A wonderful overheard

Gina posted a wonderful transcript of a conversation on Friendster, break-ups, and the Cure. And in doing so exposed a nightmare I had yet to contemplate, when the "personal network turn[s] into..personal hell." Before when you broke up with someone, you had to deal with maybe bumping into each other at a party, or hearing about your ex from a friend. But now technology enables you to keep informed from afar — whether you mean to or not — by exposing you to weblog entries, Friendster testimonials and details, and perhaps the worst of all, real-time tab-keeping via IM (I notice s/he's not online, is s/he out on a date with someone?!)

The horror of modern relationships isn't the confusion about roles, reticence about marriage, or the lived-together-broke-up-who-originally-bought-the-Office Space DVD mystery, it's the technology enabling you to keep in contact with an ex when all you want to do is purge them from your heart.

Iron Blimp

Mark and I are making progress with our Led Zeppelin cover band, Iron Blimp. We practiced Dazed and Confused earlier today and decided that we're going with an all-acoustic approach (Iron Blimp unplugged) and that I'll simulate bass and drums with my as-yet-under-developed human beat box techniques. My HBBTs will also be used to replicate those crazy theremin sounds, and I'm going to grow my hair out, and work on strengthening my scream. Also we'll need to get our livers back in shape for the workout that our rock-n-roll lifestyle will require of them. One Jack Daniels — attaboy big L! Two Jack Daniels — keep it up. Three Jack Daniels, push it liver, push it!!

Monday

In which this week gets off to the most craptacular start because the used-to-think-it-was-OK-but-now-think-it's-HORRID project management software I've been using deleted my entire project plan. Yes. The whole thing. All 117 items scheduled between now and the end of the month, wonderfully assigned, beautifully estimated, and all in some stage of % complete. If it weren't for this two-week old print-out on my desk, all would be beyond lost. All still feels lost. I can't face the prospect of re-entering hours of work. And who, I ask you, develops a use case in which the user says, "Yes, I know my trial is running out, please delete all my data."? And worse, a use case in which the user never even has to confirm her intention to delete her entire project database, and somehow is able to do this magic delete without ever seeing any dialog asking if she wants to delete the stupid database in the first place!

A favor?

For reasons I can't really explain, I really would like to listen to Jenny from the Block. If you happen to have a copy of this song that you'd be willing to lend me for evaluatuion purposes, I'd appreciate it. You can email me. Don't be fooled by the rocks that I got… Done. Thanks.

Safe from ax murderers – thanks gov!

There's a good article in Wired News today, Data Dump Required Before Flights, about the revised CAPPS II program. Basically the plan is the get more personal information (address, phone, date of birth) from passengers and match it to various databases, including credit reporting services, to ensure a person is who she says she is. Now I'm not particularly comfortable with that idea to begin with, and then when I read this quote — from an anonymous Transportation Security Administration official — I was even more annoyed.

"The new provisions are narrowly focused to violent fugitives," said the official. "It's there to protect passengers from sitting next to an ax murderer."

What kind of bogus scare tactic is that? An ax murderer on an airplane? First of all, he wouldn't even have the ax, you can't bring an ax through security! Second, I don't recall hearing about a single ax murder onboard a commercial flight, ever. Those things always happen at girls' camps in the woods, or at remote snow-bound mountain cabins. What we really should fear are nail-clipper murderers, because I hear they're letting you take those things in your carry-on again.

A new plan

After brief discussion, it has been determined that the adjective "foxy" is not used enough. It will be added into the adjective rotation and henceforth, work discussions will take advantage of its saucy, crafty, and animalistic meanings. E.g.

"Mark, that's a foxy class you've written!"

"Did you see the gigabit switch?"
"Ooh yeah! Foxy!"

"…and through inheritance, foxy inheritance…"