Hybrids and suchlike

Confession - I learned driving on a Prius and loved it.

Hybrids are cool. In the same way that Macs are cool. However, people who get all evangelical about hybrids (or anything else) are profoundly uncool. Just like Apple fanboys (and linux people - except that linux people actually have a valid point or two). And regretfully, some of their uncoolness also reflects on the product that they adore. And guess what - that sucks! Hybrids are here to stay, and possibly change the wurlde for the better. If only people who dominate Priuschat did not come across as so blinkin' smug all the time. But they do.

However, there are hybrids and there are hybrids. All of them are not exercises in comfortable beigeness - and they are making their way into motorsports. First off, there is the obvious Formula1 push-to-pass battery system. And this potent stuff is making its way into endurance racing - from none other than what-is-it-nine-time Le Mans champions, Audi. But the stuff that makes me sit back and whistle, is of course from the masters are Zuffenhausen - the new GT3R hybrid from the 911 stable. Because this hybrid system uses a flywheel to store the braking energy - not some battery. I vote mechanical engineering over electrochemistry.

Home Alone is a prequel to Die Hard

Ok, item 6 on this list by my esteemed friends at Cracked tells us that Home Alone (1990) was a remake of Die Hard (1988). More power to them for figuring this out. BUT THEY ARE WRONG!

See, they have this wrong way around. Home Alone is the origins movie for the Die Hard franchise. This is the film in which Kevin MacAllister (Culkin) is shown to a be a slightly maladjusted attention-whoring kid who just happens to be the last person standing before those two inept burglars. But this is also the film which shows him developing all the traits which we have come to associate with John McClane (Bruce Willis) - he is resourceful, has a never-say-die attitude and has an instinctive dislike for authority. Of course, during the process of growing up, he gets into more shenanigans, changes his name to McClane, switches his Scottish heritage for the more believable, and equally aggressive-as-fuck Irish, acquires a slight drinking problem, a wife and a reputation for being an effective cop; but a loose cannon. And then, Nakatomi Plaza happens - and before you can say "Now I have a machine gun, ho, ho, ho!", all of those skills developed years and years ago are put to the test, by none other than Professor Snape!

See, the theory fits perfectly!

Why I haven't logged into Reddit for over a year

This is not a rant. This is NOT a rant. Understand? Ok, lets continue.

I loved Reddit. Loved it with the impassioned zeal of a nerd who just stepped into a room full of nerds - who were different. Different in delightfully strange ways. I seem to remember some poll which came up with results that said that Reddit was mostly male, white, late 20s and large your sysadmin. I did see it turn into something more diverse, but still, delightfully quirky. But you know what the deal with quirky is? It eventually begins to pall. At some point, you ask the question - is being quirky merely a phenotype, or is it the be all and end all of this person (or club). Hence, Zooey Deschanel. Seems, somehow, that quirky is her main stock-in-trade. Hence, also, Reddit's abiding unidirectional love affair with said Zooey.

But this aside, Reddit appeared to be this fantastic place where people can be fanboys with no fear. Where "The Hero of Canton" is a real song and you cannot say River Tam without half the thread bursting into sobs. Where, also, inexplicable mediocrity like Arrested Development becomes gold. I do not effin' get this obsession with Michael Cera. Why?

And the smarts. I remember a random post about the Depression Era with Studs Terkel referenced in the very first comment. Yes, the Redditors were smart. They were funny too - what with the narwhal bacons at midnight and much, much, more. And then there was Bozarking... dear Gawd, there was Bozarking.

But the plain fact of the matter was that it was turning into a 4chan meme repeater more than anything else... and a gigantic time drain into the bargain. So one day, I pulled the plug on this delightful bad habit and never logged in again. I was mostly a quiet lurker with very leetil karma. So the withdrawal symptoms were minor. But I do still have my weak moments. Anyway, Redditors, hope ya'all are having a good time of it.

Danger words

I am compiling a list of words which sound the warning bells. Whenever you hear someone use such words, you can tell that they have been, or would very much like to go to business school. Further assessments about their character, legitimacy of birth and suchlike might follow, but that is mostly up to you. My job is to present you with the words. Here goes.

1. Leverage: should be used in a context which involves pulleys, chains, and machinery. Not in finance. Especially not in finance. If you use it in daily conversation, chances are you might have brought on the Great Recession.

2. Incentivize, also incent: an example: "we should cherish the for-profit college model because when executed well, it can incent a much greater focus on learning outcomes." Makes sense, in a certain perverse way. Only people espousing for profits are likely to use words like "incent".

3. Synergy: a douchebag word if ever there was one. Interestingly enough, finds its roots in Greek.

4. Team Player: a circle jerker. Also one with no responsibilities and a 401k.