2007-03-06 Day Two: Bullshit Bingo

How to play Bullshit Bingo

Like Bingo, Bullshit Bingo is a game for an unlimited number of players. It can be played during any kind of meeting or lecture. You need a list of 16 words and phrases that are very likely to be used excessively. In my particular case, the list reads

- "proactive"
- "kickoff"
- "challenge" (when talking about a problem)
- "sportive targets"
- "target milestones"
- "branding"
- "fun" or even worse "lots of fun" (when referring to work)
- "work flow"
- any unnecessary anglicism (some Germans believe it's cool to use lots of English words)
- asking the audience questions

and a few more. When you have collected enough, write them on a piece of paper using a table with four rows and four columns. For beginners, 9 words in a 3x3 matrix will work just as fine. Now the fun begins: when the speaker uses one of the phrases in your table, cross it out. When you're the first to have an entire row or column crossed out, you must shout "BULLSHIT BINGO!". This will give you the opportunity to update your CV, because you're likely to need it to apply for a new job. Nevertheless, it's a funny game!

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Last week I tried to buy a knife sharpener on eBay. I found one for 20,20 € and transferred the money. Today, eBay sent me this email:
We're writing to let you know that eBay has ended the following item you were bidding on because the item appears to have been listed without the account holder's permission [...]
And I'm not even getting my money back because for eBay Buyer's Protection it had to be at least 25 €. That sucks.

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My inability to find a free tool to convert a few hundred still frames into a video file that can be played in Windows Media Player sucks, too. Right now I'm using mencoder, but the resulting videos can only be played in VLC, not in Media Player. That means that I cannot edit them in Movie Maker, which is the only video editing tool I have. Oh well, I'm going to cry myself to sleep tonight, I guess...