No! You do not get your phone out and point it at the tornado! What is wrong with you?!
- Z
Zobar's Journal
My Podcast Link
07/03/2006 10:54 #37350
freakyCategory: weather
So you're hanging out at the mall with your friends, and you see a tornado coming. Quick! What do you do?
No! You do not get your phone out and point it at the tornado! What is wrong with you?!
No! You do not get your phone out and point it at the tornado! What is wrong with you?!
07/02/2006 15:56 #37349
am i the only oneCategory: food
who checks out other peoples' groceries in the checkout line and thinks completely baseless snarky and judgmental thoughts about their diet?
- Z
- Z
mrmike - 07/03/06 08:39
Don't be talking bad about a double-stuff Hydrox! I sometimes wonder about the food in correlation to the size and girth of the person buying it. If somebody large enough to have their own zip code is loading up on the twinkies, it does make me wonder. That same person is inevitably buying Diet Pepsi, go figure.
Don't be talking bad about a double-stuff Hydrox! I sometimes wonder about the food in correlation to the size and girth of the person buying it. If somebody large enough to have their own zip code is loading up on the twinkies, it does make me wonder. That same person is inevitably buying Diet Pepsi, go figure.
zobar - 07/02/06 17:42
Mostly it's like- 'Wow, that chicken would have cost half as much and tasted twice as good if they'd roasted it themselves.' or like- 'I see that all your vegetables are shrinkwrapped and labelled as Organic - so what's with the two boxes of Double-Stuf Hydrox?' I knew a guy who was a cashier at Tops International during high school, and mostly he didn't give it any thought, except one guy went through his line with like a dozen boxes of condoms and a Snapple.
- Z
_______________
I don't mind the effort- it keeps me slim.
Mostly it's like- 'Wow, that chicken would have cost half as much and tasted twice as good if they'd roasted it themselves.' or like- 'I see that all your vegetables are shrinkwrapped and labelled as Organic - so what's with the two boxes of Double-Stuf Hydrox?' I knew a guy who was a cashier at Tops International during high school, and mostly he didn't give it any thought, except one guy went through his line with like a dozen boxes of condoms and a Snapple.
- Z
_______________
I don't mind the effort- it keeps me slim.
jason - 07/02/06 16:24
No. Waste of time and energy.
No. Waste of time and energy.
imk2 - 07/02/06 16:18
um, i do. but its usually the people that have a lot of veggies and healthy foods. i think, "oh they must be rich", whereas the people who have shitty food, and chips and soda, and canned foods, i usually assume they just cant afford to buy the healthy nutritious foods. it's fucking expensive as all hell!
um, i do. but its usually the people that have a lot of veggies and healthy foods. i think, "oh they must be rich", whereas the people who have shitty food, and chips and soda, and canned foods, i usually assume they just cant afford to buy the healthy nutritious foods. it's fucking expensive as all hell!
metalpeter - 07/02/06 16:11
I doubt it. Sometimes I do the oppsite and think wow that is a lot of meat wish I had a reason to buy that or think that is a weird combination of items. I'm sure people look at my frozen dinners and Chef Boy'adee and Noodles and Sauce and pop and think crap about what I buy.
I doubt it. Sometimes I do the oppsite and think wow that is a lot of meat wish I had a reason to buy that or think that is a weird combination of items. I'm sure people look at my frozen dinners and Chef Boy'adee and Noodles and Sauce and pop and think crap about what I buy.
06/30/2006 20:04 #37348
strange things are afoot at the circle kCategory: bad juju
So I saw An Inconvenient Truth yesterday and it freaked my shit right out. I am not in the proper mental state to have to deal with tornadoes in Cheektowaga. You can't just spring that shit on somebody. By the time I got home I was convinced these are the End Times and it'll be two months before we're living on rooftops and killing each other over rat meat. Bad juju.
This week I got meeting'd to death. I'm not sure whether I am glad that everyone has taken a sudden interest in the website, or chagrined. Either way, we're going to have a new home page starting next issue
and some interesting ideas coming down the pipe shortly.
