Sunday, September 28, 2008
Serious hormones
This morning I went into a panic and mad a bunch of last minute line up changes for my fantasy football team. Then, I went in search of affordable maternity pants that aren't ugly. After several hours of driving around to many stores and trying on numerous pairs of pants, I came home with no pants but with a shirt I don't need. I checked my fantasy scores only to find that my last minute changes f*ed me. Essentially, everyone I benched did well, and everyone I played did lousy. Now, I'm crying. This sucks.
Thursday, September 25, 2008
ZOMG! ur txt is 2 l8!
I seem to remember my mother telling me it is rude to call people before 9 AM and after 9 PM. It seems to me that most civilized folk follow some similar rules although the times may be adjusted a bit. (An exception is college when everyone has crazy schedules and late night calls, even on weekdays, were not unexpected.)
Now, I don’t believe that people aren’t up before 9 AM or go to bed at 9 PM. That's definitely not my schedule. However, before 9 AM people are often busy getting their day started, particularly during the work week. After 9 PM, people are usually winding down for bed (on weekdays) or already busy (on weekends). Of course, there are exceptions if you know for sure someone is available. They may be even expecting the call. (“I can’t call until 10 tonight, is that okay?”) But, if I don’t know I try to stick to the rule unless the call is for something really important. Like I said, it seems that most people do the same.
But text messages seem to be different.
Yes, a text message is less of an interruption than a phone call, but it’s still an interruption. If the phone ringer is active, it will still make a sound. The receiver is still likely to look at the message to see what it is whether she was awakened from sleep or is rushing to get ready for work.
Last night, my husband and I finally made it to bed early. All the rest of the week, despite intentions otherwise, we have ended up staying up late, leaving us both functioning as walking zombies. But last night we finally go to bed early. Until…
There was a beep. This is how soundly asleep we both were: at first we were so out of it that we couldn’t figure out what the sound was. After a while I decided it was my husband’s phone. He decided it was mine. He was right. (Sorry, sweetie.)
I got up and got my phone. The text message was, of course, of no particular importance, but the damage had been done. I couldn’t fall asleep again for over an hour. My husband ended up getting up because he couldn’t sleep.
Perhaps I was asking for this. If I didn’t want to be disturbed I shouldn’t leave my ringer on, right? The problem is, I like to have the ringer on at night because of those times when there is truly something important. Sure, those messages usually come as actually phone calls and not texts, but on my phone turning the ringer on and off applies to everything. (One exception is Twitter, which has very good DND options for phones.) To only turn off text messages I would have to change the text messages settings each night and change them back in the morning. It’s easier to be annoyed.
Some text messages are random thoughts that people want to share at that time. I think the spontaneity of the content prevents people from thinking about whether this is an appropriate time to share. But I wish people would stop to think about that for a moment. At least before hitting "send" to me.
If you want to let me know something and it is not between 9 AM and 9 PM, unless it’s urgent, send me an email. You can do that from your phone. You don’t even need a “smart phone” or anything. Just type my email where you would normally put my phone number in the text message. That way, I can get your message and respond at a time when you aren’t waking me up or jarring my precisely timed morning routine. Oh, your message won’t be meaningful a few hours later? It’s just not that important? Precisely.
Now, I don’t believe that people aren’t up before 9 AM or go to bed at 9 PM. That's definitely not my schedule. However, before 9 AM people are often busy getting their day started, particularly during the work week. After 9 PM, people are usually winding down for bed (on weekdays) or already busy (on weekends). Of course, there are exceptions if you know for sure someone is available. They may be even expecting the call. (“I can’t call until 10 tonight, is that okay?”) But, if I don’t know I try to stick to the rule unless the call is for something really important. Like I said, it seems that most people do the same.
But text messages seem to be different.
Yes, a text message is less of an interruption than a phone call, but it’s still an interruption. If the phone ringer is active, it will still make a sound. The receiver is still likely to look at the message to see what it is whether she was awakened from sleep or is rushing to get ready for work.
