Every Vote Counts
28/04/2006
Doink!
I don’t know when it started, but I’ve been using a bunch of sound words to get by. I’m trying to recall if I’ve always been doing it, or if it’s something I do now as I lose bits of my vocabulary.
Instead of saying, I’m back at my desk, I’ve efficiently shortened it to doink!. I like doink immensely. It’s so doinky!
There are other sound words I use, but they’re a little hard to spell. Mostly denoting motion, or speed. Velocity, I guess, is hard to put across. The word itself is so passive, it sounds like a state of mind. But when you whoosh it, you get an idea how quick the thingey is moving, in my mind.
Thingey is also a convenient word. It’s a little more sophisticated than stuff, and don’t get me started with the people who presume that you should stick “s” behind stuff to make it sound like a whole lot of stuff. There are some things you can stick an “s” behind: like model, chicken, time, bigwig.
Words you can’t stick an “s” behind: stuff, staff.
Words you can’t stick “more” in front of: the ones that you’ll stick the “(e)r” behind. Like small, near, close, fast, slow.
Ok. Now we can move on to the next thing: web vocabulary. Will come in handy if you want a job in an internet company.
< rant >
Top 5 faux paus:
5. Online and cyber: don’t use this when you mean “relating to the internet” or “on the web” like Yeah, in my last job I was in charge of ‘online’ (or ‘cyber’). ATMs are ‘online’. When you log onto messenger you’re ‘online’. Some sex is ‘cyber’. Some space is ‘cyber’. Getting on the internet, doing business on the internet, being in charge of a web product, aren’t ‘online’ or ‘cyber’.
4. MSN, Yahoo! and Google: are company names, not products. Even though I’m sure Google is thrilled to bits when anyone says, I’ll ‘google’ this, the fact of the matter is, Google is essentially a one product company. So it makes sense. But do you really mean to say you’re ‘searching’ for something? Cos that’s a good word for it. Refrain from saying I’ll ‘MSN’ you later or ‘Yahoo!’ you later when you mean you’re going to get on whichever Messenger later, cos even though you only use 1 web product, MSN does offer other (albeit sucky) services. That term is completely lost on Yahoo!. What’re you going to do when you ‘Yahoo!’ me? Be rude and borish?
3. Upload/download: are specific actions. Don’t use it to mean reading your email, unless you’re really downloading your email from your email provider/server back to your local hard drive, it could really cause a lot of confusion if you need to get technical support. A simple ‘I’ll go check my email” will suffice, really. Don’t use ‘upload’ to mean sending email. That just sounds dumb.
2. Hits: are songs that have made it big. It’s also a really flaky web (not ‘online’, not ‘cyber’) statistical measure. According to wikipedia, in web analytics, a hit is any request for a file from a web server. It’s really crap because each page may generate a gazillion hits, depending on how many file requests someone has on the page. Hits lived out their purpose in 2000. If you now sell inventory on your website based on hits, you’re a lucky ducky. If you still buy inventory on sites based on hits, you shouldn’t be doing anything on the internet. If you’re trying to land a job in a web company, you better not even breathe the word “hit” unless the suffix to it is “song” or “single”.
1. Yahoo! page: there are a gazillion Yahoo! pages, tons of Yahoo! sites, a truckload of Yahoo! products. Saying Yahoo! page is as good as not saying anything at all, since being that vague will cause someone to doubt you actually do use the internet and therefore will not know when it’s not really a ‘Yahoo! page’ but some page/site you found off Yahoo! Search. Your alternatives? Yahoo! Home (or Front) page, Yahoo! Search Page, Yahoo! Mail, Yahoo! < insert product name here, thats the thing on the top left of the page in gray font, after the red Yahoo! logo >.
< /rant >
This is how I know I’m getting old and jaded. I’m cranky, I’m irritable and I sound like my dad.
Will end it with the best line I’ve heard today – Nick from Season 1 of the Apprentice (on his teammate Erica)
~ She’s trying to tell me how to sell? It’s like trying to tell the Pope how to pray!
Wouldn’t it be lovely?
