Your Mileage May Vary

Perhaps it's the heat; or the scotch...

Background Noise: Simone Dinnerstein's Bach Variations

Last Visited: mobile me and the Apps Store 

Random Thought: Sometimes i don't read good 

Mood: here's to a slow morning 

“I wrote my friend a letter using a highlighting pen. But he could not read it, he thought I was trying to show him certain parts of a piece of paper.”  ~Mitch Hedberg

There is something languorously delicious in the concept of writing a letter*; for me it conjures images of summer vacation on or near the water with the shade, the breeze, and time, epic, grand, sweeping amounts of disconnected time where, with the lulling, lapping sounds of the waves and aided by a warm cup of coffee or a cold glass of wine you have the luxury of abandoning the frantic and frenetic sound-bite communications of the day for the sweeping prose of a letter; unhurried in meter and meandering in measure, you finally are allowed to grasp at the beauty of language and form in order to share a moment with another. 

Oh yes, from here in my over cooled office amidst the million emails and dozen ichat windows, my facebook inbox and wall, and the various feeds of constantly flowing information, taking the time to stop and read and write to someone outside of this fast-paced, overly focused world is quite delicious. Being allowed to, or asked to, take a moment and step off the track and write to someone who won't have heard your stories before, or have read that piece of news already, it's... yes, almost like a mini summer vacation. Almost like i'm on my boat on the water with the waves with time to breathe and choose my words. 

And i can almost forget how jealous i am of those who have more of their summer to enjoy on the water, with the waves and the breeze, the heat and the rain. 

Now, granted, I have a feeling a good deal of my current fondness for the concept of a letter comes from my trip home, the friends i met there, and how much i wish i was still on vacation (i need another week, at least.) And maybe as i sink back into life here at work i'll move away from enjoying the slower pace of decided back and forth correspondence. 

But for right now? Bring on the prose; hey, who knew writing not code could be this fun? 

 

*please note by 'letter' i'm referring to form and not pens, paper, and actual mail; we all know how much of a disaster writing letters would be for me if i actually had to mail something or, heaven forbid, check my real life mailbox for a reply.  

Expression:  

A Flutter of Activity

Background Noise: Amazing Glow

Last Visited: MI, Home

Random Thought: My various machines and devices really really really didn't want to come back from vacation; so i'm rebuilding pretty much all of them. 

Mood: good morning, starshine

Wow it's been a while since i've posted; and oh my has a lot happened! Instead of trying to cram it all into one post which i know i will fail at, and as i'm not feeling particularly witty this morning at all, i'll keep the posts short, sweet, and hopefully to the point. 

Feel free to cross your fingers, i might need the help. 

Steve and John got married! Twice! Once in a lovely and small ceremony in the Santa Clara County Courthouse Chapel/Cafeteria which Mike and I were honored to witness followed by a hilariously fun wedding dinner part 1 at the Los Gatos Brewing Company (which i'm fairly sad i don't have pictures of) with a motley crew of 10. And then the big party this weekend in Ann Arbor at the Michigan Theater (pictures to come as soon as i can twist some arms - this is what i get for not carrying my camera with me) which was touching, lovely, and really quite something. 

OT (can't help myself), a big congratulations to Chris and Liza on their beautiful baby girl Lola Mac, born on the fourth of july. May she have many years of fireworks ahead of her. Seriously guys, she's adorable.

Expression:  

Where did we fail? Oh, way back there. Right.

Background Noise: I Want to Hold Your Hand, Across the Universe
Last Visited: A*: Reweighing a graph for faster shortest paths
Random Thought: to deprecate or not to deprecate...
Mood: crawling out of a hole

So the Chicks with Worm and Paradox Dragon are cracking me up; the Paradox Dragon especially - talk about the Labyrinth Left Knocker / Right Knocker riddle on steroids; so awesome. Speaking of steroids, did you read about those people who bought a house from a former WWE(F?) wrestler and found a major stash of 'roids in the wall? No?

