Blankbaby

eBay Tip

Thanks to my children's current obsession with wooden Thomas the Tank Engine trains I've become reacquainted with the wonder that is eBay.

When I was in college I was rather poor. Now, I didn't have trouble feeding myself, nor did I have to worry about where I was sleeping, but beyond that I didn't have a lot of "spending cash." I did, however, have a workstudy job that paid me pretty well given how much work I actually did (I worked in the library and they really just needed me to sit at the desk in case someone wanted to check out something. Occasionally I'd have to shelve books, which was more work but also fun!).

The workstudy job gave me a bit of extra money that I probably should have saved, but then I found out about eBay. eBay was my gateway to buying a ridiculous amount of Star Trek The Customizable Card Game cards. So many cards (and I do still have them all!).

In my defense, I actually had people to play the game with in college so it wasn't a complete waste of money.

After that card game phase ended my eBaying urge lay dormant for many years. Then Lego started selling random minifig collections and it awakened the beast. I soon had to have a complete collection of these minifigs. After several collections I realized I didn't really need to have any more minifigs, and more importantly, I didn't want to have any more minifigs!

Thus ended my minifig phase.

It is too early to tell if I'm entering a "starship" phase, but the image above features a model of the USS Excelsior which I almost bought on eBay. I say it there, bid on it, and then was out bid.

Speaking of wastes of money, I felt that familiar urge to raise my bid, but before I did I thought, "Why don't I see how much a new one of these costs." Turns out, a new one cost less than the one I was bidding on, so I just bought it and it showed up the next day.

That's the tip: when eBaying, make sure you aren't foolishly overpaying for something.

Mind-blowing, I know.

I'm an "Architect," just without training or talent

A little while ago I took this 16Personalities personality test and it told me that I'm an Architect - specifically an "Assertive Architect" (if you take the test using this link it'll compare our personality types! You'll finally figure out why you don't like me!). I've never really thought of myself as particularly assertive, but I do often get my way so maybe there's something to it (I attribute my getting my way to the fact that for the most part I don't have an opinion/preference for things. When I do, I have the right preference so of course I get my way! See, not assertive at all).

Once you take the test 16Personalities will email you from time to time with articles and insights about people with your personality type. They are very careful to say "most people with this type," so as not to piss people off (I assume). Sometimes the emails are spot on for me, and other times... not so much!

Anyway, this week's email was about work environments and it inspired this blog post... so you know it was either spot on or totally off base.

Here are the four points:

• Architects do their best work in quiet places
• Architects are very unlikely to feel like they’re doing their best work if they have to collaborate with others.
• Architects are the most likely personality type to believe they would both survive and thrive working from home.
• Architects would much rather work in a cubicle than in an open-plan office.

And my thoughts on each:

• Totally true for me. I really like silence when I'm working. My children don't seem to understand this. Nor does the rest of the world.


• I like collaborating with others, so this doesn't resonate with me. Well, maybe a tiny bit!


• Interestingly, I never thought working from home would be a good fit for me. Thanks to the pandemic I've been doing it for a couples years and it turns out that I really do like it.


• I loathe open-plan offices with my entire being. Which, of course, means that part of my job is overseeing the operation of an open-office plan office. Oh, life, you little scamp!

Ideally, I would work in a small office with the door closed. Ironically, the only time I had such ideal conditions was when working at Comcast. I was very excited about that part of the job, doubly so because everyone I interviewed with had a TV (with cable) in their offices! How cool is that? I did get an office with that job, but it didn't have a TV in it. When I sheepishly asked about it (I wasn't sure of a tactful way to ask about getting a TV in my office) I found out that they stopped doing that for some reason. No TV for me, but I really did like that office.

I wonder if Lily Tomlin minded

I know what this caption in this article about Kathy Griffin means, but I can't help but picture the couple bringing a priest and quickly getting married next to Lily Tomlin as she ate her lunch or something.

