Beeper Codes list (completed)

As a matter of posterity, I've compiled this list of over 460 Beeper Codes.  These are just one type of Pager Codes that I previously wrote about.  This list is different from other lists online.  There are common codes that didn't appear in other lists; and I've removed entries that are redundant to Number Look-Alikes.  Number Look-Alikes are terms spelt out in pager code, such as "43770" for "HELLO", rather than being shorthand Beeper Code.
Beeper Codes

Code	Definition	Reference
0*0	Roh-Roh!
0*10*0	Im tired
0*17*8*1*2	Oh you ate one too	OU812
0*7*1	I need a favor
00	Airhead
000	Call whenever you can
000	Time; What time is it?
000*0000	I'm online/I will be online
0000000	Bronx cheer
0001000	I'm alone right now
001	Please
001122	I don't know
0049	Accident; Something wrong
007	I've got a secret	James Bond
00-88-00	Call me later
009	Going to a movie, wanna come?
0099	Going out, wanna come?
01*01*01	Don't have a cow!	Term popularized by The Simpsons
010	Plans changed; I'm tired/flaking
0101	I'm tired
011	Monday
01210	I'm confused
016	Plans changed
020	Plans changed
020202	Just thinking of you
022	Tuesday
024	Going to the beach
0242	Hey lover!
033	Wednesday
04*04*04	Happy Holidays
0404	I will always love you
044	Thursday
05*05	Margaritas
055	Friday
0563	Please don't leave me
060	You are fine
064	Don't call me
066	Saturday
06644	Don't call me
07	Just kidding
07	I salute you
074	I need a favor
0741	I need a favor
0747	I need a favor
077	Sunday
07700	Ha ha ha!
080808	Kisses and hugs	X and O's
09	Why dont you get a cordless phone like regular people?
09*09*09	Let's talk
0909	It's off, canceled
099	I've got something to tell you
0990	Too late to call
0998	I have a question
1	You're the one; You the man
1*00	Im on the phone with my significant other
1*8	I ate
1*800	I'm free - no plans tonight
10	You're perfect
10*2	You've got 10 minutes
10*2*1	Slim chance
10*20	Where are you?
10*4	Is everything OK?
10*400	Thank you
100	Come back
100*200* 300	I can't see you anymore
10000	Lets go for a swim	10,000 Leagues Under the Sea
10000001	Miss you
1001	Prove it
1004	From your angel
101	I've got an easy question
1023	It's over
1038	Can't stop loving you
104	Come over
1040	You owe me big-time
105	Cancel
1052	LOVE!!!
107	Come back
1078	I miss the old us
108	Come over
11	Maybe
11	You're perfect
11111111	Congratulations!	Resembles a series of exclamation marks
112233	At the club
116	I'm in trouble
1182	Come here fast
119	I'm in trouble
12*25	Merry Christmas
120	Leave
121	I need to talk to you alone
121212	Happy Birthday!
122	I want/need you?
123	I miss you
124	I'm dreaming of you
125	I'm bored
1250	Me too
1259	Me too
13	I'm having a bad day
13*30	It's getting old
1300	Going out
133	Don't forget
135	You wish
13579	This is weird
141	I'm with you
1423	I want to die
143	I love you
1432	I love you too
1432222222	I love you so much
1437	I love you forever
1443	I don't love you
1444	I hate this life
146	Good morning
1463	I miss the old you
1492	Let's go sailing
15	Whatever
15	Hugs
15*11	OK
151-	Want to join me?
15243	Be With Me
15243	I want to be with you
153	I hate you
1543	I still love you
155	Just kidding
155	I wanna go to sleep
157	Keep in touch
16	Kisses
1692	I want to