(... a bit too random for wednesday morning, perhaps?).

Well, to be a bit more work topical, and since i don't have a fun link farm like some people i know, i'm going to cache off a few gems (ok, mostly from from reddit.com/r/programming) here:

• The story of Alice and Her Boss; aka, MD5 weakness, demonstrated


• The Eternally Confuzzled Red Black Tree Tutorial


• CocoaTron: bringing the joys of NSOpenGLView to a non-OSX based operating system near you


• My Wishlist: because i need new perfume on this side of soon

To conclude this morning's randomness, i cannot seriously believe that the cheapest available ticket for South Pacific online is $281, with any seat worth a damn starting in the high $300s. Seriously, this just a new level of insanity for broadway ticket prices; the Golden Age of Broadway folks must be having a conniption fit somewhere in Indiana... geez louise.

Expression:

At Least I Make an Impression

Background Noise:'bucks banter
Last Visited: technically?
Random Thought: my life is generating too many chick-lit like situations recently
Mood: while i hadn't planned on a gentle weekend, having one has been nice

Once upon a time - i don't remember when, during college - i met a guy. We'll call him Brady. Brady has only ever been a general acquaintance; he's friends with people i'm friends with, works with people i generaly know, so has over the years flitted into the picture at a football game or a beer bash - enough to remind me that, yes, there is a guy named Brady who i went to college with and who now works at Apple.

I know a few more things about Brady: he graduated before me, though i couldn't pin down if it was one year or two, his mom at one point drove a white Lexus SVU that i caught a ride in once, he plays poker regularly and even has a website that tracks who played when and who won what, he's generally a neat freak and has a lot of glass and black furniture. He often wears a baseball cap. He needs glasses. He tried (in vain) to get tickets to the Rose Bowl this year after we lost to Ohio State in November.

I also know that for some reason Brady doesn't think fondly of me. The rare times i see him on campus i'll say hi; he'll return the greeting if he's around other people, if not, he'll generally half smile but not say anything. I'm never offended. Because, really? Most times i forget Brady even exists. He only enters my sphere of thought if and when he shows up at a place i also am, usually, again, because of mutual friends. As such, i tend to not care or spend any time wondering what Brady thinks of me - quite frankly, i always assumed he thought of me as i thought of him: only when necessary.

Imagine my surprise, then, to find out that the other night at poker, after Joe mentioned Sarah and I were hanging out that night, Brady proceeded to go off on me to the tune of "How could you let your wife hang out with that?!"

Well, it's nice to know i make an impression, but what in the world have i done to this kid to produce such a venomous rant? I mean, i didn't even rate a pronoun? That's harsh; especially harsh considering the people at poker that night i count as friend's and colleagues; that's right: he bashed me publically to people i work with.

I have to admit, I'm not annoyed - actually i find the whole situation pretty funny - the greatest reaction i have is curiousity - and let's face it, i tend to not let things go until my curiosity is satisfied. I mean, i doubt i've seen Brady more than 10 times in the last five years, perhaps a handfull more again during school. I must have done something terrible to produce such ire years later - personally i only reserve that kind of bile for ex's who have behaved particularly badly.

Mostly i'd like to know what i did because i have a feeling it would make a decent story - it would have to, right?

It's odd; i usually don't spend time thinking about what other people think of me, wonder, or worry about what reaction i produce from the general population. I didn't care in middle school, and i certainly don't dwell on it now. I personally feel that i go out of my way to be nice and polite and treat everyone as equitably as possible lest anyone percieve any slight that i don't intend. It has been an interesting exercise to try to picture what Brady must have seen of me - imagining myself from his perspective.

Expression:

Laugh More

Background Noise: The Bracebridge Dinner
Last Visited: oh, come on - i can't be all school-marmy and ride by myself
Random Thought: that's not even the ugliest baby in the bunch
Mood: alright, ok, i'll do it, i'll play Squire Bracebridge... just tell me it's not because i fit the costume. It's because i fit the costume, isn't it!

