Beyond Room 208

Why Soccer? Depending on where you live, you may call it...

Sun, 26 Aug 2012 14:51:00 -0400

Why Soccer?

Depending on where you live, you may call it something different: Football, Soccer, that game they play in Europe. I prefer the beautiful game. As an American soccer fan, I find myself often trying to defend why I like this “slow and low scoring sport full of a bunch of divers.” Well, besides those things not being true, Sky Sports recently released a trailer for the English Premiere League 2012/2013 season that i think captures the spirit of the game very well (see above).

For those of you who are not familiar, unlike our big 3 American “sports”, when you finish last in the EPL you get relegated to the league below you. It would be like being sent from the MBL to a AAA team. BUT, you also get promoted to the EPL if you are the top 3.

This video has the fans for those 3 teams who are now in one of the top soccer leagues in the world, and the fans of the team that won last year.

What always stands out to me, is the reactions these fans have, is similar to the reactions they have all year round, not just crucial tournament games. I don’t think we see this in many of our American sports. Baseball and Basketball have hits, running to bases, and baskets as such a regular part of the game, that getting one may result in some cheers, but nothing special.

Football gives us the closest reaction, but I still don’t think you get the same intensity of the fans unless the game involves rivals or a tournament. Football is also relatively low scoring, we just inflate the points to make it work better with he big numbers we like.

But with soccer, there is a passion that you can see and hear from the fans at all times. You even get similar cheers when a team gets close to scoring or a great defensive play is made. The buildup to a shot that does not result in a goal can be as exciting as getting that goal.

This spirit is contagious (just ask my dog who has to put up with me yelling at the TV for hours on weekends) and it keeps me coming back for more.

Can I help you? - Excuses

Wed, 15 Aug 2012 19:25:00 -0400

I encounter a lot of people at who who call themselves computer illiterate or computer stupid (which I wish they did not). And I get it, technology changes really fast, and most people still believe that anything they buy will be old w/in 1 year. But there are some things that not knowing a lot about computers in NOT an excuse for.

Here is an example of one such situation.

Someone comes in who is having computer problems. After a few questions, the answer is found. The person has forgotten their password. The excuse “I’m computer illiterate.”

I don’t really think that works.

Sports: My Qualifications

Sun, 12 Aug 2012 19:47:14 -0400

So, with the Olympics wrapping up, I’ve had the opportunity to talk with many people about the various “sports” that are featured. Now let me just say, I’m not trying to belittle the accomplishment of any athlete that reached the peak of their field, I just have some different qualifications of distinguishing sports from athletic activities.

So with that out of the way, I will now present you with a set of rules that I use to distinguish sports from athletic activities. As a side note, this is also a really fun game to play at a bar, if you want to rile people up, but you have to be ready to sell it with a straight face.

Rule 1. If you are wearing pants, you’re not playing a sport.

This was the rule that started it all. I was sitting in a sports bar one night, playing bar trivia, and was glancing at the baseball games on the TVs. I thought to myself “Self,wow those guys must be miserable in those pants. How can you enjoy any sport in pants…”

Rule 1a. If you’re wearing Spandex, you ARE playing a sport. Why, because everyone I’ve ever seen wearing Spandex (even if you are not someone who should be wearing Spandex), is having a blast.

As I started to think about Rule 1, as as people began to throw suggestions at me of what they thought was a sport that my rule would not fit, I realized that Spandex deserved a special exemption. I mean look at speed skating or bobsled.

Rule 1b. Just because an activity can be played without pants, it does not qualify as a sport. The standard uniform is what it judged.

Sorry baseball, congrats Softball.

Rule 2. If the winner of the activity is solely determined by a panel of judges, you’re not playing a sport.

This is what really gets me when it comes to things like diving or gymnastics. It’s other people’s opinion of how well you did that determines if you win. I just can’t get behind that as a sport.

Now there are some sports that are worth noting, because they can be confusing. Football and Hockey are sports. What they wear on their legs are pads. At WORST, they are capris, and capris are not pants. Boxing is also a sport. Boxing can come down to fighters winning based on points, but there points are earned by the punches they land and people tally those. There can make mistakes, but that is the human element in sports. You can also knock people out.

