The Reason for the Season

   Fah who for-aze!
   Dah who dor-aze!
   Welcome Christmas,
   Come this way!
 
   Fah who for-aze!
   Dah who dor-aze!
   Welcome Christmas,
   Christmas Day.

I always feel sorry at this time of year for the people who insist that they don't celebrate Christmas because they aren't Christian. I feel sorry for them because they believe that Christmas is a Christian religious holiday. It's not. ...
       Continue reading "The Reason for the Season"

Ignored By a Cat

You're nobody until you've been ignored by a cat.

I was lying in bed this morning, thinking about getting up. The cat, who had been loving on me for the past half hour, was now curled next to me, performing his morning ablutions. I was relegated to the role of cat furniture. I was being ignored by the cat.

But was I? ...
       Continue reading "Ignored By a Cat"

Never Assume...

I commute to The Job via train. I use WageWorks to buy my tickets. I save two ways: pre-tax dollars plus a 25% employer subsidy.

I've been using this system for close to three years now. The WageWorks card feels like a credit card; I just stick it in the ticket vending machine once a month. Easy and neat. There's just one small problem which I learned about today. ...
       Continue reading "Never Assume..."

Blustery Day

Rain! Rainrainrainrain. Much rain today.

Rain through the night. Raining when I woke up at 7. I went back to sleep and it was raining in my dream! I woke up again at 8 to pouring rain. I figured I'd just get up at that point. ...
       Continue reading "Blustery Day"

Wasting Time in Twitter?

“Twitter is a Waste of Time” - it is a criticism that has been leveled at Twitter many times over and while I’m one of Twitters biggest fans I’m also in agreement that Twitter can be a compete waste of time. I’ve wasted time on Twitter and I’ve seen many others do it. In fact recently when I asked my followers about the topic I found that most people could relate to the idea of wasting time on Twitter.

So how do you stop yourself from letting Twitter become a waste of time?

The article is a good one and most of the comments are reasonable. I recommend reading it. Here's my comment, for the record: ...
       Continue reading "Wasting Time in Twitter?"

Barnes and Noble Customer Disservice

I spend a lot (probably too much!) annually on books, predominately at Barnes & Noble. They're convenient and I have a membership, so I get discounts. I currently have $200 in B&N gift certificates on my desk. I used credit card Rewards points to get them, choosing B&N over many alternatives.

But today, I was so unhappy that I am considering switching my book buying to Borders or Amazon.

I have always had excellent customer service at B&N. It has been obvious that customer satisfaction was important to B&N. If I was unhappy with a purchase, I returned it in salable, unread condition. I have always been satisfied with store credit.

Then I would take my store credit into the store and not only find a book I liked to replace the one I was returning, I would usually buy $20 or $40 or $60 in additional books. Every time I walked in with a book to return, I would walk out with new books purchased today. I'm the kind of customer you almost want to have return a book because it brings me into the store!

Today, however, that didn't happen. Instead, I walked out carrying only the book I had hoped to return and vowing to write this letter.

Today, B&N lost a sale. Today B&N made a customer deeply UNsatisfied. ...
       Continue reading "Barnes and Noble Customer Disservice"

Cosmic Laughtrack Meets Twitter

The Universe has recently been having a great joke at the expense of Twitter.

On Monday, the folks at Twitter implemented a new "antispam policy" that addresses "aggressive following". In theory, this is supposed to affect "Twitter spammers", people who follow thousands in the hopes of getting some to follow back so they can then send messages. In practice, it affects real people, some of the more vocal and positive users of Twitter — the people Twitter should be not be upsetting!

Commercial accounts (e.g. JetBlue) have had to drop customers in order to add customers. High-profile Twitter users who evangelize Twitter to their clients and at conferences cannot add new follower/following relationships.

This is an incredibly stupid limitation that hurts real people more than "spammers". After all, potential spammers don't care if they have to drop 100 to add 100. The ones they drop weren't "buying" their services anyway. There's no "relationship" being lost.

So, where does the Cosmic Laughtrack come in? ...
       Continue reading "Cosmic Laughtrack Meets Twitter"

Great Food, Alternate Dimension

I had a wonderful dream last night! I was in a multi-story Asian restaurant where some sort of party or reception was going on. There were many buffet tables with all sorts of interesting foods - things that all made sense as "Japanese" or "Chinese" (but not in our dimension). I was trying things. They were delicious! And smelled great. ...
       Continue reading "Great Food, Alternate Dimension"

How Do You Decorate Your Cubicle?

There are times when I am so happy I work in Tech...

To see if people's professional image is affected by what's displayed in their offices, and how recruiters view job candidates who mention personal topics, researchers conducted two separate studies with corporate managers and recruiters.

The verdict? "Family photos, kids' artwork, and favorite knickknacks help personalize an office work space, but too many personal touches reflect poorly on an employee's professional image," says Jeffrey Sanchez-Burks, who teaches management at the University of Michigan's Ross School of Business (www.bus.umich.edu), and conducted the studies with two colleagues. Too much is about 22%: If more than one in five objects in your cubicle are non-work-related, others may regard you as less than serious about your job.

Ask Annie by Annie Fisher, Fortune senior writer; February 22 2008

Not from where I sit... ...
       Continue reading "How Do You Decorate Your Cubicle?"

I'm a Twitter Twit

Paul Downey writes:

Ruminating on Twitter constraints, I see two kinds of Twitterers emerging: Twits and Twerps.

A Twit sees Twitter as a presence service. Twits love the ambient intimacy twitter affords with their friends, and tweet to build a meaningful permanent record. They strive to entertain, to be profound. ... A twit uses an @reply primarily to reference a user for the benefit of their other followers, and use a direct message to communicate with someone where their followers are unlikely to be interested in the conversation. ... Twits always think about the question “What are you doing?”. A good twit will make you laugh, make you cry but above all feel connected.

Macbook Air

This week, Apple introduced the Macbook Air. I've been reading some of the articles, as well as the whining comments. ...
       Continue reading "Macbook Air"

Flowers and... Coffee?

The local Florist now advertises Coffee. It's Your Friendly Neighborhood Florist and Cafe. I'm trying to imagine what this would be like. The imagination boggles.

I love the smell of a flower shop. I've been known to walk into a flower shop just to stand and take deep breaths. Mmmmmmmmmm.

I like the smell of a coffee shop too. Coffee. Cinnamon buns. That sort of thing.

I'm not convinced these wildly different aromas belong in the same place. I think they would compete. I think they would clash.

I don't know what the result might be.. but my nose doesn't want to know.

Slippery When Wet

I've been taking CalTrain from the Millbrae "Intermodal" station since June 2006.

When I first started using the station, I noticed the large (approx 20 ft diameter) decorative tile circle in the center of the station. The tile is glazed and very smooth. If you're walking quickly across it, it's slippery on a dry day. It's very slippery when wet. ...
       Continue reading "Slippery When Wet"

Saying Thank You

Many years ago, I decided that if I wanted the right to complain when I received unacceptable service, I should also be sure to say "Thank You" whenever I received exceptional service. After all, most people only meet expectations. When someone exceeds expectations to a large degree, shouldn't you say something about it? ...
       Continue reading "Saying Thank You"

Triple Antibiotic Ointment

We keep a tube of triple antibiotic ointment on hand for minor cuts and scratches. I find it works very well. We usually use Longs Drugs' house-brand Triple Antibiotic Ointment.

One day, when we were out of ointment, I was in another store. I bought a tube of Neosporin. As it happened, I had a sore spot in my nose at the time. I applied the Neosporin and ... ICK (nose to throat to tongue to blech!.) What's in this stuff?

