I've been whining to whoever will listen about the suckfest known as living out of a hotel. Luxury hotels with full amenities? Pshaw.
I'm not really all that selfish or spoiled. But it took me days to realize I'm homesick. I miss Conan and I miss my stuff. Not to mention the people I left behind. My life currently lacks the comfort of familiarity.
As I said, it's all about me lately.
Did you even notice I was gone? Of course you did. Some of you even wrote to tell me about it. Thank you. But I knew, oh yes, I knew I wasn't blogging. My MovableType publishing tools have been down for well over a week!
Getting the right help from my Web host, Yahoo!, was difficult to say the least. But, I won't complain too much (for now) as in the end they fixed the issue for me. Something about a mySQL database? Whatever.
While everything was down I decided to move from MT to WordPress. I may still do that, but at least it won't be while I'm under the gun, so I can study a bit more about porting my old content.
Lots to catch up on! In the meantime, I am a happy clam.
I went down to a local AT&T store this morning a little after 10. I counted about 30 people on line and they were also coming in behind me. Shortly after I walked up, the man in front of me yelled out loudly and suddenly (tourrets came to mind), “Do they have more phones?!?” to no one in particular.
Two women at the head of the line turned and explained they did, but only the 8 gig models, and probably only enough for the first few people in the line. One of them said the AT&T employees were coming out every 30 mins or so to provide updates. The women said they’d been there since 7am. I figured I’d wait for the next update.
Five or six people dropped out of the line, including the random shouter who left with a grunt.
A few minutes later an employee came out to tell us they were down to just a couple of phones, but they may have just received a shipment (deliveries can be so confusing). He promised to come back and update us soon. In the meantime, he said, another local AT&T store had just run out, but the nearest Apple store had “tons,” but there were also several hundred people already on line.
At this point 7 or 8 more people dropped off the line....
George Carlin's "Fucking Meow" was my favorite joke for a stretch in the 80s. My (multiple) retellings were always slightly inappropriate, of course, since I was just a kid. But as a girl with a cat, I thought it was hilarious and very true.
The punch line is about 3 minutes into this video.
Buying this today was so wrong, but owning it feels so right.
Welcome to my geeked-up life.
I didn't like eating when I was a kid. My folks had to coax me with favorite foods, and a regular winner was honey. A small spoonful, poured over toast or a pancake. Or honey and peanut butter.
I still dig its golden goodness and got hooked on Starbucks' honey lattes when I was in Florida last month. Coffee + honey = who knew? Yum. Total comfort food for a former honey kid.
Now if only I could re-embrace my dislike of food in general... heh.
I'm recouping from one of those up-all-night bugs, with a sore throat and the sniffles thrown into the mix. This morning I felt like someone had been beating me up all night. The rainy weather between Sunday and today was a perfect compliment. I haven't seen such a steady, strong rain for years. The mostly-dry creek off the backyard is now a roaring river, but it's no threat to the house.
Tomorrow I start the work week a day behind. Excellent.
Mac vs. PC remains an open challenge for me. I've been working part-time on a MacBook Pro for several weeks but have yet to fall in love. Oh, I'm definitely crushing on Silver, but I spend so much time deprogramming from my PC, it's hard to sit back and enjoy the Mac.
Love the UI, operational speed, and ease of some functions, like how CDs work with iTunes. The keyboard, menus and overall desktop navigation are still alien to me. Of course I've spent as much time with the Mac over several weeks that I generally spend in 1-2 days with my PC.
My two blog posts on Sunday were done on the Mac. No difference in the MT interface but saving and cropping the miShare image on my desktop was a snap. Next weekend I'll try working with photos off my camera... graphics are supposed to be the genius of a Mac, right?
Still loving the Mac ads... but I swear they're not the reason I took the plunge. Mostly.
I came across this cute little gadget for sharing between ipods called miShare. The software is still in beta but as a multi-pod owner, I appreciate the idea. And only $99. So, um, let me know if you buy one.
I drove alongside a Smart car yesterday on my way to work. The car was as big as a good Schwinn. Of course I was looking down from my tall (but compact!) SUV. But, still.
The driver looked vunerable and relatively uncomfortable given the size of his own chasis. But he kept up with my over-the-limit 50 MPH. Eek.
I'm sure the cars are technically safe for highways, but not next to monster trucks, er, standard-sized vehicles.
So, until the average U.S. car gets smaller, let's keep Smart cars on local city and town streets, not the highways. Thank you.
From ABC news a couple of weeks ago... one Dr. John's Herbal Lollipop, two times per day for 10 days, disables tooth decay bacteria for 3-6 months. Brilliant.
Much better than the deadly but not addictive cigarettes of the future.
Driving home tonight after dark I hit a 35 MPH zone with a car cruising along beside me on the right. A 6-7 year old little girl was in the back seat, her body straight forward but with her head turned to stare out the window.
Things looked okay regarding her environment, with parents in the front chatting and another kid next to her, but the pale girl with dark hair had a completely blank expression and a wicked stare.
I hope her parents have checked her hairline for numbers.
The most rambunctious, hungry, and angry squirrel known to mankind moved into my attic a couple of weeks ago. Not surprisingly, inviting an exterminator into the mix amplified my squirrel’s anger issues.
Truth be known, this is a friendly trapper who works to avoid killing any wildlife. But apparently the company is so friendly my squirrel thumbed her nose at them.
I say “she” because Randy the Exterminator said so. On his return visit this morning, he said “she is so hungry now she won’t be able to resist the treat I offer her today.” Sounds sort of ominous, but it’s just peanut butter. And a spring-loaded box, so Randy the Exterminator could move her out of my house.
Photo (c) Jules & photoshoppix.com
Mission accomplished. The squirrel, which was supposed to be gone on Friday – before they patched the hole she’d made to come in – is now gone.
Conan and I will not miss her creepy footsteps on the ceiling. The way he chased her around, running from room to room and staring up at the ceiling was adorable. The hole she was making in the office ceiling? Stressful. And our other visitor, a human, hasn’t slept well for days worrying about squirrel bites and a house full of rabid people and pets.
Sounds like interesting fodder for Pet Cemetery 3 – The Family Plot.
I am completely sleepless in India right now. Okay, I had an hour last night - but way not enough.
And I just thought of my poor blog. Talk about kicking the habit! And I don't want to... so some U2 to make my little guy feel better...
Is it getting better?
Or do you feel the same?
Will it make it easier on you now?
You got someone to blame
Yep, that someone is me! Blame all the travel. And stuff.
I successfully avoided the germs creeping around the office the past two weeks. Then I took a flight out to LA, and despite my pre-flight vitamin dosing, the bastard germs got me. Dammit.
Returning to work after a long weekend has its challenges. This morning in the shower the Boomtown Rats snuck into my head and they stuck with me all day.
The song's about more than your average bad day, but still... you can appreciate the sentiment.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
Tell me why?
I don't like Mondays.
I want to shoot
The whole day down.
I want to shoo-oo-oo-oo-oo-oo-t... the whole. day. down.
Sir Bob rules. Unlike Mondays.
My blog and I weren't on speaking terms last week.
Now I'm back to whine: I've caught the office bug and it's really annoying. I'm hoping the messy snuffling passes quickly. But, this particular plague has hit some of my colleagues hard.
Sniff. I'm doomed.
Finally bought a new living room set - a mix of stripes and flowers in earth tones. So pretty! The set includes a sofa, two chairs and two ottomans, and the price was right thanks to Columbus Day.
It's about time I unloaded the "marriage furniture." Now I have to wait six weeks for delivery... boo.
This morning's rainy weather was nice, but traffic is a mess in Virginia when the roads are wet. Always annoying.
I was at a stoplight near the office while a moment of silence played out on the radio. My eyes welled a bit and I was feeling silly, but then I saw a woman in a nearby car dabbing away tears. I assumed it was for the same reason.
This afternoon I was talking with someone about 9/11 movies, and I realized I own both United 93 and World Trade Center, and haven’t watched either film. I don’t think I’ve consciously avoided them. They’re not the only DVDs on my shelf I haven’t watched, but I'm going to give them a go.
So... not moving move forward with a new home buy right now. The flaky real estate market and uphill battle of selling the current house - or opting to rent it out - open up too much uncertainty and risk. We'll start over again in the spring if/when things are looking better.
I'm completely bummed about losing the house. I really fell in love with the place and opting not to push forward wasn't an easy decision - but it feels right in many important ways.
Summertime is fading away, and fast. Taking my vacation later than normal had the opposite than intended effect - I really thought it would stretch the summer, but noooo. Extended business travel added to the rush, too.
It's almost time to stop wearing sandals every day which bums me out because they're so comfy. I do look forward to sweater weather, but not the truly cold stuff. Here's to an Indian summer.
Looks like I'm getting back into the blogging groove. So nice to have an established blog to visit from time to time when I'm too busy to blog regularly. Ahhh.
Starved. Stomped. Radiated. Poisoned.
NASA's descriptive comparison of cockroaches to PAHs (polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons - genesis on Earth?), lured me in. But I was surprised when I clicked to read about PAHs and NASA sent me to Wikipedia. Seriously?
Latest updaters on the wiki's entry include a legit chem-geek and anonymous IPs from Colorado and Amsterdam.
Apparently there is not enough stress in my life because I've begun shopping for a new house. My hunt buddies and I visited 20 or so properties in person this weekend, in addition to tons of online research.
I think I found the house I want last weekend... and still feel that way after all this browsing. I'm wrestling with the notion of going further out into the country for social, convenience, and commute concerns, but leaning towards taking the plunge. Then there's the whole fiasco of selling my current home. Any buyers?
My hometown movie theater has a really creative and funny staff.
The alternatives to that statement are clear here:
I dug how this buzzed around my personal email network Wednesday after its appearance in the local paper.
Today is the first anniversary of this blog. Nice to see I stuck it out vs. previous short-lived personal blogging trials.
Lots happened this year - maybe I'll use the time as fodder for a follow-up post... when it's not 1am on a work night! Blogging is a pain in the ass.
Happy birthday!
Nursing a cold and daytime dozing lead to weird dreams today. In one I met the Queen of England and Judge Judy accused me of breaking a fancy cookie dish. (I believe I was guilty.) In another, I saw a dog running down the Washington Mall chased by the paparazzi. There was also something in there about my car's brakes not working. My own little trip down the rabbit hole via Theraflu.
I left work Friday feeling fine but when I woke up Saturday morning I was as sick as a dog. Head, throat, chest. Fan-friggen-tastic.
I did a lot of not-so-much this weekend but still feel pretty crappy. But, I probably sound worse than I feel with my barky coughs.
Rrruff!
Last week I dreamt that my friend and former colleague Bob was alive and well, hiding out in rural Virginia. No explanation given or needed.
I woke up with a start and the shift from happiness to sadness was physically jarring as my mind shifted to reality. Bob and the dream are still hanging with me a week later.
It's almost a year since he was killed in an accident. When I told Nancie about the dream we reminisced for over an hour. I hesitated telling her because I didn't want to make her sad too, but it was good to share. Bob affected us in personal, individual, ways. He was a good egg.
A week without blogging and I wasn't even on vacation.
No worries, I thoroughly chastised myself.
My thoughts are with the victims and their families and friends. We've been watching the coverage from Florida and two days worth of words can't capture the senselessness of it all. So tragic, sad and maddening.
When we were little kids my best girlfriend and I would do the Hokey Pokey with our Holly Hobbie dolls all-the-time.
Walking through the parking garage at work I saw a bumper sticker I adore:
What if the Hokey Pokey IS what it's all about?
Indeed.
Well, duh.
April 1 was fun and miserable as a kid. No surprise that I was a jokester but the stress-inducing challenge was to stay ahead of reciprocation or worse, the unexpected pranks. I came away pretty unscathed although I did buy into some pretty lame stuff over the years.
Today I told someone her nose was purple and she believed me. Brilliant.
Unable to find a decent Hollywood project since 1983, R2D2 quietly entered a life of civil service with the US Post Office.
Years later, bored with his excellent life, George Lucas joined R2 and took over a neglected rural route in the Hollywood Hills. They paid George in stamps.
"We’re excited to be able to go to the city of Atlanta and participate in this year’s Final Four. It’s been a great accomplishment for our team, and for the other three programs as well..." - UF Head Coach Billy Donovan
It was over 70 degrees on Wednesday. This was my driveway on Friday evening.
I suppose this means Phil was technically right about "early spring" but the silly groundhog forgot to mention winter would come right back.
Someone stole an hour from my weekend.
The government proclaims it daylight savings time -- over two weeks ahead of schedule -- and like sheep we follow.
Maybe I'll be DST-agnostic and let people think I'm late for everything.
(I do love the possibility of leaving work before sunset again.)
Work is a feverish, mucus-filled germ farm this week, so I've been doubling up on vitamins and downing Airborne. So far so good.