I feel at this point that I need to state again. I am not trying to take away the acknowledgement that the athletic activities that people choose to devote large portions of their lives to are trivial or not hard or that they take no athletic ability. They do! And divers, golfers, baseball players etc… are definately athletic.

I jsut don’t don’t think they play sports.

Highlander: The Series, my problems.

Sun, 10 Apr 2011 17:43:00 -0400

So several months ago I got Netflix and I LOVE it! It’s one of services I used to break my connection from cable (except for the internet) and lower my bills.

Recently, Highlander: The Series popped up in my recommended queue so I thought to myself “Self, you remember that show. It’s got sword fighting and that can’t be bad.” So I loaded it up. And to be fiair, I’m enjoying it. Yes there are times when it is super corney, but overall I like the distraction it provides me and the sword fights are pretty cool.

But, I do have some problems

Number 1: The Immortals are fighting to be the last one left. But immortals are infertile, so you can’t really plan on your kid being one. You also don’t know you are an immortal until you die for the first time. So say someone wins The Game…does that mean no more immortals will be born? What if some random dude just had not died yet? Does the Game start again? Because it’s clearly started and new ppl keep popping up.

Number 2: Immortals are able to sense each other when they get close. Which is pretty essential unless you plan are just running around and loping heads off random ppl. But in one episode, the Highlander is able to sneak up on two immortals who are trying to steel a book from a museum…

Number 3: Swords! They are awesome, but where do they keep them? I know a trench coat is a great television plot whole filler, but there are times where an immortal pulls a David Blane and just pull one from behind their backs. As my RPG playing friends will attest, I’m well willing to accept the concept of nature’s satchel (or the Marry Poppins Bag) but for a sword? Ouch.

And finally

Number 4 (well actually number 1 but it makes more sense to be last): The immortals are not IMMORTAL! Clearly they can be killed. In fact that’s kinda what the entire series is based around. A better description is that they are particularly resistant to death.

While I do believe this is a better description, it has been pointed out to me that this would cause problems such as with the theme song…

/Queen ~I am “particularly resistant to death,” I have inside me blood of kings~

…Does not quite have the same ring to it.

For those of you who do not know what Highlander is

I give you 30 seconds of Bunnies

Can I help you? - How to send a Letter

Thu, 24 Mar 2011 14:48:00 -0400

So it’s took about 4 years, but a lot of people now know that they can buy stamps from where I work. But now, we’re are faced with a new quandary. A surprising number of customers do not seem to know how to send a letter.

I can understand that people do not know how much stamps cost, it seems to change randomly and seems way more than you would expect for the size. But to not know how to send a letter? I don’t even remember when I learned how to do that? Elementary School?

Anyway, the customer came in holding an envelope and asked it I sold any “envelope thingies.” I knew he was talking about a stamp because he pointed to the upper corner of the envelope, top left but I still got it.

So I said “A stamp? Yes we sell them.” /process transaction Here you go.

Then the student took the stamp and asked where he needed to put it and again pointed to the top left corner. So I said, your return address goes here and the stamp goes on the other side.

/sigh

I guess I have to blame the internet for this problem. E-mail, Facebook, Chatting it’s all about instant gratification. I guess it can take a while for a person to get an e-mail, but we know they have it.

I already knew letter writing was a lost art, just from hearing how people wrote during the civil war, but even the act of sending a letter? I guess that’s why most bills are self addressed and have the little outline for a stamp.

Can I help you? - Products, Versions, and Titles

Wed, 11 Aug 2010 10:15:40 -0400

Dear World. Please take note of this short infomercial as it will help you understand what to say to someone when you are ordering software.

Part one - Software Product

The product name refers to the company that produces the software title you are interested. So when you say you would like to order Adobe or Microsoft, that does not help. Those are the companies that produce the products. Example Photoshop is an Adobe Product.

Part two - Software Versions

Versions tend to be numbers. Their main function is to let people know what the newest product is. This information can be helpful when you are ordering software, but mostly when you are looking for previous version of a software title.

This can be confusing when dealing with Adobe products who changed their numbering system by adding an abbreviation of the software title to the version. Example: CS5 (Creative Suite 5)

Part three - Software Title

This is the most important information to know when you are ordering software. This is the name of the product you want. Design Premium, Office, Windows, Snow Leopard.