I started a newsletter!

Why did I start a newsletter? No real reason, if I'm being honest. Just a thing that I did.

Check out the first issue: Why a newsletter? - Issue #1 | Revue.

There is a non-zero chance that the first issue will also be the last issue... so "enjoy" it while it lasts.

I wonder what makes me change my name

Verizon wouldn't lie to me! To the future!

Also, whenever the name Susan comes up I think of this:

Oh, right. Loot Crate is a thing.

A couple of years ago Loot Crate announced they were doing Star Trek “mission crates.” If you ordered a year of the crates (6 boxes of Star Trek related stuff) you would get a discount on a year of CBS All Access as a bonus.

I signed up on 8/23/17 and the first crate (according to my email) was shipped almost a year later. Turns out, Loot Crate had a lot of trouble creating these things. And while they included some fun t-shirts it was mostly crap I didn’t need. I got a few more of the crates and cancelled my subscription.

Then I forgot this thing ever existed. And forgot that I had paid for a year of crates (though I had paid for them 2 years ago). Forgotten about them until yesterday when the 3 remaining crates arrived on the same day. I was supposed to get them, according to the names of the crates, in July, Sept, and Nov of... 2018.

Better late than never, I suppose. The only wrinkle is that the fine folks at Loot Crate didn’t tell me these were coming. They just showed up. Why is that a problem? Each box includes a t-shirt, which is good. But I selected my size 2 years ago when I was much heavier so I went with XXL. I’m an XL now, and these fancy shirts (and I do quite like them) are way too big. Bummer.

I’ve reached out to Loot Crate support, so I’m hoping I can exchange them for a smaller size. Though the response of “we are working on our shipping process so these late deliveries don’t happen again” that I got doesn’t make me think Loot Crate is great at actually reading the email folks send them (and that lots of people are contacting them about these very late boxes randomly showing up now!).

These sites have been open on my iPhone for weeks

I don't presume to know how you browse the Internet, but I think of it as a buffet. I can grab a few things from the grill, maybe add a cinnamon bun and a slice of ham, and then go back for more incongruous combinations until I'm way overfull. But kind of happy.

That's the Internet to me, and as part of my browsing I sometimes come across an article that I think is worth sharing. Sometimes I pooped out a tweet with the link but other times I think, "No! This is worthy of being posted on my blog where no one but I will see it when I'm reading through my archives in 10 years (10 years ago I was a 100 pounds heavier than I am today!).

Anyway, here's my link dump:

• 82-Year-Old Slipped by Doormen to Steal $400,000 in Jewelry, Police Say - This article reads like a concept for a mystery series I would totally read.
• In an industry known for high turnover, Barclay Prime’s servers have stayed for 15 years - Barclay Prime is, without a doubt, my favorite restaurant in Philadelphia. I'm glad the staff are so happy there!
• Where Libraries are the Tourist Attractions - I love libraries and these are some neat ones! I'm sad that the Museum of Literature Ireland wasn't open last time we were in Dublin.

The real problem? People kidding themselves about getting older

The Wall Street Journal has an interesting story about baby boomers not being able to sell the giant houses they built.

This quote sums up the real problem:

The couple, who relocated there from New Jersey, will likely move into an apartment in Charleston. Mr. Hambleton is “a very young 89,” his wife said, and when they built the house, “he was only 82,” so the property’s upkeep “didn’t seem like that major a thing.” But when it comes to aging, she added, “I don’t know that you face these things until you have to.”

CELEBRATE ME... with an odd assortment of gifts

Just the other day I was at dinner with some friends and I was trying to recall how long I'd worked at Penn. I couldn't remember (since I can hardly remember anything) so I did what anyone would: I looked at my LinkedIn profile.

Turns out I could have waited a few hours because I received an email telling I was celebrating 15 years at the University. Hurrah! And, more importantly, I get a gift in recognition of my service.