I carefully read the label. Then I drove to Longs and bought a tube of Triple Antibiotic Ointment. ...
       Continue reading "Triple Antibiotic Ointment"

Scion xB: What Were They Thinking?!

We love our Scion xB. From the moment I sat in it, I was hooked. I had to have this car.

It handles beautifully. It has Head Room. It has more cargo space than one might imagine. And windows - does it have windows. No visibility problems in this car!

I'm so happy we bought one when we did. I also hope our 2005 model lasts a long time because after 2007 Toyota stopped making them. Oh, they still make something called a "Scion xB" but... what were the (re)designers thinking?!

It's... puffy. It looks like it's suffering a severe allergic reaction to something. The current colors are pretty but What's With The Smaller Windows?! Are they mad?

Toyota took the perfect car and "improved" it. And we all know what "New and Improved" means. With chocolate bars or dish soaps or cat food it means Run Out Quick and hit all the stores, stocking up on the "old" stuff before it's all gone. With cars it means be happy you got in when you did.

Better isn't always Better. But Better is always Different.

Two Bean Chili

Rich bought a can of chili the other day. The label read "Two-Bean, Beef, and Tomato Chili. I said "I can see kidney beans; what's the other kind?"

Rich fished something out of the pot. Looks like a bean... I wonder what kind. So, I read the label. And there in the ingredients, I found it. ...
       Continue reading "Two Bean Chili"

Managing by "Piles"

Most Time Management books argue against managing paper by "piles". They advocate making decisions as soon as the paper appears - respond, hand it off to someone else, file it appropriately, or throw it away.

Personally, I find a fifth category to work well. That category is managed as a pile (a stack, a box, a tray...). ...
       Continue reading "Managing by "Piles""

The World-Changing Web

I'm wearing one of my favorite t-shirts today. I bought it from the Rome Floyd County Human Society . I've never been to Rome, Georgia; I found the site (and the shirt) on the web. Some time back, someone I was talking to was saying how we should all support our communities by buying locally. I said I do support my community — my community is the Internet.

It Pays to Read the Label

We stopped into Walgreens for Chlorpheniramine Maleate, an antihistamine. Walgreens stocks their own house-brand (Wal-Finate) as well as the Brand Name Version, Chlor-Trimeton. The latter is available in blister packs; the 24-pill box costs $6.99.

In contrast, a 50-pill bottle of Wal-Finate costs $4.99. That was a pretty good reason to buy the house brand, but there were other considerations. I like to compare the ingredients as well. In this case, the medication is for a kitty. I pay even more attention to what I give the kitties than for myself. ...
       Continue reading "It Pays to Read the Label"

The Company That Employs Me

Code of Conduct

The Company that Employs Me has requested that all employees work through an online business ethics course called "Code of Conduct". No biggie there; it wasn't difficult.

However, I found myself greatly bemused by one section. Obviously, the authors of the course and I read different books... ...
       Continue reading "Code of Conduct"

I Want a Bluetooth Headset

I don't actually have any Bluetooth-enabled devices. But I still find myself wanting a Bluetooth headset... with a glowing blue light.

I'll never look like Seven of Nine, but I still want the glowing blue light perched over my ear.

Happy Halloween

Happy Halloween

Black Cat wallpaper by teddybearcholla
available from the Wallpapers section of wincustomize.com
"The finest collection of Wallpapers on the Internet!"

Friday the 13th

At lunch, our waitress mentioned that today was Friday the 13th. She said a black cat ran across her path this morning.

I said that a black cat crosses my path most every morning (and evening, and often in the afternoons as well). We agreed that when he's your cat, that makes it good luck.

Purrrrrrs.

Fear of Spinach

I had my favorite breakfast this morning - Eggs Florentine. The waitress said, "You don't want spinach". I asked why not. She told me there'd been a recall. I said "I think cooked is OK."

I went home and looked up the recall on Google. Approximately 100 people across the country (32 in Wisconsin) have been diagnosed with E-coli food poisoning. It may be linked to bagged spinach. ...
       Continue reading "Fear of Spinach"

Five Years Ago today...

I Say it's Still a Planet

I've been watching the nomenclature wars for years. First protozoans were renamed protista (did anyone ask their opinion?). Then centrifugal force was refuted and the force that makes an (ahem) centrifuge operate is now called centripetal (never mind that the result is exactly the same).

And now, where there were nine, there are eight. ...
       Continue reading "I Say it's Still a Planet"

Carnivore Palace Restaurant

My Work Group had lunch at a local restaurant as a sendoff for a team member who is moving to another group within the Company. We ate at a Korean BBQ buffet where you cook at your table.

Left to my own devices, I probably would have just eaten food from the buffet. I don't really "get" the idea of going out to eat and cooking - I go out so I don't have to cook. ...
       Continue reading "Carnivore Palace Restaurant"

Happy Fourth!

Happy Fourth of July, Independence Day, 230th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence. I have always admired Tom, Ben, John, and the rest.

Rich and I drove down to Stanford last night to watch the fireworks display. I expect there to be a smaller display in our neighborhood tonight after the sun sets.

We put out our flag. It has the standard field of stars but rainbow stripes, representing the Diversity of the USA.

Happy Fourth of July. Cherish your Freedoms. Protect the Constitution. Remember what the Founding Fathers had in mind.

Hit The Ball, Drag Fred

There's a joke that Rich and I like. A man is telling his friend about a recent golf game.

Man: I was playing a round of golf on Saturday with Fred. Fred keeled over on the 13th hole!

Friend: That's terrible! What happened?

Man: Well, I still shot two under par. But it was awful. For the next five holes, it was "Hit the ball, drag Fred."

I started a new contract on Monday. ...
       Continue reading "Hit The Ball, Drag Fred"

Inconvenience Store

Your Government at Work

I don't usually write about anything politically motivated, but there is a limit to my tolerance.

Spouse has a cold. He has a cough and a stuffed-up nose. Today, I drove to the nearest drugstore (10 minutes by car) to buy him some cough & cold remedy. ...
       Continue reading "Inconvenience Store"

A is For...

WordPlay: The Personal Dictionary Meme

A is For...

• Aardvark - You can't have an alphabet without an Aardvark!

• Alert - one of my favorite punny jokes: Be alert. California needs more lerts. We're short of loofs too. How about fluents? (Two fs, dummy!)

• Alliteration - In writing, I work in ways to weave my words (alliteratively).

• Alphabet - Playing the game.

Would You Want to Work Here?

I am looking for new employment. Consequently, I find myself viewing many many job descriptions and company descriptions. Some turn me off very quickly. ...
       Continue reading "Would You Want to Work Here?"

E is for Easy

When I was in Grad school, way back before I had email, I used to write letters to family and friends. Once a month or so, I'd pull out stationery and a pen and write a 5-page letter to my folks. I'd stick the letter in an envelope, apply a stamp, and take it to the corner mailbox.

Some years later, when I had email access but "most people" didn't, I'd type my letter on the computer, print it, stick it in an envelope, etc. Not much had changed (but at least my hand didn't cramp). ...
       Continue reading "E is for Easy"

So... What Do You Do?

In Monday's FC Now, Heath Row writes:

Friday's New York Times article about the coffee graders who work for the New York Board of Trade ... made me think about cool jobs in general.

What do you think are the most fascinating and interesting jobs?

Edgy New Podcast

Does the word "edgy" make you edgy?

