, like education or politics. Or spending my computer time on something good for the community. Then there are days when I wake up to story after story of disturbing news. I could spend all day venting about the many things that are wrong around us, and what we should all be doing to make the world a better place.

Well, I don't have all day. So I will stick to celebrating small wins. Like the fact that Britney seems to still be in rehab. And that not everyone is gleefully watching her self-destruct. And that, according to MyBlogLog, more people have been visiting my blog, and some of them have even clicked on my text ads. Thank you, whoever you are.

Over It

Katharine McPhee's music video for Over It is finally out. (The video will start playing in the upper left hand corner after the MTV clips. I'll update the link to some other site once it's not exclusively on MTV any more. The MTV site is just not user friendly.)

I like that the video has a story line that matches the song, but I don't really get the multiple scenes where she's clicking a remote at the camera. It's unclear if the remote is malfunctioning or if she just enjoys the clicking motion. I also do not understand why she seems so sad to be over this skinny, unattractive guy. Anyhow, take a look. She's very easy on the eyes. So much so that I suspect someone at RCA is trying to sabotage her debut album. Why else would they release the music video more than 3 weeks after the album release? I think a simultaneous release would have totally boosted her first-week sales.

Oh, don't watch it while you're cooking. My soup boiled over because I couldn't resist watching the video twice in a row.

Hygiene

"Why are you such a butt? Do I need to send some toilet paper to wipe you up?"

Marketing Slogan

Courage

Life is unfair. Whatever your opinion is about Britney, you cannot deny that she was born a pretty pretty girl. How many people do you know can shave their heads and still look this pretty? Not to mention how most people aren't even brave enough to shave their heads. And maybe, just maybe, she was actually thinking logically, "Everyone thinks I'm crazy anyway. I might as well take advantage of the situation and shave my head. There's no way I would get to otherwise."

For my own enjoyment, here's her I'm A Slave 4 U video.

Yummy

One of the inconveniences I've had to deal with for the last 18 months is the lack of fast food offerings along my daily route. It is a testament to my laziness that I have chosen to be deprived of fresh french fries and nearly-meatless burgers instead of walking 4 blocks in the other direction to the nearest McDonald's.

What I do pass every day is a Ben and Jerry's and a Haagen Dazs store. I would be able to count the number of times I've been into these stores on one hand if I actually kept track of those visits. Unmemorable? Absolutely.

But now, I have a purpose. The great Stephen Colbert has gotten an ice cream named for him. And tomorrow, I will go forth and conquer the Americone Dream.

Update: The people at Ben and Jerry's had no idea what I was talking about. Ugh. The official press release seems to imply that the flavor is only available in pints. Does that mean supermarkets only?

Geeky Fairy Tale

I'm not so sure about the Commodore 64, but I love the lightsabre scene.

I Saw It Coming

I remember promising myself, in second grade, that I would stay the same weight forever. It did not cross my mind then that (a) I was still growing and would have to gain weight, or (b) eating a lot is not conducive to maintaining the same weight. Luckily, I exploited the great loop hole of unit conversion. I went from 50 lbs as a 6-year-old to a steady 50 kgs as a teen and adult.

For more than a decade, people have marveled at the disconnect between my appetite and my physique. Many kindly informed me that my luck - or as some would call it, metabolism - would not last forever. So I knew the day would come when I must start to watch what I eat. I also expected this to happen around 30. What I did not expect is for it to happen the week I turn 30.

I first noted a 4-pound gain over my birthday weekend. No big deal. A little too much House of Prime Rib and Baskin Robbins, but that doesn't happen all the time. I'll be back at my regular weight in no time.

A few days later, Tony catches me heading for free chocolate in the Admissions Office and points out that I've gained weight. No, he wasn't being mean. And he didn't know I was going to get chocolate. But that made me think.

Then this weekend, I can't fit into my dark jeans, and the scale now says I'm 7 pounds over the standard. Now this is getting serious. 7 is only one meal away from 4, but I will not let me closet full of clothes become obsolete. The horror of having to shop for new clothes! No!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!