Don't look back

When violet eyes get brighter
And heavy wings grow lighter
I'll taste the sky and feel alive again

I think I used to have more to say on here when I was more free. Not with time, but in my life. Or, because it was a newer thing back then. And people always seem to let go of long-term things like writing in blogs. (Including me!)
I have been running more than I ever have in my life. The problem is that I think I have had breathing issues for a long time. It was getting better up until this week. Now, it seems like each time is more difficult. I don't know if it is because I have been running faster, but I think that is a significant reason. But I don't want to slow down.
It is really exciting next week after Monday, because then, I have a lot to do every day up until graduation.
I am pretty nervous about starting my first job next week. I think it will severely limit the amount of time I can spend with people, but it will probably be okay. I am so grateful to have the luck of finding one.
Oh, and I applied to some scholarships yesterday. That was an adventure... and I read The Lost Symbol, finally. What a waste of time. :/

I liked this article...

I found this on Gizmodo today. This is the link.

Apple Threatened Me With Legal Action For Selling a Broken Step From Their New York Store On eBay

Hi. Iʼm Mark Burstiner. I host a show called The Circuit. Iʼm an all around geek, Iʼm a project manager on a freelance basis, and I consult in digital strategy. I want to talk to you about a story thatʼs still unfolding.

It may seem trite, but for me, itʼs about the principle at this point. I also want to thank Gizmodo for taking this story, and allowing me to publish it in my own words. Multi billion dollar corporations should not be able to bully an innocent ex-employee into cooperation, especially when the corporations are at fault.

A year and a half ago, I was an Apple employee at the Fifth Ave flagship store. In that time, there was a silly, unfortunate accident. A woman came down the magnificent spiral staircase, and dropped a Snapple bottle. Yes, a Snapple bottle. After bouncing once or twice, the bottle severely cracked one of the steps. Since these steps are so well engineered, the structural integrity of the step wasn't compromised, but it was certainly a cosmetic problem. Later that month, four or five very big men came to replace the step with a new one. After they were finished, and the steps that were replaced were out on the curb, I left the store. Off the clock and in civilian clothes, I asked the contractors who were there on behalf of Seele, the manufacturer, if I could have a step. "It could be a collectible some day," I said. They, of course, saw no problem with it, and even collectively helped me lift it into a vehicle. That is the story of how I came to be in possession of a step from the spiral staircase at Apple Fifth Ave.

Fast forward to six days ago, February 20, 2010. Iʼve been cleaning up my apartment, because Iʼm going to be moving soon, and I realized I really didn't want to move (for the third time) with this step. It should be about time I put it up on eBay, see if anybody wants it and see if I canʼt make some cash to help with moving at the same time. That makes sense, right? I mean people end up with rare memorabilia all the time. After all, I did procure it through totally legitimate means. I asked for permission from the person whoʼs possession it was in. They helped me lift it into the vehicle for chrissakes. We should be all hunky dory, right? Wrong.

The very next day, the eBay posting got a lot of press, and it even ended up here on the Giz. Not 24 hours later, the stair was up to $255, dozens of eBay questions, and 200+ watchers with 9 days to go on the auction. Things were looking good until I was reached out to by a Seele VP. This gentleman informed me that Apple has caught wind of this and is quite unhappy. He requested I remove the eBay listing so that we may work this out when we both had more time. Of course, Iʼm a reasonable guy, so I complied immediately.

Later that same day, we spoke again. He assured me he was doing me a favor by reaching out to me and requesting that I remove the posting and return the glass step. He repeatedly made the point that if I complied that he would be so kind as so email Apple and tell them Iʼve been cooperative. "Oh, how magnanimous of you," I thought to myself. As tempting as it might be to relinquish what is now my property, I passed on the offer.

The VP continuously threatened me with "thousands of dollars in legal fees" because both Seele and Apple would not hesitate to take legal action. Even after repeated explanations of how I came into possession of the step, he continued to mitigate for Apple and attempt to make the point that it was Appleʼs position that since I was on Apple payroll as an employee (part-time, non-exempt, off the clock, out of uniform), that requesting the step was on par with giving a direct order to the contractor. That, if you will pardon my language, is bullshit. I donʼt buy it. He proceeded to assure me that Apple would take the position that anything that began in its stores is Appleʼs property. Frankly, Apple can take any stance they like, it doesn't change the facts.

This man then attempted to convince me that if I were to move forward with not relinquishing the step, that it would be my responsibility in a court of law to prove that I had not stolen it. This, again, is bullshit. In the United States, we are innocent until proven guilty. If Apple would like to attempt to prove that I managed to wrestle a 250lb step from the five very large men handling it, then they are on the good drugs, and I want to know where I can get some.