Searching for the link above I came across some interesting info: Silver is a powerfully effective all natural antibiotic, disinfectant, and germ fighter: it kills bacteria, fungus, and viral infections. Who knew?
Chionophobia or Ergophobia? Maybe they're just out of town. Mhm.
I'm a Perky, he's a Perky, she's a Perky, we're a Perky, wouldn't you like to be a Perky too?
Doesn't quite have the same ring.
My Floridian friends and family are still unnerved by last week's killer storm but Marion County escaped relatively unscathed. Still, things are messy very close to home. Too close.
Oh, and if you're not in a giving mood, get over it.
When most of you think of Florida I know horses don't come to mind. Nevertheless, I hail from the horse capital of the world.
Barbaro wasn't from Florida but many of us, laymen and horse people alike, have been tracking his recovery. Sometimes we debated if they were doing the right thing... so many other animals could use the money invested.
But how could they not try? He was, after all, a champion.
Tonight's TMZ: Celebrity packages, nip slips and the requisite bad fashion gallery. Daniel Craig's package is lengths ahead of the competition in the featured poll.
I had to take the poll to know the results. Just in case you were wondering.
Speaking of degrees ... with the weather we've experienced this winter, how can you not question the state of our environment and the real probability of damaging and lasting climate changes?
Try this on for size:
Take one spring day, like April 14, and use it to reshape the future. Step it Up 2007.
Winter took a month to start chilling out with us but finally brought some snow today. The flakes started falling around 1:30, just as I was pulling into my driveway. Good not to be out when the streets got messy.
I planned to go for a walk and take some snaps of the fresh snow... then opted instead to stay warm and took a picture from the 2nd floor deck.
Alas, not likely.
Luckily, this impatient site features a countdown to June and a printable fold-up version of the new iPhone to carry around like a security blanket in the meantime.
Me and a colleague shared enough "WTF?" moments today to make an overall declaration. Nothing about anyone or anything in particular, just general weirdness and no full moon to blame.
Pretty fitting since today is the wedding anniversary of my first marriage. While no longer a difficult day (the first couple of years sucked even though I initiated the divorce), it's still etched on my brain and admittedly still weirds me out. I even randomly talked about it to a colleague yesterday (he was nicely attentive). I guess that was his WTF moment.
Cheers to great honeymoons, crashed marriages and fabulous divorces!
Hey, I warned you ...
Attention all germophobes: Meet the handheld germ-eliminating light.
Hammacher Schlemmer says the light uses the same UV technology found in hospitals to sterilize surgical instruments and works on anything that sustains germ vitality.
At $79.95 I'm intrigued... I'm not a germophobe but could easily become one with a special blue light. (And I do cringe at those "bugs we can't see" shows on the Discovery Channel.)
You can order now and the units begin to ship on Jan. 31.
I'm several months behind the times on this entry. Even so, with all the electronics industry buzz this week I feel the need to (finally) publicly declare my love of the Mac vs. PC ad campaign. The spots make me laugh and John Hodgman always manages to elicit an awww out of me while the Mac-erisms of Justin Long stylishly impress.
While making a half-assed attempt to deepen my engagement with StumbleUpon, I found a parent-friendly Wikipedia page, Films that most frequently use the word "fuck."
While I don't care which movies made the (verbal) f-count, the display of graphs tracking the total Fs -- particularly the breakdown of Fs per minute -- tickled me.
Time flies. I can't believe we've already reached the end of day one, 2007. Har har.
Just a quick cheers as I get back into the groove. My email box is dizzying and I resolve to bring a semblance of order to it tonight. Oh, I made a couple of resolutions that resonate deeper, too. We'll get to them soon, I'm sure.
Happy new year!
The new front door was installed this afternoon. It's not painted the standard green or brown so it's like looking directly at the sun, compared to the neighbor's doors.
I'm going to disguise the door from the covenant with a big red "this is intentionally decorative" bow until it's painted in early January.
There's a new front door because the old one was splitting around the lock set. The knob's lock stopped working. And you know, that's not really safe, although the deadbolt still worked.
The door took three weeks from order date to today's install. Does everything in the D.C. area take three weeks, regardless of what it is?
I love bouncing balls.
I love digital photography.
Finally, someone has put them together: SatuGO!
They seek funding and a manufacturer and are smart enough to build a mailing list. Pending customers are a great way to sell an idea.