The best part about my detour into the world of crayons the last few weeks? I laughed; a lot. Sure there were longish hours, but the problems were new and different and there was this sense of fun and... well... inclusion that was really nice.

And now that i'm not playing with the crayons anymore? I have this... lingering sour taste in my mouth. Because i've realized that i don't laugh enough normally at work - and that's something i need to work on changing.

In other news, while the Tigers lost their season opener, the Giants... are... also managing to loose theirs. Oh well, it's not like their the Yankees.

Expression:

I would be, I should be

Background Noise: Reflecting Light
Last Visited: Jenny was right, Scrivener rocks
Random Thought: computer support is not like popcorn at the movies
Mood: you don't say...

I just realized the other night that along with february marking three years of me in the bay area, march marked three years of me blogging. Now, while you could find those first posts i'm not going to give you a link because, well, my writing then was fairly embarassing, but, it's a curious milestone. Well, was - i blew past the actual quasi-momentus date some time ago - and i'm certainly not going to opine too much now, though... i'm glad i started this little experiment. Regardless of the quality of information imparted in these posts, just the ability to communicate with a whole number of people (myself included) has been... lovely.

... and if the 9am meeting i was a few minutes late for this morning stands as a weekly one for the foreseeable future i am going to cry. 9 is just a rude start time for a meeting that is supposed to produce any thing of any relative quality. Though... actually... the brainstorming was rather fun once my coffee kicked in; that's not really the point though, i'm sure.

Oh, also? Was my hair darker so bad? Because since i've lightened it up a bit (for spring, obviously) like everyone and their eight cousins are remarking about it. Like two of the waitresses at dinner last night. And Debbie. Anyways, it's lovely that everyone likes it, i'm just wondering if it's so much better than before that i should never again consider going darker.

We'll see i suppose.

Expression:

Thanks, Heather!

Background Noise: You're just too good to be true
Last Visited: Louis's Me
Random Thought: looking and editing pictures of yourself is just flat out odd
Mood: you mean my day still isn't over?

So, Heather required pictures of her bridesmaids, and, well... there aren't that many of me over the age of two that i'd willingly give out to people. So! I asked my fabulous friend Louis who is a fabulous photographer to snap some pictures of me here at work and what do you know? They didn't turn out half bad. Lucky me!

In other news, i'm randomly going back to Michigan on the 8th of february on a recruiting trip. Which is lovely because it means a) i'm going home b) i'm not paying for it and c) i get to actually try out this interviewing stuff. Should be entertaining for all.

Expression:

Truth is Beauty

Background Noise: on the phone w/ mom
Last Visited: getting through my rss...
Random Thought: want to feel like a goddess? Stand on the balcony of a 9 story apartment building as a lighnight storm rolls in
Mood: my brother, the comedian

Expression:

It's Not Nirvana But it's On the Way

Background Noise: The Beauty Is
Last Visited: U of M News Releases
Random Thought: There is no story; there has never been a story, and there never will be a story. Seriously. No story.
Mood: fighting off annoyance

Well, i suppose it's time for a quick perusal of what's going on at U of M. Why? Um... because i got an email this morning and clicked around. Do i need a better reason?

Let's start with the Fire Up Downtown! program, because it involves kids and paint and the City being silly. From the horses mouth:

This is a street level cultural movement created to highlight the talents of Ann Arbor's student artists and ignite economic vibrancy downtown. Students painting fire hydrants throughout the downtown area bring art and community together!

Odd, maybe, but cute and moderately entertaining none the less.

Next: Physicists have finally proven that if all drivers were polite, they would get where they're going faster. Obvious? Yes. But it's nice to have quantifiable proof. Cool math, too.

