Had kind of an interesting night last night, if you think that waiting in line 5x longer than normal is interesting. The first line was for a burrito, and that wasn't really all that new, it was just kinda sad how overwhelmed the person behind the counter was and knowing that she was going to be dealing with person after person after person for awhile after I had the freedom to leave the building. Everyone in line kept asking, "Why are there so many people in line? What's going on?" And this was kind of different than normal lines (especially New York lines), where the main thing you hear is, "Why is [that person behind the counter] taking [such a very long] time doing [the job s/he was hired to do] and if things don't improve, someone's gonna get a piece of my mind!" This is, as I ahve mentioned before not a matter of New Yorkers being rude, just efficient. In LA, people are generally happier (take a look at the weather map and humidity levels around the country) so there is a lot less blaming of counter folk, at least when you are in line for food. For the most part.

So after that line "experience" (and there's a point to this, really), I went to the local Safeway/Pavilions/Vons store to get some stuff, and by this time it was getting late, 9pm (see above to see why I was there so late) and again, for some reason, the lines were really long. Like, 15-18 people in each line. Amazingly, though they had 13 checkout counters, only 3 were open, and, while my line was in session, the guy tried to "end" the line in the middle of our line! There was some protest, and the guy compromised saying that the person behind me was the last person and that she would have to tell all the new people that the line was over, they had to go to another one...of the two left.

And this was what was kind of interesting: when people would come up behind us (I say "us" because I ended up helping explain the situation, if only because I felt bad for my line partner), we would say, "oh, sorry, the line isn't really accepting new people, it ends with me/her" and almost every single person would nod and smile and stay in line. They straight up were not listening to us at all! Like, they were right in front of us and it's not like we were communicating "long line, huh?" or "how about Bonds, huh?" or even, "do you know what time it is?"--this was valuable line-oriented information, made more valuable as each moment passed--our line was always shorter than the other two, obviously, so when people saw our line, their eyes would light up and they would leap to the end of the line, only to have their hopes dashed across the sharp rocks of reality a few moments later.

But 99% of the time, we had to explain the situation twice, sometimes three times. We told this one guy and he nodded and said, "Really?" and then just stood there. The lady and I exchanged a look and just had to say it again, "no, really, the line is over" and he just nodded, and then we said it again and he was like, "Oh! really! Oh, okay," and then he left. Of course, everyone who heard our message (and comprehended it) was pissed the moment they heard it, some of it inadvertently directed at us messengers, which was mildly unpleasant (but, in the end, entertaining).

Finally--finally, when I was actually checking out (and this line, by the way, was going slowly, we were in line for at least 20 minutes), an old lady came up behind my friend and we both explained (for the last time! we were so stoked!) that the line was closed, etc, and then she just smiled, said, "...so kind..." and then cut in between me and the end-of-the-line lady! When the clerk tried to say something, she just cut him off and explained that she was buying a newspaper and saw no reason why she should have to wait in line to buy "the paper" and was clearly oblivious to the fact that she had cut into a line, etc. She even started getting angry at the clerk for some reason. It was crazy.

Long story short? It just brought to mind that adage that people only hear what they want to hear. Usually, this is just one of those things you hear or say when talking about messaging or advertising or arguments or whatever, but I have never actually seen it happen, physically, in person, in real time, over and over again. People just were so happy to get in the "short" line, that their mind simply was not accepting information that would dispute that happiness. It was really amazing.

So, that's that.

I must admit I am enjoying twitter more than I expected. I have quite a few friends from SF and NY who I follow (and vice versa) and it's fun to throw things out there to see what people respond to. I don't have the twitters going to my phone, but it's fun to get little check in's throughout the day. Such an odd, 21st century only piece of silliness, don't you think? I mean, there just does not seem to be a corresponding form of communication from any part of history. Communication has become so easy, so cheap, so effortless, that we actually have folks who just jump right into what used to be called "too much information". We live in a world of information, constantly shifting pieces of news, emails, websites, events that we can just share anything we want, whenever we want to whomever we want...it's really astounding really. Is it helpful? I'm not sure. Back in the day there were plenty of times when I would find myself talking and talking to just to fill the silence when I was with people and while some found it entertaining, I am sure some had to find it equally irritating. Ollie loves to remind me of the time when I had to remind everyone that it had been a while since I had last talked. There's a correlation here, but it's different. Now all of these bursts of experience are logged and tagged for your amusement at a later date, creating ongoing and pervasive diaries, often for the world to see. One thing is for sure, if any of this exists in a hundred years, our future friends will realize that while people were seemingly really busy, they definitely had a lot of time on their hands and they absolutely felt it was necessary to make sure that everyone else knew about it.

I bet you there will be a new term for the new kind of "Luddite". Now it's not just the refusal to incorporate new technology into one's life, but there are also the people that just don't freaking care to know all the stuff there is to know. Someone who is fine with "just" reading the paper, that kind of thing. Yes, it's related to technology, but perhaps this is a post-technology thing, perhaps a few decades from now, when most of the first world Luddites are dead, a Luddite will be someone who refuses to participate in the constant exchange of information, or at least resistant to the barrage of incoming messages. Not sure. I need to think about it a bit more. There is, of course, the other issue--does the ability to constantly report to people about what you are up to (how interesting you must be to feel the need to share so much about yourself!) provide a false sense of self-importance? Is this an ego thing? Or is completely ego-less? (I'm an open book, here who I am, judge if you like, I don't care.)