17	No; No way
1701	Live long and prosper	Spock, Star Trek
171	Mad
177117	Minutes	Usually preceding a number to indicate how long you will be.
1776	You're sickening
178	I'll call you back later
18	Yes
180	Yesterday
180	I love you
183	I'm busy
187	You're dead/I hate you
19	Hug
19	Yes
1925	Let's go out
193	Miss Me?
193	Do you miss me?
195	See you tonight
197	I'm pissed off
2	Me too
2*2	Let's dance
2*4*6	I'm pissed off
20	Pick me up
200	Tonight
2001	You're way out there
201	Cancel previous page
2010	Later
202	Don't meet me
20-20-20	Sorry
203	And
203	Get off the phone
204	I'm/Everything OK
205	I'm on my way home
209	On my way
21	Maybe
21	Let's have a drink
210	Got your page...I understand
213	Miss me?
214	Happy Valentine's Day
214	Received your message
215	Running late
22	Be good
220	Why haven't you called
221	Where are you?
222	Your busted!; Are you busted?
2222	I'm sleepy
224	2 good 4 you
23	Te Amo	I love you in Spanish and Portuguese
23	Whatever
230	Oh yeah!
234	Just for today
235	Problem has been handled
237	Are you alone?
24	I'm Home
24*7	24 hours, 7 days a week
240	Tomorrow
243	We love you
244	My baby
245	I'm/everything is ok
2468	Your terrific
25	Hi, my crush
25	Sorry
255	I'm at a payphone, hurry
26	Te Quiero	I love you in Spanish
260	It's late, please hurry
265	Check your e-mail
27	Need you
270	Cancel previous page
280	My Sexy Baby
280	Today
285	Stay away for awhile
288	Today
288	But
288	When will I see you again?
29	You suck
290	I'm without my pager today
3	Wussup
30	This is getting old
300	Guess who?
301	Is this a bad time to call?
3011	Be careful
303	Stop playing
304	Ho Ho Ho
305	I love you back
310	I'm thinking about you
315	But
315	I miss you
32	Eat Me
320-	Wish you were here
321	Please reply
323	Let Me Hit
324	C-U-Soon
325	Hope you're feeling better
3293	Can't wait
330	You are incredible
332211	Movies
333	Love
333	Whats up?; How are you?
335	Your crazy
340	I owe you one
341	I like you
342	See you later
343	Call back now
345	Thank you
345987	I'm horny
346	Come back please
350	Sorry about that
36	You're cool
360	I love you back
3620	Sorry I lied
365	I'm blowing you a kiss
370	Congratulations
372	What are you doing?
375	Don't ever change
380	Your last page has me smiling
3838	Hey bebe
385	Hi Cutie/Handsome
390	Best of luck to you today
395	Please be careful out there
3999	You hurt me
400	Wanna hear something stupid?
4040	I hate you
405	I've got a secret, hehe
406	Hugs and kisses
41	Call me
410	You owe me big time
411	Call for info
411	I need info/I have a question
412	Please stay with me
414141	Sorry to bother you
415	Get an attitude adjustment
41526	Let's talk
41633	Merry Xmas
419	I don't understand
42	Fuck Me
420	It's that time!
420	You're in trouble, buddy!
4200	Losing feelings for you
423	Call me now
424	Call me back
425	Call me later
426	Call me tonight
428	Call me whenever
428	Call me tomorrow
43	Fuck You
43	You freak
430	You did it....bravo
433	Call me now
434	Feel Better
434	Hope you feel better
436	Hugs and kisses
438	Going to the beach
440	Hey clown, cheer up
444	I Want Love
444	Thinking of you
445	Ditto to your last page
45	Good night
450	Who pulled you chain?
455	Don't make me come get you
46	Hug
46*73	Goodnight, sweet dreams
460	Mind your own buisness
