Wednesday, October 25, 2006
See no Evil Seems to be the theme of the Century
when did we become so complacent and trusting that we just started to willingly give our rights away?
what's going on with society today? noone is standing up for anything, excusing it with defences like "that's just how things are" or "well, its just...". the two extremes of that that i've heard recently are banning clotheslines and satellite dishes b/c they are "ugly". ok, satellite dishes i don't really care about beyong the rights thing, but clotheslines, well, i would hope that we weren't a society in which we would pick esthetics over the environment, but i guess we do. the point here is that we are just sitting back and letting stupid people run our government, and we are letting extremely stupid people sit on boards and committees etc. you should have more criteria in holding a position of even the most remote power beyond the fact that you just want to.
when did suburbia values start to dictate what i want to do in my backyard? when did people become so shallow and empty? really? you're going to ban something environmentally friendly and healthy and economic, to "its not pretty"? and i know that you're doing it b/c the laws, the government, etc, let you do it. you justify it by saying that if there was something wrong with what you were doing then you would be legally barred from doing it. not true. the government wants to keep you busy with this senselessness and arbitrary uselessness b/c then you won't notice or have time when they are passing actual laws that will affect you.
if i sound bitter, its b/c you're not bitter enough.
what's going on with society today? noone is standing up for anything, excusing it with defences like "that's just how things are" or "well, its just...". the two extremes of that that i've heard recently are banning clotheslines and satellite dishes b/c they are "ugly". ok, satellite dishes i don't really care about beyong the rights thing, but clotheslines, well, i would hope that we weren't a society in which we would pick esthetics over the environment, but i guess we do. the point here is that we are just sitting back and letting stupid people run our government, and we are letting extremely stupid people sit on boards and committees etc. you should have more criteria in holding a position of even the most remote power beyond the fact that you just want to.
when did suburbia values start to dictate what i want to do in my backyard? when did people become so shallow and empty? really? you're going to ban something environmentally friendly and healthy and economic, to "its not pretty"? and i know that you're doing it b/c the laws, the government, etc, let you do it. you justify it by saying that if there was something wrong with what you were doing then you would be legally barred from doing it. not true. the government wants to keep you busy with this senselessness and arbitrary uselessness b/c then you won't notice or have time when they are passing actual laws that will affect you.
if i sound bitter, its b/c you're not bitter enough.
Monday, October 23, 2006
And i Shall RULE u all
i'm sorry, but i have to blog this. first of all, i don't think you know this about me, but i am a technological god. i am macgyver if his show was on 10 years later.
no no, really. i shall tell you a story. my brother was trying to call for a few days, and everytime he called, we could hear him but he couldn't hear us. this used to be my phone, so i know it inside out. but, how do i get him to do some little steps without him being able to hear me?
texting. my friend has recipricated the relationship that i had started a few weeks ago. i knew my friend would help me out sooner or later. and with my new quick typing abilities, my brother would call and explain to me what he had done and i would text him what to do next.
i know, you're in awe of me.
so, nothing worked. finally, after turning things on and off, and tweaking this and that, i came up with an ingenious idea. maybe its just the audio in the earpiece. so, i sent him a text to call me with the speakerphone option on. and what do you know, it worked. (NOTE: if you're going to buy a phone, buy one with speakerphone just in case)
i know, i marvel at my wisdom also. its humbling. what can i say, its a gift.
(also, have to insert this, just b/c its getting annoying: TIM HORTONS. YOU HAVE THE MOST ANNOYING COMMERCIAL "ITS STEEPED". shut up, its not clever, or witty, or smart, or funny. its just goddamn annoying. i will never drink tea from time hortons just in order to avoid this memory)
no no, really. i shall tell you a story. my brother was trying to call for a few days, and everytime he called, we could hear him but he couldn't hear us. this used to be my phone, so i know it inside out. but, how do i get him to do some little steps without him being able to hear me?
texting. my friend has recipricated the relationship that i had started a few weeks ago. i knew my friend would help me out sooner or later. and with my new quick typing abilities, my brother would call and explain to me what he had done and i would text him what to do next.
i know, you're in awe of me.
so, nothing worked. finally, after turning things on and off, and tweaking this and that, i came up with an ingenious idea. maybe its just the audio in the earpiece. so, i sent him a text to call me with the speakerphone option on. and what do you know, it worked. (NOTE: if you're going to buy a phone, buy one with speakerphone just in case)
i know, i marvel at my wisdom also. its humbling. what can i say, its a gift.