What this sounds like to me is Seele trying to save face because Apple is furious that they were irresponsible enough to relinquish ownership of the tread. Though it may be embarrassing for both corporations, it may simply be a lesson learned at a high price. Let me put it this way: If you caught a foul ball at a World Series game, got it signed by a player, received a high five from the security guard on the way out of the stadium, and went home, that ball is now yours, right? It started as one entityʼs property, and through a series of consensual transactions, it ended up in your hands. Now, letʼs say a year and a half later, the player who signed it is huge, and you decide to put it up for auction. If the MLB reached out to you and said, "Hey! No way, buddy. That was OURS. Hand it over!" Guess what? That wouldn't fly.

The next day, we spoke once more over the phone. Again, I heard the same points from the man, but this time I did not take a passive approach. I made it quite clear that if he wanted the step, heʼs more than welcome to purchase it from me, or participate in the eBay auction. He made me an offer lower than the most recent bid on the auction, and I declined. At this point, Iʼve lost time and money due to dealing with this. Not to mention, now that the step has seen some press, the demand is growing. (Iʼve been receiving eBay messages all the way up until this morning.) He assured me if I did not comply, my information would be forwarded to Apple, and the conversation ended.

As far as Iʼm aware, I have done nothing illegal. I have not stolen. I have not deceived in any way. The step is not confidential, and it is not IP. The step is the very same that any New Yorker could see by walking into Apple Fifth Ave. The only thing I am guilty of is taking the risk of throwing out my back through having to move the step multiple times. I saw an opportunity, I asked for permission, received it, and proceeded. I wonʼt allow a major corporation to bully me into a corner. At the time of this posting, it has been seven full days since I put the listing up, and I havenʼt heard from Apple directly a single time. I have every right to sell my property, and I plan to do so.

Hereʼs what Iʼm going to do. Iʼve put the tread back up for auction, but have shortened the auction period from 10 days to 3, starting at the same $200 price point and Iʼm dropping the buy-it-now option. I just want to get rid of this thing. If it sells for a lot, great. If it sells for a little, whatever. Either way, Iʼll keep you posted if I hear from Apple or on any other developments.

I realize this has been long-winded, but it was important to me to share this. I just donʼt think itʼs right for corporations to take cases that might otherwise be passed off as trivial and turn them into a week-long ordeal, all for the sake of paranoia. If youʼve read through all this, thank you. I appreciate your attention and time.


The author of this post can be contacted at tips@gizmodo.com

Enthusiasm

Now, I want to be a marshmallow.

Today, I used TinEye today to search for a website by uploading a picture I had saved on my computer. I found that it was from a blog called "Ninja vs Penguin."
Here are my favorites.
1. Wonderland
2.
3. Yael Miller's Elyon Marshmallows

War Culture?

Ryan showed me this today.

The English are feeling the pinch in relation to recent terrorist threats and have raised their security level from “Miffed” to “Peeved.”

Soon, though, security levels may be raised yet again to “Irritated” or even “A Bit Cross.” The English have not been “A Bit Cross” since the blitz in 1940 when tea supplies all but ran out.

Terrorists have been re-categorized from “Tiresome” to a “Bloody Nuisance.” The last time the English issued a “Bloody Nuisance” warning level was in 1588 when threatened by the Spanish Armada.

The Scots raised their threat level from “Pissed Off” to “Let’s get the B*******s”. They don’t have any other levels. (This is the reason they have been used on the front line of the British army for the last 300 years.)

The French government announced yesterday that it has raised its terror alert level from “Run” to “Hide”. The only two higher levels in France are “Collaborate” and “Surrender.”

The rise was precipitated by a recent fire that destroyed France’s white flag factory, effectively paralyzing the country’s military capability.

It’s not only the French who are on a heightened level of alert. Italy has increased the alert level from “Shout loudly and excitedly” to “Elaborate Military Posturing.” Two more levels remain: “Ineffective Combat Operations” and “Change Sides.”

The Germans also increased their alert state from “Disdainful Arrogance” to “Dress in Uniform and Sing Marching Songs.” They also have two higher levels: “Invade a Neighbor” and “Lose”.

Belgians, on the other hand, are all on holiday as usual, and the only threat they are worried about is NATO pulling out of Brussels.

The Spanish are all excited to see their new submarines ready to deploy. These beautifully designed subs have glass bottoms so the new Spanish navy can get a really good look at the old Spanish navy.

Americans meanwhile and as usual are carrying out pre-emptive strikes, on all of their allies, just in case.

