Recently, I did a digital happy dance when I noticed that I had reached my 50th post. I patted myself on the back and then mowed the lawn. (I'm usually pretty down to earth about my successes in life...)

When I got the lawnmower purring, though, I wanted to recind my back pat.

To keep myself occupied while I mowed, I listened to the last podcast of This Week in Tech that I had downloaded. Coincidentally, it was TWiT 50, and it truly showed what a 50th celebration should be. It was a microcosm representation of everything the show is. It had good tech news and debate (like always), it had devorak.org plugs, self-referential discussions and promises of the TWiT store, but it had some new stuff, too (including a new riff opening). It also had some zany celebratory levity (It's titled Squeak Toy for a reason...). And, to top it all off, it had a Brit!

TWiT is the only Podcast that I regularly tune into. I make time for it, which means a lot in my world. (That would even make it rate higher than this site in my life...) Essentially, it's a gathering of Tech journalists (and former TechTV vets) that get "together," (usually via Skype) to talk about the week's tech stories, what's going on in their lives, and what's coming up for the rest of the world. It's an hour well-spent, and I think these guys are creating something that will last a very long time. It's, in doses, charming (Leo), paranoid (John C. Dvorak), and informative (All). Which makes for an interesting mix. In the 50th, they touch on some of their old favorite topics (Microsoft and Intel vs. AMD), and talk about a lot of new favorites (like Second Life). They do a brilliant job of recognizing their past and moving forward...

Our AC hats are off to you, Leo & Co! Thanks for schooling us in how to really do an anniversary episode. I'll try to do better for Post 100.

Also, please listen to the last few minutes of the broadcast. After the outro starts, there's another little bit of the TWiTs signing off. It features the Brit, Will Harris, doing an American impression. There's nothing better than that... And keep listening... There's yet another discussion on Second Life which should give you one more geeky giggle.

I'm really not trying to make this a theme, but I do have more news on monkeys...

First off, those hipster hellions the Arctic Monkeys have an exclusive and seemingly rave-worthy EP on iTunes now... Check it out to see the type of hyperbole that follows these guys around... Again, are they worth it? Check out the guy that says "I have liked the Arctic Monkeys for ever[sic]". I'm guessing that's "for ever" in Internet time, eh?

(Aside: Why is it that we're told to capitalize Internet, but everything to do with the internet is an i-Something. Thanks, Apple. Anyway...)

Um...

Another thing Monkey:

Making the rounds amongst the computer nerds/geeks (fine line...) at work this week is a new song by Jonathan Coulton called "Code Monkey." I have no idea if I am enamored of the song or not. It's like watching The Office. Sometimes, the song rings so true that it makes me squirm. But getting that quickly off my chest, the song can easily be appreciated as a tuneful and amusing ditty that accurately describes being a normal, feeling human that tries to communicate with machines on a daily basis.

Please, if you want to understand the life of a nerdy/geeky programmer, try this link on for size: www.jonathancoulton.com


Well, until the next poo-flinging update,
All Assail!

For fun, here's the Code Monkey Lyrics
(And here's hoping people are Googling "Code Monkey Lyrics"):

Code Monkey get up get coffee
Code Monkey go to job
have boring meeting with boring manager Rob
Rob say Code Monkey very diligent
but his output stink
his code not functional or elegant
what do Code Monkey think
Code Monkey think maybe manager oughta write goddamn login page himself
Code Monkey not say it out loud
Code Monkey not crazy just proud

Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
with big warm fuzzy secret heart
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey like you

Code Monkey hang around at front desk
tell you sweater look nice
Code Monkey offer buy you soda
bring you cup bring you ice
you say no thank you for the soda ’cause
soda make you fat
anyway you busy with the telephone
no time for chat

Code Monkey have long walk back to cubicle
he sit down pretend to work
Code Monkey not thinking so straight
Code Monkey not feeling so great

Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
with big warm fuzzy secret heart
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey like you a lot

Code Monkey have every reason
to get out this place
Code Monkey just keep on working
to see your soft pretty face
Much rather wake up eat a coffee cake
Take bath, take nap
This job fulfilling in creative way
such a load of crap
Code Monkey think someday he have everything even pretty girl like you
Code Monkey just waiting for now
Code Monkey say someday, somehow

Code Monkey like Fritos
Code Monkey like Tab and Mountain Dew
Code Monkey very simple man
with big warm fuzzy secret heart
Code Monkey like you
Code Monkey like you

Though it seems like an endorsement, the following is not an AC anything. Not even a deckie. But for some people it seems to be working as an uninteded hot button for getting readership. Good job, Babe!

Arby's Gyros rule.
Arby's Gyro
Arby Gyro!