Last night, my husband and I finally made it to bed early. All the rest of the week, despite intentions otherwise, we have ended up staying up late, leaving us both functioning as walking zombies. But last night we finally go to bed early. Until…
There was a beep. This is how soundly asleep we both were: at first we were so out of it that we couldn’t figure out what the sound was. After a while I decided it was my husband’s phone. He decided it was mine. He was right. (Sorry, sweetie.)
I got up and got my phone. The text message was, of course, of no particular importance, but the damage had been done. I couldn’t fall asleep again for over an hour. My husband ended up getting up because he couldn’t sleep.
Perhaps I was asking for this. If I didn’t want to be disturbed I shouldn’t leave my ringer on, right? The problem is, I like to have the ringer on at night because of those times when there is truly something important. Sure, those messages usually come as actually phone calls and not texts, but on my phone turning the ringer on and off applies to everything. (One exception is Twitter, which has very good DND options for phones.) To only turn off text messages I would have to change the text messages settings each night and change them back in the morning. It’s easier to be annoyed.
Some text messages are random thoughts that people want to share at that time. I think the spontaneity of the content prevents people from thinking about whether this is an appropriate time to share. But I wish people would stop to think about that for a moment. At least before hitting "send" to me.
If you want to let me know something and it is not between 9 AM and 9 PM, unless it’s urgent, send me an email. You can do that from your phone. You don’t even need a “smart phone” or anything. Just type my email where you would normally put my phone number in the text message. That way, I can get your message and respond at a time when you aren’t waking me up or jarring my precisely timed morning routine. Oh, your message won’t be meaningful a few hours later? It’s just not that important? Precisely.
Tuesday, September 23, 2008
My abstract condition
I'm pregnant.
I know I'm pregnant. Tests have told me I'm pregnant. I've heard a heartbeat other than my own hiding in my lower abdomen (twice). I've even seen an ultrasound picture of a 7 cm long fetus. I'm definitely pregnant.
Still, part of me doesn't believe it. I mean it's very unreal to think that there is a little person growing inside of me. Weird! And although visits to the midwives and hospital labs provide scientific assurances, my daily experiences are far more abstract.
Sure, I've gained 8 pounds in the past 15 weeks, but my weight has gone up and down my whole life. I've had the occassional headache, but many people do. My breasts have been tender, but that's still pretty minor.
I haven't had morning sickness, and I'm not going to complain about that. I certainly am thankful to not have to have daily head-first explorations of my office bathrooms. However, that would have been a more dramatic sign that "Yes, this is happening."
So when does it become real? When I finally "pop" out to a rounded belly rather than a simply pudgy one? When I feel a kick? When I'm so huge I can barely stand to move? Or will it not hit me until a baby comes out of me? Is it possible to think, even then, where did that come from?!
I know I'm pregnant. Tests have told me I'm pregnant. I've heard a heartbeat other than my own hiding in my lower abdomen (twice). I've even seen an ultrasound picture of a 7 cm long fetus. I'm definitely pregnant.
Still, part of me doesn't believe it. I mean it's very unreal to think that there is a little person growing inside of me. Weird! And although visits to the midwives and hospital labs provide scientific assurances, my daily experiences are far more abstract.
Sure, I've gained 8 pounds in the past 15 weeks, but my weight has gone up and down my whole life. I've had the occassional headache, but many people do. My breasts have been tender, but that's still pretty minor.
I haven't had morning sickness, and I'm not going to complain about that. I certainly am thankful to not have to have daily head-first explorations of my office bathrooms. However, that would have been a more dramatic sign that "Yes, this is happening."
So when does it become real? When I finally "pop" out to a rounded belly rather than a simply pudgy one? When I feel a kick? When I'm so huge I can barely stand to move? Or will it not hit me until a baby comes out of me? Is it possible to think, even then, where did that come from?!
