Normally I don't post these viral “What ________ are you?” quizzes, but this one was fun enough to take (although the ordering of the answers really needs to be randomized to make it less predictable) that I'll make an exception. But only because it's part of my evil plan, of course.
Category: Random
It wasn't supposed to rain today, and I still haven't bought fenders. So now I'm very wet again. This weekend, I'm definitely getting fenders. Really.
Category: Random
To really get things started right, I'm adding a bonus round to this quiz. I was thinking about the famous quote about the rule against ending sentences with prepositions, generally attributed to Churchill: “This is the sort of (English | bloody nonsense | arrant pedantry) up with which I will not put!” As I thought about it, I realized that it is not only awkward, but grammatically incorrect as well. What is the error?
Category: Language
That's right, it's back by popular demand! I fully intend for it to be a (semi-)regular feature, and in celebration of that commitment I have created a new language category (and moved my previous language-related posts into it).
This week's quiz has a whole host of answers, so everyone can be a winner. Yes, you there, you could be a winner! Step right up! 100 points per correct answer! The goal is to give the origin of as many of the following names for days of the week as possible—no full etymology necessary, just the root meaning (i.e., who or what it is named for):
English: Sunday, Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday
French: Dimanche, Lundi, Mardi, Mercredi, Jeudi, Vendredi, Samedi
German: Sonntag, Montag, Dienstag, Mittwoch, Donnerstag, Freitag, Samstag
Have at!
Category: Language
I am, as you may know, a huge online comic junkie. One of my favorites, PvP, has been running a recent series about jury duty, and shortly after it started, what did I receive in the mail but my very own summons to jury duty. Then, when Laura made a crack about how I wouldn't be selected because I'm too informed and somewhat interested in law, this was the very next comic.
I have to admit, the idea is intriguing, and I'm sort of hoping I'll be picked (although I'm sure that if I were it would be some really boring case). The only downside is that I'm not sure it's going to mesh at all with my work schedule, so we'll see how that works out.
Maybe I should start watching reality TV or something to temporarily rot my brain if I want to increase my chances of being picked.
Category: Life
I am getting really tired of reading press releases from iPod competitor wanna-bes saying that their product is better because the iPod can “only” play music from the iTMS, whereas their product can play music from “all the other major online music stores.” First off, they should be sued for saying it, because it's completely untrue. There is another new-fangled source of music that they may have heard of called “CDs”, which iPods have no problem with, so this vendor lock-in they try to make people afraid of is completely made up. But lets look at just online music stores now, and take a moment to count all the major online music stores other than the iTMS:
*chirp* *chirp* *chirp*
And we're done! Hey, here's a tip for all the iPod wanna-bes out there: users don't care about your FUD. I doubt anyone has ever returned an iPod because they couldn't get music onto it easily enough. Instead, if you want some market share, try, you know, making a better product. Think different.
I've got to run. I need to get a better VCR, because this lame model I have only plays VHS, and none of the other major video-cassette formats.
Category: Geek
So in early December, when I ordered Laura‘s laptop, it went from Shanghai to Anchorage to Indianapolis to my door in Cupertino in about 36 hours. That wasn't even any kind of rush shipping. I was highly impressed.
So far, my iSight has been in transit from Sacramento for almost 2 full days. It spent 20 hours in a sort facility. 20! And now, 12 hours after leaving San Jose on a delivery vehicle, it still hasn't managed to find me yet. I'll tell you, Cupertino's not that big, and our receiving department really isn't that hard to find.
Apparently I need to order more of my stuff directly from warehouses in Shanghai, where they don't ship things by strapping them to a narcoleptic snail with no sense of direction.
Category: Random
Sometimes it's great to just decide to embrace a heavy(ish) rain by deciding to not care that you'll get completely soaked and bike home anyway. And in that respect, it was... what I failed to consider, though, was the dirt aspect that comes with not having any fenders. I don't think my coat and backpack were very amused.
Category: Random
Clearly, “punctuality” and “not getting behind” are not on the list. But better late than never, so here they are:
In short, do more of the sorts of things I like to do but often neglect in favor of doing pretty much nothing at all.
Also, apparently, not sleep much.
Category: Life
Rather than try to give a full (and boring) account of my vacation, which would never get done anyway, I'll simply share some random vacation thoughts:
All in all, a very successful holiday.
Category: Random
