Randomness on the Internet

I don't own a webcam so I haven't visited ChatRoulette yet, but Sam Anderson's piece on it in New York Magazine is a very fun read.

The part that made me laugh out loud:

One person had the courtesy to give me, before disconnecting, a little advice: “too old.” (I’m 32.) A girl with heavy makeup looked terrified when my image popped up on her screen—I actually felt guilty, a few rounds later, when the engine of randomness threw us back together and she had to look at my face for another excruciating half-second.

Poor Sam. I'm forty and would likely get the same reaction from all of those young and cool twenty-somethings who typically use the site. One thing that the writer did like about it was its randomness and lack of filters. You see the face of a fellow user on a webcam and if you aren't interested in chatting, you click "next" never knowing who'll pop up. You might not (except in the above example) ever see the same person twice.

When I first started using the Internet—remember WebTV?—randomness was what it was all about. Message boards and football stat sites, chat rooms and websites that I'd read about in Wired Magazine were among my most visited online destinations. One site (I forget the name) was created solely to take you to random websites at each click of a "next" button.

Now it's just Facebook that everyone is on. In the lobby where I work, I see dozens of business travelers a day working and killing time on their laptops while they break between meetings or wait for business associates or airport shuttles. For the most part, it's just Facebook that I notice on their laptop screens. I met a mature traveler recently who was very serious when making sure with me that her guest room would have wireless Internet service. I assured her that it did and she excitedly remarked that she had been on the road since early that morning and hadn't been able to check her friends' Facebook status updates. I smiled and asked her if she was on Farmville, too. "Yes!," she laughed. "I am so addicted to it."

We use the Internet now with so many filters and feeds, following and friending and sharing and pinging. It's all great and I get a kick out it, too. While I probably won't be making my way over to ChatRoulette anytime soon, I would like to explore beyond the social networks more often and maybe stumble across some of those interesting gems that are surely out there. Now where's that old website that used to do that for me?

"May I assist you with your funny shaped suitcase?"

I'm a bellman. I'm skilled in the art of stacking luggage onto carts and assisting guests to their rooms. I'm good with suitcases of all brands (Briggs & Riley, Lark, Hartman, Samsonite, etc.) and I know just how to handle ice chests and duffle bags, extra pillows, box fans and Kroger bags. The only challenge is sometimes convincing a traveler that my way will probably work out best. They know best how it all fits into the trunk. I know best how it will all fit onto the bellcart. I've dropped two items in fifteen years of doing this. Both times, I was not the person to stack the items.

The first drop was a tin of cookies. It fell from the top and crashed down with a clang onto the marble floor, announcing to the entire lobby that all eyes should be on the bellman. Upon impact, of course, the lid popped off, cookies scattered everywhere, and the aforementioned lid just rolled around comically for what sounded like forever. The second drop was a six-pack of beer that had been added to the cart when I wasn't looking. Right on the edge and ready for exit as soon as I made my first turn. Six bottles of Budweiser on the floor, five of which survived with no damage done. One, however, wasn't as lucky and gave me a nice little mess to clean up. As I recall, the cookie family was pretty cool about it and my tip seemed to arrive unaffected. The Bud drinker also was nice and I remember that she tipped extra generously after we replaced her dropped beers with a six-pack of our own.

On the subject of luggage, I saw a Style Bubble post in Google Reader about some very interesting luggage designs by Sarah Williams, graduate of MA Fashion Artefact. I think I'd enjoy learning how to properly stack some of her elegant work onto a bellcart. Click here to see how they look when opened.

Winter

We party harder on Easter

iPhone Post

It's been brought to my attention that I don't blog much anymore. Have
I run out of things to say? Maybe I have.

How are you?

Late Night Photo Shoot

Watching Brother

Bird, Watching

Observances and Discoveries

There is that appearance of calm and of peace across the water at the dam. The sky above it appears as quiet and still as I drive home in those soft, early minutes of everyone else's tomorrow. I, too, from some distance seem to have the same qualities on display. Better to observe from afar.

[Three paragraphs of navel-gazing deleted. You've been spared. Instead, happier stuff...]

While listening to the Vic Chestnutt station on Pandora tonight, I discovered the wildly hypnotic voice of singer-songwriter Jose Gonzalez. I'm hooked and am in full dig-up-and-listen-to-everything-he's-ever-done mode.

My shift was long and difficult tonight, but in a rare moment of fun I met a photographer who absolutely captivated me with his tales of taking pictures out in Rocky Mountain National Park with his infrared lens. He's also the photographer who took so many of those great shots of U2 during their stunning Red Rocks show in 1983. You can see his pictures at gwigler.com. I'm very much in awe of his talents and I wish him nothing but the best. He's a great guy.

Thanks as always for stopping by to read whatever it is that I write.

Serenest

Apps for my birthday?

A month or so ago, my lovely wife informed me that there were refurbished iPhones available to us for only $49.99 each. I'm the skeptical sort and pressed her for any details that might reveal it to be a too-good-to-be-true deal. The more we looked into it though, the more it looked like a legit and good idea. "Refurbished" doesn't scare me as long as there is a warranty and looking at its specs proved it to be quite the suitable upgrade from my current No Internet cell phone.

Still looking for a reason that this was too good to be true, I questioned whether or not we could afford the data plan. Again she reassured me that it was a good idea. This phones with Internet was pretty much the same monthly cost as our current ones without. The only issue now was patience. I qualified for an upgrade, but she wasn't due for one until December 18th. Cool enough. I could wait until my birthday for us to make the order online. What better day anyway to get me what I wanted so much. All of those apps! gpsAssassin! And all of that other stuff that makes it so cool to have an iPhone.

Then came the 16th of December when we checked the AT&T site again. Out of stock. Figures. No iPhones for us. At least not right now. I suppose we can just keep checking the site and jump at it if and when they're available again. It's just as well maybe. We're pretty poor these days and I imagine it's got to be pretty hard to garner any sympathy for that while possessing cool iPhones.

As it is, we're happy with what we have. I just thought it was funny.

Not too ugly for forty, just sleepy.

I promise to smile a bit next time.

No Title. Nope.

So Cool, So Apt (And Sadly, Just A Short Clip)

Salvation