Mail identity Feb 13, 2007
It must be easy for the mailman to figure out what's happening in a person's life at a given time, simply based on the type of mail they receive.  When there's a sudden influx of personal cards (in hand-written envelopes), it either means a birthday, a birth, a death, or an illness.  Why else would someone send a card?  If there are a bunch of letters from mortgage lenders, chances are the person is currently enslaved by or has recently applied for a mortgage.  If there are letters from AARP, chances are the person is frighteningly old, somewhere in the range of 40 to 45.  Magazines like Sports Illustrated and Maxim imply the person is a standard, straight-out-of-the-box male.  Magazines like Newsweek and Time imply an increased level of political and international awareness.  And of course, magazines like Popular Science and Computers R Us imply a sense of world-dominating, mind-boggling intelligence and superiority.  Certain recurring bills say a lot about purchasing patterns.  Bills from Home Depot are pretty standard for homeowners.  Bills from Guitar Center imply the person likes spending a good amount of money on musical equipment.  Bills from lawyers or doctors imply legal and medical problems (I say "problems" because when is anything legal or medical not a problem?).  Pretty much every piece of mail we receive gives a little glimpse into our personal lives.  But don't worry, it's all stored in the mailbox, that impenetrable fortress of metal and plastic, hidden away at the end of our driveway, at the top of a wooden or metal pole to keep the squirrels out. #psychology
Restaurant hierarchy Feb 12, 2007
I think restaurants can be divided into 5 categories, ranked in order of quality and healthiness: 
  1. Fast food.  McDonald's, Burger King, Wendy's, and other bottom-dwellers.  These places are a necessary evil.  They have pretty horrible food, yet we consistently go to them when we need something fast and simple.
  2. Not-as-fast food.  Subway, Quizno's, Panera, and other similar places that have relatively fast food, but usually place a little more emphasis on quality and nutrition.  Subway really shouldn't be in the same category as Quizno's or Panera, but it'll work for now.
  3. Chain restaurants.  Chili's, Applebee's, TGI Friday's, and Ruby Tuesday, which are all essentially the same restaurant.  I'm amazed at how many people disagree with me on this point.  These restaurants all have the same types of food, same atmosphere, same stupid birthday song, etc.  The only difference is their specific dishes.
  4. Nicer chain restaurants.  Outback, Ruth's Chris, Olive Garden, etc.  These choices can be argued.  Typically, these restaurants specialize in a certain type of food (Italian) or dish (steak).  The quality is generally better than that of the chain restaurants, but degree of healthiness is questionable.
  5. All others.  This includes out-of-the-way places, fancy restaurants, and Zagat-rated eateries.  The quality is better because they actually have a focus (BBQ, seafood, Thai, etc.), and their bottom line isn't affected by corporate mumbo jumbo and franchise bull jive.  The price is usually higher (though not always), which I think takes away from the enjoyment of the food (because I'm cheap).
#food
Mediocre words Feb 12, 2007
Five words that have a mostly positive meaning but a mostly negative connotation: 
  1. Sufficient
  2. Satisfactory
  3. Adequate
  4. Acceptable
  5. Decent
#language
Victims Feb 12, 2007
It's a well-known fact that many people seek to be victims.  Quite simply, victims go to better colleges, and upon entering the workforce, the pay is better.  But I've noticed a different kind of victim, one who can't claim any racial, ethnic, gender, financial, physical, mental, or emotional handicap as their source of misfortune.  These people blend in with everyone else and have the same rights and opportunities as their peers.  But for whatever reason, they find a way to become a victim. 

One example is a girl who used to go to my church.  She was an active member and enjoyed attending, even though she felt that the music could be a little more enthusiastic (white people have no rhythm).  I hadn't seen her in a while and finally caught up with her to ask her where she had been.  She described to me some sort of "snafu" where her daughter was meant to be in a church play, but the director chided her in front of the other kids because of her behavior.  When she (the mother) found out about it, she sent a letter (actually, an email) to the director/pastor in complaint.  The director's wife sent a response, but because it was from the wife and not the director, it was a big problem.  So the girl stopped attending church and was looking around for another one.  I understand that people make mistakes and some mistakes cause hurt feelings, and these hurt feelings might lead to a break in friendship and a desire to find a healthier atmosphere.  However, I have a feeling that the girl was just looking for a reason to leave the church, and once she found her opportunity, she magnified it until it became a viable reason to leave. 