4678	Let's stay home
47	Good morning
470	I'm with you thru thick and thin
475	Long time no harass, hehe
477	Best friends forever
478	Just you and me
480	Let me know
485	A quick howdy to you
49	Good afternoon
490	You're in loony land
495	Go for it!
5	Hi
5*0	Are you booked?
50*50	It doesn't matter to me
500	Beep me
5020	So what
505	SOS
5150	Crazy
52	Hurry
522	Think of me
525	Going to the party
5280	Be mine
53	Thank You
533	Where are you?
5391	So, we are strangers again?
54	Never mind
54321	I'm ready to explode
55	You are a sweetheart
555	I want your sex
555	Call me
5555	I miss your voice
56	Sweet dreams
58	Happy birthday
5900	I'm sick
5971	I feel better
6	Always
6*9999999-	Get in line
60*017	Go online
60*60	I'm very happy
6000*6	Good luck
601	Happy birthday/anniversary
603	Hope your feeling better
606	Bitch
607	I miss you
609	I'm mad at you
611	I'm sorry
612	Thinking about you
6167	I am going to lunch
620	I dont know
62180	I'm grounded
629	Calling from payphone
630	Calling from cellphone
6302	I'm starting to like you
637	Always and forever
66	I'm mad
66	Let's hit the road	Route 66
660	You better be ready
666	Can't go out
668	Not
67	Always and Forever
6771	Good friend/friends
69	Both ways
69	Lets get together
7	Forever; You will be in my heart forever
70	I'm sad/depressed
700*600	Happy anniversary
7007	You're a joke
707-	LOL
710	I'm out of gas
7179	Best bud/friend
722	Don't beep me
7537	I know you don't like me
747	Let's fly
7537	I know you don't like me
757	I miss my baby
77	Friends forever
7735	Sell out
7741	Call me
789	Going to the mall
7942	From your friend
7979	Cheer up
8000	Goodbye or take care
801	I'm going over
8081	I had a bad time
811	Not a emergency, but important
815	I'll be good
8198	How about dinner?
82	Freak Me
82	Hurry
823	Thinking of you
825	Anytime
8255	Get your butt over here now
8282	Hurry up
831	I love you	8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning
838	I know it's you
8431	I can't wait to see you
844	Can you handle me
8498	Forget it
8558	Waiting for your call
86	You're finished
86*0	Are you mad?
864	I'm home
8642	I'm gonna get even with you
87	You're late; I'm late
8800	I'll call you later
881	I forgive you
883	Beep me now
890	Leave me alone
9*09	I have good news
9*2*9	Forgive me
9*4*4*4	Are you thinking of me
9*5	It's quitting time
9*52	I screwed up
9*9*9	Only us
90	You're beautiful
90*90*90	No, no, no
90*91*92	I had a great time
9000	Repeat message
90210	Watta snob
9043	Relax
906	I'm on my way
909	I am at work
9090-	Go! Go!; Get a move on!
910	Sorry I hurt you
9103	I will try
911	Emergency
911	This is big!; This is an emergency, call me now
9143	Do you love me?
920	Cheer up
921	I do care
922	Let's try something new
9229	Big problem
93	Grow up
9339	Some other time
9341	Do you like me?
937	Never
9428	What do you want to do?
943	Where are you?
9437	Liar
9438	Where?
9444	Are you thinking of me?
9449	Please be good
949	Why?
9500	Friends
95507	Your loss
961	Let's try again
966	Bad news
968	I'm all yours
971	I had to go…
972	I'm ready
9779	Mmmmmm
98*6	Hope you're feeling better
9810	I'm bored
9876	I'm serious
9890	Forever
99	Nighty Night
99*44*100	I'm almost totally completely bored
9908	Can't talk now
9922	You don't care
9955	Don't do it again
9993	I'm OK

