LEGOS!

Here's another Useloos gallery -- this time of HUGE Lego sculptures.

More "Get Noticed" business cards

When I was younger I used to collect business cards (and matchbooks). I had some that I remember as being pretty creative, but nothing compared to this business card gallery at Useloos.

Spanish Lesson

A Spanish teacher was explaining to the class that, in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are designated as either masculine or feminine. 'House' for instance, is feminine: 'la casa.' 'Pencil,' however, is masculine: 'el lapiz.' So, a student asked, 'What gender is 'computer'?' Instead of giving the answer, the teacher split the class into two groups, male and female, and asked them to decide for themselves whether 'computer' should be a masculine or a feminine noun. Each group was asked to give four reasons for its recommendation.

The men's group decided that 'computer' should definitely be of the feminine gender ('la Computadora'), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic;
2. The native language they use to communicate with other computers is incomprehensible to everyone else;
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory for possible later retrieval; and
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.

The women's group, however, concluded that computers should be Masculine ( 'el computador'), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on;
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves;
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the time they ARE the problem; and
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model

The women won.

[editor's note: It must have been a 'la profesor' :-) ]

Growing up...

I know it's not report card time yet, but...

A father passing by his son's bedroom was astonished to see that his bed was nicely made and everything was picked up. Then he saw an envelope, propped up prominently on the pillow that was addressed to Dad. With the worst premonition he opened the envelope with trembling hands and read the letter.

Dear Dad:

It is with great regret and sorrow that I'm writing you. I had to elope with my new girlfriend because I wanted to avoid a scene with Mom and you. I have been finding real passion with Stacy and she is so nice. But I knew you would not approve of her because of all her piercing, tattoos, tight motorcycle clothes and the fact that she is much older than I am. But it's not only the passion...Dad she's pregnant. Stacy said that we will be very happy. She owns a trailer in the woods and has a stack of firewood for the whole winter. We share a dream of having many more children. Stacy has opened my eyes to the fact that marijuana doesn't really hurt anyone. We'll be growing it for ourselves and trading it with the other people that live nearby for cocaine and ecstasy. In the meantime we will pray that science will find a cure for AIDS so Stacy can get better. She deserves it. Don't worry Dad. I'm 15 and I know how to take care of myself. Someday I'm sure that we will be back to visit so that you can get to know your grandchildren.

Love,
Your Son Timmy

PS. Dad, none of the above is true. I'm over at Tommy's house. I just wanted to remind you that there are worse things in life than a report card that's in my center desk drawer. Call me when its safe to come home.

Getting across the river

Every couple of weeks I glance back through the logs to find the reason that people visit my site. It's mostly just curiosity, but once in a while I get a surprise or an idea for something to write about. While looking last week, I noticed that that my post on the Japanese River Quiz was drawing quite a few hits. But they weren't looking for a game to play, they were looking for the answer! Apparently, there are companies using this as an employment test. Go figure!

Well, if you haven't been hired, yet, memorize this before your next interview.

1) cop & con
2) cop
3) cop & girl1
4) cop & con
5) mom & girl2
6) mom
7) mom & dad
8) dad
9) cop & con
10) mom
11) mom & dad
12) dad
13) dad & boy1
14) cop & con
15) cop & boy2
16) cop
17) cop & stripe

Or if you think that they're looking for "out-of-the-box thinkers," you might suggest that they all work together and build a bigger raft from the trees on the shore, or even just push the tree over the flowing water and walk across it! Good luck!

Interresting gadget site

Technogad is an interesting, and inspiring, gadget site. Some of the items shown are far from commercial, but if you need a little design inspiration, I'm sure that you can find something here. If you need a little geeky "wow" in your day, I'm pretty sure you can find something here as well.

"Remember, I want you..."

