The Old New Thing

There's no seating up there, so you just have to hang on for dear life

December 30, 2013 Dec 30, 2013 12/30/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that through a friend, I got to join a handful of other people atop Prince Charles's carriage as it wound its way through London. There was no seating up there, so you just have to hang on for dear life. When we reached Buckingham Palace, the assembled crowd and reporters swarmed the carriage for an opportunity to meet the Prince. ...

That doesn't sound like South Frisian to me

December 23, 2013 Dec 23, 2013 12/23/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that I was back in college taking a course in South Frisian, but I suspected something was up because the words didn't sound Germanic at all, and we were taught the words to a Christmas carol as Nom Yom Hear What I Hear? Also, because the course was taught by known prevaricator/exaggerator Robert Irvine...

That fee was so that we wouldn't have to raise our prices

December 16, 2013 Dec 16, 2013 12/16/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that I got screwed by Ticketmaster. I was relieved when I woke up and found out it was only a dream. Bonus chatter: The economics of Ticketmaster. It reminds me of a company who added a service fee to an existing rate plan, and in their FAQ for the service fee, they explained, "That fee was so that we wouldn't have to raise our ...

This was only a test; if this had been an actual concert…

December 9, 2013 Dec 9, 2013 12/9/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that there was a fire in Benaroya Hall during a concert. The flames swirled overhead up by the ceiling. The exit doors had been blocked by security, so people flowed from door to door looking for a way out. Ha-ha, it was just a drill, and the flames were pyrotechnics. This dream brought to you by Great Ideas in Public Safety...

The walls of my friend's house sometimes randomly got corrupted

December 2, 2013 Dec 2, 2013 12/2/13

Raymond Chen

One evening, I had a series of three dreams. In each one, I visited an unusual home. In the third dream, I visited the home of a friend of mine. He lived in a white stucco split-level, a stereotypical suburban home. What made the house interesting was that if you did things just right, dark dots would appear on the wall and slowly consume it...

My friend lived in an apartment inside a museum

November 25, 2013 Nov 25, 2013 11/25/13

Raymond Chen

One evening, I had a series of three dreams. In each one, I visited an unusual home. In the second dream, I visited the home of a friend of mine. She lived in a modern luxury apartment inside an art museum. It was a little tricky, because you could visit her only during museum hours. If you stayed past closing time, then you were locked ...

My friend lived in a tiny house with an enormous garage

November 18, 2013 Nov 18, 2013 11/18/13

Raymond Chen

One evening, I had a series of three dreams. In each one, I visited an unusual home. In the first dream, I visited the home of a friend of mine. But instead of living in his condominium in the city, he lived in a house built into the side of a cliff. The house commanded a breathtaking view of the valley below, but the living quarters weren't...

The financial acumen of sea turtles

October 28, 2013 Oct 28, 2013 10/28/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that I was attending some sort of "how to be awesome" seminar where the presenter said, among other things, that a sea turtle, when left to thrive undisturbed, amasses $1 million in personal wealth within one year...

Using a toy cash register as a keyboard doesn't add up

October 21, 2013 Oct 21, 2013 10/21/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that I was composing a blog entry about one of my dreams, but I had to do it on a toy cash register which had been paired to my computer. It turns out that this is difficult for a number of reasons. For one thing, the cash register has only ten letters of the alphabet on it. You have to switch to the alternate keyboard for the rest...

The imaginary experience of dining at an underground restaurant

October 14, 2013 Oct 14, 2013 10/14/13

Raymond Chen

I dreamed that my brother complained, "Dude, you didn't leave room for my car in the garage." Well yeah, because I didn't know you were coming. We decide to go out for dinner, and I see that he squeezed a third car into our two-car garage. We back out, and I watch the car fit through a gap of two feet between my car and the garage door. We ...