Mar 3 One thing that the Internet is an amazing tool for is the ability to draw on collective knowledge. By being so easy to reach more people, we are able to better understand things. We can, as a society, collaborate and pool our individual pieces of the puzzle to form a more completely picture. I’m getting away from myself with the metaphors. Anyways, I think that one of the more useful applications of this for me is yelp.com.
Basically I like to eat, and yelp helps me do that well.
So yelp isn’t at all a new website, and I kind of think that a lot of people have already heard of and/or used it before. But it doesn’t matter because you know what? I get to post whatever I want to since this is my site. :)
I meant to post this quite some time back, but I’ve been sitting on this post for a really long time. And the only reason is because I wanted to upload a picture before I posted a link to my yelp page. How lame is that? How hard is it to get a profile picture nowadays? It took me all of 2 minutes to accomplish that strenuous task.
Personally I’ve found this site to be pretty helpful, and I think that it’s worthwhile to me to be involved with it. The premise is that reviews will be made by people that actually go to different establishments. While I use the site mainly for food, they do have reviews of everything from shopping to entertainment to health centers.
The most useful thing to me seems to be that you can limit your search by location and see a map of where these places are in relation to where you are. Because even though I might be looking for some amazing food, I’m not exactly willing to drive 50 miles to get said amazing food into my mouth. But 5 miles for some pretty reasonably tasty food? Yeah I could go for that. You can also further filter the results based on more specific criteria such as food ethnicity.
Running off of a 5-star system, it’s easy to quickly see how popular a restaurant is. For more in depth (and often rather interesting) reviews, there are the user comments. These usually range from the short and not-too-helpful to the long and exceedingly useful. Many reviewers will describe their entire meal experience, and it helps you get a feel for what a restaurant is like without actually having been there. Sometimes you can find very useful menu suggestions in the comments as well. To reward reviewers, you can designate their comment as one that you thought was either cool, useful, or funny.
There is even a social aspect to this site as you can add friends on it. I’m not sure if that’s something that I’m really going for. According to yelp, I currently have no friends. Haha let’s hope that’s only on yelp!
My own page, with my reviews and info, is derekwong.yelp.com. Check out some places that I’ve been to, but more importantly let’s all help each other out by supporting quality establishments. You’ll be thankful that next time you’re looking for a place to go to on your hot date. Because we all know that the key to the hot date is the food. Personality? Eh. Charm? Blah. Looks? Well you can’t help that anyways.
Feb 26 Profanity is often used in society in order to express discontent. From mild, momentary displeasure to extreme fury, humans make use of a seemingly defined set of off-limit words to express their emotions. Often these words reference things which would generally be considered better left unspoken of.
What is profanity really? Apparently there are 5 types of swearing (according to Steven Pinker’s The Stuff of Thought: Language as a Window into Human Nature which I found a reference to in the Wikipedia article on profanity):
- Dysphemistic - Opposite of euphemism. Force listener to think about negative thing
- Abusive - Abuse, intimidate, or insult others
- Idiomatic - Refer to (but do not explicitly mention) something in order to arouse interest, be macho/cool, or express to peers that the setting is informal.
- Emphatic - Emphasize what is being said (pretty self-explanatory)
- Cathartic - Rid oneself of negative feelings by outwardly expressing it
I can see how all of these are accurate descriptions for how profanity is used. It’s very interesting to study profanity and how it comes about. How it is sociological in a sense because profanity in our language is different from profanity in other languages (even taking into account translation). That’s not the issue.
The issue is that profanity comes out of your mouth much more than you’d like to admit. I feel your pain, it comes out of mine more than I’d like to admit, too.
In fact, I’ve told people before that I do not cuss. And I’m absolutely correct in a strict sense of the term. I don’t use those words that society has impressed upon me as being profane. In fact, I don’t feel like I need to use profanity in order to express myself. I do feel the same emotions that my cursing brothers feel. (Okay I don’t actually have blood brothers, but I mean it in the mankind term.) And yet I don’t see that it’s too necessary. Am I aghast when I hear it? Not extremely so. Well I’m not with those from whom I expect nothing better. Some people are held to a higher standard, but I digress.
So I don’t cuss. But the thing is that I’ll cuss in spirit. I’ll use nice versions like “darn”, “crap”, and “shoot” instead of the usual fare. But does that make it any better? No, I’m beginning to think that it does not matter much at all. Even though the words are different and less offensive to the ear according to society, the usage shows that my mouth is still overflowing with what is in my heart. And I can see that all is not right in that region of my chest. I’m not as loving or as good as I profess.
Ah if only the distance between my head and my heart weren’t so far.
Feb 15 The common thought is that nerds, geeks, and dorks are one and the same. However, I don’t think so. Semantics, shemantics, you say.
Although they seem very similar, I’m gonna have to go with a “yeah I don’t think so.” Looking them up online doesn’t provide definitive results, but I am still convinced. (Looking them up online does prove amusing because apparently the first definition of nerd is “a stupid, irritating, ineffectual, or unattractive person.” Stinks to be called unattractive in the dictionary.)
First off, the most important thing to note with any of these terms is that they can have both negative and positive connotations. I think that it mainly depends on your self-awareness. So if someone calls you a nerd, and you think of yourself as a nerd, then it’s not so bad. However, if you think that you’re a cool guy and you get called a nerd, all is not right with the world. As in many things in life, the failing of some expectation will result in your disappointment. And sadness. And low self-esteem. You get the point.
Alright so back to the matter at hand. (Cue “Nothin’ But A G Thang”! Hm I thought there was a rap song with “back to the matter at hand,” but I can’t find the song, let alone one that I could listen to in order to verify that. So…you get a small lame comment about how I tried and failed to remember a rap song of old.) Okay back to it, really now.
Here is the breakdown of the different types (at least in my mind):
- Nerd - intelligent, industrious, understands things
By day I’m a software engineer. (By night a superhero, but that’s another matter.) So I’m obviously a little biased if I give a good definition for a word and also remind everyone that it can describe me. But whatever, it’s what I actually think.
Some computer programmers (but by no means all of them) generally tend to be of the sort of people that want to delve deeper into understanding issues than others would. They want to truly understand how something works rather than just settling for using the end product. In the case of computer programming, while everyone else is content with looking at websites, using applications, and generally enjoying the products of the computer programming, the programmers themselves are working to create those products. And if they’re not creating them, then they’re trying to understand them.
Some of them might not be like that, but those are the kind that will end up not being very good at what they do. Those are the ones that do not have Professional Integrity. They’ll also end up being your boss, but more on that later.
In a general sense, nerds can be from all different backgrounds. But I think that they can generally be described as someone who is willing to study and do the work in order to learn the stuff. I’m not quite sure that someone who is naturally gifted with intelligence but who doesn’t utilize it can be categorized as a nerd. No, I take that back. They cannot be categorized as a nerd. They’re just smart and lazy. Really, how much worse can you get? I think that most people would rather be dumb and hard-working than smart and lazy.
Nerds can often be found in libraries, hunched over books, or wondering aloud about their surroundings. “Nerd” seems to be used most often in a complimentary way when describing others.
Someone can very well be a nerd, and you wouldn’t be able to tell from the outside appearance. The stereotype of the nerd is a skinny guy with glasses and a pocket protector. But something that I learned in college is that the surfer dude can be just as much of a nerd as the stereotype. He just hides it better. Much better.
The unfortunately sad thing about the term nerd is that it doesn’t just apply to those that work hard. They actually have to be good at whatever it is that they’re doing, whether school or work. Someone that works hard but who still is not as successful is just that, a hard worker. (Of course, a hard worker is still better than a smart lazy person.)
Basically, nerds rule. They’re even better when they know that they’re nerds and are not socially inept.
- Geek - Interested in things that others are not interested in, know a lot about their interests, but usually do not understand underlying principles
So I mentioned before when talking about nerds that there are computer programmers who will end up not being very good at programming. Unlike the more kindly description that I have above about nerdy computer programmers, these geek programmers fall into another category. And yeah, that category is lower.
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Courtesy of Flickr user ClausMIn their work they will do things that they have no idea the meaning of. Unfortunately, they will sometimes correctly stab in the dark and get something right. That will only reinforce their thinking that their way is working. Stumbling, somehow they manage to get others to help them so that they eventually finish whatever it is that they’re doing.
I generally liken geeks more to IT (Information Technology) type of people rather than computer programmers. These are the people that know how to use a computer very well, but who would not be able to program “Hello World.” They can fiddle with and modify settings and properties to no end. They love computers, but they don’t actually know how a computer works. Of course, not all IT folks are like this. In my experience, it just seems like they can more generally be described this way.
Even beyond the IT people, geeks can be interested in a wide spectrum of topics. They will often be interested in technology-related things. I think that it’s because not everyone understands these things. Since geeks do not have skills in some areas of life, they want to have an area of expertise where others could not compare to them.
So yes, geeks are the types of people that are not only interested in Star Trek, but who will also dress up to go to the premiere. They’ll also buy collector cards, read forums online, and read every single book about Star Trek. Obsess much? Yes they will. But you don’t know where the Klingon Galaxy is located relative to our current position in space, do you??
Geeks come in all shapes and sizes. Of course, those are usually the odd shapes and sizes. They are generally not as hard to spot as the nerds because of their disregard for what others think of them. Their clothes don’t match, and they might occasionally offend others with their insufficient personal hygiene.
Still, geeks have their strong points. They are dedicated to what they like. They don’t really care that much what other people think about them. And they generally rule the Internet. However, they don’t rule sports, social situations, or tangible environments. They’re awkward in situations that they’re not accustomed to (like the aforementioned) and tend to do things that give away their geekdom like go on incessantly about their favorite topic when the real topic is something entirely different.
- Dork - Foolish, stupid, clumsy
There’s not really any two-ways about it, “dork” is not too good of a term. Obviously if someone is using it in an endearing fashion, it’s not too bad. And if someone says it about themselves, it’s usually in an amusing and self-deprecating way. But the term itself doesn’t have too much positive spin on it.
Dorks are the type of people who will do silly things. That’s not to say that they’ll necessarily be the ones making grand gestures to make people laugh. But they are comfortable enough with themselves to do things like put a “dork” box on their head and laugh at themselves.
If the dork is aware that they are a dork, then it’s funny. If they’re not aware, then it’s painful to watch such a socially uncomfortable person try to get by. Now I’m not sure whether they feel awkward or if they feel at ease with themselves in those situations. All I know is that it’s sometimes hard for me to watch.
Once again, there are good traits in the dork. The self-aware dork is able to not take themselves too seriously. They are able to do what they want without caring about others’ opinions. And even the dork who is not self-aware is able to make others feel more comfortable simply because of their silliness. Nobody feels the fool when they’re next to someone who is more foolish.
The funny thing is, I’m all of these things.
So what can you do with this knowledge? I have no idea, but here are some fun items to get while you figure it out:
Feb 7 I don’t like how it’s impossible to get every last bit of semi-liquid type substances out of their container. Even more than that, though, it disappoints me that this slight irritation happens so often!
So as you probably know (or at least can guess from my blog’s name) that I’m Chinese. The stereotype is that Chinese people specifically (and Asian people in general) are a little bit stingy. Now, there are quite a lot of times that I can heartily agree that this stereotype has roots in reality. Maybe it’s because in China everyone has to fight for their own rights and properties since there are so many people vying for the limited resources. Ah communism at its best.
But another thing that you should know is that I’m, in general, not very Chinese. Now what does that mean? Well I don’t even speak the language, let alone act out the whole stereotype. I am, for all intents and purposes, completely American. Nevertheless, I do have a frugal side to me. (I mean, I did share 3 Little Tips To Save before.) And that frugal Chinese side of me doesn’t like that products are placed into packages that don’t allow me to utilize all that I’ve paid for!
There are just so many of these items that we use! Don’t know what I’m talking about? Well what about:
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yogurt
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mayonnaise
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toothpaste
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shampoo
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lotion
And that’s just to name a few! There are obviously many other things that could fall into this category. One would think that after so many years of production and perfecting the whole process, a better solution would have been reached. But no. All we get are cheap gadgets like the toothpaste clip that will ensure that as much paste as possible is pushed towards the opening. Ah!
What’s a society to do? It’s time for a change. It’s time for a revolution.
Jan 31 There are some things that happen in life that cause you to become speechless. For some, this happens more often than for others. For me, it just happened. What in the world do you say when you walk into a stall and someone is sitting on the toilet doing their business?
Wait a second, something is not right. Oh yeah, I’m not supposed to go into a stall when another person is already in there.
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“You forgot to lock the door, you ninny.”
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“Surprise! I’m here!”
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“How are those TPS reports going?”
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“Ah ha, THAT’S where the smell was coming from!”
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“How’s that crossword puzzle going for you?”
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“Whoa…you know that’s not normal.”
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“Room in here for another?”
Really, how do you respond to that? You can’t. You’re speechless. This is one for the scrapbook (i.e. the blog). It’s even better when this person is from work and you see them around but don’t actually know them. Super!
Tip for life #2340987: Lock the little latch on the door when you are in a stall
</img>Photo courtesy of Flickr user 
</img>Courtesy of Flickr user 
</img>Courtesy of Flickr user 
</img>Courtesy of Flickr user