Shiny Things

05:47 am - Teach a Kid to Argue

I need to teach my kids to argue. I'm sure I could stand to do it better myself.

11:33 am - The Great Flydini

My good pal Scotto shared this with me yesterday. Steve Martin is awesome.

09:07 am - Busting Might Make Me Feel Good

I'm not holding my breath, because this could be a tremendous disappointment, but I was still pretty excited to see these previews for the upcoming Ghostbusters game for the Wii.

12:08 pm - Never Heard _That_ on a Ukelele Before...

via Chadu

11:18 am - GraphJam

I have a new RSS feed: GraphJam. I am amused. Here's an example of why.

10:40 am - MySpace Suicide Conviction Overturned

I'm probably going to regret posting this, because it's an emotionally-charged issue. But that's why I feel the need to say something about it.

Reading this CNN article about the overturning of the conviction in the MySpace suicide case, it seems to me that people are getting caught up in the trappings of the case instead of the fundamental aspects. What if it had been a real teenage boy who flirted with and then cruelly dumped Megan Meier, instead of a 49 year-old mother acting as one? What would have been his liability in her suicide? I almost hate to say it, but I suspect he would have had no legal liability at all: the hypothetical boy didn't force Meier to kill herself, and as far as I know it's not illegal to make someone so miserable that they choose to end their own life. If there's a law related to enticing someone else to commit a crime, then that might apply, but that's about it.

So what crime is Lori Drew really guilty of? Impersonating a teenage boy? That's not illegal. It's not illegal whether you do it in person, or talk over the phone, or act it out on TV, or send written correspondence. Why should it be illegal over the internet? So, horrible though her actions were, I have to be glad the conviction was overruled, because it was a bad precedent. Punishment should fit a crime's intent and consequences, not the tools used to perform it. Otherwise you risk viewing everyone who uses the tools as criminals.

10:42 pm - It's Genetic!

09:22 am - John Hodgman at Radio & TV Correspondents' Dinner

As Robin Laws said: "Members of the tribe, this is for you." Long (by internet standards) but highly entertaining. Almost inspirational, even.

06:57 pm - Goldfinches

It's pretty nice sitting out here in the screen room, watching the goldfinches, as I try to remember to enjoy my life for what it is instead of being frustrated about what it's not.  And as I look at the gold and black of the goldfinches, I have to wonder, aren't those the colors that nature generally uses to say "do not touch"? It's almost like they should have stingers or something.

Time for dinner. Yum.

09:38 pm - Inbox 0!

Woohoo! I hate having stuff sitting in my inbox. It feels good to get it cleaned out again. No mean feat given the draconian internet restrictions at my new worksite. They block Gmail! Grrr.

Now that those open loops are off my mind, maybe I can make some headway on my Protospiel project. Not much time left. But that's for tomorrow. Time now for about half an hour of Bioshock.

10:43 am - It's an Honor Just to be Nominated

reubeneater  just informed me yesterday that the WFYI segment on our Reuben Tuesday outings has been nominated for a local emmy award!

01:34 pm - Self Evaluation Tip

Something I've learned about self-evaluations for employee performance appraisals: write your self evaluation in first person, but convert it to third person before submitting it. Writing in first person is more natural and helps you get the information down on paper (or electrons). If you're like me, this is the hardest part of the process, and anything that makes it easier is worthwhile. Converting to third person afterward makes you re-evaluate what you wrote in a manner more consistent with how your supervisors will read it, which helps you adjust what you say and how you say it. Turning in your self-evaluation in third person also means your supervisor can cut and paste your own words directly into his report to his own supervisors: less work for him means a better attitude toward you.

Bonus tip: Send your supervisors brief weekly status reports, even if they don't request them. Aside from the communication benefits, the reports also serve as a log to help you remember what you should include in your self-evaluation.

10:04 am - Retinal Scan Advisory

After watching Angels & Demons (and Demolition Man), I've decided that if I ever work somewhere that uses retinal scanning for security, I will at all times wear a badge that says the following:

"Despite what you see in movies, retinal scans only work on living eyes."

10:38 am - What are the Odds?

I've really been enjoying The Lone Gunman blog. I found this post to an article about probability--and our emotional irrational reactions to it--particularly interesting.

04:01 pm - Stuff I've Been Thinking About

While watching the pilot to Glee: If a show just makes me laugh, but I get nothing else from it, that's not good enough, and I'm not interested. But if a show never makes me laugh, it's not good enough, and I'm not interested.

While sharing the mowing of our lawn with my son: You can tell if the work has been divided fairly, because everyone will think they're doing more than their share.

While listening to Project play Moon Over the Ruined Castle: We all want to play the melody, but we can't all play the melody all the time.

09:04 am - Fun at 30 Below

If you're ever caught in 30-below temperatures, you might as well try this.

01:41 pm - The Fatal Grandeur of the Golden Gate Bridge

A moving account in the New Yorker of people who have jumped from the Golden Gate Bridge.

Quote from a survivor: “I instantly realized that everything in my life that I’d thought was unfixable was totally fixable—except for having just jumped.”

Note left by a jumper who did not survive: "I’m going to walk to the bridge. If one person smiles at me on the way, I will not jump."

11:27 am - Requirements Analysis in Daily Life

Last night, Morgan was dead set on going to Chick-fil-A for dinner. She was so insistent that she'd convinced her visiting auxiliary backup grandmother to take her, while Brandon and I stayed home and had tacos. I was opposed because we had lots of leftover taco fixings, and I wasn't going to buy more food and let what we had go to waste. So I said we could go to Chick-fil-A another time.

Morgan looked miserable. At this point I remembered something that's handy to remember when gathering requirements: if someone wants something that seems unreasonable, ask why they want it. So I asked. Morgan mumbled something I couldn't understand. I asked again. She said, in a very small voice, carefully designed to weaken the strongest paternal resistance, "I want a milkshake."

So we had tacos for dinner, and auxiliary backup grandmother bought us all milkshakes for dessert. Win.

08:15 am - Questions: What's On That Wheel?

I saw a garbage truck yesterday that had these teardrop-shaped devices on its wheels. What are they?

( Answer... )

06:07 pm - Big Buck Bunny

Big Buck Bunny is an animated short with a distinctly Pixar-esque feel. It's good for a couple of laughs, but it's also noteworthy because the animation was all created using the free and open source Blender 3D animation software.