I've seen these cubicle toys around on flickr and was wondering who made them. I finally found a link.
Tuesday, August 01, 2006
LUNCH?
Today I looked at my lunch plate and thought, "Hey, this couldn't be more unappetizing." I'm happy about shedding a few pounds, but I just wasn't in the mood for carrots and a pita today. Blah.
Monday, July 31, 2006
IF I HAD A NICKEL...
When I first joined flickr, I never expected this many people to view my photos - 26, 645 views! WOW! I'm not sure what to make of it...
Sunday, July 30, 2006
BROWSERS & SEARCH ENGINES
In my ongoing quest to become more web-savy and computer literate, I'm changing web browsers. I've just axed Internet Explorer and installed Firefox. (It's free!) I'm already happy with the change. The "tabs" feature alone made it worthwhile. What a time saver! And I've heard that besides being easier to use, Firefox also promises to be the more secure choice.
I'm also installing Greasemonkey. It's a free Firefox extension which lets you add user scripts to tweak the websites you frequent. I want to iron out some hassles I've experienced with flickr, like my long list of alphabetical groups with no way to reorganize them. I'm sure I'll find some other useful scripts to try out. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
I'm curious. Which browser are you using? IE? Netscape? Safari? Firefox?
On a similar subject. what's your favorite search engine? Metaeureka? MSNsearch? Alta Vista? Yahoo? Google? With so many choices, it would be nice to hear your opinion.
I'm also installing Greasemonkey. It's a free Firefox extension which lets you add user scripts to tweak the websites you frequent. I want to iron out some hassles I've experienced with flickr, like my long list of alphabetical groups with no way to reorganize them. I'm sure I'll find some other useful scripts to try out. I'll keep you posted on how it goes.
I'm curious. Which browser are you using? IE? Netscape? Safari? Firefox?
On a similar subject. what's your favorite search engine? Metaeureka? MSNsearch? Alta Vista? Yahoo? Google? With so many choices, it would be nice to hear your opinion.
Saturday, July 29, 2006
HIT IT
I run at the gym six days a week. This week I've increased my distance. Every day I've been reminded that running is mostly a mental battle. But I've had a game plan.
Every time I'm tempted to slack off and quit early, I make myself start thinking about taking dance lessons with Pauline. It's something we've been planning lately, and the thought of it helps motivate and sustain my workouts. I mean, who wants to be a wimp out on the dance floor? Another mile? Bring it on!
Thursday, July 27, 2006
COOKBOOKS
I'm busy photographing every cookbook I own - about 50 in all. Then I'll get rid of them. They take up some hefty shelf space, and I only use a handful of them. How did I ever end up with so many of them? Do things seem to magically populate your home, too?
NOT THAT SMURFY
Living in rural Mississippi, I was surprised when a RadioShack opened up in my small town. I prefer to buy most of my electronics online, but today I needed something for the computer, and I didn’t want to wait. So, I decided to give the new store a try.
When I stepped through the door, I noticed something, or more like, a lack of something. Where was the stock? The store was bare – only a couple of racks and shelves with a few stereos and a remote controlled toys. One look around, and I wasn’t even sure if the place had batteries, much less what I needed. Realizing I was probably in trouble, I asked the guy at the counter.
"Nope," he said. "Don’t have it. Got a nice goat, though." (OK, maybe he didn’t say goat, but he might as well have.)
"No. Thanks anyway," I turned on my heels for the door.
"Have a nice day!"
"You bet."
Total wash out. My first clue should have been the hay bales at the entrance. I guess that’s what I deserve for getting my hopes up. I won’t even bother checking out the new (limited menu) mini-McDonalds that just opened up in the gas station. I’ll bet they don’t even have milkshakes.
I’m glad to see my hometown growing, but something isn’t always better than nothing. Take the once locally-owned grocery store, recently bought out by a chain. (For anger management reasons, I won’t even mention the video rental place.) The grocery does good business dealing a few necessities: milk, bread, eggs, cigarettes, and diapers. But the rest of the stuff, while technically "in stock," has been sitting on the shelf or in the freezer a long time. If you buy anything there, you’d better check the expiration first. The town’s just too small to turn over stock fast enough to keep up with the dates.
