17 Juni 2009
A moment of silence please.
I don't think I've quite grasped the significance of this yet. Maybe I'm still in shock. I mean, I just learned that my username was "andrewchen" and, just as quickly, I am forced to give it up (if I want to merge it with my Battle.net account anyway):
16 Juni 2009
Schprechen sie Tweetenshlize!
I'm now on Twitter! To really make use of it, I'll need to get a phone that can allow me to Tweet... or, more rather, see if my phone can already do it. I'm not interested in getting a new phone right now, especially just to use Twitter. I can, of course, just text.
Also, I think on Tuesdays, Conan O'Brien (now on the Tonight Show) has a Twitter segment, which is what my title refers to. I believe it's German for "Speaks the Twitter," but it's also very likely to be something that was made up for the show.
Who knows.
Also, I think on Tuesdays, Conan O'Brien (now on the Tonight Show) has a Twitter segment, which is what my title refers to. I believe it's German for "Speaks the Twitter," but it's also very likely to be something that was made up for the show.
Who knows.
Bears, Lions, and Horses (and glue), oh my?
After a discussion about Megan Fox (compared to Jessica Alba)...
me: More importantly, what is your view of horses?
me: Or lions?
me: OR LIONS RIDING HORSES?
(This was taken, without permission, from 4chan.)
Syd: ooo i love these games
Syd: the horse has a crazy eye
Syd: that horse is about to become glue
Syd: i think this is frightening
Syd: and hugel inappropriate
Syd: hugely
me: Hmm. Duly noted.
me: ...what if you like glue? Huffing glue, even?
Syd: i think that's the horse for you then
Syd: i think it would be a beautiful partnership
me: Hmm.
me: What about lions fist (or should that be paw) fighting with bears?
me: Engaged in... pugilism, as it were?
Syd: bear wins
me: Ineded.
me: It's only interesting for like the first ten seconds.
Syd: good. that's about when my attention span expires
me: Haha.
Syd: oh no. i don't have adobe flash
Syd: i cannot play the movie
me: ALAS!
me: (it's really not that exciting)
me: It's mostly the idea of a bear and a lion fighting over a beer.
me: If I were a bear, I would fight over beer.
me: ...I'd do that anyway.
Syd: the bear is going to win
Syd: clearly
me: Haha.
Syd: they can stand on their back legs
Syd: and just belly flop over the lion
me: The lion, as drawn, is also on its hind legs.
me: In a way, it looks less balanced.
me: Less... cocksure of itself, in fact.
Syd: but its a lie
Syd: they have weaker Achilles
Syd: bear wins
me: Bear > Lion
Syd: this should be obvious to even a simpleton
me: Ah, but that is why we are scientists.
me: ...who ponder important questions, like bears and lions fighting over beer.
me: It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel.
This reference isn't quite used correctly, but it's funny and I did say weasel. It's from S5E8, "Boy-Scoutz N the Hood."
me: More importantly, what is your view of horses?
me: Or lions?
me: OR LIONS RIDING HORSES?
(This was taken, without permission, from 4chan.)
Syd: ooo i love these games
Syd: the horse has a crazy eye
Syd: that horse is about to become glue
Syd: i think this is frightening
Syd: and hugel inappropriate
Syd: hugely
me: Hmm. Duly noted.
me: ...what if you like glue? Huffing glue, even?
Syd: i think that's the horse for you then
Syd: i think it would be a beautiful partnership
me: Hmm.
me: What about lions fist (or should that be paw) fighting with bears?
me: Engaged in... pugilism, as it were?
Syd: bear wins
me: Ineded.
me: It's only interesting for like the first ten seconds.
Syd: good. that's about when my attention span expires
me: Haha.
Syd: oh no. i don't have adobe flash
Syd: i cannot play the movie
me: ALAS!
me: (it's really not that exciting)
me: It's mostly the idea of a bear and a lion fighting over a beer.
me: If I were a bear, I would fight over beer.
me: ...I'd do that anyway.
Syd: the bear is going to win
Syd: clearly
me: Haha.
Syd: they can stand on their back legs
Syd: and just belly flop over the lion
me: The lion, as drawn, is also on its hind legs.
me: In a way, it looks less balanced.
me: Less... cocksure of itself, in fact.
Syd: but its a lie
Syd: they have weaker Achilles
Syd: bear wins
me: Bear > Lion
Syd: this should be obvious to even a simpleton
me: Ah, but that is why we are scientists.
me: ...who ponder important questions, like bears and lions fighting over beer.
me: It's what separates us from the animals ... except the weasel.
This reference isn't quite used correctly, but it's funny and I did say weasel. It's from S5E8, "Boy-Scoutz N the Hood."
It's okay, they're just zombies.
