Geek in Heels - Page 147

Jun 9, 2010 • In Blogging

Censoring Comments

Yesterday, reader Ashley asked in a comment:

Do you have a problem with negative comments? I haven’t noticed any, but you probably delete them.

I am lucky that most of the people who choose to comment here are polite and courteous, if not overly supportive. However, I do get the nasty comment here and there and I must admit that it stings.

That being said, I have NEVER deleted a comment (aside from spam).

Even the ones that have called me names, attacked me for my personal and/or religious beliefs, or were just plain unwarranted.

I do not want the visitors to this blog to feel like they’re being censored. Sure, I may get upset and I will most likely write a rebuttal, but that is the essence of opening up your heart and soul to the internet, no?

I cannot promise that my stance will not change once the baby is born. I may delete overly hurtful comments that are directed at my children (if I get any — knock on wood), only because I feel they should not be punished for their mother’s ramblings. But I am still undecided on this issue and we’ll see when the time comes. Who knows? I might just copy Dooce and create a “Monetizing the Hate” page.

How do other bloggers deal with negative comments? Do you delete them? Fight back? Ignore them?

The Shortest Possible Game of Monopoly (And How J Took All Joy Out of the Game)

I used to love the boardgame Monopoly. I really did. My friends and I would play well into the night, and whenever a game looked like it would last longer than our tuckered-out bodies, we would take a picture of the board (so that no one would be tempted to cheat), grab our colorful paper money and head off to bed…only to return to it bright and early the next morning, exactly where we had left off.

Then I met J.

One of my favorite stand-up comics, Russell Peters, says that Chinese people are impossible to do business with because they are some of the cheapest people on the planet and are never willing to give you a bargain.

Well, my husband is Chinese, and nowhere is this stereotype more apparent than when he plays Monopoly.

“I’ll trade you my Mediterranean Ave for your Park Place,” he likes to say.

We don’t play Monopoly quite as much anymore, but
J and I still have four versions of the game in our home.

Although everyone cusses him out for being a cheap bastard, he somehow manages to get his way and is usually left the victor in a no holds barred, merciless game.

And no, J never gives me any preferential treatment for being the love of his life. As the spineless twit who always has to play the nice guy, I’m usually one of the first to go bankrupt and lose the game.

He calls it tough love. I call it ruthless assault on a timid creature.

I no longer enjoy Monopoly as much. Yes, my husband has taken the joy out of a favorite childhood game and he fully acknowledges that fact. However, he still loves to play, and I’m sure he would get a kick out of the following…

Recently, a group of college students have taken it upon themselves to figure out the SHORTEST THEORETICAL game of Monopoly. And they’ve boiled it down to a 4-turn (2 per player), 9 roll (including doubles) game:

Player 1, Turn 1:

Roll: 6-6, Lands on: Electric Company
Action: None, Doubles therefore roll again

Roll: 6-6, Lands on: Illinois Avenue
Action: None, Doubles therefore roll again

Roll: 4-5, Lands on: Community Chest “Bank error in your favor, Collect $200″
Action: Collects $200 (now has $1700)

Player 2, Turn 1:

Roll: 2-2, Lands on: Income Tax
Action: Pay $200 (now has $1300), Doubles therefore rolls again

Roll: 5-6, Lands on: Pennsylvania Rail Road
Action: None

Player 1, Turn 2:

Roll: 2-2, Lands on: Park Place
Action: Purchase ($350, now has $1350), Doubles therefore rolls again

Roll: 1-1, Lands on: Boardwalk
Action: Purchase ($400, now has $950), Doubles therefore rolls again

Roll: 3-1, Lands on Baltic Avenue
Action: Collect $200 for passing GO (now has $1150), Purchase 3 houses for Boardwalk, 2 for Park Place ($1000, now has $150)

Player 2, Turn 2:

Roll: 3-4, Lands on: Chance, “Advance to Boardwalk”
Action: Advance to Boardwalk, Rent is $1400, only has $1300 = Bankrupt

GAME OVER

The entire game can be played in as little as 21 seconds, and you can see proof of it in the video below:

I wonder if this theory can be scientifically proven…

Via haha.nu.

Have Mercy!

Since I had so much fun talking about a teenage crush yesterday, I thought I would start today on another one: Uncle Jesse from Full House.

Notice I said “Uncle Jesse,” not “John Stamos.” It’s because I have a habit of falling for characters as opposed to the actors who portray them. (Hence my tendency to fall for animated characters as well. Hello, Gambit from X-Men and Prince Eric from The Little Mermaid!) And while I’m pretty sure that John Stamos is a typical celebrity, Uncle Jesse was a rebel with a heart of gold — a wild biker who gave up his bachelor life to help raise three little girls.