I can understand why corporations think they can open up miniature chain stores in small towns like mine. The main reason must be high gas prices. It used to be no big deal for small-town shoppers to drive thirty miles to the city when gas was only a buck-a-gallon. But now, it’s like, "Hmmm…I wish the store were closer, or that I could have that delivered!" So, I get the point of these smurf-stores, but they are a strange kind of growth. They somehow make the town seem even smaller and less convenient.
When I think about it, I have to trick myself into thinking of my stay here as an adventure. I imagine myself living in the Wild West. Inconvenience goes with the territory. So what if Frontier Bandits held up the Stagecoach? Who cares that my USB cable, the one that should have been on aisle two of the General Store, is out with the tumbleweeds, lost someplace on the prairie? After all, that’s just the way life goes when you’re a Bold Pioneer, like myself.
I can live without milkshakes, after all. Eventually, though, I’ll have to change my tune from, "Don’t Fence Me In" to Lisa’s lines from the "Green Acres" theme song. There’s just too much city in my blood to make this return to the country a permanent move.
When I stepped through the door, I noticed something, or more like, a lack of something. Where was the stock? The store was bare – only a couple of racks and shelves with a few stereos and a remote controlled toys. One look around, and I wasn’t even sure if the place had batteries, much less what I needed. Realizing I was probably in trouble, I asked the guy at the counter.
"Nope," he said. "Don’t have it. Got a nice goat, though." (OK, maybe he didn’t say goat, but he might as well have.)
"No. Thanks anyway," I turned on my heels for the door.
"Have a nice day!"
"You bet."
Total wash out. My first clue should have been the hay bales at the entrance. I guess that’s what I deserve for getting my hopes up. I won’t even bother checking out the new (limited menu) mini-McDonalds that just opened up in the gas station. I’ll bet they don’t even have milkshakes.
I’m glad to see my hometown growing, but something isn’t always better than nothing. Take the once locally-owned grocery store, recently bought out by a chain. (For anger management reasons, I won’t even mention the video rental place.) The grocery does good business dealing a few necessities: milk, bread, eggs, cigarettes, and diapers. But the rest of the stuff, while technically "in stock," has been sitting on the shelf or in the freezer a long time. If you buy anything there, you’d better check the expiration first. The town’s just too small to turn over stock fast enough to keep up with the dates.
I can understand why corporations think they can open up miniature chain stores in small towns like mine. The main reason must be high gas prices. It used to be no big deal for small-town shoppers to drive thirty miles to the city when gas was only a buck-a-gallon. But now, it’s like, "Hmmm…I wish the store were closer, or that I could have that delivered!" So, I get the point of these smurf-stores, but they are a strange kind of growth. They somehow make the town seem even smaller and less convenient.
When I think about it, I have to trick myself into thinking of my stay here as an adventure. I imagine myself living in the Wild West. Inconvenience goes with the territory. So what if Frontier Bandits held up the Stagecoach? Who cares that my USB cable, the one that should have been on aisle two of the General Store, is out with the tumbleweeds, lost someplace on the prairie? After all, that’s just the way life goes when you’re a Bold Pioneer, like myself.
I can live without milkshakes, after all. Eventually, though, I’ll have to change my tune from, "Don’t Fence Me In" to Lisa’s lines from the "Green Acres" theme song. There’s just too much city in my blood to make this return to the country a permanent move.
Wednesday, July 26, 2006
Sunday, July 23, 2006
WHITEWASHED
Since growing the beard, I'm feeling like I'm all hair - the rest of me just blends into the background. I'm thinking of going all out hippie - letting it all grow until I can't stand it anymore. I can see that homeless/Jesus look working for me.
THERE'S A STORY IN THAT
Ever heard of Scotia, California? It's a company town that looks like a movie set because everything in its 500 acres is owned and controlled by Pacific Lumber. It's old (founded 1863) and quaint. All 275 cottages are painted in the same pale colors. The town has a single restaurant - located in the ground floor of the only hotel (built in the '20's). There's an elementary school, a firehouse, a few shops, and two churches - all owned by the company. There's even a baseball diamond, a community center, and a museum. The company provides all security, maintenance, and utilities for the town, even passing out free firewood in the winter. The unemployment and crime rates are virtually zero. That should be no surprise, since only employees and their families live there, and everyone in town knows one another.
