The Long Road

Archives: August 2006

Thursday, August 31, 2006

So I’m at the Chinese embassy (which is, incredibly enough, only open 9am-1pm) to submit my Visa application. This white guy shows up with his black friend, both wearing really “urban” clothes. They look like thugs. The guy goes up to the counter and begins speaking in flawless mandarin to the lady! Not long after, he’s pretty much talking to all 3 of the reps. Everyone else in line is flabbergastered and laughing in amusement. He finishes whatever it is he’s doing and he and the black guy go off, speaking to each other in mandarin!

Of course, I’m behind this guy in line and when I go to submit my Visa application and the lady starts talking to me in Mandarin…

Posted by Rayne @ 12:23 AM EST [Link] [2 comments]

Thursday, August 24, 2006

GAF has had a lot of threads on social anxiety lately. It’s basically when you feel anxious around other people. As you might expect from a hardcore gaming forum, there are a lot of GAFers who suffer from this particular anxiety. I have my share of social anxiety, but some of the folks on GAF bring have it much worse. Some don’t have friends, never had significant others, or are completely lost around other people.

For a long time, and still today (to a lesser degree), I would hate having to hang out in large groups of people. Large meaning anything probably more than 5. But worst of all though, is going out to meet a group of people where you only know 1 or two of those involved. It just causes this sort of stress where you’d rather shut down, stay home and not do anything rather than having to face a dozen strangers. There used to be a time when I would totally do the “err, I don’t feel like it anymore” or “I don’t feel well” routine whenever the time came to be in a situation like that. The truth is that I’d rather be in a room with a hundred people I know than one with 1 person I know and 5 that I don’t.

For the most part, if I ever hung out with you and a bunch of your friends, you should know that I honestly had to convince myself to go through with it. I eventually got over it though. It involved a lot of self-badgering, just sucking it up, and realizing that it’s never as bad as you think it’s going to be.

Posted by Rayne @ 11:02 PM EST [Link] [63 comments]

Sunday, August 20, 2006

Etienne and I have been looking at travel packages for a few weeks to China and found one that looked decidedly better than the others. This guy. We went to a presentation on the tour yesterday and I was quite impressed with the details of it, but hadn't really made up my mind one way or another. However, it came out that there were only 10 spots left for the Nov.7 departure date and the info session was PACKED. Etienne and I decided that it was then or never so we put down a deposit for it. Honestly, I hadnt planned on committing to the trip right then and there and might still be in disbelief about it. Not every day you spend that much money. Hasnt really sunk in yet...however, I am going to China!!

Posted by Rayne @ 04:51 PM EST [Link] [19 comments]

Wednesday, August 16, 2006

I wonder why I dont get as much work done as I think I should, and then I get an answer.

Posted by Rayne @ 01:23 AM EST [Link] [6 comments]

Thursday, August 10, 2006

It was announced last week that North American cars will now be contributing to apple's quest of dominance by adding iPod connectivity to their cars. We'll now be able to plug the iPod in and control it through the car's stereo controls. A very cool feature! I've had some experience with the iPod's FM transmitter and found it to be much more of a headache than I would like it to be. Just plugging it in (increasingly less viable with the non-standardization of cassette decks) will save a lot of setup time and using the car's controls will definately make for a safer driving experience as fiddling with the iPod's wheel can be hazardous while you're driving. I love the co-operation between apple and car manufacturers, it's not exactly a relationship that you expect. The only downside is that you have to buy an american car...

I wonder who approached who to make this deal and who's making money. The advantages to apple are clear, this will be a new - and practical - use of the iPod, and yet another sign of their total lock down on the portable music player space. For the car manufacturers, it's not so clear cut. It's an indication that they're making an effort to appeal to a younger demographic and are "getting with the times". On the other hand, American cars have underlying problems that iPod integration will not solve; it's simply just another feature - one I doubt that will tip the scales of anyone doing serious car research. Then again, we shouldn't underestimate apple-power.

A while ago, I came up with a similar idea for cell phones. Cars should come with bluetooth adapters that sync with your cellphone, you'd hear the conversation through the car speakers (maybe only the driver side speaker) and the steering wheel would contain the mic and keypad/controls. Or you could buy earpieces and FM iPod transmitters.

Posted by Rayne @ 05:46 PM EST [Link] [3 comments]

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