As I mentioned in my previous piece, I rarely write people back. Currently being a relationship, especially, I don’t think I’ve written back anyone in months. My profile says I’m “seeing someone”. Does this stop people from messaging? No.
We’ll start with the quiet ones. These people don’t have much to say.
We also have the talkers.
This guy amused me because he quotes himself at the beginning. It also amuses me because the exact same message to someone else was posted on Emails from Crazy People.
In the “Message me if…” section, I have added “if you don’t like Nickelback”. This gets me a lot of responses, especially from people who decide to message me anyway.
Then you have the completely random what-does-this-have-to-with-meeting-people messages.
This guy didn’t have a profile. No picture, no info, nothing. That’s going to inspire me to text and meet up with a random stranger.
Earlier, I happened upon this amusing-yet-totally-wrong blog post about pie and cake. I had to stop and re-read what it was trying to sell me. Pie? Better than cake? People really think this way? So, I have prepared a rebuttal.
Don’t get me wrong, I like pie. Some of it. Not that fruit-filled stuff. (C’mon, it’s dessert. It’s not supposed to be healthy!) Chocolate pie is good. Kentucky Derby pie is great. Boston Cream Pie is the best. Oh, wait. That’s not even really pie, is it? It’s cake. And it’s pretty sad when the best a dessert has to offer is really just something else in disguise.
Now, point by point…
#1. They say that while cake initially tastes better, pie’s enjoyment lasts longer. Um, what? What kinds of cakes have you been eating? Cake is enjoyable from the first bite to the last, and usually then I want more. They even admit that CAKE TASTES BETTER.
#2. They say that unequal frosting distribution is a minus for cakes. Um, at least cakes have frosting.
#3. They say that a greater amount of the pie is enjoyable. Apparently there are people who just like frosting and only the frosting. These people have never had a well-made cake. I think they just need to expand their cake tasting beyond Wal-mart’s bakery.
#4. They claim that because pie charts exist and cake charts do not, this makes pie better because it’s more scientifically viable. Well, cake is more mathematically viable, as there is a cake number and not a pie number. (And pi does not count; it’s not even spelled the same.)
#5. This was the most messed up point of all. They claim pie can be eaten in more situations and provide this little chart:
Um, what? First of all, why is pie equal with cake on birthdays? Who has ever heard of birthday pie? Please. Any child that ended up with a birthday pie would be the laughingstock of all their friends. I’ll give Halloween to pie, if they are referring to pumpkin pie, though I’ve never actually eaten pumpkin pie on any day other than Thanksgiving. And Christmas? Have we not heard of fruitcake? While it’s the black sheep of the cake world, it still counts. And they’ve left out one important event: weddings! Weddings have cake (usually)! Finally, birthdays and weddings both can happen year round. Halloween? It’s once a year. The graph should have looked more like this:
Even pie fans should see this goes right to cake.
#6. They claim that cake has longer-lasting negative consequences because it can cause diabetes when eating a lot over time. News flash: so can pie.
So now that I have debunked all of their claims, I would like to add one more thing that weighs this heavily in cake’s favor. The cast of Lost? They like cake.
My previous Weekday chart was pretty even (except for Friday). I was generally hovering around 65. In this one, you can see my week peaks on Saturdays (slightly below 80) and gets progressively worse (around 60). What can I say? I’ve had some fun Saturdays lately and the work week has sucked.
The Location chart. GMX (Geek Media Expo) was last weekend. Apparently I was having a blast. But I seem to be having a blast as long as I’m not at work or at home. My restaurant experience improved dramatically between the two survey periods, seeing as I scored around 50 for “At A Restaurant” last time and close to 80 this time.
The Want To/Have To chart didn’t really change, so I’m not including it this time. Also, I was never Outside when answering surveys, so that chart is rather boring.
My Alone? chart gave basically the same result, although I was overall happier during these two weeks.
I didn’t include this one last time, but the Number of People Interacting With chart shows that I’m happiest in smaller groups.
