I started a new file on my EeePC that I call “Train of Thoughts,” which is mainly to jot down notes and random thoughts I have while on the train/subway. To be fair, often these are things that I have noticed earlier, but didn’t get around to writing down. Anyway. here’s the current batch:
[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
The floor my office also has a few law firms on it, and so we all get to share the one bathroom. The layout, itself, is somewhat odd as only one person can stand by the paper towel dispenser, and even then, he’s blocking the door. However, what’s really odd are some of the blokes who share the bathroom. My one coworker, for example, was somewhat disconcerted to overhear a guy talking on his cell phone to his girlfriend while the gentlemen in question was parked in a stall “doing his business.” My coworker, being the courteous guy he is, flushed the toilet in the stall next to the guy, just so the girl would be aware of the circumstances of the conversation in case the guy had neglected to mention it.
My own personal favorite event was entering the restroom to see a man standing at the urinal, using one hand to “guide his sword” and the other to tap away a text message on his Blackberry. I can only imagine what that Tweet read.
[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
You know that it’s getting warmer in the city when the tour groups starting coming out.
[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
How come we haven’t had a movie that uses the word “deliver” as a threat? Think about it:
Imagine a film about a homicidal maniac working for a courier company, killing the customers that he visits. Right before he disembowels one, he says, “I’m going to de-liver you….”
[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
My friend Renata had tweeted a quote about leadership she had gotten from a manager or something, which said something like, “Leadership is bringing about events that otherwise would not have happened.”
It’s a good example of why I’m pretty leery of a lot of these management quotes and books; as I posted back to her: “So I’m providing leadership when I call in sick to work so I can stay home and watch TV?” I mean, based on the logic of the statement, the answer would be yes.
I followed up by proving that I could come up with a better quote, using something I thought up during the 5-minute commute into the city:
“Leadership is inspiring ordinary people to extraordinary accomplishments.”
I like mine much better; heck, I’m probably qualified to write a management advice book now.
[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
I have gained a new covert to the “Tron” film. My coworker had sent me a link to the “Tron Legacy” trailer, and during the ensuing discussion, i learned that he, himself, had not yet seen the original. Resolved to rectify this injustice, I lent him my copy of it, and the following Monday when he returned he merely said, “Awesome movie; now I really gotta see the sequel.”
Another human has seen the light of truth, and has thus been saved. Hallelujah!
[ S H I E L D B R E A K ! ! ! ]
Finally, there were some discussions last week about the Go-Bots and the Transformers, back in the 80s. And it’s funny, because I distictly remember being a bigger fan — much bigger, in fact — of the Go-Bots and wouldn’t give the Transformers the time of day.
Then I saw the Go-Bots movie.
Afterward, I pretty much never watched another Go-Bots episode or bought another toy. In fact, that was when I started going entirely to the Transformers for my shape-shifting robot needs.
Besides the movie just being dull and boring in general (and remember, I was a kid at this time, so my demands of movies were far less than they are today), I also am still struggling to comprehend which executive thought it was a good idea to have the new line of robots introduced be able to shift into the form of rocks.
To paraphrase a scene from the movie “Big:” I mean, here you have all these other robots that change into cars, and jets, spaceships, and now you have a line that transforms into… rocks. I’m sorry, but the excitement of a bucket of rocks doesn’t quite match that of a bucket of futuristic planes, cars, and cities.