(also, have to insert this, just b/c its getting annoying: TIM HORTONS. YOU HAVE THE MOST ANNOYING COMMERCIAL "ITS STEEPED". shut up, its not clever, or witty, or smart, or funny. its just goddamn annoying. i will never drink tea from time hortons just in order to avoid this memory)
Friday, October 20, 2006
The Cloak of Invisibility
Last time i checked, i was not invisible. i do not possess those powers. at least, not that i'm aware. though, maybe i am a superhero and i don't know it. maybe i do possess the power and it just hasn't revealed itself to me.
case in point. i went shopping on my lunch today with kelly (it was a horrible week and i feel better when i shop, shut it). as i walked by a "Laura" (fitting, i know) store, i saw a picture in their diplay window, with a model wearing a fabulous Conductor hat. i wanted it. so, i go into the store. and, being that i'm on lunch, and i've been on lunch 50 minutes now (i have an hour), i need to go in quickly, get what i need, and go actually get lunch.
so, i see a sales person (woman), i go up to her, and in my i'm-not-yet-annoyed-so-i'm-still-really-sweet voice, i kindly say to the woman "Excuse me, there's a photo in your display with a model wearing an Conduction hat..." and as i'm about to add to my sentence (continuous at that, since there were no pauses or anything), another customer comes in, behind me, and seems to know the sales woman, and interrupts me, and says to the sales woman loudly "HI!...." blah blah blah - to which the sales woman that i'm speaking with responds, and miraculously, they are now engaged in a conversation. Now, this is like finding Waldo... tell me if you spotted what was wrong with that situation.
i'll tell you. First, i'm in the middle of a sentence when a random "customer" (read woman), comes into the store and starts having a conversation with someone I'M ALREADY CLEARY SPEAKING TO. second, and this is probably the thing that pissed me off more, is that the Sales Woman decided that in some form of her own universe, it was ALRIGHT to cut me off, and start speaking to this random woman. oh man, my blood boiled.
so, i say to my friend loudly and in front of other customers and sales women, "that's ok, clearly i was not speaking and this woman seems more interested in having a conversation that helping me". and i said this while already walking away. to which, in response, the sales woman that had cut me off, stopped her other conversation, and b/c i had already walked away, started asking my friend which hat i had meant.
EXCUSE ME, but its too late. you have already pissed me off. i wasn't important to help before, and i don't care to be helped after i point out to you that what you did was OBVIOUSLY rude. now all you're doing is trying to suck up. and what i can't stand more than anything is disrespect and then sucking up as a result of me pointing out to you your disrespect. i'm not making excuses for my behaviour. clearly, i know that it was rude. but my back was up. and when that happens, i love control of what comes out of my mouth. but, more to the point, the woman deserves it. in what world is it ok to cut someone off and start having another conversation with someone else while i'm in the MIDDLE of a sentence? i know of no such world, and don't care to visit it. and whatever comes out of my mouth at that point is well deserved. next time, maybe she'll pay attention to the person she's supposed to be helping.
case in point. i went shopping on my lunch today with kelly (it was a horrible week and i feel better when i shop, shut it). as i walked by a "Laura" (fitting, i know) store, i saw a picture in their diplay window, with a model wearing a fabulous Conductor hat. i wanted it. so, i go into the store. and, being that i'm on lunch, and i've been on lunch 50 minutes now (i have an hour), i need to go in quickly, get what i need, and go actually get lunch.
so, i see a sales person (woman), i go up to her, and in my i'm-not-yet-annoyed-so-i'm-still-really-sweet voice, i kindly say to the woman "Excuse me, there's a photo in your display with a model wearing an Conduction hat..." and as i'm about to add to my sentence (continuous at that, since there were no pauses or anything), another customer comes in, behind me, and seems to know the sales woman, and interrupts me, and says to the sales woman loudly "HI!...." blah blah blah - to which the sales woman that i'm speaking with responds, and miraculously, they are now engaged in a conversation. Now, this is like finding Waldo... tell me if you spotted what was wrong with that situation.