Wow, that was windy. Thanks for reading...have a great weekend!

Tags: people, tech

a friendly Dalmatian iMac at a friendly cafe in friendly Tokyo

So, Apple introduced three new iMacs today, which actually look pretty good. They are definitely making machines that look more "futuristic" than anyone else; I love the fact that the keyboard has a system power button on its side, that's pretty sweet. It's been years since they last had a power button the keyboard, it's interesting that they brought it back, though for the iMac, it makes sense--it's lame to have to reach all the way around to turn it on.

The new iLife and iWork suites look pretty okay; I will write something up when I have had a chance to use them. I am particularly interested in the DVD authoring stuff (though Steve seemed to imply that burning DVDs was a bit passé, I still like 'em).

I got called back for a web ad for Nissan today. It's a fine a spot, funny, even, but it's just odd that there were 7 people in the room to check out something that is supposed to look like a cheap YouTube video. It's going to by much more--it's got some nice special effects in there--but I don't know. It's going to be the same amount of work (if not more) as a "normal" spot, and from an acting point of view, there is obviously no difference, but the pay--and I don't mean to be bitchy about this, I'm just saying, is all--is just kind of lackluster. I guess this is the whole point of the upcoming negotiations between the various unions and the producers; the advent of the web is far more jarring than anything to do with DVD extras and that kind of thing. Web video is going to be with us forever, the spots lasting longer than TV spots (of course, many TV spots end up on the web anyway) so the whole residual system, everything, will need to be reworked. It's gonna be a nasty fight, I bet, but this is the future and given the amount of web spots I have gone out for over the past few months (several, like 4-5), this venue will only continue to grow.

Anyway, we'll find out if I get it tomorrow (it shoots this week!).

Oh, some podcasts that I am finding pretty funny that you may wanna check out: Totally Rad Show and Geekscape. Both links are set to the video podcasts, but I trust you can figure out how to get the audio only one. You're smart like that.

And now, off to the dentist's.

Tags: imac, acting

(all the cables that are behind my TV/Xbox/Cable box/Airport/Router)

Wow, that weekend went by quick. Not a whole lot to talk about, other than how zonked I am from staying out way too late on Saturday night and how everything seems really bright today, which is beyond irritating. I keep putting eye drops in my eyes to counteract the drops I put in this morning, which have basically dried them out like crazy (they're allergy drops, which are supposed to help my eyes not be so red, so now I look like I just stopped crying every time people come by cube. I'm fine, people, I'm just fine.

Though I was loathe to discuss the whole HDTV vs. BluRay format "war", I figured I would toss out the idea that I am actually leaning in favor of the HD-DVD format. You can get the Toshiba HD-A2 model for $249 and so far, the reviews for that device have been pretty solid all the way around. It wasn't really thinking about this stuff to much (my Oppo 970HD does a nice job of upconverting my current DVDs to some semblance of 720p), but with the announcement of Heroes on HD-DVD I've been looking at the format a bit more closely. Plus there are many HD-DVD titles that come with Standard DVD format on one side, the HD on the other, so one could, in theory, buy these hybrid DVDs and, when the players get below $200 (give it 2 months) have a small HD collection already set to go. I dunno, just some ideas, but given Sony's poor performance in pretty much everything and my own poor experiences with Sony hardware in the past, I am resistant to going down the Blu-Ray tube. Of course, the format war is a big pain the butt anyway and there are plenty of other things to think about that are a bit more important. But what can I say, that's what I am thinking about this afternoon...I know, what a life.

Apple's gonna introduce some new machines tomorrow. Let's assume new iMacs and hopefully a revamped MacBook Pro line with a small model...that probably won't happen; let's see how it goes. I have been pretty happy with my MacBook Pro but I think the thing just gets way too hot, especially on wood desks. The bottom of a machine should not be too hot to touch, and though my friends will say I am just being psychosomatic, I tell you, when I am using it on lap, I feel really unusual. Like, not good unusual. Like, my head would feel after talking too long on cell phones in the late 90s unusual. I swear, man, with all these waves going through me, I am either going to have a very short life or a very, very long, Twinkies like life.

Other than that:

- still annoyed that my Cingular 3125 phone has a damaged front window, above. I have no idea what happened but now the LCD on the external screen is damaged. One would say, "Perfect excuse for an iPhone purchase" but

- I still think the iPhone is too much money. I just can't imagine paying that much for a phone. I have no doubt (at all) that I will end up getting one of these damn things, but it won't be for awhile.

- I added another thing to the sidebar, that Technorati thing. We'll see if it is useful or not. I must admit, I like updating the twitter thing. I have no idea if anyone is reading it (other than those "following" me) but it's fun nonetheless.

okay, let's post this thing.

Tags: HD, DVD, phone