Friday, September 19, 2008
Let that be a lesson to you
The most significant political revelation about Sarah Palin's Yahoo! email account being "hacked" is that she used a private email for official business (not unlike some other elected officials we know...perhaps she does have the experience to be VP!). Regardless about how you feel about that, the manner in which the account was accessed should be a lesson to anyone who posts online.
The reported way it happened was that the attacker got in by activating the "I forgot my password" functionality, which forced him (or her?) to answer some personal questions. The first questions were standard: birthdate and zip code. The last was self-selected, in this case, where Sarah Palin met her husband. The attacker successfully gained access because all of this information was easily available online.
A few articles have mentioned how this is a risk for people in the public eye; however, a similar attack can be made on people who post personal information, such as on MySpace or FaceBook.
Birthday is pretty common. Sure some people suppress the year "for security purposes," but all it takes is a post about a birthday milestone (21st, 30th, etc.) and some basic math skills to work around that.
Zip codes are more rare in personal posts, but addresses can sometimes be found through other sources. Also, if you live in a small town (Wasilla, AK?) there may be a limited number of choices, or if you frequently post about the neighborhood you live in you may have already narrowed down the options.
High schools and colleges are frequently posted with alumni pride, but they are also used as security prompts (either directly or indirectly as in where Sarah Palin met her hubby: Wasilla High).
What's a social networker or blogger to do?
First, limit the blatantly personal stuff, but realize some is likely to leak out. Even if you don't post under your real name someone may post a comment with your name or an obvious variant. References to milestone birthdays equal references to birthdates. Referring to maternal grandparents by name usually means you just revealled you "Mother's Maiden Name."
Second, limit access to all but the most generic information. Sadly, this can limit some of the fun of websharing (note that this blog is fully open as of this post); however, it can help prevent your data from being easily read by anyone. But don't think that limiting to "friends" will make everything okay. All but the most disciplined friends lists have a way of getting unwieldy and including people you may have never really met. Also, there can be security incidents in which data is "accidentally" made public due to a security flaw. Or the site can be hacked. Oh, and there can be a lot of developers (for the site you use as well as plug in applications) that may have access to your data. The simple answer is if it's on the Internet assume a lot of people may be able to see it.
Third, lie in your security questions or modify the truth to make the answers unguessable. Say you were born in a city you've never been to. Answer your mother's maiden name with your parent's anniversary date. Move your hands over on the keyboard so typing the same word ends up as nonsense. Of course the risk in these cases is that YOU will forget the answer, which is why number four is important.
Fourth, be sure to list an alternate email. If you have another email on file most sites give you the option of having the password reset sent there. That will protect you if you make your security question so difficult that even you can't answer it. (Note, however, that this won't protect someone else from getting into your account using the question, so be sure it's a good one.)
Admittedly, the sort of attack and prevention described above implies a scenario in which someone has targetted your specific account. Hopefully, no one will want to do that. But when you realize the above can hold true for your online banking as well, perhaps it's better to be cautious. You never know when you might make someone angry or a "friend" wants to play a prank on you or you get tapped to be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. It happened to a "hockey mom" from Alaska; it can happen to you!
The reported way it happened was that the attacker got in by activating the "I forgot my password" functionality, which forced him (or her?) to answer some personal questions. The first questions were standard: birthdate and zip code. The last was self-selected, in this case, where Sarah Palin met her husband. The attacker successfully gained access because all of this information was easily available online.
A few articles have mentioned how this is a risk for people in the public eye; however, a similar attack can be made on people who post personal information, such as on MySpace or FaceBook.
Birthday is pretty common. Sure some people suppress the year "for security purposes," but all it takes is a post about a birthday milestone (21st, 30th, etc.) and some basic math skills to work around that.
Zip codes are more rare in personal posts, but addresses can sometimes be found through other sources. Also, if you live in a small town (Wasilla, AK?) there may be a limited number of choices, or if you frequently post about the neighborhood you live in you may have already narrowed down the options.
High schools and colleges are frequently posted with alumni pride, but they are also used as security prompts (either directly or indirectly as in where Sarah Palin met her hubby: Wasilla High).
