- Your Looks and Your Inbox « OkCupid http://okcupid.com/z/bf2 #
- RT @TelegraphNews Women 'should bare 40 per cent of their bodies to attract men' http://bit.ly/RGtkn #
How to Deal With a Bully
A friend’s Facebook post about bullies in school reminded me of when I was 10 or 11 and the neighborhood bully was menacing a junior high band nerd. All of a sudden, the band nerd hauled off and socked him right in the face and the bully ran home crying.
What an impression that made on me! Of course I’m not advocating socking bullies in the face . . . no wait, I guess I am . . .
Homework Follies
Worked some physics problems with my boy last night . . . the subject at hand was torque, which his textbook expresses in units of mN.
“Back in my day, we used to measure torque in foot-pounds,” I said. “What’s mN? Millinewtons?”
“I don’t know,” he said. “I guess so.”
“OK, we’re off to a great start!”
Bad Timing
A co-worker walks into the break room just as I clumsily drop something on the floor. That’s embarrassing.
“Next time, try to walk in right when I do something good,” I say. “Okay,” she says.
Snakes on a Plane
According to The Book of Odds:
- The odds an adult is afraid of flying are 1 in 5.56.
- The odds an adult is afraid of snakes are 1 in 1.96.
Twitter: 2009-11-13
- Notes on Strategy from the Harvard Business School: http://bit.ly/1jTVWO #
- The fastest way to improve your interface is to improve your copy-writing. With examples: http://bit.ly/daUqF #
Twitter: 2009-11-12
- RT @mashable Bill Gates’ Plan for Fixing the World http://bit.ly/4ABw03 #
- RT @SarahKSilverman: Sometimes when I'm by myself I say out loud, "BarTHelona" & giggle at that lispy accent they have. ah shit, I have fun. #
- RT @capricecrane: They say a lie gets around the world before the truth gets its pants on. Why the truth is pantsless, no one ever says. #
- User Story Mapping: modeling user stories for effective understanding of your system and planning incremental releases: http://bit.ly/1LQ17h #
- If my office gets one degree colder I'm going home… #
The Path of Trojan Dominance
Steven B. Sample, president of the University of Southern California since 1991, announced on Nov. 2 that he will retire in August 2010.
Sample is widely credited with bringing about an institutional rise at USC that is unparalleled in American higher education.
I’m so proud of what USC’s been able to accomplish academically under the leadership of Dr. Sample. When I went to USC in the pre-Sample era, the conventional wisdom in Southern California was that the rich kids went to USC and the smart kids went to UCLA.
(No one in my immediate family is or ever has been rich. I was able to attend USC on an academic scholarship, although it must be admitted that my wife and I both have rich but not overly bright cousins who also graduated as Trojans.)
Since 1991 though, SAT scores at USC have gone up more than 300 points. They passed up UCLA years ago and the gap continues to widen, much to the chagrin of Bruin alums.
So the way it works now is that the rich kids and the smart kids go to USC, and if you don’t fall into either one of those categories, you might be UCLA material.
Thank you, Steven B. Sample!
FIGHT ON!!!
Jerry Weinberg
Jerry Weinberg has been for almost 50 years the leader in considering software engineering not just as a technical practice but as a human activity. I’ve read seven of his books and with the exception of people I’ve actually worked with, I’ve learned more about IT from Jerry than from any other person.
He’s recently been diagnosed with what doctors say is a fatal illness. He has a CaringBridge site where he can read messages.
Twitter: 2009-11-11
- RT @MOCAlosangeles: MOCA ? YOU! Complimentary Museum Admission | SUNDAY, NOV 15–FRIDAY, NOV 20 | more info at http://bit.ly/46urQb #
- If Jimmy cracks corn, and no one cares, why does he keep doing it? #
- No hell, no dignity, no hope. Have a great day! #
- My wife's in LA at the Thai markets. She'll bring back those little coconut pancakes. I love coconut pancakes! #
I Got an A on My Report Card
Twitter: 2009-11-10
- Google helps you find a flu shot http://bit.ly/2XnKq2 #
Twitter: 2009-11-07
- RT @tweetmeme LinkedIn Is Getting a Redesign [Pics] http://bit.ly/4dJ20I #
Disliking on Facebook
I say to my son, “Now there’s a Firefox plugin so you can dislike stuff on Facebook. I disliked three things already.”
“Cool,” he says, walking out of the room. “I gotta get that right now.”
He comes back in with his laptop. “First I’ve got to download Firefox,” he says.
“You’re downloading Firefox just so you can dislike stuff on Facebook?”
“That’s right.”
Twitter: 2009-11-07
- RT @tweetmeme LinkedIn Is Getting a Redesign [Pics] http://bit.ly/4dJ20I #
A Chicken That Walked Backward
When I was six I had a chicken that walked backward and was in the Pathé News. I was in it too with the chicken. I was just there to assist the chicken but it was the high point in my life. Everything since has been anticlimax.
Useless Information About Fiddler Crabs
Scientists find fiddler crabs will exchange favours for sex
Really, scientists?! Who’s gonna have sex with a fiddler crab? They’re crustaceans!
I Went to Juice It Up for Lunch
“I’ll have a Chai Tea smoothie with protein.”
“Do you want vanilla or spicy?” the girl asked.
“They both sound good. Can I do half and half?”
“Uh, yeah. Nobody’s ever done that before.”
“I’m pushing the envelope.”
Twitter: 2009-11-05
- RT @OCWeekly: Congratulations, Douchebag Yankee Fans! – http://bit.ly/HCbvd (via @villagevoice) #
The Canyon of Heroes
So it turns out that the Canyon of Heroes is not what I thought it was, i.e., a name for lady parts . . .