Not only do I get a gift, but I can pick one out from... well, a very strange assortment of things.

Now, I'm not complaining because I appreciate the token of appreciation and I am very happy that I can pick something rather than getting a picture frame or something. I'm just struggling to find a theme with options that include:

A grill.

A grippy thing to put your phone in... for gaming?

An umbrella, which in and of itself isn't odd but it isn't a Penn branded umbrella which I find odd.

A glass(?) bowl. This one looks pretty nice, actually, but I don't think I'm in need of a bowl.

A telescope! This is the one that I am most tempted to get, however, I don't really have any place to keep it and I'm pretty sure I would never actually use it.

And my favorite time: the 1.5 gallon beverage dispenser. I should get it and fill it with champagne to CELEBRATE ME!

iOS 12

I'm a gadget guy, and I like to live on the edge. Therefore, I installed iOS 12 on my iPhone as soon as it became available (iOS is the software that powers your iPhone).

After reading a few reviews, I was expecting to be impressed. Or at least to notice... something. I do like the grouped notifications... kind of. But that's really the only thing I've noticed (but I did create a a "Memoji" because of course I did).

I will say that iOS 12 makes me glad that I don't have to spend my time writing about iOS 12.

Now even more Irish!

I spat in a tube awhile back and sent my saliva to the Mormons so they could analyze it (a.k.a. I signed up for Ancentry.com's DNA service).

My results came back, and I wasn't too surprised. I was mostly Irish (78%) with a little Eastern Europe (18%) and a tiny bit of Scandinavian (2%).

I got an email from Ancestry that told me my DNA results had been updated, since they were able to match my DNA against more samples. I was excited to see what the results might be!

As you can see, it turns out I'm even less interesting than I thought. I'm now 84% from Ireland and Scotland (mostly Ulster) and 16% Englad/Wales/Northwestern Europe.

I'm no longer a Viking. Sigh.

New TNG DVD Artwork

As I was looking for the Amazon link to the episode discussed in this week's Random Trek (listen to it, it is a fun time!) I noticed the snazzy new artwork for the TNG DVDs.

I say, kudos to you DVD art maker person.

House Hunters: Us edition

The House Hunt Continues:

We tried to buy a house in West Philadelphia this week. After nearly three years of looking and we finally found a dwelling that we both liked enough to offer vast sums of borrowed money for. But it didn’t work out. Another offer was accepted and the reason given was the terms.

Finding a house is a difficult process, even more so when one person involved doesn't really want a house.

I've lived in apartments my entire life with one exception: 2 years in an off campus house during college.

I'm familiar with apartment living. I like apartment living. I like not being responsible for the vast number of things that could go wrong with an apartment.

And, like many people, I fear the unknown. Homeownership is a big unknown for me, but over the course the last 3 years we've looked at many houses (in fact, the very first house we looked at was the only one we both liked.... until the house we saw last week) and I've come to accept that there are some upsides to homeownership.

Here's to us finding the right place!

Thank you! Could I have some more?

I signed up for the Philadelphia Undy Run several months ago so I could raise some money for colon cancer research in honor of my mom. And I had trouble remembering when the run is taking place (Sept. 9th if you're wondering), so I visited the page and saw the above image. I'm the top fundraiser at the moment! That's so awesome! It also explains why someone from the Colon Cancer Alliance called me the other day and asked if they could help me with anything (I was puzzled, so I said, "No thanks!"). I wanted to thank everyone who has donated already. You rock! And now, I'd like to suggest that if you haven't donated but you can spare some money why not kick in a little bit? I'd love to help move the needle for the run as a whole (they've only raised about 17k out of a goal of 70k).

Donate here and I'll love you forever!

Walking as therapy

After the election I, like many folks, spiraled into all sorts of worst case scenario thinking. I have hope that Pres. Trump isn't going to be as bad as I fear, though early indications aren't making me feel confident in that hope.

