A Bad Sign Of Online Usage

Tagged as: Amusing, Humor, Internet Jun 04

So I was reading PC Magazine (we got it free for some reason), and I saw this little side article that I thought was pretty amusing. It had a list of AIM acronyms that are not all too commonly used taken from America Online, 2007. Now most people nowadays know of things like LOL (laugh out loud), BRB (be right back), and TTYL (talk to you later). But those are maybe just the originals and can’t necessarily say exactly what you want. Or maybe they’re so overused that they’re boring. In any case, if you already knew any of the following, you have been online far too much. You need to get your pale self outside and greet the sun more often.

1. ADADanother day, another dollar
2. DQMOTdon’t quote me on this
3. BITDback in the day
4. SMFETEsmiling from ear to ear
5. GOLgiggling out loud
6. IMNERHOin my never even remotely humble opinion
7. BTDTGTTSAWIObeen there, done that, got the t-shirt, and wore it out
8. PRWparents are watching
9. WYGOWMwill you go out with me?
10. MTFBWUmay the force be with you

Personally I’m a fan of WYGOWM and BTDTGTTSAWIO. Maybe you can find an occasion to use them. ADAD is amusing just because the saying is amusing. If I ever encountered acronyms like this online, I would be totally confused.

Nicknames Are Fun

Tagged as: Amusing, Friends, Humor, Relationships May 23

I like nicknames. I like giving them to all types of people. I’ve found that it helps to break many initial layers of ice that might exist when you’re first getting to know people. The real key, in my opinion, to nicknames is that they create a bond between the person with the nickname and others.

I guess that there are also different types of nicknames. I don’t mean derogatory, kind, or funny. I mean there are nicknames that everyone calls someone by and then there are nicknames that only exist between the nickname giver and the nickname recipient. I like the latter.

Instead of discussing all of the nicknames that I’ve given, though, I’d like to now list all of the ones that I’ve received. The interesting list includes:

• JQ - It stands for Johnny Quest. I don’t even know why I got it.
• T-man - This is actually a funny story. So in college I met a couple of girls at an event. And then I met them again. And again. And finally one time when they asked me what my name was, I got tired of it so I just told them it was Mr. T. As in the A-team guy with the gold chains. Haha and they thought to call me T-man. After that, they sure remembered who I was!
• Deek - I don’t even know why the girl who gave me this one did. I think it’s pretty strange. Just like the nickname giver.
• Darkwing - Okay this is a strange one because it’s half given by myself. In the cartoon Darkwing Duck, the theme song has a line “when you’re in trouble you call DW.” So I think that someone called me Darkwing Duck when I was a little kid because of the song. And then I made up an AIM screen name using it. And then someone started using it (but only on rare occasions).
• Dirk - I suppose that this one makes sense because of how similar it sounds to my name. If only I played like Mr. Nowitzki. Well not so much in the playoffs this year. But all of the rest of the time that’d be awesome.
• reDERKulous - I think that this is an awesome nickname. I got this nickname when someone was making them up to input as our bowler names. I appreciate the creativity, and I’ve used this as a screen name in video games (namely Halo 1 and 2). Of course, since I made the name I had to live up to it and truly be reDERKulous.
• DT - This is an obvious one since my middle initial is T. The one who gave me this one doesn’t use it too often, though.
• Drek - Another obvious one, but it shows how the giver is very unique and unlike others. Plus it just sounds amusing in her voice, like a little kid who can’t entirely say a word.
• Derek Wong-a-long - I got this in high school. Haha I have no idea why. It doesn’t mean anything (meaningful or perverted).
• Ricardo - HA this one is so random. I actually don’t even remember HOW the person who gave this one to me got it.
• junny - I only got this one because I made one up for this person that had to do with their Korean name. It’s an amusing one, though because it is seemingly a name for a 13 year old.
• derekson - I think that the person who gave me this name just likes to append different endings to people real names to come up with a nickname.
• muga - This one was definitely in response to me giving someone the nickname “muha”. Nonetheless it’s an amusing one.
• d-d-d-d-derek - I don’t even know how she came up with this. But she did.

Okay that is all just a sample of the different nicknames that I’ve received. There are definitely others (some of which I have likely forgotten forever). There are others that I’m not eager to share and have thus kept them to myself. And then there is one of my very favorite: derekudarkwingduckingofthejungle. Well it wins for longest, that is for sure. And it is one of the most original. My very amusing friend Melissa Tong is the very originator of this nickname. Haha how awesome is that?

