There are a number of posts that I've been working on for almost a week now, but I can't seem to make any headway on any of them. They're all about more technical topics, but I think they'll make interesting reads whenever I get around to them. Instead, here's a list of my preferred brands of chocolate in order:
Lindt
Lindor
Hershey
Godiva
Cadbury
I greatly enjoy the both the sea salt and red chili chocolate bars that Lindt produces. Of course, I enjoy most of Lindor's truffles, especially the dark and white chocolate varieties. I enjoy a good, cheap milk chocolate Hershey bar, but not their white chocolate. I know Godiva is a high end brand, but I generally don't like their products. They just seem very mediocre to me. I try to avoid Cadbury if at all possible, and I like local places such as Champagne Chocolates, The Sweet Tooth, and Ingram's Candies.
Friday, July 26, 2013
Friday, July 19, 2013
Goings On
I've got a lot on my plate right now between work, school, and my personal goals.
Work has been interesting lately. We're down a few people. A lot of people. And a few managers. A lot of people are leaving for one reason or another, and I keep getting more work piled on top of me. It's nothing I can't handle, but it does put me in a position where I have more to do than time usually permits and I have to choose what doesn't get done. The people who work in my department right now are great, but there are only four of us, so I've been getting stuck working long hours in the middle of the day. I guess that's what I get for agreeing to full time status, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant.
Being generally antisocial, I prefer to take my classes online even though it usually costs significantly more money. This semester I'm taking three of my classes online and one class on campus on Saturdays. Online I'm taking Intro Web Programming (it's been a while since I've written any HTML or CSS and I'm not familiar with HTML 5) and Nutrition (to fulfill my Phys Ed class) during the first 8 weeks and a basic C++ class during the second 8 weeks. I was leery about taking a six-hour Photoshop class once a week, but I'm gambling on getting the same instructor that I had for my inDesign class because she was really strict and I liked the way she taught the class.
I spend the bulk of my off days cutting my parents' lawn and doing minor repairs to their dilapidated house or hanging out at Rose and Sean's condo. I should be reading and working on my ActionScript more, but I just haven't been able to find the motivation. I picked up a really interesting book called Uncertainty in Games and another simply called Designing Games that I've been trying to read in my down time, but more and more of my down time is being consumed by catching up on sleep that I never seem to get enough of. I do have three days off starting Sunday, so I'll see what I can do.
Work has been interesting lately. We're down a few people. A lot of people. And a few managers. A lot of people are leaving for one reason or another, and I keep getting more work piled on top of me. It's nothing I can't handle, but it does put me in a position where I have more to do than time usually permits and I have to choose what doesn't get done. The people who work in my department right now are great, but there are only four of us, so I've been getting stuck working long hours in the middle of the day. I guess that's what I get for agreeing to full time status, but it doesn't make it any more pleasant.
Being generally antisocial, I prefer to take my classes online even though it usually costs significantly more money. This semester I'm taking three of my classes online and one class on campus on Saturdays. Online I'm taking Intro Web Programming (it's been a while since I've written any HTML or CSS and I'm not familiar with HTML 5) and Nutrition (to fulfill my Phys Ed class) during the first 8 weeks and a basic C++ class during the second 8 weeks. I was leery about taking a six-hour Photoshop class once a week, but I'm gambling on getting the same instructor that I had for my inDesign class because she was really strict and I liked the way she taught the class.
I spend the bulk of my off days cutting my parents' lawn and doing minor repairs to their dilapidated house or hanging out at Rose and Sean's condo. I should be reading and working on my ActionScript more, but I just haven't been able to find the motivation. I picked up a really interesting book called Uncertainty in Games and another simply called Designing Games that I've been trying to read in my down time, but more and more of my down time is being consumed by catching up on sleep that I never seem to get enough of. I do have three days off starting Sunday, so I'll see what I can do.
Wednesday, July 17, 2013
A Brief Guide to Prank Calls
I have what I would like to think of as a good sense of humor. It may be a little dry or twisted at times, I do enjoy a good joke. Unfortunately, many of the people I come into contact with are unable to make or even recognize a good joke. Working at a fairly well known retail establishment with an easily available phone number I occasionally find my phone ringing with an anonymous number, which almost certainly means that I'm about to pick up on a prank call. Many of them are downright awful.
The first step to making a successful prank call is to have some sort of plan. It doesn't matter if it's a detailed script, a list of possible responses to things I may say, or a general idea of where you'd like to go with the prank. Bonus points if you can remember it without writing anything down. The point is that you should know what you're trying to accomplish with the call well in advance of picking up the phone. Please don't have people in the same room feed you lines, either. It's really annoying when I have to hear the same lousy joke twice.
Next, don't make the call anonymous. Like I said, an anonymous call is almost always a prank and Caller ID is a standard option on both wireless and desk phones. Spoofcard.com (also available as apps on your smartphone) will let you make completely anonymous calls and present any name and number you give it, for a nominal fee. You could also use Skype to make outbound phone calls for 2.3 cents a minute. While it's not necessarily anonymous, the call won't be tied to your phone number, and simply closing the application will prevent me from calling or texting you back.
Save your punchline for the middle of the conversation. Don't start by asking me if we sell crackers because your parrot is hungry or nervously asking me about the largest fish we sell. Start by asking me to repeat my name, as this will put me on edge. I will assume that you're going to be difficult and will be more likely to respond in the way that you want. Ask a related question or two, but don't give the joke away immediately. The point is to get me interested in the conversation and shock me, not to say something random and hang up.