When my youngest son was learning to put himself to sleep, my wife and I used various methods to make that easier on him. At first, we would lay on the floor while he went to sleep. He'd know that we were there, but we kept our distance. Then we started limiting the time that we stayed with him and he'd finish his journey with the Sandman by himself. In the last stage of staying with him, I had moved to his doorway, half closed, and read my books. This made my walking away a little more subtle and quiet. During that transition away from his more direct sight, he would often times remind me that he wanted me to stay with him while he fell asleep, not to leave.

We've moved on from the need for so much comfort and security when it's bedtime, but every night, he still reminds me, "Dad, remember, I want you..." I say "I know..." and walk quietly out of his room and on to my other nighttime duties.

Though he's repeated this to me for many months now, for some reason I started thinking about it more thoughtfully last night. I know I'm reading more into it than he's intending, but taken more to heart, he wants me to do more than stay with him while he goes to sleep. He wants me to be there for him when he scrapes his knee. He wants me to play games with him. He wants me to go on a bike ride with him. He wants me to tickle him and laugh with him. He wants me to teach him to read. He wants me to watch him grow up. He wants me to teach him to drive and see him get married and play with HIS kids.

Maybe he's not thinking that far into the future. Does he know what's in store for him in the future. I doubt he has any clue.

Maybe it's because I'm re-reading Randy Pausch's book, and fearing my own mortality.

Whatever the reason, "I remember...And I want you too son..."

End of the universe?

Earlier this month, a billions of dollars (Euros, Francs, and a bunch of other monies) came to fruition as the Large Hadron Collider (LHC) officially came on-line. The intention of those billions of dollars is to smash a few itsy-bitsy particles into each other and make a big bang. OK, I'm paraphrasing.

This project is not without its detractors, though. There are many that think that the billions of dollars, and millions of man-hours could be better spend on ending global warming, feeding the hungry, or even paying down the nations' debts. There are over 80 countries with their teeth sunk into this thing. In addition to concerns over the use of all that money and other resources, there are those that fear we're messing with the universe in ways that we don't understand. In the same was as those who were alive at the time of the dawn of atomic energy (and bombs) there are those that think that this "experiment" will run amok and out of control, consuming a lot more than just public scrutiny. Some have even gone so far as to predict the end of the world. Who knows, maybe their right. The scientists tell us not, but if their wrong, who's gonna be around for us to blame?

There are several sites on the Web that have posted real-time web-cams of the LHC. Most of the "official" (read: Government Sponsored) sites are still hard to get to because of all the traffic generated by the press, but I found a couple cams that are still on-line. The fastest one is available at http://lhc-live.com/. They've got a camera aimed at one of the collision points (they say you might even be able to see a tiny flash during the actual collisions). The other camera looks more like a security camera from a guard house of the parking lot or something.

I'm not sure what to think about the whole project. It might lead to some interesting science, but is it really worth Billions, with a B, at a time like this? Tell me your thoughts...

My son, the Terminator

My son is much more in touch with his feelings that most kids his age. Some might call him a bit emotional at times, but that sensitivity comes with a lot of empathy for other people's feelings as well. He also knows what's right from wrong -- though sometimes he forgets when playing with is siblings, but we're working on that :-)

Anyway, his class had a substitute teacher the other day. Apparently, this teacher had decided that a classmate of my son's deserved a bit of harassing that day. The teacher continued to berate the other student and embarrass him. The belittling and verbal jabs were so bad that this 4th grader started crying. My son and a few others knew that this was not right and, when the opportunity presented itself, they located the school principal and informed her about the situation.

The principal investigated the claims, speaking to other children as well as the substitute. She collected enough information that, after reprimanding the teacher, informed my son and his classmates that the teacher would not return to his school as a substitute ever again.

This school is really great at protecting the kids and the learning environment. They seem to know exactly what to do to make sure that the kids all have a safe and comfortable learning environment. They know that if you lose the kids now, it's a lot harder, if not impossible, to re-light that spark of interest and desire to learn.

