Asymmetry, links, food

Despite being logically equivalent to "and", "but" does not seem to be symmetric in normal speech. It is symmetric in some contexts - I don't think there's much difference between the statements "The long line is sequentially compact, but is not compact" and "The long line is not compact, but is sequentially compact", but I don't think you will hear it often said that "I'm not stupid, but I may be crazy!" (Or should that be "I'm not crazy, but I may be stupid!" Whichever way, nobody's likely to say it except as a joke.)

OK, time for some links. One link, rather. A hilarious video where Kevin Smith explains his involvement in one of the many failed attempts to make a fifth Superman movie. You don't have to know anything about Kevin Smith or Superman (I sure don't), it's just hilarious. Got this from The Sneeze. Two links, rather. [...I'll come in again.]

In other news, today I had what is probably the most exceedingly bland food I've ever tasted. We went to some Japanese restaurant and I got chicken tempura. My mom, who pays a bit more attention to food, tried to warn me, but she didn't do so clearly enough, and I quickly began going through the most tasteless food I've had within memory. I was really hungry, so I ate nearly all of it, but, wow. It didn't taste bad, it was just totally lacking in taste. So utterly unimpressive that it's actually impressive, because it seems like you'd really have to *try* to make something as neutral as that. Wow.

There was something else I wanted to write, but I forget it.

-Harry

Wherein Harry manages to be annoying

Not normally hard, I know, generally something I do quite often. But I suppose some context is necessary here.

Anyway. So here I am, home for the summer. And my mom of course insists I get some sort of job. Well, as you know, I was working for Mr. Holbrook for 4 weeks, but that ended, and so right now I'm signed up with a temp agency, but, being new, and not having been signed up for very long, I haven't gotten any work from them yet. What Mickey told me is, call them repeatedly - and not just every week, but every day. Now, I would think this would annoy them - they've got their whole little system set up, and some idiot calls them up and says, "Hey! When are you gonna have some work for me?" (but more politely, of course), and they say, "We'll get it when we get it!", grumbling, Why can't these people just wait their turn? But apparently no, this is what they want, and you're not going to get anything from them otherwise.

Still, I managed to annoy them, though by a rather different method. When I called them up today - this being only the third or so time I had done so, having received this advice only rather recently - one of the things they did was ask me for my phone number. Now I had already given them my phone number several times, including, of course, when I registered, and so I immediately replied, "Man, I've already told you that!" And that annoys the person there. She says, yes, it's on record, but it's nice to write it down by the phone to have it immediately available. I'm thinking, your records in general should be immediately available! What, are they all on paper in a filing cabinet somewhere? Automate, guys! Of course I don't say any of that, I apologize, but really! Calling them up every day like they don't know what they're doing, like a person with no patience, doesn't annoy them, but assuming that they're actually efficient at something they've been doing for years does? Geez...

-Harry