O'Reilly Media sent out a press release today:

Downloads Soar for Edgy New Podcast
"DekePod" Entertains & Amazes--It's Your Money, Scan It!

Sebastopol, CA--Digital imaging guru Deke McClelland's new video podcast, "dekePod: The Pilot Edition," pulled in record downloads within a week's time...

Need To Know

What do you think? What would you do if you were the person asking the question? the therapist? another employee? ...
       Continue reading "Need To Know"

Numerology part 2

Happy Meals By Gender?

In a discussion mailing list I belong to, a recent conversation involves the April "Happy Meal" toys at McDonalds. You can read the initial posting on the web, complete with photos. ...
       Continue reading "Happy Meals By Gender?"

He Who Steals My Trash...

Unauthorized collection of recyclable materials is a violation of the Municipal Code. Anyone caught unlawfully removing these materials from a recycling bin may be prosecuted and is subject to a fine. To report a theft in progress, call 911 or the local police business line...

Run that by again? ...
       Continue reading "He Who Steals My Trash..."

It Only Makes Him Wonder?

"It makes you wonder if this is right lifestyle."

-- Cisco engineer Dave Givens experiences a moment of clarity after receiving the "America's Longest Commute" award for his seven-hour round trip (372 miles) from Mariposa, near Yosemite, to Cisco's San Jose headquarters.

Egad. These days, I think 45 minutes each way is too much.

But Why is it Green?

We buy 1% milk in plastic half-gallon (pottle :-) jugs. When we finish one, we rinse it and put the jug out with the recyclables. Occasionally there is a time lag between the rinsing and the recycling.

When that occurs, I turn the jug over to drain out any residual rinse water. For reasons I don't quite understand, this water is invariably yellow-green. Sometimes very green. It's difficult to believe that algae is growing in this few drops of water but... why is it green?

For The Numerologically inclined

01:02:03 04/05/06

Shorten My Sig - Not

I received an unusual email request today from SFFN.

SFFN is the San Francisco Freecycle Network. In case you're still unfamiliar with Freecycle, it's a "grassroots and entirely nonprofit movement of people who are giving (& getting) stuff for free in their own towns." Membership is also free. If you have some item you don't want but would rather not throw it away, don't want the hassle of selling on Ebay, and just want to re-home, you can offer it on your local Freecycle list.

Let me repeat the important part of that.

You are offering to give something away that you no longer need or want that someone else does want. All it costs is a miniscule amount of time and effort. The entire transaction is FREE ...
       Continue reading "Shorten My Sig - Not"

Patently Ridiculous

Those of us who work in the technology industries know that the US Patent and Trademark Office has been in trouble for years. The PTO seems willing to grant just about every patent application they receive — for algorithms, genetic sequences, and ideas, as well as "real" inventions. ...
       Continue reading "Patently Ridiculous"

Egad! It's Tax Time.

Here we go again. Time for my yearly plug. :-)

I loathe tax time. I bear a deep and abiding dislike for the proportional tax system and I don't trust the IRS.

I also don't enjoy paperwork (although I'm far less allergic to it than Rich). If I had a choice, I would much rather not handle my own tax preparation. Unfortunately, we had a Very Bad Experience about twenty years ago; we're averse to trusting a third party to handle such an important financial process for us.

So, every year at about this time, I drag out this year's folder, stomp on my natural procrastination tendencies, and start typing numbers into little boxes. ugh. The good news — I type those numbers and the computer does the math. I do my taxes using Turbo Tax. The program handles the painful parts so I don't have to. ...
       Continue reading "Egad! It's Tax Time."

Tools for Harry Homeowner

Have you ever stopped to consider the wonderful additions we have been able to add to our household toolboxes? ...
       Continue reading "Tools for Harry Homeowner"

The Death of Handwriting?

Has this happened to you?

We spend our working days tapping into computers. We communicate with each other via email rather than letter. ...

Sodapop

What do you call that fizzy drink? Is it "Pop"? Or "Soda"? Or do you say "I'll have a Coke" even when the beverage in question is colorless?

Did you know that there are distinct geographical differences in how people refer to carbonated soft drinks? ...
       Continue reading "Sodapop"

Sudoku

There are books in the checkout line at the drugstore. There are ads on the web. It's popular. It's Sudoku.

Maybe it's me... I have always preferred word games. But I just don't "get"Sudoku. I mean, what is up with this?

At least the numbers aren't required to be added together to create some specified result. I originally thought that they were and I was really surprised that a math game would be so popular.

Still, I'm puzzled (pun intended). I guess it's just one of those things... Let's just hope it doesn't start to show up as part of a job interview.

Happy Birthday to Me

Today is my birthday.

Happy Birthday to me. :-)

AP Education

I took several AP (Advanced Placement) classes in High School — Chemistry, Biology, and English. I didn't take AP Math (Calculus) because I was a year behind my peers in math, having taken "Math II" when they took Algebra I; I needed that extra year before I "got" math. I didn't take AP History either (although all of my friends did). I never cared for History and had no plans to take any history courses in College. I never regretted that decision, especially when the AP History class always had a test on the faculty in-service afternoons (when the rest of the school was dismissed early).

I was not aware, however, that an increasing number of US states have been mandating universal availability of Advanced Placement courses in an effort to make college education accessible to a broader population of students. ...
       Continue reading "AP Education"

So Much to Do...

So Much to Do and So Many Other Things to Distract Me. I ordered this t-shirt for myself. I thought it would be appropriate. :-) It goes well with the following essay (found in many places on the net; author unknown) Do You Have Days Like This? I decide to take the car to the gas station, fill the tank and run it through the car wash. As I start toward the garage, I notice the mail on the hall table. I decide to go through the mail before I take the car.

Thoughts While Falling Asleep

So Little Moose, her brain go like that all night long...

Rich said "I wonder why it is... When I go to bed, I start thinking about things I need to do. And sometimes I'll stop thinking and fall asleep. And sometimes I'll get up and go make notes. But why do I think of all these things as I'm drifting off to sleep? And why do I not think as clearly when I am lying down? Is it possibly something biological, like the horizontal orientation of the brain or the systems trying to shut down?" ...
       Continue reading "Thoughts While Falling Asleep"

Of Resolutions and Priorities

res·o·lu·tion

1. The state or quality of being resolute; firm determination.
2. A resolving to do something.
3. A course of action determined or decided on.

For many people, it's a common practice at the beginning of a new year to compose "resolutions". The thought seems to be that each "new" year represents a blank slate and now is a good time to change yourself. Personally, I think one's birthday makes a better marker for change, but... New Years' Resolutions are the popular thing.

I've never done resolutions. If I want to resolve to change something, I'll do it when I think of it. (I buy presents when I think of them too, and send them throughout the year; I don't wait for Christmas or birthdays. But I digress.).

That said, I saw a suggestion two years ago that I thought had some merit and was better than making resolutions. You can make your list at any time during the year, revisit it again and again, and compare lists from year to year.

Instead of writing out your New Year's resolutions, take some time to sit down and reconsider your Priorities. ...
       Continue reading "Of Resolutions and Priorities"

Donut Papers

Have you ever noticed...

When I buy donuts, the counterperson picks up each donut using a 6x6 inch square of fresh tissue paper. Presumably, this is to keep from touching the donut.

Then he (or she) places the donut into a bag, or box, along with the square of tissue. Repeat for each donut.

So... if the reason for the tissue is to keep the counterperson's fingers off my donuts, why are the fingerprinted tissue squares placed in the bag? Am I missing something here?