Using a thorn to write

I'm not sure why, but I have a growing fascination with the letter thorn.  Maybe it comes from the fact that we have sounds in the English language that have no letter to themselves.  This is particularly strange since we used to have letters for at least some of these sounds.  In the case of sounds for th, those letters are thorn and eth.

Capital thorn: Þ

Lowercase thorn: þ

Capital eth: Ð

Lowercase eth: ð

Thorn represents the unvoiced th sound, as in the words thin, things, wither, and eighth.  Eth represents the voiced th sound, as in the words the, that, those, feather, and clothe.  When these letters were in common use, they were often used interchangeably, regardless to which th sound was actually used.  Additionally, the letter Y was often used in place of thorn since print type fonts of Medieval times didn't have the letter thorn.  This means, "Ye Olde Shoppe" was really pronounced "The Old Shop", no different than today.  In this case, the "Y" was a replacement for the letter thorn, which represented the voiced th sound of the word "the".  (Further discussion on English sounds that are missing letters.)

So, I've decided to play around with the idea of using thorn in its rightful place within the English language.  The following is a republished old article, where the letters th (representing the voiced and unvoiced th sounds) are replaced with the letter thorn.

INFAMOUS MINIATURE GOLF STORY

Ok...here's þe infamous Miniature Golf story..

Þis one time, like two years ago, I took Miriam to play Miniature Golf at a Golfland in San Jose.  She hadn't been to a Miniature Golf place in aeons.  So, we get our clubs, balls, scorecard and pencils, þen head to þe first tee.  Being þe gentleman þat I am, I let her go first.  She bends down by sticking her ass up in þe air as usual (þis being a family type place, mind you) to put þe ball on þe black mat.  It starts rolling around a bit, but finally she makes it stay in place.  While þis was going on, I'm watching her out of þe corner of my eye, just kinda waiting for her to get her ball to stop rolling around. Getting þe ball to stay in place was, of course, a pointless exercise given what she does next.

She swings. I hear a panicked "Oh!".  She's looking back at me, embarrassed, kinda laughing, kinda whimpering.  Þen I notice þe club is no longer in her hands. I briefly look around for it, confused.  Þen I realize, she's þrown þe club up in þe air during her swing!  I ask, "Where did you þrow þe club?"  Þen I realize furþer, þe club went straight up in þe air!  Worse yet, it hasn't come down yet!  Þen, my even more profound realization is þat it has now been 5 seconds, from when I was wondering why Miriam was embarrassed to þis moment (when I realized þe club was still up in þe air), and þe club was still up in þe air!  I shout at Miriam, "Get out of þe way!", while using pure instinct as to where not be when it finally decided to come back down to Earþ.  We boþ duck and run.  I turn around, worried þat þis magic club (which has now been in þe air for over 6 seconds) might land on someone else.  To my relief, it tumbles to þe ground safely, right on þe spot þat Miriam and I had just ran away from.

We laughed it off, and were relieved no one got hurt.  But to þis day, we wonder how þe hell þis club shot straight up out of her hands into þe air far enough to land in þe same spot a whole 7 seconds later!

Old School: Pager Code

There are/were several types of pager codes in the 1990's before cellphones become common with inexpensive data/text plans.

Calculator Method

The simplest (and prolly earliest) pager code was the Calculator Method.  This method replaced letters with numbers that resemble those letters when held upside down (similar to how you'd create words using upside down numbers on a calculator).  These were typed backwards so that the effect was easy to read.  Examples:

• HELLO would read 07734.  4 kinda looks like an H, 3 is clearly an upside down E, 7 is clearly an upside down L and 0 is O in either direction.
• GUESS WHO would read 04177*553176.  6 kinda looks like a G, 17 looks like an upside down U, 5 looks like an S, * is a space, 177 looks like an upside down W.

Beeper Codes

Another common pager code system consisted of a string of numbers that were typically 3 letters long used to represent specific words and phrases. Though I doubt there is consensus regarding a name for the collection of these pager codes, these seem most closely associated with the term "Beeper Codes".  Beeper codes were really a collection of many individual codes that were derived from several cipher methods.  Many codes used letter count, but other methods were also employed.

• I LOVE YOU was commonly typed as 143.  This required foreknowledge of the code, as any combination of words can share common letter counts.  143 could've easily meant I CAN'T FLY if you didn't know the established meaning. 
• I LOVE YOU was also 831 from the phrase, "8 letters, 3 words, 1 meaning."  Again, foreknowledge is necessary to decipher the code.  

There were a lot of these individual Beeper Codes.