Another example is a guy I work with.  His supervisor told him to go see his co-worker when he needed some work to do.  He went to see the co-worker and did the assigned work, but after completing it, he complained of having no work to do (oh the horror).  He magnified his complaint and talked to the boss and is now given special treatment because of his "special" situation. 

I keep coming across things like this in my daily life.  I'll write more when I hear about them. #psychology
Personal space Feb 12, 2007
You know it's a good Dilbert comic when you don't even have to read the blurbs.  You can figure out what he's thinking just by looking at the pictures. 
#entertainment
Lists Feb 9, 2007
I've been really into lists lately.  It seems like everything I write about can be easily organized with numbers or bullets.  Plus, it seems like most ideas come with 3 or 4 supporting points.  Why write all that fluff when everything can be put in lists?  This comes in direct opposition to my previous aversion to lists, but that had more to do with HTML and styling and less to do with actual content.  Sites like 5ives and posts about top 10 lists make all the sense in the world to me right now. #psychology
Website speed problems (1) Feb 9, 2007
I was having some speed problems with my website for the past few weeks, and I was thinking about switching from DreamHost to something like BlueHost.  I even left a comment on somebody's website when I noticed how much faster his site was than mine.  He said he was with BlueHost and he uses a really stripped-down theme.  My theme is pretty simple, so I knew it had to be a problem with my server.  Pages were taking a long time to load, and even posting new entries was taking forever.  I tried all the normal tricks like disabling sending trackbacks and pinging update services, but nothing worked.  But then yesterday, things suddenly went back to normal.  Everything's fast again.  I have no idea what the problem was. #technology
Time flies Feb 9, 2007
As I was driving home yesterday, I noticed how light it was despite the time.  This means we're past the mid-point of winter.  The days are getting longer, and this is a good thing.  It's weird how fast time goes by now that I'm "old".  Seasons used to feel like years, and years like a lifetime.  Now years are like seasons, and months like weeks.  It used to feel like winter took forever to be done with, and summer was always too short.  Summer is still too short, but winter isn't all that long (I'm saying this in February; let's see what I say in May when it's still 40°).  I'm not sure if it's because I'm not in school anymore or just because each successive day accounts for a smaller percentage of my lifetime, but time seems like it's flying. #lifestyle
Rich Feb 9, 2007
Money can't buy you love, but it can pretty much solve every problem you could ever encounter.  Sometimes I think being rich would make life a bit easier.  If, for example, there was an extra "0" at the end of my salary, I would no longer have any bills.  My house, car, insurance, electric, cell phone, internet, would all be paid for.  With quite a bit to spare.  Heck, I'd really only have to work about a year or two before I'd make more than enough for retirement.  But the more I think about it, the more I realize I couldn't deal with being rich.  If the above scenario was true, one of two things would happen:  Either I would (a) adjust my life to match my enormous income or (b) continue living as normal, with a massive savings account and permanent financial stability.  Since (b) couldn't possibly happen, I'll go with (a).  I would probably try to keep things under control at first, but I think I'd end up realizing how many things are broken and how easily they can be fixed with money.  "I don't like having to go outside to warm up my car in the morning, so I'm gonna buy an automatic starter.  But oh wait, I have a ton of money.  Why don't I just move to Hawaii?"  This is the kind of logic that I would imagine is impossible to dismiss when an almost endless supply of money is at hand.  If I somehow developed the self-control and perseverance to adhere to (b), I don't think it would work as nicely as I'd like.  Let's say I continued living life as normal, paying bills with interest, shopping at cheap stores because ... well, I'm cheap.  But all the while, there's a huge sum of money continually growing, funding savings accounts, investments, retirement, college education, etc.  I think at some point, something would come up.  Maybe my liver would fail and I'd need to buy a new one.  Or maybe my mortgage company would decide they wanted all my money now instead of in 30 years.  My current way of life couldn't even come close to paying for these things.  But if I had all kinds of money saved up, it would be stupid to not use it to pay for these kinds of things.  Maybe I'm a pessimist (maybe?), but I just think something would happen that would prevent me from ever being rich.  Oh well.  I can deal with that. #money
Plurals Feb 8, 2007
My top 3 favorite unnecessary and incorrect plurals: 
  1. Yous (as in "Hey yous guys")
  2. Thems (as in "Thems fightin' words")
  3. Alls (as in "Alls I want to do is talk like an idiot")
On a similar note, my top 3 favorite unnecessary and incorrect animal plurals: 
  1. Deers
  2. Fishes
  3. Mooses
And on a slightly less similar note, my favorite incorrect use of a possessive pronoun:  I's as in "Come to Dave and I's house at 7:30". #language