Emef Arby Sandwich
MF Arby Sandwich
Eminem eats at Arby's

Yay for Gyro!

I've posted on Regina Spektor before.

This is just an update to let you know that she's still great. Check out some of her new bomb droppin' on Rhapsody. "Fidelity" is definitely a new deckie, but will Regina be the first AC1 repeater? Tune in to find out.

Other Deckies:
New Guster: "Manifest Destiny", "New Underground"
Andrew Bird's Mysterious Production of Eggs
Northern Exposure, Season 1
Amazing Race 9
Angels & Demons
American Dreamz (With a Z!)

Finally,
I'm getting caught up.

I've always been a little nerdy. I know you'll have a hard time believing that, especially with a descriptive and accurate handle like "ACOOLKID." But it's true. I found wonder in Star Wars growing up. I saw two Star Trek movies in the theatre. I read The Hobbit in 5th grade. And now, I am a computer programmer.

I've never taken the plunge, though. I've never gone to a Con (the Nintendo Show I went to in 7th grade doesn't count. Either do the Dog Shows and Horse Shows I went to with my dad...) I've never built my own computer (Apple will do that for me, and they do it pretty well...), and though I have finished Lord of the Rings twice, I refuse to journey into The Silmarion.

But operating on the fringe like I do, I'm always looking in, wondering, am I missing something? The friends I have that wear nerdiness as a badge of honor are some of my favorite people in the world. And the nerdy moments I have had brought me enlightenment and connections with others (especially at work...), so do I need some more exposure?

I try every once and a while to sojourn into the land of my adopted brethren and see if I can have more moments of selected bliss. And recently, I've been feeling a magnetic pull towards something Sci-Fi, and I decided to see if I could find a reasonably easy bridge to cross...

Thanks to a loan from a great co-worker, I finally took the opportunity to read Ender's Game. And this was a journey that paid off. The book, by Orson Scott Card is like meeting Harry Potter in a distopian future: Clever child that doesn't fit with his family is taken away to a school where his gifts set him apart from the others. He might even be needed in a plot to save the world... Of course, Card developed this 30 years ago...

The text was brainy, evocative, and did a brilliant job of balancing sci-fi posturing with plot necessity. Card does a dashing job of creating a world that could easily have begat Ender, which turns the rest of the story into a series of fantastic but solidly real developments. If all sci-fi was as balanced and founded, I'd hang out in these worlds a bit more often. Of course, I am a little bit out of time in reviewing this. The book was written in the time of Pong, but vividly describes virtual reality, AI gaming; networked laptops, and IM-ing. It certainly never felt dated...

So for the past week, since I finished the book, my nerd side has been breathing deep, well-fed breaths, and has been sending out tentacles searching for further stimuli. Unfortunately for it, Dan Brown's Angels and Demons was next on the list. But just getting a look at the (Card-created) world through Ender's eyes has forever changed my perception. And not just the nerdy part.

Tonight, I'm offering that as honest (though possibly twisted...), high praise.

PS: This is my first real book review. I plan to call book reviews AC Readmores, a nod to that crazy cat of ABC Saturday Mornings: OG Readmore. I realize that will go over most people's heads. But I'm taking a lot of nerdy pleasure in that. :-P
PPS: This is my 50th post. Yipee!

The first part of the week was spent eating good food in Chicago.
Gustatorial delight.

Tomorrow, I go to see Guster at the MSU Auditorium.
Gustertorial delight.

Please celebrate Gus week by listening to one of my favorite bands:
"Fa Fa" for the uninitiated,
"Come Downstairs and Say Hello" for casual fans looking for something new.

If you're against Guster for some reason, please visit 2121 N. Clark in Chicago, and have yourself a Pizza Pot Pie at Chicago Pizza and Grinder.

Happy Gus Week.

Coolie out.

I'm sadder over losing Dave and Lori than I am Mandisa. And: Is it possible that Ryan putting "Man Diva" in people's heads hurt her chances? Hmmm... Either way, I guess it's Goodbye Mandisa.

And For the record, gal, I didn't think you spoke with the VOE. That's something, isn't it?

Best wishes, kid. All assail.

Well,

Dave and Lori are out of the Amazing Race, God Bless 'em.
They started out a little sickeningly sweet, got to be a real team, and then kind of lost some of their push as they worked this week to kind of repair their relationship after last week's minor dust-up.

I don't think they're going to regret it.

Assailable Cool would just like to congratulate them. You did good, guys. The competition that is left is tough. You have nothing to be ashamed of. Except for a few nerdy comments...maybe. But I think we're going to take 'em in as part of your charm. Thanks for putting your all into it... We enjoyed you.


So, yeah. I guess nerds ruled... this episode, at least...

Go hippies.

All Assail.