Number look alikes

The most versatile pager code was a slightly more formal substitution method.  Letters were represented by a look alike number or string of numbers. This is similar to the Calculator Method, but can be read rightside up and used to spell any word without a lot of forethought (or turning your phone upside). Different varieties existed, but the most common was this:

Pager Code
Letter	Number Look Alike
A	8
B	8
C	6
D	0
E	3
F	4
G	6
H	4
I	1
J	7
K	15
L	7
M	177
N	17
O	0
P	9
Q	0
R	12
S	5
T	7
U	11
V	11
W	111
X	25
Y	4
Z	2
Spacebar	- or *

With this method, complex messages could be sent without a lot of effort. Even after texting and cellphones become more common, this was still a good system to encipher messages from casual interloping.

• HELLO becomes 43770
• WISH YOU WERE HERE becomes 111154 4011 1113123 43123 (a special symbol for spacebar wasn't necessary once texting was available)
• FOUR SCORE AND SEVEN YEARS AGO becomes 401112 560123 8170 5311317 438125 860

Pager codes were still used by some people even after texting become available because most early texting-capable cellphones didn't have an alphabet keyboard.  Typing words was still tedious using the texting system.  It was prolly around the time when type-ahead appeared that use of pager codes finally become uncommon.  Once smartphones become common, there was really no need for pager codes anymore at all, except for fun.  I still find myself using some of the old 3 digit beeper codes if I don't feel like typing out a common phrase.

Infinite Universe

Deep thoughts by me, "If the Universe is infinite, then all possibilities will be a reality, which means the Universe was simultaneously created by a God and came into existence without a god. The Universe itself becomes its own quantum superpositional object between all possibilities." [There is a flaw with this logic (infinity does not mean all things that can happen will happen), but it's still a bit of a mind-trip.]

This is America! Wait, what? [Infographic]

It is funny how many people are taught that "The Americas" is one continent.  Oh, and some people are bugged by the "arrogance" that Americans have for being the only people to call themselves "American" when there is a whole bunch of other countries here too.

Tuesday Two: Tracking balls

The aptly name  Bounce Imaging Explorer is a throwable camera that allows you to see around corners simply by rolling or throwing it into the area.  Great for cops, firefighters, and military.

You can track yourself, your kids, your phone and your car.  Now you track your luggage with Trakdot.  This device can send  text messages, emails or updates to an app.  This allows you to know where luggage is, even if the airline doesn't.

Who needs privacy?

Allie said just now, "I don't know why people post everything on Facebook. ...there's no privacy." I couldn't help but post this quote on Facebook just to be ironic.

Yahoo's Blunder with unnecessary changes to their services is well explained on slashdot.org

Yahoo's blunder with unnecessary changes to their services such as Yahoo! Groups is well explained on slashdot.org by anonymous poster.

If you have no userbase, the Agile concept of ship (garbage) early and ship (garbage) often even before you really have an MVP actually makes some sense. If you have a 6-month runway of capital before you go belly-up and start over (oh, I'm sorry, "pivot"), there's no point in wasting another month to get it right.

But if you already have a userbase, the developer-centric attitude of leaving what, to users, is core functionality in the backlog while you release half-assed stuff that merely shows off how good you are with AJAX, or how quickly your UX people can change the design from one week to the next, doesn't work. It's bad for your customer base, it alienates them, and it eventually drives them to your competitors.

More of this person's comment can be found here. If you are interested in exploring the topics brought up by this person, click on the links I added to their quote above.  That will take you to Wikipedia articles that will explain each of the terms.  

Senseless Sunday: Mort fog tail

• Micromort is the unit of measure assigned to determining the risk of mortality in terms of one-in-a-million chance of dying.
• The invention of the toothbrush has no well defined origin, but the first bristle toothbrush has been discovered in China from the Tang Dynasty (circa A.D. 619–907).  It used hog bristle.  Not quite the same as brushing your teeth with bacon flavored toothpaste, but close.
• A cubic mile of fog is made up of 56,000 gallons of water.
• The word coward original comes from Latin word couda, meaning "tail".

South Park Nails Cable Companies

Stupid press and their stupid ways (Facebook haters)

From time to time there are articles claiming the end of Facebook.  These articles are all pretty much the same, saying how "kids" are using other social media sites now, such as Vine, Snapchat, Ask.fm, and Instagram.  Really?

