The perfect union of chocolate and science… I present to you:

Back on the voting debate…

It was also stated in the New York Times on September 26th that the estimated cost of going out and voting is about $10 per person. That 10 dollars could go to something a lot more useful: like buying myself 6 cans of B&M baked beans.

I struggle to see the point of voting. Especially for a Massachusetts voter. I’ll bet anyone my $10 that Kerry will win MA regardless of my vote.

I am expecting a counter arguement from Rick Richter in the comments.

.

In other news, Expect BIG things in tomorrow’s post. be excited!

An employee asked a thoughtful question at a meeting.

My boss replied:
“let me answer that by not answering it.”

This answer is the perfect illustration of the corporate world.

The Question

Dear Shaun,

One of the biggest shocks in moving to CT was the fact that it is not required to dial the area code to call a local friend. Unlike MA where all 10 numbers are needed to make any phone call, the CT 7 number system caught me a little off guard.

Is CT or MA the exception to the rule?
how many states require all 10 digits to be dialed for local connection?

Comment by mike d — 9/22/2004 @ 3:59 pm

The Answer

You’ve raised an interesting question. Let’s address it point by point.

First, why are some areas able to dial locally without dialing the area code? When the country was broken up into Areas, each Area got an Area Code. The Area is a geographic location by definition. Now what happens when 7 digits aren’t enough for all the phones (landlines, cell phones, etc) in a given geographic Area? The answer is an Overlay. An Overlay is when phone numbers in the same geographic area can have different Area Codes. This allows for more numbers per Area, but can be confusing (your neighbor could, in fact, have a different Area Code). Interestingly, when they created the Overlay in Massachusetts, they created new Areas first. In fact, before the Overlay, there were only 3 area codes in Massachusetts; 413, 508, and 617. Now they’ve thrown in others (such as 978 and 781). And the Overlays for Massachusetts? The 508 Area could have 774 as the area code, 617 gets 857, 781 gets 339, and 978 gets 351.

The Overlay that forces you to dial 10 digits instead of 7 to call local folks is the exception to the rule. The majority of the country doesn’t have this restriction. Only 19 states use Overlays, and usually only in small areas (like major cities; the Denver area of Colorado has an Overlay, but the rest of the state doesn’t). Massachusetts is one of the few states that has this requirement employed state-wide.

On a personal note, I find it weird that there is such a rational answer to this question. Also, was this the BIGGEST shock about moving to CT? Not the “Stuff is more expensive” or the new living situations? Or the “Running of the Bulls” that happens once a year in New Haven?

A REBUTTAL!

Shannon has successfully rebutted a portion of my answer! Everything she says is true. I was misinformed. See below:

I’d like to file a complaint on the basis of false information in regards to the 10 digit dialing. While the central and eastern portion of Massachusetts has to dial 10 digits, the western part does not. I find it very refreshing when I go home to the hills and only dial 7 digits.

Comment by Shannon — 9/29/2004 @ 7:37 pm

my boss glances up at my slightly unkempt overgrown hair

boss: “you look like a cartoon character.”
::awkward laughter::
boss: “I don’t know which one. but you definitely look like a cartoon character.”

I know a girl named Megan Ledger. Very fun outdoorsy kind of gal who doesn’t like escargo and loves peanut butter.

We went to Denmark together back in the day.

Recently, I realized that I too love peanut butter. It’s really delicious.
I don’t think I’d be as in love with peanut butter today if it weren’t for Megan Ledger.

this peanut butter sandwich is for you Megan.

.

haiku:

Peanut Butter? yes.
I do love its creamy taste
with bread or apples.

I’m really thinking the U.S. and Canada should just throw caution to the wind and join forces thus creating a supernation. Imagine the possibilities!

yes, Americanada would quickly surpass all other countries in its coolness.

- Mounties would be seen regularly in city parks, protecting the Americanada way of life.
- Americanada businesses would have the perfect blend of polite restraint and business gung-ho.
- The drinking age would average out at 19 and a half years.
- The new national animal would be a beaver riding on the back of a bald eagle.

a beaver riding on the back of a bald eagle.

I’ve made my case.

The Question

To the All-Encompassing Shaun McQuaid,

Recently, I was helping a friend create a majestic resume. When we were done I went to print it when she screamed ‘bloody murder!’ and scolded me for not using “Resume Paper”. What purpose does resume paper have? Why does it have an annoying watermark on it? Is it proof that you are not a lazy bum and can in fact travel to the store and purchase office supplies on one’s own? And why do girls without touretts syndrome feel the need to scream ‘bloody murder!’ when a simple “Hey dude, hold on one gosh darn minute there, Bucko” would be more audically (haha i made up a word….i think…its still pretty audical) appealing?

Your friendly neighborhood New Hampshirian,
Paul

Comment by Paul — 9/22/2004 @ 12:01 pm

The Answer

The controversy on whether resume paper is a good idea is currently raging in the fields of resume writing experts (meaning people who get fired a lot and people who sell resumes). There are two schools of thought on this; the “it’s an outdated idea” camp and the “it draws attention” camp. The argument against bothering with resume paper says that in this modern world, nobody cares what paper you use. The argument for it states that it shows you are “serious” about the job.