And, finally, the What are you doing? chart. Didn’t go canoeing this time, but I am super happy when watching movies and taking pictures. And just like last time, I still hate doing housework and paying bills.
Facebook introduces @mentions in status updates (via @mashable) http://mashable.com/2009/09/10/facebook-mentions/
This was news last week and it’s been implemented now. I still haven’t used it. I guess I don’t mention people in my statuses as much as I do in my tweets.
9 Ways Marketing Weasels Will Try to Manipulate You http://www.codinghorror.com/blog/archives/001301.html
I thought this was an interesting article. It’s all about how not to react irrationally to marketing schemes.
Geek Media Expo http://www.mtac.net/gmx/index.html
A new convention in Nashville! Pre-registration has been extended to Tuesday, so get tickets now!
Twestival Local: Nashville, Let’s Get Quacky http://nashvillest.com/2009/08/31/twestival-local-nashville-lets-get-quacky/
Twestival is partnering up with the Great Nashville Duck Race to raise money for the Boys & Girl’s Club of Middle Tennessee. There’s a big fundraiser at the Big Bang on Thursday. You all know I love the Big Bang. Please come so I don’t get hit on by the guy at the door this time.
A cordless future for electricity? http://www.cnn.com/2009/TECH/09/02/wireless.electricity/index.html
A neat article about wireless electricity. I’m longing for the days when I don’t have to go in search of my phone/DS/laptop charger that I’ve inevitably misplaced.
EASTER EGG: Yelp is the iPhone’s First Augmented Reality App (via @mashable) http://mashable.com/2009/08/27/yelp-augmented-reality/
Sadly, it only works on the iPhone 3GS, which I do not have. But if you are lucky enough to have the newest device, try this out!
A few weeks ago I signed up for an experiment, Track Your Happiness. The experiment is part of some research by a Harvard student seeking his PhD and is a set of surveys conducted via iPhone. I was sent surveys three times a day for about two weeks and a “happiness report” was created from my data. In a month, I’ll repeat this process.
So, what was in my happiness report? Well, I am generally pretty happy all of the time. Most of my averages were above the halfway point. But for a complete breakdown, here are some of my charts:
First up is my Weekday chart. You can see that I’m about the same, no matter the day of the week, except for Friday. Why is Friday so low? Since the surveys only lasted two weeks, my average got dragged down by one very bad day. I’m hoping that when I start taking surveys again in another month that those results will be averaged with these and Fridays won’t look so depressing.
Now for my Location chart. Ignore my misplacement of an apostrophe please. I’m not quite sure why ‘Downtown Nashville’ and ‘At a Restaurant’ are so low. I would at least expect to be happier in a restaurant than, say, in my car, but who knows.
This chart compares if I Want To or Have To do the things I was doing right before I started taking the survey. This one is quite predictable. I’m happier when doing things I want to be doing and not as happy while doing things I have to do.
This one is pretty self-explanatory. I’m happier when I’m outside. I’m sure these results would flip-flop in the winter. Outside?
I’m also apparently happier around other people. Though barely. Alone?
And now for the big one. The What are you doing? chart shows what makes me happiest. Apparently it’s canoeing. Though I only did that one time in the two weeks, and I didn’t have to row, haha. ‘Playing’ referred to playing games on my iPhone. I also apparently really like to groom myself. I was worried about this chart for a while because for the first four days or so, ‘Eating’ was way ahead of everything else; however, it settled in nicely at the fifth spot. And you can see how much I hate doing that stuff I ‘have to’ do: housework and paying bills.
After my next round of surveys, I’ll post the results again and compare!
GPush Finally Brings Push Gmail to the iPhone (via @mashable) http://mashable.com/2009/08/17/push-gmail-iphone/
I haven’t tried this out, as I really don’t care if I have push email or not. The article also claims that it’s a bit buggy. But if you have an iPhone and this is something you really want, you might try it out. It’s free.
So your cat wants a massage? http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TnZhi5gaX8g
My co-worker Jonathan sent me this. Regardless if you like cats, you’ll at least think this woman is a little off her rocker.