22/04/2006
I had a long week
What about you?
Fortunately, I managed to score dinner with the engineers again – shamelessly, hee hee – so it ended on a pretty sweet note. Ah Leongsan found this place called Turqoise Bar somewhere off someplace in the west. 
It’s so much more fun to have dinner with a bunch of engineers. First, they get to the point. Second, they don’t try to milk the point till death. Third, they don’t try to outdo each other. And they laugh at all the jokes, on cue. Engineers – they’re my favourite people in the www!
On the elections
I also found out that I belong to Ang Mo Kio GRC, so it’s probably unlikely that I’d get to vote this year. Aiyah. I was looking forward to it.
It’s funny to watch the run up to the elections, especially now that I actually give a hoot about stuff. The buzz, the lame media coverage, the policies, manifestos aside, you’ve now got a bunch of new media-ites to keep an eye on.
People who write or speak about what’s happening in their blogs and casts, ranging from
The side-steppers: the ones who want to seem like they have an opinion, but don’t want to be crushed like cockroaches, and therefore resort to filming themselves talking about local issues through Apple ad-like videos. Yes, we will change the face of local views and mindsets one podcast at a time. Ha ha.
The serious-observers: the ones who hang on every letter, word and phrase that any politician spits out, analyse it, proves or debunks it, and bores the heck out of the world around them. Well intentioned, and probably too evolved for the common man.
The media-observers: the ones who write about what goes on in the run-up to Election Day on our national tv station, our national paper and our national radio station. Can feel their frustration and angst, but it’s like re-frying beans. Just a lot of air.
The blahs: the ones who blah everyone else, who try to sound like they’re above it all, but also signify nothing. 
It’s a hoot. Every so often we get to see the whole spectacle unfurl, the flitty prancing and the furious anger, the noble intentions and the personal agendas.
Then we vote, and life moves on as it should. And thus concludes another 5 years.
Who wants to live forever?
19/04/2006
Yet another ear infection
Was supposed to be a horrible (y)ear for my zodiac animal. They were right. It’s uncomfortable, and annoying but at least this time I can hear pretty ok.
Going to be a busy week at the office.
Meanwhile, KF has been going a little nuts with the new printer – so much so that I’ve had to make a few adjustments to my post-it board to accommodate the new photos. My mom though, is pretty pleased with all the new print outs of her precious grandkids.
4R paper used to cost me something like S$8.50 for a pack of 30 (Premium Glossy). Now it’s going for $5.90. Now we get semi-glossy, which I prefer. It’s like getting it printed on matte photo paper. Anyway, that too costs less than what I used to pay, weighing in at $6.30 for a 30 pack. So far, I’ve been sticking to Epson paper, mostly because it’s thick and decent. And also ‘cos KF doesn’t want to switch since he’s happy with the current print outs.
Our favourite toy this week is the 1gb thumbdrive we picked up at Challenger over the weekend. Cost us a neat $73. Damn, I love memory.
Smiles
14/04/2006
Being led on
I woke up with a grumpy throat this morning. It’s been the same for a few mornings, so I know what I need to do. I brush my teeth, and go to the kitchen to get a fix: apple cider vinegar and honey.
Before we even get to the weird drink, I arrive at my kitchen to find my sink full of dirty dishes. And as things would have it, all my cups sitting there grinning at me with the remnants of something or another floating in them.
So to get my drink, I proceed to wash the dishes. After rinsing a plate and some spoons off, I look over and find my dish rack full. So I’ve to put the stuff in my hands down, put the clean dishes back in the rack, then stack my wet dishes on.
As I wash the dishes, I’m thinking to myself, I need to do the laundry. Because KF went for basketball last night and his clothes must stink. So I tell myself I’ll get myself my drink, then get KF’s clothes for wash.
But after I stack my dishes and pour out a tablespoon of apple cider vinegar and honey into my clean cup, I realise I’m half out of boiled plain water. So out comes the electric kettle, and I hastily stick it in the sink under the water filter to fill it, while I run to my bedroom to get KF’s clothes. I get back and the kettle is almost full. So I put the kettle on, and proceed with the unsavoury task of loading KF’s dirty clothes into the washing machine – and since we share the laundry basket, it means I have to separate our laundry. Nothing like laundry to make your morning.