Vine is not used instead of Facebook.  Vine is used instead of Youtube.  It's a video app.

Snapchat is only being used for sending sexy videos that cannot be stored.  Again, not something that was ever really Facebook's thing.  Facebook might be losing some use to Snapchat, but I don't think it's much.  Youtube is losing more than Facebook.

Ask.fm is really competition for Reddit and Yahoo! Answers rather than Facebook.  Maybe Reddit is stealing time away from Facebook, but ultimately, even these individuals end up on Facebook for social networking (even as they pretend to hate it).  Reddit doesn't have a strong social interaction and is mostly just strangers posting for strangers.

What about Instagram?  People use Instagram instead of older services like Flickr and Photobucket.  It's a photo app.  There is a stronger social aspect, but photos aren't really a replacement for communicating on Facebook.  It's more like one-way bragging, which ultimately doesn't promote long and engaging interaction.  When people respond to someone else's brags, they are trying to make themselves relevant in the context of the braggartry, and that's what tends to happen on Facebook.  That's something that just isn't possible on Instagram.

You know what kids are using instead of Facebook?  Nothing, ...kinda.  They are using text messaging.  Texting is why Facebook is seeing a small decline in usage in the younger demographics.  Aggressive use of texting is temporary for people, though.  Textings doesn't grow as your network grows.  There's a certain point where texting becomes intrusive.  When that happens, people move their social networking to a more broad service.  When they do, that service still tends to be Facebook.

I'm not a Facebook pumper.  I can live with or without it.  I do know it is the most convenient service right now.  There is just something about it that makes it more usable than Google+.  Anyone that thinks that Facebook will go the way of Myspace and Friendster just isn't paying attention or only seeing what they want to see.  Until something that is actually better comes around, Facebook isn't going to die from a supposed mass migration of its user base.

There is merit to all the services mentioned above.  Some services appeal to certain people more than others.  Facebook's success is that it is a generalist that covers all the bases.  

Damp and windy day. Great to be indoors.

Amazon.com's double-whammy for Massachusetts comes in one more day (Nov 1)

Whammy #1

Despite the illegality of applying a state tax (of any kind) to an interstate purchase (in direct violation of U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause found at Article 1, Section 8, Clause 3), Amazon.com has capitulated to Massachusetts' harassment.  As of November 1, 2013, Amazon.com will begin collecting the state's sales tax on purchases sold by Amazon.com.  This does not include third party vendors which sell their product through Amazon.com's website, who are responsible to handle their own taxation (if any).

The problem I have with this is that is really is illegal.  Until such a time that Congress actually passes a law granting states the authority to apply their intrastate taxes to interstate sales, these states are in willful violation of our Constitution.  There are exceptions this that have been allowed by Federal Courts, but Amazon.com (nor most online retailers) does not have a business that operates in such as way as to fall under these exceptions.  Besides that, there are ambiguities that Congress needs to resolve.  Allowing taxation of purchases that do not originate within the state may be an open door for states to outright tax purchases that have no origin or destination within their own territory, but are rather just passing through.

There are a lot of nonsensical justifications for taxation of interstate sales, and there are a lot of good reasons to not allow such taxation.   I would go into detail here as to why, but I've actually covered this pretty well in a previous article about California's similar attempts to harass Amazon.com and other online retailers.

Whammy #2

Not quit as annoying, but still bothersome is that last week Amazon.com raised their minimum purchase for free shipping.  Instead of the $25 threshold, the minimum purchase for free shipping is now $35.  What does this mean for most casual shoppers who don't buy into the Amazon Prime plan?  There may be some short term gain in sales from customers who are not aware of the change and planned on making immediate purchase.  But over the long run, my guess is that many will wait longer between purchases rather that purchase more each time.

Recent trip to Vancouver, BC

I recently visited Vancouver, BC.  This photo set on Flickr pretty much tells most of the details of my time off. Here's some views:

Portland, ME

Allie and had a nice weekend in Portland, ME in Sept.  Beautiful town with friendly people, fresh seafood and nice weather.