I regularly tweet about interesting links and news I find, but I rarely blog about them. So I’m going to try to keep this a regular thing and post about some of the past week’s most interesting links that I tweeted.
Geek Parent Rejects N00b Boyfriend [Video] (via @mashable) http://mashable.com/2009/08/11/n00b-boyfriend/
This is one of those videos that so dumb that it’s actually quite funny. At least, if you understand what they are saying.
The Multicolored Mulitask (Guitar Hero + Rubik’s Cube) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pUdXhhDDnaY
This kid has some talent. I can’t even solve one Rubik’s Cube. Let alone two. And definitely not while playing Guitar Hero.
OkCupid introduced this…interesting…feature a week or so ago. On the site, there are thousands of questions you can answer so they can better match you with potential dates and friends. For each of these questions, you pick your answer, how you would like your potential mate to answer, and what the importance level of the question is. For this feature, the site provides you with a list of any questions you’ve marked of high importance (either ‘mandatory’ or ‘very important’). You pick somewhere between 10 and 100 and it makes a nifty little flowchart that you can blog about or, you know, hand out to the people you’re dating to see where they stand.
This image is a little blurry, so here’s a handy PDF for you.
I think it’s mostly self-explanatory, but you’ll see how my Scorpio it’s-always-black-or-white comes out here. There’s only two questions where I allow more than one answer down the ‘yes’ path. Are you happy with your life? “Most of the time” is not an acceptable answer. Adults only, please. And you better know how many continents there are!
When they first came out with this feature, they sent me a random chart they had generated. Looking at it, you’d think the only things I cared about were monogamy and gay rights. So, I went through and picked some more representative and varied topics.
This was posted over at Peonies and Polaroids (and other various blogs) a couple weeks ago. I’m just now getting around to doing it.
Steps:
Go to Flickr.
Type your answers to the questions into the search engine.
Choose a picture from the first page of results.
Copy the URLs into Mosaic Maker and post to your blog!
1. What is your first name?
2. What is your favorite food?
3. What high school did you attend?
4. What is your favorite color?
5. Who is your celebrity crush?
6. Favorite drink?
7. Dream vacation?
8. Favorite dessert?
9. What do you want to be when you grow up?
10. What do you love most in life?
11. One word to describe you?
12. Your Flickr name?
Here is my mosaic! Can you guess what my answers were?
MySpace has a small horoscope section that is connected to tarot.com. Part of this section is, of course, a compatibility reading by sun sign. You can choose compatibility in love, friendship, or business. As I was bored today on my lunch break, I decided to check my compatibility with my friends. Each compatibility reading lists several activities that the two of you should enjoy together. Some of them were rather….odd.
Friendship compatibility between Scorpio (me) and…
Aries - “Contact sports like football or rugby appeal to you both. Skeet shooting and target practice might also be of interest to you. When it comes to the arts, you would both make mean drummers or piano players.”
Taurus - “The two of you may enjoy strenuous physical activities like weight lifting or rowing. Alternately, coin or stamp collecting might appeal to your love of detective work and Taurus’s fondness for hoarding. Cooking can also be a powerful bond between you.”
Gemini - “Swapping mystery novels may be an integral part of your friendship. When it comes time to exercise, you might both enjoy vigorous activities like bike racing. Playing chess or backgammon could also prove engrossing. Writing historical fiction could be another fun way to collaborate.”
Cancer - “Both of you love the water and probably enjoy sports like swimming, diving and boating. Scavenger hunts send you into paroxysms of ecstasy. When it comes to creative pursuits, you both love hands-on activities like gardening and baking.”
Leo - “When it comes to sports, the two of you may enjoy all-consuming sports like wrestling or boxing. You probably also share a love of the theater. Oil painting can also strengthen the bond between you.”
Virgo - “Strengthening activities like Pilates or weight lifting could appeal to you both. Working on jigsaw puzzles could be another mutual interest. Horticulture is yet another great way for you to cement your friendship.”
