Converts YouTube comments into HERP DERP

As you all know, comment sections of sites such as YouTube can be pretty dicey. More so for those of us with young kids who can read.

Well, there is a pretty cool browser extension (works in Chrome, Firefox) that converts all comment text into the words “herp derp”.  It makes the video viewing experience so much nicer. If only they would add this for my local newspaper, I’d be a happy man.

http://boingboing.net/2012/07/10/browser-extension-converts-you.html

Unrelated, make sure to read more of my stuff at my new blog: http://www.paulliadis.com/blog . I’ve been posting there most weekdays now. And if you don’t want to miss any of my posts, head over there and click subscribe in the sidebar.

Home Made Tardis

This is too cool not to share. This German schoolteacher created this Tardis replica (I don’t think it travels in time, but she doesn’t say for sure) from scratch, basically. She even created her own lamp when she couldn’t find a good affordable one to buy. Enough from me. Just watch this video. Oh how I wish I could build things.

(via boing boing)

Question of the Day

This one comes from a conversation my wife and I were having in the car yesterday, and is of the utmost importance that I answer it. It’s a matter of national security I think.

On to the question. Imagine you are speaking to your spouse in the car in front of your kids. They are young and you really don’t want them to know what you are talking about (because they’ll start talking about it, or worse yet, make you make a pit stop). Which of these two is more appropriate (instead of well, poop) : #2 or BM? I went with BM and was told #2 was better. I would have to disagree.

So answer my poll below and explain you answer in the comments. You might be surprised by this topic, but you wouldn’t if you knew me in real life. 🙂

Stuff and Things

Thanks to everyone who has read the ending to my vampire story. If you have any thoughts on what works/what doesn’t work or anything like that, please let me know. I’m actually going to attempt to sell this one somewhere, so any feedback is appreciated. Also, I’m going to be disabling the posts containing the story at the end of the month, because publications don’t really want stories they buy to be out there on the Internet for free. Thanks to Chris who has already provided me with some really helpful comments.

I’m currently reading the book, The Golden Compass, and I’m really starting to enjoy it. Great characterization in that book so far. The interesting thing is that I’m reading it on my Sony Reader, which makes it the first book I’ve attempted to read from beginning to end on the device. I have to say I’ve noticed no difference in “the experience” of reading on an electronic device rather than a paper book. Once I got used to it, the story drew me in. This would’ve happened on an e-reader, in print, or drawn on a wall in crayon. One day I’ll post some more specifics about reading on the Sony Reader, but for now I will simply say I like it.

Have you all heard of Goodreads? It’s one of those social sites where you can list the books you’ve read, add reviews, etc. There are other such sites out there, but I’m most fond of Goodreads. You can check out my profile on Goodreads here.

Life

Work got busy all of a sudden this afternoon, so I was unable to finish my post regarding my plot problems.  Look for it here tomorrow.

Sick

Sorry for the lack of posts here.  I have a lovely case of strept-throat, probably due to my immune system’s weakness from not getting enough sleep.  Having a newborn in the house will do it.  Luckily, my daughter doesn’t seem to have strept-throat.  I have been trying to keep my distance from her, so I don’t get her sick.  That is tough 😦 .

First Day of Daycare

Today was a tough day. This morning I had to drop off my daughter (now 2 1/2 months old) at daycare. I knew it was going to be tough, and I was right. It isn’t that I don’t trust the daycare. What gets to me is that someone other than my wife or I will be witnessing all of her “firsts”. Someone else will get to see her smiles and hear her coos and change her diapers (hey, they aren’t that bad!). I guess we will have to just shower her with more attention in the evenings and on weekends. I’m sure it will get a little easier, but right now it is rough.

Weekend and a YouTube Clip (Monty Python)

I had a pretty nice weekend, I hope you all did as well. Yesterday, I had our 2 month old daughter in my parent’s swimming pool. I held her and dipped her feet into the water. She loves her baths and we were interested to see how she liked the pool. She seemed confused but I think she enjoyed it once she got used to it. We only had her in for 5 minutes because it was too hot and sunny outside. This will probably be the last time she gets to wear her “bikini”, as she is now too big for it.

I came across this clip of Graham Chapman’s memorial service on YouTube last week. John Cleese gives a pretty funny speech and at the end the Monty Python crew sings “Always Look on the Bright Side of Life”. There is a little bit of foul language in the clip, so watch out while viewing at work. I found it pretty funny.

Shaving again

I posted a while ago about my horrific attempt to save time in the morning by shaving at night. After months of reconstructive surgery and physical therapy my face has finally recovered. Ok, it healed in a few hours, but I like the previous sentence much better. If only I had read these shaving tips at 43Folders, maybe my night shaving experience would have been better. While you are there, check out the rest of the site.  It is full of useful productivity and writing tips. 

Owner’s Manual

To all of those parents out there I have a question. How long did it take for your owner's manual to show up? We have had our baby for 11 days now and still don't have ours. I'm sure it is in the mail, though.

In my writing news, the last chapter to the reader written short story contest was published today. I had a mention in the paper as I helped judge the entries. They published the entire story along with the last chapter, so my two entries saw print again. Here is a link to the entire story.