Tuesday, June 26, 2007

The Game of the Year is Coming!

Just when you thought it couldn't or wouldn't happen. A new game is being developed for the Nintendo DS.

Are you ready for this?

Ultimate Frisbee. The game.

http://ds.ign.com/objects/898/898907.html

I forsee them selling exactly 3 copies of this. Pup and I accounting for 2 of those copies. It's awesome that they're thinking in the right direction though.

Sunday, June 24, 2007

I'm Back!

I'm happy to say that I did pretty much Zero work (emails, calls, etc.) for the last 10 days while I've been off on vacation.

I just checked my email. There are 672 messages in my inbox.


It's gonna be a long night.

Monday, June 11, 2007


Go Buy this CD NOW. Comply.
Today, a CD by more than 50 artists are taking part in the Amnesty International campaign which combines the music of John Lennon with new technology and human rights activism.
Highlights include: U2 ("Instant Karma"), Green Day ("Working Class Hero"), R.E.M. ("#9 Dream"); Christina Aguilera ("Mother"), Avril Lavigne ("Imagine"), Corinne Bailey Rae ("I'm Losing You"); Snow Patrol ("Isolation"), The Flaming Lips ("(Just Like) Starting Over") Regina Spektor ("Real Love"); Lenny Kravitz ("Cold Turkey"); Los Lonely Boys ("Whatever Gets You Thru the Night"); Jakob Dylan with Dhani Harrison ("Gimme Some Truth") and Ben Harper ("Beautiful Boy").

Up to 400,000 people have died in Darfur, Sudan, while another 2.5 million have been displaced from their homes. Some 4.5 million people in the region and hundreds of thousands in neighboring countries Chad and Central African Republic are at risk of starvation, disease, and further attacks.

"Instant Karma: The Campaign to Save Darfur"

This is a real crisis the world is facing. A real problem that we have ignored for far too long. Iraq is not a problem before we created it. Iran is not a problem before we created it. Darfur is a real problem with real implications that are unspeakable and unimaginable that we push under the radar.

You sit there being bombarded with poor Paris having to go to jail and think that’s news worthy. Boo fucking hoo. Send her to Darfur and let the roaming gang raping militia have their way at her on a daily basis and see what you think is important to focus our attention on in the world.

I’ve read the reports. I’ve read the first accounts of what’s happened to the people there, and especially the women. There are thing going on over there that I can’t even repeat. It’s so horrifying that even I can’t dwell on them too long without wanting to drink till I puke these memories out. No one, absolutely no one, should have to endure the shit that they’ve gone through over there. Sadly, since they have no oil or other valuable resources, we obviously don’t give a damn about them.

All you righteous religious types out there. I don’t care if you’re Christian, Muslim, Jewish, Hindu, Buddhist, or whatever. Don’t EVER fucking talk to me about the importance or the value of a life. You like to talk big when it’s about stupid trivial things, but when there is a real situation where you could actually do good in this world, when you can prove that you actually do care and value life, where the fuck are all of you? If you actually are doing your God’s work, then fuck your God. They’ve obviously failed in their work since their disciples can’t/won’t help the people that need it most.

You wage your little childish religious wars for the glory of God. There is no glory in death, nor is there glory in killing. Glory is saved for those that saves lives and sacrifice their own life so that others can live. There is no honor in living in some idiotic ideology. It’s through actions that you do in the world that matter. Where are all of you when the world needs you?

Are you willing to help those in need that you have absolutely no relation to? Are you willing to help those in need for no other reason than it’s the right thing to do? Not for the glory or reward from some mystical ‘God’, not for some eternal brownie points, but just because that’s what we should do. We all live in this world. We should take care of each other. When there are horrible things like the situation in Darfur, we should expend every ounce of energy to stop what’s happening.

You all complain about your lives and create all these reasons of why it's bad. Any of the millions in Darfur would trade their lives for yours in a second. You have absolutely no excuse to complain. You may face annoyance on a daily basis, but they face death and things far worst on a daily basis.


Buy a CD. It’s the very least you could do.

For more on this, please visit here.

Friday, June 08, 2007

I could have a problem

My work computer sits to the left of my home computer. I like this set up. During the day I can use one for work and the other as a distraction. This was a wonderful set up when I first started working from home. I would be able to surf the net while on a web meeting on the work computer when it got too boring.

I sit in this room a lot. Mainly because of work. I would say I’m in this chair over 14 hours a day. There always just seems to be more and more work. It piles and piles. Good for the company I suppose. Even when I’m playing on the home computer that work computer stares at me. Pay attention to me it would say.

It’s staring at me and the home computer with jealous even now as I type this.

I walk around the house to escape this room and that computer, but there’s really no avoiding it. It’s here. With both computers going, there’s a strange heat wave when you enter the room. No fans or open windows can subdue the heat glowing from the room. You know when you’ve entered the room.

At first, the heat was distracting and uncomfortable. I found myself leaving the room pretty often to escape the uncomfortable sensation. I felt like I had to refresh myself from this constant bombardment of electrons that shot out from these screens.