Black Icing

Said icings now come in black (as well as the classic colors such as red, green, and yellow). Weird. I remember when brown was new...

(If you want to get really fancy, Wilton (the cake decorating people!) carries even more colors than you may be able to find on your grocers shelf.)

Happy Merry Ho Ho Ho

And to all, a Good Night

Staples Charges for Virus Scanning

Posted today on boingboing, a former Staples customer (Mike Langlie) complained that he was asked to pay a fee for virus scanning.

Today I visited a local Staples to print some color files. As an employee wrote up my order, he mentioned there would be a $2.49 fee per file for virus scanning. Incredulously, I asked if I am really expected to pay for my files to be scanned for viruses, to which he replied yes. I canceled my order and left.

Around Town

Scene at the shopping center

But... Starbucks doesn't serve donuts! (Oh, well... this _is_ California after all... :-) ...
       Continue reading "Around Town"

A Very Special Nickel

Imagine if you had a nickel, a very special nickel. With it you could buy a dream — any dream, but only one dream.

What dream would you buy? Hmmm... or would you keep your nickel? ...
       Continue reading "A Very Special Nickel"

A Correspondence in Correspondence

Both Charles Darwin and Albert Einstein relied on pen, paper, and the postal service to communicate with correspondents around the world. But researchers have now found the pattern of their replies is the same as that of computer users answering email today, with both following the same mathematical formula.

New Scientist magazine, 26 October 2005

This doesn't seem unusual to me. I tend to treat email as just another way to write a letter, a note, a memo.... The primary difference for me is that, when I was writing paper letters, I would write fewer of them, to a smaller set of people, and the letters themselves would be much longer. If I was going to sit down with pen and paper I might as well make the most of the time.

Using email, I write more often to more people, sending shorter messages at more frequent intervals. I keep up with my sister and with college friends - people I used to exchange letters with once or twice a year.

My mother, on the other hand, has moved from multi-page handwritten paper letters to multi-page typed and printed letters to multi-page (if I printed them) email letters. The biggest difference for her is that she now sends the same letter to both my sister and myself. I reply to both of them, including my Dad, keeping everyone "on the same page".

After all, what are letters (paper or electronic) but a way to communicate?

Fortune Cookies

The Universe is trying to tell me something. Being The Universe, of course, it's being cryptic.

I have been trying to make headway on "discussions" with The Company regarding the direction of my job. I have yet another meeting scheduled for today. Last night, the outcome of the meeting was unknown and unknowable.

Rich and I went out for Chinese dinner last night. These were the fortunes we got in our cookies:

You will be wise not to seek too much from others.

You will conquer obstacles to achieve success.

How Are You Feeling Today?

How Are You Feeling Today?

Are you Happy? Anxious? Sad? Disgusted? Overwhelmed? Confident? Hopeful?

How's your self-esteem today? How's your character?

Are you stressed? Depressed? Feeling angry? Feeling anxious? Feeling great?

For 15 years, Creative Therapy Associates has been producing materials that address the mental health and social issues of children and adults. Their products are useful and fun.

Take a look for yourself. Maybe order a t-shirt... Express your feelings in Latin perhaps. Or Esperanto? :-)

Once Upon A Time...

I had a dream in which I was somewhere where we were asked to tell stories... they were supposed to be about 3 minutes long. So I told one. In the dream, I was making it up as I went along. I didn't know how it would end until a good idea came to me as I was telling it.

...
       Continue reading "Once Upon A Time..."

Up and Running with Tiger

My new PowerMac G5 arrived yesterday afternoon. Hoorah! And yes, I managed to wait until I was done with my work day to start on the Grand Migration (although Rich opened the box and unpack the G5 onto a convenient table.)

First, I had to back up all of the files on my G3 for copying to the G5. The new hardware includes a different I/O interface; I can't just plug in the old disk drives. The good news is I get a nice new 400 GB drive. The bad news is that the backup and restore literally took hours.

Then Rich helped me swap hardware, putting the G5 on my desk (where it fits with a little room to spare and opens on the right side, thank goodness!). We dealt with cabling (power, displays, USB, Firewire, and network). We dealt with troubleshooting and ultimately replacing the one screen that didn't light up. Then I booted 'er up, started copying in all of my files, and headed off to bed. ...
       Continue reading "Up and Running with Tiger"

More "Back to School" Thoughts

I watched a boy walking to school today. He was pulling what I swear was a wheeled suitcase. Another boy trudged along the sidewalk wearing a backpack one third his own size. Neither child is unusual.

When I was in school we had desks. We had lockers. Did you?

Last fall I volunteered for Junior Achievement in a local 2nd grade classroom. The kids had tables and coat pegs. They may have had a little cupboard. I guess they carry all of their books and supplies back and forth every day.

I've read that people are developing back problems at a younger age. Watching the boy with the backpack, I don't doubt it. The wheeled suitcase seems bizarre but at least that boy wasn't carrying everything on his back. Still, I have to wonder... what's in that backpack?

Myself, I'm happy to have had a locker and a desk I could put books into at the end of the school day.

Spring Ahead!

I think today is my favorite day of the year. Daylight Saving Time begins today! Did you remember to set your clocks ahead?

April Fool

When I was growing up, I was usually happier when April 1 did not fall on a school day. Most people, especially children, are lacking in a sense of elegance and finesse. Thety equate "practical jokes" with whoopee cushions and dribble glasses, where success is measured on a scale from embarrassment to petty cruelty.

In past years, however, I have developed quite an appreciation for the elegance of high tech April Fools Day specials, such as Google's MentalPlex™ ("Search smarter and faster" - 2000) or their most excellent "patented PigeonRank™ system" (2002).

Commentator, from Cenqua, is almost believable.

The Commentator uses revolutionary real-time language processing to actually grok your code and add the necessary comments on the fly. No more doco to slow you down. Just install The Commentator and watch as your coding elegance is eloquently decorated with insightful, nuanced commentary ...as you type.

Consider how much imagination, thought, and sheer effort, goes into the more elaborate April 1 inventions (confections?), such as this technical tutorial (with code) for optimizing the idle loop in Apple's Darwin OS.

Just think, if we could harness some of that creative energy for something else we'd... wait. We can and do, during the other 364 days of the year.

Methinks They've Been Sampling the Wares

Part 3 in our "Fun With Spam" series (If you can't beat 'em, laugh at 'em).

Today we present a delightful bit of nonsense that might put Alice in Wonderland to shame!

The 84-chute-old berry was chao in a phonon anheuser after nascent gibbous a buteo whir to scoff the collie wonder chore.

"The lesson is allegoric after whitehorse," someday spokesman peru dahlia-tally usaf washbasin. "He's tangerine on his beige and weird conditions nanometer good."

earl news circuitous had crab that pullover Paul bocklogged emissivity on a bluebook after the baseball, but burnish-trestle said the spoken "had no dollop of pique intuition."

"astute means complimentary, which wasn't autocracy harrison, nor quagmire eros, nor vendetta compactify. skylark was no goldwater," he bronx.

Skylark was no goldwater and weird conditions nanometer good.

Just keep that in mind.

Fun With Spam
More Fun With Spam

Balmy Toads

Some software developers use combinations of dictionary words as registration codes. I have a lot of software from one such developer.

