Delusions of Competence
November 29, 2006
Before I got married I did many things correctly. I attribute my excellent performance to the fact that I have astonishingly low standards for just about everything that doesn’t directly affect my health. My plan for happiness was to set the bar low and clear it by a mile. It was a formula that worked so well that I considered turning it into a self-help book. I would have called it The Power of Low Standards. The entire book would have been three pages long and hand-written on paper that would make a beaver hurl.
Now I’m married, and that means I have to explain myself a lot. I can no longer leave a hot iron on my shirt just to see how long it takes to burn it, then play a computer game and buy another shirt. Suddenly that sort of thing is wrong.
I went into the marriage fully understanding that the big decisions would be jointly made, and I’m okay with that because it makes perfect sense. Two heads are better than one. The part that caught me by surprise is how often I have to second-guess myself on the little decisions. And life, it turns out, is mostly little decisions.
This problem came into sharp focus while cleaning up after a get-together with family. I found myself staring at a serving plate of thoroughly picked-over hambone and gristle and wondering if it was okay to throw it out. In my pre-marriage days, this decision would be simple. Not only would I have thrown it out, but I might have literally thrown it out the window just to see how long it took a rat to find it. Sometimes I like to do that sort of research. In those days, every problem had an obvious solution.
But now I am faced with a decision that presents many opportunities to be wrong. I’m thinking that the tray of ham debris MIGHT be garbage. It sure looked like it. But maybe Didde had plans to make a soup. I had never seen her make a soup from a hambone, but life is full of firsts. Or maybe she already promised the bone to my parent's dog. Knowing that I might disappoint a human is enough pressure, but now I had to worry about making a dog sad. It was almost too much to bear.
I started to wonder if the ham debris only looked worthless to me because I’m very pickish. I usually examine everything before taking a bite. Perhaps someone else might peer into the gristle and see an entire week’s worth of delicious sandwiches. I needed to come to terms with the fact that I am not qualified to judge ham sandwich potential. I made a mental note to add it to my growing list of inadequacies.
Didde wasn’t nearby at the time of this decision process. I could have waited until she got back, but the plate of used ham parts was seriously impeding my kitchen-cleaning plan. And I knew that if I postponed this decision, I’d only get hung up on a similar question with the guacamole dip. I was paralyzed. I either had to make an executive decision (probably wrong) or risk being seen as an unhelpful spouse. I decided that my best option was to bide my time until Didde got back. I started to slowly gather up used dishes and put them in the dishwasher. This is something I knew I could do right. And by “right” I mean I generally fill the dishwasher to 100% capacity and then Didde rearranges things to make room for 90 additional items.
I managed to drag out the dishwasher-loading process until Didde got back. This turned out to be good strategy. Had I made the ham decision unilaterally I would have later heard the question “Why did you put garbage in Tupperware and store it in the refrigerator?” And then I’d have to say, “I’m keeping the hambone fresh for my parent’s dog. That’s called thinking about others.”
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Serious F1 accident
November 24, 2006
I got this picture from my good friend Belle.
It looks really nasty…*ouch*
Thanks Belle.
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Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix Teaser Trailer
November 21, 2006
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Acclaimed “Arrested Development� Series Begins on MSN Video
November 21, 2006
This is just in from bink.nu and Microsoft. Arrested Development is one of my favourite series. A real shame it got cancelled.
MSN announced that beginning today episodes of the Emmy award-winning comedy “Arrested Development” will be streamed on demand on MSN® Video and at no cost to viewers. The first five episodes are available today at http://arresteddevelopment.msn.com and, starting Dec. 15, three new episodes will be added every three weeks. All 53 episodes from the three seasons of the show will be rolled out within the next year.
The “Arrested Development” episodes will be running with a new MSN Video player designed to create a better viewing experience of long-form video. The new playback experience will set the standard for future long-form content available on MSN Video, and will include added functionality. The player provides viewers with many options to return to an episode they were watching if there is an interruption by automatically finding the last position in the episode before the interruption, and also at any time allowing the user to jump back 15 seconds. In addition, viewers have the ability to send a link of their favorite moment within an episode to their friends. The player can also present the show in a larger “sit-back” view with great quality and will still allow viewers to see their task bar to keep an eye on e-mail and instant messages.
“We’re thrilled to present this critically acclaimed show to the MSN audience along with exclusive online content for the ultimate ‘Arrested Development’ fans,” said Rob Bennett, general manager of Entertainment and Video Services for MSN. “We’ve created a number of innovative new features to enhance the video experience for ‘Arrested Development,’ and will lead the industry in improving the overall experience for watching long-form video content online.”
Future additional content will include deleted scenes, blooper reels and related DVD content. Interactive features such as message boards, cast information, fan areas, blogging helpers, and subscription options for newsletters and RSS feeds will collectively provide a deeper community experience for fans of the show.
Produced by Twentieth Century Fox Television and Imagine Entertainment, the multiple-award-winning “Arrested Development” ran for three years on FOX and was one of the most celebrated comedies in the network’s history. It revolves around Michael Bluth (Jason Bateman), who is doing his best to pick up the pieces and keep his offbeat family from falling apart after his father, George Bluth (Jeffrey Tambor), is locked up for fraud.
“Arrested Development” content on MSN will be available at http://arresteddevelopment.msn.com. Currently this content is only available to U.S. viewers.
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Star Wars vs. Battlestar Galatica
November 15, 2006
Usually, fan made movies are unmatchable. Especially when it comes to Star Wars. But wait until you see this fan made CG video of a space battle between Star Wars and Battlestar Galactica. They filmed it in the Battlestar Galatica style and it looks amazing.
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Viva life - The Simpsons Movie Trailer
November 13, 2006
This looks H-I-L-A-R-I-O-U-S! I can't wait to see it
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The most obscene letter
November 8, 2006
If you ask me, the most obscene letter in the alphabet is the asterisk. It appears in almost every naughty word you see in print, from f*ck to p*ss to m*th*rf*ck*ng c*cks*ck*r. You can’t even pronounce the word “asterisk” without saying *ss. That smutty little character is attracted to obscenity like flies to sh*t.
To be fair and balanced, it should be noted that the asterisk protects you from seeing naked cuss words that would otherwise blind you and put you on the slippery slope to porn addiction. But when you cover a naughty word’s turgid genitalia with an asterisk, no one knows what the f*ck you’re trying to say. That’s why it’s totally safe!
Some folks reading this blog might wonder how the asterisk protects them, since theoretically you could do your own research and discover that sh*thead does not mean asking a guy named Thead to be quiet. But it’s a lot of work to do that research, and few people are willing to put in the time.
Let me explain it this way: Naked naughty words can destroy your brain and also society as a whole. However – and one would think this is obvious – It’s completely safe to THINK naughty words. And it’s safe to cause other people to think naughty words. But if you spell those naughty words without the asterisk loin cloth to protect your victims, you’re a danger to society. I know this to be true because I heard it from lots of people who have sh*t-for-brains.
There are plenty of scientific studies showing that exposure to naked cuss words is a leading cause of brain rot and higher taxes. Those studies have been published in the prestigious New England Urinal of Mufficine.
The only question that remains is why you read all the way to the bottom of this post if you are so offended by this sort of thing?
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Fix your Windows XP Zune theme?
November 6, 2006
Fix your Windows XP Zune theme? Or maybe not.
As Bink.nu readers commented in the zune theme article, the theme is installed incorrectly. The shellstyle.dll is placed in the wrong folder.
It should be in C:\WINDOWS\Resources\Themes\Zune\Shell\NormalColor\
So when you put the file in there (after you created those folders) you'll notice a significant change in the theme, question is do you like it that way?
I've "fixed" it and I'm not sure if I like or not…only time can tell
News Source: bink.nu
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Royale Noir theme now officially available as Zune theme
November 3, 2006
Royale Noir theme now officially available as Zune theme. The last week leaked theme is now a bit adjusted (orange Start button)
You can see a screenshot of it here and download it here
If you want to see it without the orange Start button click here
If you have no clue what Zune is read here
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