Can you imagine what life might be like in a place like that? But the setting changes as soon as you leave Scotia. Across the river is the town of Rio Dell (population 3,174). How does it compare to its idyllic neighbor? Cross the narrow green bridge that joins the two communities, and it's like you are stepping from the beauty of the 19th Century back into the problems of the 21st. Lining Main Street is a clutter of cheap restaurants and ramshackle gas stations - no matching color schemes here. Rio Dell's economy is depressed. Some residents are unemployed. Others are even homeless. And the crime rate? The local police answer about 3,200 calls a year.
Can't you just see the kinds of characters who might live in towns like these? My mind started racing when I first read about them in the New York Times. Why are they making the news? Pacific Lumber has decided to sell Scotia's homes to its residents and is pushing a deal to turn all municipal responsibility over to (you guessed it) neighboring Rio Dell. Imagine how much life will change for the residents of the two towns as their worlds collide. It would make a great story, don't you think?
Speaking of settings, I've also been thinking about writing a story set during the weeks surrounding Hurricane Katrina. I've got an idea for the narrator, too. Imagine a small child who loses his home in the storm and is sent to live with relatives in the East. His siblings are split up and sent to various states to live with friends and family. His mother goes West to work and support all of them, while his father stays in a tent down South to battle the beurocrats and try to salvage what he can of their possessions and old life. I'd tell the story primarily from the youngest child's POV, mixing in letters and phone calls from the rest of the family. I keep thinking about his story. It's fictional, but it hits close to home. I know people who are still living in tents or who had to abandon their homes and start over in strange new places. I feel the story growing inside me, and I think I'll be able to tell it eventually. Similarly, I'm finding myself connecting with the towns of Scotia and Rio Dell. It's only a matter of time before I put words on paper. This is a first step, right? It's been a long time since I've written fiction, but I'm excited that I've finally got some ideas buzzing around again.
Can you imagine what life might be like in a place like that? But the setting changes as soon as you leave Scotia. Across the river is the town of Rio Dell (population 3,174). How does it compare to its idyllic neighbor? Cross the narrow green bridge that joins the two communities, and it's like you are stepping from the beauty of the 19th Century back into the problems of the 21st. Lining Main Street is a clutter of cheap restaurants and ramshackle gas stations - no matching color schemes here. Rio Dell's economy is depressed. Some residents are unemployed. Others are even homeless. And the crime rate? The local police answer about 3,200 calls a year.
Can't you just see the kinds of characters who might live in towns like these? My mind started racing when I first read about them in the New York Times. Why are they making the news? Pacific Lumber has decided to sell Scotia's homes to its residents and is pushing a deal to turn all municipal responsibility over to (you guessed it) neighboring Rio Dell. Imagine how much life will change for the residents of the two towns as their worlds collide. It would make a great story, don't you think?
Speaking of settings, I've also been thinking about writing a story set during the weeks surrounding Hurricane Katrina. I've got an idea for the narrator, too. Imagine a small child who loses his home in the storm and is sent to live with relatives in the East. His siblings are split up and sent to various states to live with friends and family. His mother goes West to work and support all of them, while his father stays in a tent down South to battle the beurocrats and try to salvage what he can of their possessions and old life. I'd tell the story primarily from the youngest child's POV, mixing in letters and phone calls from the rest of the family. I keep thinking about his story. It's fictional, but it hits close to home. I know people who are still living in tents or who had to abandon their homes and start over in strange new places. I feel the story growing inside me, and I think I'll be able to tell it eventually. Similarly, I'm finding myself connecting with the towns of Scotia and Rio Dell. It's only a matter of time before I put words on paper. This is a first step, right? It's been a long time since I've written fiction, but I'm excited that I've finally got some ideas buzzing around again.
Saturday, July 22, 2006
BLOGS OR ADS?
I was just checking out the page of recently updated blogs here at Blogger, and I noticed that most of the blogs are bogus - random junk with a lot of ad links. Why doesn't blogger nix all the spam blogs? How do you cut through through the dross to find the silver lining here?