I recently registered a new application with them. I think this code is the best yet:

I can add that to my set; I also have:

dangerous room		(beware!)
jumping dolphins		(duh)
secret bicycle		(for riding to secret rendezvous!)
silver parrots		(a pretty image)
funky monster		(always)
unknown rhinos		(in cognito?)
heavy duck		(ouch!)
smooth candle		(often)
lively day		(occasionally)

The Value of Keeping Records

Some number of years ago, Rich went to a talk. He remembers the subject; it impressed him. I remember him coming home and telling me all about the talk.. He doesn't, unfortunately, recall the name of the speaker, the date, the title of the talk, or the location. Also unfortunately, the topic doesn't Google well.**

Rich says:

A while back, I attended a talk which (IIRC) described genes, neurons, tools, books, and programs as forms of memory. The speaker noted that tools store information in a useful but not accessible form and that books do the converse. Programs (ideally :-) do both.

I haven't been successful in finding this in Google; might any of you be familiar with the source of this notion?

More Fun With Spam

From a real spam I got today. I could probably enter it in some free verse contest...

Toward, self his help tell. White run king natural. Ride, such still help. Written paper, clock. These family, quick. True before, melody industry bat cost. Million up paint picture laugh appear. Century he tone call star. Though so this, him. Root came first cause bird even.

Fun With Spam ...
       Continue reading "More Fun With Spam"

Groundhog Day

Happy Groundhog Day! Phil saw his shadow. Six more weeks of winter (at least in western PA). If you're where it's cold and snowy, stay inside and watch a movie. If you haven't seen Groundhog Day (starring Bill Murray) I recommend it. It's one of my favorites and quite fun. It's set in Punxsutawney; they even show good old Phil the Groundhog himself. I grew up in Pennsylvania. I've been to Punxsutawney. (Yes, that's the name of the town :-) Now I live in California. Here in the San Francisco Bay Area, spring begins in February. There's pine pollen on the car in the mornings. Whether it's spring where you are or you're buried under the snow, I think Carlyle the Kitten has the right idea. Naps!

Men, Women, and Web Services

You've probably heard the statement that when it comes to communication, men are from Mars, while women are from Venus? A concept straight from the title of a book by John Gray, this highlights an idea made popular by Deborah Tannen (You Just Don't Understand) in 1990. When men and women try to communicate, they often seem to be from different planets.

On the other hand, I bet this is the first time you've heard of the idea that men are from Mars, women are from Venus, and web services are from Betelgeuse. :-) That's the title of a paper (in PDF format) that I found while surfing around on the web. The authors extend the theme to the problems of communicating between legacy applications and new Web applications. ...
       Continue reading "Men, Women, and Web Services"

Winter Solstice

Today is the day of the winter solstice, the time of year when the sun stands still. The winter solstice, which occurs on either December 21 or 22, marks the shortest period of daylight — and the longest night — of the year. ...
       Continue reading "Winter Solstice"

Thoughts for the Season

(Original author unknown)

If I decorate my house perfectly with plaid bows,
strands of twinkling lights and shiny balls,
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another decorator.

If I slave away in the kitchen,
baking dozens of Christmas cookies,
preparing gourmet meals and arranging a beautifully adorned table at mealtime
but do not show love to my family,
I'm just another cook.

If I work at a soup kitchen,
carol in the nursing home and give all that I have to charity;
but do not show love to my family,
it profits me nothing.

If I trim the spruce with shimmering angels and crocheted snowflakes,
attend a myriad of holiday parties and sing in the choir's cantata,
but do not remember the people around me,
I have missed the point.

Love stops the cooking to hug the child.
Love sets aside the decorating to kiss the spouse.
Love is kind, though harried and tired.
Love doesn't envy another's home that has coordinated Christmas china and table linens.

Love doesn't yell at the kids to get out of the way,
but is thankful they are there to be in the way.
Love doesn't give only to those who are able to give in return;
but rejoices in giving to those who can't.

Love bears all things,
believes all things,
hopes all things,
endures all things.

Love never fails.
Video games will break,
pearl necklaces will be lost,
golf clubs will rust;
But giving the gift of love will endure.

Wishing you a joyous & meaningful Holiday Season!

Happy Solstice, Yule, Saturnalia, Christmas, Chanukah, Mid-Winter...

Consider it a Challenge

I just read an article entitled "How to Work with an Engineer". Rule #2 says " Engineers are natural-born problem-solvers." It's true. Give an engineer a problem (a challenge) and he'll find a way to solve it.

You may consider this the Engineer's corollary to the age-old wisdom, "Be Careful What You Wish For". As an example, never tell your engineering team that industry studies predict that they should be finding a certain number of bugs per thousand lines of code. If you do, tomorrow you will discover that the engineering staff has obliged!

Another case in point — up until the end of October, the Company I work for was providing 10 dozen Krispy Kreme donuts every Wednesday morning as an employee perk. At the same time, the finance team was thinking of ways to save money; the Company would like to reduce spending by $100K this coming year.

There was an employee survey; a lot of people said they don't need the donuts. The donuts cost a few thousand dollars annually. The donut purchase was cut.

The donut lovers were not happy. They did not revolt, however. They're engineers. They came up with a solution to the problem. ...
       Continue reading "Consider it a Challenge"

Technology Moves Forward at the Grocery Store

Thirty years and more ago, your local grocery store used cash registers. Prices were marked on all items; the checker punched that price into the cash register and the total was calculated much like a desktop calculator with a paper tape.

Although the first patent for a bar code type product was issued in October, 1952, and the first bar code used commercially in 1966, it wasn't until 1970 that an industry standard was set. By 1970, the Universal Grocery Products Identification Code (UGPIC) was written; this evolved into the Universal Product Code (UPC) in 1973. In June of 1974, the first U.P.C. scanner was installed at a supermarket in Troy, Ohio. [ref: The History of Bar Code] ...
       Continue reading "Technology Moves Forward at the Grocery Store"

Why not use spoons?

There's an anecdote from The Depression era...

A man is walking past a construction site where dozens of men are digging with shovels. He asks the foreman "Why don't you use a backhoe for this? It would take less time and cost less money."

The foreman shakes his head. "That may be true, but it would put all of these men out of work."

"Ah", says the other man, "If you just want to give them work, why not have them use spoons?"

I thought of this today at the Job. As I came across the parking lot, a man was out with the leaf blower. He's there most mornings at about the same time. ...
       Continue reading "Why not use spoons?"

Working Here, Working There

I worked from home on Tuesday. I got a lot done. I put in nine and a half hours without noticing. I didn't feel the need to "get up, get out, and get away". It was quiet. There were no distractions.

I got work done. I was productive. I felt relaxed. It was wonderful.

I had planned to work from home again today. I had hoped to make working from home a regular part of my schedule.

Unfortunately, there was a sinkhole in my road to productive off site work and I walked right into it. I made a fatal political error. I announced my intentions.

Bad move. ...
       Continue reading "Working Here, Working There"

Envying Snow White

Do you recall the scene in Snow White where she's singing and the bird comes and sits on her hand and they do a duet?

We have a bird feeder in our back yard. I filled it this evening and the birds were delighted. Sparrows, finches, a happy chickadee (who landed at the feeder and chirped at me just after I filled it) and even two nuthatches. They all visited again and again while I watched, after I came inside. Nuthatches are adorable; they hang head down from the wire around the feeder.

Behind the building where I work, there are little Oregon juncoes. I see them every day, flitting about. They're very cute with their little black hoods and russet vests.

When I was younger, we knew some people who had tamed the chickadees aorund their property. They could call them and feed them out of hand. Even I could feed chickadees that way when I was with them. Wow.

I want to be like Snow White. I want the little brown birds to come and sit on my fingers. That would be such fun!

How Many Carbs in Baklava?

