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« Ummm... Other?: May 2006 | Main | Ummm... Other?: July 2006 »

Ummm... Other?

GenPets

I think you can make of this what you will without any help from me.

You can all thank shmoo for sending it to me.


By min | June 30, 2006, 10:35 AM | Ummm... Other? | Comments (4)| Link



SmartCar

Can i have one, please?


By min | June 28, 2006, 2:02 PM | Ummm... Other? | Comments (4)| Link



nsxt290's Bank of America Rant

nsxt290 forwarded me this letter he sent to Bank of America:

I just wanted to write you to tell you how annoyed I have been with BOA recently. This has nothing to do with the quality of BOA but the constant harassment about your stupid credit cards. Not only is it unnecessary for the people at the counter to bother you each and every time about "the great news you have excellent credit and you're approved for a new card." Hey guess what, we're not interested. But they push and push. Every branch does the same and even at the same branch the same person would ask you even though you said no last week. Oh on top of that, every time you log off the website it asks you if you want a credit card. I realize you guys are merging with MBNA but give it a rest, unless your goal is to get less and less customers by harassing them to death. I go to the bank to make deposits and not be harassed about credit cards. You guys probably don't even care but keep it up and you'll have a lot more aggravated customers who switch to another financial institution. Thanks for you[r] time. By the way you have excellent credit and you're approved for a $10,000 credit limit.


By min | June 27, 2006, 10:17 AM | Ummm... Other? | Comments (7)| Link



Evil Hamster

We obtained this photo thru anonymous sources.


By min | June 23, 2006, 11:10 AM | Ummm... Other? | Comments (2)| Link



Crisis, Danger, and Opportunity

"The Chinese use two brush strokes to write the word 'crisis.' One brush stroke stands for danger; the other for opportunity. In a crisis, be aware of the danger - but recognize the opportunity."

- John F. Kennedy (1917-1963), speech in Indianapolis, April 12, 1959


So, apparently, this is some popular misconception. This site goes into quite a bit of detail as to why this interpretation is completely wrong.

Like most Mandarin words, that for "crisis" (weiji) consists of two syllables that are written with two separate characters, wei and ji.
...
While it is true that weiji does indeed mean "crisis" and that the wei syllable of weiji does convey the notion of "danger," the ji syllable of weiji most definitely does not signify "opportunity."
...
The ji of weiji , in fact, means something like "incipient moment; crucial point (when something begins or changes)." Thus, a weiji is indeed a genuine crisis, a dangerous moment, a time when things start to go awry. A weiji indicates a perilous situation when one should be especially wary.
...
Aside from the notion of "incipient moment" or "crucial point" discussed above, the graph for ji by itself indicates "quick-witted(ness); resourceful(ness)" and "machine; device." In combination with other graphs, however, ji can acquire hundreds of secondary meanings. It is absolutely crucial to observe that ji possesses these secondary meanings only in the multisyllabic terms into which it enters. To be specific in the matter under investigation, ji added to hui ("occasion") creates the Mandarin word for "opportunity" (jihui), but by itself ji does not mean "opportunity."

Also, from Straight Dope:

Wu Hung, a Chinese scholar at the University of Chicago, says that originally wei ji didn't even mean crisis. "Ji has a range of meanings, including opportunity but also danger," he says. "When the third-century Chinese began to use the word wei ji, they simply meant danger--a meaning emphasized by both characters."

Not that Kennedy's speech writers cared all that much. Neither did the Swedish city council. I'm sure neither of them expected the Chinese to issue a complaint.


By min | June 21, 2006, 1:09 PM | Ummm... Other? | Link



Cat Power

Link:

WEST MILFORD, N.J. Jun 9, 2006 (AP) A black bear picked the wrong New Jersey yard for a jaunt earlier this week, running into a territorial tabby who ran the furry beast up a tree twice.

Jack, a 15-pound orange-and-white cat, keeps a close vigil on his property, chasing small animals when he can, but his owners and neighbors say his latest escapade was surprising.

"We used to joke, 'Jack's on duty,' never knowing he'd go after a bear," cat owner Donna Dickey told The Star-Ledger of Newark for Friday's newspapers.

Neighbor Suzanne Giovanetti first spotted Jack's accomplishment after her husband saw a bear climb a tree on the edge of their northern New Jersey home's back yard on Sunday. Giovanetti thought Jack was simply looking up at the bear, but soon realized the much larger animal was afraid of the hissing cat.

After about 15 minutes peering down at the cat from the tree, the bear descended and tried to run away, only to have Jack chase it up another tree.

At this point Dickey, who feared for her cat, called Jack back home and the bear scurried back to the woods.

"He doesn't want anybody in his yard," Dickey said.


By fnord12 | June 16, 2006, 5:15 PM | Ummm... Other? | Comments (3)| Link



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