Google yourself. What you find may surprise you.

From time to time I like to google my name – Stephen Chip. It’s not that common a name really. My grandfather, of Hungarian decent, shortened it from Chipkar when my father was a boy. He said it sounded more American and would be easier for people to pronounce. The funny thing is that anytime I give my last name, I always have to say “CHIP… C, H, I, P”. Most people will repeat ship, chips, etc. So, either way it requires some additional work on my part.

I googled my name and much to my amazement, I found this from the Old Bailey Proceedings, 25th April, 1688:

Stephen Chip , was Indicted for stealing from Ann Jennings of Branford in Middlesex, on the 7th of April, 1 Silver Porrenger value 20 s. 2 Silver Tasters value 8 s. 3 Jacobus pieces, Rings, 30 l. in Mony, and other things : It appeared that the Prisoner had been her Apprentice, and that he had left open the Windows whereby other Thieves had got into the House, and that she had lost the things at several times; but the Prosecutor not being positive as to the Prisoner, and other circumstances concurring, he was brought in not Guilty.

Wholly crap, I don’t remember jumping in a time machine and going back 319 years. Amazing there is even a record of it. The good news is THAT guy was found not guilty.

What a load of… crap?

The other day a random conversation broke out about what it would be like to be a worker who cleans septic tanks. As you can imagine, the jokes ensued. A crappy job with crappy wages. What do you do? I work with crap all day, and you? So after about 5 minutes or so, all jokes were exhausted.

Speaking of crap, here is an ad that makes a point… I guess. I especially like the title “There are better ways to make career”. Click here to see different angles.

You would never be able to get away with anything like this in the states. Everyone is far too PC and uptight.

I love cheesy 80s movies…

Why is it that every time the cheesy 80s movie “Can’t buy me love” is on TV, I get sucked into watching it. It seems as though I’ve watched it more than 10 times. Did I just admit to watching this cheese fest over 10 times?

Anyway, here’s the basic premise of “Can’t buy me Love”. Nerd Ronald Miller, who cuts lawns for extra money, makes a deal with the most popular girl in school to date him for a month so he can be cool. The popular girl, Cindy Mancini, wore her very expensive mother’s outfit to a party where some kid ruined it after he spilled wine on it. In a panic she heads back to the store to return the outfit. The man at the store gives her some bad news. He will not be able to take the dress back because it’s stained with wine. Wow, didn’t see that coming. Our nerd Ronald happens to be at the same mall across the way and is about to dump his entire lawn cutting earnings on a new telescope for $1000. When he looks through the telescope and spots poor old dress for her for $1,000 dollars (hmmm coincidental?) she must agree to date him for a month.

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Envelopes and Rubberbands and the widespread economic impact in San Francisco

I was in San Francisco two weeks ago when I came across a man groveling for cash. I briefly read his sign as I was passing. I had to take a double take. Here’s what the sign said:

I HAVE NO MONEY BECAUSE YOU ARE UNSING ENVELopes AND Rubberbands. fold THE CASH

I don’t exactly know what it means but apparantly it has caused this man much hardship. I questioned the man and he asked me if I saw him on television. I told him I was from out of town. He then mumbled something under his breath. I gave the man a dollar and asked if I could snap his photo. He seemed happy to oblige.

The sign was interesting but not as good as the one I saw last year in San Francisco. An African American man was holding a sign that read:

I am collecting money for the U.N.P.F.
(United Negro Pizza Fund)

As I walked by I stopped, did a double take, and laughed. He said “You like that?” “It’s worth something” he grinned. I agreed and promptly whipped out a buck. He said thanks and I went about my business.

Akeelah and the Bee and the Starbucks employee

I stopped by my local Starbucks for a Venti Chai Latte today. Upon entering the Starbucks I couldn’t help but notice ALL the ads for the movie “Akeelah and the Bee“. First I noticed all the signs on the windows. Each sign depicted a different winning spelling bee word from various years. They all had bright green backgrounds with large words reversed out like “shalloon” – winning word from the 1971 spelling bee. They had a travel edition of Scrabble that had “akeelah and the bee” spelled out on playing board. A very crafty ploy but perhaps a bit over the top. Okay, I get it. Starbucks is now shoveling movies down my throat. I guess it wasn’t it enough that I frequent the store to buy an overpriced tea or coffee. Now they need to make more money by putting advertising all over the place.

As I sauntered up to the counter to place my order, a lovely young girl asked if she could get a drink ready for me. I asked for a Venti Chai Latte. She asked my name so she could write it on the cup. I replied “Akeelah” She said “REALLY?” I said “No”. “With all the advertising about “Akeelah and the Bee, I thought it was only fitting to have a hand written advertisement.” So she says “great!” and proceeds to write my so-called-name on the cup.

When the barrista finished preparing my drink she announced “Akeelah?” “Akeelah?” I picked up my drink and noticed that the girl who had originally written the name on the cup actually SPELLED IT WRONG. Interestingly enough the movie is about a spelling bee. The wrapper that’s on the cup has the movie name on it. Funny enough, there are signs all over the store. How ironic that a movie about a spelling bee and that has signs and tons of advertising should be spelled wrong by a Starbucks employee! Nice attention to detail.

A more interesting movie may be Akeelah and the Bee and a Starbucks employee. Yeah, that’s a movie I would go to see.

Why the Long Face

I told you it was addictive!

Strip Generator is addictive

So I’m cruising around the internet reading my blogs and such and I happen upon this cool little site called Strip Generator. It’s basically a Flash comic strip generator hence the name. They have a cast of characters pre-built and ready to use. I just started clicking and dragging. I didn’t know where I was going. It’s a interesting way to create. It’s very similiar to how I write music and lyrics. Give it a try…. It’s addictive. At least for some of us!

Strip Generator

Why are we still using pennies?

If you pay with cash it’s inevitable that you’ll receive back change. Now change unto it’s self are a pain let alone pennies. Which brings me to my next question… “Why are we still using pennies”? Can we just round up to the nickel? Can we just eliminate pennies from the whole picture? I mean do we need to be that accurate when we’re purchasing items. Instead of an item costing $4.78, it would cost $4.80. Are we all that concerned about those extra two pennies? Would we even notice the change?

I guess when it comes to the big picture we wouldn’t notice the change. Of course I’m no numbers expert but I know getting rid of pennies would have an impact especially on lower priced items. In effect, we would be paying more. But you know what? I’m all in. I’m tired of dealing with pennies. I know some of you will suggest using a debit card. Most of the time I pay with a debit card but not always.

The folks over at kokogiak media have answered the question “Have you ever wondered what a billion pennies would look like?” Well sure, I’ve often wondered that. Exactly how many pennies is that? Not only have they answered that question, but also they’ve taken it a bit further out.

The mega penny project

Johnny Depp searches for Neverland

Johnny Depp is considering abandoning his country home in France because of the riots there. The Finding Neverland star moved to France because of the violence in Los Angeles. Depp once quipped “I chose France because it seemed so SIMPLE!” And although the “Simple Life” may be best left to Paris Hilton, Depp is once again is seeking Neverland. Hey Johnny, do you really think there is a perfect place to live?

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