On the other hand, don't take more than 30 seconds to make some sort of point. That's roughly how long it takes me to get bored of the call. There's no need to tell me a contrived life story, unless that is pivotal to the joke. Again, the point is to shock me, not to bore me to tears. If you beat around the bush for more than the allotted time and I know that it is a joke, I will hang up. It's that simple.
Make the joke obvious. Unless you want me to assume that you're simply a mentally handicapped individual, make the punchline of the joke clear and concise. Don't suddenly start to mumble, giggle, or yell into your phone when you get to the good part. A lot of prank calls start out well but are ruined by failure of the caller to deliver a half decent punchline. If no one is laughing at the end of the call then the joke was bad and you should feel bad.
Don't be surprised if I play along. I know I'm a mere retail employee, but that doesn't meat that I'm not quick witted. If you ask me if we sell Orca whales and I say yes and offer you detailed pricing information, don't hang up. If you ask me if we sell crackers for your pet Polly and I say no, but tell you that there is a great cracker plant just south of Springfield, don't hang up. If you ask me if we have any animals that would be suitable to be placed into your anus and I say no but direct you to Tractor Supply where they sell cocks during this time of year, don't call me a faggot, and don't hang up. I get just as much entertainment out of the call as you do so try not to disappoint me.
I hope that by following this guide, you too, can not suck at prank calling.
The first step to making a successful prank call is to have some sort of plan. It doesn't matter if it's a detailed script, a list of possible responses to things I may say, or a general idea of where you'd like to go with the prank. Bonus points if you can remember it without writing anything down. The point is that you should know what you're trying to accomplish with the call well in advance of picking up the phone. Please don't have people in the same room feed you lines, either. It's really annoying when I have to hear the same lousy joke twice.
Next, don't make the call anonymous. Like I said, an anonymous call is almost always a prank and Caller ID is a standard option on both wireless and desk phones. Spoofcard.com (also available as apps on your smartphone) will let you make completely anonymous calls and present any name and number you give it, for a nominal fee. You could also use Skype to make outbound phone calls for 2.3 cents a minute. While it's not necessarily anonymous, the call won't be tied to your phone number, and simply closing the application will prevent me from calling or texting you back.
Save your punchline for the middle of the conversation. Don't start by asking me if we sell crackers because your parrot is hungry or nervously asking me about the largest fish we sell. Start by asking me to repeat my name, as this will put me on edge. I will assume that you're going to be difficult and will be more likely to respond in the way that you want. Ask a related question or two, but don't give the joke away immediately. The point is to get me interested in the conversation and shock me, not to say something random and hang up.
On the other hand, don't take more than 30 seconds to make some sort of point. That's roughly how long it takes me to get bored of the call. There's no need to tell me a contrived life story, unless that is pivotal to the joke. Again, the point is to shock me, not to bore me to tears. If you beat around the bush for more than the allotted time and I know that it is a joke, I will hang up. It's that simple.
Make the joke obvious. Unless you want me to assume that you're simply a mentally handicapped individual, make the punchline of the joke clear and concise. Don't suddenly start to mumble, giggle, or yell into your phone when you get to the good part. A lot of prank calls start out well but are ruined by failure of the caller to deliver a half decent punchline. If no one is laughing at the end of the call then the joke was bad and you should feel bad.
Don't be surprised if I play along. I know I'm a mere retail employee, but that doesn't meat that I'm not quick witted. If you ask me if we sell Orca whales and I say yes and offer you detailed pricing information, don't hang up. If you ask me if we sell crackers for your pet Polly and I say no, but tell you that there is a great cracker plant just south of Springfield, don't hang up. If you ask me if we have any animals that would be suitable to be placed into your anus and I say no but direct you to Tractor Supply where they sell cocks during this time of year, don't call me a faggot, and don't hang up. I get just as much entertainment out of the call as you do so try not to disappoint me.
I hope that by following this guide, you too, can not suck at prank calling.
Saturday, July 13, 2013
Morons, Assholes, and the Terminally Irresponsible
It's totally cool that you call in 15 minutes before your shift to get a tattoo. It's not like they really need you to be there or anything, considering the amount of work that you somehow manage not to do during your three hour shift. The other cashier will just get stuck covering your shift anyway, so who cares, right? There's no way she has anything to do or any place to be. It totally doesn't put strain at all on anyone else and you're completely not the reason that someone would be so frustrated with their job that they would get worked up over something stupid at quarter to midnight.
It's also totally cool to be a white trash, racist cunt on Facebook. To your credit, you're the same white trash, racist cunt in real life. While you do have the right to say whatever you want on Facebook and I have (and exercise) the option to hide your ramblings from my wall, it's still incredibly inappropriate to be a dick about something when you have no clue what you're talking about. Until you can make an informed opinion about the topics of abortion, civil rights, gun control, politics, or race you don't need to run your mouth about them in a public meeting space. If you want to be a massive cunt about everyone and everything start a blog. That's what I did and it has worked pretty well for me.
I am so frustrated with the state of humanity. I feel like I'm surrounded by nothing but morons and I'm drowning in their stupidity. I am by no means the smartest person who ever lived, but I honestly wonder how some of these people manage to find their front door in the morning or the power button on their computer in the evening. I get so easily frustrated with people and they never seem to understand why. It kills me and I don't know how else to deal with it, which was the original intent of this blog. So I guess I'll start writing in it more and see if I can calm down some.