i'll tell you. First, i'm in the middle of a sentence when a random "customer" (read woman), comes into the store and starts having a conversation with someone I'M ALREADY CLEARY SPEAKING TO. second, and this is probably the thing that pissed me off more, is that the Sales Woman decided that in some form of her own universe, it was ALRIGHT to cut me off, and start speaking to this random woman. oh man, my blood boiled.
so, i say to my friend loudly and in front of other customers and sales women, "that's ok, clearly i was not speaking and this woman seems more interested in having a conversation that helping me". and i said this while already walking away. to which, in response, the sales woman that had cut me off, stopped her other conversation, and b/c i had already walked away, started asking my friend which hat i had meant.
EXCUSE ME, but its too late. you have already pissed me off. i wasn't important to help before, and i don't care to be helped after i point out to you that what you did was OBVIOUSLY rude. now all you're doing is trying to suck up. and what i can't stand more than anything is disrespect and then sucking up as a result of me pointing out to you your disrespect. i'm not making excuses for my behaviour. clearly, i know that it was rude. but my back was up. and when that happens, i love control of what comes out of my mouth. but, more to the point, the woman deserves it. in what world is it ok to cut someone off and start having another conversation with someone else while i'm in the MIDDLE of a sentence? i know of no such world, and don't care to visit it. and whatever comes out of my mouth at that point is well deserved. next time, maybe she'll pay attention to the person she's supposed to be helping.
Wednesday, October 18, 2006
All but the kitchen sink
Do you remember the Breakfast Club" when Allison (Alley Sheedy) takes her bag and dumps out everything in it? there are clothes and countless other things, and she says that she's got her whole life in there.
When i was younger i used to think that women carrying around those huge bags with all that stuff inside where crazy. i mean, really, what do you need to carry with you all the time in order to have that huge bag and are you running away, never planning on coming home, that you need so many things with you.
well, now... i completely understand the baglady syndrome. i have SOOO become one of those women with the big bags. and if you still don't understand it, let me enlighten you. picture this.. you work full time and go to school full time. you leave the house about 7 am, and you're not back until 7 pm. you are out of the house for 12 hours EVERYDAY. you travel via public transportation. here are the things that you are carrying as a result: cell phone, wallet (one of those bigger ones b/c the smaller ones don't close with all the business cards, cards, goddamn change etc that go into wallets), mp3 player, pens, highlighters, books, newspaper, perfume, makeup (excuse but i'm out running around 12 hrs a day, i need a touch up and a spritz), glasses (in a case otherwise they scratch - i learned that the hard way), mail (when else am i going to check it), all the pieces of paper that you needed at some point, didn't have a garbage, and put in your bag and never took out again, cream (toronto is dry now), sunglasses, lunch, cigarettes, lighters (and if i'm being honest, old empty cigarette packs b/c i can't remember to throw out the empty ones).
now, you tell me, how can i not carry a big bag. i apologize to all the women that i called crazy when i saw them with the big bags or the multiple bags. i now realize why.
When i was younger i used to think that women carrying around those huge bags with all that stuff inside where crazy. i mean, really, what do you need to carry with you all the time in order to have that huge bag and are you running away, never planning on coming home, that you need so many things with you.
well, now... i completely understand the baglady syndrome. i have SOOO become one of those women with the big bags. and if you still don't understand it, let me enlighten you. picture this.. you work full time and go to school full time. you leave the house about 7 am, and you're not back until 7 pm. you are out of the house for 12 hours EVERYDAY. you travel via public transportation. here are the things that you are carrying as a result: cell phone, wallet (one of those bigger ones b/c the smaller ones don't close with all the business cards, cards, goddamn change etc that go into wallets), mp3 player, pens, highlighters, books, newspaper, perfume, makeup (excuse but i'm out running around 12 hrs a day, i need a touch up and a spritz), glasses (in a case otherwise they scratch - i learned that the hard way), mail (when else am i going to check it), all the pieces of paper that you needed at some point, didn't have a garbage, and put in your bag and never took out again, cream (toronto is dry now), sunglasses, lunch, cigarettes, lighters (and if i'm being honest, old empty cigarette packs b/c i can't remember to throw out the empty ones).
now, you tell me, how can i not carry a big bag. i apologize to all the women that i called crazy when i saw them with the big bags or the multiple bags. i now realize why.
