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Sunday, 30 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 30 Apr, 2006 |
Friday, 28 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 28 Apr, 2006 |
| [Comments](1)
Thursday, 27 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 27 Apr, 2006 |
Wednesday, 26 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 26 Apr, 2006 |
Tuesday, 25 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 25 Apr, 2006 |
Monday, 24 April
Last night we watched Memoirs of a Geisha. The moral of the story being: women can get what they want if they submit to the system, and are beautiful. But it was a pretty film, with many lovely kimonos. And now, via The Spousal Unit, I shall list Ebert's 102 Films for basic filmic literacy, with the ones I've seen in bold: "2001: A Space Odyssey" (1968) Stanley Kubrick
~Movies~ | Cat Connor | 24 Apr, 2006 |
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 24 Apr, 2006 |
Sunday, 23 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 23 Apr, 2006 |
I feel kinda shitty for linking this the other day. At the time, I didn't realize they were at odds with b!X and his Can't Stop The Serenity campaign. Let me be clear that I'm with b!X on this, but I can't help but think there's a way to turn this around so everyone is on the same team again. An idea: what about working with retailers to arrange a percentage of sales for charity?
~sf~ | Cat Connor | 23 Apr, 2006 |
| [Comments](1)
Saturday, 22 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 22 Apr, 2006 |
Saw Silent Hill last night. The entire audience was nearly pulled into the screen. Luckily, the theater we went to often shows bad movies, and has had seatbelts installed as a safety precaution. The row behind us was filled with gamers, a couple of them laughing at what I thought at first were inappropriate points. Poignant? Scary? "Hehehehe." After a while, I relaxed and realized they were right. Giant knives? Funny. Disturbing childhood drawings? Heh. While there were a couple of lovely visuals, Silent Hill plays exactly like what it is: a movie based on a game. There aren't plot points so much as unexplained monsters to be defeated. In movie logic, a clue is something you can connect to what you've already learned, and it makes sense to follow it. In game logic, you look around everywhere for something you can pick up, or something that seems out of place, and it leads you to the next challenge. Game logic doesn't work very well on the big screen. It's sad, because I think the concept of Silent Hill could have made a lovely movie. The basic story could have inspired a decent script. Instead, the writers followed gameplay too closely ("you have found a knife!" one of the gamers behind us giggled), and ended up with a surreal mush.
~Movies~ | Cat Connor | 22 Apr, 2006 |
Friday, 21 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 21 Apr, 2006 |
So. J.J. Abrams has the next Trek movie. Abrams of Lost, Alias, and MI3. Considering all the great candidates who are also fans, and would treat the franchise with the groveling respect it deserves, this is pretty disappointing. It is slightly heartening that Paramount thinks enough of Trek to hand it to their current golden boy. I could say that I'm disappointed enough that I'll wait until the movie has been out a while before I go, but we all know that's not true. I'll see the previews and be head-over-heels, just like I always am. I'll line up on opening night. Then, I'm sure, I'll be crushed. Right now, I'm going to forget about it as much as possible until 2008, when the movie is scheduled for release.
~Tk~ | Cat Connor | 21 Apr, 2006 |
When was the last time you lost your keys? How much time do you spend looking for your wallet, keys, watch, all the vital things that go in pockets or purse? I haven't lost mine in years, and it's no thanks to my creaky memory. At home, we have a small bookcase by the door that holds a few baskets: one for things to grab if we need to leave during an emergency, one for change, one for the Spousal Unit, and one for me. As soon as I come in the door, I empty my pockets into my basket. That means my keys, wallet, watch, notepad, and all the bits of paper I've collected are right there. About once a week, I go through the basket and toss grocery lists, file receipts, etc. If I carried a purse, I would just dump it on a shelf. If I were a fashion maven, I would empty today's purse into the basket, and use it to fill tomorrow's purse. What finally cemented this habit for me was thinking about all the time I spent looking for my wallet or keys, and how angry I would get as they remained elusive. I hate looking for lost things. The key basket has solved the problem completely.
