Don't do it for the karma.

First things first: Plurk is awesome.

I know I've joined a lot of social networks* (both out of boredom and for my sideline writing gig), but of the ones that I actually use, Plurk is the one I've recently gotten hooked on. It's got a lot going for it--it's simple, it runs on interactivity, and it loads fast (no clutter). And it's just plain fun.

But of course, it has a dark side. Plurk runs on a karma system, which basically rewards activity--posting, responding to other people's plurks, and updating your profile. As your karma points go up, you get to go up certain levels (the stage of creation, enlightenment, nirvana, et cetera), unlock exclusive emoticons, et cetera. What makes this the dark side?

The people who do it for the karma.

See, it feels kinda nice to notice your karma points go up, but I guess some people are just really... driven. LOL. For these people, the desire to increase their karma points (and level up faster than you), is tremendous. Naturally, they resort to--well I don't know what it's really called--spam-bomb? Plurk-spam? Plurk...bomb? xDDD;

Whatever. They just post way too frigging often. And you can tell they're just doing it for the points. Why is this such a bad thing? Because it's just plain lame. Well, if these people are in your friends list, they will clutter up your timeline and bump back the plurks of your other friends. Ah, and every couple of minutes, you'll get an update on what they're thinking, or doing, or thinking of doing, looking at, sitting on, smelling. Even if it's not the least bit interesting anymore. (Because really, unless you're MacGyver, there's little chance that you're doing something interesting like, thirty times throughout a day.) It makes the whole thing just a little bit less fun. Also, it's lame.

The good news is that you can choose to un-follow these friends--you don't have to take them off your friends list, you just don't get their plurks on your timeline. That'll lower their karma a little. This is actually Plurk's way of discouraging people from over-posting. But it's hard to tell if this is effective (since a lot of people still do it). Besides, un-following people comes with a slight feeling of guilt, as though you're being mean. ;~; I myself have taken some people off my timeline. Because I just felt like being mean. :(

Some folks around the net have remarked that the karma system should be improved, so that the quality of the plurks matter too, not just the frequency. (I'm pretty sure the responses to your plurks are taken into account too. I guess that helps a little.) I'm too much of a right-brainer to try to figure out how it could be improved, but I'll welcome anything that would make the site even more fun.

By the way, I don't spam, so add me? xD

*A lot. Including sites you've probably never even heard of: sosauce, virb, meevee, the sixty one.

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

So the other day I was using Wikipedia's random article feature (to get topics for work), and I got this:

Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

Naturally, my inital reaction was, what the fuck with all the buffaloes. But I read the rest of the wiki page, and it said that that long unintelligible string of buffalo is actually a grammatically correct sentence.

Needless to say, I was like "!?!??" My co-worker and I were like, no seriously, how the fuck is that a sentence? But after a while, I got it. It is a grammatically sound sentence, and it makes sense. First, you have to take note of the usages of the word buffalo: a modifier (Buffalo, New York), a noun (buffalo the animal), and a verb (to buffalo: to intimidate).

So in this sentence, "Buffalo buffalo" is a noun phrase that means "buffalo (the animals) from Buffalo (New York)". The next three words actually modify that phrase. We have:

"Buffalo buffalo Buffalo buffalo buffalo..."

which means, the Buffalo from buffalo that are buffaloed by buffalo from Buffalo.

STILL WITH ME? Let's move on. Talking about those buffalo, we proceed with the rest of the sentence:

"...buffalo Buffalo buffalo."

So the aforementioned Buffalo buffalo, who are buffaloed by Buffalo buffalo, also buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

To make it clearer:

The Buffalo buffalo that Buffalo buffalo buffalo likewise buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

or

The Buffalo buffalo which are buffaloed by Buffalo buffalo also buffalo Buffalo buffalo.

This entry is lovingly dedicated to my grammar Nazi friends~. ♥ :3

x x x x x

An announcement of sorts: I think I'll do Project 365. :D

The geek shall inherit the earth.

I've been dorking out a lot these past few days. Turns out not even taking dance lessons from the country's baddest hip-hop crew can pull me out of my oddball roots. Oh well. At least I'm comfortable with myself. xD

For one thing, I can't stop watching YouTube vids of Kevin Smith. He's a director, but he kills with the stories that he tells. The guy's just fucking hilarious. Not to mention completely irreverent and sacriligious. Check him out here, talking about Superman. (And if you're not morally and religiously sensitive, there's another one that I want to show you, so just ask me for the link plskthx. LOLOLOLLL)

Moving on. Payday is tomorrow, which means I can afford comic books again (!!!). *spazzdance* I hope the shops have Atomic Robo, cause I want to get either that or my next volume of Y. :D I'll try to hold out until Komikon, but I'll probably allow myself a one or two.

And... speaking of cons, I'll probably be checking out the UP AME convention this November 8th. There's gonna be a speed dating booth, which... intrigues me. xDDD Wahaha. Anyway, so, if anyone wants to come with (although I doubt it), you know the drill.