And finally, are you a wolf or a sheep?Yes, while i agree that the wolf / sheep analogy isn't quite sound, the discovery that

Losers without this non-conscious drive did not show a hormonal stress response. In other words, being defeated is stressful only for those who want to be powerful, but not for those who are not even interested in power in the first place.

Interestingly, winning the contest had the opposite effect. As expected, power-motivated individuals responded to a victory with a drop in their stress hormone levels. But individuals low in power motivation had an increase in cortisol after they won, suggesting that they were stressed by coming out on top.

while, once again, obvious to the very observant, it's nice to have a study to back up the idea that some people just flat out don't enjoy competition. As a side note, i think it's hilarious that this particular study came out of the competitive capital of the midwest, U of M.

Ok: have i managed to distract away my annoyance? Not really. But lunch is coming up, so there's another opportunity. Hopefully i won't blow that one too.

Expression:

Scenes from Starbucks

Background Noise: Wicked
Last Visited: Cell Phones and "Private" Information
Random Thought: AT&T's "minor" change to their Privacy Policy -> !Privacy Policy
Mood: silly mail

I spent... more time than i expected this weekend in Starbucks entrenched in one of their fabulous armchairs reading a book or my Sunday Times, chatting on the phone, and generally escaping the heat and sun for a bit here and there between walks. Starbucks, aside from being a great place to read [excellent music this weekend: i must find those remixes of Son Of Man and Whatever Lola Wants], it undeniably presents an opportunity to people watch. Little people, bigger people, tired, grumpy, happy, flirty, working, moving, laughing, chatting, people.

I happened to sneeze while reading in my comfy chair Saturday afternoon and this adorable (and until then very out of control) two year old with strawberry gold curls and blue overalls sitting not four feet from me with her Mom and Mom's Friend stopped screaming, picked up her very well used napkin, held it out to me, smiled, and blinked.

I cannot properly express how adorable that little action was.

I smiled and mouthed "No, thank you" and she grinned back - showing a few tiny teeth - put down the napkin, and started to play quietly. Mom was happily stunned her little darling - whom she had been roundly ignoring while trying to talk to Friend (hence the screaming, i would imagine) - had finally calmed down. She and Friend shared a confused but grateful look over this little Angel's change in demeanor and continued to chat.

This morning i pulled into the 'bucks parking lot for my morning brew (recently: a black grande coffee with a few ice cubes) behind a shiny black Jeep Laredo (~2006). We parked two spots apart and i immediately noticed the driver when he emerged from his expensively tricked out chariot: he was absolutely gorgeous. The kind of gorgeous that makes every female in a 50 foot radius smile. Imagine the 26ish year old child of Vince Vaugh and Colin Firth - tall, broad, dark hair, light eyes, with mile long lashes and a swimmers torso, and great chiseled features.

Let's say i wasn't upset at standing in line today.

Sadly, though, our Adonis was also an ass - not once did he hold open the door for one of the women trying to manuver a tray full of drinks and a number of smaller rugrats. Not once did he move to allow someone access to the door. And when the (beaming) barista walking the line asked what he would like and asked for his name - he looked down his nose at her with the startled glance of outrage that this (adorable) girl in a green apron would dare ask for his name. When he finally gave it, he whispered.

Lapses in manners aside, the change in the baristas (and the other customers) was both amusing and noticable. The two girls working the registers went faster so that they might be able to talk to him. Though at this point there wasn't a dedicated girl working the pastry case, one appeared to ask "Sir" if he'd like anything to eat - anything at all. The girls in line behind me didn't seem to mind the wait this morning either - because when i turned around? Every single one was staring at his very beautiful ass (great jeans, too).

And i just know, seeing that man made the day of every (at least) female in the shop.

... And i'm just noticing it's 12:30 and i haven't left for lunch. Bad me. I'm off to Bagel Street to read then across to IL 1 to hunt down the print my Grandma sent me.

Expression: