September 2002

September 01, 2002

My Big Fat Greek Wedding

No, I'm not Greek and I didn't get married, but Toula, yes Toula Portokalos, is and did in this hilarious new movie. I literally can't remember the last time I laughed so hard at a movie. I was in tears from the laughter three or four times and can't wait to see it again. The movie materialized after Tom Hanks and Rita Wilson saw a one-woman play of the same name starring Nia Vardalos, who wrote and starred in both the theatrical and film versions. Pure genius. Hanks and Wilson recognized this and the lack of roles for Greeks in film and made the movie happen. If you haven't seen it, please do. But you might want to wear a Depends unless you want to wet your pants.

On a side note, I'm traveling back to Rochester on Monday. Work is over for the summer. Classes start Thursday. I have mixed emotions about both.

Posted by Phil at 01:05 AM | Comments (0)

September 02, 2002

Missing

My sister just got a "previously owned" 1994 Jetta before she went back to school -- actually, the day before she went back. The color fits her well I think; it matches her room. Lucky her, right? She got her own car before me and she's 2.5 years younger. I only got hand-me-downs, not that I'm complaining. I'm very lucky not to have had to purchase my own car yet.

Anywho, my mom just came in my room to disrupt my packing and said they got over eight inches of rain in Ocean City, MD (my sister's there for the weekend), there was flooding, and my sister's car was missing! And I said "WHAT?!" She said "Noooo, not that missing!" The car got some water up the tailpipe (no comment) and is missing when she tries to drive it. I'm like, "Ohhhh, that missing." Hee. Thank God. Ok, back to my packing. I needed a break.

Posted by Phil at 11:58 AM | Comments (0)

September 07, 2002

Spam

Yes, I'm back at school, but that's old news... As I'm sure most of you have also noticed, spam sucks. Not the meat in a can, but the annoying unsolicited email form. They both sicken me. I mean, come on -- that stuff is gross! Anyway, the amount of smap I receive, especially in my Hotmail account, which I use for non-personal email, like newsletters and for register at various Internet sites, is atrocious. Case in point, I cleared out my mailbox around 5:30 PM yesterday (Friday) and at the moment (1:40 PM on Saturday), I have since recieved 2 "good" emails and 34 pieces of spam. I couldn't take it anymore, so I recently changed my Junk Mail Filter to Exclusive:

E-mail from addresses appearing in your Contacts or your Safe List will be delivered to your Inbox. All other mail will be delivered to your Junk Mail Folder.

Now I just have to periodically check the Junk Mail folder to ensure no good email was delivered there because I forgot to add a particular address. Even now my RIT email account gets spammed and it had been quite good in the past.

And now for some links of interest. This one I came across a few weeks ago and have been meaning to incorporate it into a blog at some point. The author of the site posts responses he's made to spam he's received. He's got quite the imagination and apparently a lot more time on his hands than me because he writes quite imaginative and lenghty responses. He's actually gotten responses from the spammers. It's quite amusing.

Today I came across an article from CNN.

The FTC encourages consumers to forward any spam they receive to the e-mail address uce@ftc.gov.

Consumers can support the consumer groups' petition and swap horror stories at a Web site set up for the purpose at www.banthespam.com.

I guess it's worth trying?

Aside: it takes me way to long to write a blog.

Posted by Phil at 02:05 PM | Comments (0)

September 11, 2002

What can I say?

I really don't know on a day like today. It's hard to express what I'm feeling. No words can make everything ok. I can't believe it's been a year. I keep comparing today to a year ago -- what I was doing at each moment. My senses seem overwhelmed because they seem so much more sensitive and acute today. I'm very aware of my suroundings. I'm appreciating everything a little more. I think that day made us all more aware, more appreciative, more reflective.

I've always thought this song was beautiful. Today I heard it on a Verizon commercial, in tribute to those we lost and in gratitude to those who served. Beautiful images. Very respectful. The song seems so fitting right now. And it's been in my head all morning. Parts of the song are sung beautifully in Italian, but translated here for those of you who, like me, may not speak it.

The Prayer

I pray you'll be our eyes
And watch us where we go
And help us to be wise
In times when we don't know

Let this be our prayer
As we go our way
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your Grace
To a place where we'll be safe

La luce che to dai (The light that you give us)
I pray we'll find your light
Nel cuore resterò (Will stay in our hearts)
And hold it in our hearts
A ricordarchi che (Reminding us)
When stars go out each night
L'eterna stella sei (That in my prayer)
Nella mia preghiera (You are an everlasting star)
Let this be our prayer
Quanta fede c'è (There's so much faith)
When shadows fill our day
Lead us to a place
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe

Sognamo un mondo senza più violenza (We dream of a world with no more
violence)
Un mondo di giustizia e di speranza (A world of justice and hope)
Ognuno dia la mano al suo vicino (Grasp your neighbors hand)
Simbolo di pace e di fraternità (As a symbol of peace and brotherhood)

La forza che ci dai (The strength that you give us)
We ask that life be kind
E'il desiderio che (Is the wish)
And watch us from above
Ognuno trovi amore (That everyone may find love)
We hope each soul will find
Intorno e dentro a sé (In and around himself)
Another soul to love

Let this be our prayer
Let this be our prayer
Just like every child
Just like every child

Needs to find a place,
Guide us with your grace
Give us faith so we'll be safe
E la fede che (And the faith that)
Hai acceso in noi (You've lit inside us)
Sento che ci salverà (I feel will save us)

Written by: Carole Bayer Sager and David Foster
Performed by: Andrea Bocelli and Celine Dion

May we all find peace.

Posted by Phil at 01:06 PM | Comments (0)

September 24, 2002

Hey Anita!

For my Software Verification and Valiadation class, we had to test a voice portal, which processes spoken commands over the phone and provides you with human-spoken information. We tested the HeyAnita system. You can try it out, too, by calling 1-800-44-ANITA. It's quite impressive and also fun to stress the system by mumbling or speaking jibberish. Anita is quite apologetic when she can't understand you.

Posted by Phil at 06:20 PM | Comments (0)