be things
not sure what I'm doing here
Twenty Twelve
Jan 5th
Ok, I’ve been trying to correct this for two years now, but I’m not sure it’s working. People keep saying “two thousand”. Say “twenty” instead. It’s one whole syllable shorter and it makes you sound like a native English speaker. You can do it.
Here’s some encouragement that Russ showed me: http://twentynot2000.com/
Mustachify Everything
Nov 24th
In case you didn’t know, this month is Moustache November, which isn’t even an alliteration so they have to call it Movember. It’s the less hilariously-named but possibly more socially-conscious version of my favorite month, Moustache May. There’s a group at work to support it, and of course I subscribe to the mailing list.
This week someone sent out a link to something truly amazing: Mustachify.Me. Basically you can give the site the URL to any image and it will find the faces in the picture and add moustaches to them.
Question: Could anything possibly be more awesome than being able to put a moustache on any picture you want?
Answer: Of course. Putting a moustache on every picture would be more awesome.
So, that’s what I spent my day on. I made a little program for your browser that will send every picture you use through Mustachify.Me and show you the mustachified version instead of the boring moustache-free version. I know that there are probably better ways for me to spend my time, but today was holiday, so I think it’s allowed.
Go install it: Mustachify Everything.
PS: After you install it, you might want to go look at your friends’ pictures on Facebook or Google Plus or whatever the new hip site is these days. You’ll be entertained.
I’m a Mormon
Oct 30th
I wrote my Mormon.org profile about a year ago when I was starting my new job and I wasn’t sure how open I should be about my religion at work. It turns out that no one really cares much one way or the other, but it was good for me to write it. It turns out that I really like just being able to be open about who I am regardless of the circumstances.
Even though I wrote this a while ago, I don’t really have it posted or linked to anywhere. Since that website seems to be picking up speed, I figure that it’s probably time to share my profile so that people can find me on there if they’re so inclined.
So here it is: I’m Bryant, and I’m a Mormon.
The world is OK again
Oct 15th
Yesterday driving to work I saw a bald eagle on 520 again! I actually yelled out loud, “Yes!” I wasn’t on the bus, so it was alright to yell.
Les Miz
Sep 3rd
Kelly and I went to see the musical Les Misérables last week.
Now I’m not an expert on the theater. It’s the first time that I’ve seen Les Miz. Also, it’s only the second time that I’ve seen a professional stage performance, and the first time that I’ve ever seen a performance by the touring company.
So I might be unexperienced, but this was easily the highest quality stage production that I’ve ever seen. The orchestra was great, and the singers were really good, and the sets and costumes were amazing.
I honestly think the set was the best part for me. I think it completely made the ambience and mood of the play. Plus they had some really cool effects that added to its believability. In a few scenes they had a projected backdrop that would move with the actors, and it really looked like they were moving in a world bigger than the stage.
Despite all of the things that made it the best play I’ve seen, the funny part is that I’m not sure if I liked it.
First off, it was incredibly hard to follow. The dialogue was hard to understand and I don’t think the plot made sense in all parts. Kelly says that the lyrics aren’t normally that hard to understand, so it’s possible that all of the actors were just mumblers. All the same, I don’t think I would have understood what was going on if I wasn’t already familiar with the story.
The other thing was that it was kind of boring. Mostly just at the end. After Javert dies and you think the main plot line is resolved, it just keeps going and going for like 5 more musical numbers. In fact, I think it kind of ruined the end for me. The final song seems like it would have been really powerful and moving, except that I’d already stopped caring because the story seemed like it should have been over.
But to reiterate, that doesn’t mean that I didn’t like it. It just means that I don’t know if I liked it. Something funny happened in the days after we saw it that I think explains why people like this kind of thing.
The first thing that happens is that the songs get stuck in your head. And that is its own vicious cycle because as they get stuck in your head, you sing or play them, and so does your wife, and then they just get more stuck in your head.
Then the second thing happens. As you hear or sing the songs, you start getting reminded of various parts of the play, and then you start thinking about it more and more. And before long, everytime you hear one of the songs you think something like, "Oh, yeah, that part was cool."
So that’s it. I’m not sure if I liked it as much as a lot of people seem to, but I can imagine that if I kept being reminded of it over and over by the music that I’d probably convince myself after the fact that it was the best thing ever.
Goodbye, Eddie
Aug 11th
Remember how I kept seeing bald eagles when I’d drive or ride the bus into the city? And remember how the eagles would always be in the same spot on the bridge?
Well it turns out that it was always the same eagle. His name is Eddie. He has a Twitter page.
Also, he got hit by a bus last week.
So now there’s nothing good about this state.
Amazon Appstore
Mar 23rd
Yesterday Amazon launched their Appstore for Android. Without spending too much time on this, here’s the biggest thing that the Amazon Appstore has that I think have been sorely missing from the stores up until now: Sharing app links.
Seriously, why hasn’t anyone done this before now? Isn’t it a no-brainer that you’d want people to recommend apps to their friends? It’ll make you sell more apps, and it’s good for the user.
I’ve wished tons of times that Xbox Live made it easier to give my brother a link to buy the game I’m playing so we can play it together, but no such luck.
Well the Appstore finally adds this to Android. There’s a share link for every app that will let you send a link via text or email to a friend so they can get the same app. I do wish the link opened in the Appstore itself instead on the Web, but it’s still a huge feature that the other stores lack.
Double mind-blowing!
Mar 8th
On the bus heading to work I just saw two bald eagles sitting next to each other on the same ugly statue! Just when you think you’re getting used to it, those eagles go and do something even more amazing! Like sitting there! Next to each other! At the same time! I was so excited I could barely stand it.
If my was phone/camera wasn’t so slow I’d have taken a picture, but I knew I wouldn’t have gotten it in time. I should have just screamed for the driver to stop the bus so we could all behold the miracle. Instead I just looked around the bus excitedly, hoping that someone else was as amazed as me.
I did get the attention of this old Asian woman sitting behind me. She mostly looked confused as to what I was doing. I tried pointing and mouthing “two eagles” while holding up two fingers, but she only seemed to get more confused.
Another lady at the front of the bus mouthed that she’d seen them, too. She had a huge grin on her face, too. Though I’m not sure if she was just as happy as I was about the eagles or if she was just laughing at me for being so excited.
