I keep a Google notebook full of copy and pastings, and I just realized I had this little gem saved away, from roughly a year and a half ago. I am going to post it here for posterity, and for any to chime in and add comments. However, unsure if anyone is still around to read this.
Mark: what are your thoughts on male caprees
me: i think i've only seen then on european soccer players
superstar european soccer players
so you know they got the balls to do it
i've always thought of them as a female only domain
Mark: well there is an article about how more designers are shortening the hem on their pants in the wsj this morning
like brooks brothers is doing it to their high end suits
me: well there is the Thom Browne style
Mark: so there is no break just touches the top of the shoe
me: ultra conservative
and his pants are damn near high-waters
and people are digging that
Mark: yeah thats the article
me: i suppose for those of the lankier persuation, that would work out well
like you
Mark: idk man i don tthik i would ever rock it
Sent at 8:52 AM on Thursday
me: i mean, i like where the pants are cut soo close that it just touches the top of your shoe, producing no break
and you get to flash some sock when you sit down
but when standing you are showing off ankle completely, that's a bit much for me
Sent at 8:54 AM on Thursday
Mark: agreed
i mean being a tall skinny guy i have spent most of my life battling for non high water pants
apparently you cant be thin and have long legs
Sent at 8:56 AM on Thursday
me: well i think that's what some fashion designers decided to go with
just straight in your face
Mark: as we slowly write another blog post haha
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PFaOE0b47jU&eurl=http%3A%2F%2Fwww%2Efreecomicbookday%2Ecom%2F&feature=player_embedded
I am a huge geek for comics. Despite my charm and debonair flair and athletic prowess. (That was sarcasm), I easily get lost in comics. They provide me with escape, rattle my mind with fantastical tales, improve my vocabulary, and most importantly: entertain me. Free comic book day, this year is May 2nd, and you should go out there and pick-up a comic.
Oh and for all you do-gooders out there, this is a message about fighting illiteracy too. Something something about doing good and teaching literacy so that the people of world/this nation can begin their road to education and knowledge.
So I received my annual review results for last year recently, and have been asked to write in the comments section. For the audience to know: the 3 is the lowest rating possible in our rating system.
Below I have presented two versions of my employee comments section. I was told by a friend that I should write what they want to hear if I am to keep my job.
"They say, receiving a blow when you are expecting it hurts more than one you don’t anticipate at all. Receiving this 3 on my 2008 PMP, was not surprising. It is a painful reminder that not everyone is the same and that different groups have certain expectations that not everyone can meet. IGS, now EUS, is about fixing computers, and last year I just brought too much energy to other endeavors. In 2009, I will focus on fixing computers and anything else C****** or EUS asks from me to give fully. I have learned that it does not benefit the company to have individuality and express ideas. I will await my marching orders rather than trot to my own beat. EUS and C****** can expect from me a compliant and absolute obedient employee, follower of the “C***** Way” henceforth."
Now here's the one, I have 'guss'd up', because as my friend stated, my initial foray is too condescending and mocking.
"I have learned quite a bit about how C****** works over the year. Not just what the pamphlets and classes tell you, but the true inner workings of how large corporations function and the employee’s place in the system. In relation to that realization, I obviously did not meet those expectations. However, with this newfound knowledge, End-User Support can expect a wholly different and functioning employee in 2009. I will work on digesting completely the company mantra and ideals of “The C****** Way.” I will focus, undeniably and completely the task of End-User Support: fixing computers. To that end, I will grow my technical prowess and perform whatever task End-User Support asks of me."
I have come to realize the company is like a religion. They want unquestioned loyalty, fealty, and if necessary my death if it serves it best for the company. Probably best not to make too much fuzz over this, lest any of the pastors of the company/church/temple decide to molest me further.
me: ...
you fail to tell me that your fiancé's sister is having a b-day party?
i could've canceled my flight
you killing me man
Sent at 10:42 AM on Friday
me: if I end up there, Mike, I am going to drink myself into a dirty mess
Sent at 10:44 AM on Friday
Michael: whelp, this all came up within the last week
me: come on! you didn't tell her that Dr. Troy was coming?!
see! its happening man
Michael: what do you mean
me: its already happening
Michael: andrew you're being ridiculous
Sent at 11:04 AM on Friday
me: am I? or are you turning already?!
Michael: turning? into what?
me: what's gonna happen, we can't party too late out Sat night, because you gotta go to Bed Bath and Beyond sunday? Maybe Target? Home Depot? not enough time? not enough time?!