Wednesday, October 11, 2006
all in the name of the illusion of security
i'm sorry, but is bush and his team smart enough that they succeeded in making people so afraid that they are now letting ANYTHING happend in the name of security? people. wake up. whatever you let them do is just false security. its the illusion that they are creating in making you believe that you're safer, when, in reality, you're not. you now just have less rights.
for example. there is a new zealand athlete named kate horan, who has an artifical leg. a week before te paralympics world track and field championship in amsterdam, she was at the airport. she was forced to check her $6,400 US running leg to the baggage hold on the british airways flight because of security restrictions. and the airline lost her leg.
so now, this woman is travelling, and they ask her to check her limb (cause, essentially, it is her limb) and she does it. without question.
now, i don't have any prosthetics or anything. but i'm assuming that when you have one, its a part of you. i don't understand being in an airport, and first of all, the security asking you to surrender a limb for checking, and second, surrendering it, without question. i mean really, what the hell is she going to do with it? beat the pilots and flight crew to death with it. or, hey, maybe she's hiding bombs in the leg. she's hollowed it out in order to use it as storage. give me a break.
the world has gone insane, and most people with it. if that was me, i woulnd't fly on that flight. would they ask someone with a fake eye to surrender that. or hey, people with metal plates in their heads. that's a threat. who knows, maybe they are just psycho enough to rip the plates out of their own heads, and use them as weapons. why don't we confescate those too?
Thursday, October 05, 2006
i am officially annoying myself
good god, i can't stop being one of those people on the streets and in the GO that are doing the crazy crackberry-ing (now i'm making up words, i know, but if rob can do it, so can i).
but i'm hooked on texting. i can't stop myself. and seriously, i love you all, i do, but then there are others that i have to talk to and don't want to (its none of you reading this, i assure you). so the perfect solution, is a text. its like voice messages. you know - you have to call someone, but you don't Really want to talk to them. so what do you do. you wait until after hours (thank god for working late sometimes), and you call them when you know that they won't be there and you can just leave them a nice short little message that covers everything. but, with texting, the added bonus is that the person will never pick up. cause, lets face it, calling late is a good plan, but you don't really know that that person isn't there, and you could be calling when they are still in the office. and when you call, you're ready to speak into a machine, and they pick up the phone, and now you're stuck. you panic, and for a split second, you consider hanging up the phone. i know you've all done it. hell, i've done it with friends and family, not just client. but i digress.
so, the beauty that is text messaging is countless (well, not countless cause really, i've pretty much named all the reasons except one, and that's texting to friends that live far away.) which reminds me. if you who is reading this, is a friend of mine (the actual kind not the web kind) and i don't have your cell phone number, and you live in 2006 and therefore have a cell phone, email me your damn numbers. i tried to send a few of you text messages lately, and i've discovered that you gave me your home phone #.
see, i sound like a crack addict now. (plus, reading this back to myself, i realize its been a long day at work b/c i have butchered the english language in almost the entirety of this post. i can now write a killer legal letter, but simple language now overwhelms me).
but i'm hooked on texting. i can't stop myself. and seriously, i love you all, i do, but then there are others that i have to talk to and don't want to (its none of you reading this, i assure you). so the perfect solution, is a text. its like voice messages. you know - you have to call someone, but you don't Really want to talk to them. so what do you do. you wait until after hours (thank god for working late sometimes), and you call them when you know that they won't be there and you can just leave them a nice short little message that covers everything. but, with texting, the added bonus is that the person will never pick up. cause, lets face it, calling late is a good plan, but you don't really know that that person isn't there, and you could be calling when they are still in the office. and when you call, you're ready to speak into a machine, and they pick up the phone, and now you're stuck. you panic, and for a split second, you consider hanging up the phone. i know you've all done it. hell, i've done it with friends and family, not just client. but i digress.
so, the beauty that is text messaging is countless (well, not countless cause really, i've pretty much named all the reasons except one, and that's texting to friends that live far away.) which reminds me. if you who is reading this, is a friend of mine (the actual kind not the web kind) and i don't have your cell phone number, and you live in 2006 and therefore have a cell phone, email me your damn numbers. i tried to send a few of you text messages lately, and i've discovered that you gave me your home phone #.
see, i sound like a crack addict now. (plus, reading this back to myself, i realize its been a long day at work b/c i have butchered the english language in almost the entirety of this post. i can now write a killer legal letter, but simple language now overwhelms me).
