Archive for March, 2005

Today’s CTA tattler item

Tuesday, March 29th, 2005

I always thought there were more nuts per square mile in New York. Then I read this blog entry. Now I’m not sure whether there are more pecans in New York or Chicago.

New phone and usability

Tuesday, March 29th, 2005

I read a semi-regular column called OK/Cancel, written by a couple of usability mavens named Tom Chi and Kevin Cheng. Each column is illustrated by a comic. They have some interesting and funny takes on usability of products generally as well as software.

Their current column is on Nokia phones and I found it interesting.

Being open to others

Friday, March 25th, 2005

Many computer geeks have been aware of the fact that interacting with computers is more valuable to them than interacting with other people. The Register, not normally known for moralising on subjects other than stupidity in the computer biz, has printed this story about a school principal who has banned iPods in her school. The piece continues on the difficulties that society faces when we’re all immersed in our own worlds, iPodded to distraction, not interacting with other people at all. Very thoughtful, and I fear, about half right. The other half is that the world is so unfortunate and awful nowadays that people take refuge in their own iPod world in order to ensure that they stay well clear of the “real world”, whatever that is.

On Good Friday, as those of us who do such things ponder on life, death, and our relationship with each of those facts, perhaps taking off the iPod for a future Lenten discipline might be a good way of reconnecting with other people and exploring life as a society, and not as individuals alone.

(PS: I myself don’t own one, but as a commuter [when I am working] there are other means of shutting out other people when you’re in with a bunch of them, and they can be just as bad as wearing an iPod. So for those of us who don’t have one, I propose thinking about those other means instead.)

Rude blues

Thursday, March 24th, 2005

On a Jean Shepherd list I look at someone has just posted the lyrics to Bessie Smith’s “Kitchen Man”. Those were the days when the seven dirty words could get a performer banned from stage, screen, and radio, so singers and comedians had to use innuendo to get their message across. Here they are:

Madame Bucks was quite deluxe, servants by the score
Footmen at each door, butlers and maids galore.
But one day Dan, her kitchen man
Gave her his notice he’s through.
She cried Oh Dan don’t go! You’ll grieve me if you do!

I love his cabbage, crave his hash, crazy about his succotash,
I can’t do without my kitchen man!
Wild about his turnip tops, like the way he warms my chops,
I CAN’T do without my kitchen man!

Anybody else could leave, and I would only laugh!
‘Cause he means so much to me, and you ain’t heard the half!

His frankfurter’s Oh so sweet, how I love his sausage meat,
I can’t do without my kitchen man!
Oh how that boy can open clams, no one else can touch my hams,
I CAN’T do without my kitchen man!

When I eat his donut, all I leave is the hole!
Any time he wants to, he can use my sugar bowl!

His baloney’s really worth a try, never fails to satisfy,
I can’t do without my kitchen man!
His jellyroll is so nice and hot, never fails to touch the spot,
I CAN’T do without my kitchen man!

Not an off-colour word in the lot, but nonetheless one of the sexiest songs ever sung.

Today’s Sanitary URL

Wednesday, March 23rd, 2005

Apparently there’s more uses for kangaroos than I ever dreamt possible.

Plea for help

Saturday, March 12th, 2005

Some time ago, I came across a way to add non-livejournal blogs to my friends page. This was wonderful! I did it for one person, and then, a bit later, wanting to add some more non-livejournal friends, found that I’d forgotten how to do it and couldn’t lay my hands (electronic ones, of course) on the method.

I’m sure that among my friends is one kind soul who knows how to do this…please, pretty please, could you share the method with me? I’m finding a lot of blogstop blogs that I want to add, but can’t do it.

Thank you, thank you, and thank you too!

Stories that often don’t get covered by mainstream media

Saturday, March 12th, 2005

These include stories that involve people of colour, very poor people, or other disadvantaged people. The news editors who choose which stories to run often (consciously or not) run stories that remind themselves of situations in their own (usually quite white a privileged) lives.

Here is a story about a young gay black man in Brooklyn whose dismembered body has been discovered in the subway and in an industrial area. Thanks to towleroad for drawing my attention to it. There are a few more links on towleroad that give more background on the case.

Our lesbian/gay/bi/trans sisters and brothers need as much protection as everyone else, and when we are assaulted or murdered, the stories need to be as prominent as those for the assaults or murders of people of privilege.

So what’s a clique?

Friday, March 11th, 2005

I am presuming that a clique is a group of people all of whom have friended each other. If so, then here is mine:

I am a member of 1 clique of size 8

, , , , , , ,

Find the largest clique containing:
(Enter your livejournal username here).

A whole new meaning to the word “frosted”

Thursday, March 10th, 2005

A teenager mad at a schoolmate for putting peanut butter in his cheese sandwich (wha?) sent him a few “semen-frosted” brownies, which his friend shared with two mates. I’ve heard of frosting a chocolate cake with Ex-Lax, but semen?

Of course! Teenagers do produce a lot of semen, don’t they…I was wondering how he could get enough to do a thorough job.

Oh, and how did the guys figure it out? Was the taste, um, familiar?

Homosexual necrophilia in ducks

Wednesday, March 9th, 2005

If that’s something you’d like to read about, here‘s the article.

I think that the last paragraph is the funniest.

Emailing the dying

Wednesday, March 2nd, 2005

So if you’re thinking of a new service to start up and make a quick buck off of, try email to hospital beds. It might have helped the gentleman this guy was talking to on the CTA in Chicago.