Monday, March 19, 2007

Mini-Blogs, Set Two

Wallet-less Update, Part I

Still no official word yet on the actual wallet. I swear, once I get a new one, I will put a note inside which says "You can keep the cash. Just return the wallet and cards to me. Thanks! ^_^"

As it turns out, the Cal ID Office is not very strict about security requirements of having another form of ID, which is at once comforting and worrisome. On the one hand, someone could just go up to them and say, "Why, yes, I am Andrew Schnorr, and I need a new ID card. Please invalidate the old card and take a new picture of me." On the other hand, why the hell would anyone do that?

And so, I was able to get a new ID card, so I was not forced to starve today for lack of meal points. It's looking a bit bare, though, and I don't want to pay to get another class pass (that's a bus pass, for those of you not in the know), so I might do what some people suggested and photocopy someone else's.


Back in the Stone Skin

I once again put myself under a spell before the Blog DeCal began. This time, I was standing in a Superman-esque pose, so as to be gentler on my poor little tail bone. Still, being frozen in place until your name is spoken is never comfortable. I wondered how long I would go. Perhaps my classmates didn't actually read my blog or, more likely, they did, and were planning to test my willpower (read: torture me) by not releasing me from my iron grip.

As it turned out, though, Dimas saw through my shenanigans, said my name, and released me from my stolid prison-state.


Picture This!

In order to accept my invitation to join Haas, I need to submit a few items, including a statement of acceptance, a request to change schools, and some other paperwork. I also have to submit "Two Passport-Sized Photographs". These will appear in the new student directory for all the world (of new Haas students) to see. At first I was wondering how I'd get passport photos; were there any local places?

I looked online and saw various items about the subject. I also saw a set of "rules" for passport photos. One of the ones I thought seemed most conflicting with my intentions was that you have to be in casual clothing; no suits. Well, this is a student directory for a business school, isn't it? I would think that wearing a suit, while not mandatory, would be...y'know...appropriate. So I was facing a bit of a conundrum.

Of course, I failed to realize until later that they had only asked for a passport-sized photograph. That is, it had to be two inches by two inches. Y'know, they could have just said 2"x2". It would have saved on ink, fingerwork, and confusion.

So, with that newfound information, I decided to take a couple of my more...well, my less goofy pictures from my "Two-Minute Photo-Shoot" and Photoshop them to make them look not look like they were taken in the living room of my house. I added a gradient background, created a false shadow, the works. Right now, I have two main candidates, which are below (keep in mind, these are actually 2"x2", they're just huge pixel-wise):


I do have a current favorite, although I won't say which one; I don't want to bias you. So, which of the two, if either, do you think I should use (and yes, I am asking for some active commenting here)?


A Few Random Thoughts on the English Language

-I've always thought we should have standardized pronunciations for families of words. The examples that spring to mind are economy and photography.

We say "ee-CON-a-mee" but "eck-a-NOM-ics." It's unnecessary to have multiple pronunciation variants for a single family. I think these should be revalued so that we say "ee-CON-a-mee," "ee-CON-a-mics," and "ee-CON-a-mic-ly." Go ahead, say them. They roll off the tongue (actually, they sprint off) and make more sense.

As far as photography goes, I think we should say "fu-TOG-raf-ee," "fu-TOG-raf-ic," and finally, "Let me take a fu-TOG-raf of you." It just works, people. And before you say it sounds funny: it only sounds funny because you've been hearing it the other way for 20+ years.

-Speaking of photography, if we call a photographic picture a photograph, shouldn't we call a pornographic picture a pornograph? "Jimmy, stop looking at those pornographs!" Works for me.

-By the way, I want to start pronouncing decade as "deck-id." Does anyone know a dictionary that lists this as an acceptable pronunciation?


Okay, that's all for tonight. Go have your cookies, children.

2 comments:

Anonymous said...

I'll go nuts and say the bottom picture. Good luck with your wallet. Goodnight.

Unknown said...

WHO THE HELL IS DIMAS?

USE THE TOP PICTURE! the bottom one has you with you mouth all open with your tongue wiggling about.

you know, i like eck-a-NOM-ee myself. it would be an easier transition too. your way everyone who speaks english will have to change those two words, which will be hard to say at first. but the other way, its only one word, the least use word of three three.

i like fo-toe-graf-ee. agian it's an easier transition. it's one word change instead of two. and we'll be taking out the least use word of the three.