Month: May 2008

Shirts

A few people have been asking me lately where they can get one of the “Wysz” shirts that I occasionally wear. I only have one of them, and I ordered it from CafePress for a Halloween costume. Since it sounds like some of you were actually serious about buying a shirt, I’m putting it up for sale publicly. And for Dan, I’m also offering a hoodie version.

Long-sleeved t-shirt with Wysz printed on front.

While we were talking about shirts, Matt came up with an idea for a shirt that could be used to add a disclaimer to everyday statements made by employees of any company. Here it is:

Shirt with text: Social disclaimer: The views I express in this conversation are mine alone and not those of my employer.

And finally, a shirt suggested by my cousin years ago is finally a reality. Well, it will be if you order one:

Don't front

Rebates

I just read Reid’s post on mail-in rebates, and I couldn’t agree more. They are stupid. I have been offered that same contact lens rebate for two years in a row and never bothered to fill it out. I think he’s right about the motive — the companies are hoping you won’t go through the inconvenience of jumping through all the hoops they set up. According to Wikipedia, it offers the company some other advantages such as earning interest on the additional money until the rebate is processed.

As for how much money they spend on processing? Probably not much. Many of those work-from-home ads you see online, with vague promises of “being your own boss” and pictures of big houses and wads of cash are for gigs processing rebate requests. My guess is they don’t pay very well.

Fashion(able) update

I recently wrote about my sister winning an award at Marist’s Silver Needle Fashion Show. I have some more info, and even a video, again provided by my mom.

black dress

First, the story behind the black and white dress (picture above by my mom). I jokingly asked upon seeing it, “So is this what everyone will be wearing in 5 years?” The reason for the unusual design is the criteria for the project. It had to be black and white, with a comedy/tragedy theme. There also had to be a non-fabric element. In Sara’s case, the theme is Barnum & Bailey, and the non-fabric element is the use of hula hoops. Oh, and this also explains why it looks like a circus tent.

Here’s a video of the winning collection:

Phones are for old people

Michael Wyszomierski
phones are for old people
Nelson Bradley
yeah exactly
Nelson Bradley
i tell old people to email me
Nelson Bradley
and they respond
Nelson Bradley
“what’s your phone number?”
Nelson Bradley
🙁
Michael Wyszomierski
haha
Michael Wyszomierski
you shouldn’t talk to old people then
Nelson Bradley
i have to sometimes
Nelson Bradley
i’m fine with grandparents
Nelson Bradley
but other old people should learn to email
Nelson Bradley
if they are just one generation above us
Michael Wyszomierski
yeah agreed

On dating

Michael Wyszomierski: this is why this should all be done online
Michael Wyszomierski: where you just have to check a box
Leah: just because you’re more comfortable with robots than people doesn’t mean the rest of us are

How should I use Twitter?

My geeky friends won’t stop talking about this thing, and I do think there may be some cases where I’ll find it useful, so I’m going to start using Twitter. I think I’ll use it for moments when a blog entry is too broad or permanent, but I also don’t feel like bothering a group with an email. “Running late… can someone save a donut for me?” is what I expect my updates to be like.

One thing I’m confused about is how I should follow people. Until now, I’ve just been subscribing to RSS feeds of my friends’ Twitter updates. I have a different feed for each person, and it doesn’t expose my social network to the rest of the world, since the list of people I’m subscribed to isn’t public. But I notice that many people receive updates using the “follow” feature on Twitter, which then provides an aggregate feed of updates for anyone being followed. The big difference here is that anyone can then look at my “following” list to see who I’m reading. What is the advantage of using this? Should I do this?

I think this is similar to my problem with blogrolls.

Fashion(able)

Congratulations to my sister Sara, who recently won the award for Outstanding Senior Collection at the 2008 Silver Needle Fashion Show by Marist College.

My mom pointed out Sara’s designs in the Poughkeepsie Journal’s photo gallery of the event. Here are some direct links to her photos: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7

To give you an idea of what it was like to live with a fashion designer, here’s a typical morning for us in high school:

I’ve just come downstairs and head towards the garage, where I see Sara. We need to leave in about two minutes. Sara looks at me, and is obviously not impressed.
Me: Is there something wrong with what I’m wearing?
Sara: Well, it’s too late now…

Or imagine that I’ve just gotten dressed before some family comes over for Christmas dinner:

Sara: Where did you get those pants?
Me: My closet.
Sara: Those are Dad’s pants. They can’t be yours.
Me: Well, they still fit.
Sara: Mom! He’s wearing pleats!

And more recently:

Aunt/Friend/Etc: That’s a cool bag, where did you get it?
Sara: I made it.

Update: Video.

Numbers people

I often have trouble talking to numbers people. Numbers people need stats on everything, no matter how unimportant the numbers are. I tend to only make qualitative observations.

Part of this may be due to the fact that I’m not that interested in measuring things I cannot control. I almost never check the weather forecast. In most cases, weather won’t change my plans. Now that I’m in Silicon Valley, where there is no weather, I don’t even understand why there’s a forecast in the first place. The only forecast I’d really be interested in would be for earthquakes, but the current precision on those doesn’t help me very much.

To illustrate my problem, here’s what a typical conversation with one of the engineers I know sounds like. Keep in mind that I am generally struggling to insert numbers wherever possible so I don’t sound like an idiot:

#: So, California, huh? What’s the average temperature where you live this time of year?
Me: I’m usually indoors. They keep it at room temperature.
#: 72?
Me: Sure.
#: Do you drive to work?
Me: Yeah.
#: How long does it take you?
Me: I don’t know. Depends on when I leave.
#: When do you usually leave?
Me: Typically between 7 and 11, but it really varies based on when I wake up.
#: Well, how many miles is your commute?
Me: Oh, I looked this up once. It was three. No, that was my old apartment. I think five. Maybe.
#: Gas prices must be crazy out there.
Me: Yeah.
#: What’s the average price there now?
Me: Expensive.
#: How many miles per gallon do you get?
Me: I usually fill up when I’m down to 1/4 tank.
#: Got it. So, how are you liking the local sports teams?
Me: I’m really only qualified to talk about the Internet.