Libra - “Your differences magically disappear when engaged graceful activities like ice skating or synchronized swimming. Playing the stock market could also be a source of amusement for you both, as can playing low-stakes poker.”
Scorpio - “You enjoy many of the same activities, including martial arts and deep- sea fishing. Reading mystery novels could become something of a mania for you both. Wood carving and metal engraving could appeal to your considerable artistic talents.”
Sagittarius - “Fencing can prove lots of fun for you both. Mastering foreign languages could be another common interest. When all else fails, there’s always karaoke!”
Capricorn - “When it comes time to blow off steam, you find refreshment in hiking, rock climbing and biking. Working on your respective family trees could also prove diverting. If you’re searching for an artistic outlet, the two of you might try pottery or jewelry-making.”
Aquarius - “Physical activities like parasailing and jet-skiing could appeal to you both. If you’re looking for intellectual stimulation, you might find common ground with astronomy or computer science.”
Pisces - “…when you’re engaged in activities you love, like going to movies, visiting the ocean, or developing photographs.”
Okay. So, from this I learned that Frances and I need to take up fencing. Sabrina and I should start writing a historical novel together. Ernie and I should definitely start synchronized swimming lessons. Samantha and I should spend an afternoon drawing up our family trees. Why did Ben and I never play rugby together? And let’s not forget the paroxysms of ecstasy scavenger hunts will cause with Sharley, my mom, and I.
Next time someone asks me what I want to do when we hang out, I’m picking something off their list.
I put in an offer on the one with the blue countertops, but I don’t think they are going to budge either, according to their realtor. But nothing official from them yet.
I’m also considering putting an offer on another one that I saw last weekend. While not as perfect as these others, it still is quite nice. It has an nice open layout and a fireplace. The backyard would need to be fenced in and there’s no deck, just a patio out back. Also, the master bedroom is on the main floor and the laundry room is on the second floor, so I can see that getting kind of annoying. It’s also a little further drive. Hmm..
Because I’m a complete spaz, I never posted these when they were first sent to me back in November. And if you ever talk to me at all, you’ve already seen them anyway. (Otherwise, you would have missed out on the sing-along at my birthday party.) But without further adieu, I now present…
Anyway, it seems my favorite Scorpio page is no longer. I have to go to the Internet archive to see it. So I’m going to stick this part in my blog for reference purposes.
You and Scorpio Woman
Faint heart never won a Scorpio female. It takes a man who knows exactly what he wants to hold his ground against a woman born under this sign.
Scorpio woman is very emotional, very affectionate, and very demanding. She is not interested in a light flirtation or a bed for the night. Neither does she believe in sharing. Any man who thinks it isn’t necessary to sign a treaty just because he’s having an affair with a woman would do well to avoid getting involved with a Scorpio female. She believes in treaties with irrevocable clauses and lots of fine print spelling out just what you can’t do.
How does she get away with being so possessive and jealous? Because she is a marvelous, fascinating, irresistible woman exciting in the bedroom, entertaining in the living room. She carries with her an enticing air of mystery. She can drive a man to the brink of despair and with a gesture summon him back to the heights of happiness.
There is no in-between with this explosive female. With any other woman of the zodiac, you can work out some sort of compromise about who has rights and who has suffered wrongs. Not with her. You have to knuckle under and make the best of your bargain, or settle for living in the middle of a permanent earthquake.
Love is very important to her, and she can turn on enough magnetism to attract any man. If a man is really special, she is willing to play the role of aggressor. Her dynamo starts to whirl as soon as her remarkable intuitions tell her that this man is someone she’ll be happy with. Her intuitions are rarely wrong. She is gifted with the ability to penetrate into hidden secrets of human nature.
Scorpio is a water sign, and like all the water signs (Cancer, Scorpio, Pisces) this woman is very susceptible to the feelings of others. Her most intense desire is for a close, committed union. In a relationship she cannot bear coldness or casualness or a feeling that she is being shunted aside. When she is in love she is at her most vulnerable, for then a lover can hurt her without even knowing it. Another woman might forgive and forget, but when Scorpio woman is hurt she will always strike back. If necessary, she will destroy.
