Lexi Pixel
Posts
(Original post from Daniel Alexander on Google+, I’m just helping to spread the word. Reblog this)
I spotted this poor lady initially on Thanksgiving Day looking for work as I was leaving the York Road Shopping Center in Baltimore (http://g.co/maps/2ymdz). I felt so helpless and guilty because she wasn’t asking for money, but for a steady job. It was beyond me. It was especially sad because this was someone who should be enjoying retirement, but can’t.
The next day, I thought to take a picture of her and her sign to post it online to have her exposed to more people. When I went to find her though, she wasn’t there.
I was in the area today, and coincidentally, there she was: Still asking for help as cars were exiting the plaza. I finally approached her and asked if I could snap a picture so I can put her ad online in the hopes that someone out there would be able to find something for her.
So, here it is.
If you know someone looking for a seamstress, will you please tell that person about Gail? If you yourself can help, please reach out to her. Gail can be contacted at 443-810-0561. If you can’t help, at least share this post so that someone following you can.
Thank you.This needs 100k notes.
Obtain all the notes, pls. This is just too sad, I hope she’s found some good fortune.
Dammit, if only I was in Baltimore! I’d totally hire her
even though I have no money oh well maybe the school could hire her as a teacher assistant in the costume shop or somethingAm I being followed by anyone in the Baltimore area? Maybe a fannish type who’s interested in cosplay but doesn’t know how to sew? I don’t know about you, but I would jump at the chance to hire a seamstress for that.
Tumblr has turned the dashboard into a political tool in support of American Censorship Day. Well played, Tumblr! Write Congress and take a stand against censorship of the internet pushed by RIAA/MPAA lobbying.
Couldn’t have said it better myself. <3
When Steve Jobs stepped down as Apple CEO back in August, I wrote a short post on what a visionary he was.
Steve lost his fight against cancer yesterday, leaving behind two things; a Steve Jobs shaped hole in society that can’t and won’t be filled, and a legacy that will echo for centuries to…
Awesome post by my good friend James. <3
I spent last week in Washington DC, attending a series of seminars on risk management, and how to negotiate your way through and around high risk events during a project lifecycle.
During a couple of the seminars, opportunity was given to discuss real world scenarios with fellow attendees. It…
I recently had an audition for a singing show, where they were interested in branding me as the “gamer chick”. Fair enough, I thought, whatever it takes to be able to sing on TV. When I mentioned that my boyfriend and I met 5 years ago playing World of Warcraft, the producer said “That is so incredibly geeky. I can see the gaming themed wedding now!” This isn’t something I haven’t heard before, but it got me thinking…
What is it about the tech/gaming culture that makes us seem like such outsiders and weirdos? If Ryan and I had met in a college tennis class, would someone make a comment about how our wedding would be tennis themed? Probably not. There is a stigma about gaming that has been perpetuated by people who don’t get that, believe it or not, we have other interests BESIDES gaming.
Two people in a relationship who happen to have met playing a video game isn’t really THAT odd. Especially since those same two people went to the same school and live less than an hour away from each other. The Internet has made the world an infinitely smaller place, and Ryan and I could have easily met on Facebook or some other social network rather than a video game. The fact that Ryan and I met on the same server, same faction, at a moment when he was about to go AFK was completely by chance is unique. But people aren’t interested in that part. They simply assume that we are LARPers who do nothing but play World of Warcraft all day and that THAT is our one common interest.
A love for video games is hardly something to build a relationship on, much less is having a love of tennis. Relationships do not work if they are based on one thing. This mentality that all gamers are basement dwellers is old and tired and yet it persists. I can only hope that it become less and less of a stigma as the gamer culture expands and becomes a more accepted part of the world of technology.
Steal $3 billion? Forty months. Steal $100, then turning yourself in? Fifteen YEARS.
Oh boy, where do I begin on this one? I have enough aggression towards females in general to go around the world a few times, but articles like this really just push me over the edge. Yes, there are stereotypes in this world. One longstanding one is that women don’t use the internet. Although now it is thought to be a joke, the fact is, there is a stereotype that women in technology/gaming don’t belong there, or do it to meet guys, or a dozen other reasons other than the truth, which is that maybe they just like techy stuff. So when I see the article on Gizmodo, a site that is supposedly based on “Technologies that change the way we live, work, love, play, think and feel.”, it enrages me. What better way to acknowledge and appreciate the tech culture and the ones who love it (male and female) than to post a vapid retelling of a few dates with a World Champion of Magic: The Gathering and turn it into a “brief affair”.
The italicized message in front of the article is meant to explain away her bitchiness. “Judging people on shallow stuff is human nature, and the magic and absurdity of online dating is how immediately and directly it throws that into relief.” So her excuse is that everyone does it, okay, got that. Fortunately for the Internet, not everyone feels compelled to write about it.
