for the sake of arguing

A break…for a bit

forthesakeofarguing — Sat, 11 Apr 2009 17:57:05 +0000

In light of recent occurrences (namely the existence of MULTIPLE 20 page papers due at the beginning of May), I have decided to take a break from blogging for a bit.

I wanted to thank all of you for reading and please check back in a month or so when “For the sake of arguing” will continue.

In the meantime, I’ll leave you with this random Chuck Norris fact generator so that you will always have a little bit of information (fact or fiction) at your fingertips in the absence of a new blog post.

Thanks,

Aylin

Thought of the day #16: Pirates

forthesakeofarguing — Fri, 10 Apr 2009 15:32:45 +0000

In wake of the most recent pirate attack, one question becomes ever more apparent: why are there no weapons on board? Seriously folks, how is it that Somalian “pirates” with nothing more than a tiny motor boat and a few guns can control a huge ship manned by officers apparently trained in “piracy”?

Pirates have taken over $200 million worth of goods in the past year. They are not stealth. They do not have super advanced technologies. No, they just have guns. Come on folks, unless we want to lose more money, goods, and people, let’s try keeping a few guns on board.

ILVTOFU gets denied

forthesakeofarguing — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 13:04:50 +0000

A woman in Colorado allegedly loves tofu so much that she wanted to express it on the license plate of her SUV. Unfortunately, her suggestion, ILVTOFU, was denied by the DMV, which doesn’t allow the consecutive combination of F and U on a plate.

Is it just me, or do you find it odd that a tofu lover drives an SUV?

Thought of th day #15: Remember Reebok?

forthesakeofarguing — Thu, 09 Apr 2009 12:27:45 +0000

Remember when people actually wore Reebok shoes? Come on, think hard.

As Reebok has steadily lost ground in the women’s shoe market making up only 1.9% of women’s shoes compared to last year’s 3.6% (this is nothing compared to their 1980′s dominance, of course), Reebok is trying to reinvent itself with a new workout program called “Jukari Fit to Fly”, a program which includes ropes and poles and “flying”. Sound cool? Reebok sure hopes so.

Why Toshiba rocks

forthesakeofarguing — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 21:18:38 +0000

Given the fact that I rarely have anything nice to say about electronic devices, I figured I’d do my part and give compliments when compliments are due. This happens to be one of those times.

Recently, the charger of my new-ish (read: less than one year old) computer randomly stopped working. Besides the fact that I am obsessive-compulsive about checking my email, I actually need a working (read: charged) computer for school. After visiting BestBuy and realizing that the cheapest laptop charger cost $115 (note: nearly 1/4 my computer’s cost), I decided to call Toshiba directly just in case my computer was under warranty that I didn’t know about. Within minutes of my call, the woman said they’d be sending me a new charger in 3-5 business days for no added fee. The best part was that I didn’t have to send in my broken charger or give any sort of receipt either–the serial number on my computer was all the info she needed. Now, if only broken cell phones had the same sort of policy.

And that, I tell you, is why Toshiba rocks.

You know Americans are getting too fat when…

forthesakeofarguing — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 18:12:37 +0000

..they call 911 when McDonald’s is out of Mcnuggets and when they don’t get the extra shrimp on their shrimp fried rice.

Seriously people? Please go to the gym.

The newest reality show low–Someone’s gotta go

forthesakeofarguing — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:40:13 +0000

Apparently FOX has reached a new low. It’s planning on releasing a reality TV show, “Someone’s Gotta Go”, where employees are responsible for deciding who gets laid off on air. Unlike “The Apprentice”, these are real people’s jobs we are dealing with.

Besides the fact that this is truly deplorable, I wonder if the person laid off could sue for defamation of character? Seriously, FOX what are you thinking?

Funniest joke in the world…really?

forthesakeofarguing — Wed, 08 Apr 2009 00:11:55 +0000

In 2002 a group of British scientists at LaughLab attempted to find out what the funniest joke in the world was. Out of 40,000 jokes and over 2 million votes, here’s the joke winning the title of the “world’s funniest”:

“Two hunters are out in the woods when one of them collapses. He doesn’t seem to be breathing and his eyes are glazed. The other guy takes out his phone and calls the emergency services.

He gasps: “My friend is dead! What can I do?” The operator says: “Calm down, I can help. First, let’s make sure he’s dead.” There is a silence, then a gunshot is heard. Back on the phone, the guy says: “OK, now what?”" [End joke].

Okay, I guess that was slightly funny, if not sadistic. And, for those of you who are curious, it was written by this man, Spike Milligan.

Here’s the funniest joke in the U.S.:

A man and a friend are playing golf one day at their local golf course. One of the guys is about to chip onto the green when he sees a long funeral procession on the road next to the course. He stops in mid-swing, takes off his golf cap, closes his eyes, and bows down in prayer. His friend says: “Wow, that is the most thoughtful and touching thing I have ever seen. You truly are a kind man.” The man then replies: “Yeah, well we were married 35 years.”

And the funniest in Canada:

“When NASA first started sending up astronauts, they quickly discovered that ballpoint pens would not work in zero gravity. To combat the problem, NASA scientists spent a decade and $12 billion to develop a pen that writes in zero gravity, upside down, underwater, on almost any surface including glass and at temperatures ranging from below freezing to 300 C. The Russians used a pencil.”

And Germany:

“A general noticed one of his soldiers behaving oddly. The soldier would pick up any piece of paper he found, frown and say: “That’s not it” and put it down again. This went on for some time, until the general arranged to have the soldier psychologically tested. The psychologist concluded that the soldier was deranged, and wrote out his discharge from the army. The soldier picked it up, smiled and said: “That’s it.”

Have any better ones?

Kid steals phone and accidentally calls police bragging–is caught

forthesakeofarguing — Tue, 07 Apr 2009 16:23:34 +0000

Okay, so imagine this. You steal a radio and a phone from a nearby car. Pumped about your new possessions, you brag to all your friends while accidentally dialing 911 on the stolen phone (must have been an automatic one-touch or something). As you boast, the police listen in and are able to track you down and you are caught.

Worst part is, your friends are unimpressed by your new phone–it’s only a cricket, not a blackberry. Who wouldn’t be unimpressed, though? You can read the article and listen to the original 911 call here.

Go on! Procrastinate…just a little that is

forthesakeofarguing — Mon, 06 Apr 2009 12:07:31 +0000

For those of you currently at work reading this post as a means of giving yourself a break from all the other tedious things you need to do (you know who you are), keep going. A recent study at the University of Melbourne found that “workplace internet leisure browsing” can increase productivity when done in moderation. The key word here, of course, is moderation.