Gchat Rawks

Gchat has fundamentally changed the way we (Gchatters) communicate. Where once the distance that lies between two people was measured in miles, it is now measured in the time between simultaneous logins to Gmail. I see my friends every day, every time I log in and see their happy little round green faces (), and I get to chat away with them to my heart's content. Indeed I find myself in better touch with friends half-way across the country than friends half-way down the street, simply because of how well our gmailing schedules match.

What makes Gchat so great is its beautiful combination of simplicity (a bell-less, whistle-less, click, type, enter), convenience (I'm already logged in to Gmail), expedience (As opposed to that e-mail you sent me. I'll reply later. I will. Really. I promise. I mean I don't know when, just later...), and low-stress non-intrusiveness (cuz now that I just woke you up with this phone call, I'm way too distracted by how pissed off you sound to remember what it was I had to say. If only there were a little circle and status message telling me whether or not you were available, and a little box where I could organize my thoughts into words before sending them, without listening to an awkward silence over the scratchy phone line...).

And then, of course, there are emoticons. There is one school of thought that believes deep within its soul that emoticons give you a beautiful language of pictures and happiness to express yourself and connect with another person's inner spirit. There is another that says using emoticons makes a person seem gay. The two schools feed off each other in a symbiotic cycle of flamboyance and belligerence. But whatever the case may be, it is definitely true that when used appropriately, emoticons can capture some of the more elusive conversational nuance that was formerly the exclusive domain of face-to-face conversation. A fairly inclusive list of emoticons, including various less-known "easter egg" emoticons are available on this random blog.

My search for a more exhaustive list of emoticons has also led me to discover a fascinating new way to waste time. By holding alt, typing in a combination of numbers, and then releasing alt, you can access a whole host of special characters. (only works if you type on the num-pad, for those of you with full keyboards. This won't(?) work if you try using the numbers above your alphabet keys, sorry) Heres a sample of the first 40 or so:

1	☺
2	☻
3	♥
4	♦
5	♣
6	♠
7	•
8	◘
9	○
10	◙
11	♂
12	♀
13	♪
14	♫
15	☼
16	►
17	◄
18	↕

19	‼
20	¶
21	§
22	▬
23	↨
24	↑
25	↓
26	→
27	←
28	∟
29	↔
30	▲
31	▼
32
33	!
34	"
a few from 35-183	#$%&'()*+,-./012 FPZ[cdx}éá╛┤╡╢╢

This list goes up into the thousands (700 = '╝', 1000 = Φ)


Is fascinating no? No.

Anyway, gchat rocks.

My New Haircut

This will be interesting mostly just to people who met me or knew me during or after college. Haven't been clean shaven like this since high school.

Stimulus

You know the economy is in trouble when the whole world becomes split between being incredibly expensive and incredibly free. You can see it happening all over the place and it inspires a big-picture awe as well as a what-am-I-eating-tonight intrigue.

Of course we're all excited about our $300 (for individuals) to $123 Billion (for oil companies) economic stimulus checks from Uncle Sam this year, but a little less advertised are the perks you can get from floundering companies. You know there's trouble when Godiva starts offering free chocolate just to get you through the door. Trader Joe's on the other hand must be trying to find ways to deplete their overstocked inventory, as this week they doubled their sample offerings to 4 separate cheese, wine, beer, and hot meal (Shrimp) demonstration tables. Suffice it to say I neither cooked nor purchased dinner last night, but still went to bed full and happy.

Here in DC, my friends and I have become increasingly adept at sniffing out good happy hour deals, like the $2.75, 28oz King Kong glasses of beer at the aptly named bar Recessions. But their good deals are unspectacular since they fit with the whole under-priced dive bar ambiance going on there. The real "wow" kicks in when you find decidedly over-priced venues, like MCCXXIII (The "Champagne and Caviar" club, according to Michael Jordon), start handing out hours worth of 100% free open bars to in-the-know ballers like me (but please tip the bartender). If no one can afford your goods, it seems like a bit of a jump to give them away for free, but I'm not complaining.

On the bigger picture side of things, it is interesting to see who does well in an economic downturn like this. Those who specialize in the cheap seem to be quite happy, as demonstrated by the increased patronage of the aforementioned budget bar, Recessions. My friends at Trader Joe's have told me that business has never been better, whether for the fine weather or for the way that Whole Foods sucks your wallet dry. And then Google, who's stock ruined my portfolio early this year, has rebounded in recent days amid higher than expected profits. Apparently unemployed people who can't afford the gas to drive anywhere spend more time on the internet looking at ads.

Everybody Loves Parfait

Everybody loves parfait. Thats what Donkey taught us in response to Shrek's onion metaphor (I couldn't find the clip I wanted for this, but I did find the Duloc song in French). They really are one of the best ways to start your day, full of light, rich, crisp, chewy, crunchy goodness. And its kind of awesome how a good, hearty breakfast can set you on the right footing for the day. I didn't get much sleep last night, but then I made myself a parfait for breakfast, and now I'm feeling perky and energetic without even needing coffee. Then, to top it off, not only do parfaits taste delicious, they even look delicious.

So do yourself a favor, on your way home, get the following ingredients:
yogurt
granola (I prefer Quaker(r) Oats 100% all-natural granola with raisins)
fruit or berries (apple, pear, orange, blueberries, strawberries, raspberries, banana.... pick 2)

And then make yourself a parfait. Better if you can haul your lazy stomach out of bed early enough to make it before work, but you can enjoy this as a dessert too.

Groove Armada - Hands of Time

One of my latest up-thumbed songs on pandora. Haven't had much to say lately, at least not that I could take the time to type about. Time is moving so very quickly. Can't turn back the hands of time...