One very cool thing we want to do is take our regular interview-with-local-bands piece and turn it into an Epic Cyber Battle of the Bands. We run two bands in the paper every week, side by side, and there is an Ultimate Popularity Contest of Ultimate Destiny every week on the website, where you can listen and vote. After eight weeks [sixteen bands, eight winners] we match up the winners for the next four weeks. The last four bands standing play a show, and the winner gets ... I dunno, but it's something big.
Another idea that's a little further down the road is we want to put together some sort of participatory video website. [I think I may have mentioned this before; (e:mike) you should pay attention.] On the one side of the balance, we have traditional commercial television, where the station produces and controls all the content and all the shows suck. On the other side of the balance, we have YouTube and Public Access where the content comes directly from the public and all the shows suck. We want to split the difference - solicit pilot episodes from the public, try to separate the interesting and novel from the ho-hum, and contract a short, renewable series from the better producers. We want to find interesting people on the fringe and give them a forum for their work. I think this could be very cool.
- Z
This week I got meeting'd to death. I'm not sure whether I am glad that everyone has taken a sudden interest in the website, or chagrined. Either way, we're going to have a new home page starting next issue
and some interesting ideas coming down the pipe shortly.One very cool thing we want to do is take our regular interview-with-local-bands piece and turn it into an Epic Cyber Battle of the Bands. We run two bands in the paper every week, side by side, and there is an Ultimate Popularity Contest of Ultimate Destiny every week on the website, where you can listen and vote. After eight weeks [sixteen bands, eight winners] we match up the winners for the next four weeks. The last four bands standing play a show, and the winner gets ... I dunno, but it's something big.
Another idea that's a little further down the road is we want to put together some sort of participatory video website. [I think I may have mentioned this before; (e:mike) you should pay attention.] On the one side of the balance, we have traditional commercial television, where the station produces and controls all the content and all the shows suck. On the other side of the balance, we have YouTube and Public Access where the content comes directly from the public and all the shows suck. We want to split the difference - solicit pilot episodes from the public, try to separate the interesting and novel from the ho-hum, and contract a short, renewable series from the better producers. We want to find interesting
people on the fringe and give them a forum for their work. I think this could be very cool.- Z
zobar - 07/02/06 10:22
You must have seen it then, because you're 100% correct. The movie is designed to scare the shit out of people like me who are too stupid to run out and get their Ph.D. in paleoclimatology and instead parrot scientific consensus :::link::: [contrast :::link::: ].
One of my biggest fears is that in the increasingly acrimonious political landscape that's taken place over the last ten years or so, that science would somehow become politicized [as ridiculous as that may sound]. It's reassuring to know that, even with politicians trying to make a black-and-white, with-us-or-against-us debate out of everything, that good science is one thing that everyone can get behind and support regardless of what they believe.
I mean jeez, when even the Bush administration, who many people consider to be the opposite of science, can get behind the human causes of global warming :::link::: :::link::: you gotta know there's something to this.
- Z
You must have seen it then, because you're 100% correct. The movie is designed to scare the shit out of people like me who are too stupid to run out and get their Ph.D. in paleoclimatology and instead parrot scientific consensus :::link::: [contrast :::link::: ].
One of my biggest fears is that in the increasingly acrimonious political landscape that's taken place over the last ten years or so, that science would somehow become politicized [as ridiculous as that may sound]. It's reassuring to know that, even with politicians trying to make a black-and-white, with-us-or-against-us debate out of everything, that good science is one thing that everyone can get behind and support regardless of what they believe.
I mean jeez, when even the Bush administration, who many people consider to be the opposite of science, can get behind the human causes of global warming :::link::: :::link::: you gotta know there's something to this.
- Z
joshua - 07/01/06 21:20
The inconvenient truth about "An Inconvenient Truth" is that its a movie designed to scare people. The thrust of the movie wasn't to educate anybody on theories as to why the earth's temperature is rising - its to scare the living shit out of people who Al Gore thinks are too stupid to think for themselves and will just gulp down this non-sense unquestioningly.
The inconvenient truth about "An Inconvenient Truth" is that its a movie designed to scare people. The thrust of the movie wasn't to educate anybody on theories as to why the earth's temperature is rising - its to scare the living shit out of people who Al Gore thinks are too stupid to think for themselves and will just gulp down this non-sense unquestioningly.
