geek in heels

Football season has officially started! Although I’ve always enjoyed the sport, I was never into it as much as basketball. However, this season I decided to join my first fantasy football league in order to get more exposure from the most popular sport in the US.

J is overjoyed at the prospect as he is a football nut and joins multiple fantasy football leagues every year. He was genuinely happy, helping me with my draft and coaching me on the finer prospects of the online game.

He also has ulterior motives: he knows that due to my nature, I will research the subject like crazy, making multiple charts, graphs, and spreadsheets as I organize the information I have absorbed. “And you know that, as your husband, [albeit not legally] I am privy to this data,” he said with a smirk.

We’ll see, mister.

1. Eraser with 28 Corners, TokyoMango. I used to be one of those wasteful children who would discard erasers as soon as they lost their corners. This design is ingenius. I wish I can research product design forever.
   
   
2. Want Video Games To Appeal To Women? Make ‘Em Pink & More Child-Like, Jezebel. Am I the only one who finds this insulting? I enjoy complex video games, and yes, many of them are violent. I like it when men shout at the screen, because heck I do it too. What I dislike are pink, jewel-encrusted gaming hardware or men who expect me to watch them play and  “help spot snipers.” This panel is a disgrace to women gamers everywhere.
   
   
3. Study: Musical improvisation shuts down your brain’s “overthinking”, Collision Detection. While I have been known to improvise once in a while, I do not particularly like it. I could never put my finger on the cause, but now I think I’ve figured it out. Many have told me over the years that I think too much…and I like to think. Is this the problem? Because the “overthinking” parts of my brain get shut down, leaving me feeling powerless and unproductive? Hmm…
   
   
4. HOWTO dispose of murdered bodies, Boing Boing. I love Ask Metafilter. It’s one of my favorite time-wasters, filled with humor as well as practical advice and random information. Well, this featured question takes the cake. Too bad I knew most of the answers from watching too much CSI.
   
   
5. A Profile of a Profile of Charlie Kaufman, Mental Floss Blog. My favorite magazine plus my favorite screenwriter. Need I say more?
   
   
6. Daewoo Takes Room Divider into 21st Century: Digital Screens in the Screen, Gizmodo. As a person of Asian descent, I am very familiar with these screens/room dividers. In fact, my parents used to make them - my father the painting and assembly, my mother the embroidery. Although this is a pretty dope concept and looks nice, to boot, I like the originals better.
   
   
7. 40 Creative Design Layouts: Getting Out Of The Box, Smashing Magazine. The thing about web design is that there are probably less than 5 original web layouts…and all the rest are variations of the original. These aren’t groundbraking, but still some great, “thinking out of the box” designs.
   
   
8. Dr. Frankenstein’s Browser: The Strangely Obvious Ancestry of Google Chrome, Gizmodo. My Google reader was abuzz with article after article about Chrome, the new web browser from Google. I had trouble trying to decide which one to feature…then Gizmodo went and did it again by presenting an over-talked topic in a different way. (As a side note, I was quite angry that I found out about Chrome with the rest of the population. J defended his silence by asking, “Do you want me to get fired?” Hmmph. Fine, keep secrets from your pseudo-wife!)
   
   
9. EARN: Helping Low-Wage Workers Learn to Save, Get Rich Slowly. There are many non-profit, financial education/assistance programs out there…but this was the first in years that really got me excited. While I have no use for the program, I can’t help but be hopeful for those who are eligible.
   
   
10. Japanese wives wanting a divorce hire professional seducers, Boing Boing. In a nation where “irreconcilable differences” just don’t cut it, more “thinking out of the box” companies swoop in to cash in. Morally correct? No. Amusing read? Yes.
    
    
11. Is Cuil Killing Websites? TechCrunch. Another step back for the company that marketed itself as the “Google Killer.” I’m starting to feel somewhat sorry for the guys.
    
    
12. Knicks acquire F Patrick Ewing Jr., Yahoo Sports. Holy pressure Batman! Will the boy be able to live up to his father, or is he doomed to forever linger in his dad’s shadow? (And that’s quite a large shadow, indeed.)

While researching new and upcoming exhibitions for my museum post yesterday, I became frustrated, clicking through the various museums’ websites to find the latest and greatest exhibitions.

“Isn’t there a blog for this?” I asked myself. The closest I found was Curator’s Choice, which (in my humble opion) was difficult to navigate and poorly designed.

Should I create my own? It’ll certainly give me an excuse to visit more museums. However, I’m not sure if my schedule could handle it, or if there will be an interest at all.

Just something to think about during my 4-day weekend. Yes, FOUR. My company decided to give us all an extra vacation day tomorrow, in anticipation of Monday’s Labor Day. Yay!

On to the links!

1. Quick 10: 10 Words That Will Help You Win at Scrabble, Mental Floss Blog. As a Scrabble lover, I’m proud to say that there was only one word I didn’t know on the list: cwm, which is a valley created by glacial movement. How many do you know?
   
   
2. Android to Get Its Own App Market, TechCrunch. This was one of the biggest tech announcements of the day, and people have been clamoring to call Android an iPhone copycat. The fact of the matter is, mobile app markets have been around for some time - the iPhone App Store is nothing new. However, I’m just a bit concerned at the malware that may be uploaded onto the all-apps-approved market. What do you think?
   