I'm very proud of my son for recognizing something as wrong and taking a stand to correct it. The meek will truly inherit this world if they continue to stand up for each other.

Good job son!

Advertising collection

LinkInn (not to be confused with social business site LinkedIn) is a place for people to create photo collections. Some are pretty amazing. One that caught my eye the other day was a collection of outdoor advertising. Those creative minds keep raising the bar as we become more and more numb to the injection of advertising in our lives. They need to find something that will draw our attention -- something unique, quirky, insightful... I think that you'll find all those and more in this collection. Enjoy.

Thank you

I caught a short clip on TV the other night, Batman Begins I think. All I remember about the scene was the following quote:

"I never said 'Thank you'."

Batman replied, "And you'll never have to."

How truly magnanimous of him. He's going to do what he does because it's the right thing to do, not because he's expecting something in return. He's doing what he can do to help because he can, and because it needs to be done, not because he gets some kick out of publicity and fame.

If I recall correctly, he's got a little bit of money himself already, so he's not in it for the money either.

When you see something that needs to be done, are you looking around to make sure that someone sees you perform your good deed so that they can pat you on the back, sing your praises to the world and hold you in high esteem? Or do you see that piece or paper on the floor and instinctively pick it up and put it in the trash? Do you hold the door for someone without a second thought? Do you let someone with a couple of items cut in line in front of your basket load at the supermarket?

I know that not every act of selflessness will be paid back in kind, but that's not the point. There are people that will take advantage of your kindness... but it's the right thing to do.

While typing this entry, I'm listening to Pandora, and Jewell's "Hands" song is playing. There's a phrase in there, "Only kindness matters in the end." That just happened to play while I was typing... Kinda eerie...

We're being invaded!

It used to be the Asian beetles that look like their much more docile Ladybug cousins, now it's house flies!

Each fall for the past several years we've dealt with literally swarms of the Asian Beetles all over our house. This year, for some reason it's been the (way too) common housefly. The other night I killed 12 on the downstairs window and then another 8 upstairs while watching TV.

I can't find the source! There is nothing that is acting as a breeding ground that I can find. While there may a loose screen or something somewhere in the house that would provide a doorway for them, I'm not sure why they seem to be swarming right now. No drastic weather change. No rotting corpse that I can find (or smell).

I just don't get it!

Creepy Crawlers

Most people are afraid of spiders. I admit that they're not one of my favorite creatures, but I can handle them. If you're in the majority of people what would rather see them squashed than enjoy their beautiful webs, this sight might let you enjoy a little fun at their expense (or creep you out even more).

The folks at One Motion have a realistic spider model that moves about your screen. You can interact with it and even feed it. Kinda cool!

Now Google really DOES know what you're searching for before you ask for it

Well, kinda. Apparently they've kicked another project out of the labs and into the wild. Google Suggest will automatically suggest search terms for you as you type them in to Google. It will also give you a relative indication as to the popularity of the search term. They say it helps reduce spelling errors and speeds typing in the search terms of the users. It doesn't seem to work on iGoogle yet, though.

Another write up on the Google Suggest roll out can be found on arstechnica site.

Political observations

Two things keep coming up in the very few conversation I have had about politics recently.

First, regardless of who wins the US presidential elections shortly, history will be made. We will either have 1) the oldest elected President and a female Vice President, or 2) the first Black President.

Second, the people that we vote to put into office do not run the country (by themselves). As a friend of mine so eloquently stated today, I paraphrase, "One good apple does not turn a bushel of bad apples good."

American politics, like most other politics I suspect, is going to take a long time to right itself in the eyes of the People.

The Voice has died...

Don LaFontaine is one of those famous people that you've never heard of. Well, that's probably not true. Let me try that again. Don LaFontaine is one of those people you've heard a lot of that you never knew the name of. Movie trailers will never be the same...

Where's Perry?