My answer is this: if you are applying for a job via a paper resume, and you believe your resume will be seen by a human being (instead of being scanned by a computer for keywords and accepted or discarded on that basis), it’s worth the time and effort to print it on something nice. Not because that makes the resume more interesting to someone, but on the sole basis that the person looking at it might expect it to be on fancy shmancy paper. And yes, it shows you are motivated enough to get said paper at the closest paper selling depot.

Why a watermark? Because the company who made the paper is selfish enough to brand each and every piece with a logo. Interestingly enough, the watermark isn’t made with water – it’s simply made when the paper is in the “watery gook” stage of production (hence the term watermark.

Apparently the issue is of such importance to the female in question that she jumped straight to the “bloody murder” expressive state. Here’s the general resume-writing anger stages:

Normal speech
Sarcastic-but-not-cruel speech
Sarcastic speech + eye rolling
Angry speech
Angry yelling
Angry yelling + arm waving
Bloody murder

You simply fell prey to a strong believer in the resume paper need – so strong, that “bloody murder” was necessitated. Better luck next time!

well folks, it’s officially fall and I’ve come to a realization.

Why is it that we judge ourselves on a yearly basis. We make new year resolutions and plan out our lives by years. We look forward to next year and do all our financial stuff yearly. Well, I think I’m going to start planning my life by seasons. why not?

This fall is going to be awesome.

I’m going to try to:

1. Rockclimb at least twice a week, every week. With Thanksgiving as a possible exception.
2. Practice guitar and rock harder, and try and get through one of those tricky guitar books.
3. Make a really great dinner at least once a week.
4. Run 10 miles in a row.

All by December 21st. Booya.

The Question

The water at Smith College is run through a huge filter before it emerges from any faucets or showerheads. A sample of this once-filtered water was then run through a second filter to remove any remaining bacteria, nastiness, etc. This water was then examined under a scanning electron microscope at, I think, a magnification of 16,000x. The twice-filtered water was found to still be ridden with bacteria and small amoeba-like forms, both of which are icky. My question is, what is the point of these filters if they do not completely cleanse water? Are they simply being produced in order to appease the masses, to reassure tham that they are drinking / washing in purified water, when in fact they are drinking / washing in water whose dangers have only been somewhat lessened? Do you think the bacteria found is even dangerous, or just kind of yucky and gross to look at? Is coming into prolonged external or internal contact with icky water going to kill me?

And another thing — where are my PopTarts?

Question by Meghan McQuaid — 9/22/2004 @ 11:56 am

The Answer

Scared of Death Water? Don’t be. Let’s assume that the first filter is a “Solid Carbon Block” style filter (which forces water through densely compressed carbon to suck out bad stuff). After it gets filtered, it has to go through more pipes, then out a shower head – giving it lots of time to pick up a cargo of little micro-organisms. Then it was filtered again – this probably got rid of some more stuff OR “inactivated” the bacteria (meaning it went to the Big Petri Dish in the Sky).

No filter is 100% effective – and even if it was, if the container wasn’t completely sterile, something might be picked up there……and bacteria breeds like rabbits. No, more than rabbits. The other thing to think about is this: maybe the Smith filter is designed to remove impurities like iron, or to soften the water, or something. It could not be intended to take out the bacteria. That would explain a lot.

Luckily, water standards force water providers to get rid of all of the nasty, hurtful stuff that could cause you problems. In fact, you’d be better off showering with tap water than bottled water (a lot of the restrictions on tap water are stricter than those on bottled). I am sure that the water coming out of the faucet will never cause you a health problem, or even a “seeing yuckiness” problem (unless you have microscope eyes – and if you did, you’d see bacteria EVERYWHERE).

In summary, the water may look icky under a microscope but it’s totally cool – no danger. Think about this: what doesn’t look icky when you magnify it? Seeing anything really close up makes it way worse. Like the IMAX theater – Spiderman looks good on a movie screen, but not when he’s huge enough that you can imagine playing basketball in his pores. (Mary Jane Watson is the exception to this rule – no matter how huge the movie screen is, there’s nothing wrong with HER).

I ate your Pop-Tarts.

The Question

Dear Shaun,
Recently I used an ATM on campus to get some fast cash. My financial institution is Fleet and the ATM that I used was Bank of New Hampshire. Looking at my account later on, I was not surprised to see a $1.50 bank charge, because I accepted the charge when I was at the ATM. However, there was a SECOND $1.50 charge. Why am I getting charged TWICE for the same thing, and why does Bank of New Hampshire stink? Please advise.

Question by Jill — 9/21/2004 @ 9:49 pm

The Answer

Ahh yes, the old “double charge” scam. It’s terribly unfair – a sucker punch to the wallet.

It turns out that not only does Bank of New Hampshire (and any bank that charges non-customers for ATM usage) feel the need to snag $1.50 from you as fee for the use of its ATM technology, but Fleet is also hurt by your unwillingness to drive the required miles to find a machine that THEY own. So they also, in a fit of jealous rage, will charge you $1.50 for your betrayal.