So, when I started on my First Crusade for Achievement points, I picked up the game Dead Rising. It's a pretty neat game which is sort of like George A. Romero's Dawn of the Dead movie, except a bit more comical. Anyway, besides the game being fun to play, I thought it had some interesting Achievements, especially since it was once of the earlier X360 games (NA release: 8 Aug 2006). As usual, there is a set of the typical grind-type achievements:
In terms of progression, the first two make sense. But the last one? Well, if you pay attention to the intro movie, the sign introducing visitors to the town of Willamette, Colorado gives the population as 53,594 people. So, assuming that the population of Willamette has remained the same (perhaps steady-state?) since the numbers were taken, clearly there should be no more than 53,594 zombies.
A little more than two years later, another notable zombie game comes out: Left 4 Dead (NA release: 18 Nov 2008). If you look through the achievements, there's this one:
When presented here, it's clear that it's a cute little reference to the Dead Rising Achievements. When I saw this achievement for the first time, I was a little pleased with myself for catching the reference.
And now, to the near-present, we have Prototype (NA release: 9 Jun 2009). A quick glance through the achievements reveals:
I haven't played Prototype yet (Yes, I have the game. Yes, it's still in it's wrapper), so I don't know if the game actually involves zombies. EDIT: Apparently, I really need to play this game.
And no, I have not earned any of these achievements... though, I am planning on starting my Second Achievement Crusade shortly.
In terms of progression, the first two make sense. But the last one? Well, if you pay attention to the intro movie, the sign introducing visitors to the town of Willamette, Colorado gives the population as 53,594 people. So, assuming that the population of Willamette has remained the same (perhaps steady-state?) since the numbers were taken, clearly there should be no more than 53,594 zombies.
A little more than two years later, another notable zombie game comes out: Left 4 Dead (NA release: 18 Nov 2008). If you look through the achievements, there's this one:
When presented here, it's clear that it's a cute little reference to the Dead Rising Achievements. When I saw this achievement for the first time, I was a little pleased with myself for catching the reference.
And now, to the near-present, we have Prototype (NA release: 9 Jun 2009). A quick glance through the achievements reveals:
I haven't played Prototype yet (Yes, I have the game. Yes, it's still in it's wrapper), so I don't know if the game actually involves zombies. EDIT: Apparently, I really need to play this game.
And no, I have not earned any of these achievements... though, I am planning on starting my Second Achievement Crusade shortly.
15 Juni 2009
Are you kidding me? Absolutely not.
Note: This post is more rambly than normal. I'll have to clean it up later after I'm more rested.
So, all of my Skype-active friends have already heard this gripe, but here it is again. So, today I was helping out our Program Admin (as I often do -- always good to be friends with the Admin) who will be referred to as Blanche. Anyway, so I got two rather gripe-worthy entries:
Plug and Play?
Apollo Electric (the first name will probably only make sense to me, the last name will make sense as you continue reading) wants more RAM for his laptop to run some of his applications. This is a perfectly valid request. I offer to help him find some RAM. I find him a 2GB DIMM and tell him that he can probably install it himself (mistake 1) and to return the old DIMM to me (his Lenovo T60 only has two slots). He does so and tells me that he's at 3GB now, and if he may, he'd like another 2GB to swap out with the existing 1GB to bring him to a total of 4GB. I give him the second one.
He installs this one, comes back, and then says he isn't seeing 4GB RAM (doesn't say what he is seeing though; in retrospect, I should have asked); and is pretty convinced that the DIMM is busted (or something else similar is wrong). I give him the benefit of the doubt (mistake 2), and say that I want to run an experiment and swap one of the older DIMMs he just handed me to see if something's damaged; maybe either the slot itself or the DIMM. So, without actually checking to see what the computer is registering (read: mistake 2), I say we should swap the DIMM he just installed (that of questionable function) with the previously installed 512MB DIMM.
To make a long story short and without going into detail (that would make my head explode with rage), he is impatient (perhaps for good reason, such as getting back to his work) and makes bizarre assumptions that are not helpful and would suggest solutions that basically amount to: give me a new laptop/buy me new hardware. Oh, and here's the kicker: while we're doing all this, he asks me if we can swap out the RAM DIMMs while the COMPUTER IS STILL TURNED ON.
Wait, I lied. This next part is rather minor, but as I'm already on a roll, it is worth mentioning. As Apollo is leaving, he asks me how to access the BIOS. I say that it's probably the blue ThinkVantage button built into the keyboard. He says it doesn't work, and that he thinks it's probably F2 or F8, which normally wouldn't be a bad assumption or guess... except for the fact that that's what the computer loading screen instructs. I then ask him why he thinks it's F2 or F8; he says that's what he's used to... on other computer platforms. Nevermind that different manufacturers often use different keys to get into BIOS... but no, he says he's sure.