One of my kid's favorite shows right now is Disney Channel's Phineas and Ferb. The show's about a couple of young boys that have outrageous adventures (seemingly in secret) while their sister tries to get them in trouble with their mom. The boys have a new adventure every day during their summer vacation. They also have a pet platypus named Perry. A story-within-a-story is Perry's secret identity as a secret agent. While Phineas and crew are off having a grand ol' time, Perry is battling the Evil Dr. Doofenshmirtz. Shortly after the show begins, Perry sneaks off unnoticed as his alter-ego and then Phineas utters, "Hey, where's Perry."

OK, that was kind of a long lead in to what I really wanted to comment on. My point is that no-one pays attention to the platypus doing the real work. They don't miss him. They don't go off searching for him. They don't put up wanted posters. They even greet him with a nonchalant, "Oh, there you are Perry," when he returns home at the end of the show.

It's the quiet ones (OK, I know platypus can make some sounds) that are getting the work done -- saving the world. Sure, the ones that like being on the stage get the credit. There are those that suck up to the boss, always appear to be busy, but never get anything done. There are those that are always choosing the "glory" project so that their name is on all of the important emails and lists. But... Without the silent majority, those that just go to work and dutifully do their job, do their job efficiently and effectively, fly under the radar and avoid the public praise, the people taking the credit wouldn't have anything to take credit for.

As the US economy continues to suffer, and managers must determine where to shed costs, I only hope that they know the truth behind the true productivity of the workplace.

Uncle URLs

A coworker of mine (the one who buys up cool domain names as a hobby) noticed the other day that the top-level-domain (TLD) ".me" was available now. [The TLD .me is the country indicator for sites registered in Montenegro, in the same way that .ca is for Canadian sites] Actually, I think it's been available for a while, but he had just received an email from a registrar advertising it. That got him thinking (he really never stops), "there have to be a lot of cool words that could be made into domains -- words ending in 'me'."

We consulted OneLook that allows wild card dictionary searches and came up with quite a few. I don't want to give away any potential targets of his, but some of the ones that hit me were:

• http://www.call.me/


• http://www.read.me/


• http://www.tag.me/

It also got me thinking about other TLDs that have been used like this... The first one that came to mind was the social bookmarking site del.icio.us. Another is the Interes.tingness site mentioned a few days ago. I'm sure I've seen many, many others, but for some reason none of them are coming to mind. Can you think of others like these? Leave a comment...

Politics

Detroit Politics are so absurd they are mashing up songs about it's mayor... This is the clean one of the bunch -- Take A Bow, by Rihanna, mixed by a local radio station.

Remember when...

BELOIT COLLEGE RELEASES ANNUAL MINDSET LIST FOR THE ENTERING COLLEGE CLASS OF 2012

This month, almost 2 million first-year students will head off to college campuses around the country. Most of them will be about 18 years old, born in 1990 when headlines sounded oddly familiar to those of today: Rising fuel costs were causing airlines to cut staff and flight schedules; Big Three car companies were facing declining sales and profits; and a president named Bush was increasing the number of troops in the Middle East in the hopes of securing peace. However, the mindset of this new generation of college students is quite different from that of the faculty about to prepare them to become the leaders of tomorrow.

Each August for the past 11 years, Beloit College in Beloit, Wis., has released the Beloit College Mindset List. It provides a look at the cultural touchstones that shape the lives of students entering college. It is the creation of Beloit’s Keefer Professor of the Humanities Tom McBride and Public Affairs Director Ron Nief. The List is shared with faculty and with thousands who request it each year as the school year begins, as a reminder of the rapidly changing frame of reference for this new generation.

The class of 2012 has grown up in an era where computers and rapid communication are the norm, and colleges no longer trumpet the fact that residence halls are “wired” and equipped with the latest hardware. These students will hardly recognize the availability of telephones in their rooms since they have seldom utilized landlines during their adolescence. They will continue to live on their cell phones and communicate via texting. Roommates, few of whom have ever shared a bedroom, have already checked out each other on Facebook where they have shared their most personal thoughts with the whole world.