It's also totally cool to be a white trash, racist cunt on Facebook. To your credit, you're the same white trash, racist cunt in real life. While you do have the right to say whatever you want on Facebook and I have (and exercise) the option to hide your ramblings from my wall, it's still incredibly inappropriate to be a dick about something when you have no clue what you're talking about. Until you can make an informed opinion about the topics of abortion, civil rights, gun control, politics, or race you don't need to run your mouth about them in a public meeting space. If you want to be a massive cunt about everyone and everything start a blog. That's what I did and it has worked pretty well for me.
I am so frustrated with the state of humanity. I feel like I'm surrounded by nothing but morons and I'm drowning in their stupidity. I am by no means the smartest person who ever lived, but I honestly wonder how some of these people manage to find their front door in the morning or the power button on their computer in the evening. I get so easily frustrated with people and they never seem to understand why. It kills me and I don't know how else to deal with it, which was the original intent of this blog. So I guess I'll start writing in it more and see if I can calm down some.
Anger Management
The last few weeks of work have been really stressful for me. We are down between two and three managers at any given time, peoples' hours have been cut since the full time law changes, and some of the people who are scheduled to work don't bother to come in anyway because their other part time job is more important to them. I've been doing a lot of extra work in addition to the extra work I usually assign to myself in the form of a never-ending task list and the mountain of work of which my job actually consists. I like to keep busy, but I get the feeling that the more I do at work, the fewer people seem to appreciate any of it.
The thing that frustrates me most about the job, or any retail job for that matter, is that people who come in to shop don't show any sort of respect for my time. Nothing annoys me more when people waste a significant portion of my time, then demand a particular kind of respect. Of course, if I was dealing with these people in any sort of non-degrading situation I would have colorful words for them, but at work these words are reserved for my coworkers via long ranting text messages. I'm an introvert and I can't stand people being in my personal space (I have a very large bubble) for more than a few minutes unless they're decent human beings and will actually listen to my advice.
By the time I get done with work I'm so burned out that I don't really have the energy to do anything of the things that I need or want to do. I'd like to blog more, but I simply don't have the energy. I'm also in the process of learning Actionscript and porting some of my python games to Flash, but I haven't had the energy to work on that since I left Chicago (that was a month ago, but will probably get its own blog post pretty soon). If I'm lucky enough to get two days off, I spend cutting my parents lawn and the other cleaning the parts of the apartment that I consider to be mine (the rat cage, the kitchen, my laundry, etc.)
I'm off tomorrow and I'll see what I can accomplish if I make myself a list and try to stick to it.
The thing that frustrates me most about the job, or any retail job for that matter, is that people who come in to shop don't show any sort of respect for my time. Nothing annoys me more when people waste a significant portion of my time, then demand a particular kind of respect. Of course, if I was dealing with these people in any sort of non-degrading situation I would have colorful words for them, but at work these words are reserved for my coworkers via long ranting text messages. I'm an introvert and I can't stand people being in my personal space (I have a very large bubble) for more than a few minutes unless they're decent human beings and will actually listen to my advice.
By the time I get done with work I'm so burned out that I don't really have the energy to do anything of the things that I need or want to do. I'd like to blog more, but I simply don't have the energy. I'm also in the process of learning Actionscript and porting some of my python games to Flash, but I haven't had the energy to work on that since I left Chicago (that was a month ago, but will probably get its own blog post pretty soon). If I'm lucky enough to get two days off, I spend cutting my parents lawn and the other cleaning the parts of the apartment that I consider to be mine (the rat cage, the kitchen, my laundry, etc.)
I'm off tomorrow and I'll see what I can accomplish if I make myself a list and try to stick to it.
Wednesday, July 10, 2013
Yes.
Things have been incredibly busy at work. I won't go into too much detail, but we are down two managers, sometimes three. The company has also been cutting hours since full time status has been lowered to 30 hours. A few new people have been hired, and while all of the part time people have been getting fewer than 20 hours, our store is somehow always short staffed. I've been under a lot of stress and pressure to do a lot more things than my job normally consists of, so I've been coming home beyond exhausted.
Jason and I have been saving up to buy a condo in the area. We looked at one last month, then met with a mortgage broker to find out how much it would actually cost to buy something and to get pre-approved for a loan. We got approved for more than we actually plan on spending, but with the way the housing market has been improving and considering that condos are a hot commodity right now (prices have more than doubled since this time last year), we may end up spending more than we had originally intended. Even so, I guess it's a decent investment and we can find a way to make money out of it.
Despite taking low level classes, I've been enjoying school. I learned a lot about design from an InDesign class, and have been really liking my astronomy classes. I plan on taking some chemistry classes in addition to my required Photoshop and programming classes. I've also been reading a lot of game design books and have a long list of books I plan on buying when I have money again.
All in all, I've been extremely busy and getting run down very quickly.
Jason and I have been saving up to buy a condo in the area. We looked at one last month, then met with a mortgage broker to find out how much it would actually cost to buy something and to get pre-approved for a loan. We got approved for more than we actually plan on spending, but with the way the housing market has been improving and considering that condos are a hot commodity right now (prices have more than doubled since this time last year), we may end up spending more than we had originally intended. Even so, I guess it's a decent investment and we can find a way to make money out of it.