Marisa is away this weekend, and so I decided I wanted to keep this weekend politics free. Needing to clear my head yesterday I did what I so often do: went for a walk.

I've always been a walker, but after college I found myself not walking much. I missed the wanders I used to take and a FitBit gave me reason to pick up the habit again (and I just realized I've been FitBitting for 5 years!).

I headed out with one goal: walk 5000 steps in one direction and 5000 back.

On my walk I came across Independence Hall and it reminded me that this country was born out of great strife in a troubled time.

As I continued my walk I passed the Second National Bank, a building I've walked past countless times:

I've often wondered what it looks like inside, but I had no idea it housed a Portrait Gallery called "People of Independence!" I thought maybe this was a new thing, but it has been there since the 1970's. I went in and spent a good long time reading about every portrait in the place.

As you might expect, it was mostly white dudes who were involved with America's independence (along with a smattering of women and black folks). It made me feel better knowing that when times are tough there are people, maybe just a few but still, that stand up for what's right.

I don't know if I'm as brave as the people in that gallery, but I do know that I'll do my part in making sure that this president doesn't ruin all the work that has gone before.

Not cool, Hillary

I'm not very political but I think Donald Trump represents a danger for the country, so I donated a few bucks to Hillary for President.

Now I am getting a ton of email from Hillary, which I understand. However, I think the fact that the unsubscribe link is buried in a block of text at the bottom of the email AND ISN'T UNDERLINED like the rest of the links is just not cool.

I'm still with Her, but I am giving her email people the side-eye.

PSAC II

Above is the Public Safety Answering Center II, a call center in NYC for emergency responders. This thing is a fortress, having been built to be able to operate for up to 3 days without any outside help.

Also, it sort of looks like a block from a giant alien's play set, and I kind of dig it. You can read more about it in this article, "An Unneighborly Building That Hums With Lifesaving Capacity. "

Mom and the Beatles

My mom loved music. She kept the radio tuned to the oldies station my entire childhood, which has lead to me having a taste for Doo-wop and 50's music.

She especially liked the Beatles, which makes sense given when she grew up and the fact that almost everyone likes the Beatles.

When my mom was a teenager the Beatles had arrived in New York for the first time. Mom, being a teenager, snuck out of the house and went to the Plaza Hotel in hopes of getting a glimpse of the Beatles.

Her parents were none the wiser to her city adventure until, that is, her father opened the next morning's Daily News to find the above picture featuring my mom (she's the tallest girl in the picture) behind a pack of girls "bending" the police lines.

Busted!

And thanks to the power of the internet I know this picture was taken on Feb. 12, 1964 by Frank Castoral. You can even order a print of it!

Trump’s Week of Errors, Exaggerations and Flat-out Falsehoods

Donald Trump is a fool and a liar. Trump’s Week of Errors, Exaggerations and Flat-out Falsehoods lists a bunch of lies he told over a week.

This is my favorite:

‘Really they’ve shut Christianity down.’ (March 7 in Madison, Miss.)

Seven in 10 Americans identify as Christian, according to Pew."

Five bad names for a cat

Slobadon Meowsovich
Chairman meow
Scott Catula
Furry Hamlin
Michael Kiiiten

I'm not sure that's the lesson you should learn

An admiral was reprimanded for getting drunk at a conference, going back to his room and then hours later getting locked out of his room and wandering around the hotel. Naked.

Here's what he has to say about it:

“Lesson learned,” he concluded. “I’ll pack my PJs next time.”

Cats don't care about your work

Poopy Cat (makers of kitty litter) stock their offices with... cats! It seems like the cats might not care about productivity, but they are darned cute.

[via Laughing Squid]

I think Tom Hanks is in trouble!

Judging from this email I just got:

Merry Thanksgiving!

My last 5 physical purchases on Amazon

I don't know what they say about me, but it probably isn't good.

And for the sake of completeness, here are the last 10 Kindle books I've purchased: