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April 08, 2007
Étranger Non Plus
Brunch at Czehoski with LBS some admits and alumni yesterday was great! The feeling of the brunch was different compared to the one I attended as a waitlisted student last year. As a waitlist attending admit events last year, I felt like a little bit of an outsider. It's not that anyone made me feel like one - more of a personal distinction. This time was nothing like that. Just a relaxed time with some interesting people.I had the eggs benedict with brie. I swear that anyone who even caught the slightest glimpse of the hollandaise sauce or the croissant that supported the structure must have gained weight. My heart still isn't beating quite right after eating it.
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A matter of vital importance to those who care what I'm doing THIS VERY MOMENT:
I'm twittering.
It makes me sad that I'm nearly all alone doing this.
Please join me.
I care about what you're doing.
I really do.
Labels: Events, MBA, Rave, Tech
February 27, 2007
I <3 Apple
I was pretty disappointed with the service that Corel had provided when I had asked a question. It felt like the person responding didn't really take the time to read and understand what I was asking.A company that I feel has customer service right is Apple. As a caveat, I've never had to deal with them for any major crippling technology issues, but for the items I have had issue with, the response has been stellar.
My most recent example is from a download from the iTunes Store. A friend had told me about the audiobook version of John Hodgman's (I'm a PC) book The Area of my Expertise. My friend also mentioned that the audiobook was free download from the iTunes Store. I checked the store and it indicated that it was indeed a free download. I clicked to add to my shopping cart. What puzzled me is when I looked in the cart to see a price on the item. I assumed that there would be a credit or some other price cancellation after going through the purchasing process. I really didn't see anything of the sort after downloading so I decided to contact Apple.
It took me a few clicks to find a method to contact them, but eventually I found a web form to fill out. After completing and clicking 'send' there was an immediate message to let me know that my question had indeed gone though - nice to have some feedback to know the form works. The next day, I received a follow up from an actual person that told me a number of useful things. There was a statement identifying that I had actually been charged and an apology for being charged. Also included was a timeline for expected resolution and some info on how to figure out account information for myself in the future. Not only had someone read my e-mail but he had also given me some useful information! Because of it, Apple will get more and more of my money.
On a side note, The Area of my Expertise is hilarious! The audio download is an abridged version, but it's over 6 hours(!) long. The humor is similar to that of McSweeney's, another favorite of mine. Pick up the book or download the audio version today!
February 05, 2007
Ewe of A
As if my cousins (the 121st Street Laus - my family being the 119th Street Laus) didn't impress me (read: make me green with envy) enough already with their artistic ability, cousin Norm has gone and made a comic for the Gateway (the U of A student newspaper).There's no real webpage for it yet, I suppose Norm's waiting for a larger collection before making one, but a quick search gives all the comics published to date:
Gateway search for "Ewe of A"
I think the strip is pretty darn good and it features the wit that Norm is known for.
January 25, 2007
A Window into Human Nature
The lecture yesterday was pretty good.Dr. Pinker broke the talk into three different sections:
- Metaphors as a window into thought
I think I've read what he presented in one of his other books (The Language Instinct?). He talked to how we use concrete physical terms to refer to abstract ideas (e.g Argument is war - His claims were indefensible, I attacked his argument. Love is a journey - Our relationship has stalled. Look how far we've come. We drifted apart. etc.). - Swearing as a window into emotion
Swearing consists of emotionally charged words. Dr. Pinker gave a good breakdown on why people find swears offensive and the contexts in which swears are used. This section of the talk also used more expletives (in both number and variation) than I believe even the most well versed sailor could have used in such a limited time frame. Bravo, Dr. Pinker! Bravo!
Some interesting highlights: a list of 33 different ways we refer to feces (Pinker: "Makes you wonder what the fuss is about the number of words for snow Eskimos supposedly have."). Polite terms for sex being intransitive verbs, while cruder terms are transitive verbs - the former indicating mutual consensual actions, the latter less so. The delight Pinker had for the 16th century curse "kiss the cunt of a cow" ("There's a wonderful alliteration to it."). - Innuendo as a window into social interaction
This was personally my favorite section. He used the example of bribing a police officer to get out of a speeding ticket. Innuendo helps get intent across when you don't know the morals of others. It's in innuendo that you can reap the benefits of bribing a corrupt cop while avoiding the penalties of bribing a scrupulous one.
On a side note, the question period after was... interesting. There were some good questions, but they were in the minority. I always love people who just adore hearing the sound of their own voices and demonstrating how brilliant they are to the group. "Gesticulation" and "Hominid evolution" are terms not to be thrown around lightly. Especially when the question is really: Does non-verbal communication add to how people understand language?
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As expected, the LBS admits were a great bunch. I didn't expect us to be drinking as long as we did but I guess the training for London has to start somewhere.