Friday, September 15, 2006

Is your computer male or female?

...the Spanish language gives us the answer!!

****************************************************

A Spanish teacher was explaining to her class
that in Spanish, unlike English, nouns are
designated as either masculine or feminine.
"House" for instance, is feminine: "la casa."
"Pencil," however, is masculine: "el lapiz."
A student asked, "What gender is 'computer'?"
Instead of giving the answer, the teacher
split the class into two groups, male and female,
and asked them to decide for themselves
whether "computer" should be a masculine or a
feminine noun.
Each group was asked to give four reasons
for its recommendation.
The men's group decided that "computer"
should definitely be of the feminine gender
("la computadora"), because:
1. No one but their creator understands their internal logic.
2. The native language they use to communicate with other
computers is incomprehensible to everyone else.
3. Even the smallest mistakes are stored in long term memory
for possible later retrieval.
4. As soon as you make a commitment to one, you find yourself
spending half your paycheck on accessories for it.
The women's group, however, concluded that computers should
be Masculine ("el computador"), because:
1. In order to do anything with them, you have to turn them on.
2. They have a lot of data but still can't think for themselves.
3. They are supposed to help you solve problems, but half the
time they ARE the problem.
4. As soon as you commit to one, you realize that if you had
waited a little longer, you could have gotten a better model.


***************************************************

So, what's your guess? I have the answer ;-)

Thanks to my aunt for this one!

Monday, September 11, 2006

Cable installation

So...today I had to take the afternoon off to sit around and wait for the cable guy to show up. You know, cuz they're so precise in their service estimations. Anytime between 2 and 5pm. Geez...that meant I had to leave work at 1, so I could bus back by 1:30ish, because they're supposed to call you a half hour beforehand so you're ready for them. I was a little sceptical that they actually would call (they did), but wanted to be sure I didn't get screwed over considering they told me they already had a crazy number of appointments booked through the better part of the month.

Interestingly, this all started rather strangely. I called to make an appointment last week, but yesterday, while Matt & I were sitting around my apartment....well, actually Matt was absorbed in DDR....I got a phone call from Rogers reminding me of my cable service appointment the next day. At first, I was a little confused by this since the service tech I'd made the appointment with had told me my appointment was Sept 20th. (Also, this guy had told me this was the absolute earliest appointment he could get me, due to the crazy bookings mentioned above...) Then I got frustrated because the only options the recording gave me were to keep the appointment by saying "yes", or change the appointment by saying "no", or something. So, I'm sitting there all perplexed, because A) I don't have an appointment scheduled then to my knowledge, and B) I don't want to change the appointment I don't have.

Finally, the recording must've realized I didn't like my limited options, and prompted me to say "agent" if I wanted to speak with one. So, I did, and she confirmed that they had an appointment and, lucky me, I would get my cable a week earlier.

Oh, yay....so, not only do I get to pay you a ridiculous rate for digital cable I'm not sure I really want (I just want regular cable people! Not to have to pay you for your digital box and whatever else you can charge me for...), but I get to do it even earlier than I expected! :-( And, I have to go into work and hope my boss lets me have the afternoon off so I can sit around and wait.

Fortunately the guy got here just after 3. Not so fortunately, he tracked dirt onto my new rug :-( But, I now have cable...let the bills begin.

Thursday, September 07, 2006

Team Canada Contiues on the Road to Beijing

Just a mini update on Team Canada's successful trip to Cuba for the Olympic Qualifier.

While they weren't able to secure a spot in Beijing just yet (those spots went to the US and Cuba), they did qualify for a second chance tournament next year in Taiwan by virtue of finishing 4th in this one. My cousin managed to get two starts after his last minute addition to the roster, and by all accounts seems to have pitched pretty awesome. He was 2-0 with a 1.35 ERA, and while the news articles mostly give kudos for redeeming himself after what they call past struggles at the international level :-s , I also say good on Baseball Canada for letting him shine as the starter he is this time!

Once again, bravo Chris, and we can't wait to have you home again (for at least a little while)!!