And in the southern hemisphere… New Zealand has also raised its security levels – from “baaa” to “BAAAA!”

Due to continuing defense cutbacks (the airforce being a squadron of spotty teenagers flying paper aeroplanes and the navy some toy boats in the Prime Minister’s bath), New Zealand only has one more level of escalation, which is “I hope Australia will come and rescue us”.

Australia, meanwhile, has raised its security level from “No worries” to “She’ll be right, mate”.

Three more escalation levels remain: “Crikey!’, “I think we’ll need to cancel the barbie this weekend” and “The barbie is cancelled”.

So far no situation has ever warranted use of the final escalation level.

Don't feel bad.

The following is an excerpt from the incredibly popular website, College Confidential.

Gosh. No one can answer that. I doubt, even if you knew someone in Columbia's admissions department they could answer that. Let's say their rep from your area has ... 100 (?) applications to review and consider.

30 of them are an immediate "no" due to stats or something else that really stands out (who knows, discipline). I'm totally MAKING UP these numbers...just explaining how they are correct when they all say the process is holistic (once yohave the stat range)

So now he still has 70 people and maybe gets 10 slots to fill. I know the regions don't have EXACT specific numbers. But you will not find an elite school that isn't represented throughout the nation/world. So...it's not like their Midwest rep is going to be allowed 500 spots, you know?

So he sifts through and the cream rises to the top first. The 2400/36/4.0UW kids. And they might go in the "yes" pile and he already has 5 "yes" and only 5 more to place out of the remaining 65. THEN he actually reads. Again...MAKING ALL THIS UP but...once you look at the numbers you see how HARD it actually is to get into these colleges. HYP, for example...only 1200-1600 IN THE ENTIRE NATION get into their freshman class. That's a LOT of very special kids who were told no.

So...back to Columbia Admissions person...who has to narrow 65 kids into 5. Now he reads essays. 5 of them can't form a decent sentence even with their high scores.
Down to 60.

10 of them showed no continuity or passion in their ECs. Down to 50. 10 more little/had no leadership roles, 10 more had little/no volunteer work. STILL 30 and can only take 5!

So....what next? He reverses the process and, instead of eliminating he now selects the 10 of them had state or national championships in one thing or another (sport, music, acadmic). And they have "everything else", interesting essays, plenty of "extras".

Yet he STILL can take only half of THOSE! So something just stands out for him in the 5 he picks versus the 5 he doesn't. One of them is an "army brat" and had to change schools repeatedly but still excelled. One of them started a charitable foundation or helped raise her younger siblings when her single Mom fought cancer. Another one is so passionate about math that they've taken every advanced class their school offers and some local college courses too AND is Math Bowl champion...you get the picture. The fourth one plays oboe...and Columbia is looking for oboe's this year (it happens). And the last one goes to a tiny school and lives on a farm and their town is offering to help with tuition if the child returns home and practices medicine for 5 years after becoming a doctor.

So...YOUR child, while I'm sure a very attractive candidate...just didn't end up in that mix. There are SO many talented kids; they work SO hard these days. I'd HATE to have the job of selecting. But...your child will get a great education and I believe that (for the most part!), kids get in where they SHOULD get in. I hope your child will be happy at their "2nd choice". But, I'm sure you already know, there is no real answer to your question.

Luck!

Daily Life

One of my friends in Wisconsin posted this as her Facebook picture.

Pretty Game

I spent about half an hour playing this game today. I think it is so pretty. But maybe a little frustrating.

Uhh.

I found out who my teacher is supposed to be next semester and I think he looks like the guy on TV in Grey's Anatomy. What do you think?

Mr. Obama

9:57 PM me: then let's go to boston wooooooh
and ice skate
:D
and play tennis at 2am
:D
William: butbutbut i will be leaving like everyone else behind
i wish i could take chiles with me and put it in boston
me: we can come back to visit
haha
they would hate the liberals
9:58 PM William: O.O
leon county went democrat in the election
we voted for obama
9:59 PM me: O.O?
yeah but theyre not that democratish
William: but they are
otherwise they wouldnt have voted for obama
gobama!
10:00 PM i'm probama
and i'm sobama, its scary
because i root fobama
10:01 PM i globama in the dark
10:02 PM me: O.O
William: and i'm letting my hair grobama
then i will have a frobama
me: ...
William: if i go to boston i can play in the snobama
10:03 PM because the temperature gets really lobama
me: it does.
William: i'm a democrat, does it really shobama
me: yeah
William: ok i'm about out of those for now
but that was supafun
me: it was .
10:04 PM William: you cant do that with mccain
thats why obama won
me: mhm