…this happens.

Source image from NASA.

fun, image dump, shenanigans humor, photodump, photoshop

So. First blog post in over a year. Better make it a good one, eh?

One of my workplace’s traditions is a Christmas decorating contest. We’re encouraged to go all out on decorations, and one day at lunch the executive team will wander through the office, freely accepting bribes. The winners receive things like free bagels for the department.

Here’s the thing about our Marketing department. We are a busy, jaded bunch who manage to squeeze in more stuff than we can probably technically handle. We’ve had a surprising number of bonding experiences and enjoy each other a lot, but we also don’t really know how to justify “fun” (e.g. “decorating”) when we really have about 20 things to do within the next 5 hours. Last year we pulled together a last-second haphazard Star Wars Christmas theme (complete with a tree topped with a cutout of the Death Star), but our judges being the wrong kind of nerds, we (deservedly) did not even remotely place. Last year’s winners were our Customer Service Representatives (they completely wrapped their desks or something); our User Experience department for creating an interactive event focused on the execs’ experience; and the Developers, for going with a “We’re Developers” theme and doing things like a Christmas tree made out of Mountain Dew cans.

So how would a marketing department compete with that? Read more…

fun, shenanigans humor, personal stories, work

I have to admit, I kind of feel bad for akoimeexx. He’s had a rough week. Like, seriously rough. Like, caught himself on fire and got chased by killer bees rough. Like, that wasn’t a hyperbolic statement rough. These things literally happened to him.

And having coworkers like me and Alaina, whose souls have been revealed to be the color of “dark, dark evil,” is never easy.

Alaina has, of course, written up a full report of our shenanigans. In brief, it involves erasing his penguin artwork and stabbing things with a vampire spork.

Again, I kind of feel bad for him. I know what it’s like to be the office scapegoat. (I’m actually surprised I haven’t fallen into that role…yet). And really, I should probably try to minimize the torment of the guy who’s doing much of the coding for the new website at work.

If only he wouldn’t make himself such a darn easy target…

fun humor, personal stories, work

On Friday, our UX Lead having been out sick for three days straight and us being, well, bored and left to our own devices over lunch, Alaina and I decided to kidnap his coffee mug and take pictures of it in random locations throughout the building. These were e-mailed to him sporadically throughout the afternoon. (I will admit a bit of disappointment that his only reaction thus far has been a brief e-mail saying “Funny. Have a great weekend!” I fully expect revenge when he returns, though.)

Alaina wrote up a full post about it (warning: contains me), so I’ll just direct you there for pictures. I would, however, like to add my own little postscript to the adventure.

1. You know you have a good job when your shenanigans are executively sanctioned. Our VP wandered through while Alaina and I were in the conceptual stage and gave approval to it. He even offered use of his iPhone to take photos if we needed it.
2. Our bathrooms are scary, scary places and would be fascinating case studies of material rhetoric. The picture with the cherubs was taken in the ladies’ room. Put it this way: the cherub is but one example of the accoutrements. Flowers and statuettes everywhere. Definitely not my tastes. Though the awesome thing is, in showing these photos to a few people around the office, I learned that the men’s room is decorated like a hunting outpost (camouflage and all). Personally, I’d rather have the camo. But at least we now know where to go for weapons when the zombies attack.

I love my job.

fun humor, personal stories, work

I have an uncle who lives on a farm in northern Wisconsin. He’s been sending weekly missives for ages, but he recently started a blog: oldgrayegg.blogspot.com. Go read it. His life is more interesting than mine.

fun, Uncategorized family

Source: xkcd.com

fun, rhetoric grad school, literary criticism, web comics, xkcd

This, my friends, is the intersection between the internet and mass media at its finest:

It’s fun! It’s free! And it’s available on the internets… until Sunday.

I think that’s my one lament about it, actually. It’s only up for a week. The last episode will only be up for 48 hours. Which may be brilliant on Joss Whedon’s part–the lack of availability may very well encourage people to buy it. But I would have liked to see that fact advertised more heavily, and I would have liked to have seen the entire thing up for one more week.

Granted, that may very well have to do with the fact that I’m tearing my computer apart on Friday night to move to an apartment that won’t have internet until Monday. No, wait, scratch that, I’m tearing my computer apart Saturday morning. Right after I watch the Dr. Horrible denouement.

fun internet, joss whedon, media

Sally pointed out this blog, which features strange maps and their function. I must admit I find it fascinating. This map, in particular, is a startling reminder that reality differs greatly from our perceptions thereof; this map, on the other hand, fills me with empathy for the designers. I’m actually working on a similar map for a conference program at the moment, so I can honestly say, given the design problem (too much text, too little room), the designers could have done worse.

fun, rhetoric design, maps, rhetoric

Lore Sjöberg has just summed up the entirety of social networking in a column about Twitter:

“The internet is to human interaction as Pringles are to potatoes.”

fun, quotes quote, social networking, twitter

I find it rather telling that my immediate reaction to an article like this is, UCRIHS would never approve that. The risks far outweigh the benefits.

fun research, satire, the onion