What's a social networker or blogger to do?
First, limit the blatantly personal stuff, but realize some is likely to leak out. Even if you don't post under your real name someone may post a comment with your name or an obvious variant. References to milestone birthdays equal references to birthdates. Referring to maternal grandparents by name usually means you just revealled you "Mother's Maiden Name."
Second, limit access to all but the most generic information. Sadly, this can limit some of the fun of websharing (note that this blog is fully open as of this post); however, it can help prevent your data from being easily read by anyone. But don't think that limiting to "friends" will make everything okay. All but the most disciplined friends lists have a way of getting unwieldy and including people you may have never really met. Also, there can be security incidents in which data is "accidentally" made public due to a security flaw. Or the site can be hacked. Oh, and there can be a lot of developers (for the site you use as well as plug in applications) that may have access to your data. The simple answer is if it's on the Internet assume a lot of people may be able to see it.
Third, lie in your security questions or modify the truth to make the answers unguessable. Say you were born in a city you've never been to. Answer your mother's maiden name with your parent's anniversary date. Move your hands over on the keyboard so typing the same word ends up as nonsense. Of course the risk in these cases is that YOU will forget the answer, which is why number four is important.
Fourth, be sure to list an alternate email. If you have another email on file most sites give you the option of having the password reset sent there. That will protect you if you make your security question so difficult that even you can't answer it. (Note, however, that this won't protect someone else from getting into your account using the question, so be sure it's a good one.)
Admittedly, the sort of attack and prevention described above implies a scenario in which someone has targetted your specific account. Hopefully, no one will want to do that. But when you realize the above can hold true for your online banking as well, perhaps it's better to be cautious. You never know when you might make someone angry or a "friend" wants to play a prank on you or you get tapped to be the Republican vice-presidential nominee. It happened to a "hockey mom" from Alaska; it can happen to you!
Thursday, September 18, 2008
My brain reverts to the juvenile when bored
I was just in a meeting that had very little impact on me, so it made it all the more distractingly amusing when this conversation occurred:
Seriously, it went on like this. Don't these people know what they are saying? Maybe they're just too sophisticated. The thing is, we all seem to be about the same age. It's not like I was the kid...I just think like one sometimes.
Female Manager: "What do you think about Dick?"
Female Lawyer: "I'm thinking no Dick."
FM: "But this looks like it's 90% Dick."
FL: "Yeah. This is a lot of Dick."
Male Accountant: "I thought we wanted Dick except for administrative."
FL: "I think we should do it again and pull the Dick out."
Seriously, it went on like this. Don't these people know what they are saying? Maybe they're just too sophisticated. The thing is, we all seem to be about the same age. It's not like I was the kid...I just think like one sometimes.
Flattering and Disappointing at the Same Time
"Claire's Departure" took first runner-up for best play at the Silver Spring One-Act Festival. It's nice to know the play was appreciated by the audience, but it's frustrating to have been not quite good enough.
Winning would have been a particularly nice ego boost as I wait to hear from a festival where this same play is a finalist. They were supposed to be tallying the votes on Monday, but I haven't heard anything. A bad sign or just a sign they haven't had the time to tally the votes and/or notify people? Who knows.
But I hate to wait.
Oh, as for that other overdue festival that I complained about in a previous post. They ended up making their announcement on the last day of August. And I was selected. I guess good things come to those who wait...no matter how impatiently!
Winning would have been a particularly nice ego boost as I wait to hear from a festival where this same play is a finalist. They were supposed to be tallying the votes on Monday, but I haven't heard anything. A bad sign or just a sign they haven't had the time to tally the votes and/or notify people? Who knows.
But I hate to wait.
Oh, as for that other overdue festival that I complained about in a previous post. They ended up making their announcement on the last day of August. And I was selected. I guess good things come to those who wait...no matter how impatiently!
