ShortStat Mar 7, 2006
I'm currently using Jeff Minard's WP-ShortStat plugin.  It's a great statistics plugin that shows recent referrers, browsers, operating systems, pages viewed, search strings, and hits.  It didn't work at first, and I found out that it's not completely compatible with WordPress 2.0.1, but there's a really simple fix:  On line 13, change "if (function_exists('check_admin_referer')) {" to "if (function_exists('user_can_access_admin_page')) {".  That's it.  It works fine after that. #technology
Hazel Mar 6, 2006
My driver's license says I have hazel eyes because that's what I told the DMV people when I went for my driver's test.  The dictionary defines hazel as "A light brown or yellowish brown".  I know one thing:  My eyes aren't yellow and don't have much brown.  So what's the deal?  Wikipedia says, "Hazel is usually used to describe eyes that contain elements of both green eyes and brown eyes, sometimes transitioning from green at the edges to brown around the pupil."  I could agree with that definition.  But I think the definition for grey also sort of applies.  Who knows. #psychology
Amazon getting cooler Mar 6, 2006
While looking around Amazon.com today, I noticed a few new things:  tagging, profile pages, and wikis.  Each product can be tagged by users to indicate what category it should be filed under or which keywords apply to it.  Each person that tags has their own profile page, which lists the products they tagged and the tags they used.  Each product can also have its own wiki, which can be used to provide more information and link to other products. 

It looks like Amazon is trying to be cool.  We'll see how long that lasts.  Many people/companies/organizations have found that user-edited and user-submitted information has a tendency to move completely away from "family-friendly" and go straight to "R-rated".  That's why a lot of big sites don't allow comments:  People say mean, offensive, and stupid things.  I think Amazon will discover this pretty shortly. #technology
Loud gum-chewers Mar 6, 2006
I seem to know a lot of people who I would characterize as loud gum-chewers.  A loud gum-chewer chews gum likes it's the first piece of gum ever chewed.  It's loud and obnoxious and everyone notices it.  It's like when you give gum to a little kid.  The kid shoves that piece of gum in his mouth, then chews it like he's trying to tear apart a wild animal.  The non-stop action consumes him, and every person in the room knows about it.  His loud chewing is evident while talking, walking, breathing, thinking.  Gum-chewing is a special event for this kid. 

My 60-year-old co-worker is a loud gum-chewer.  I can't not notice it. #psychology
Accidental discoveries Mar 6, 2006
This Wired article is about the 10 best accidental discoveries.  I wonder what happened to the people who first discovered X-rays and microwave ovens (both are on the list).  (via Digg) #technology
Para-Cycle Mar 6, 2006
A Para-Cycle is a bicycle combined with a parachute and a huge fan.  This combination produces a street-legal ultralight aircraft.  No driver's license required and no pilot's license required (that scares me a little).  I might be a little more interested if it was less than $10,000.  (via Neatorama) #technology
Do nothing Mar 3, 2006
Dove makes some pretty darn good chocolate.  They have these things called Dove Promises, which are chocolates wrapped in foil with an "encouraging" message written on the foil.  Normally they say stupid, "feely" things like "Listen with your heart" and "Go hug a hamster" (ok, I made that up).  But I got one the other day that changed my life.  It said "You're allowed to do nothing."  I felt like it was speaking directly to me.  Thank you, Dove, for validating my desire to do nothing. 

#entertainment
SQL edit Mar 3, 2006
I used phpMyAdmin to edit a few things in my SQL back-end.  In the "guid" field of wp_posts, there were a bunch of references to the old way my site used to be organized.  So I changed some things around, deleted the whole table and imported the edited table.  I was a little afraid of deleting huge sections of my database (especially the table that contained all my posts), but everything seemed to work out ok. #technology
Sprite Mar 3, 2006
I used to love Sprite.  I used to get it every time I went to a restaurant because I was slightly concerned about my caffeine intake during certain times of the day.  When everyone else would order Coke and iced tea, I would be the little girl who ordered Sprite (it's sort of a girly drink).  But a few years ago, something clicked and now I no longer like Sprite.  I'm not sure what happened, but I really hate it now.  I think it tastes terrible. #food
Offensive Mar 3, 2006
I think it's funny when old people say offensive things without even realizing it.  They use terms like "gays" and "blacks", which everyone knows are offensive terms (for some reason).  If you said, "Those two gays moved in next door", that would be considered offensive.  But if you said "Two gay people moved in next door", it doesn't sound quite as bad. 

This brings up an interesting point:  Why are people offended by anything?  For me, I might be offended by things that aren't true for everyone in the group.  If you say "White people don't have rhythm", I might be a little offended because I think I have a small amount of rhythm, though I would agree that many white people do not.  If you say "Men can't understand art", I might be a little offended by being grouped in the category of "men", which is usually used to imply machismo and stupidity.  So I guess the conclusion is that I would be offended by being grouped in certain categories that I don't feel apply to me. 

So maybe the terms "gays" and "blacks" are offensive because of their connotation.  Sure, gay people are gay and black people are black.  But what does a person mean when they use these terms?  I think they're usually used with a bit of stereotyping and criticism.  "All gay people are like that guy from Will and Grace."  I personally know two gay people that live across the street from me.  The one guy couldn't be farther from that stereotype.  "All black people play basketball."  I knew a black guy in college that couldn't dribble a basketball to save his life.  He definitely didn't fit the mold (my own stereotype) of "black". 

In conclusion, labels are offensive when they imply certain things that aren't entirely true. #psychology