OVERHEARD
Last Tuesday, I accompanied my nieces on a field trip to the McWayne center. While we were there, I noticed that a couple of the six-year-olds were fighting. You'll want to know a little of the conflict's background to really appreciate the story. The little girl is the teacher's child. That morning, while her mother wasn't looking, the girl hit the little boy and pushed him out of line. Then she tattled on him to her mother (the teacher) for being out of line, and the teacher scolded him. By lunch, he'd had plenty of time to brood. He sat down across from her and began his revenge:
He: "I'm gonna' kill you as soon as you're away from your mom."
She: "I'll just stay by my mommy, then."
He: "Well, you're a big chicken!"
She: "I am not"
He: "Oh, yes you are. Look at yourself! You're growing a beak!
She: "Shut up!"
He: "Oh, I'm eating chicken nuggets. Sorry about eating your relatives!"
Brings back memories of childhood, doesn't it? Oh, to be young and in love.
He: "I'm gonna' kill you as soon as you're away from your mom."
She: "I'll just stay by my mommy, then."
He: "Well, you're a big chicken!"
She: "I am not"
He: "Oh, yes you are. Look at yourself! You're growing a beak!
She: "Shut up!"
He: "Oh, I'm eating chicken nuggets. Sorry about eating your relatives!"
Brings back memories of childhood, doesn't it? Oh, to be young and in love.
EXPATRIATE
This morning I cancelled my credit card. I've had it for eleven years, and now I don't. This month I also gave up my cell phone. As you can imagine, I feel strange. It's more than that; I feel un-American.
FUN WITH EBAYGLISH
Turns out eBay is not just a great place to buy and sell grilled cheese sandwiches resembling the Virgin Mother. It's also the perfect place for non-native speakers to learn and practice English. I take the following as a lesson in why nobody should trust Babel Fish. My sister ran across it on another buyer's feedback profile.
I wonder what the buyer thought when he read this comment from a seller: "put your mother's fart,the item is same to the picture, your eye is blind!" I dare you to read it aloud without laughing.
I wonder what the buyer thought when he read this comment from a seller: "put your mother's fart,the item is same to the picture, your eye is blind!" I dare you to read it aloud without laughing.
MANSPACES AND MONORAILS
This week, I got emails from two of my married friends. Both of the guys are setting up spaces at home that are entirely their own. Jack is converting his shed/workshop, adding all the ammenities of the main house (minus a bed). And Kevin is reworking his upstairs spare room/home office into his very own, "Fortress of Solitude."
As it turns out, Jack and Kevin are following a new cultural trend. Today's MSN home page features a link to this article about "Manspaces." And, come to think of it, this topic reminds me of a rerun of "Yes, Dear" called "Space Jam." In the episode, Kim wants to clean out the garage by throwing away all of Greg's college memorobilia. He lies to Kim about donating the junk to the thrift store and actually rents a storage unit for it. When he gets there and starts unpaking his stuff, he finds two other husbands, a record collector and a star wars junkie, using their units as hiding places from their wives. At the end of the episode, Kim confronts Greg about lying to her and convinces him to move his junk back into the garage. Of course, the episode wasn't funny, but it does tie in nicely with this blog (also unfunny and pointless).
You know how I tend to end my blogs with a question? Well, I don't really want to know how you feel about manspaces. So I'll ask you this instead: How do you feel about monorails? Are they just a passing fancy, or are they really the world's most modern transportation system?
As it turns out, Jack and Kevin are following a new cultural trend. Today's MSN home page features a link to this article about "Manspaces." And, come to think of it, this topic reminds me of a rerun of "Yes, Dear" called "Space Jam." In the episode, Kim wants to clean out the garage by throwing away all of Greg's college memorobilia. He lies to Kim about donating the junk to the thrift store and actually rents a storage unit for it. When he gets there and starts unpaking his stuff, he finds two other husbands, a record collector and a star wars junkie, using their units as hiding places from their wives. At the end of the episode, Kim confronts Greg about lying to her and convinces him to move his junk back into the garage. Of course, the episode wasn't funny, but it does tie in nicely with this blog (also unfunny and pointless).