Tuesday, September 9, 2008
The TV Report
I was raised on TV, and I haven't yet broken the habit. I comfortably sit in my living room letting my life get sucked away by talking box. And I like it.
It's a new season. Time for the return of old friends and exploration of new ones.
What I'm watching right now
Mad Men - aka the best show on TV
The Shield - The final season is going to be out of control
Project Runway - This season is pretty awful, but it's a habit.
America's Next Top Model - A REALLY bad habit. I am ashamed.
The Soup - The trasy clips I want without the shame of watching the shows. (Except ANTM. I can't help myself.)
Dexter (on DVD) - Cable costs too much to add another premium channel, but I love this show. I'm currently Netflixing my way through Season Two.
What I've been giving a try
True Blood - The first episode didn't wow me, but neither did the first episode of Big Love. The show did intrigue me, so I'll give it a few more weeks to make an impact.
Sons of Anarchy - Not as well written as, say, The Shield, but pulpy with some potential for dramatic plot lines. Plus, it's giving work to Katey Sagal and Mitch Pileggi who I haven't seen for a while. And it's nice when Ron Perlman gets to act without a bunch of crazy make-up on.
What I'm Waiting For
Heroes - Just a great show
CSI - Another guilty pleasure
Criminal Minds - More or less of a guilty pleasure than CSI? Depends on the episode.
Amazing Race - How sucked in I get depends on the teams
House - It started to lose me last season, but I'm willing to go back for more
Law & Order: SVU - Do you get that I'm a sucker for crime dramas?
Big Love - Is this even coming back?
Battlestar Gallactica - A long, long wait.
Wow, it's a wonder that I find time to do anything else at all.
It's a new season. Time for the return of old friends and exploration of new ones.
What I'm watching right now
Mad Men - aka the best show on TV
The Shield - The final season is going to be out of control
Project Runway - This season is pretty awful, but it's a habit.
America's Next Top Model - A REALLY bad habit. I am ashamed.
The Soup - The trasy clips I want without the shame of watching the shows. (Except ANTM. I can't help myself.)
Dexter (on DVD) - Cable costs too much to add another premium channel, but I love this show. I'm currently Netflixing my way through Season Two.
What I've been giving a try
True Blood - The first episode didn't wow me, but neither did the first episode of Big Love. The show did intrigue me, so I'll give it a few more weeks to make an impact.
Sons of Anarchy - Not as well written as, say, The Shield, but pulpy with some potential for dramatic plot lines. Plus, it's giving work to Katey Sagal and Mitch Pileggi who I haven't seen for a while. And it's nice when Ron Perlman gets to act without a bunch of crazy make-up on.
What I'm Waiting For
Heroes - Just a great show
CSI - Another guilty pleasure
Criminal Minds - More or less of a guilty pleasure than CSI? Depends on the episode.
Amazing Race - How sucked in I get depends on the teams
House - It started to lose me last season, but I'm willing to go back for more
Law & Order: SVU - Do you get that I'm a sucker for crime dramas?
Big Love - Is this even coming back?
Battlestar Gallactica - A long, long wait.
Wow, it's a wonder that I find time to do anything else at all.
Saturday, September 6, 2008
Stereotypical Girls
The lesbian couple downstairs loves to blast Melissa Etheridge music on Saturday nights.
Thursday, September 4, 2008
My Word Coach forgives me?
As follow up from yesterday's post, I should report that despite a lackluster series of exercises today I am back up to a 99% Expression Potential. What does that tell me about yesterday's lapse? Nothing. What does this mean for my quest for 100%? Who knows.
Could My Word Coach be taunting me? Is this like converting to Judaism or joining Project Mayhem, and I have to stand up to the rejection before I am taken seriously? Oh, My Word Coach, you are a cold bastard, but you have not broken me yet!
Could My Word Coach be taunting me? Is this like converting to Judaism or joining Project Mayhem, and I have to stand up to the rejection before I am taken seriously? Oh, My Word Coach, you are a cold bastard, but you have not broken me yet!