As with the software version, Adobe also complicated this process when they released their Creative suite line of products. Example Creative Suite CS2 = Creative Suite Creative Suite 2. This was fixed recently by dropping one of the Creative Suites.

SO! To sum it all up:

Adobe (Product Name) Creative Suite 5 (Version Number) Web Premium (Software Title)

Adobe (Product Name) Web Premium (Software Title) CS5 (Version Number)

Microsoft (Product Name) Office Professional (Software Title) 2010 (Version Number)

cheers

Swing Dance in Wyoming...Ohio

Sat, 07 Aug 2010 11:08:30 -0400

Not a long post today because I don’t have a lot of content. That’s what happens when you decide to bring a real camera so you don’t have to worry about the slow speed of your iPhone with OS 4 and then realize that you do not have a USB cable….but TY photobucket app!

But any who…

Yesterday we went dancing in Wyoming, Ohio. It’s, what I think, was once a sleepy little town that has now been gobbled up by the city.

It was hot, but it was a great time. The live band was awesome and Lisa has gone down in history as the first DJ of Cincy LX.

After the dance, we went back to Step-N-Out for the late night dance. It was at this second dance that food was served. Food was donated by a place called Big Apple Bagle. I believe they donated the extras that they would have thrown out. And by extras I mean…well this

Yeah, that’s two bags full of bagels. All different flavors and types. Pretty much the most amazing thing ever. Oh and there was also fruit, but how can you really pass something like this up?

This was posted by Amanda on Facebook today and I just had to...

Thu, 05 Aug 2010 17:41:39 -0400

This was posted by Amanda on Facebook today and I just had to share it.

Can I Help You? - Eating Crow

Mon, 02 Aug 2010 20:58:42 -0400

Eating Crow: an English-language idiom meaning humiliation by admitting wrongness or having been proved wrong after taking a strong position.

If you’ve been following my blog, then you basically have no idea what is going on in my life because I am horrible at posting. But that also means that I know you have not heard this story before.

A while back, I had the second worst customer come into the store. Here’s the Reader’s Digest Version: He purchased a computer from us. It did not work and he asked for a refund. We told him to contact the company to check on the warranty and have them confirm it was DOA. After that confirmation, we would take it back and get him a new computer.

He did not feel this was good enough customer service because, in his mind, if he purchased it from our store we should take care of it or just give him his money back.

He called the company and ordered a new computer. He then tried to send an e-mail to everyone at the university telling them that we have awful customer service and encouraging them to not shop with us (we took the computer back after this just to make it go away).

Needless to say, he was one customer that we did not feel too bad about loosing. Especially when you have several people tell you that they would have directly responded to him, had thy e-mail worked, saying he was nuts.

So imagine my surprise today when he came BACK into the ~~futu~~…Store today! I guess some deals are just too good to pass up. And saving over $400 on software must be one of those deals.

He did find time to ask about high end laptops while he was in the store though. Maybe it was because I told him I did not know who he was (and he wanted to remind me) when our conversation started out with him being ~~a jer~~ snippy.

Me: Can I help you

Customer: I’m here for Microsoft Office

Me: Do you have one reserved?

Customer: /snippy Do I have to have one reserved?

Me: No, I just don’t know who you are.

Customer: I spoke to the other guy yesterday.

Me: OK

So second worst customer, we were glad we could help you today and hope you enjoy your big helping of crow.

And now for your enjoyment…. Random pictures I found while making this post

This picture is a lie

He he, punch-out

Size matters not

Candwich - The Sandwich in a Can! - Mark One Foods

Mon, 19 Jul 2010 09:38:36 -0400

Candwich - The Sandwich in a Can! - Mark One Foods:

Candwich waht?

WOW I kind of want to try this.

Almost a Jesus Phone

Tue, 15 Jun 2010 22:32:38 -0400

As some of you may know, I have an iPhone. My girlfriend lovingly refers to my phone as my Jesus Phone.

She, on the other hand, has a 3 year old phone that is about as basic as it gets. But today, she texted me to let me know the speaker no longer worked. She could still use the speaker phone feature, but could no longer hear through the ear piece.

So, like any good boyfriend, I took this opportunity to poke a little fun at her. Here is a bit of that conversation:

Reid: So, you ganna get a Jesus phone ;)

Amanda: Maybe a generic Jesus phone. A Jesus phone lite. lol

Reid: Mohamed Phone?