In her first paragraph, she blames her creation of an OKCupid account on coming home drunk. Maybe WE the audience should start drawing our own conclusions. Coming home drunk from a bar, feeling lonely and unattractive, she creates a profile on an online dating site that she would be WAY too good for if she was sober. Oh, and “everybody’s doing it”, she says, which again explains why she might partake in such an endeavor.
I won’t dissect the entire article because frankly, it just doesn’t deserve that much time wasted on it. This is a girl who found out that the guy she went on a few dates with was famous in the “geek” realm, and decided to write a very shallow post about the experience to an audience she knew would eat it up, for better or worse. The fact is, he wasn’t a creep or an asshole to her, and the only thing she really found out is that she perceives that she has nothing in common with him. She wouldn’t have written a post about any old date she had gone on, she wrote about this one because this guy has a Wiki page and tournament videos and Gizmodo has a large enough audience to care.
My point in all of this is that there was no reason for the article to be written except to get buzz. Believe it or not, Alyssa, but the majority of the internet doesn’t care about your dating life. Also, a large majority of people your age could be considered “geeks” or “nerds” or whatever derivative you can come up with. The fact is, the world is full of technology and there are a lot stranger things that you should be worried about in a potential mate than super stardom from a card game. If you were really that bothered by it, why go on a second date? You probably knew it would make for a GREAT Gizmodo article, but writing about just one date wouldn’t have packed the punch.
Articles like this are a great reminder of why the tech industry is dominated by men. I am not a feminist in the slightest, but when I look around my office at work and I’m the only female, I know it is true. I don’t mind it though, if it means that self-important, shallow women like this are not given a voice.
As I’ve been driving towards the lights and smog of LA, I have been thinking about why I was instantly so sad about Steve Jobs resigning at CEO. He isn’t leaving to start a new company or flesh out his next big idea. He is leaving because he can no longer fulfill his obligations as CEO. The speculation that it is due to his failing health is going strong, and if it is due to that then it is a sad day indeed.
This is an unfortunate day not only for those of us who are Apple fans but also those who aren’t. Why? Because like it or not, Apple’s innovations led by Steve Jobs have set the standard for the smartphone and tablet market, at the very least. It has inspired other companies to do better and be better. I hope that competition doesn’t fade as Jobs slips into the background.
Netflix has released a notice to customers stating that the streaming option for Netflix is $7.99 and the DVD option is a separate $7.99 charge. The fact that internet rage has taken over has me a bit puzzled. Unlimited streaming, 1 DVD a month. With the price hikes in mobile data and the withdrawal of many unlimited plans with said technology, I would think that $15 a month for unlimited streaming and a DVD to boot wouldn’t be too much to ask in an age of internet excess.
In the not so distant past, there was a company named Blockbuster who regularly charged upwards of $5 or more for a rental, and in my recollection it was only for one or two nights, depending on whether it was a new release or not. Return it late, and they charged outrageous return fees. Netflix does neither of these things. If you lose the DVD, yes you have to pay for it, which would be expected, but you can take that possible hurdle out completely (which I had to do after losing 2 DVDs) and just get the streaming package for $8 a month. I used to watch a TON of TV, my DVR box was always full, but I got tired of paying for Crapcast service and just went with Netflix. It has been more than a year now, and the money I have saved + no commercials = happy me.
If you don’t like the price hike, by all means, cancel your subscription or switch to the all streaming option. But keep in mind, Netflix has to pay over 1 BILLION dollars in order to license the content that they are offering to consumers, and it costs money to add DVD titles to their streaming queue. Even Forbes agrees that the hatred is above and beyond what is really necessary for the price change. That article breaks down the cost per movie/TV show, and it is about 40 cents on average for that author, comparing to $5 or more from a traditional rental store. Do the math.
Netflix doesn’t owe the consumer anything, much the same way that Home Depot doesn’t owe construction workers who buy products from them. Netflix is a business, trying to make money and stay afloat in a terrible economy. Netflix is doing it right, enraged people of the internet are not. Internet rage needs to be replaced with lots and lots of pictures of cats. Why? Because this is what the internet does best.
EXCELLENT post. <3
Ever heard of the saying “You get what you pay for”? It’s normally uttered by those who feel it necessary to advise other people who’ve chosen cheaper alternatives to a brand name and have been burned by inferior service or product.
I think the concept of getting what you pay for translates well…
The bitterness in the post above is overflowing, and a bit disappointing to be honest. I think we have all felt the drain of the grind before, but really, in the state of the game the way it is now, there is less than there ever was in years past. Put on a tabard, do some dungeons that you would be doing ANYWAYS for gear, and kill two birds one stone if you really must have that head enchant.
As far as Archaeology (or any profession for that matter) goes, there is no one forcing you to do it. Blizzard implemented these things to keep players entertained, interested, and somewhat competitive, i.e. the special, rare mounts. Same thing with achievements. It gives an aging game new purpose in between expansions and patches.
What I find time and time again with people who quit WoW after “wasting” 5+ years of their life on it is that they blame the game, they blame the stagnation or repetitiveness of the content, when really they should be blaming themselves. No one forced you to pay $15 a month to play a game that frustrated you.
The new MMOs look very cool and have some new ideas, but so did a few others in recent memory (Aion, Age of Conan) and they too have fallen. World of Warcraft fills a niche for millions of people who have formed friendships, relationships and guilds. I would have never met Ryan if it weren’t for World of Warcraft.
I go through a love/hate relationship with WoW the way I do with any game I play for an extended period of time. But the pixels aren’t what make the game, it is the people. This is what separates the game from any console game I’ve ever played. If you have meaningful relationships with guildmates or others who play the game with you, then you will never be bored or dissatisfied. One of the first things you really learn in WoW is that in order to succeed, it takes a group, for better or for worse. It takes the right group to make going through the content fun.
One of my lovely customers sent me a message today with this link.
And here is my United/World of Love line:
My heart sank a little bit. The World/United States of Love line that I created is one of the reasons that I was able to quit my full-time job. They even stole the item…
Quiet Morning (Taken with Instagram at Fresno Unified School District Education Center)
The constant back and forth about iPhone vs. Android is just getting irritating. Yes, Android growth is passing iOS, but only because there are so many different phones and operating systems to choose from. So news media, stop comparing a platform (Android) with a type of phone (iPhone) and acting like it is some revelation.
Choice may be the name of the game for Android, but it appears to be frustrating some developers. Complain all you want about Apple’s proprietary system but regimented releases for iPhones generally don’t send developers into a tizzy trying to catch up because there are not multiple iterations on the same platform for different devices.
At one time, I was an Android user myself. I had an iPhone 3G, then upgraded to a 3GS and decided that I wanted an Android phone because Verizon> AT&T service-wise. It was love at first sight, but once the honeymoon was over, I went back and got an iPhone 4. I am as tech and geek as they come, and the Droid just didn’t do it for me. The fragmentation was frustrating as a user, because I wanted a certain release and it wasn’t coming to my device right away, even though it had been pushed to other devices.
From the beginning, my interest in buying new phones has been due to functionality available to customize it to whatever I want. The happy medium I found for that was a jailbroken iPhone 4. Although my Droid was customizable to say the least, it was almost too much. I wasn’t in love with the interface and it had a tendency to become clunky. The newer Android phones are awesome, I only wish I had had the choices they have now back when I bought mine. I recently purchased a Samsung Focus (WP7) phone that will be arriving soon and I have high hopes for it. I will probably post another blog on that once I have had time to play around with it. :)
What is your take on the Android vs iOS vs Windows 7 phones? Do you have a preference or hatred for any device or operating system in particular?
Although there are many definitions and contexts for the word “naked” according to Dictionary.com, these are the two that truly reflect what I mean in the title:
defenseless; unprotected; exposed
exposed to view or plainly revealed
The internet is a fickle, interesting, and many times, ugly place. So many people use a computer screen as a shield across the immeasurable spaces of the Internet. It gives freedom and power to those who may, in their daily lives, be caged and powerless. Social media has energized a generation and started revolutions. But it also has created a mask for others to hide behind.
How much of your actual self are you putting on the web for others to see and respond to?
Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg has explained many times that he thinks people should be more open with their information on the web. Ironically enough, I am less open on Facebook than I am on Twitter. Why? Because I am “friends” with over 600 people, mostly those I went to high school with. I don’t post things that are controversial on Facebook because my list is filled with people of different backgrounds and ideologies and I don’t enjoy having negativity on my Facebook page. In addition, I know many of these people in real life, and their opinions matter more to me than a random Twitter user who found me because of a hashtag. My Facebook persona is very different from my Twitter persona, for better or for worse.
Social media has further elevated the average internet user to magnify the personality traits that a person wants to showcase while downplaying flaws. The same people who raise hell and write hurtful comments on the Internet might shrink into a corner if faced with a real life confrontation. The allure of anonymity is heightened because the computer screen doesn’t judge what you type on the page.
I have grown up with the Internet and have made some pretty terrible choices in regards of what to reveal and what to keep to myself. Because of my behavior in the past, I have jeopardized friendships and relationships. I didn’t understand the balance between being yourself on the web and losing yourself within it.
An excuse that consistently makes me cringe is, “It is only the Internet”. The Internet itself is not a free pass for rude behavior. Regardless of whether it is the Internet or a face to face encounter, there is still a person on either side of the situation. It is easy to get caught up in that mindset because of the constant noise that we endure in our lives, online and off. But the Internet should be used to enrich our lives, not make them more miserable. Spend time interacting with the people with whom you can be yourself with and less time misrepresenting yourself to build your confidence.
<3
Photos
Watching
History
Queue
Instant queue
I am a:
Singer
Gamer
Photoshop Queen
Coder
Artist
Music Afficianado