KF’s clothes will probably need to go on the longer cycle, I decide as I pour the soap, disinfectant, and softner in. I’m running out of Downy. The last time I went to Cold Storage there was no more pink Downy. Annoyed, I switched to another cheaper brand, and was glad that I would be able to try it soon – it was Honey and Almond scented. Who could resist that?
I put the detergents and liquids away, rinse my hands and now pour the water from my reserve bottle into my cup had a tablespoonful of the apple cider vinegar and honey, walk into my room and sit in front of the PC.
That’s a little slice of working life – and it’s uncanny how similar the situations are. It always starts out as a simple objective, but to do that you’ve a bunch of other things to work through because you procrastinated on it before. While you’re doing it you get distracted and decide you can multi-task because you also want to fix something that’s egging you.
In the end, to do something simple you end up taking 5 times longer because of all the tasks and thoughts which fleet around you.
Anyway.
This week was highly interesting, it first began with having no idea that Friday was a holiday. Then we had a meeting with a couple of local internet people who proceeded to give us what they thought was free advice. Nice attempt. Then the rest of the week just flew by with meetings and bigshots and more meetings.
Suffice to say I was really looking forward to this break.
And now that I’m on it, I have to do the dishes and the laundry.
And now, perhaps I’ll get to finishing that cup of apple cider vinegar and honey.
La Vie en Rose
12/04/2006
Zap zap zap
Turned into zit zit zit for me. I tried SK-II Facial Treatment Essence over the weekend and ended up breaking out into a face full of little zits. Not the normal pimple, but little itty bitty ones.
Am very annoyed at this development. The last time I broke out so badly I had chicken pox. And at least it was some disease I caught.
Anyway, going through some old pics on Flickr and rearranging them a little. Here’s one I took while in SF, at the Rose Garden in Golden Gate Park. It was nice, though I think the nicest roses I saw were in London in some park. In fact, all I remember about London from my first trip is Regent Park, roses, the smell of bread at Sainsburys and scones.
the fallen
11/04/2006
Swap!
I like it when situations turn turtle and roles switch. It’s so fun to watch people cringe when the balance of power tips.
Like if your boss’ boss’ boss’ contemporary shows up and your boss is on the wrong end of the bargaining table.
Or despite being a horrible wife, you find out your husband still doesn’t know when your birthday is. Or your anniversary.
All these being hypothetical situations, of course, but leverage is such a powerful concept.
So here I am, using KF’s Mac while he’s going nutty on my old desktop looking for stuff to print. He’s nuts over our new printer and agrees completely and wholeheartedly that the inkjet was a great idea. He is completely convinced that getting an inkjet was definitely better than getting a lame-assed monochrome laserjet printer, the woolley mammoth of printers and so boringly utilitarian.
He would also like to state for the record that I did not coerce him into saying all that.
And here I am completely enjoying the iLap and the Mac. Love this keyboard.
Beyond the sea
08/04/2006
Am utterly, annoyingly obsessed
With getting to Level 3 on Yahoo! Answers. I’ve chalked up a nice total of 220 points or so this week, which is completely whackers. I need to get a life.
In other news – I tried making a Honey Lemon drink at home today, to soothe my throat which has been irritable the whole week thanks to that bug KF passed me, and finally realised how much sugar probably goes into those drinks at Hong Lim.
I used the juice of 3 lemons, split between 2 glasses, topped with with water and 3 teaspoons of honey. And it was still horribly sour. It was so sour, I almost couldn’t finish it.
Was reminded of the drink when I went to lunch at the Smith Street Food Market this afternoon for lunch. Had the ikan bilis yong tau foo, which was fantastic. Love the little fish bits on top. I ordered a cup of tea because we sat in front of a drink stall, only to realise later that they served a whole heap of more interesting drinks, like bubble tea and honey lemon drink.