Why does Bank of New Hampshire stink, you ask? I can’t say for sure, but my guess would be that it doesn’t have a cool enough name. I mean, look at the competition: “Bank of America” covers a whole continent with its name (maybe 2!), “Fleet” conjures up images of a bunch of warships, or a really fast runner, “Bank North” takes an entire hemisphere on, “Citizens Bank” is the bank of the PEOPLE…I’d feel inferior too. And that would make me petty and spiteful, and that would make me stink. Like Bank of New Hampshire.

I’m pleased to announce the addition of the Defy Shaun McQuaid section of mikedidonato.com

please feel free to explore this exciting webpage addition by clicking on the button on the right. hopefully we’ll have a more user friendly version of S.mcquaid’s section by next week.

soon, we may see the addition of two more parts of mikedidonato.com: DeNoia’s advice column and Petti’s Serengeti. excitement abounds.

Arguably the best site ever.

check out Bangkok.

courtesy of j.p.abad

I had a weird dream last night that I was part of a reality show similar to ‘the apprentice.’ except instead of a business it was like a battle of the bands. It was also located in an industrial area next to a marsh.

I wasn’t me though, I was a 40 year old large heavy man who was balding and had a speech impediment. I was also married to the girl who was in the movie Donnie Darko.

Anyway, we were getting ready to go into the board room to find out who was fired. But first, we had to pass a test. The test was that they would rig us all up with body armor, put us in a room, and shoot us until we asked them to stop.

The first guy to get up there was a guy all dressed up in a 30’s flying outfit. He had the goggles and the scarf and everything. He was all ready to go and they started shooting him. And he was being pushed across the room by the bullets and explosions. Then he went through the wall and was pushed across the street. Then he stood up and threw he goggles which was the ’stop’ signal. so they stopped, he stood up, and smiled at his ability to withstand that level of pain.

A team of cheerleaders were next, but they chickened out.

So now it was me and the Donnie Darko chick’s turn. So we decided to go for it and see how long we could withstand the bullets. Then I woke up.

weird huh?

Last night, I am proud to say, I completed two 5.10s. While the first one was smooth and calm, the second was violently awkward with numerous falls and confusion.

however, both were completed. For this, I award myself 2 gold stars.

mike d: so I figured we could warm up by jump roping.
jesse: I’ve always wondered if it was jump roping, or jumping rope.
mike d: Jumping rope sounds better. but what if you pluralize it… jumping ropes? or… jumps… (much confusion)… roping?
jesse: bye mike. ::hangs up::

Defy McQuaid!

Do you have something that’s been eating away at you for awhile? Perhaps a deep rooted factual question that’s been bugging you for decades?

Comment to this post with your question. Shaun McQuaid will do his best to find the answer for you.
If you’d like to see what questions have been asked and answered already, click on the “attempts”.

Coming soon…

Petti’s Serengeti: humor so dry africa wet its pants.

Coming soon…

DeNoia’s Paranoia: an advice column.

If you recall, a few weeks back I said that if I were pres. Natalie Portman’s face would be put on the new nickels.

Did the current administration listen to my great ideas? no.

All we’ve got is Jefferson, Buffalos, and the Pacific Ocean.

A few minutes ago I was sitting quietly doing some work when suddenly loud techo music started playing from the office next to mine which belongs to a very intelligent electrical engineer.

it’s been going on for a good 5 or 6 minutes and I see no signs of it letting up anytime soon.

I was telling Jesse and Katie Caperton (shorthand KTC) that I had invited my friend Katie Doherty (shorthand KTD) to come climbing. Jesse then pointed out that with the addition of KTCaperton and KTDoherty we now know a KTA, KTB, KTC, and KTD.

I also know a KTF and KTY. Jesse knows a KTM.

I think with the help of the internet we can pull a full alphabet of Katies. Then, we will have a party. And all the katies will have to wear their respective letters.

we are also considering “Kates” as valid entries… unless there are any Kates that are specifically opposed to the nickname Katie.

p.s. The KTF is getting married soon and I don’t remember her fiance’s last name, so we may have to rush with the party. Send in your contributions via the comment board!

Having inherited my office from a previous employee there’s a good amount of junk floating around. In order to make my work space more homey, I’ve been grabbing various chunks of metal to use for different tasks. For example, an extremely stiff square coil spring acts as my pencil holder.

Yesterday my boss walked into my office, took one look at my water bottle coaster and said:
“I’m glad that our cutter blades are being put to good use.”
Then walked out.

I purchased a membership at the rock Climbing gym last night. It was 60 bucks. 60 bucks! for 1 month!

That means, a year will end up running $720. Ridiculous!

mike ‘cheap-o ‘ d. is having an extremely difficult time dealing with this. I love Climbing so much but I also know that if I saved this money I’d be in much better shape financially down the road. 720 bucks is a lot of money. There must be an alternative!

Perhaps instead of fighting them, I should just apply for a night/weekend job at the gym. hmm. that’d rock.

har har. get it? that’d ROCK. har har.