Amanda: I’m pretty sure that having the physical manifestation of a Mohamed phone might get a fatwah put on me. Maybe more like a Buddha phone. Or better yet… a Moses phone! I am going the the beach pretty soon. lol

Reid: Humm…I would think the Moses phone would have a lot of roaming problems.

Amanda: ha ha ! Nice! :)

Now, perhaps you did not think that was too amusing, but from my end, it’s was pretty much the funniest thing I said all day.

At least my phone did not burn down though…

LOL Adobe Photoshop :)

Mon, 14 Jun 2010 09:17:54 -0400

LOL

Adobe Photoshop :)

One of the best things ever.

Sun, 18 Apr 2010 00:50:53 -0400

This Is what happens when you are up late and watching a pug sleep and happen to have access to YouTube via an iPad.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=80D0ylOqPJ8

Enjoy!

In keeping with the iPad theme, well ok maybe not a theme but a...

Wed, 07 Apr 2010 09:44:51 -0400

In keeping with the iPad theme, well ok maybe not a theme but a related post, here is another iPad video from the Will It Blend guy!

iPad Review

Tue, 06 Apr 2010 13:09:00 -0400

So I got my hands on an iPad. Don’t worry, it’s not mine but for work.

I’ve had a couple of people ask me what I thought about it. So I decided this was as good a place as any to talk about it.

I’ve only been playing with it for a little over a day now so most of these are going to be my first impressions.

First Impression:

When I first took the iPad out of the box,my first thought was that it weighed more than it looked like. It only weighs 1.6 pounds, but it just looks like it should be lighter. Besides that, the screen looks like a large iTouch and the back is the brushed aluminum. So overall a very nice look to the device.

After Use:

The iPad is not ready to use put of the box. As with the iPhone, you have to sync and register it with iTunes. A little annoying but needed if you plan to download anything.

I then started downloading apps so people could play and get a good idea of the functions of the iPad. This is where you see the big difference. The iPad specific apps are more robust in what they offer when compared to the iTouch counterparts. The larger screen has allowed for more creative design and better visuals.

But after a while. I found my arm to be getting a little tired. I believe this is due to how I wad holding the iPad. Its size means that you can not cradle it in one hand. It’s much easier to rest it on your leg or have a case that sets it at an angle. Which brings me to my next topic.

Typing:

Typing on the iPad is slightly different from the iTouch. First, the keypad is larger so the buttons are easier to hit. Second, there has been small redesign in the layout to the keys which threw me the first time I was trying to find the @ symbol. Third, it’s strange to type. What do I mean? Well with a regular keyboard, you’ve got your little home row methods, for phones you have the two handed thumb style…but the iPad is too small for home row, and too large for dual thumbs. So most of the time I find myself developing a strange one handed tying style. It’s not bad just different and s little awkward at first.

Other thoughts:

Battery life is good. The iBook reader is neat but not much different from others ( the built in dictionary is nice). You can still use iPhone apps which are displayed in the phone size with the option for a x2 zoom to fill the screen (some pixillation will happen). The sound is good.

Overall:

The iPad is neat but I fail to see how it breaks out of the same category as the MacBook Air (questionable usefulness). It’s great for apps and developers but the for the average user is limited.

It does not seem like something that is great for music or podcast so I don’t really see the need to get something larger than the 16GB.

But when it comes to an e-reader, the color screen does add more to the experience than the Kindle.

All it really comes down to is, do you think the amount of money you will save by reading the paper online or buying e-books and such will offset the initial $500 price tag for the device?

Oh and I made this post using the iPad.

-and edited w/ pics on my pc

BMX Rant

Thu, 18 Mar 2010 17:21:00 -0400

So it’s been a while since I posted , my bad. I don’t really have a good excuse. I’m trying not to be on as much at work, even during the slow times, and I started playing WoW again with some friends. But maybe this will get me back into it.

Rant

Do you ever notice those kids on BMX bikes? Riding around neighborhoods, jumping off curbs, making little ramps, cute right? Well I think that stops when you’re able to drive.