Despite taking low level classes, I've been enjoying school. I learned a lot about design from an InDesign class, and have been really liking my astronomy classes. I plan on taking some chemistry classes in addition to my required Photoshop and programming classes. I've also been reading a lot of game design books and have a long list of books I plan on buying when I have money again.
All in all, I've been extremely busy and getting run down very quickly.
Wednesday, April 17, 2013
A Penny for your Thoughts
Apparently, this is the most amazing thing ever written. Enjoy.
Our journey begins in the change return slot of the Coke machine in the northernmost hallway of Lakeside Mall. In it lies three magnificent quarters and a measly penny. This particular penny’s name is Franklin, not that anyone had ever cared to ask him. No one would even look at him for more than a moment as they removed him from their less humble change and dropped him back into the slot. In fact, he had been in this particular slot for almost a month now.
Being just a penny, this sort of treatment was nothing new to Franklin. He always found himself being kicked behind a piece of furniture, buried under a sea of much larger coins, or lost in a junk drawer somewhere. Once, he spent an entire fifteen years tucked under the rear passenger floor mat in an old, beat up Volkswagen. No one ever seemed to miss him or even notice that he was gone. Of course, Franklin didn’t want to be treated this way. He wanted to be respected like the other coins. He wanted people to notice that he existed.
One day, someone did notice him. It was a coin collector who happened to remove the four coins from the Coke machine on this day. Taking a quick look at Franklin, the collector could immediately tell that he was special. Franklin didn’t know this, but he was a rare 1955 Double Die penny. Franklin now spends the bulk of his time in a velvet lined showcase, admired every day.
Monday, January 21, 2013
To Recap the Previous Post
I don't want to be a drone, working 40 hour weeks, putting money into a 401(k) and having good health insurance, waiting until I'm too old to do anything meaningful so I can retire. I really don't. I want to do something. To make a difference somewhere. When I die I want to have a little blue plaque on my door telling people I lived there. I don't want to be stuck in this boring, mundane life.
Sunday, January 06, 2013
The New Year
I've been having a very hard time explaining to Jason why I'm not happy. I sometimes have a hard time understanding it myself. How do I explain to people with completely different sets of values why I don't find my life fulfilling? I don't want a shallow and prestigious job where I make all the money I could ever want to buy all the superficial things I don't need. I just want my life to have at least some sort of meaning and maybe for someone to take me seriously once in a while. That's it.
I've performed the same actions at work every day for almost five years. Cleaning and maintenance tasks, catching fish for customers, an occasional repair or installation of something. None of these tasks have been useful on a fundamental level. Habitats and work areas continue to get dirty, machines continue to break down at their usual rate, products and services sell as they normally would. Overall, I've accomplished nothing aside from saving the company a little money by doing the job of multiple people.
I'm going to school for a degree in something that isn't going to be particularly productive. Video games are now generally considered to be a mainstream form of entertainment and their production is likely to greatly outpace movies in the future, but at the end of the day they're just that: entertainment. If I do land a nice job working on video games nothing is going to change. I'm still going to feel as useless as I do now. It's not going to help anyone. No one is going to benefit from my work. If I didn't work on whatever projects I will undertake in the future, someone else would do just as good a job as me.
I don't really do anything else. I don't voluenteer to help anyone or belong to any kind of orginizations. I can't afford to build buy the materials to build anything worth building. I barely talk to the people I see every day and those who I consider close. I'm tied to a job that doesn't make me happy in a physical location that I can't stand so I can't travel more than a few hours away to see what's out there. I don't have any real creative talent to make any sort of art. I can't even find it in myself to blog more than a few times a year anymore.
I need to do something, I just don't know what.
I've performed the same actions at work every day for almost five years. Cleaning and maintenance tasks, catching fish for customers, an occasional repair or installation of something. None of these tasks have been useful on a fundamental level. Habitats and work areas continue to get dirty, machines continue to break down at their usual rate, products and services sell as they normally would. Overall, I've accomplished nothing aside from saving the company a little money by doing the job of multiple people.
I'm going to school for a degree in something that isn't going to be particularly productive. Video games are now generally considered to be a mainstream form of entertainment and their production is likely to greatly outpace movies in the future, but at the end of the day they're just that: entertainment. If I do land a nice job working on video games nothing is going to change. I'm still going to feel as useless as I do now. It's not going to help anyone. No one is going to benefit from my work. If I didn't work on whatever projects I will undertake in the future, someone else would do just as good a job as me.
I don't really do anything else. I don't voluenteer to help anyone or belong to any kind of orginizations. I can't afford to build buy the materials to build anything worth building. I barely talk to the people I see every day and those who I consider close. I'm tied to a job that doesn't make me happy in a physical location that I can't stand so I can't travel more than a few hours away to see what's out there. I don't have any real creative talent to make any sort of art. I can't even find it in myself to blog more than a few times a year anymore.
I need to do something, I just don't know what.
Friday, May 25, 2012
Third Grade Biology
Mouse (n.)
A small rodent that typically has a pointed snout, relatively large ears and eyes, and a long tail
Rodent (n.)
A gnawing mammal of an order that includes rats, mice, squirrels, hamsters, porcupines, and their relatives, distinguished by strong constantly growing incisors and no canine teeth.
Mammal (n.)
