Million Oct 13, 2006
If I had a million dollars, I'd pretty much do the same thing I'm doing right now.  Maybe I have trouble imagining it, or maybe it's just that $1M isn't that much money these days.  Sure, I'd pay off my house, car, bills, and invest the rest, but it wouldn't get me all that far.  It's not like I could buy a yacht or a mansion.  Heck, to get a nice-sized house in my neck of the woods, I'd have to spend about $500,000.  Plus, smart financial advisers say to invest all the money and continue paying normal bills because the investment will presumably make more money than it's costing to pay off the house. 

But anyway, the question is asking what I'd do if I didn't have to work or worry about anything.  I guess I might do some traveling and spend some more time pursuing my expensive hobbies (snowboarding, skydiving [since when is a one-time-thing a hobby?], snorkeling/scuba diving, etc.).  I might buy a few cool gadgets like a nice camera or a GPS device.  But I have trouble envisioning my life changing very much.  What I'd like to do is continue living my current life, but take care of all the little things that get in the way of my enjoyment.  For example, I wouldn't set my alarm for 6am.  I wouldn't set my alarm at all.  I'd get up when I wanted to get up, and that's how I would start my day.  I'd probably keep going to work because my job provides me with a relatively comfortable workspace and a nice computer.  But instead of splitting my time between work and personal interests, I'd just eliminate work from the equation.  And I'd do something about the overwhelming quietness in my office.  And I'd find the thermostat and punch the building manager in the face.  But I'd continue reading things on the internet and writing things on this site.  My after-work life probably wouldn't change too much either.  I'd continue going to Bible studies.  I'd continue watching NFL on Sundays.  One thing I might change is the fluctuation of gas prices.  I like paying $1.99 a gallon.  I liked it even more when I paid $0.99 a gallon.  So I'd make sure the gas I put in my Toyota (which I wouldn't replace) would only cost $0.99 a gallon.  I'd probably continue shopping at Walmart, though I would probably make more frequent trips to Target instead.  I'd probably continue fixing my house, but I'd hire a professional to figure out how to make my grass grow. 

So I guess I'm either not answering this correctly, or I'm just really unexciting.  I'm supposed to say something along the lines of all the cool things I'd do and all the fast cars I'd buy.  But I'm so uninterested in things most people are interested in.  Oh well.  So I'm unexciting.  But I'd be an unexciting millionaire.  And think of all the candy I could buy with that kind of money!  The possibilities are endless. #money
No message Oct 13, 2006
Adding my home phone number to the Do Not Call registry was obviously futile.  I still get all kinds of stupid phone calls from stupid people asking for stupid things (honestly, why would I give more money to cops) or telling me to hold for a very important message (Atlantic City Hilton, you're the bane of my existence).  But by far, the most perplexing thing about messages is when the message-leaver just keeps saying, "Hello?  Hello?"  I'd really like to ask that person, "When were you born?  How long have you lived in this country?  Is this your first time using a phone?  Are you familiar with what an answering machine is?  Would you like me to explain to you how one works?"  Honestly, how can anyone be that stupid?  I understand why this happens sometimes:  Telemarketers use some sort of automated phone-dialing machine-o-tron, and when someone or something answers, the telemarketer readies him/herself to dish out the standard spiel.  But doesn't this machine-o-tron have some sort of way to tell if it's talking to a person or another machine?  If not, doesn't the telemarketer have enough sense to realize when he/she is talking to an answering machine?  Perhaps the telemarketer could observe the sound of empty space and conclude that no person is on the other end of the line.  Perhaps the telemarketer could only say "Hello" once, concluding that saying "Hello" more than once will simply fill up a person's answering machine with worthless blank messages.  Perhaps these wastes of human life could just stop calling me. #technology
Email attachments Oct 13, 2006
The best way to get me to ignore whatever you're saying in an email is to tell me to read an attachment.  I get this at work all the time.  Some jerk will send an email to all 600,000 or so employees (possibly an exaggerated number) with an obscure subject like "Important information" and a meaningless message saying "See attached file for details".  If you don't take the time to write a good email, I won't take the time to read it.  Opening an attachment is usually a cumbersome, time-consuming process, especially if it's a PDF.  And most times, the information in the attachment can be quickly and easily summarized in a sentence or two, if not just completely copied and pasted into the body of the email.  Some people send an attachment because it's the only way they know how to organize and/or display information.  Large bodies of text come in DOC and PDF files; schedules and finances come in XLS files; presentations and diagrams come in PPT files.  But when your schedule is as simple as "Column A:  Date; Column B:  Event", I think you can skip the whole Excel file and just put the information in the email.  If your body of text is from another person and you want to make clear that you're not the originator of the information, use quotes.  It's really quite simple. #technology