Quote of the Day - July 12, 2008

And I said, I don't care if they lay me off either, because I told, I told Bill that if they move my desk one more time, then, then I'm, I'm quitting, I'm going to quit. And, and I told Don too, because they've moved my desk four times already this year, and I used to be over by the window, and I could see the squirrels, and they were married, but then, they switched from the Swingline to the Boston stapler, but I kept my Swingline stapler because it didn't bind up as much, and I kept the staples for the Swingline stapler and it's not okay because if they take my stapler...

- Milton, Office Space

Quote of the Day - July 11, 2008

Good morning from Taipei.

- Today's XKCD

Dance Your Cares Away

Some people travel the world and take pictures of a lawn gnome next to famous landmarks. Others travel the world and share the basic joy of dancing like a fool.



The outtakes and his three-part lecture about his travels (which falls between this video and a similar video that he did previously) are also pretty good. I think this guy would get along famously with the professor of the class I'm taking this semester.

Quote of the Day - July 9, 2008

Dreams, ideas, and plans not only are an escape, they give me purpose, a reason to hang on.

-unknown

Quote of the Day - July 8, 2008

I love his boyish charm, but I hate his childishness.

- Leela, Futurama, "Time Keeps on Slipping"

How Not to Get Ripped Off at the Repair Shop

The first few times I went to the dealer to get maintanance done on my car, they tried to convince me to do more than was really necessary. They never said my car was broken when it wasn't, but they did try to get me to change things (like spark plugs) that were no where near in need of attention. The last couple of times, though, I've forgotten to take my textbooks out of my car and left them on the front passenger's seat. It's a bit more subtle than handing them my business card to say "hey, engineer!", but it does make them think twice. If I ever go in for non-routine stuff, I'll have to remember this trick in addition to prepping by using my OBD II diagnostic computer. Hehe.