Michael: lol
ok, now you're talking crazy
we're gonna go out tonight, hit up the south bay
me: tell me there will be some familiar faces
Sent at 11:07 AM on Friday
Michael: yeah, rod
haha, everyone else has things going on
me: that's fine with me, Rod'll be nice to see
someone who's not locked up and crazy
Michael: right
cause when you're locked up, you must be crazy
me: hey, i'm not the one engaged at the ripe young age of 24
As the entire economy goes the way of last week’s pot roast, one finds them self looking for any opportunity to save a few pennies. Scouring through my finances and observing the inverse relationship between the 48% loss in my 401k and my blood pressure; it hit me, reduce my taxable income. This allows me to have more money in my pocket month to month while having the luxury of NOT funding these poorly executed bailouts, essentially growing your top line while keeping your bottom line constant. How you ask? Simply get married.
I know your thinking; well I am not seeing anyone right now. That’s the beautiful part; this is purely a marriage for a tax break. According to Forbes married couples pay 29% of their combined salaries in taxes. This is compared to the 35% that their single counterparts fork over every year in taxes. The next question that probably comes to mind is the relatively small upside for a potential huge investment into this “loveless” marriage. Well what makes this works is the rock solid prenuptial agreement that must be in place (please note I am not a lawyer nor do I have any legal advice. Anything on this page is purely opinionated commentary and should not be construed as legitimate advice in anyway). Here are a few of the important things to cover:
1. This marriage does not entitle either of the participating parties to their partners assets including current, past or future.
2. By agreeing to be wed, both parties acknowledge this is not an entitlement to a formal wedding, ring or any reception. Instead the agreement provides for the minimum ceremony allowed by law for the two be legal married.
3. This marriage does not entitle either party to food, shelter, or emotional support of any kind.
4. Finally this marriage is not time bound in anyway. Both parties agree to remain together until either/both parties find their “love bound” marriage partner and mutually agree to a separation. At which point the marriage will be legally voided by court order without a disposition of assets.
I know this sounds a bit harsh, but it’s to provide both parties with the maximum benefit. In fact the two people never even have to see each other. Once a year they both just need to drop their W-2s and 1099s off at the same accountant. I think this just might work……
Since efficiency and watchful consumption seems to be all the rage these days, I found this pretty interesting. The artwork is pretty stunning, but the accompanying statistics are terrifying. Now my educational background had me graze up against plenty of statistics, and I personally don't really believe in the numbers, but the very idea makes you think a little about how what you do adds up with the rest of the world.
Link via (MocoLoco)
A lot of events occurred over the past month, and this blog has missed some updates. However stick around, rest assured we got some more posts coming soon. Summer yaknow, adventures must occur.
I am at the airport once again, fortunately (or unforunately) I am not drunk. The San Francisco International Terminal is a very impressive architectural structure and design. It is also filled in with some great art. They had a small display on modern furniture design with molded plywood, and a section on Thailand's Buddha sculptures. Since when did airports get so loaded with cool stuff? I just may have never noticed.
As a child, whenever I went to the airport with my folks, it was a hurried and anxious affair. Constantly being rushed by my dad, and doing nothing but waiting. While I was strolling through the terminal chugging my non-regulation 5oz. water, I realized that damn this isn't so bad. I have leveraged all sorts of techniques to make flying out not stressful at all. Here's some stuff I did:
-Technology: Virgin America has self-check kiosks with by far the easiest confirmation codes to remember. No need to even print out a ticket. I just memorized my 6 letter code.
-Luggage: I've always made it a habit, to pack as little as possible. Less really is more.
-Transportation: BART goes straight from my home to SFO. My work bus drops me off right at the BART station!
I'll elaborate more on packing light another time, but keep in mind all sorts of easy techniques that can lessen your stress when traveling.
Update: What luck, even having to go through special full security check wasn't that bad! It let me skip the line, and they fast tracked my screened stuff to the front of the line, and I cut the longer metal detector/screening line. I wonder if they treat all potential terrorist with this much VIP love.
me: we need to do some blog posts
we're slacking! losing readership!
Mark: so i am torn between water conservancy and the courtesy flush....what are your thoughts?
me: could you define the courtesy flush?
btw, i was hoping we do a spinoff blog about gentlemen lifestyle etc.
turns out they already got a magazine
Sent at 10:35 AM on Friday
me: actualy i don't think its that great
Sent at 10:36 AM on Friday
Mark: the mag or courtesy flush
me: the mag
sorry talk more about the coutesy flush
Sent at 10:38 AM on Friday
Mark: courtesy flush: flush the toilet immediately after the bowel movement has hit the water in order to minimize the amount of air contact time resulting in a minimized cloud of funk. It is generally observed only when others are in the bathroom as a common "courtesy"
Sent at 10:40 AM on Friday
me: ah
yeah there is quite a bit of water being wasted
i see it as, well the damage is done already
its gonna stink, but for how long who knows
Mark: ahh but there is quite a substantial smell reduction
linger time is brought down to seconds
have you ever tried?