Sunday, October 01, 2006
New new toy
Its been a couple of weeks now since i got my new toy. Its the Treo 650 from Palm. and other than my mac, its by far the coolest toy that i've bought in a while.
First of all, i've been texting like mad. i've rediscovered the joy of texting. mostly b/c its an actual keyboard so it's quick. i used to see those people, the crackberry owners, and think they were nuts. now i'm one of them, just with a way superior toy.
its a pda so i have a lot of useful info on hand all the time. for example, i ride the bus (partly b/c, well, i just can't get off my ass to get a driver's license though i've know how to drive since i was 17)
also, with the expansion slot, i took the 512 mb mini sd out of my LG mobile, which i never actually used in the LG, and with the adapter (that also came with the LG), its a perfect addition to the treo. i have a lot of my photos on my phone, i store maps on it, driving directions, pdf files with all kinds of info (especially GO transit schedules).
email was also real easy to set up, though i'm still looking over the data plans to decide which i'm going to need, so i'm not sending a lot of emails. though i've setup my gmail account and i do pick up my gmail on the go when i need to look over an assignment that someone emailed me to look over, etc. some of the ringtones are silly, so i've made my own mp3 ringtones and sent them to my sd card, and i downloaded a program that reads the mp3 from the card and uses it as a ring without having to import it into the internal memory and suck up space.
basically, after a few weeks i'm still finding it hard to put down, i'm still excited about it, and the more that i use it, the more i love it. oh, and i'm definately using the bluetooth feature like made with my mac, my pc, my headset, and everything else i have in the house with BT.
In comparison
Working downtown Toronto, i often see homeless people standing on the corner asking for money, or sleeping on the sidewalks. its not something that i hope to ever get used to, cause when you become used to something you stop seeing it, and i want to see it. and often, i will even give someone some change, especially if they are nice, like this one guy who stands in front of starbucks and says a lovely "good morning" and is always smiling.
and i often talk to people who complain about seeing the panhandlers etc. I'm not bothered by it. let me tell you what's more annoying. being in the suburbs and an older couple coming over to me while i'm waiting for the bus preaching christianity and trying to get me to take their magazine, especially if i want to be 'saved' and, presumably, not burn in hell.
i'm not opposed to religion. hell, i believe in god. but i draw the line at getting bombarded on the suburban streets at 11am and being preached to. at least the homeless will just casually ask for some change while you walk by. they don't try to corner you or make you feel guilty. actually, a lot of homeless people in downtown toronto actually try to do something in exchange for some change. they stand near the doors and hold the door for you, they give out newspaper (they're free editions of the major or not so major printing companies).
what's most important, is that when i'm in downtown toronto, i expect to get asked for change a few times. when i'm in the suburbs, and an older ethnic couple comes up to me, i'm thinking that they need directions or something, so i actually take off my headphones, at which point, they go into their spiel, and i'm cornered. i'm not expecting it, so i'm not equipped to deal with it adequately.
and i often talk to people who complain about seeing the panhandlers etc. I'm not bothered by it. let me tell you what's more annoying. being in the suburbs and an older couple coming over to me while i'm waiting for the bus preaching christianity and trying to get me to take their magazine, especially if i want to be 'saved' and, presumably, not burn in hell.
i'm not opposed to religion. hell, i believe in god. but i draw the line at getting bombarded on the suburban streets at 11am and being preached to. at least the homeless will just casually ask for some change while you walk by. they don't try to corner you or make you feel guilty. actually, a lot of homeless people in downtown toronto actually try to do something in exchange for some change. they stand near the doors and hold the door for you, they give out newspaper (they're free editions of the major or not so major printing companies).
what's most important, is that when i'm in downtown toronto, i expect to get asked for change a few times. when i'm in the suburbs, and an older ethnic couple comes up to me, i'm thinking that they need directions or something, so i actually take off my headphones, at which point, they go into their spiel, and i'm cornered. i'm not expecting it, so i'm not equipped to deal with it adequately.
The End of Privacy - Whitaker