06/25/2006 16:23 #37347
it would make a good song or somethingCategory: la vie
I have spent the last week surrounded by romantic beginnings and endings. My buddy Tom got married last night [congrats to both of them]. His parents had divorced not too long ago due to some long-standing and deep-seated weirdness which I have neither the understanding nor the inclination to discuss. His mom had a blast last night and said at the rehearsal dinner that she feels that she's gotten a new lease on life following the split.
At last week's conference, two of my coworkers hooked up. Both had been in fairly long-term relationships and both had moved in with their significant others within the last couple months. The fallout was immediate and painful; by Friday, life in the office had not yet settled down, but there was an unspoken but very present understanding that one way or another, things work out.
Given my surroundings over the last week, it would be difficult not to be introspective. (e:dragonlady7) has nailed her 95 theses on marriage to the door of the blogosphere , in which she has managed to write 1400 words of gospel truth while still completely missing the point*, which has little to do with contracts and lawyers and the importance or unimportance of the institution of marriage.
The point is, sometimes you've got to jump. You may not want to, and you may not know whether you have it in you. Maybe you'll land on your feet, maybe someone will catch you, maybe you'll land flat on your face, and maybe someone will pick you up - but sometimes there's no time to think about that until you're already taking that big swan-dive into the unknown. Close your eyes and feel the wind in your hair. Stick to your wits and trust your judgment. This is the right thing to do. Open your eyes and see the opportunities that stretch before you. This is life, and life is good.
- Z
_______________
At last week's conference, two of my coworkers hooked up. Both had been in fairly long-term relationships and both had moved in with their significant others within the last couple months. The fallout was immediate and painful; by Friday, life in the office had not yet settled down, but there was an unspoken but very present understanding that one way or another, things work out.
Given my surroundings over the last week, it would be difficult not to be introspective. (e:dragonlady7) has nailed her 95 theses on marriage to the door of the blogosphere
, in which she has managed to write 1400 words of gospel truth while still completely missing the point*, which has little to do with contracts and lawyers and the importance or unimportance of the institution of marriage.The point is, sometimes you've got to jump. You may not want to, and you may not know whether you have it in you. Maybe you'll land on your feet, maybe someone will catch you, maybe you'll land flat on your face, and maybe someone will pick you up - but sometimes there's no time to think about that until you're already taking that big swan-dive into the unknown. Close your eyes and feel the wind in your hair. Stick to your wits and trust your judgment. This is the right thing to do. Open your eyes and see the opportunities that stretch before you. This is life, and life is good.
- Z
_______________
- I realize I'm going to get castrated for that, but it's true.
dragonlady7 - 06/26/06 09:22
Are you telling me to go jump off a cliff?????!!!!
Are you telling me to go jump off a cliff?????!!!!
theecarey - 06/25/06 20:38
right on!
right on!
kookcity2000 - 06/25/06 19:08
cheers to that!
cheers to that!
06/20/2006 21:02 #37346
the e:strip minimemeCategory: survey
1. (e:paul) did a technical demo of (e:strip) during discussions with my company. I didn't get it. A little while later (e:paul) helped us out a lot with getting the Geek Meet together. I still didn't get it, but thought what the hell.
2. I have told my friends about my journal, and I assume that at least a couple still read it. My mom knows I have one but I advised her against reading it. I was startled to find out my cousin reads it, but he's cool. I wouldn't mind if my coworkers knew, but I would prefer if my boss did not. I do not use my real name, but I don't hide it either. I don't mention who I work for, but I assume everybody knows by now. One of my regular userpics is a real portrait of myself that one of my buddies did for me in MS Paint. Another is a cartoon cat who taught himself computer science.
3. Whoever was at the bumper sticker party.
4. I usually don't meet new people, so -- yes.
5. I have tried having threesomes with (e:strip), but (e:dragonlady7) complains that it's too 'tingly.'
6. Just (e:dragonlady7) - (e:dheitmuller) signed up so she could leave a comment, once, but I see her account has been deactivated.
7. I am from Buffalo but somehow ended up living in Kenmore.
1. None.
2. I don't use p:mobl because I kind of hate the wireless web. Either it's too small and too slow, or I buy an enormous PDA and have to deal with even worse gadget pants than I already have.
