Layout poll

See the picture of my little cartoon doppleganger over to the right there? See the words directly under her picture? Think they should be in a smaller font? If so, what size (use any other design element on this page for comparison purposes).

Foiling attempts to live vicariously through me since 2000

As most people reading this know, I'm very shy and introverted. I don't enjoy attention from strangers (or even being the centre of attention among friends) or large group situations where I don't know everyone there. As a result, I rarely go to parties or clubs unless I have mi cielito by my side, and I even tend to avoid bars unless I'm with a safe group of people and no one is out to pick up. (And even then, I do try very hard to avoid any situation where my presence might imply that I'm willing to be hit on). It's not something moral or ethical or puritan, it's just that these situations are simply not fun for me, and I'd rather be at home with a book or chatting quietly with one or two close friends.

The problem is that Certain Relatives have Certain Assumptions about what I do with my private life based on my demographics, and ask me to tell them about all the wild times I've had out enjoying the nightlife and the men I've picked up etc. Then when I tell them I don't really go out that often, they think I'm just not telling them because they are Relatives and I'm really hiding some (by their standards) fabulous life behind my perfectly respectable exterior. Meanwhile, I'm just sitting here looking forward to a quiet evening in with ICQ, a novel and a Merlot, and cowering from invitations to go clubbing with my undergrad classmates. Such is the life of an introvert...

The Queer Eye for the Straight Guy conspiracy

Conspiracy theory: the real methodology behind Queer Eye for the Straight Guy is not to make men look more attractive by being stylish or meterosexual or whatnot. The real intent to to make it easier for them to approach women by making them look gay, and therefore harmless. And after the Queer-Eyed man manages to successfully approach a woman, maybe he doesn't even let on straight away that he's straight. He instead works to gain her trust masquerading as a gay man, and then once he has earned enough trust to gain her friendship, THEN he pounces!

Wherein karma comes and bites me on the ass

I woke up at 6 am this morning. I had not completely finished sleeping, but I felt more awake than I do on the average weekday morning and felt generally healthy and alert. The angel on one shoulder told me to get up, do a bit of yoga, and get on with my day, taking advantage of all the extra hours that I don't usually find in a weekend. The devil on the other shoulder told me to go back to sleep, it's the weekend and I'm entitled to sleep in for as long as I want. So I decided to lie in bed, and if I didn't fall asleep within one hour (or got bored of lying in bed) I'd get up.

I lay in bed, fell asleep, and woke up around noon. When I woke up I felt grumpy, shitty and dessicated. I should have listened to the angel.

This angel/devil on the shoulder thing raises a question: suppose you've got your angel and devil on your shoulders. Which one is on which shoulder? Is there a standard in cartoons etc?

Footprints

You know how societal convention is to walk on the right side of whatever sidewalk or staircase or hallway you might be in? I have evidence that, despite those annoying standing-on-the-left-of-the-escalator people, the general population of Toronto still adheres to this convention.

How do I know this?

Go to a subway entrance on a snowy day. You will see that the side of the steps that is the right-hand-side for people going down the stairs is wet, and the other side is dry. This means that the majority of people coming in from outside (therefore with wet shoes) are going down their right-hand side, and the majority of people heading out from inside (therefore with dry shoes) are going up their right-hand side.

Watch me turn to mushy mushy mush

Cutest puppy ever! No, really!

Things They Should Invent: Sample Airline Seats

Different airlines and different classes have different sizes of seats, so you don't always know what you're going to get. I was once on an airplane where the length from the front of the back of my seat (i.e. as far back as my buttocks can go) to the back of the seat in front of me (i.e. the end of my legroom) was exactly the same length as my femur, hip to kneecap. If I were an inch taller I wouldn't have fit in this seat - and I'm only 5'7"! So someone shorter could probably sit comfortably in this seat, while someone taller would have a lot of trouble. It would be helpful to know this ahead of time.

So what they should do is set up sample seats representing realistic legroom in airports and travel agencies, and before you buy you could sit down and see if you fit in the seat! Who knows - this could result in happier passengers and more first-class seats being sold!

Things that just sound funnier in French

"Ai-je déjà mangé tous mes oeufs?" (i.e. "Have I already eaten all my eggs?"

Look at me, I'm a Buddhist

I took the Belief-O-Matic test, and my top result was 98% Theravada Buddhist. (Unfortunately, while looking to see what exactly this form of Buddhism IS, I lost my full results). I did notice that I was only 7% Roman Catholic, which is the religion that I was raised with, but unfortunately I lost my results before I could see what percentage atheist I am.

There are a few flaws in this test, including the assumption that one must have religion and the assumption that one's moral convictions are the result of one's religion, but I did find the Buddhist result rather interesting. There are some things in Buddhism I just can't believe in - I find the idea of rebirth rather unappealing, and I believe karma comes back within one's own lifetime rather than in a future life when one can no longer remember what one did to earn good/bad karma. However, if an outsider looked at my life just on the surface, without examining my thoughts, feelings and inner life, I am currently living exactly as I would if I did believe in Theravada Buddhism. The only difference is that I am not involved in any religious community, but I think one can be a Buddhist without the help of others.

