Do I dare
Disturb the universe?
In a minute there is time
For decisions and revisions which a minute will reverse.
Still sleeping on the Store 11 decision tonight, and hopefully by 7:30am I’ll have an answer for Mary… I think it’s going to be yes, but I want to give it one more night’s sleep until I say for sure.
I think this place needs a redesign. Anyone out there want to make me a kickass template? I’m working on one… but I can’t decide on colors.
I need to get to bed.
Today marked the premier of Google Video Search, another marker on the way to the Everywherenet. In case you haven’t noticed, the internet is becoming ubiquitous due to the rise in broadband availability. As I write this, I’m at Discussions on their free WiFi connection. Nearly everywhere I go I’m offered free WiFi, even at places I don’t go like McDonalds and Burger King.
Google Video Search is different than Yahoo! Video in that Google Video Search searches for recent TV programs, rather than Yahoo!’s scouring of the web for all video. Thus a search for “Everybody Loves Raymond” in Google yields different results than one in Yahoo!. This is an important distinction: Google has partnered with content providers whereas Yahoo! simply looks for video on the web. Google’s decision to make its video search television specific shows the further convergence of television and the web; and it points toward the vision of Web 2.0, the “web as platform”. Google Video Search makes “new media” out of “old media” in an interesting way.
Let’s look at why it matters. Firstly, in the past 4 years “Google” has been synonymous with “the Internet” in almost the same way as AOL was in years past (and still tries to be). Google is shaping itself as a more useful tool every day, just look at what Google Labs has in the works, or all the searches you can do. With its IPO in 2004, Google is one of the hottest companies on or off the web. Not only is Video Search important for Google, it’s important for the networks as well. As more and more people turn to Bittorrent and TiVo to change their viewing habits, the networks need to keep up with the ongoing online revolution. Making TV searchable is the next logical step: with TiVo you can search for and record upcoming programs with your remote, and now with Google you can search for last night’s show you might’ve missed. Search is hot right now, but without content search is useless. Television fits in naturally; it’s been the most popular content zone for almost fity years, and it is Google’s job, after all, to ask “why can’t we search it?”
The future of convergence is search. Television is a logical next step. I can search newspapers, phonebooks, journals, so why not television?
Wheels have been turning.
I’m not in school this semester; I have some bills I need to get paid off and I need to save up some money, so I’m doing so. I’ve been working 40 hours and it’s back to the grindstone tomorrow.
I have a few offers on the table; as it stands I’m still a floater technician in Grand Rapids, so my job hasn’t really changed. I was talking to April Fluit, the outgoing manager of the Alpine store and soon to be manager at the new Standale store that opens in April (no pun) and I might be able to get in there.
The most significant thing that’s happened is I worked at the 28th & Kalamazoo store today and yesterday, known as the “International Meijer” and I’ve been showing off my skillz. The manager there, Mary, is notorious as “a stickler” and many other impolite terms, but working with her this weekend proved to be actually enjoyable. She used to be a police officer so she does have a very legalistic side, but all in all she’s a very good pharmacist. She offered me a job—mostly because they need good help like me. There might be problems with some of her other workers, but I’ve gotten in good with her so there should be no trouble laying the smack down. I’ve got to sleep on it, of course, but I’m leaning toward yes. It’d be nice to have a permanent home again. Any weeks she was short of 40 hours I’d be able to float out.
My major reason for wanting Standale is because I’ve always wanted to open a fresh new store, but I also know I wouldn’t be the only experienced person there. April and I get along really well, which is good and bad, as sometimes you need a manager more than a friend. Mary is in contrast to April a real professional person and I can see she gets uptight over things that maybe she shouldn’t; perhaps I can help her out with that.
So things may be a’changin’. Mary asked about my favorite movie, I’m never sure right off the top of my head… she mentioned she really likes The Birdcage… she probably has heard that I’m gay (no big secret, just google me) and she may have said so to set me at ease… so here’s my top ten in no order:
The Hours
The Shawshank Redemption
Akira
Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf?
American Beauty
Le Fabuleux destin d’Am�lie Poulain
Lost in Translation
Good Will Hunting
The Royal Tenenbaums
The Lord of the Rings Trilogy
That’s about it for now. Dino’s broken up with Charlie and having some issues; I’d really like to talk to him about it but we haven’t had a good phone call for awhile.
Oh yeah, and check out 10×10, my favorite news site right now. Johnny Carson died, kinda sad about that I’m sure our media will overeulogize him. I’m very happy to see that Victor Yushchenko was finally sworn in. Hopefully he’ll prove to be the democrat we all hope he’ll be. Tak! ??????!
Joe won a G3 iBook from an eBay auction. I pointed out to him for $150 more he could’ve bought a Mac mini but then, he needs the portability of a notebook, not the easy-to-carry chic of the Mac mini. We went to CompUSA yesterday and I got to see the iMac G5 for the first time. I want one. Real bad.
More to come…
Don’t worry, I’m still here. Just trying to fit the puzzle pieces together.
I have some general update nonesense to talk about, but first I wanted to rave about this blog this it seems everyone else is, too. It’s a bandwagon I’m happy to jump on, because tshirts are great, I just don’t wear many of them. Preshrunk you know, for t-shirts.
I have no new year’s resolutions.
I’m starting to decide that I think I might work full time until August. I need more money. I want to pay my own way for a few semesters. I also need to write again, and I actually didn’t get a chance to do that at all. I have this week to decide.
My dad called me at midnight new year’s from some bar. That was nice of him. I realized one of my issues with my dad is that he never would call me and I resented that; now he calls sporadically and I resent it too. How fucked up of me.
I saw Terry on new year’s eve day, and I really wanted to call him and wish him happy new year, but I didn’t. He popped online a bit tonight and sent a few lines of text, so maybe we’ll see each other again sometime.
I watched Garden State with Devan last week. He’s a nice guy, but I’m not sure about him yet.
There was like an hour when I was really upset on NYE, and I went and cleaned my room. Now I don’t remember why I was upset. Thanks, Captain Morgan!
I really miss Dino a bunch.
I can’t believe it’s 2005.
Casey Stratton is in my apartment… and we’re listening to his new album, due out this summer, which is FANTASTIC… happy new year.. yay for Jenison High School… pictures on Flickr tomorrow.
Happy New Year, bitches!
No Jive in ‘05