The Company I work for does a lunch meeting three Thursdays a month. They bring in "takeout" food for 100 people. The quality... varies ;-) and it's usually all tepid, but I have found that I can usually find some combination of things to eat. There's almost always more than enough food, so the leftovers are brought back up to the break room where people continue to pass through and help themselves throughout the afternoon.

Today's lunch was from a Mediterranean place called Ali Baba that's fairly popular among my co-workers. Not only does The Company get the Thursday lunch from here about once every 6 weeks but there have been several smaller lunch meetings that have had food from Ali Baba. I agree that this is one of the better choices. The restaurant produces a pretty good hummous, decent tabouleh, passable chunks of lamb and chicken., some unidentifiable things that other people seem to like.. and Truly Wonderful Baklava (your choice: walnut or pistachio). There is always plenty of food and there is always Baklava left over.

My cubicle is in a smaller room just off the break room. I have to pass through the break room to get anywhere else in the building.

It's a good thing that The Company doesn't get lunch from Ali Baba's more often. I have a particular fondness for good Baklava.

Squishy Squashy Squooshy

Have you tried a huggable therapy pillow yet? They're meant to be hugged... and hugging them feels good!

Pillows come in different sizes, from small to large. They're made by several different companies. All have have brightly colored, satiny, spandex covers. They're filled with microbeads and they are sooooo huggable.

The Sharper Image carries a brand called HugOO; there's also a sleep mask in the same material.

I bought a primary red, tubular Homedics Squish, the other night at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. It was in a bin with a bunch of "square" , mpillows of the same fabric and feel.

I liked the tubular one best. So did the cashier; I almost couldn't get it back from her! She kept hugging it. :-)

A Taste of Summer

August is peach season, the time when peaches are at their peak of perfection. Our local grocery store gets incredible "local" peaches every August - huge, sweet, juicy and delicious. We buy these as often as we can until the season ends.

August is also a popular vacation month. When I was growing up, my family took our vacation during the last two weeks of August. From the year I was five, for thirteen years, we spent that time at a friend's cabin in the Adirondacks, in upstate New York. We swam, we hunted toadyfrogs in the back yard, we watched stars... and we ate fresh, ripe tomatoes and corn on the cob and peaches.

Last night I had a perfect peach (with just a small dollop of vanilla ice cream). In that first bite, I found myself transported suddenly across space and time, to another bowl of peaches with a dollop of vanilla ice cream... at a friend's cabin in the Adirondacks, in upstate New York.

Maybe if I Just Ate Half...

I walked by Carl's Jr. yesterday and saw their poster advertising the "Low-Carb breakfast bowl". It appears to be a sausage patty, folded egg, cheese and ... bacon? ... in a bowl. No potatoes, no bun. It looked pretty good.

Last night I looked it up on the web, if for no other reason than to see if that really was a sausage patty or a hamburger patty. I'm glad I looked! I don't expect to be trying one anytime soon. Not unless I can split it with one or two people. ...
       Continue reading "Maybe if I Just Ate Half..."

Are Mac Users Smarter?

Well, yeah...Isn't it obvious? I mean, we use Macs!

Duh!

Paul Murphy decided to do a little "scientific research" into the subject for his recent article in MacNewsWorld.

I doubt it's possible to get a definitive answer, but as long as you don't take any of it too seriously you can have a lot of fun playing with proxies such as the average user's ability to read and write his or her native language. This isn't necessarily a reasonable measure of intelligence (mainly because intelligence has yet to be defined) but almost everyone agrees that a native English speaker's ability to write correct English correlates closely with that person's ability to think clearly.

In other words, if we knew that Mac users, as a group, were significantly better users of written English than PC users, then we'd have a presumptive basis for ranking the probable "smartness" of two people about whom we only know that one uses a Mac and the other a PC.

Into My Garden

[ This was a writing prompt from Daily Writing Practice ]

Who stepped into my garden?

We live on the edge of a ridge, a string of lakes, a watershed, and a wildlife preserve. In the daytime, visitors to our garden include various sorts of birds and (after 15 years!) grey squirrels. In the summer, we often get quail (they are so cute).

At night we get raccoons, occasional skunks, and (much more rarely) an opossum. ...
       Continue reading "Into My Garden"

Homecoming

The best thing about this new job is that it's only 2 miles (and less than 10 minutes) from home. They have "core hours" at this place; everyone is expected to be around and accessible between 10 am and 4:30 pm. So I get in by 8 am and I can head out at 4:30.

I'm home by 4:45! It's wonderful!

I have never worked so close to home before (well, I've worked from home which is better of course, but...). I've always worked about 40 minutes away. I'd get to work by 9 and leave at 5:30. I'd get home about 6:15.

I can't say getting up at 6:45 is delightful but getting home before 5 is definitely worth it. And, in the summer, I'm likely to wake up sometime between 6 and 6:30 on my own.

A Lilac Flower By Any Color

Our white lilac has a funny history. I think maybe it blooms so exuberantly each year because it's laughing at me :-)

You see.... it was supposed to be purple.

When I first went to the nursery, I wanted a purple lilac. The house I grew up in had both purple and white - a huge purple lilac tree that was as tall as the roof (and was just outside my bedroom window) and a smaller, white, lilac bush at the opposite corner of the yard. Every year both would bloom; oh how I loved them. My mother would cut armloads of lilac and put them in a big vase. I like the white (and frankly, with eyes closed, a lilac by any color smells as sweet). But somehow, I wanted my lilac to be, well... lilac. ...
       Continue reading "A Lilac Flower By Any Color"

Tax Time

It's that time of year. The days are getting longer and warmer (although some localities still have snow on the ground!) Still, in many places, the trees are budding, the grass is greening, the birds are singing. All across America, papers are being collected, pencils are being sharpened, and from many homes you hear the weeping, wailing and, most of all, groans... it's Tax Time.

i'm doing my taxes this weekend. could it be possible to say that that's what inspired me for this week's wL? haha, but it has.

• yay or nay for math?

• who gets your taxes done?

• have you ever *gasp* cheated?

• do you usually make plans for your refund or do you save it?

[ questions courtesy of the weeklyLeak ]

Strikingly Unusual

A recent prompt from the Journal-Inspirations list group:

Write about the most unusual person you met today.

However, if we stretch the meaning of "meet" to include "saw and spoke to", I met an unusual person last night. I made it a point to approach her and compliment her on her attire. She's certainly worth describing! ...
       Continue reading "Strikingly Unusual"

You've Got a Friend in Pennsylvania

My sister sent me this quiz;

You Know You're From (or In) Pennsylvania If:

• You've never referred to Philadelphia as anything but "Philly." And New Jersey has always been "Jersey."
• You refer to Pennsylvania as "PA" (pronounced Peeay). How many other states do that?
• You know what "Punxsutawney Phil" is, and what it means if he sees his shadow.
• The first day of buck and the first day of doe season are school holidays.
• You can use the phrase "fire hall wedding reception" and not even bat an eye.
• You can't go to a wedding without hearing the "Chicken Dance," at least 1 Polka and either an Italian song (sung in Italian,) or "Hava Nagila."
• At least 5 people on your block have electric "candles" in all or most of their windows all year long.
• You know what a "Hex sign" is.

My Muse

Monday's prompt in Journal Inspirations:

Muse: a source of inspiration; especially : a guiding genius

What would you consider to be your muse? Why?

Chocolate Lovers Rejoice

...Scientists at Cornell University and Seoul National University examined the cancer-fighting antioxidant content of hot cocoa, red wine, and tea, and found that cocoa had nearly double the antioxidants of red wine and four to five times more than tea. Instant cocoa would likely give you similar benefits, say the researchers. (Dark chocolate is high in antioxidants too, but it also has unhealthy fats)....

