andrewjthomas.net

"Make those special talents you have work like a charm"

Mon, 05 Oct 2009 14:35:02 -0700

“Make those special talents you have work like a charm”

- My fortune via Panda Express (clearly whoever writes these knows about the game)

"The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not..."

Mon, 28 Sep 2009 12:16:10 -0700

“The most exciting phrase to hear in science, the one that heralds the most discoveries, is not ‘Eureka!’ (I found it!) but ‘That’s funny’.”

- Isaac Asimov (via jasonpermenter)

(I <3 Asimov, so I had to re-blog this.)

Armstrong Redwoods

Thu, 27 Aug 2009 16:28:09 -0700

Armstrong Redwoods

GPOYKW (Gratuitous Picture of Your Kid Wednesday) Seriously? My...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 18:17:55 -0700

GPOYKW (Gratuitous Picture of Your Kid Wednesday)

Seriously? My kid is more handsome than your kid. He just is. Give up now. He’s the next freakin’ Zac Efron or something. For reals, yo.

GPOYW Now where did I put that single-payer universal...

Wed, 26 Aug 2009 12:58:00 -0700

GPOYW

Now where did I put that single-payer universal healthcare?

Social Networking Etiquette: Corporate Checks and Balances

Mon, 24 Aug 2009 14:08:19 -0700

Social Networking Etiquette: Corporate Checks and Balances:

I really hate articles like this. Sure, this sort of thing has happened before and will continue to happen as long as people over-share (after all, the internet is for narcissism). But where is the opposing view that companies should not respond so harshly? We all need to blow off steam from time to time, and more often now, that happens online. These things have always been said by employees, but they were just broadcast to a much smaller audience (those that happened to be nearby in the physical world) for a shorter, less permanent period of time. The internet has made personal broadcasting fast and easy, and yet expectations of employee conduct have not kept pace with the technology. If I’m on my own time, I have the right to say what I like about my employer, as publicly as I want. Depending on the content, it might deserve a reprimand and a request for reserving harsher criticism for more private channels, but certainly not dismissal. Additionally, “catching” a worker in a lie is disingenuous when you consider how often corporations lie to their employees about far more important things than sick leave (such as salary compensation, upcoming reductions in force, etc.). Basically, I get that people have misconceptions about public vs. private with online content. Goodness knows many people still falsely believe that e-mail constitutes private conversation. And yes, better judgement should be made when discussing anything work-related online, but that doesn’t give companies carte blanche to play Little Big Brother in their workers’ lives.

GPOYW

Wed, 12 Aug 2009 18:56:05 -0700

GPOYW

OMG! WANT! via courtney: o_O Available on ThinkGeek. (via...

Fri, 12 Jun 2009 18:52:10 -0700

OMG! WANT!

via courtney:

o_O

Available on ThinkGeek.

(via thedailywhat)

via elizabethboom via theduty

Thu, 04 Jun 2009 16:39:47 -0700

via elizabethboom via theduty

Also? This song is hilarious.

Sun, 31 May 2009 10:07:49 -0700

Also? This song is hilarious.

An oldie, but a goodie

Sun, 31 May 2009 09:47:06 -0700

An oldie, but a goodie

(iisabelle via nequest) Your WTF picture for the day.

Sat, 30 May 2009 10:31:05 -0700

(iisabelle via nequest)

Your WTF picture for the day.

You just can’t beat good interface design.

Fri, 22 May 2009 15:34:03 -0700

You just can’t beat good interface design.

Google Still Screwing Mac Users

Fri, 22 May 2009 10:08:52 -0700

Google Still Screwing Mac Users:

The link is to a blog entry about Google Chrome. I got all hopeful when I saw the URL: “speedier-google-chrome-for-all-users.” I thought, “Wow! Finally I can use Chrome on my Mac!” But no, they just don’t consider Mac users to be real users I guess. I can sign up to be notified, but fat lot of good that’ll do me. I’m still waiting for their Latitude stalker app for my iPhone. Fuckers.

(more) On tumblarity.

Mon, 11 May 2009 15:54:24 -0700

Ericaaaaa puts it better than I could’ve.

via ericaaaaa:

A story. Once upon a time I joined this site called consumating. I cannot link to it for it does not exist anymore. I cannot link to the wikipedia page because it was deleted. Trying to describe the feel of the site would not do it justice, but I can describe how it basically worked.

It started as a dating site but with popularity rankings. For every profile you passed by, you could click a thumb pointing up (2 points) or a thumb pointing down (-1 points), and a ranking system was created based on the points. There were questions of the week that could be answered with text and/or photos or videos that could also be thumbed. There were also photo contests, also judged. All of these points were added up, and users were assigned a popularity ranking.

Popularity wasn’t the only thing consumating was about, but it was a big element of it. And let me tell you, I did a lot of silly things for the sake of popularity. A picture of me making out with my ibook vaulted me to the top 100. I talked about baking banana bread wearing only an apron. (Ohh, my integrity!) But it was all in the name of the game - anything with thumbs attached to it, I plotted carefully to figure out what would get me points thus increasing my “popularity.” If you’re wondering, it worked. At my highest, I was the 7th most popular person on the site. (And this is so ridiculous it still floors me.) But the popularity system was flawed in a lot of ways, and I don’t really miss it.

So when I clicked on the new tumblarity link and saw myself ranked amongst all the tumblrs in existence, along with some meaningless number, I had to wonder: why do I need to know this? I don’t want tumblr to be a game, where I am overthinking what postings will get the little hearts and what won’t. I could figure out tricks to play the game if I wanted, but I don’t want to fall into that trap. I just want this place to be me, and not a me that’s fueled by my tumblarity index*. Click the heart if you want, or don’t - I’ll be fine.

(I say this now, but the truth is I am horribly obsessed with stats and analytics and this is one more thing to drive me batty.)

*A system which I am guessing is also very flawed, but since it’s only been around a day I’ll let it go for now.

Another Popularity Contest? Really?

Mon, 11 May 2009 14:33:26 -0700

I’m not sure I like this whole TUMBLARITY concept. I don’t need a website to tell me how unpopular I am. I already experienced that with Consu/GTI. Why should I be subjected to it on my blog? Meh. What do _you_ think?

Haiku Breakup

Sat, 09 May 2009 09:42:28 -0700

Haiku Breakup:

you wanted babies;
but my genes deserve better.
best of luck with that.

(via sade: indieandyy: mizzchelle)

Music From Chuck

Tue, 07 Apr 2009 14:05:12 -0700

Music From Chuck:

I’ve been a fan of the show for a long time, and in no small part due to the kick-ass soundtrack.

When I fell in love with this song at the ripe old age of 10 or...

Fri, 03 Apr 2009 09:16:23 -0700

When I fell in love with this song at the ripe old age of 10 or so, I never thought it would be so self-identifying to me in adulthood.

Octopus Silk Tie

Fri, 20 Mar 2009 09:29:08 -0700

Octopus Silk Tie:

I would love to own this tie, but not for fourty-two freakin’ dollars! Still, my b-day is rapidly approaching. So if anyone is reading this and feeling generous… you know what to do. /consumerwhorism