And who can forget Uncle Jesse serenading Becky on their wedding day?

I remember daydreaming about my own wedding as I watched this episode, imagining my future husband surprise-serenading me on my wedding day just as Uncle Jesse did for Becky. Obviously, that didn’t happen because J is about the most un-romantic guy I know. (It’s okay, because he has tons of chances to serenade me in the future. HINT, HINT.)

Why the sudden walk down Full House memory lane? Because I just learned that John Stamos will be joining Glee next season! He will be playing Emma’s new boyfriend which should create some interesting tension (and I’m crossing my fingers for a sing-off) between him and Mr. Schu.

Did anyone else love Full House as much as me? Anyone else have a crush on Uncle Jesse?

P.S. — Just how awesome was last night’s season finale of Glee? It was predictable (including the outcome of the regionals), but I still sat there with a goofy grin on my face the entire time, tearing up at all the appropriate moments.

WTF is HTML5? [Infographic]

We all know that Apple is not a fan of Flash and is in full support of HTML5 replacing the ubiquitous multimedia platform.

(Although I’m not a big fan of Flash myself, I don’t get Apple’s argument against Flash for not being “open” when their products are some of the most closed, proprietary out there. But that’s just me.)

Well, just what the heck is HTML5 and what’s so great about it? Being a web developer, I feel like I have been reading and studying up on HTML5 for decades. And while I can take hours writing a post to try to explain it to you, I found something better: a kickass infographic.

Via TheBlogIsMine.

P.S. — Don’t you just love infographics? I love how they’re THE trendy element on the web today. And if you’re truly a fan of visual data representation like myself, check out The Visual Miscellaneum: A Colorful Guide to the World’s Most Consequential Trivia by David Mccandless. J got it for me for Christmas, and I love it!

Tourists vs Locals

I have never been one to do “tourist-y” activities, even when I am at a locale I have been dying to visit.

I’m pretty sure that my aversion to tourist-y activities comes from the combination of the fear of being mistaken for a stereotypical Japanese tourist (because apparently, all Asians look alike) and being around annoying tourists in NYC.

Now, a map is available for people like me who prefer to stay in areas that are less likely to be congested with tourists:

Created by neo-cartographer Eric Fischer, the Tourist vs Locals map is based on the frequency of photos taken over certain time periods.

The blue areas represent photos taken by people who have taken pictures in the same city over a period of month or more. The red spots are photos taken in the city for less than a month, and yellow spots are unknowns.

The best news is that Fischer has created maps of major cities across the globe. Take a look at his Locals and Tourists Photo Set on Flickr to see if he has your city mapped out as well!

Via Gothamist.

The Power of Social Media, the Invisible Line, and a Giveaway!

I am fully aware of the fact that in order for a blog to grow and become popular, I need to be proactive and “get out there.” Social media. Guest blogging. Maybe perhaps some advertising.

But honestly? I’m too lazy.

That is why I am so grateful for my internet friends who link to Geek in Heels from their sites. I love you guys — I really do!

And when power Digg/StumbleUpon/Delicious users link to my site, the traffic literally spikes through the roof…and brings with it more regular visitors and subscribers.

infographic via Smashing Apps

I always said that there is an invisible line that is to be crossed for all bloggers. A line, once crossed, will bring in organic traffic and continue to build regular visitors and subscribers.

This line is different for all. For me, it was the mark of 500 subscribers. For the longest time, it was the number I sought to reach and could never quite get there. The number continued to hover and plateau just below 500.

If you are a blogger, did/do you have an invisible line?

In my case, I was finally able to break through the invisible line with the help of Digg, StumbleUpon, and Delicious power users. To those users, I sincerely thank you!

Because there were days (okay, only two specific times) where I saw my number of subscribers go up by 100-200 overnight. And as I had predicted, the number of subscribers and regular visitors only continued to grow as soon as I passed the invisible line.

Geek in Heels now enjoys over 25,000 unique visitors a month. I know that number is small fries for most power bloggers, but I am quite proud of what I have accomplished.

While I certainly wish more visitors would comment (doesn’t every blogger?), I understand that a my posts do not always warrant comments. Just look at über-popular sites such as Boing Boing — millions of visitors a month with a strikingly disproportionate number of comments.

And since none of this would be possible without YOU, my readers…

What type of content would you like to see more of on Geek in Heels?

Is it pregnancy/babies? More geeky stuff? The sharing of random things I’ve found on the web? Personal, day-to-day musings?

And in order to get you all to really think about this question and leave pertinent feedback, I have decided to do a giveaway!

I will choose one comment for this post via a random number generator and that person will win a custom illustration!

The giveaway will end this Friday, June 11 at 3:00pm EDT. The winner will be announced as an addendum to this post, and I will contact the winner via email as well.

All comments without a valid email address will be disqualified (how else would I contact you if you won?), and only one comment is allowed per person.

Thanks in advance for your feedback, and thank you for reading Geek in Heels!

The Decline of Human Civilization

What?!! Okay!!!

Via Geeks are Sexy.

Who Knew Batman Could Sing and Dance?

Before suffering laryngitis in the latest Batman franchise…

Before enthralling viewers over business cards, designer suits and eighties glamour — hence capturing the title of America’s favorite serial killer in a pre-Dexter era…

Before being rejected by one woman (Why, Jo? Whyyyy?????), only to move on to her younger sister…

Christian Bale starred in a little-known Disney musical called Newsies.

It was a crap film, only netting $2.9 million nationwide. Even Christian Bale himself admits to not liking the movie.

BUT I SURE DUG IT!

(Maybe it had to do with my enormous crush on Christian Bale at the time…?)

Does anyone remember this movie? Did anyone like it, as this desperate, pimple-covered teenager did?

For fellow fans of this horrible movie, in addition to those who can’t get enough of Lady GaGa, here’s a sweet mashup of “Bad Romance” with a landmark song & dance number from Newsies:

Yes, that’s Christian Bale (badly) dancing his little butt off. It’s pretty comical to see the teenage heartthrob image that launched his career, don’t you think?

The iPhone 4 (And What Phone Should I Buy My Husband?)

Today, El Steve-O donned his customary black turtleneck and jeans and wowed Apple fanboys worldwide as he introduced the iPhone 4 at the WWDC 2010.

I personally like the new hardware design — the more angled shape, the stainless steel band, and front-mounted camera — and think the white version in particular looks pretty damn sexy. Furthermore, the “Retina Display” looks mighty tempting…

However, I refuse to switch over to the iPhone until AT&T loses its current monopoly (at least in the U.S.) on the world’s most popular smartphone. I have had AT&T in the past and hated it; the 30% dropped call rate in NYC doesn’t help matters much either.

Besides, J and I are an Android couple.

Will YOU be getting the iPhone 4?

A few weeks ago, J actually asked, “Would you divorce me if I decide to get the new iPhone?”

I let out a big chuckle and replied that of course I wouldn’t divorce him — I might call him a sellout for a week or two, but I understand that my husband is a techie and if the iPhone suits his wants and needs, by all means, go for it.

“Hmm…I guess I’ll wait for WWDC and see what it has to offer.”

And you know what? After watching today’s keynote and reading up on all the iPhone 4 specs, he now says he does not want the iPhone 4. He still prefers Android to the iPhone OS (or the iOS, as Apple has just announced).

J has been working like a dog in the past few months due to a new product launch at his company. He even had to put out a few fires while on our babymoon, and has been working until 2-4am almost every night.

Thankfully, this week is THE launch week and so will be his last one working as a programming monkey slave for quite some time. And while he likes his job, I know that he only works this hard to support our growing family. All while I sit on my ass all day preparing to be a SAHM-slash-freelancer.

So I decided to sell some of my stuff to buy him a new phone (he really needs a new phone)…

…the only problem is, I can’t decide which phone.

And J is no help either, because he’s so damn picky and says I should just keep the money for myself. Aish! I WANT to buy him a new phone!

Are there any other Android fans out there?
Which phones would you recommend for my husband?

As for anyone who is interested in the iPhone 4 but can stand to wait a few months, I would advise you to wait. Because if the rumors swirling the interwebs are true, there’s something coming within the next 6 months that has AT&T worried. Worried enough to offer a very generous iPhone upgrade option for existing customers, so that they can lock them in for another 2-year contract.

Will AT&T’s exclusive hold on the iPhone finally come to an end within the next six months?

World Cup Bento Boxes [Seoul Eats]

I may not be a big soccer fan, but my native country of South Korea is definitely excited about the World Cup. Not only are celebrities are posing for photo sessions rooting for the beloved Red Devils, the hottest musical artists (including Olympic gold medalist Yuna Kim who has surprised the public with her beautiful singing voice) have been collaborating for World Cup-themed songs and music videos that play around the clock on all media outlets.

Now, you can add World Cup Bento Boxes to the mix.

The Park Hyatt Seoul has decided to offer these meals during the World Cup to its guests. Included with the boxes are two bottles of Heineken and balloon sticks (those annoying inflatable toys that make noise when you clap them).

There are four kinds of boxes, each representing a major power-soccer region of the world.

The South American box, featuring beef empanada and galeto passarinho: