Diary of a Network Geek

For me, at least.

So, I’ve been helping a friend with her blog, right?  Helping stamp out spam, blah, blah, blah.  Anyway, she uses Movable Type for her blog, which I used to use.  I mean, it wasn’t like there were a lot of options out there when I first started this blog, what, six years ago?  MT was it, so that’s what I used.  But, a couple years back they started jacking around with the license agreement and what you could legally run with their blog software before you were in violation of the agreement.  When they first released it, before they got big, the promise was that MT would always be free, at least for the personal, home user.  Then, things changed due to pressure from investors and the market.  So I changed systems to WordPress, which I love for a lot of reasons.  For one thing, I find it easier to write additonal components for WP.  It’s also easier to use, in my opinion.

But, all that aside, when I was in her blog, clearing out the massive comment spam, I saw an announcement from Six Apart regarding the MT license.  It’s free.  Again.  I laughed out loud when I read that.  Sort of closing the barn door after the customer has escaped, don’t you think?

I see a trend here…

Okay, you loyal readers know that I am out there in the great, big world of dating again. You also know by now that I’m an observer of human nature and see things from a slightly skewed point of view. So, keeping both those things in mind, go read the two articles I’m about to link to: A Week of Picking Up Men and A Week of Picking Up Women.

Back? Great! Did you notice what I did? There were only two places that these two people both went looking for a potential date: the gym and the park/dog park. And, yes, I think there is a substantial difference between the park and a dog park, but it’s close enough for my purposes. Is it any wonder we have trouble meeting people? We go through our single lives, in theory always ready to find “true love”, but rarely looking in the same places. Or, is that just very clever strategy?
The woman went searching for places where men could show off for her, or where they’re “in their element”, so to speak. Of course, some of that assumes the stereotype of men being emotionally closed off and only able to communicate via sports or hardware. Or, maybe, that’s just the type of man this particular woman prefers. In any case, she tends toward a setting where she’s, basically, on men’s theoretical turf.
Notice, in contrast, that the man put himself, generally, in situations where either he was one of the few men available, or where women would have their guard down already. Even at the gym, he sought out a class that was entirely women. Also, notice how he started out hitting on a girl who clearly thought he was too old for her? Does that happen a lot? Somehow, I’m betting it does.
Oh, and did you notice where he had the most trouble? The bookstore! Which, as you might remember, is where my therapist sent me to try and find a date. What did this guy say about that? Basically, that I’d either have to be an idiot or have a lot of chutzpah to pull it off. Okay, that explains my “success rate” at Borders!

So, since most of my readers are of the female variety, do you have any suggestions for a poor schlub like me dangling his bait in shark infested waters?

Advice from your Uncle Jim:
"Brigands demand your money or your life; women require both."
   --Samuel Butler