me: not really
Mark: well please try and get back to me
me: well your quick turnaround almost JIT shitter
i'm more of a throne sitter, build-up and relax style
you would think, your style would be more conducive to the one-flush-one kill style
whereas mine is more apt for time and lingering, leading to wanting to reduction of aromas
Mark: yeah but the majority of the blow happens all at once still right?
me: yeah
Mark: see still opportunity for smell reduction
me: if you care much for the environment and water conservation is a big plus, then I suppose smell shouldn't bother you as much
like..hippies <3 environment, and hippies = smelly. thereby, a little poop smell isn't a big deal
Mark: yeah but i am equally concerned about the comfort of my common man
fellow* common man
Sent at 10:50 AM on Friday
me: i suppose, do it only if there is going to be others
if not, then no
Mark: thats the rule i adhere by now
me: sounds like a good rule
Sent at 10:59 AM on Friday
me: sounds like conscious gentleman's rle
rule*
Sent at 11:00 AM on Friday
Notes:
JIT is short for Just-In Time. A phrase we learned from the Lean Manufacturing classes we took.
As I sat at the pump filling up my car today for $4.53/US Gal for premium, it dawned on me that gas is becoming an appreciating commodity. Bear with me for a second. As we look at the national average for lets say a 5 year CD, we see and APR of 3.62%. The latest number on inflation from April 2007 to April 2008 (based of CPI) is 3.9%. In other words the 5 year CD would not keep your green back buying power up with inflation.
Now for the sake of this argument lets look at something a bit shorter, say 2 months. US national average for a 2 month CD is 1.87%. Lets compare this to the increase in gasoline prices in California over the last to months (April 2008 to June 2008); in this 2 month period gas prices have risen a staggering 9%.
So in this inflationary time should I be investing in gas? Should I be saving my milk cartons to fill with gas and then keep in my garage to use in my car later or maybe sell to my neighbors? Kinda makes you think.......Happy driving.
I like to wear tiessometimes.
There once was a time when I started work I attempted to have Tie Tuesdays. The unwashed IT bastards at my company eventually ridiculed and destroyed my desire to wear ties. Mainly because they themselves did not like wearing ties, they felt it appropriate to make sure no one else did. Well it is because of sort of attitude across America that the Tie Association of America closed it doorslast week. Needless to say, I am saddened by this news and will be wearing my tie this Tuesday as a sign of respect.
How much is $50 worth? Kinda seems like a rediculous question dosen't it? Well the answer may supprise you. $50 is acctually worth $55.71 or at least ebay buyer lpinok thought so. Check out this auction for a $50 gift card to Target. The winning bid was $55.71. It's amazing what inflation is doing.... well at least the winner got free shipping.
It is Monday, the first day of the work week, and by all means everything seems to be going at a grindingly slow pace.
I came across Ocelot by perusing Hypemachine, and I haven't heard much from them but this remix and the accompanying video are great. The song itself is a purely synth and beat driven affair accompanied with hints of Robyn's voice repeating the line of "you'll never will be mine." The song starts out with Robyn's eloquent yet non distinctive voice singing, followed by some heavy thumping beats. Once the synths kick it, prepare for some great build-up to some plump little nuggets of beats followed again by the second build-up. The video does a great job of creating this anticipating orgasm of music payoff.
Play to hear the music, stay for the video.
Anyone who makes a martini should know this absolute rule. By shaking the martini you thoroughly mix and circulate the ingredients. Something about martini's just scream opulence and class, not to mention deliciousness! For those who are reading, below are two martini's my roommate calls my "signature" drinks. Enjoy!
Green Tea Martini:
1 oz. Green Tea Liquor
1-2 oz. Citrus Vodka
Splash of lime juice and triple sec.
Shaken over ice, and serve in a chilled martini glass.
Pomegranate Martini:
1-2oz. Pomegranate Liquor
1-2oz. Citrus Vodka
1 oz. Triple Sec
Shaken over irce, and serve in chilled martini glass.
There you have it, folks. Drink up!
I feel within (at most ) the next 5 years we will no longer have cellphone plans where you purchase "minutes". As we move more and more towards IP communications and Web 3.0. Your cellphone will just become a medium of virtualization, a conduit to your data that is accessible from any connected device. Instead data plans will become the norm. In fact examples of this are already here. T-mobile already allows you to have unlimited calls on wifi-enabled phones (very similar to UbiCell from my CES 2008 highlights). Other products such as skype mobile have been around for a while and allow you to "cheat" the number of minutes you use each month.
