January 6, 2006

Ugly

Somewhere, something went horribly wrong:

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December 22, 2005

We Wish You A Merry Crash-mas

In the middle of all this strikery, I noticed yesterday what I had been waiting for for so long--the whiff of Christmas spirit on the air. The thing about New York--and this holds true even for the people who hate the city on principle--there are a couple of times of year that are simply magic in this city. One is the springtime, because when the flowers come up on Park Avenue, and everyone starts going back to Central Park for the first time, there's nothing like it. Springtime's rebirth is emphasized by all the concrete and glass, and somehow the city feels calm, as though it were taking a deep breath again. This is actually one of the main reasons S and I are getting married in late spring here. While there are others, to me, the most magical time is late evening during the second and third weeks of December, especially if a bit of snow comes down. Somehow you feel transported back to the 1950s, with people holding hands, scurrying along to some new shindig, dreaming of mere (i.e. not entirely crass) material gifts, and the city feels enveloped in an uber-familial glow. To me, the scent of Christmas trees being sold on the corners just encapsulates all of this. And last night, as I saw neighbors helping neighbors with rides to wherever-it-was, I was struck by that piney whiff. It made me happy. Ironically, the other reason why I'm remembering it is because I'm not being distracted by my computer at home, which croaked out a miserable hard-drive failure for the holidays. I'm thrust back to actual experiences, while simultaneously researching new computers, trying to figure out just what I want. It's sort of like Christmas, except I'm being Scrooge to myself, trying not to spend good money without reason.

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September 5, 2005

Tech Support

I admit it, I'm a bit geekier than most. I am more likely to research my new purchases, learn all that I can about a particular product and ask for knowledgable input from people who seem like they probably know what they're doing. At most stores, then, it makes sense to talk to the employees. After all, they sell these things day in and day out, and while most don't actually build the things they're selling, they know who comes back with returns, which device sells consistently, and one would hope that they actually look into the product a bit. All of which makes it rather frustrating when you ask for assistance and all you get is asinine. A couple of clips: * Looking at a portable DVD player, and asking which one is better: That one because the screen is 0.1 inches larger. [and not, say, because the resolution is better, the manufacturer makes them more durable, the power lasts longer, it has a special feature, blah blah blah.] * Looking at an all-in-one fax/printer/scanner/photo printer: Well this one has more DPIs. (dots per inch). What about faster printing, better quality printing, excellent scanning capacity, vivid color, etc.? * Looking at a DVD burner: This one, because it's the one that people always ask for. And no technical guidance at all? It's not that I necessarily know what I'm looking for myself, but it seems that I should at least get a bit of guidance here. Is that too much to ask?

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November 19, 2004

Picky Picky

Words and phrases that people use and bug the crap out of me: * "Center around" -- actually, that's impossible. * "Conscious" instead of "conscience" -- one means you think, the other means Jiminy Cricket. * "As of yet" -- "as of now" or "as yet". * Those damn homophones -- I know it's bothersome to remember the difference between place (there) and possession (their) and people (they're), but aside from a typo here and there, (see?) I don't understand why this is difficult. * See also: "your" and "you're". Go watch the famous breakup scene with Ross and Rachel. * "President Bush" * "Mah Fella Merkins" -- Ee-NUN-see-ate.

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October 16, 2004

Blackberry Jam

I’ve been wrestling with this.

Is there a higher sense of dorkdom than wearing an electronic box on your belt? It’s as though all the kids who weren’t too popular in high school decided they wanted to come back as Darth Vader, ostensibly to wreak havoc on the bigger, more popular boys, who—let’s face it—probably didn’t end up amounting to much anyway.

At least some of them.

That said, I confess to having been a dork in high school and a bit of a geek now. But I also happen to like looking good, or at least stylish. And this is the sort of thing that ends up bugging me, because I end up either wearing my geekdom on my belt if I follow the masses, and with very wide hips if I stuff my phone and Blackberry in my pockets.

Can you look good with these necessary devices? Or have the geeks, in their terrible, misguided tyranny decided to un-cool the only cool ones among them?

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