One of the main ingredients of chocolate is cocoa butter, which is made up of beneficial fatty acids like stearic, oleic and palmitic....

Chocolate contains mostly stearic acids, which have a neutral effect on cholesterol in comparison with other saturated fats.

[cf. The Chocoholic's Choice, May 2003, San Francisco Chronicle.

Packaging Solutions

In wandering the web today looking for something else, I came across the rather interesting page from Berlin Packaging. Berlin Packaging is "the nation's premier supplier of rigid packaging - including glass, metal, and plastic containers, and closures". The page I discovered is their packaging solutions page, on which they give several examples, with full text description as well as "Before" and "After pictures, of bottles they have redesigned (and why).

For example, the way I found this site was by doing a search for the home page of a product I like, Victorian House Coffee. It turns out that Berlin Packaging redesigned the Victorian House Coffee bottle: ...
       Continue reading "Packaging Solutions"

Constraints

Have you ever noticed how so many decisions and problem solutions are based on certain constraints... and yet, after you've made the decision, you often discover that some of what you thought were constraints on the problem weren't real? ...
       Continue reading "Constraints"

Right Brain Left Brain

"This theory of the structure and functions of the mind suggests that the two different sides of the brain control two different "modes" of thinking. It also suggests that each of us prefers one mode over the other."

• Are you an artist?

• Are you artistic, creative, right-brained?

• Are you left- or right-handed?

Continue, reading the complete essay

House Ordinary

Housework has never been my strong suit. I grew up in a family of packrats; my parents believed in taking a laissez faire approach to housework. The dining room table tended to accumulate mail, craft projects, and general piles of whatever; it was cleared on occasions when we had two or more guests for dinner (otherwise, the family ate in the kitchen). We'd vacuum when company was coming or whenever the rug seemed to need it.

As a child, I was never required to clean my room. My room varied between an average, fairly disorganized, child's room and the result of one of my periodic spontaneous outbursts of organization. (To my credit, those cleaning bursts never uncovered a half sandwich or anything of that nature!)

My first (and last) College room mate (actually grad school) was, to my mind, a neat freak. In a flat rented by 3 adult women who were usually in class or in the lab and thus rarely home, she decided that the flat needed to be vacuumed every Saturday morning. Once a week I would be awakened by the vrooooom of the vacuum outside my door, well before 10 am. When she suggested I take a turn some week, I reminded her that I owned the vacuum cleaner and closed the door again. After that experience, I rented one-bedroom apartments until I met my Spouse.

I'm no Martha Stewart and Spouse isn't Mr. Clean. While our house isn't exactly ... messy... you wouldn't want to eat off the floor. We try to straighten up the public areas, but if you can't deal with cat hair, I wouldn't advise you to visit. ...
       Continue reading "House Ordinary"

Linoleum, Carpet, Wood, or Tile?

I grew up in a house that had linoleum floors upstairs and in the kitchen. It had wall-to-wall carpet in the living at dining rooms (at least from the time I was nine years old and those rooms were remodeled).

I don't quite know where I got my preference for wood, but I prefer wood floors with occasional throw rugs. Linoleum seems cold and... utilitarian. Wall to wall carpet is warm under my feet but it's boring and harder to clean and keep clean.

Tile can be pretty and it's water-resistant; we tiled our sunroom. Depending on the tile, it can be warmer than linoleum, although it's likely cooler than carpet. But then, tile can be sunwarmed...

Still, there is just something special about wood. I love wood — wood floors; wood furniture; unpainted, unvarnished, lightly treated (oiled) wood; even things that have the appearance of wood (though I draw the line at most wood-grain wall paneling products :) ...
       Continue reading "Linoleum, Carpet, Wood, or Tile?"

Spring has Sprung

It's SPRING in Central Coastal (aka SF Bay Area) California! Spring Spring, beautiful Spring! I love Springtime! The ornamental plums are starting to pop out in PINK blossoms. Last weekend I actually saw a small patch of daffodils. And there was pine pollen all over the car this morning. The weather forecasts calls for highs in the 60's. Yes indeedydoo it's SPRING. Finally :-)

One Reason I Live in Central Coastal California

A friend sent this photo, taken in the Oswego area (near Syracuse, NY).

They call the San Francisco Bay Area, "Northern" California. It's not really northern California. It snows in northern California — it snows up around Tahoe and north into the Sierras. It snows a lot up there; they build ski resorts to showcase the snow. However, we choose not to drive up there in the winter (come to think of it, we don't go up there in the summer either, but I digress). We've decided we don't "do" chains :-)

Here in beautiful Bay Area California, however, the closest we get to snow is that sometimes we can see a little on Mount Diablo ( due east across the Bay out our kitchen windows). The summit on Mt. Diablo is 3,849 feet; a few days ago the snow level was down to 3000 feet. But our house is only a few hundred feet above sea level and we don't see much snow around here. Certainly not like the snow in the photo.

Nevertheless, this photo invokes a feeling of Deja Vu for me. ...
       Continue reading "One Reason I Live in Central Coastal California"

Cats and Mice

Today I had to take my trackball apart and clean out the accumulated cat hair. With four cats, there's cat hair in the air. Plus, Bebop occasionally sits on the trackball. And, of course, cat hair just... is. It wraps around the little wheels inside the trackball housing. I know I need to clean out the fluff when the ball spins and the cursor doesn't move in one dimension. Then out comes the micro screwdriver and I open the trackball housing. ...
       Continue reading "Cats and Mice"

Breaking Down Boxes

Most of these boxes are made from a simple two-dimensional pattern. But some, like the "Glad Tall Kitchen Drawstring Trash Bag" box I broke down this morning, are different. The two-dimensional shape is fairly complex and interesting. It makes me wonder why it was designed that way. ...
       Continue reading "Breaking Down Boxes"

2003 Year End Survey

I found this survey on the web and modified it slightly. If you like, copy the questions and answer them in your own weblog, journal, email, or here in the comments. There are 42 questions. ...
       Continue reading "2003 Year End Survey"

Amber

My wonderful Richard offered to buy me an amber pendant for Christmas; they were each sooo gorgeous. I never knew about green amber! I thought about it and thought about it and finally said no... They were all stunning but...I never wear pendants or any other kind of necklace. Still, the offer was as nice (even nicer) a gift than the amber.

Ode to the Chiropractor

December

It's December 5. Yesterday, the checker in the grocery store said "20 more shopping Days till Christmas". Today there are 26 days till the end of 2003.

1. When you hear "20 more Shopping Days till Christmas" — How does that make you feel?
   
2. When you hear "26 days till the end of 2003" — How does that make you feel?
   
3. Do you celebrate Christmas? If not, do you celebrate another holiday at year end? (e.g. Chanukah, Kwanzaa, Solstice...)
   
4. How do you celebrate? Big or small? Friends and family? Lots of parties?
   
5. Do you make resolutions for the New Year?
   

Turkey Day reprise

In the words of Arlo Guthrie, we "had another thanksgiving dinner that couldn't be beat". We had 6 people again, this time two different friends (brothers that Rich has known since he was about 8 years old). We had run out of dark meat, so we cooked 3 new turkey thighs; we still had some turkey breast, however. We cooked new squash and cauliflower, made another cranberry fruit salad, brought out the leftover corn and sauerkraut, and added a spinach salad. This time the pie was apple (one crust, no sugar added) and as I had always guessed, Fuji apples do make a splendid apple pie!

A Good Time was had by all. We hope your Thanksgiving dinner was as good.

Turkey Day

We invited a friend to join us for dinner, so we had 6 people. We had turkey of course (1 breast and 4 thighs; wings don't have enough meat and legs never did anything for me) - we had just about enough dark meat (even a little left over)! We had Pennsylvania Dutch dried corn., baked acorn squash, baked yams, a little bit of bread stuffing, broccoli, pork & sauerkraut, and cauliflower with cheese sauce. We had a cranberry fruit salad (much like my favorite Jello salad but leave out the gelatin and put in applesauce and boy is it yummy). We ended with two kinds of sugar-free crustless pumpkin pie and whipped cream for any who wanted it.

The turkey wasn't stuffed but we were!

Open Sesame!

Cone of Silence

Consider investing in a pair of Bose Quiet Comfort 2 headphones.

Put them on. Notice the difference.

Now, turn them on. Notice the silence.

Connect the input jack to a music source (I prefer an iPod :-). Listen.

Wow.

Look for a Bose store near you and try a pair in their showroom; I think you'll agree. Sure, they're expensive ($299). But they are worth every penny.

24-hour clocks

An analog clock (you remember, the old-fashioned circular faces with the hands? :-) is really a 12-hour clock. The hands go from 12:00 to 11:59 and then they do it again. If you set the clock for 3:15, doesn't matter "which" 3:15 it is, the clock will work. The alarm will work. The only drawback is you can't set an alarm more than 12 hours in advance.

A digital clock, however, fools you. The numbers go from 12:00 to 11:59 and repeat, but in the second pass there's usually some sort of teensy tinsy symbol to indicate that it's now pm (or perhaps am).

Our alarm clock didn't go off this morning. It was set for 8:30, to give Rich plenty of time to get up and be at his new contract by 10:00. Unfortunately, although the alarm was correctly set for 8:30 am, the clock itself had gotten misadjusted after a temporary power failure and was now off by 12 hours. So, at half past eight this morning the clock thought it was 8:30 pm. We woke up an hour later. Rich wasn't very late leaving the house, but neither did he have much time to get ready.

The next alarm clock I get is going to be a real 24-hour clock that uses 24 numbers for the hours, not some itty bitty red dot :-(

Conspiracy Theory

We commented, as we often do, how is it that the signs can be partially out for so many stores so often; then Rich suggested... perhaps it's done by intent?!?

If the signs were always complete, passersby would get used to them. But leave out a few letters and, voila, the passersby will have their eyes drawn to the sign (and to the new pronunciation) and their brains will register the presence of the store more clearly. Did I even know there was an Old Navy store in that other shopping center before?

Conspiracy? Fact or fallacy?
8-)

Rabbits? or Powder Puffs?

A friend sent me a link to Betty Chu's English Angora Rabbits pages, specifically the 2003 All Breed Best In Show & Reserve In Show winners. They are adorable... but are they rabbits? Or giant powder puffs? Or something else again? (stuffy toys? slippers? footstools??)

I sent the link to several friends. Here's one reply:

I regret to inform you that neither of your possible answers were correct. The creatures that are shown in the pictures are the mature form of the common household dust bunnies. Normally they are very quiet and quite harmless unless you are allergic to them.

These however are breeding adults. They are capable of producing thousands of offspring (just pick one up while wearing a dark sweater).

They reproduce 2 ways. Asexually by budding described above and sexually producing 2-8 offspring at a time. Best advice is to avoid them completely and prevent the adult form by frequently cleaning problem areas.

A Spy?!

Too Darn Hot

The cat thermometers are registering 90. ...
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I wonder what I did last week

Mothers Day

A day to honor mothers was first suggested in the US in 1872 by Julia Ward Howe (writer, reformer, and author of The Battle Hymn of the Republic). However, the founder of Mothers Day in the US is Anna Jarvis, who began an intense campaign to honor mothers after her own mother's death in May, 1905. ...
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Cell Phone Donation

DONATE A PHONE program recycles used wireless phones to help the environment and raise funds for a variety of charities. Most phones are resold as economical alternatives to new phones. The rest are safely recycled in accordance with all applicable U.S. environmental regulations.

Bowl of Fruit

This isn't a typical restaurant bowl of fruit. For one thing, the fruit is fresh, unsugared, and hasn't been soaking in syrup or juice for hours getting soggy. A typical bowl of fruit includes bananas,strawberries, orange sections, apples, and cantaloupe. Often, there is grapefruit, honeydew, and/or pear. Sometimes grapes, pineapple, peaches, or plums make an appearance. Whatever's there, it's usually in season, most often perfectly ripe. Very tasty. ...
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I've been dreaming

Recently, however, my dreams have been a bit more interesting. ...
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Tax Day Humor

A woman came in who said she'd been in the Millbrae PO earlier (Millbrae is the next town south of ours) and they were serving orange juice and apple juice and cookies and candy this morning.

I said "Well, that's what they usually do when you give blood". The PO lady and another patron laughed (the woman who'd been at Millbrae didn't get it; the other patron was explaining it to her as I left :-)

It's raining, it's pouring

It's a good day to stay indoors, read a book, snuggle kitties, take a nap...

Jury Duty - Not!

It's good he didn't have to go; otherwise he would have spent today sitting in a room full of bored people, waiting to have his name called, waiting (hopefully) to be excused. We can't afford to have Rich on Jury Duty right now; he's the only one with work :-(

One thing we noticed that was new on this summons note was that it specified a dress code - no T-shirts! And this for the first day (on which I wouldn't have guessed even "selected" people would actually sit on a case). Weird. But, in any case, not an issue because his presence wasn't required.

All clear for another year.

Annual Tax-time Pondering

So anyway, doing my taxes, I wondered as I do each year why I can't count the furkids as dependents... they're as much (or more) dependent on me as a human child or "elderly relative" would be. I buy them food and toys and pay for annual vet appointments and medical insurance. They can't go out and get a job (they can't even go out except under strict supervision and generally in a carrier!).

It doesn't seem fair... but then, I guess taxes were never meant to be fair.

At least this year (unlike last year) I get a refund. Not huge, but when you're unemployed, you take whatever you can get!

Spontaneous generation

Sometimes I can readily understand how the theory of spontaneous generation came into being. Recently, we have had ants on our kitchen counter - the tiny little brown ones. I don't know where they are coming from. The only time I see one is in the middle of the counter. Always one or perhaps two, no trail, never coming from a cabinet or up from the floor. Just one ant, miraculously appearing out of thin air on the counter top.

Warm egg salad

So... how many years have I had a microwave? One minute on 3 after adding the mayonnaise. Et voila! Warm egg salad.

Duh.

Rainy Days and Sundays

Is that a contradiction? It's been wet today; a big Alaskan storm front. Not cold though and the wind has temporarily abated. Actually, a very nice day. Just damp in spots.

Sunny Days and Wednesdays

I hope it's as nice where you are today as it is here! The sky is BLUE, the wind is mild, it's in the mid-70's. Bebop and I spent 15 minutes sitting in the garden; I sat, he melted into the ground and let me rub his sides, his back, his head, his tummy. It's amazing how well a Maine Coon can melt, given the chance. All their bones turn into jello. I wish I didn't have so much work to do; I'd rather spend the day in the garden.

Gee it's a beautiful day!

A beautiful morning in May! Sun is out, birds are out, little poofy clouds, rhododendron is still blooming. Warm in the sun, cool in the shade and WINDY.