Coincidentally, she would also appreciate a post about her. I hardly ever write about actual people that I know, instead prefering to focus on ideas and topics. However I will make an exception in this case (and possibly others in the future). Anyways, I realized while talking to her that something cool that she does is give people amusing nicknames! I really enjoy that her nicknames, although perhaps not stemming from an event but rather their actual name, are still original and humorous. Plus they’re usually corny. And that says a lot about the person that she is. Well seeing as how I told her that someday I’d write about her, I considered many other amusing things to talk about instead of just the fact that she gives out lots of nicknames. Some of the other considered topics and quotes are more funny, but I decided to refrain on my better judgment.

All in all, nicknames are fun. I like giving them, and I like getting them. However I must admit that they require some real perseverance if you want them to stick. Oh and I don’t really like mean-spirited ones because they detract from the previously mentioned bond between giver and recipient.

Excursions Into The Casgo

Tagged as: Amusing, Humor, Poetry, Seen-Around, Shopping May 19

Enter the majestic gates.
Or rather, the opening beneath the rolling warehouse door.
Let them greet you as you flash your pass.
Could you want anything more?

Try out the little goodies all around.
Different tastes offer themselves to you.
The sweet and the salty, the bread and meat.
All mixed in your stomach like some strange stew.

What will you do when the crowd confronts you?
You seem overwhelmed and help from who?
Nobody cares about you and your posse.
Oh look the pirate child to the rescue!

He has a sword on his little belt.
And a fearsome glow within his eyes.
His hand is at the ready,
But possibly if his Popsicle is taken he cries.

The cheese! The cheese!
Oh so much cheese!
You want to eat more?
Well then just say please.

Bring your riches, then you may pass.
I see the light, oh yonder ho!
There is just one standing in our way.
She then says, “thank you for coming to Casgo.”

Music Piracy Makes People Stupid

Tagged as: Entertainment, Humor, Life, Money, Rant, Read-It, Ridiculous, Tip-For-Life May 14

In an article at Yahoo! about cracking down on college music pirates, I read about one Sarah Barg, a sophomore from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. It portrayed her as a girl who was just taking part in what everyone else was doing. The article wanted to put her in the role of one who is definitely not the worst (I mean she only downloaded 381 songs when others were downloading thousands!). In response to it all, Barg says

Obviously I knew it was illegal, but no one got in trouble for it

Now, I know that all higher education is not equal. And I know that maybe not all of them are as good as the University of California, San Diego, but that does not allow for such ridiculous thoughts. I think that ignorance is not a good excuse for doing wrong. The onus is on you to do what’s right. However, I think that actually knowing that something is wrong and yet still doing it speaks of some darker black.

In any case, I don’t think that it’s a matter of intelligence. I think it’s a sign of the times.

Piracy does not just affect music as I wrote in Even Worse Than At First Glance, Cheain’ Chinese, and (in regards to cheating in general) Cheaters 4 Life. Wow I did not realize that I had so many entries devoted to ranting about cheaters! But I digress.

Reasons why you shouldn’t be a (music) pirate:

1. You can afford the music (or whatever it is that you’re pirating).
• If you can’t afford it, you don’t need it.
• If you really can’t afford it, you have things that you should be doing other than listening to music anyways.
2. You can support and encourage the artists that you like to keep making music. It’s kind of like writing a blog and getting encouraged by people leaving comments. Except for them it’s people giving them money. I’m applying my energy to the wrong thing.
3. You know it’s morally wrong.
4. It’s actually against the law.

Now I admit that I’m not perfect, but I would like to think that once I knew the truth then I would change my behavior to match what I know. Not everyone is like this. But they should be. It just makes sense to have your behavior in line with your opinions, does it not? Don’t be the person who gets laughed at for coming off as stupid. Nobody wants 15 minutes of infamy.

Sometimes Fight, Sometimes Flight

Tagged as: Amusing, Humor, Learn, Life, Pictures, Tip-For-Life May 08

Let us rewind back to the days of our youth. Let us go to health class. Ah the fight or flight response.

A novel stimulus (which could include a perception of danger or an environmental stresser signal such as elevated sound levels or over-illumination), once perceived, is relayed from the sensory cortex of the brain through the thalamus to the brain stem. That route of signaling increases the rate of noradrenergic activity in the locus ceruleus, and the person becomes alert and attentive to the environment.
-Wikipedia article

Does this happen in your life? Of course it does! Everyday it happens! When that person cuts you off and then stares you down because they think that you got too close to them, what happens? When a bully starts to belittle you, how do you react?

Yes, I lived it. Yes, you might also. The lesson to be learned is that sometimes you fight and sometimes you flight. It’s not always good to have a headstrong attitude in whatever you do. And it definitely doesn’t pay off to always be a sissy. It depends on the situation.