I made it around the sun again

Birthdays are rather odd ways at assessing the passing of one's life: "Ooh look at me, I made it around the sun again, let's celebrate!"

That said, there is nothing wrong with just celebrating. Even if it is celebrating at someone else's expense (what can I say, I'm a terrible person).

In related news, I learned that watching Jeopardy is useful. See Final Jeopardy answer the other day was about the only word in the English language that has the letter combination "gnt" appearing together in a row. It was in the news a lot in July 2004. I thought it was a neat piece of trivia. I was later talking to Nick Tam (a person who prides himself on his vocabulary prowess), and decided to test out my newly acquired knowledge.

It proved to be hours of amusement, and here is the conclusion for your entertainment. It also includes the question for the Jeopardy clue. Enjoy.

Edit: Nick did eventually figure out how many scrabble points it would be worth.

Avoiding talk of politics is hard

You know that Simpsons episode, where Homer rennovates Bart's room? Bart ends up with a bed that looks like an evil clown and he is scarred of his bed.

Now which federal politician reminds you most of an evil clown, especially when he smile?

I'm done

I finished my BComm today.

This is the closest I get to a yearbook.

Following the white rabbit

Before I get to the post itself, I have an update on my life's quest for irony. As I was nearing the end of the typing my post, my computer ate it. I have retyped it quickly so that you can share in the irony.
___________________________

I started my summer job two days ago.
I am a finance assistant with a corner office and love-hate relationship with nepotism.

It's a fun job. I don't think I have played with this many stickers since elementary, and I know I've never been paid this much to sticker things. I was also introduced to the photocopier, colour printer, laser printer, broken shredder, and plethora of computers with which I will be dealing.

Have you ever notices that computers (and electronics in general) are ubiquitous? If so, have you ever noticed that technology in general can be rather perplexing?

I realized that I don't know much about computers (and technology in general).
I know that they are a time sink.
I know that they can be useful.
I know that they crash when you need them most (stupid toshiba photocopier).

I also know that they plug into an electrical outlet.
But what exactly is a volt or an ohm or an amp or current? Sure they tried to explain it to me in Physics 30, but I think it was all a conspiracy to cover up the truth.

The more I deal with computers, the more I begin to suspect that even though they may plug them into a wall, the real source of their energy is from consuming people's time. If energy can not be created nor destroyed, perhaps all the energy that we put into using and being frustrated with computers is what makes them tick.

Technology is like a girl in a relationship: constantly yearning for attention. Especially when you have better things to do.

Is your computer messing up? It just feels it hasn't been getting enough of your time.
Your computers' favourite food: time you don't have.
Your computers' favourite pastime: making you late and stealing your attention.
Your computers' biggest enemies: books, baths, and babies. They take up too much computer time and can be used to harm the computer.

In my office, we have resorted to naming our printers, talking to our computers, and coaxing our photocopier and broken shredder to work. But as long as we continue to let them have an impact on our lives they will continue to try and win our attention by holding our work hostage.

My solution: a mass defenestration of computers to teach them a lesson.

I want to jump out of a plane

My sister went skydiving in Winnipeg last weekend.

I am ridiculously jealous; I have always wanted to be the one that jumps out of a plane. Besides, I thought she was afraid of heights, for example when we were in Turkey, she didn't go cliff jumping with me.

She landed in a bunch of trees.

I thought irony was better tasting

I am a business student. Well I was a business student, since I have no more classes in business, but a paper and an exam still stand between me and becoming a BComm (stupid paper and exams... grrrrr). Either way, for the last 4 years, I have studied business-y courses.

I have learned a lot from my degree:
-People are resources.
-Some of those people are even employed in the field of human resource management. That's where they learn that apparently resources have feelings.
-I have an undying love for excel and spreadsheets.

I have a rather prevalent disdain for people in general, so viewing people as resources, or a means to an end, makes my life easier. I recognize that some people would disagree and find this to be a rather harsh and cynical outlook, but those are the sort of resources that you don't employ in Human Resources for efficacy issues.

Now here is where the aforementioned irony comes in. Despite my view that humans are resources, whose purpose it is to drive the bottom line, I place a higher premium on people than many individuals with whom I have dealt as of late do.

In fact, regardless of what my courses have told me, I believe that there are things that are more important than money. (I think that the little economist in me just died a little.) As such, if a person has made a mistake or needs help, one should try and help them out and not just look at the bottom line and the marginal benefits and marginal costs of helping them. After all, there are somethings mastercard can't do that are still important. But I guess money really does corrupt. That is why some individuals place money at a higher premium than people and organizations.

Personally, if I were stranded on a desert island, money would not be my first choice of resource. So I am glad that my business degree taught me that money in and of itself is just another resource, and not the be all and end all; which makes it easier to justify all the money I paid for my degree.

peer pressure

It's a bad thing.