Quips

Extensive Stripper Research

I’ve started getting caught up on season 5 of Doctor Who, and (of course) reading about it on Wikipedia at the same time. Since The Doctor’s new companion works as a “kiss-o-gram” at the beginning of the first episode, one thing naturally lead to another, and I landed on the Strip-o-gram article.

This type of entertainment became popular in the 1970s…. Exact dates are difficult to ascertain however, as there does not appear to have been any major research carried out on the subject.

Wait, should there have been major research on the subject? Should there have been any research on the subject?

(And in case you were wondering, my fianceé did indeed see this post when all I’d written was “Extensive Stripper Research,” and now I’m in trouble.)

Skin Condition

This is my favorite unintentionally funny database table name ever:

skin_condition

This application, like many applications we create, supports different templates so that the application can look like a natural part of a variety of different websites.  That’s a skin.

Each such site might want to limit which records are shown, so the School of Management can show only their own faculty’s records, for example.  That’s a condition.

A condition for a particular skin?  A skin_condition, of course!

Danger! Hula Hoops!

It’s an interesting week for me and crosswalks.  I caught this sign in front of Terminal E at Logan Airport this afternoon:

Hula Hoop Crosswalk

Hula Hoop Crosswalk

I’m not sure if this means drivers need only stop for passengers using a hula hoop, or that pedestrians not using one are forbidden from crossing here.

(While the cynical among you will surely dub this vandalism — and my cell phone camera seems to lend credence to the theory — it looks awfully convincing up close.)

Beware of Curb

I like this sign down by the Boston College T stop, aimed directly at the trains leaving the yard:

Beware of Curb

Beware of Curb

I’m not a railroad engineer, but I image that simply refraining from building any curbs across the tracks in the first place would alleviate the need for such signage.

The Boston College station was renovated last year. While the shiny new platform and shelter are a welcome change from the aging infrastructure they replaced, the logistics of the whole affair are just embarrassing.

Outbound trains stop just short of the sidewalk (or crosswalk, more properly) cutting across the mouth of the rail yard, affording easy access to passengers running west to catch their trains.

The new design erected a short railing ostensibly blocking direct access to trains, and forcing passengers to overshoot the station and backtrack down steps (or a ramp) to the platform. This is almost certainly meant to be a safety measure keeping harried commuters from running in front of trains that are about to move, but realistically a small segment of railing will do little to prevent that.

Making Lemonade, Shoe Style

When a shoe store in Longmont, Colorado closed, another neighborhood business took advantage of the opportunity with some hastily written signs taped to the door of the empty storefront:

Phelps Shoe Repair

Phelps Shoe Repair

“Well, I did want new shoes, but I guess I can settle for a repair.  Ring it up!”

The Color of WordPress

In preparing some graphs of how well our help desk is performing, I needed to assign colors to various services we support.  Naturally, I posed to my colleagues this question: “What color is WordPress?”

One determined the answer scientifically:

Color of WordPress

Color of WordPress

So today’s contribution to science: the color of WordPress is baby blue.

Q-Tip Euphemisms

I just bought a package of store brand Q-Tips.  On the back is this delightful bit of marketing:

MANY USES:

• BABY CARE
• BEAUTY CARE
• HEALTH CARE
• ARTS AND CRAFTS

Somehow “cleaning out your ears” didn’t make the cut.