Seriously, who thought of this? Let the rhymes commence

There really is a website for everything.  Well, there is a site for word rhyming called Visual Rhymes. This site is so smart that it can even find rhymes for orange.  I always believed there are no English words that rhyme with orange.  Of course, the website shows the closest rhyme, but I think it is a bit rough, though it is technically correct.  Let me try to use the rhymes with orange in a bad poem that only Vogons will love.

Let me say how I love your skin orange.

Random pieces dogs will scavenge.

Keep your dogs away from that syringe.

Oh, o'er there the bad dogs whinge.

Watchout for the skintle to avoid a cringe

face from roughed up skin.  Oh, I love your skin orange.

Orange, orange, Oh, orange of color grand, 

sometimes impinge.

I did warn that it would be bad poetry.  As bad poetry goes, I'd say that was pretty good attempt and being really really bad.  So bad.  So very very bad. Paula Nancy Millstone Jennings of Sussex might be proud. Anyway, I'm not convinced it is a good idea to try to attempt rhymes with the word orange, even if there are words that are available for such as task.

Valuable lesson from my first professional job, or how much is a brownie point worth?

My first professional job was in Silicon Valley for a laser company.  My boss was Bob.  Based on my take of things, Bob was stereotypical for a guy named "Bob" in the professional realm.  I'll just leave that to your imagination.  Anyway, Bob was wise and taught this young pup a few lessons.  One that has proven exceptionally valuable is the concept of brownie points.

Brownie points are earned one at a time for doing someting that impresses the boss.  The first time I earned a brownie point for being cleaver (I can't even remember what about), Bob said to me something along the lines of,

Congraluations!  You've earned one brownie point.  It takes 1000 to cancel-out one "Oh Shit".

There it was; the formula that explained everything that happens on the job. 

1000b = 1M 

Do something impressive and you get quick praise "b".  Make one mistake big "M" and you are in trouble no matter how much good you've done.  Unlike your 401K, brownie points don't carry over from job to job either.  Get a new job - start over.  I hope this helps! :)

Senseless Sunday: Dog's life

1. A dog was killed by a meteor at Nakhla, Egypt, in 1911.^[1]
2. The tallest recorded bamboo is 130 feet high.^[2]
3. World's longest beaver dam is found in Alberta, Canada with a length of 2790 feet.^[3]
4. Adwaita, an Aldabra Giant Tortoise died at the age of 255 in March 2006 in Alipore Zoo, Kolkata, India. It was recorded the oldest Terrestrial animal in the world.

Toebzilla enthused with the TV

Opinion about epinions.com decline

epinions.com used to be a great resource to get real world, vetted and high quality customer reviews for all sorts of products from books to cars.  Contributing to epinions.com was actually minimally lucrative, as you got compensated for your product reviews.  Fellow members of the website would critique submitted reviews to help others improve the quality and review writing skills.  The higher quality reviews earned a larger share of whatever earnings were made.

I was never really sure just how the compensation worked, but over the years, I made less than $100 total from my nine posted product reviews.  My first review was posted in 2002 about my old Acura TL Type-S, for which I earned the coveted "Very Helpful" rating.  Over a period of one decade, that review has earned me a whopping total $20.

In the past, I've endorsed and recommended the use of epinions.com.  I frequently went there for reviews of products in which I was interested.  Then something starting changing in 2012.  I stopped using epinions.com.  I didn't really know why at the time.  It just happened.  Looking back, I believe it may have been because reviews were getting harder to find.  It was not that there was less of them, but rather the structure of the website had started changing for the worse.

Sometime this summer of 2013, I was writing a review for another product on Amazon.com and figured it was good enough to add to epinions.com.  I thought I might as well make my 3¢ a year. So, I went back to the epinions.com website and searched for the product.  It was a book.

I searched for the book and found a webpage that listed a bunch of sites that sold the book.  There was no product page.  In the past, the product page would come up as the search result.  This is where one would go to add a review.  But now, there was just a listing of other websites.  Sure, older products still had product pages, though you'd have to surf through the myriad of links to other websites in order to find them.  Much to my dismay, epinions.com had become an inferior online mall.  There isn't even a rewards program, like with higher quality online malls such as MyPoints.com.  epinions.com made itself completely irrelevant.