Generally I don't need to sleep much and I don't like to sleep much. But when I'm sick, sleep overwhelms and I nap. Naps happen then the real sleep that should come overnight... doesn't.
Early Friday afternoon I went to the docs for a prescription, stopped at the store for liquids, came home, crashed. Got up for a couple of hours in the evening, worked a little, crashed again. Now it's 2am and I'm wide awake. Blah, blah, blah.
At least I feel better. Not sure if it's super-meds or just the end of a 4-day bug. I mostly went to the docs because I woke up with an earache Friday... a sign things could get worse.
I've been annoyingly whiney with this cold. And not just here, unfortunately.
Well, I took a few days away from the computer and my commenters went bonkers. Over 170 comments and over 250 trackbacks.
Dear, sweet spammers: Thanks for the um, interesting links.
I'm so one of the lunatics who goes to Target, et al, at 5am then heads to the mall to swarm the additional "special sales."
Organization is key...
If ever you wanted to burn a book, mark your calendars for Nov. 30.
Better yet, take the ~$20 you would (and would not) spend on OJ's creepy book and donate it to any charity in the names of Nicole Brown and Ronald Goldman.
If I Did It... a "hypothetical account" of the murders. A sick fantasy that Judith Regan is freely publishing and promoting, much to Simpson's delight.
I think my eyes are bleeding.
Seriously... donate to your preferred charity in the victim's names. Oh, and stay clear of FOX who will be airing a 2-part interview on Nov. 27 and 29.
Shortly after I joined the 5am call the discussions turned to leprechauns. Still foggy, I briefly wondered if I was actually on the call or still sleeping and dreaming about the call I was missing.
The morning went well and we made it through our first major beta refresh in really good shape.
Joe covers the changes well in the AIM Pages team blog.
See my updated page: aimpages.com/suzieaim
Well, I'm back from my so-called weekend unplug. I didn't sign onto the computer at all but did have a mobile phone attached to my ear. I had a great time just the same.
Tuesday kicks off with a 5am call. My inner clock rejects the notion of waking up so early. I generally stay up until 1am and sleep to 6:30-7am. Yes, six hours of sleep should work regardless of when it happens, but it doesn't translate like that for me.
Why so early? There's some great stuff going on with AIM Pages. Can't wait to share.
My precinct was active this morning. I arrived at 8am along with about 50 other voters. I was given the choice of touch-screen or paper and opted for the latter.
A notable item on today's ballot was a proposed amendment to the Virginia Constitution addressing the definition of marriage. Here in the Commonwealth we don't directly vote for or against gay marriage. Ayup.
Marriage is not currently defined in the state's Constitution and I'm all for keeping it that way but the tallies tonight support the amendment.
At least the attack of the Cardin/Steele political ads is over. For now.
Received a viral link today at work testing colloquialisms to judge where in the U.S. a person is from. The questions were fun but the results were lame: I'm 45% Dixie. Um, fine. I did like that each question provided immediate results.
Sadly, talking about one of the questions revealed that a couple of my colleagues had never heard of mischief night. Sigh.
Tonight was fun. Lots of kids came through the neighborhood, at least 100 while I was home, and I'm told I missed 25-30 before that.
No apparent signs of mischief around here last night. As a homeowner I love that. However, I'm totally disappointed as a former kid.
Halloween = the best Google logo treatment:
I've been lazy blogging this week and will make up for it soon. (Hey, I've been traveling since Thursday.)
It's raining tonight and hanging somewhere around 60 degrees. Since we're halfway through October and it's still so mild, I've been wondering if its unseasonably warm. According to the Weather Channel the average October high in Northern Virginia is 68 degrees. The average low is 39 degrees.
Since moving here from Florida five years ago the stretch between October and February has always felt like an extended cold snap. It never dawned on me that the weather was actually on the moderate side.
Looks like I've finally adjusted to having four distinct seasons.
Flipping channels tonight and caught Biography airing 'Dead Famous' featuring Jim Morrison.
The show was as hokey as expected including tours of potential Jim haunts, interviews with "casual acquaintances" and a big-finale seance where Jim graciously hung out for a while. I watched every minute.
I'm a Jim Morrison junky. I've been on the wagon for years but there was a time that I lived-and-breathed Morrison, circa the mid- to late-80s.