All That Jazz
05/04/2006
Extras
Just caught Extras on Arts Central and it wasn’t half as funny as I thought it’d be. It’s a good thing I managed to catch the second half of CSI after it.
A couple of us in the office were toying with the idea of getting lasik surgery but honestly the idea of having someone zap my eye still gives me the heebie jeebies. How much more Clockwork Orange can it get. Uck.
I think I’m falling ill – thanks to all the sickies in the office. And KF, though I was careful to quarantine him I suppose the germs are all over the house. I tried the honey and apple cider vinegar drink – an acquired taste, but I like it – but I think it’s a little too late for that. My throat hurts and I’m already sniffling. I guess I should brace myself for the onset of a the bug in the next few days.
Stay healthy.
Minor Swing
04/04/2006
I found a nice cupcake recipe site
Off sfgate the other day – it’s Cupcake Bakeshop by Chockylit, who referenced a great chocolate cake recipe from MarionQuaggatuggu. See how it went from old-media on new-media to blog (marketing) to Flickr (celebritying)?
Ahhhhhhh… and they write books about how blogs are going to be the next big hit in marketing. I hate internet wannabes writing on old media trying to look in from the outside. Wannabes.
So I tried the chocolate cake recipe, but I think I overdid the eggs. I am quite pleased how the cocoa and sweetness turned out – I went heavier on the chocolate and lighter on the sugar, so I doubt the cake’s going to be very popular with most. Maybe the next time I’ll substitute some yogurt for egg. I really detest that eggy smell. Other than that the cake turned out pretty ok. Ugly but ok.
I don’t think there is a career in cooking/baking out there for me. The impending clean up that awaits me renders me sorta stingy when it comes to utensils. And embellishments (frosting, sprinkles, cookie dutters, etc) are too much trouble. And I prefer recipes that do not require creaming. There is just no room in the world for lazy bakers.
In other news – me – Yahoo! Answers – 555. Yay.
You Should Be Dancing
02/04/2006
I don’t know how or when it happened
But the internet has never been so fun. And addictive. And in an instant gratification world, it really doesn’t take too long for the next best thing to come along.
I remember all those years ago I thought Rocketmail was the epitome of smarts. No more crap ntu.edu.sg email, no more ISP email addys. Something I could check from anywhere (not that I used that feature too much).
Then Yahoo! sunk their fingers into it, and I moved from My Excite to My Yahoo! because the latter just had more content.
And along came Yahoo! Messenger, and Yahoo! Photos – complete time suckers, like everything else on dial-up.
Though none of these could compare with the time-sucking dedication I devoted to Napster. I loved Napster. It even sounded cute. Even my dad used it.
Fast forward five years (and truly like dog years, it really did feel like 35 years) and we’ve the Web 2.0 versions of everything (well almost except for Messenger).
Rocketmail morphed into a spanking version of Yahoo! Mail, which hung in there for two more years until the now-termed “classic” version made its debut, bumped its storage to 250mb and then 1gb (thank you Gmail!). To up the ante, two years back Yahoo! bought a pretty cool mail product called Oddpost, which is now their Beta Mail product. It’s an outlook like interface, with the freedom of being a web product. Now how cool is that?
My Yahoo! hasn’t really moved along too much, compared to stuff like Netvibes and Protopage. Protopage is cute, it lets you move the modules around the page almost like a widget – even has the transparent background going.
Yahoo! Photos has pretty much stayed the way it is, but last year Yahoo! bought Flickr which has blown anything photo-related out of the water. Storage + community, how cool is that? Flickr isn’t something you can really describe, Flickr is best experienced. It’s a complete time sucker, and you really can’t help yourself.
And the best thing since Napster – not free, but legal – is iTunes. I love that I don’t have to buy the whole damn album. I love that I get videos along with my downloads sometimes, and I love that I can search for the song without going around HMV in circles. So totally love. The only thing that iTunes could do better is to do a lyric search to present results, cos how many times have you heard parts of a song on the way to work or on tv and not been able to find it?
So there we are. Five years on, and things are still exciting. It’s still a great place to be.
