Monday, December 13, 2010

I am quite busy. I'll be back on here in January.

(comments from an article about World of Warcraft)
For me WoW is not the girlfriend I never wished I met, but the one who I wish I could have just been good friends with. But I couldn't and I still can't. Now when I see her, I know I shouldn't get too friendly, because we'll get together again and we both know that won't end well.

Friday, December 10, 2010

4 layers of bubble wrap + a whole lot of masking tape. I am a MacGyver when it comes to insulating drafty AC window units.

Monday, December 6, 2010

Tonight at trivia there was a question "which law of physics is expressed I=V/R?" It was the engineers' moment to shine and we totally dropped the ball.

It looks easy when you see it written, but actually it was very hard to hear the announcer tonight because the bar was crowded and he gave the physics version first (current density = conductivity * electric field) before saying I=V/R. Peter, in his disdain for all things technical, was supplying sarcastic answers and Rachel was suggesting different laws of thermodynamics. They also give you no time to think, as I've complained before. The closest we got was Ampere's law, which is actually quite close because I is measured in amps. But no, it's Ohms law which really isn't at all the same as Ampere's law. So many weird names in physics that nobody cares whether you know.

Last week I was thinking about building a SATA switch for my media player (it has one SATA input but I have several drives I want to use) and was looking at datasheets for BJTs. I remember how everything works in theory, but the specific formulas and the math are nearly gone to me now. Maybe it's finally too late to go into mainstream engineering. My career path gets narrower every year.

(my nutella sandwich tasted weird, and the nutella itself was from a jar that I bought years ago, so I hunted around for expiration info and found a relevant forum)
Junior A: When does nutella expire? I bought some nutella like on april and wondering when do they expire. they been left in my room for like a month and opened already.
Simon T: read the label tells you everything you need to know
desdemon: It lasts forever. We had our jar for years after I remembered it and ate some. Look at the expiration date. You can easily add a year after it:)
Sylvester: Expiration dates only apply to food.

Saturday, December 4, 2010

My paraphrasing and commentary of "5 tips for meeting women" by some dude bro.

1: Even if you're not confident, try to pretend to have some semblance of self esteem when introducing yourself.
- I guess this is a good point. Nobody feels comfortable talking to someone who is jittery and awkward and always trying to back out of a conversation. But if you're this way normally, putting up a good show is only going to get you through a single painful conversation. There's a long string of them ahead and the girl will figure you out eventually. Here's a better tip: wait until you're 4 drinks in and then the initial conversation won't be as bothersome. (Or if it is you won't care.) Then just make sure you show up early to each date thereafter and down a drink or three before she arrives. This carries the added bonus of knowing exactly why you later won't remember the details of what she said, as opposed to the mystery my memory sometimes is.

2: It's not about you.
- This lesson's title makes it sound like it's going to be about asking girls questions to move the conversation along, but instead the lesson is: things are easier if you have a buddy. This is obviously true. Lots of life is easier if you can find a friend to suffer through it with you. I don't know how you could even tolerate being in a bar or at a party with no friends.

3: Approach a group of girls.
- Because I guess a girl likes it when she isn't sure if you're hitting on her or her friend. Somehow the author thinks you can just swoop in and be friendly without hitting on or getting rejected by any specific girl. Yeah, right. What a weird, creepy idea. If I was hanging out with friends and a girl swooped in to be funny and friendly with all of us, we would probably think she was crazy. Or that she wanted all of us. I bet that's what the girls assume when a guy does it. And it's probably true because it sounds like the work of a man out looking for anything he can find. Mystery does this but he mixes in negs to keep the girls unsure of whether he wants them. That's probably a good tip if you're going to try to creep into a group this way. Also, I don't approve of sucking up to friends or the herd mentality to which it caters.

4: Beckon with your index finger for a girl across the room to come over.
- Dang, don't give away insider secrets! My trick is to do the index finger beckoning while slowly licking my lips, and then at the end I punctuate it with a pelvic thrust! It works every time. Either that or it's about as creepy as I imagine. A girl would have to be super cute in order for me to not feel weird about a predatory finger beckoning. (And she couldn't be at all sketchy in a dangerous way or I'm out of there. Girls with Russian accents: this move is not for you.) Responding to that beckon is a commitment and a half!

5: Don't worry about the rejections.
- This is decent advice, though its definitely easier said than done. And its common knowledge when you're selling anything door-to-door.

(Forum comments about the HP and the Deathly Hallows)
goodterling: More like Harry Potter and the Long Ass Camping Trip. This movie sucked!