You know how I tend to end my blogs with a question? Well, I don't really want to know how you feel about manspaces. So I'll ask you this instead: How do you feel about monorails? Are they just a passing fancy, or are they really the world's most modern transportation system?
Thursday, July 20, 2006
Saturday, July 15, 2006
OLD-SKOOL BOXES
I check out Todd Franklin's flickr stream or his blog about once a week. He's an artist who frequently puts up nostalgic pics. Yesterday, I was surprised to find this photo in with his other posts for the week - two schoolboxes that he had in the 70's. What's the big deal? I had the same boxes! Nothing like mass production to make it seem like a small world, after all.
Kirk Demarais also blogged about his school supply box this week. He makes a good point: because I used it every day, the pictures on my schoolbox probably got deeply embedded in my psyche.
I picked up this box in a local thrift shop because I remembered using it in grade school. It's dated 1979.
Do you remember your favorite supply box? What did it look like? Do you still have it stashed away somewhere? Maybe your mom or dad rescued it to store odds-n-ends and stuck it in the top of a closet or on a garage shelf. Or is it a lost treasure?
STOP BIG MEDIA
I just finished reading an article at Free Press that I think you should explore. Here's a summary:
Turn on the radio today in any U.S. town, and you'll hear the same Paris Hilton song played over and over. When was the last time you heard local talent played on the radio? (And I'm not talking about on your college station.) Do you ever wonder why your hometown station plays the same repitition of songs by big name commerical talents (using the term loosely)? Wouldn't you like to hear something new? And how do those famous few top the playlists all over America?
Ever hear of the term "payola?" The labels are paying off the giant conglomerates who control the airwaves. That's right: the big name labels pay Big Radio to feature their mainstream acts, blanketing the airwaves with their "stars" and leaving the indies out in the cold. But the airwaves are public property, and payola is supposed to be illegal.
The FCC has already fined Sony BMG and Warner Music Group $15 million + for payola abuses. These fines are too small to really make a difference, but the FCC won't impose heavier fines or take away their licenses unless you and I do something to force the FCC to hold the conglomerates accountable.
Please visit Free Press to find out ways you can fight back against big media (unless you secretly like "Stars are Blind.") While you are at Free Press, please check out their discussions of Net Neutrality, "corporate-sponsored" news, and the AT&T merger.
Turn on the radio today in any U.S. town, and you'll hear the same Paris Hilton song played over and over. When was the last time you heard local talent played on the radio? (And I'm not talking about on your college station.) Do you ever wonder why your hometown station plays the same repitition of songs by big name commerical talents (using the term loosely)? Wouldn't you like to hear something new? And how do those famous few top the playlists all over America?
Ever hear of the term "payola?" The labels are paying off the giant conglomerates who control the airwaves. That's right: the big name labels pay Big Radio to feature their mainstream acts, blanketing the airwaves with their "stars" and leaving the indies out in the cold. But the airwaves are public property, and payola is supposed to be illegal.
The FCC has already fined Sony BMG and Warner Music Group $15 million + for payola abuses. These fines are too small to really make a difference, but the FCC won't impose heavier fines or take away their licenses unless you and I do something to force the FCC to hold the conglomerates accountable.
Please visit Free Press to find out ways you can fight back against big media (unless you secretly like "Stars are Blind.") While you are at Free Press, please check out their discussions of Net Neutrality, "corporate-sponsored" news, and the AT&T merger.
Thursday, July 13, 2006
ANYTHING CAME AND WENT
A year ago, I was rehearsing for my upcoming role in Center Stage's production of Cole Porter's "Anything Goes." I ran across the photos online today and posted some of them to my flickr account. A lot of screwy stuff has happened to me in the last year. I'm glad to remember some of the good times. I'm looking forward to performing again, someday.
PATRICK RHYMES WITH...
...geriatric. Call it the curse of Taylor Hicks, and maybe I have been listening to too much of his music. What else can explain all of this gray hair I've been finding around my ears and in my beard? This morning I even found a gray chest hair! BLAH! I'm feeling old. What's good for warding off geriatric depression? Can you really find the fountain of youth in a box of "Just for Men?"
Along this same theme, happy 49th birthday to my brothers, Dan & Steve!
Along this same theme, happy 49th birthday to my brothers, Dan & Steve!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