1. I have added (e:strip) to my shrinking list of favorite websites, and I usually read it at least three times a day, once each in the morning, afternoon, and evening. When I'm just reading I'll go through the new journal entries on my Google homepage; occasionally I'll be really bored and go in and wreak havoc with comments and chat.
1a. I try to read all the journals; I usually don't read the comments.
2. I think it's made me realize that Buffalo is a lot more diverse than I had originally given it credit for.
3. Writing about the interesting parts of my free time has given me something to do when I'm not doing anything interesting.
4. No.
5. Not really. I've always prefered enjoying an experience for what it is to being the asshole with the camera [or video camera]. I'm a better writer than a photographer, and I've got a pretty decent memory even when blitzed out of my mind. I've missed a lot of good photo opportunities, but (e:strip) isn't going to turn me into a camera guy.
6. Perhaps subtly. I have a slightly different tone here than in my column, and it's difficult to have different voices that don't drift towards each other. Luckily, the paper gives me an editor.
7. No. I didn't blog at all before I joined (e:strip), but I had too many good stories I wanted to tell, and (e:dragonlady7) wasn't keeping up with them on her own blog.
8. Trust me, I've seen our server logs, and there are much worse things going on at the office than me reading (e:strip) on my lunch hour. Brr.
9. N/A
- Z
2. I have told my friends about my journal, and I assume that at least a couple still read it. My mom knows I have one but I advised her against reading it. I was startled to find out my cousin reads it, but he's cool. I wouldn't mind if my coworkers knew, but I would prefer if my boss did not. I do not use my real name, but I don't hide it either. I don't mention who I work for, but I assume everybody knows by now. One of my regular userpics is a real portrait of myself that one of my buddies did for me in MS Paint. Another is a cartoon cat who taught himself computer science.
3. Whoever was at the bumper sticker party.
4. I usually don't meet new people, so -- yes.
5. I have tried having threesomes with (e:strip), but (e:dragonlady7) complains that it's too 'tingly.'
6. Just (e:dragonlady7) - (e:dheitmuller) signed up so she could leave a comment, once, but I see her account has been deactivated.
7. I am from Buffalo but somehow ended up living in Kenmore.
1. None.
2. I don't use p:mobl because I kind of hate the wireless web. Either it's too small and too slow, or I buy an enormous PDA and have to deal with even worse gadget pants than I already have.
1. I have added (e:strip) to my shrinking list of favorite websites, and I usually read it at least three times a day, once each in the morning, afternoon, and evening. When I'm just reading I'll go through the new journal entries on my Google homepage; occasionally I'll be really bored and go in and wreak havoc with comments and chat.
1a. I try to read all the journals; I usually don't read the comments.
2. I think it's made me realize that Buffalo is a lot more diverse than I had originally given it credit for.
3. Writing about the interesting parts of my free time has given me something to do when I'm not doing anything interesting.
4. No.
5. Not really. I've always prefered enjoying an experience for what it is to being the asshole with the camera [or video camera]. I'm a better writer than a photographer, and I've got a pretty decent memory even when blitzed out of my mind. I've missed a lot of good photo opportunities, but (e:strip) isn't going to turn me into a camera guy.
6. Perhaps subtly. I have a slightly different tone here than in my column, and it's difficult to have different voices that don't drift towards each other. Luckily, the paper gives me an editor.
7. No. I didn't blog at all before I joined (e:strip), but I had too many good stories I wanted to tell, and (e:dragonlady7) wasn't keeping up with them on her own blog.
8. Trust me, I've seen our server logs, and there are much worse things going on at the office than me reading (e:strip) on my lunch hour. Brr.
9. N/A
- Z
This video was emailed to me by a coworker; it was taken by her relative who lives in Cheektowaga.
I would have been more likely to be crapping myself than playing with my cell phone.
- Z
Is this video from your phone?
why are people so stupid? I dated a guy from kansas, where tornadoes are a common enough that they are not "cool" and "exciting" but serious scary shit, and he gets so irate when people want to go look at them...
Good thing you were there to show other shoppers what NOT to do. With that fine example, they stayed safe. Good work Citizen