~Living~ | Cat Connor | 21 Apr, 2006 |
Thursday, 20 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 20 Apr, 2006 |
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Do you work through lunch? I know I do. I won't even mean to; I'll just get my lunch and come back to my desk to surf and eat, and the next thing I know, I'm answering a question or poking at a problem. My strategy thus far has been to actually leave the building if I want to take a lunch break. Lunch is good. It gives me time to relax and re-group. Recently, I hit upon a small idea that not only gets me to take lunch, but encourages my co-workers to take lunch too: a Lunchbox Matinee. Every Thursday at 11:30, I play a DVD on the big, beautiful screen in the conference room. I started out with classic shows, like Kolchak: The Night Stalker. Today I showed the first half of Strictly Ballroom. Only a few folks are attending thus far, but these things take time to catch on. Besides, I get to go watch something on the big screen whether or not anyone else attends. Another advantage for me is that it allows me to interact with co-workers in a relaxed, unchallenging atmosphere. Because I'm not gregarious, this is a big plus, especially since I like my co-workers. Yes, I still work through lunch, but once a week, I take a break and watch a flick with some nice folks. I heartily recommend this refreshing practice.
~Work and Organization~ | Cat Connor | 20 Apr, 2006 |
Wednesday, 19 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 19 Apr, 2006 |
Now that I've destroyed your mind with a terrible earworm, let me move in while you're vulnerable and make a point: you don't know how to ride the bus. Okay, maybe you do, but that guy over there is about to get shoved out the back door by angry regulars. So slip him the basics. Get the hell out of the way
Let others get the hell out of the way
Miscellaneous Directives
~Rantalicious~ | Cat Connor | 19 Apr, 2006 |
Once upon a time, I wrote everything in this blog. I would carefully post what music I bought at lunch (with cover art!), rant at length about the latest horrible movie I loved, or regale my readers with stories of my cats, history, and work. Then I got self-conscious. Family was the first to go, because I haven't always had the best of times with them, and yet I still love them and don't want them to be hurt by some blog rant. Then my supervisors found my blog (it's okay, I didn't mind), and asked me not to write about work in these pages. That sounded like a good idea in any case, so the work stuff went away. Finally, with the surge in blog popularity, I found everyone saying the things I liked to say, only better. And thus, poor frytopia became a link dump, aka, an old-skool weblog. Not that there's anything wrong with that. So I'm re-thinking things. I've spent the past year or so thinking I should focus on something. Well, yeesh, no more of that. It just stops me from writing. Man, I shouldn't post this. It's just a big wank.
~~ | Cat Connor | 19 Apr, 2006 |
| [Comments](2)
Tuesday, 18 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 18 Apr, 2006 |
Monday, 17 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 17 Apr, 2006 |
Sunday, 16 April
~~ | Cat Connor | 16 Apr, 2006 |
Saturday, 15 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 15 Apr, 2006 |
Friday, 14 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 14 Apr, 2006 |
Thursday, 13 April
 I know we've all seen the giant bunny. I just wanted to see it again. This page also includes a picture of another giant bunny, though you can't see his fluffy bunny feet.
~~ | Cat Connor | 13 Apr, 2006 |
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 13 Apr, 2006 |
Wednesday, 12 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 12 Apr, 2006 |
Tuesday, 11 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 11 Apr, 2006 |
Monday, 10 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 10 Apr, 2006 |
Sunday, 09 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 09 Apr, 2006 |
Saturday, 08 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 08 Apr, 2006 |
Friday, 07 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 07 Apr, 2006 |
Thursday, 06 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 06 Apr, 2006 |
| [Comments](1)
Monday, 03 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 03 Apr, 2006 |
Sunday, 02 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 02 Apr, 2006 |
The Spousal Unit may have inadvertently changed the face of Trekdom. He commented here that: "Dorkiness is measured in units called Trekkies, abbreviated Tk. People who get married in Klingon combat suits are the unit standard for 1.0 Tk."This comment was picked up by The Washington Monthly, and with any luck, will become a part of lore. As a Tk .95 (no costumes, but I did run a fan club) I've never been so proud. *snif*
~Tk~ | Cat Connor | 02 Apr, 2006 |
| [Comments](2)
Saturday, 01 April
~Links~ | Cat Connor | 01 Apr, 2006 |
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