With this idea in mind I try to use as much data on my cell phone each month to stay connected (partly to justify to myself the added cost of having the data plan). With this in mind i stumbled across this sweet program this morning: Palringo. This program is basically a multi-platform mulit-service IM client on steriods. Supporting AIM, G-Talk, ICQ, Yahoo, Jabber, MSN, Gadu-Gadu running on Windows, Linux, Sambian, WM6, Java enabled phones or computers. Palringo allows you to quickly send picture messages, IM's, and voice messages which they call the "walkie-talkie on steroids" feature. Best of all it's FREE! Head over to their website and check it out.
C+. That was the highest grade I ever received in 'handwriting & penmanship' in elementary school. My parents and sibling have great natural hand writing, but I have terrible hand writing. My father is ambidexterous and his penmanship easily trumps mine. Time to change that my friends!
Since I purchased my fountain pen, and my attempts at writing in cards have netted some ill comments. I'm taking that as the *ahem* writing on the wall telling me to start fixing it. Much like my March diet experiment, I will be performing an exercise that will last throughout May and some of June to improve my handwriting. The progress will be tracked here as I write the same statement over and over, and perform exercises to increase my...well whatever it is that measures penmanship.
You may feel that analog writing is going the way of the rollerblade and that digital typing and what have you will soon be prevalant. There is nothing quite as eloquent and prestigious as putting pen to fine stationary. Here's just a small list of things that require handwriting:
-Forged Doctors notes
-Messages in cards
-Personal invitations
-Scribbles on bathroom stalls
-Love letters
-List of specific
Okay, so we have been slacking on writing posts pretty badly lately. Well fret no more, my friends, for I have returned to write a small blurb to inform all our loyal readers that we will resume our regularly scheduled (its not scheduled) postings the following week. I apologize for the delays, I have been busy traveling every weekend and working (sorta). Mark will be contributing some good posts soon, he got Pearl Harbored with work.
We appreciate any of you readers left still returning to our page, and stick around, more random ramblings coming!
Alright, since I am here sitting at SFO using T-mobile's hotspot with nothing to do for the next half hour, I suppose I could give you guys a little posting...I'm a little buzzed from drinking, don't hate!
I got to pee.
I'll probably end up editing this post...or Mark will do it. Better not post.
As I sit here working by candle light (having turned out my lights); I contemplate the concept of Earth Hour. Though the actual act of turning off your lights for one hour will probably have a minimal impact in the whole scheme of things, the awareness is the true victory. The event, still in its infancy, began a year ago in Sydney Australia. Where citizens and businesses alike, for one hour, were thrown back to the 1800s when life was just a bit greener. This year cities and companies (including my own) around the world are participating. More importantly its an awareness event that everyone can participate from the comfort of their own home.
Virginia Woolf wrote in Three Guineas that dress not only covered nakedness, gratified vanity and created pleasure for the eye "but it serves to advertise the social, professional, or intellectual standing of the wearer."
I enjoy wearing a suit. I wish I could wear one more often.
There I said it. In this modern age, when I put on a great fitting suit I feel like I am strapping on a suit of armor. Confidence, bravado, and self-esteem automatically rise. Now I didn't say putting on any suit will see the boost in self-image, I said a great fitting suit did. I am no style sartorialist, but I've read enough articles and purchased a few suits to formulate what I consider some basic principles behind suits that fit well for me.
Here are a couple of tips:
-Shoulders pads of jacket do not go over your own shoulders. They should hug it, not restrain them either.
-Try a size smaller than what you normally think. As long as you feel comfortable in it and not in danger of ripping anything, chances are you will look good in it.
-Vent! No, I mean have some sort of vent in your coat. Be it side vents or a single vent, have it and that is end of story. If not, have a tailor alter your coat. I prefer the side vents.
-Customize, get a tailor and change the jacket to fit your body. Like I learned in my Ergonomics Laboratory, there is no such thing as an average body size.
I have to note that I favor the more European look of suits than those of American suits, primarily because of the modern/slim cuts and appearance that the suit fits comfortably but fits well.
How do you like to wear your suit? Or why do you disapprove of wearing a suit? Post a comment.
Anyone who really knows me, probably has heard design/lifestyle aesthetic: minimalism. Trying to live simply as well as bringing value of quality over quantity. Investing in pieces that are of high-value (not necessarily monetarily). This also extends to my awkward stance of getting rid of a lot of items/possessions.
Anyways, I suggest everyone view Possessed. The documentary follows several people who have hoarding issues. What is more interesting is how some of these people recognize something is wrong, but are seemingly powerless at the daunting task of making change.
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