As the months went by and the hours I spent in front of these computers grew. Something changed. The heat in this room was no longer uncomfortable. It’s warm here. Not a temperature warm, but more like warmth. No matter how hot it is elsewhere, it always seems cold compared to this room. Even when it’s unbearably hot in this room, it’s where I want to be. It’s comfortable now. It’s no longer warm. It’s warmth that’s in this room now.

I found it harder and harder to tear myself away from the room.

Of course I know this is all in my head. It's so hot in this room that it's not physically comfortable for anyone.

When I type on the home computer, I find myself constantly sneaking a peek at the work computer. Seeing if there is an email I need to tend to. As if I don’t work on that computer enough. It still stares at me even during my time off. Even during time that I know I should be away from the work. It’s always there. Always tempting me to get something else done. Always just sitting to the left of me.

In less than a week, I’m going to take my real first vacation since I’ve started working. I have already promised that I would not take the work computer. I have been telling my clients that I can’t be reached during this week for over a month now. I don’t care if the sky is falling. Don’t contact me.

When I think about this, I start feeling anxious. I don’t think I’ve been away from the work computer for over 24 hours in the last 2 years. This is how you realize it’s a problem.

You know how I really know it’s a problem? After a night of drinking, if I haven’t passed out yet, I’ll still come to this room. Most of the time I can even get a little bit of work done.

Is it because I’m such a good employee?
Is it because these things are so urgent I had to get to them right then?

No. I sit there because I can’t resist the warmth and the computers must be attended to.

That is a problem.

Let’s see how the week without the work computer pans out for me. Maybe I'll be able to escape or maybe I'll just find a quick fix where I can and sneak some emails in.

Saturday, June 02, 2007

Pup-lic Enemy #1

OMG, I’m getting detained at the airport for having a butcher knife
That was the text message I sent some of my friends last Wednesday.

It started with a 6am flight which I had to wake up at 4am for. I’m ok with coming home at 4am, but wake up at 4am I do not do. So even with the alarm blaring, I overslept a bit and didn’t get up till 5am.

It was a big ‘Holy S#@!’ moment as I put on a suit and ran out of the house. It usually takes about 40 min to get to the airport. I got there in under 20min. The footage of the drive would work great at a driver’s ed course for how to break every traffic law there is.

When I got to the airport, the check in machine notified me that I was too late to check in. It made me book on the next flight. I CANNOT miss this flight. This is a meeting that can’t be missed or be late for. I ran to the security line which for some insane reason was really busy (seriously, who the hell is flying at 5am?). Add to the fact that I always pick the longest/slowest line does not help me in getting to the gate quickly.

I ran to the gate counter and luckily they just called all seats and all rows. I ran to the guy working the ticket and just pleaded and begged. As fortune smiled on me, there was a seat for me still and he got me right on.

By the time I got on the plane, I was sweaty from the running (ATL airport is way too big and naturally my gate was almost the last one), and a suit is not good running attire. I felt bad for the guy sitting next to my sweaty ass, and he thought he was going to get seats all to himself. Ha.

This is probably the highlight of the trip. When I landed in NYC, there was a guy with a sign that read ‘Pup’. My customer had sent a car for me. OMG, I’ve always wanted a driver with my name on a sign. SO cool.

The meeting went well overall. My customers looked good in front of their bosses, so that looks good on me.

Before I left, they gave me a gift bag with lots of t-shirts, hats, and other little things. The guy I had been working with mentioned that he checked and there wasn’t any liquids in there. I said thanks and took off for the airport.

When I got to security the strangest thing happen. They asked me if I wanted to take my bag outside and come back later. I’m like ‘uh no?’. Then they ask again, ‘are you SURE you want to run this bag through security?’. Once again, I’m like ‘yea’. Finally they asked, ‘are you sure you want us to check your bag?’. I’m like ‘sure, go ahead’.

They all just shook their head. You see, I’m not very good with hints.

The lady checking bags pulled out a big butcher knife out of the bag that my customer gave me. I said ‘what the hell is that?!’ We tried to warn you, the security guys said.

Following procedure, they had to call their supervisor who in turn called the security with the M-16s. They took me away and asked me questions. Mainly, ‘Why’re you flying with a big knife?’

My answer was ‘I didn’t know it was there?’
They would ask ‘How did you not know what was in your bag?’.
My reply was ‘Cause I’m a dumbass.’

After what seemed to be forever of this, they took my driver’s license and went away for a while. The only thing I could think of was me listening to airport announcements that said ‘Make sure you know the contents of your bags’. I’ve always wondered what kind of dumbass doesn’t know what’s in their bag.

Obviously, I’m the dumbass they make those announcements for.

They came back with a good cop/bad cop thing. I thought that was just a movie/TV thing. They gave me the 3rd degree and eventually decided that I’m not a terrorist but just a dumbass. No laws against dumbasses yet.

It was strange, but I really didn't get that nervous during this whole thing. Even though I'm sure they couldn've sent me away to Gitmo forever. Although after such a long day, maybe that'd be a nice break.

Lucky for me, my flight was delayed. So I did catch my flight. I got home around 1am.

Now that’s a long and eventful day.