I just watched the final episode of Coupling and it’s easily one of the best series finales I’ve seen. (And I’ve still got the theme song stuck in my head – it’s very similar to the version Doris Day recorded.)
Katie was right. The show is definitely racier than most shows you’ll see on American TV. But it’s much more clever than vulgar. The two main characters are based on the show’s creators and the rest are archetypes based on people they’d each had failed relationships with.
Definitely worth a watch.
All posts by dividingbyzero
Decision Making
This is happily nothing to do with anything going on in my life, just a general observation I can’t get out my head.
In the corporate world, before scolding a subordinate for making a decision they don’t agree with, most senior managers prefer to increase the level of irony by first giving a speech about how important it that everyone be empowered to make decisions.
Caution
Things have been a bit stressful at work lately. Not quite six weeks ago, I completed a very high profile project. There were a few minor glitches, but things overall went fairly well.
Before that project was even complete, I was already being pulled onto another project, also very important, and also with a very high profile. We’re evaluating several complex software packages to replace a highly customized mission critical application, we’re doing it on a very short schedule, and it turns out that there were some bad assumptions early on about the level of effort required for the evaluations.
This past week, the inevitable happened.
No, no, no. Nobody died. Just a case of a sense of humor coming into play.
Friday a week ago, I was intensely working on the project and to minimize distractions had kept the office door closed most of the day. (Interestingly, most people assumed it was my officemate who didn’t want to be disturbed. Either way, the effect was the same.) Around 5:30, I noticed the silhouette of someone standing outside my office door and upon opening it, discovered my boss taping a piece of yellow Caution tape across the doorway.
I laughed and even obliged by collapsing on the floor. As my boss snapped a photo, a passerby commented on my performance, “He dies well.”
The caution tape stayed up over the weekend confusing both the cleaning staff and several co-workers. By the end of the day Monday though, the boss hadn’t done anything with the photos and then sent out an email saying he would be out for the next few days.
When he returned on Thursday morning, he laughed to find the caution tape across his door. When he found the “chalk” outline (actually done with masking tape) he needed several minutes to stop laughing. His favorite part was a touch an accomplice had added (it’s difficult to mark an outline of yourself) where the outline ran over (and fastened to the floor) an envelope which had been slipped under the door. He even laid down on the floor for a photo of himself in the outline.
Inevitably, somebody who hears this story will comment that I have too much spare time. To me, this seems like a fairly reasonable use of five minutes. It certainly beats letting the stress get to the point where someone in a more “official” role is drawing outlines.
Shell Games
No luck getting any photos of the empty goose nest yesterday, so I went back again today. You can see chunks of the hatched eggs laying around the sides of the nest.
No sign of Mama Goose and kids today either, I think they’ve moved off to be closer to water. The facilities people must think so too as the traffic cones have been removed from the adjoining spaces.
For the longest time, I could never understand what the appeal was to putting a low-quality camera in a cell phone. It hit me a year or two back — the camera may not be very good, but it works well for casual shots, such as these, which might not have been taken otherwise. (Thankfully they’re starting to use slightly better cameras.)
Empty Nest Syndrome
When I went into the office this morning, Mama Goose was still sitting on the nest. It looks like last week’s goose photos were “just in time,” because when I went to get something from the car in the late afternoon, I found a few of these signs in the parking lot.
I tried to get a couple shots of the nest, but they didn’t come out right. No sign of Mama Goose and the kids though. They either waddled off to the stormwater pond out behind the building, or else she was already busy teaching them to poop on cars.
Church of the Terminator
When I first spotted this card, I noticed a model sailing ship, a stack of books, and a computer keyboard. What really got my attention though was the metallic-looking skull, like something from The Terminator movies. Add in the bit at the bottom where it mentions a theater and I thought for sure it was a promotion for the new Terminator film which opens next weekend.
Looking at the back of the card, it turns out to be a promotion for a new ministry of a local Mega-Church. Along with their multiple locations and frequent radio ads, it turns out they’re also branching out into holding services in area movie theaters.
It’s entirely possible that they’re making a subtle tie to the new movie, Terminator Salvation. Unfortunately, once I figured out what the card was about, the message which crossed my mind was, “Give your life to Christ, or else he’s going to send a killer robot after you.”
Oops.
Ever wonder what would happen if the guy driving the Home Depot forklift got a little clumsy?
(via Steve Bass’ TechBite newsletter.)
Pillowtalk
More Grocery Store Mischief!
I had to make a mid-evening run to the grocery store or else breakfast was going to be nothing but toast. (Now I’ll be able to have a pear. Plus, lunch won’t have to come from the deli.)
Going through the checkout, the cashier was making small talk and asked, “Any big plans for the evening?”
Since it was already past 9:00, I just shook my head and answered, “No, just this, and then I have a heavy date with my pillow.”
The woman behind me in line overheard this and added, “I have one too.”
I turned to her and in my most surprised voice exclaimed, “With my pillow?! I’m going to have to have a word with that pillow! It’s really getting around!”
A few minutes later as I paid for the groceries, gathered my bags, and started to walk away, the woman called after me, “Give my regards to the pillow!”
Scenes from a Parking Lot
About a month ago, the facilities people at my office set up some cones in the parking lot, blocking access to three spaces. Surface parking is always kind of tight there, so on the one hand, I was a bit mystified as to why they would do this. On the other hand, our parking lot is currently in the midst of its annual occupation by a group of Canada Geese, and I wouldn’t want to be parking at the surface level anyhow, lest I have to clean some nasty goose stuff off the car. (And anything like that gets on your car, you need to wash it right away. Otherwise you’re gonna need a new paint job.)
Two weeks ago, I was heading out to my car at lunch time, and I discovered why those spots had been blocked off — Mama Goose had moved in and set up a nest on the traffic island!
Late last week, I happened to walk by while Mama Goose was standing up to stretch and count the eggs. I didn’t want to get any closer for fear of disturbing her, but still managed to snap this shot. If you look closely, you can see about a half-dozen eggs between her feet.
So Much for Keeping a Low Profile
I’m generally pretty low key about my involvement in Science Fiction fandom. When folks ask, I don’t deny being a fan. But on the other hand, it’s not exactly the first thing I bring up in a conversation. (Being a computer geek pays a lot better than it did 20 years ago, but “Star Trek geek” doesn’t seem to be particularly high on the list of attributes most girls are looking for.)
Two weeks ago, thanks to my involvement with the Farpoint and Shore Leave conventions, I was invited to an advance screening of the new Star Trek movie.
On Monday, I was contacted by a reporter from the Baltimore Sun who was doing a story about how the existing fan base (he was quite diligent about using the word “Trekkers”) was reacting to the new film.
The article appeared in today’s Baltimore Sun on page one of the Entertainment section.
So much for keeping a low profile….