A warm-blooded vertebrate animal of a class that is distinguished by the possession of hair or fur, the secretion of milk by females for the nourishment of the young, and (typically) the birth of live young.
Since all mice are rodents and all rodents are mammals then all mice are mammals. Since young mammals are nourished by their mother's milk and since all mice are mammals then young mice are nourished by their mother's milk.
That's correct, wild and domesticated mice breast feed. If you find baby mice in your back yard with no mother in sight, please leave them where they are. Their mother still has to eat and may have gone to forage for food or water. Even if the mother never returns, pet stores don't carry a suitable milk for the young mice. You can try cat formula, but the chances of the mice surviving are pretty slim. Chances get a marginally better if you take the mice to a local wildlife rescue. But if you insist that I don't know what I'm talking about and insist that they can eat adult mouse food they're going to die.
Tuesday, February 28, 2012
Fluorescence as a Norm
A new fish has come onto the market in the last few years. Glofish are basic Zebra Danios which have been genetically modified to fluoresce red, orange, green, blue, and purple. These fish are identical to the original Danios in every other way and require the same care. They can cohabit with any other tropical non-aggressive fish, making them ideal for most fish tanks. They're popular with people looking for something novel to put in their tank, and especially popular with children of all ages.
Today at work I came across a bag of fish I'd never seen before. Glofish Tetras are basic gold skirt Tetras which have been genetically modified to fluoresce green. They're identical to the original Tetra in every other way and require the same care. They can cohabit with any other tropical non-aggressive fish, making them ideal for most fish tanks. Same idea as the Danios, completely different species.
When people come into my store with their children to buy fish, they ask me for fish that they had as kids. Familiarity with a particular fish keeps people from feeling overwhelmed with the amount of money and effort that goes into setting up a tank. Eventually they expand their collection, allowing their children to choose the fish. Of course, the kids choose the first thing that draws their attention and what draws attention like a flourescent fish? The kids grow up and repeat the process with their own children, remembering and seeking out Glofish.
Assuming that inserting a fluorescence gene into a fish embryo is a trivial task by today's standards and considering the great demand for the Glofish currently on the market, I imagine the company will expand their selection of fluorescent fish as far as they can. What's to stop them from making Glofish Palties, Glofish Oscars, or Glofish Plecos? If they accomplish this and fishkeeping remains a popular hobby (read: profitable market) something interesting is bound to happen.
If the demand for Glofish remains consistent and the company can get the fluorescence gene into a larger selection of species the demand for our non-modified fish will drop considerably. In 100 years, the fish department at any local pet store will be comprised almost entirely of fluorescent fish. What makes me so sure of this? Where goldfish get their name.
The majority of the goldfish we sell are red or orange. Anyone who has taken a look in a pet store will know this. They're called goldfish because their ancestors, recorded as early as 265 CE were gold in color with a very rare orange mutation. These mutations made the fish more visible to natural predators (birds, raccoons, etc.), which kept these color mutations rare. In the 1300's people began raising goldfish indoors, which effectively stopped natural selection and allowing selective breeding. No one wants to look at a fish that's the color of gold, so demand drops for those and rises for the orange fish. Now most fancy goldfish are orange or red with an occasional dirty brown fish.
Thanks to 21st century technology, we can condense the entire tedious process into just a few years and break species barriers.
Today at work I came across a bag of fish I'd never seen before. Glofish Tetras are basic gold skirt Tetras which have been genetically modified to fluoresce green. They're identical to the original Tetra in every other way and require the same care. They can cohabit with any other tropical non-aggressive fish, making them ideal for most fish tanks. Same idea as the Danios, completely different species.
When people come into my store with their children to buy fish, they ask me for fish that they had as kids. Familiarity with a particular fish keeps people from feeling overwhelmed with the amount of money and effort that goes into setting up a tank. Eventually they expand their collection, allowing their children to choose the fish. Of course, the kids choose the first thing that draws their attention and what draws attention like a flourescent fish? The kids grow up and repeat the process with their own children, remembering and seeking out Glofish.
Assuming that inserting a fluorescence gene into a fish embryo is a trivial task by today's standards and considering the great demand for the Glofish currently on the market, I imagine the company will expand their selection of fluorescent fish as far as they can. What's to stop them from making Glofish Palties, Glofish Oscars, or Glofish Plecos? If they accomplish this and fishkeeping remains a popular hobby (read: profitable market) something interesting is bound to happen.
If the demand for Glofish remains consistent and the company can get the fluorescence gene into a larger selection of species the demand for our non-modified fish will drop considerably. In 100 years, the fish department at any local pet store will be comprised almost entirely of fluorescent fish. What makes me so sure of this? Where goldfish get their name.
The majority of the goldfish we sell are red or orange. Anyone who has taken a look in a pet store will know this. They're called goldfish because their ancestors, recorded as early as 265 CE were gold in color with a very rare orange mutation. These mutations made the fish more visible to natural predators (birds, raccoons, etc.), which kept these color mutations rare. In the 1300's people began raising goldfish indoors, which effectively stopped natural selection and allowing selective breeding. No one wants to look at a fish that's the color of gold, so demand drops for those and rises for the orange fish. Now most fancy goldfish are orange or red with an occasional dirty brown fish.
Thanks to 21st century technology, we can condense the entire tedious process into just a few years and break species barriers.
Monday, February 20, 2012
The New Fiscal Year
Things are starting to look up at work again. We have a new store manager who will hopefully find a permanent position at our store. He's an older guy, so he has tons of experience, a good work ethic, and knows what he is doing. He has a genuinely friendly personality and is very approachable, and most importantly he doesn't put up with all of the problems our store has been experiencing over the last year. There have already been significant changes, and I can honestly say that I'm happy with it.
I wish I could say the same thing about some of the people I work with. Many of them are hard workers with a friendly and pleasant demeanor. Some of them are lazy, some are idiots, and some have wretched personalities, which is to be expected when with the current state of the hiring pool. My main complaint is that I miss the feeling of solidarity I experienced when I first started the job. My coworkers and I used to be a well functioning team with specified duties. Everyone had a job and everything got done by the end of the night. These days it feels more like a random assortment of people simply thrown into jobs they hate.
I wish I could say the same thing about some of the people I work with. Many of them are hard workers with a friendly and pleasant demeanor. Some of them are lazy, some are idiots, and some have wretched personalities, which is to be expected when with the current state of the hiring pool. My main complaint is that I miss the feeling of solidarity I experienced when I first started the job. My coworkers and I used to be a well functioning team with specified duties. Everyone had a job and everything got done by the end of the night. These days it feels more like a random assortment of people simply thrown into jobs they hate.
Wednesday, September 28, 2011
Welcome Back to Middle School
The thing I disliked most about middle school were the tattlers. Pansy-ass mama's boys who couldn't leave well enough alone and alerted the teacher to every little thing I did. Not that I generally did anything that was 'wrong' by standard definitions, just things that may have been against arbitrary rules or thought of as unusual for someone of my age. Even when I was doing something that was arguably wrong, I'd like to think that there was usually a reason or I knew relatively well what I was doing.
Enter: Little Baby Bitch. Everyone knows the kid who thought he was special because his parents had a small amount of money saved up. He was sheltered so far beyond socially acceptable levels that I honestly wonder if he could function as an adult today. Hell, the kid's parents would even dress him so he wouldn't get any ideas. He probably though that his good scores on standardized tests meant something more than that because for all intents and purposes, the kid was a bumbling idiot.
This kid would always walk up while I was doing something or discover something that I had done and immediately tell the all powerful teacher. I'm not sure what he though he had accomplished by wasting all of our time, but I would always end up receiving a stern talking to in the principle's office. For some reason, it would never go beyond that. I guess there's something about my personality that let's me get away with murder. All I have to do is smile.
Unfortunately, some days I feel like I'm living in middle school all over again. It starts with the figures of authority who think they have it all figured out despite their ignorance of the bigger picture. From there we progress to people who think they're better than everyone for X idiotic reason. Of course a number of people believe the same thing for Y or Z reason and none of them are willing to cohabitate. Then there are those who would rather read the gossip in tabloids and other illegitimate news sources instead of something with actual substance or news. And of course there are the tattlers who waste everyone's time stirring the pot while the world moves on.
Enter: Little Baby Bitch. Everyone knows the kid who thought he was special because his parents had a small amount of money saved up. He was sheltered so far beyond socially acceptable levels that I honestly wonder if he could function as an adult today. Hell, the kid's parents would even dress him so he wouldn't get any ideas. He probably though that his good scores on standardized tests meant something more than that because for all intents and purposes, the kid was a bumbling idiot.
This kid would always walk up while I was doing something or discover something that I had done and immediately tell the all powerful teacher. I'm not sure what he though he had accomplished by wasting all of our time, but I would always end up receiving a stern talking to in the principle's office. For some reason, it would never go beyond that. I guess there's something about my personality that let's me get away with murder. All I have to do is smile.
Unfortunately, some days I feel like I'm living in middle school all over again. It starts with the figures of authority who think they have it all figured out despite their ignorance of the bigger picture. From there we progress to people who think they're better than everyone for X idiotic reason. Of course a number of people believe the same thing for Y or Z reason and none of them are willing to cohabitate. Then there are those who would rather read the gossip in tabloids and other illegitimate news sources instead of something with actual substance or news. And of course there are the tattlers who waste everyone's time stirring the pot while the world moves on.
Friday, July 08, 2011
Monday, June 06, 2011
Frustration
I think the thing that frustrates me most about my life if my relationship with the people I live with. It's hard relating to an elderly conservative Christian when you're a 25 year old, gay, atheist. And that's just my mom. I don't know where my dad stands on any issues because he barely talks to anyone.
Whenever I try to tell my mom something she goes out of her way to make me feel bad. The good news of one of my best friends getting married becomes a lecture about when I marry a beautiful woman. My friend having a child turns into a rant about how my mom will never be a grandmother. Obviously, reading a book about the influence of disease on human evolution is to prepare myself for when I get AIDS.
And those are just the things I've told her. I haven't mentioned that I plan on moving in with Jason (preferably in Ann Arbor) sometime this year. Or the fact that Jason and I plan on spending the rest of our lives together. Or the inevitability that Jason and I will one day in the future get married and have a reception. Or that I don't believe in the same invisible hand in the sky that sue does.
There is just no common ground for us to start a conversation. She's dead set that I chose to be gay to cause some sort of drama for her. Her little burgundy book told her so. She'll never understand the relationship that I have with Jason and that kills me. She'll never be happy about any of the major events in my life. Moving in together and getting married are major events in my life that she will either write off as dramatic fantasy or simply not be notified of. And I feel that there's nothing I can do about it.
I'm just stuck in a rut, suffocating in my house, and I need to get out.
Whenever I try to tell my mom something she goes out of her way to make me feel bad. The good news of one of my best friends getting married becomes a lecture about when I marry a beautiful woman. My friend having a child turns into a rant about how my mom will never be a grandmother. Obviously, reading a book about the influence of disease on human evolution is to prepare myself for when I get AIDS.
And those are just the things I've told her. I haven't mentioned that I plan on moving in with Jason (preferably in Ann Arbor) sometime this year. Or the fact that Jason and I plan on spending the rest of our lives together. Or the inevitability that Jason and I will one day in the future get married and have a reception. Or that I don't believe in the same invisible hand in the sky that sue does.
There is just no common ground for us to start a conversation. She's dead set that I chose to be gay to cause some sort of drama for her. Her little burgundy book told her so. She'll never understand the relationship that I have with Jason and that kills me. She'll never be happy about any of the major events in my life. Moving in together and getting married are major events in my life that she will either write off as dramatic fantasy or simply not be notified of. And I feel that there's nothing I can do about it.
I'm just stuck in a rut, suffocating in my house, and I need to get out.
Wednesday, June 01, 2011
'Twas a Busy Afternoon
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE PUTRESCENT WOODS
You have gained a level.
+12 STR
+ ATTRIBUTE Farmer's Tan
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE SULTRY WETLANDS
You have gained a level.
+8 END
+4 WATER RESIST
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE EVIL FOOTHILLS
-75 GOLD
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE LAIR OF THE SNAKE KING
You have gained a level.
+10 COURAGE
+ATTRIBUTE Battle Scar
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE JUNGLY PLAINS
You have gained a level.
+6 VIT
+24 MAX HEALTH
YOU HAVE MADE THE HALF ACRE KINGDOM SAFE AGAIN
The king offers the hand of his beautiful daughter.
You graciously decline and say your goodbyes.
You return home to your loving boyfriend
In a time of peace and quiet, you rest.
You have gained a level.
+12 STR
+ ATTRIBUTE Farmer's Tan
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE SULTRY WETLANDS
You have gained a level.
+8 END
+4 WATER RESIST
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE EVIL FOOTHILLS
-75 GOLD
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE LAIR OF THE SNAKE KING
You have gained a level.
+10 COURAGE
+ATTRIBUTE Battle Scar
YOU HAVE CLEARED THE JUNGLY PLAINS
You have gained a level.
+6 VIT
+24 MAX HEALTH
YOU HAVE MADE THE HALF ACRE KINGDOM SAFE AGAIN
The king offers the hand of his beautiful daughter.
You graciously decline and say your goodbyes.
You return home to your loving boyfriend
In a time of peace and quiet, you rest.
Sunday, May 29, 2011
I Can't do This Anymore
I am so frustrated with my life I can't even conceive the words to describe one hundredth of what I feel. I don't have any of the things I need to succeed as a person. I was suffocating in this room, in this remote corner of the house when I started my blog five years ago and I'm still sitting here in the same room in the same remote corner of the house today.
I need a place to call my own. Somewhere I can be at peace and do the things I need to do. Instead, I'm stuck living in the house of people who are practically strangers to me. I can't sit down at my desk without constantly being badgered or worrying someone is going to walk in and criticize whatever I happen to be doing. But I have no money to get out.
I need a decent, predictable paycheck every week. Something I can rely on and budget around. Instead, I get between fifteen and forty hours. The boss doesn't think I'm excited enough about my job to promote me to full time, and it's next to impossible to get excited about a job when you hate your boss. But if I get a second job, the assistant boss is going to cut my hours further.
I need a way to spend time with the people I want to have in my life. I can't spend any quality time with Jason because these people are always around and never leave their house. I don't have any friends in my city who I haven't repeatedly alienated. The friends I do have live mostly out past my work, which would be fine if I didn't already spend $250 a month on fuel.
I need a place to call my own. Somewhere I can be at peace and do the things I need to do. Instead, I'm stuck living in the house of people who are practically strangers to me. I can't sit down at my desk without constantly being badgered or worrying someone is going to walk in and criticize whatever I happen to be doing. But I have no money to get out.
I need a decent, predictable paycheck every week. Something I can rely on and budget around. Instead, I get between fifteen and forty hours. The boss doesn't think I'm excited enough about my job to promote me to full time, and it's next to impossible to get excited about a job when you hate your boss. But if I get a second job, the assistant boss is going to cut my hours further.
I need a way to spend time with the people I want to have in my life. I can't spend any quality time with Jason because these people are always around and never leave their house. I don't have any friends in my city who I haven't repeatedly alienated. The friends I do have live mostly out past my work, which would be fine if I didn't already spend $250 a month on fuel.
I Think There's A Problem Here
I really need to get out of this house. When there's a woman trolling outside my bedroom when Jason and I are trying to have some alone time, there's a fucking problem. All I want to do are some of the things normal couples do in the privacy of my own bedroom. There's nothing unusual or interesting going on in here, honestly.
When there's a woman who can't walk ten feet to get something from the refrigerator interrupting me every five minutes, there's a fucking problem. All I hear all day is what other people need. I don't care anymore. There are things I need as well, but I don't demand people help me while I sit on my ass. I need to do these scholarship essays and finish my library book. And I need some uninterrupted time in which to do it.