Wednesday, September 3, 2008
My Word Coach hates me
I’m a word nerd. I like words and I like word games.
In January or February I used a Best Buy certificate from Christmas to buy “My Word Coach” for the Nintendo DS. Since then, I’ve done the various word games on most of my commuting days as well as some others.
My word coach has different drills for spelling and vocabulary. These are meant to build your “Expression Potential,” which is stated in terms of a percentage. I forget where I started those many months back, but I had recently worked myself up to an expression potential of 99%.
It took a while to get to 99%. Each higher expression potential seemed to take longer to achieve. The move from 98 to 99 took months. But I’m a person who likes to finish things. I had to see if I could get to 100%.
Because it took so long to get from a 98 to a 99% expression potential, I knew it would likely take a while to get to 100%. A friend questioned whether it was even possible to get to 100%. “There will always be a time that you can’t think of the right word.” That made sense to me, but the game gave no indication that I was done. It told me that I was nearing a new Expression Potential. So, on the train, on the bus, I kept playing.
During the last week, the coach within my word coach has become increasingly negative. The artificial intelligence behind the games comments has never been as good as “Brain Age.” I would sometimes be lauded for a horrible round or derided for a pretty good one. But over the last few sessions it seemed that I got negative feedback for everything. My coach questioned whether this was important to me, whether I was taking his advice, whether we had a communication problem. Over and over he expressed his disappointment. Still, I assumed that this was just a coincidence. I played on.
But today something else happened. Something bad. After completing my daily word quota and being chided for each exercise, I was given my current expression potential. I’m so used to seeing 99% that I barely noticed that it said…98%! I had lost a point!
The game made no comment on my demotion. Granted today was not my best day in terms of performance, but I’ve certainly had worse. But never before has my potential gone down! Has my performance degraded so much that I no longer deserve a 99% expression potential? Or, did the game designers not anticipate someone trying to play to the “end” and I hit some sort of glitch?
As frustrated as I am to have lost progress, I sort of want to see what it will do next. So, yes, I will keep playing. At least for a while.
In January or February I used a Best Buy certificate from Christmas to buy “My Word Coach” for the Nintendo DS. Since then, I’ve done the various word games on most of my commuting days as well as some others.
My word coach has different drills for spelling and vocabulary. These are meant to build your “Expression Potential,” which is stated in terms of a percentage. I forget where I started those many months back, but I had recently worked myself up to an expression potential of 99%.
It took a while to get to 99%. Each higher expression potential seemed to take longer to achieve. The move from 98 to 99 took months. But I’m a person who likes to finish things. I had to see if I could get to 100%.
Because it took so long to get from a 98 to a 99% expression potential, I knew it would likely take a while to get to 100%. A friend questioned whether it was even possible to get to 100%. “There will always be a time that you can’t think of the right word.” That made sense to me, but the game gave no indication that I was done. It told me that I was nearing a new Expression Potential. So, on the train, on the bus, I kept playing.
During the last week, the coach within my word coach has become increasingly negative. The artificial intelligence behind the games comments has never been as good as “Brain Age.” I would sometimes be lauded for a horrible round or derided for a pretty good one. But over the last few sessions it seemed that I got negative feedback for everything. My coach questioned whether this was important to me, whether I was taking his advice, whether we had a communication problem. Over and over he expressed his disappointment. Still, I assumed that this was just a coincidence. I played on.
But today something else happened. Something bad. After completing my daily word quota and being chided for each exercise, I was given my current expression potential. I’m so used to seeing 99% that I barely noticed that it said…98%! I had lost a point!
The game made no comment on my demotion. Granted today was not my best day in terms of performance, but I’ve certainly had worse. But never before has my potential gone down! Has my performance degraded so much that I no longer deserve a 99% expression potential? Or, did the game designers not anticipate someone trying to play to the “end” and I hit some sort of glitch?
As frustrated as I am to have lost progress, I sort of want to see what it will do next. So, yes, I will keep playing. At least for a while.
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