All of these points taken individually (with the exception of the hot-swapping RAM) wouldn't be cause for such griping on my behalf, but all at once? That's a lot to take. Continuing on...
Yeah, that's a Blocker if I ever saw one
So, this other guy (I'll call him Arty Bloch) comes in and asks for a mouse -- he doesn't have one and it's "blocking" his work. This seems fairly reasonable; he's new and maybe he was issued a desktop that didn't come with a mouse (happens all the time in exchanges around here). So, I ask him if he has a laptop, to which he responds that he does (-> WTF?).
I ask him if his touchpad or mouse-nubbin (actually called a pointing stick or, when on an IBM/Lenovo, a TrackPoint) is broken. Arty says no, but he can't use those and it's really slowing him down. I tell him that I'll look and then inform him when I've found one because I have to finish some other tasks first. He agrees and saunters off to his mouse-less land.
Mr. Bloch comes back in half an hour and repeats his (somewhat) weak and pathetic story about how he can't use his touchpad. I drop what I'm doing, look around, don't find any extra mice, and then tell him as much and that'll I'll let Blanche know to order more. He says this is really blocking his work. Somewhat exasperated, I unplug the mouse that I'm using and give it to him. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? CAN'T USE THE TOUCHPAD?!?
Okay. I should take a step back. Maybe he does graphic design work, or somehow plays FPS as a function of his job here. Let me give you a hint: he doesn't (to both). As a side note, I knew a guy who could AWP pretty well in CS with a mouse-nubbin. It was on an IBM ThinkPad, not entirely dissimilar from what we use in our office. He was, of course, the exception.
More importantly, look at what's become of me: this is what I complain about. I should be complaining about why I didn't punch her in the stomach or something.
Figure 1. Are you sure? Because, otherwise, that's a great idea... for an idea.
P.S. Yeah, I made another figure without referencing it. It should be pretty obvious why I put it in there. Oh yeah, and suck yourself.
So, all of my Skype-active friends have already heard this gripe, but here it is again. So, today I was helping out our Program Admin (as I often do -- always good to be friends with the Admin) who will be referred to as Blanche. Anyway, so I got two rather gripe-worthy entries:
Plug and Play?
Apollo Electric (the first name will probably only make sense to me, the last name will make sense as you continue reading) wants more RAM for his laptop to run some of his applications. This is a perfectly valid request. I offer to help him find some RAM. I find him a 2GB DIMM and tell him that he can probably install it himself (mistake 1) and to return the old DIMM to me (his Lenovo T60 only has two slots). He does so and tells me that he's at 3GB now, and if he may, he'd like another 2GB to swap out with the existing 1GB to bring him to a total of 4GB. I give him the second one.
He installs this one, comes back, and then says he isn't seeing 4GB RAM (doesn't say what he is seeing though; in retrospect, I should have asked); and is pretty convinced that the DIMM is busted (or something else similar is wrong). I give him the benefit of the doubt (mistake 2), and say that I want to run an experiment and swap one of the older DIMMs he just handed me to see if something's damaged; maybe either the slot itself or the DIMM. So, without actually checking to see what the computer is registering (read: mistake 2), I say we should swap the DIMM he just installed (that of questionable function) with the previously installed 512MB DIMM.
To make a long story short and without going into detail (that would make my head explode with rage), he is impatient (perhaps for good reason, such as getting back to his work) and makes bizarre assumptions that are not helpful and would suggest solutions that basically amount to: give me a new laptop/buy me new hardware. Oh, and here's the kicker: while we're doing all this, he asks me if we can swap out the RAM DIMMs while the COMPUTER IS STILL TURNED ON.
Wait, I lied. This next part is rather minor, but as I'm already on a roll, it is worth mentioning. As Apollo is leaving, he asks me how to access the BIOS. I say that it's probably the blue ThinkVantage button built into the keyboard. He says it doesn't work, and that he thinks it's probably F2 or F8, which normally wouldn't be a bad assumption or guess... except for the fact that that's what the computer loading screen instructs. I then ask him why he thinks it's F2 or F8; he says that's what he's used to... on other computer platforms. Nevermind that different manufacturers often use different keys to get into BIOS... but no, he says he's sure.
All of these points taken individually (with the exception of the hot-swapping RAM) wouldn't be cause for such griping on my behalf, but all at once? That's a lot to take. Continuing on...
Yeah, that's a Blocker if I ever saw one
So, this other guy (I'll call him Arty Bloch) comes in and asks for a mouse -- he doesn't have one and it's "blocking" his work. This seems fairly reasonable; he's new and maybe he was issued a desktop that didn't come with a mouse (happens all the time in exchanges around here). So, I ask him if he has a laptop, to which he responds that he does (-> WTF?).
