conquering the world one oxymoron at a time
Archive for May, 2007
May 30, 2007 at 3:10 pm · Filed under the internet
You know how some websites make you enter in a “security code” when you sign up? The code is usually some image file of numbers and letters and deters pattern-recognition software by slightly jumbling up the lines that form the letters/numbers. I guess the purpose is to prevent bots from hitting the site and spam registering.
The problem is that half the time, I can’t even make out what the letters and numbers are supposed to be. The lines are too squiggly that I can’t tell if something is supposed to be a “b” or a “6″, for example. So I enter in what I think the code is, and I’m told that my registration failed because I did not input the security code correctly. Grrr
I’ve had the worst luck with blogspot blogs that require logging in for commenting; those codes are the by far the toughest to decipher.
May 28, 2007 at 12:10 pm · Filed under random
In a society of bigger is better, toilet paper rolls are now bigger than ever. What with double rolls, triple rolls, even quadruple jumbo rolls, it’s hard to buy a pack of regular, single-rolled toilet paper. Which raises the question: just what constitutes a single roll of toilet paper?
This question came to me when I saw “4 rolls = 8 rolls!” on the outside of a pack of 4 rolls of Cottonelle while ruminating the meanings of life in the bathroom. You don’t have to be an Asian whiz math kid to realize that there’s something wrong with that equality, not to mention that the pack clearly had only four physical rolls of toilet paper inside. What do you mean there are 8 rolls in there? Maybe my eyes are failing me again…
Clearly, these are all indications that the 1x single roll, whatever it may be, is simply too small. I think it’s high time for the toilet paper industry to stop lying to us (that or learn how to count). My pack of 6 jumbo rolls of Charmin does not equal 24 rolls. That’s just bullshit waiting to be wiped up.
May 23, 2007 at 3:51 pm · Filed under fitness
I sold my Wahoo and started riding my Marlin around, especially since the weather’s so nice these days. I got winded getting to school along a 1-mile or so ride. Oops. Time to hit the gym. *sigh*
May 15, 2007 at 1:28 pm · Filed under dating/relationships
One thing I like about going to the local REI is interacting with the cute nerdy guys who work there. As soon as I walk in, they come up to ask if I need help with anything, always so friendly, smiling, and so obviously in love with their sport(s) of choice. As I walk by them standing in aisles, deep in conversation with other customers, I always eavesdrop and smile to myself when I hear them so passionately explaining why welded seams are better than stitched, or why the nozzle of one floor pump is better than the other brand.
I always wonder how these cute nerdy sporty boys would be as boyfriends (I mean, they’re cute, so why not think more serious? :). They’re laid-back, outdoorsy, LOVE gear (hey, they’re selling it, and REI is that kind of a place where they hire people to sell stuff they believe in) … what’s there not to love, right?
Then I think, they probably wouldn’t ever want to put on a suit, or a tux, or go to fancy restaurants with me. That’s the problem with cute nerdy guys who work at REI. They can rattle off bike gear ratios, but they don’t know what cuff links are.
May 7, 2007 at 6:49 pm · Filed under grad life/MIT
I’ve never thought of myself as a particularly sensitive person; I don’t get offended easily, and I usually roll really well with bar jokes, so it’s strange that I questioned a few times this week whether or not I was being too sensitive to things.
The most recent episode involved an email sent out to announce a campus-wide event. There’s a lot of back story that I won’t go into, but essentially the email was coming from a group with a history of tension with the event’s organizing committee, the latter of which I was a member. I read a strong antagonistic tone, expressed in a passive aggressive way, in the email, so I voiced my concerns to the organization committee. Only one person agreed with me in taking offense, which prompted me to ask if I was being overly sensitive, especially when one dissenting email started out with “Well, maybe I’m too insensitive … ”
Or maybe it’s back to the perpetual problem of reading too intonation in emails/IMs that aren’t actually present.
May 1, 2007 at 2:09 am · Filed under hobbies
The local burrito shop puts their burritos in these brown paper bags for take-out. Recently, the bags started touting an advertisement for Tri State Trek, a 270-mile bike ride from Boston to New York (through three states). When I saw this for the first time earlier today, I thought “wow, cool. I’m looking for something to train for this summer, why not a bike ride?”
So I went to the website and checked it out. That’s when I found out that it’s a fundraising event, which then immediately turned me off to the race. Registration for this event is $135, and each rider must raise a minimum of $1650. The cause is a good one, Lou Gehrig’s Disease … but I just don’t do well with fundraisers.
This makes me think about recent solicitations I have gotten from friends in the past doing raises for a cause, asking for donations. If I remember (and I try to remember), I do almost always go and contribute some small amount. So why am I so skittish about doing one of these things myself? I’m not sure. I guess I’m afraid of bugging people; I don’t want to make people feel obligated.
So I think, did I feel obligated to give to my friends in the past? To be fair, I think I did feel a certain level of obligation; I probably wouldn’t have ever contributed to these charities otherwise. This latter point is probably why these races happen: the charities really can raise money from it, and from people who otherwise wouldn’t have given anything but do because their friends and family are bugging them.
I don’t know … maybe one of these days, I’ll get over whatever complex I have against these things. In the meantime, I’ll just continue my small donations to friends undertaking ginormous tasks of raising money for charity through completion of feats of endurance and strength.