Baby yawns

Today I sat next to a baby for like 1/2 hour on the subway. I made friends with the baby, talked, made faces, let it hold my finger, and then decided to do some experiments on it. You know how if you see someone else yawn you can't help but yawn yourself? I decided to see if this works on babies. I yawned several different times while the baby was watching me, but the baby never yawned back. Which raises the question: at what age to people start yawning back?

I actually have an answer to a Workplace Ethics question!

I read the Globe and Mail's Workplace Ethics column every week, but I never actually formulated an answer until today. I'm too shy to write in though, so I'll put it here.

The question from this week's column:

Rumours have been swirling that your CEO has become romantically involved with another senior executive of the company. That would constitute a serious breach of the company's latest and very strict code of conduct. Recently, you have spotted the CEO several times suddenly in the after-hours company of the same executive at restaurants and a nightclub; though they seemed cozy, you can't be sure whether it's business or pleasure. What should you do?

I'm certainly not one to go around making lewd assumptions about other people's private lives. However, if I did find myself feeling it's absolutely imperative to do something, next time I see them out together I would politely wave and greet them both by name as I glide past their table on my way to the ladies' room.

Fast news week

This has been a week for Big Important News to become immediately superceded by other Big Important News.

FOUR MOUNTIES WERE KILLED! OMG! Here's some background on the guy who did it and the issues it raises...but wait...

A MAN THREW HIS DAUGHTER OFF A BRIDGE! OMG! Here's some of their tumultuous family history and how the little girl is doing...but wait...

THEY'RE FILLING QUEEN'S PARK UP WITH TRACTORS!* OMG! It's all tying up traffic and here are what the farmers want...but wait...

A GUY LIT HIMSELF ON FIRE! OMG!

And this is where we are right now.

And it's only Wednesday.



*I still think they should do like the French and fill Queen's Park up with sheep or tomatoes or something.

Harry Potter theories (contains spoilers for the book covers, which were released today)

I haven't looked at the fan sites beyond a few comments at Leaky, so I don't know if this has been duplicated or disproven or what, but here are my theories:

I think that what Harry and Dumbledore are looking at in the Pensieve is the lion-like guy described earlier by JKR. I also currently suspect that lion-dude is the Half-Blood Prince, although I can be easily swayed by most of the current fan theories both on HBP and on Mr. Lion.

I also think the potions book is related to the HBP, and the author may well be the HBP/Lion Guy. I do think that Harry will be taking Potions, but I think he'll get in by scraping an E in his OWL, not through any special measures. However, I think the Potions book does not simply indicate that Harry will be taking Potions - it has some further purpose.

And my wildest and most unfounded speculation is that the fire-like spell shown on the British edition is the spell that Harry will use to defeat Voldemort. He will master this spell in HBP. It will be an ancient forgotten spell originating from the HBP, who might be long-dead or exiled from the wizarding world.

And BTW, I haven't checked this myself, but someone at Leaky mentioned that if you want ot read the first five books one chapter at a time and finish in time for HBP, today's the day to start. That makes the release of HBP feel so much closer, doesn't it/

Questions arising from MASH

Is it like illegal for military personnel to take their dogtags off? Because they have them on literally all the time. Right now Hawkeye's naked and he still has his on.

Let's all underestimate the terrorists, shall we?

Apparently al-Qaeda is using the internet to recruit. This is the only article I can find on the topic at this early hour, but the radio was spinning it as "OMG, they know how to use the INTERNET! They have these l33t advanced INTERNET skills! OMG, what do we do now???"

Really, what do they expect? It isn't that hard to use the internet (Exhibit A: I'm blogging) and if this actually is as new and surprising as the radio was making it out to be, I think the intelligence people are either severely underestimating al-Qaeda, or are attempting to give the impression that they are severely underestimating al-Qaeda.

You've already won me over, in spite of me...

Why do I keep hearing Alanis Morissette's Head Over Feet everywhere? I heard it on the radio in stores etc. several times over the weekend (which is especially surprising considering how little time I spend in stores), and just now I accidentally turned the TV to Much, and there was the video for Head Over Feet. Is there a reason why this 10-year-old song is suddenly getting all this airplay, or is it just synchronicity?

How to Retain Young Professionals

This was originally intended for teachers, but it could really help to retaining young professionals in any field.

Whenever you hire someone just out of university, offer to pay off their student loans. In addition to their salary. Do this every year over a period of four years or five years or 10 years or however long the amortization period for a student loan is, so as long as the employee is working there, their student loan will be paid off for free.

Harry Potter fanfic challenge

Any fanfic writers out there looking for a long-term challenge? I propose an AU that answer the following question:

What if Remus Lupin had never been bitten by a werewolf?

Watching myself type

I have a small mirror on my desk, and I'm watching my hands in it as I type. My hands aren't moving very much - they feel like they're moving more than they really are. When I was a small child watching my father type on his computer, his hands seemed like they were moving more than mine are right now. It's not like playing the piano or something - my hands are basically sitting in the same place and the fingers are just wriggling around bit. Watching myself type is really interesting, but I tend to make more typos while doing so.