Framed wall poster, the music, poetry, hippy hat, dog-eared bio, attitude, all of it. Never mattered that he died when I was a baby. Jim was my one and only gratuitous idol. I even convinced my advanced history teacher senior year to let me do my research study on Morrison.
I carry remnants of my adoration; I was annoyed by tonight's show because it was disrespectful. They claimed Jim would dig it but I disagreed. Being spiritual doesn't mean you support the notion of a televised seance - especially with feigned results.
No one here gets out alive? Indeed.
Lost took less than two minutes to suck me back in last night. Nice reentry.
I'm getting lost for the weekend and will be unplugged until Sunday night.
Driving into work this morning listening to DC 101 and had a small world moment when Brad Meltzer dialed in. Seems his The Zero Game features a Senate page so EITM called him to talk about the Foley case. Although the interview was light, Meltzer's insights about the page program were interesting and his views were spot on.
Meltzer said those involved should burn in hell. Pretty straightforward. The way Foley was hidden by his party is a disgrace. Looks like many of them knew and none came forward. Thankfully the Internet is here to help.
As always, The Daily Show is covering the story best: Most recent clips
We're going up to NY/NJ this weekend to visit friends and to see Elton John in concert.
Not sure how I feel about the concert. I like his music and know he'll put on a good show but I generally prefer Elton in small doses. The idea of 2+ hours with good seats is slightly dizzying.
In the meantime, Rocket Man and Tiny Dancer have been alternately stuck in my head.
The shine might be gone from Prison Break. Last year I had much stronger levels of anticipation and reaction, as did the people around me. I even laid-out the $50 for the first season DVD.
I'm not ready to write them off just yet.
Tonight's episode had three interesting twists: The murder, the suicide and Sucre's hold-up. (BTW, I think Sucre's story will come to a violent end.)
Hard to believe that October is here. (Hrm, better not to dwell on how fast time actually does fly because it makes me feel old.) October brings cooler weather, Fall foliage and Halloween. This is a great month to dust off my Cannon SLR.
October is also Breast Cancer Awareness month.
We don't have a history of breast cancer in my family which makes us less-inclined to get annual exams. Stupid. I had my first exam two years ago after my team produced an editorial piece at work.
Here's a few sites for more info, about real experiences and on ways to donate time and money:
Office obsession of the week: The M&M dark chocolate game. The link started making the rounds last Friday and was still getting a fair amount of attention today. It's fun. The object is to name the 50 'dark' movies represented within the imagery.
Several movies are represented in the snap above including: House of Wax, The Village, Signs and Pumpkinhead. Several have been challenging for me and most are fun or interesting when discovered. Only one (so far) stretches beyond challenging to stupid (Rear Window).
As of tonight I've discovered 44 out of the 50. I've probably given it 60-90 minutes between yesterday and today. No cheating yet but Six did give me a hint on the pennies ("count them").
I'm stuck on the wooden-headed thing, the bug in a jar and the planets. Maybe I'll have more luck thinking about them offline.
BTW, I hate dark chocolate.
My friends live out in the sticks of Northern Virginia. Really beautiful country during the day, rolling hills and lots of space between neighbors. However, driving home Saturday night I was surprised by how dark and isolated the ride was. It wasn't quite horror movie creepy but that would have changed pretty damned quick if my car had broken down.
I drank coffee while I was there, something I shouldn't do after 2 pm if I want to sleep. The caffeine surely added to the atmosphere of the ride.
Scott and I noticed the darkness driving back at night a couple of months ago but you don't really feel it driving with someone else.
The ride was odd but the evening itself was good and when I got home I put my coffee-induced insomnia to good use and took two hours to reload my iPod.
Remember that sound? Steve Austin would train his eye on something and the "boop, boop, boop" sound would tell us the bionics had kicked-in. (Kitschy 70s music played when he ran in slow-mo.)
The show was on when I was 10 and younger but I loved it. I particularly enjoyed his bionic lady friend Jamie and her bionic german shepard. Clearly I was a little bionic geek.
I heard the boop-boop every time I saw this story today. Now I'm hearing it again. This is not a good sign.
Of course this is all to say the bionic arm story is a fascinating glimpse at a first generation solution that will probably morph very quickly into something much more sophisticated.
Saying today was tougher - sadder - than normal is to state the obvious. Most of us felt something, remembering.