I ask him if his touchpad or mouse-nubbin (actually called a pointing stick or, when on an IBM/Lenovo, a TrackPoint) is broken. Arty says no, but he can't use those and it's really slowing him down. I tell him that I'll look and then inform him when I've found one because I have to finish some other tasks first. He agrees and saunters off to his mouse-less land.
Mr. Bloch comes back in half an hour and repeats his (somewhat) weak and pathetic story about how he can't use his touchpad. I drop what I'm doing, look around, don't find any extra mice, and then tell him as much and that'll I'll let Blanche know to order more. He says this is really blocking his work. Somewhat exasperated, I unplug the mouse that I'm using and give it to him. ARE YOU FUCKING KIDDING ME? CAN'T USE THE TOUCHPAD?!?
Okay. I should take a step back. Maybe he does graphic design work, or somehow plays FPS as a function of his job here. Let me give you a hint: he doesn't (to both). As a side note, I knew a guy who could AWP pretty well in CS with a mouse-nubbin. It was on an IBM ThinkPad, not entirely dissimilar from what we use in our office. He was, of course, the exception.
More importantly, look at what's become of me: this is what I complain about. I should be complaining about why I didn't punch her in the stomach or something.
Figure 1. Are you sure? Because, otherwise, that's a great idea... for an idea.
P.S. Yeah, I made another figure without referencing it. It should be pretty obvious why I put it in there. Oh yeah, and suck yourself.
11 Juni 2009
Friendisms!
So, one natural consequence of any tight knit group of friends is the generation and evolution of certain inside jokes/sayings. You might even call some of them aphorisms. Because I am stuck at work and posting away, I will open the call to catalogue these:
Ethanisms
-So hard, so hard
-I don't know why he didn't punch her in the stomach
-That was distasteful
Ozanisms
Vivekisms
Peterisms
LeAnnisms
Andyisms
Ethanisms
-So hard, so hard
-I don't know why he didn't punch her in the stomach
-That was distasteful
Ozanisms
Vivekisms
Peterisms
LeAnnisms
Andyisms
More Pseudoscientific Units!
So, no one else suggested anything, but I think we're going to go with the following:
Douchery will be measured in Pratts (Pr), for Spencer Pratt; here's an example of his douchery. Note: The abbreviation will not be "P," as that is the symbol for poise (on a side note, measuring viscosity is a kind of annoying exercise). I, unfortunately, don't know how to zero this scale or have any useful comparisons; I suppose I could make Spencer Pratt = 1 Pr, but there are a couple of issues here:
1. That would make most everything else in fractional Pratts, but I guess that's okay. I mean, most of the time, things are measured in fractional Tesla, right?
2. It's a moving target; the trend for Spencer Pratt's douchery is to increase. That is to say that his douchery is non-static. I suppose we could freeze him and store him at some institute of standards... I mean, I'm all for freezing him.
3. This really isn't an issue, but I have a suggestion on how to make Pratts even more representative of douche-y: it should be a non-Metric unit. So, 7 Pratts = 1 Cruise (Cr) (this is merely an example. I don't know how to compare Spencer Pratt to Tom Cruise).
Frustration will be measured in Friscos (Fi). I should go back and expand on how much I dislike that person to really build a more complete profile of frustration. Also, in keeping with the idea of being frustrated, I again propose that Friscos be non-Metric. Another unit of frustration should be Claw Shrimp (CS)... how about 13 Fi = 1 CS?
Please, make more suggestions as you see fit.
Douchery will be measured in Pratts (Pr), for Spencer Pratt; here's an example of his douchery. Note: The abbreviation will not be "P," as that is the symbol for poise (on a side note, measuring viscosity is a kind of annoying exercise). I, unfortunately, don't know how to zero this scale or have any useful comparisons; I suppose I could make Spencer Pratt = 1 Pr, but there are a couple of issues here:
1. That would make most everything else in fractional Pratts, but I guess that's okay. I mean, most of the time, things are measured in fractional Tesla, right?
2. It's a moving target; the trend for Spencer Pratt's douchery is to increase. That is to say that his douchery is non-static. I suppose we could freeze him and store him at some institute of standards... I mean, I'm all for freezing him.
3. This really isn't an issue, but I have a suggestion on how to make Pratts even more representative of douche-y: it should be a non-Metric unit. So, 7 Pratts = 1 Cruise (Cr) (this is merely an example. I don't know how to compare Spencer Pratt to Tom Cruise).
Frustration will be measured in Friscos (Fi). I should go back and expand on how much I dislike that person to really build a more complete profile of frustration. Also, in keeping with the idea of being frustrated, I again propose that Friscos be non-Metric. Another unit of frustration should be Claw Shrimp (CS)... how about 13 Fi = 1 CS?
Please, make more suggestions as you see fit.
Abonnieren
Posts (Atom)