It is a multicultural, politically correct and “green” generation that has hardly noticed the threats to their privacy and has never feared the Russians and the Warsaw Pact.

Students entering college for the first time this fall were generally born in 1990.

For these students, Sammy Davis Jr., Jim Henson, Ryan White, Stevie Ray Vaughan and Freddy Krueger have always been dead.

1. Harry Potter could be a classmate, playing on their Quidditch team.
2. Since they were in diapers, karaoke machines have been annoying people at parties.
3. They have always been looking for Carmen Sandiego.
4. GPS satellite navigation systems have always been available.
5. Coke and Pepsi have always used recycled plastic bottles.
6. Shampoo and conditioner have always been available in the same bottle.
7. Gas stations have never fixed flats, but most serve cappuccino.
8. Their parents may have dropped them in shock when they heard George Bush announce “tax revenue increases.”
9. Electronic filing of tax returns has always been an option.
10. Girls in head scarves have always been part of the school fashion scene.
11. All have had a relative--or known about a friend's relative--who died comfortably at home with Hospice.
12. As a precursor to “whatever,” they have recognized that some people “just don’t get it.”
13. Universal Studios has always offered an alternative to Mickey in Orlando.
14. Grandma has always had wheels on her walker.
15. Martha Stewart Living has always been setting the style.
16. Haagen-Dazs ice cream has always come in quarts.
17. Club Med resorts have always been places to take the whole family.
18. WWW has never stood for World Wide Wrestling.
19. Films have never been X rated, only NC-17.
20. The Warsaw Pact is as hazy for them as the League of Nations was for their parents.
21. Students have always been "Rocking the Vote.”
22. Clarence Thomas has always sat on the Supreme Court.
23. Schools have always been concerned about multiculturalism.
24. We have always known that “All I Ever Really Needed to Know I Learned i Kindergarten.”
25. There have always been gay rabbis.
26. Wayne Newton has never had a mustache.
27. College grads have always been able to Teach for America.
28. IBM has never made typewriters.
29. Roseanne Barr has never been invited to sing the National Anthem again.
30. McDonald’s and Burger King have always used vegetable oil for cooking french fries.
31. They have never been able to color a tree using a raw umber Crayola.
32. There has always been Pearl Jam.
33. The Tonight Show has always been hosted by Jay Leno and started at 11:35 EST.
34. Pee-Wee has never been in his playhouse during the day.
35. They never tasted Benefit Cereal with psyllium.
36. They may have been given a Nintendo Game Boy to play with in the crib.
37. Authorities have always been building a wall across the Mexican border.
38. Lenin’s name has never been on a major city in Russia.
39. Employers have always been able to do credit checks on employees.
40. Balsamic vinegar has always been available in the U.S.
41. Macaulay Culkin has always been Home Alone.
42. Their parents may have watched The American Gladiators on TV the day they were born.
43. Personal privacy has always been threatened.
44. Caller ID has always been available on phones.
45. Living wills have always been asked for at hospital check-ins.
46. The Green Bay Packers (almost) always had the same starting quarterback.
47. They never heard an attendant ask “Want me to check under the hood?”
48. Iced tea has always come in cans and bottles.
49. Soft drink refills have always been free.
50. They have never known life without Seinfeld references from a show about “nothing.”
51. Windows 3.0 operating system made IBM PCs user-friendly the year they were born.
52. Muscovites have always been able to buy Big Macs.
53. The Royal New Zealand Navy has never been permitted a daily ration of rum.
54. The Hubble Space Telescope has always been eavesdropping on the heavens.
55. 98.6 F or otherwise has always been confirmed in the ear.
56. Michael Millken has always been a philanthropist promoting prostate cancer research.
57. Off-shore oil drilling in the United States has always been prohibited.
58. Radio stations have never been required to present both sides of public issues.
59. There have always been charter schools.
60. Students always had Goosebumps.