A Real Stroke of Genius

So, this morning I was asked, indirectly, to be more authentic in my presentation of myself to the virtual world of gmail chat.

Rather than use other people's ideas, why not display more of my own?

Excellent question. In answer to that, I have three things to say:

1. My profile on gmail chat is one of those things that I maintain more for other people's entertainment than my own. Everyone else on my list seems to have things they want me to know about, and that's the way they choose to broadcast it. In response, I often post references to things that have come across my path in the same transient way. I will never remember these things, so investing a lot of identity and authenticity into constructing one for myself is totally unimportant and irrelevant.

2. My thoughts are not easily encapsulated in small spaces or pithy phrases.

3. Custom status messages are not a replacement for conversation. They are not an accurate way to represent how a human feels, thinks or speaks. If you want to know what's on my mind, ask me.

Meanwhile, in my own order of priority in the universe...

I've got a couple things on my mind that I am trying to find a cohesive way to address.

I did not get the IRTS Summer Fellowship after the final round of interviews, so instead of having an all-expense-paid trip to NY to conduct research on the internal organization of major media companies, I have to find something else to do.

I've accidentally discovered a Research Question, which is immensely inconvenient because I thought I had figured out a way to graduate without having to actually write a thesis! But now I really want to know whether females respond to the same emotional cues in games that men do. Or, probably better stated: What gameplay triggers emotions in women? How does this compare to the gameplay that generates emotions in men? Are we responding to the same things they are? If so, how can we make games that are fun for all genders? Or, how can we make games that serve the MASSIVE market of women gamers (without using the color pink to distinguish them)?

I just read my University's Intellectual Property Policy. Egads! Do these people think they're running an education of higher learning, or a communist work camp? The funny thing is, if the University is going to lay claim (75% to be exact) to the fruits of their students' labors, then shouldn't EVERYONE be taxed from the moment they graduate?