Matthew Dicks's Blog, page 706

World War II in under two minutes

Urban Dictionary provides a definition for World War II that I love.  I've cleaned it up a bit before posting it here:

Germany invades Czechoslovakia.

Britain and France tell them to knock it off.

Germany invades Poland (Russia also invades Poland from the other side, but everybody forgets this).

Britain and France declare war. This is the official kick-off of the war.

Italy, Bulgaria, Hungary and Romania all join the German side (Everybody forgets the last three).

Axis forces cut...

A blogging dilemma

When I am finished writing a post on this blog, many things happen. 

First, I reference the post in my Twitter feed, in order to drive readers to my blog. 

That Twitter post feeds into my Facebook profile as a status update, driving still more readers to my blog. 

At the same time, the post is also popping up on my Amazon.com author's page as well as in my Goodreads.com profile.

It also appears on my Android app and on several lesser known sites. 

That is what happened to...

Conformity

PSYBLOG recently posted an article about conformity, a topic that means a lot of me.  The protagonist in my current manuscript is something of a non-conformer, and according to one friend who I spoke to today, he and I could be brothers.

Conformity has never been my thing either. 

The item in the PSYBLOG's list that I found most interesting was #6:

Social approval

People use conformity to ingratiate themselves with others.  Conforming also makes people feel better about themselves by...

Simplicity

I don't drink coffee.  I don't like the taste and don't like hot drinks.  They cause me to overheat.

Despite my aversion to the drink, I also took a stand against coffee at an early age.  Watching my bleary-eyed mother and father grumble about needing their first cup of coffee in the morning, and watching customers at McDonald's do the same, I decided that I never wanted to rely on a cup of coffee, or anything else for that matter, to get me started each day. 

One of the smartest...

Little boys in restrooms

I wish that parents would stop sending their four-to-eight year old sons into the public restrooms on their own.  I can't tell you how many times I find myself alone in a restroom with a boy who is at an age in which things can easily be misconstrued.

Yesterday I was in the men's room at Wendy's, alone, until this little boy walked in, no more than six or seven years old.  I was flushing the urinal and making my way over to the sink when the little boy entered and said, "Hi.  Are you...

Two-dimensional parades

I am sitting here, listening to my wedding guest complain about the quality of the broadcast of the Hartford Saint Patrick's Parade today.

Though I am refraining from commenting, I want to shout, "It was a parade! If you wanted to see the damn thing, get your ass curbside!"

We're talking about a local television station broadcasting a local parade once a year to about twelve people, five of whom live in my friend's home. I can't imagine that Channel Irrelevant has an enormous budget set...

Old school television

When I was growing up, channel 56 in Boston ran a contest in between afternoon cartoons in which one lucky viewer could play an on-the-air video game over the phone for cash and prizes. Cross-hairs were broadcast on the screen overlaying a field of stars. Flying saucers would speed by the screen, and when in the cross-hairs, the player would shout "POW!" over the phone, causing a laser to fire. If timed properly, the flying saucer would be destroyed and the player would earn points.

In this...

The price of an e-book

While I continue to wonder why the six major publishing houses don't get together and produce their own game-changing e-book reader that they control, I also think it's critical that they do a better job of explaining the finances of of the e-book to the general public.  

The industry cannot survive if readers believe that an e-book should cost a dollar. More has to be said about the true cost of producing a book, electronic or otherwise.

The New York Times did a decent job of explaining...

Favorite musicians

I thought it might be fun to track the history of my favorite bands or musical acts of al-time.  Perhaps you could share yours as well.

Here goes:

My first favorite band was The Rolling Stones. My evil stepfather had a collection of records that included a bunch of Stones albums, and though I didn't know or understand everything to which I was listening, those records were the foundation of my introduction to the world of music. I can remember especially loving Beggar's Banquet, which...

Resolution Update: February

In an effort to achieve my yearly goals, I post my monthly progress here.  I'm eleven days late in posting, but I've been busy.  It slipped my mind.

Below are my sixteen New Year's resolutions and my progress thus far. 

  1.  Lose seventeen more pounds, bringing my weight down to 185 pounds, which was my high school pole vaulting weight.

My trip to Florida in mid-February left me eight pounds heavier than when I started the month.  Yikes.  I have a lot of work to do.  

2.  Complete...