I guess some areas on the website are still maintained, such as electronics, where it appears to be a little easier to find the product pages for newer products.  It's just not enough to justify giving the website a second thought anymore.

Malpractice isn't a major reason for healthcare costs in the US, but there is a lot of other stuff that is

Monty Python and the Holy Grail Modern Trailer

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope hits stores

William Shakespeare's Star Wars: Verily, A New Hope is a thing. Someone thought it would be funny to convert the first Star Wars movie into a William Shakespeare style play.  Old style prose is included, including the rather annoying "o'er".  It took me years to learn "o'er" is a contraction for "over".  Really?  Just say the "v".  It's not like you are actually shortening the word by not saying the "v".  It's still two fully pronounced syllables.  But I digress.

The book is is pretty funny (including the use of o'er). They really nailed the R2D2 dialogue!

Toby relaxing

Toby being a good Tobster

It's not necessarily a world invention, but it's a personal invention

Last night, I intended to bake some chocolate chip cookies.  I had the store-bought Pillsbury cookie dough in the back of my fridge for awhile, and it was time to use it...many months too late.  The expiration was back in March.  Apparently, the dough has been at the back of my fridge a bit longer than I remember.  Not to be deterred from enjoying some sort of cookie based after-dinner snack, I start thinking about ingredients I had around the kitchen.  (No way was I going to make cookies from scratch at that point.  Maybe some other day, but not last night.) 

Nillas!  I have Nillas!  And large marshmallows!  OK, I can make a kind of a smore with some chocolate that doesn't need melting.  Chocolate Syrup, I have that too!  Hmm, there's something missing still.  This endeavour isn't quite decadent enough just yet.

Think.  Think harder!

Coolwhip!

I piled these all together and had an awesome treat.

To repeat this achievement, take 3 large marshmallows and tear them in half.  Briefly roast each marshmallow piece, one at a time over a stove burner.  When just slightly burnt, mash the marshmallow between two Nillas just like smores.  After making 6, add a dollop of Coolwhip on each, and then drizzle chocolate syrup on top. 

Glorious!

Boston talk

Learn Boston as a second language, repeat after me, "I luhnd on Shahk Week tha electric eels rahly shak shaks in shaks."

Eels shaks shak shaks, but not in shaks.

The River of No Return book review

The River of No Return by Bee Ridgway
My rating: 3 of 5 stars

Though the concepts introduced in this book are an inventive twist on the time travel idea, the character dialog and motivations are dreadful.  In this story, there are competing time travelling organizations struggling for control of time travel throughout human history.  Nick, an English nobleman who fought in Spain in the early 1800's finds himself in the 21st Century just before he is about to die.  This is the story of his struggle to dance between these two organizations while sorting out his own role both in the 21th Century and the 19th Century.
I did enjoy reading much of the book as the plot unfolded, but found myself suffering through some dreadful character interactions. Some of this was due to character development that was somewhat engaging, but drowned out by the chorus inauthentic thoughts and experiences. The leading male character, Nick, was a noblemen from the 19th Century and only spent 10 years in the 21st Century, but somehow seemed more in tune with 20th Century social and entertainment elements than us normal people that lived through that time period, even though he did not. His experience with the 20th Century would've have been more authentic if it had been taken from the approach of a child growing up in the Aughties (2000-2010). Also, the characters of British origin often felt more like Americans, often using Americanism and seemed both out of place globally and chonologically.  Additionally, the writing of the characters while in the 19th Century felt more like rejects from Jane Austin novels rather than real people.
This book appears to be the first of a new series. Will I look forward to the next book? Eh. The author has to polish her skills of writing for characters with more authenticity, as her first attempt to do so is a distraction from an otherwise good concept and plot.


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Mama fork and baby #fork. #notfoodporn

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Arnold Arboretum of Harvard University

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