This morning I was watching the Today show and reminded of a singular, terrible moment. It was knowing... that when the second plane hit, that the first plane was no accident. It was horrible. Overwhelming and a deeply-felt sadness. It took a long time to break through the haze of that morning. Days, weeks, months. That moment will always be with me and with countless others, too.
Our collective strength over the past five years offers a lot of hope - I hope in another five years that the healing has continued and that we're living in a more logical, sensible world.
When the 6 o'clock news was on last night there were apparently many "oh, that's what that was" conversations back home in Florida.
Somewhere in the Gulf yesterday around 11am a 6.0 earthquake rattled for about 20 seconds. Today's Post confirmed the rarity of such an event, but it will happen again.
Like the story suggests, I think we will all continue to worry more about hurricanes.
The death of Steve Irwin is indeed sad news. I loved watching this guy in action. Irwin helped raise awareness for animal conservation and care and did it with such contagious vigor. A little crazy but his good spirit always came across on the screen. My heart goes out to those he left behind, especially his wife and young children. I hope his family (human and otherwise) take comfort in knowing that he died doing what he loved -- providing the world with a vicarious adventure with the world's creatures.
I'm pulling the plug for a few days - I'll be back Tuesday or Wednesday night for more blogging fun. I'm taking two days off work to spend time with Scott and family... and deal with getting another year older! Monday is another birthday - yes, I'm turning 35 again.
As late as noon today I thought I was heading to Florida tonight, turns out that we're sticking to old plan A (there was a newer plan A) and going to NYC and the Jersey shore. That's a good thing, not bad. The change is in great part a warm recognition of my current air skittishness.
For all of the students out there, the newly shortened - and slightly creepy - rhyme for remembering the planets in order: "My Very Educated Mother Just Showed Us Nine."
Um, nine what? You need help, kids. Some possibilities:
Most vegans eat meatless junk - so unnatural, no?
Male virgins envision massive jugs shown undeniably naked.
What else?
Love this line from the Baltimore Sun:
"I, Pluto, am taking a stand. I'm here. I'm a sphere. Get used to it." Can Pluto pride parades be too far off? I hope not.
A friend sent me a link to yet another this online test tonight that was amusing enough to conquer(and light enough that it worked fine on dial-up) -- Escapa!
I was definitely wigged by the U.K. news today (and the idea of leaving my philosophy at home) but by tonight Scott had me laughing about the next wave in airline safety, nude-only flights. It works for Naked Air.
Carry-ons would be limited to whatever nature gave you. That and maybe a plastic travel wallet to hold your boarding pass (can't check that). There would still be places to um, hide things... but the risks would be decidedly lower. And some of the sights would make travel a hell of a lot more fun. Or at least more interesting.
Search United for flights...
□ View nonstop flights only
□ Expand search for nearby airports□Show nude flights
Nancie and I have a running joke about stealing each other's ideas which she talked about on her blog a couple of weeks ago. (Note she posted about it while I was on vacation - hoping I wouldn't see it? heh) I love her new idea to post a weekly roundup on her blog... something which may appear here, oh, at the end of this week.
Tags: Nancie Meng
Everything was out of synch for me last week. I returned from vacation to deal with two deaths, my aunt Rose and my friend and former colleague, Bob Wooldridge. Losing both of them at the same time really threw me. I wrote about Rose a few days ago. Writing about Bob has been surprisingly more difficult.
Friends, colleagues and people from extended circles wrote about Bob all week. I think I read most ... and it helped. I hope it helped them as much as it helped me. Jesse Kornbluth on HeadButler.com. and many others eloquently expressed who Bob was and what he meant to all of us on their blogs.
I didn't go to Bob's memorial service. I felt guilty about that, but I imagine Bob would understand. The emotions of the week were at once surreal and too real. I can add little to the words shared over the course of last week.
I missed Bob when he left the company a couple of months ago but he was there in IMs and on the occasional call, keeping me up-to-date and expressing how happy he was at his new company. I miss him. I will continue to miss him. My heart goes out to his wife and children and to his entire family.
Naturally my timing to start a blog, again, is off -- I'm heading on a 2+ week vacation tomorrow afternoon. I'll keep up a little while I'm gone, then get back into it when I return. This is not a chore, exactly, but I haven't found my rhythm yet. Sigh.
My friend and colleague Nancie Meng made me laugh with her own struggles to keep up. She's much busier than I am these days.
Tags: Nancie Meng