When there's a woman purposefully insinuating things about me every time we interact, there's a fucking problem. If I go out with my boyfriend, it doesn't mean we go to the local gay bar and have an orgy. When people laugh at a stupid joke you make, it doesn't mean they're on to my horrible secret. I'm not going to marry any of the women I spent time with. And If I'm reading a book about how sickness influenced the evolution of our species, it doesn't mean I plan on getting AIDS. Thanks for making that connection, though.
Yes. There's a fucking problem here.
When there's a woman who can't walk ten feet to get something from the refrigerator interrupting me every five minutes, there's a fucking problem. All I hear all day is what other people need. I don't care anymore. There are things I need as well, but I don't demand people help me while I sit on my ass. I need to do these scholarship essays and finish my library book. And I need some uninterrupted time in which to do it.
When there's a woman purposefully insinuating things about me every time we interact, there's a fucking problem. If I go out with my boyfriend, it doesn't mean we go to the local gay bar and have an orgy. When people laugh at a stupid joke you make, it doesn't mean they're on to my horrible secret. I'm not going to marry any of the women I spent time with. And If I'm reading a book about how sickness influenced the evolution of our species, it doesn't mean I plan on getting AIDS. Thanks for making that connection, though.
Yes. There's a fucking problem here.
Saturday, May 21, 2011
Procrastination
In a highly successful attempt at procrastination, I spent a lot of time outside today.
Our shed (a.k.a. our local dump) was in desperate need of cleaning. It started out fairly uneventfully; I discovered that the number of both rakes and shovels exceeds the number of people in the house, and that we have an unusually large number of hand rakes and shovels. As I was condensing my mom's junk into boxes and moving them to the back of the shed I discovered the Mushroom Kingdom, complete with a grumpy cactus and a guy running around in red suspenders. True to it's 2D form, the Kingdom was entirely contained in the space between a row of boxes and the shed wall.
When I was finished, I proceeded to mow the front lawn. To my dismay I found that a colony of ants had taken up residence between the motor cover and the engine. Perhaps it was to their dismay, because the mower started right away and I mowed the lawn. Since it's been raining for the last few days the grass was longer than usual and left a lot of clippings. I decided to rake them up and toss them on the compost pile I made last year. Sometime between late last year and early this year all the crap I had been throwing in there decomposed and I had a nice big pile of compost. Which is nice because I was about to give up on it.
Our shed (a.k.a. our local dump) was in desperate need of cleaning. It started out fairly uneventfully; I discovered that the number of both rakes and shovels exceeds the number of people in the house, and that we have an unusually large number of hand rakes and shovels. As I was condensing my mom's junk into boxes and moving them to the back of the shed I discovered the Mushroom Kingdom, complete with a grumpy cactus and a guy running around in red suspenders. True to it's 2D form, the Kingdom was entirely contained in the space between a row of boxes and the shed wall.
When I was finished, I proceeded to mow the front lawn. To my dismay I found that a colony of ants had taken up residence between the motor cover and the engine. Perhaps it was to their dismay, because the mower started right away and I mowed the lawn. Since it's been raining for the last few days the grass was longer than usual and left a lot of clippings. I decided to rake them up and toss them on the compost pile I made last year. Sometime between late last year and early this year all the crap I had been throwing in there decomposed and I had a nice big pile of compost. Which is nice because I was about to give up on it.
Thursday, May 19, 2011
275 Words, Just for You
All I wanted to do when I got home was write a 700 word essay about how $500 would help me achieve my dreams for a meager chance to win the said $500. That's how desperate I am for money. Instead I'm going to blog about how much I hate my life, because it seems that that's all I'm really good at.
All I ever hear is what people need from me. Whether it's idiot customers, my idiot bosses, or my idiot family, they all want something from me all the time. No one ever stops to ask me if I need anything. No one bothers to take my needs into account. Instead of "Hey, are you okay today," or "Is there anything I can do to make your situation better," it's always "Smile Rich," and "I don't want you to be so moody (presumably because it makes my mother look bad to other people)."
Do you know what I want? I want to move on with my life. I want to get the fuck out of my parents house. I want to tell my boss (take your pick) to fuck himself over the PA on a busy day. I want people to start respecting my time. I want people to start respecting me, as a person, and stop talking to me condescendingly. I want to go to college completely free like many of the people I know who didn't work for it. I want a cushy job, getting paid $11 an hour for data entry. I want something completely different.
I'm tired and I'm annoyed at the crappy job I'm stuck at and I can't take it anymore.
All I ever hear is what people need from me. Whether it's idiot customers, my idiot bosses, or my idiot family, they all want something from me all the time. No one ever stops to ask me if I need anything. No one bothers to take my needs into account. Instead of "Hey, are you okay today," or "Is there anything I can do to make your situation better," it's always "Smile Rich," and "I don't want you to be so moody (presumably because it makes my mother look bad to other people)."
Do you know what I want? I want to move on with my life. I want to get the fuck out of my parents house. I want to tell my boss (take your pick) to fuck himself over the PA on a busy day. I want people to start respecting my time. I want people to start respecting me, as a person, and stop talking to me condescendingly. I want to go to college completely free like many of the people I know who didn't work for it. I want a cushy job, getting paid $11 an hour for data entry. I want something completely different.
I'm tired and I'm annoyed at the crappy job I'm stuck at and I can't take it anymore.
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