Don’t get me wrong, I know there are some people who are pretty darn good at this sort of thing, and are even able to make some money out of it (or at least some dumb commercials). But the majority of kids riding around a college campus are not these people.

Do you think it’s cool that you’re riding around campus on your little sortie half bike? Feet dragging on the ground, having to stand up to go up a hill, and still doing the same tricks that you were when you were 10. All that’s missing now is that Tops Baseball card or colored beads in your spokes.

But don’t let me be too harsh. I mean, yes you are at least going around on a bike and being healthy and generally environmentally responsible. But when I see you, I just think you were too cheap to buy a real bike.

So if you can’t do some kind of cool trick or make money, do us all a favor, go to Wal-Mart and buy a real bike. You’ll save on the cost of pants and shoes alone.

/Rant

Best Videos of 2009

Tue, 19 Jan 2010 09:47:29 -0500

Best Videos of 2009:

Time has a list of the top 10 viral videos from 2009. I was surprised that I had actually not seen many of them.

Some are fantastic (Like #8 The Longest Way or #7 United Breaks Guitars), and some are…eah not so much (Like #10 Flutter)

But overall, it’s a great collection, but, I got a feeling that one video was left out.

How to build a Star Wars AT-AT bed!

Thu, 17 Dec 2009 16:01:00 -0500

How to build a Star Wars AT-AT bed!:

I do not even remember how I stumbled across this site (no pun intended). Simply put, this video is great, this bed is great, and this father is great.

While watching this, I was reminded of the struggle that Adam and I went through when we were trying to get lofting approved when we were in college. Looking back on it…it was totally worth it! That loft really tied the room together.

Unfortunately none of those pictures exist on the internet, so I will have to try to paint the picture for you.

The size of our room was bout 17’3” x 11’4”, with hardwood floors and movable furniture. Which is AWESOME when it comes to college rooms. But we had more grand ideas.

Adam had some family connections and was able to hook us up with a white shag carpet to cover the entire floor. Then, we decided to nix the large ceiling florescent light in favor of a couple of lamps (an all together easy decision due the the fickle nature of our ceiling light actually working). Finally, all that was left was the furniture.

Adam decided to put his dresser in his closet, but mine was not as deep so I could not do that. That was when we had the lofting idea. Unfortunately, our housing department was not too pleased with this idea and tried to put a stop to it. But being the troublemakers that we were, we decided that was not going to work.

We went to action gathering data from other schools, including our benchmark schools, designs, and policies that all related to the lofting of beds. We even implemented two of the designs in our room so they would have something to look at (we were also aided in this example demonstration by our hallmates from across the hall).

When it was all over, we won! And there was 1 approved lofting design and our dorm was going to be the test.

Now we could continue to make out room awesome! I moved my dresser under my bed and still had enough room to do the same with my desk. Adam put his desk between our two beds, and we were actually able to fit our sleeper sofa under his bed. The beds were further enhanced by adding Christmas light tubes under the top bunks.

When all was said and done, our room was amazing! Until other people in the dorm did not reassemble their beds at the end of the year and lofting was once again forbidden….Jerks

Wish I had an AT-AT bed…

Now, I am sure that all of you have your favorite Christmas...

Mon, 14 Dec 2009 09:35:11 -0500

Now, I am sure that all of you have your favorite Christmas tradition. Be it eating turkey, giving gifts, opening gifts, traveling to see family, or whatever. But I think it is safe to say that most Christmases celebrations will at least include some music.

I know that at least one radio station in every market MUST start playing 24 hours of Christmas music entirely too early. Personally, I was not ready for this until after Thanksgiving. Which presented a problem since the talk show I like to listen to in the morning is on the station that plays Christmas music.

But I’m ready for it now and it’s been quite pleasant. This morning, for example, I tune into my talk show (online) and the first thing I hear is a Christmas song that I first found out about a year or two ago. That song, if you have not already watched the video, is Dominick the Christmas Donkey.

Actually, it’s a horse head, but they are from NY so I’m not going to hold it against them.

I love this song because it is catchy and unique. It always makes me smile. So I thought, humm, I wonder what other people do for Christmas? So here you go - Christmas Around the World.

Great Barack Video

Fri, 11 Dec 2009 14:38:35 -0500

Great Barack Video:

My student worker sent this to me today while at work, and I think it’s something worth passing on.