However, despite what you’ve heard about Scorpio’s willful, passionate nature, she is a faithful mate to the man she chooses for her own. Hers is a fixed sign, and she possesses and enduring capacity for loyalty. A man could not have a fiercer ally. If Scorpio woman loves you, she will defend and protect you with her dying breath. What she demands is constancy-what she offers is fidelity. She is possessive, but most men with a Scorpio woman in their lives will tell you they want nothing more than to be possessed by her.
You and Scorpio Man
Women sense in him a magnetic life force, and sexuality is only one part of this magnetism. He projects an aura of mystery and power, of a disturbing, unpredictable, thoroughly masculine presence. One reason Scorpio has such a bad press is that the flaws in his character show up more in his love life than in any other area. Nothing brings out the extremes to which his nature is subject as much as sex.
He has so much energy and passion you’ll have no trouble seducing him-if that’s all you want. What is harder is to form a relationship with him. This is not because he doesn’t want a relationship, for it is, in fact, exactly what he does want. He is an intensely sensitive man who can be easily hurt and who often feels lonely and unfulfilled. The problem is that jealousy and unexpressed angers are very difficult to live with. He has the most indefensible defenses in the zodiac. He will never allow a woman to dominate him. If he chooses, he can keep a woman dangling on his string as long as he wants her. When he cuts her loose, no matter how ruthless the parting may be, he’ll be surprised if she shows any rancor. He’s the only one who has a right to be vindictive.
In matters of love he always knows the cost of what he wants to the last decimal point. If the cost is too high-emotionally, financially, or otherwise-he won’t haggle. He’ll simply walk away.
The Scorpio man is secretive and hard to fathom, although he often appears likeable, affable, and easygoing. What you see on the surface is what he wants you to see. But even when he’s being most amiable, and he can be, there’s a simmering danger to this man.
He is aware of how attractive he is to women and makes the most of it. In his approach to lovemaking he plans his moves carefully, not wasting time but never appearing to be in haste. He is direct and forceful, and there aren’t too many women around who can avoid responding to his uncomplicated physical passion. He brings out the full sensual potential in any woman with whom he’s having an intimate relationship. One of the things that makes him really unique as a lover is that he truly understands a woman’s needs and, if he is not threatened, will try to meet them.
This vigorous, virile male can be a lot to handle, but Scorpio man makes a woman feel like she’s the best female she can be.
How to Attract Scorpio
Scorpios are noted for their unpredictability, but here are a few general rules that may serve as a guide.
Listen to a Scorpio carefully with full attention. There’s no way of faking it. Scorpios always know when you’re pretending, and that will be the end before there’s even a beginning.
Remember an overriding Scorpio trait: curiosity. Never tell a Scorpio that something happened without including the how or why. If you leave that out, you’ll be classified as either dull or superficial. Neither type gets far with persons born under this sign.
They enjoy most forms of recreation, particularly water sports. If you’re the type who likes a day at the beach or to be out on a fishing boat or to take a water-skiing lesson, you and Scorpio will have that much in common. Scorpios also enjoy parties, social affairs, charity bazaars, and places where they can associate with successful people.
If you get into an argument (and you shouldn’t with anyone born under this sign), please remember to be respectful. Scorpios are proud, serious, and don’t believe that any of their opinion should be trifled with-even good humoredly.
You need a boyfriend like you need a hole in the head.
There’s been drama.
There have been words.
Breakable items have been thrown.
In short, men are trouble and you want no part of them for any reason.
Conventional wisdom says they’re from Mars…
And that actually is not quite far enough away as far as you’re concerned.
Send them all to Pluto!
And the chances of your changing your mind are slim to none.
But that’s okay. We need to hate certain things in life…
So we’ll appreciate the things we love all the more.
Anyway, I think I did really good on my CS311 quiz today. Which is amazing. I didn’t really ever get around to studying for it. And I’ve been kind of slacking off on the homeworks.