   
3. BlackBerry Bold Review, Gizmodo. I’m more excited about the BB Bold than I was for the iPhone 3G. As expected, it received a great review and I would be preparing to order the phone come September…if it weren’t exclusive to AT&T. Why, mobile overlords, why?!?
   
   
4. My Restaurant Update, Dilbert.com Blog. I have been a long-time reader of Scott Adams’ blog, and I especially loved today’s post on the creative ways he is drawing customers to his restaurant. A Digg-like menu format? Game nights? Networking lunches? All great examples of thinking outside the box. Great job, Mr. Adams!
   
   
5. 6 inspiring colour tools web designers should bookmark, Web Distortion. Self-explanatory, and great links! I *heart* color!
   
   
6. Tiramolla Loft Bedrooms, Apartment Therapy. Turn a loft bed into a loft bedroom and you get…beauty. Spectacular! I love these designs!
   
   
7. Thank God: Guitar Praise Offers Guitar Hero for Christians, Wired Gadget Lab. As soon as I saw this I asked J if we can get it. His response: “Only if they have Faith+1 songs.” Hehehe. My husband’s awesome.
   
   
8. Science of Star Wars, Boing Boing. The world of Star Wars explained in physics! If they had taught this at school maybe I wouldn’t have gotten a miserable C in physics.
   
   
9. North Korea claims to have invented anti-hunger noodles, Boing Boing. I’m not sure if I can believe that N. Korea invented “magic” noodles. After all, Kim Jong Il claims to have invented outer space and DVDs.
   
   
10. Geek License Plates Show Just How Geeky the Road Can Get (Very), Gizmodo. I think I like the FFFFFF one the best.  ;-)
    
    
11. Making The Call: The Greatest Year In Sports, Gothamist. I must admit that this year, so far, has been pretty dope for sports. The big upset in the Superbowl. The crazy comebacks during the NBA Finals. Records broken left and right at the Olympics. Do you agree?
    
    
12. Lego Scenes Celebrate 2008 Olympic Summer Games with Star Wars Stormtroopers, Gizmodo. I think I got it. Get ahold of some Lego figures and recreate famous photographs, movies, or events. Generate tons of traffic to my site. Voila!

My family did not have a car until I was 8 (when we moved to the US). I grew up using the Korean public transportation system, so I guess you can say that I was well prepared for the NYC transportation system.

I can always tell who the tourists are, and it isn’t by what they’re wearing but how they use the mass transit system.

Then there are also those who have lived in NY all their lives but still act like douchebags while using public transportation.

Let me make it easy and give you the three most important rules to abide by in any mass transit hub.

1. No Pole-Hogging.

(image via Trainjotting)

Unless the train/bus is relatively empty, please do not lean your entire body onto the poles. They’re there for a reason, and that is to protect riders from the ever-so-smooth rides (I swear some drivers and conductors purposely brake hard suddenly to keep themselves amused). I’ve seen upwards of 6 different people grabbing one single pole, because they all need it to keep their balance.

Don’t be a douche. Share.

2. Stand Right, Walk Left

(picture I took at the Detroit Airport)

Look, we all know that New Yorkers are in a hurry. This especially holds true during rush hour. But when I count the numerous times I’ve missed a bus or train because people are standing still on both sides of the escalator, I can’t help but want to scream.

I understand that you might want to stand next to your boo on the escalator. But give in a little. Settle for standing right behind one another. Otherwise, I guarantee you that you will receive nasty looks or even shouts of “Walk left!”

3. Learn to Give Up Your Seat

(image via Colliething)

Ever since I was a little girl taking her first bus ride with her parents, they have taught me to always give up my seat for elders, pregnant women, and the handicapped.

I still treasure this rule. On the rare occasions I do get a seat, I always give it up for these people. Even if my feet are killing me. Because it’s common courtesy.

Now I’m not a confrontational person, but I do get fuming mad when I see a frail old man, a heavily pregnant woman, or a disabled person enter the car and nobody stands up for them. In fact, they often try to avoid eye contact.

Be a decent human being, please.

Do you have any rules you’d like to share?

I love it when companies go the extra 5,280 feet for their clientele! When a fan made this YouTube video about the Tiger Woods PGA Tour 08 video game, EA took notice and acknowledged his efforts in this new commercial:

Brilliant marketing! Great job, EA!

(via Micro Persuasion)

As a fairly traditional woman, I always knew I would change my name after marriage.

I took a trip down to the local Social Security office this morning to get the ball rollin’ on the name change process. Guess what happened.

Due to a name mix-up, it turns out that our marriage certificate is NOT valid.

We are not legally married.

Awesome. Now I have to go through the long and costly process of having my name legally changed, then the marriage cert corrected.

There has been so many hurdles in the engagement and wedding process that I’m starting to think someone out there doesn’t want us together.

At least we’re trying to see the humor in this. J suggested that we change our relationship status in Facebook from “Married” to “It’s Complicated” to mess with our friends. I sent him this e-card in response:

My girlfriends think that I should throw a “Jenny is single again!” party to commemorate the event. Woohoo! Partayyyy!

Maybe we should just take a weekend trip to Vegas and do a drive-thru wedding there. At least it’ll be legal.