One time a friend asked me how I was doing.
"Fine," I said.
"Great. Why don't you tell your face?"
I'll never ridicule the Massachusetts Highway Department again. During yesterday's ride home from New York, through Connecticut, just a few of the 150 miles of highway were cleared of snow. Most roads had one, some two lanes covered with a slushy two or three iniches of snow. It had stopped snowing hours before, except for a few flurries. My fellow travelers were well-behaved, moving along at speeds appropriate to the rotten conditions. In a comparable snowfall last weekend, the Massachusetts crews laid down sand and psuedo-salt before the snow fell to ensure that drivers could get traction. Later, after the snow stopped, they used this marvelous contraption, and someone really should tell Connecticut about it, called a snow plow. It pushed snow off the roads. Can you believe it?
The folks in Aberdeenshire in Scotland have found a way to bring technology to their snow management tasks.
To be fair, the forecasts called for up to eight inches of snow. I counted two in New York and somewhat more in Connecticut. Fully half of the people in the New York office either stayed home or went home early. The office HR director sent mail at 11AM saying that people could go home if they wanted to. We were working hard and wanted to have lunch brought in. None of the area caterers were delivered because of the storm, so we went out. We worked through the afternoon and I left for home at 5:00.
At home we received an amount of snow that you could clear away with a sneeze.
On the ride home, I listened to Bonnie Raitt sing the John Prine masterpiece, Angel from Montgomery. If he wrote no other songs ever, I still say that he had a successful career with that one tune.
The latest in a series of web sites that explain grown-up things to kids: all about Dubai Ports Authority.
This guy may love Jesus, but not so much that he'd give up wireless broadband access.
If Geraldo Rivera and Madonna try to move to Israel, I don't know whether it's better for Israel not to let them in or not to let them out.
Friday, March 03, 2006
Thursday, March 02, 2006
Report from where the York is New
I've been sitting in meetings in a small room for two days, with another day to go. Naturally, my attention wanders.
The folks at Microsoft Research have come up with a way for you to read your email while dancing. It could be a happy dance or a stomp on that pointy-haired boss's idiotogram - your choice.
My automated search for a technical documentation job turned up a Supervisor of Housekeeping job in Oakland. "Maintain a high level of cleanliness in assigned areas." Yeah, that has my name on it. And, the job is made more attractive with "Will be exposed to chemicals on a constant basis requiring special clothing or safety equipment."
Sir Paul arrives on PEI to slay the dragons. No, wait, to protect the seals.
When you meet the Buddha, run away.
Dick Cheney wants one of these for Christmas.
When I walked out of the building after our meetings concluded at 7PM, the security guard was already sound asleep in his chair.
The folks at Microsoft Research have come up with a way for you to read your email while dancing. It could be a happy dance or a stomp on that pointy-haired boss's idiotogram - your choice.
My automated search for a technical documentation job turned up a Supervisor of Housekeeping job in Oakland. "Maintain a high level of cleanliness in assigned areas." Yeah, that has my name on it. And, the job is made more attractive with "Will be exposed to chemicals on a constant basis requiring special clothing or safety equipment."
Sir Paul arrives on PEI to slay the dragons. No, wait, to protect the seals.
When you meet the Buddha, run away.
Dick Cheney wants one of these for Christmas.
When I walked out of the building after our meetings concluded at 7PM, the security guard was already sound asleep in his chair.
Tuesday, February 28, 2006
10 times 7
Sandra had been reading the local paper and had seen a classified ad for a black Lab. The dog had been in a shelter and the folks in the shelter couldn't keep him much longer. Day after day, Sandra read the ad and wondered aloud if we should take the dog. My mother was living with us. It would affect her more than anyone. Ever agreeable, my mother said that it was fine with her if we got a dog.
So, on the last night that he would be in the shelter, on the last night of February in 1997, we drove to West Brookfield to collect our new dog.
We named him Marley, after Bob Marley. The shelter didn't know his name. He was found wandered along the road some weeks before and taken to a pound. The pound went out of business and the shelter, affiliated with a vet's office, took him in. The staff nicknamed him Reebok because he always had a tennis ball in his mouth. They didn't know his exact age, but estimated that he was a year.
He was (and is) exuberant, affectionate unless you are a dog. We walked him around the building and knew before we were halfway around that we wanted him. We went to the office, settled up with the paperwork, and put him in the car. He showed his gratitude by eating the small plastic wastebasket in the back of my car.
And my mother was the one most affected. The two of them became best buds. She would make a large salad every afternoon for our evening meal. Marley came to like broccoli stalks, tops of the tomatoes, carrots, and pretty much every else except celery (unless it had salsa on it). She was the only one who could get him to sit and wait before diving into a bowl of whatever.
So, Happy 10th Birthday, Marley, whether it's today or some other day.
So, on the last night that he would be in the shelter, on the last night of February in 1997, we drove to West Brookfield to collect our new dog.
We named him Marley, after Bob Marley. The shelter didn't know his name. He was found wandered along the road some weeks before and taken to a pound. The pound went out of business and the shelter, affiliated with a vet's office, took him in. The staff nicknamed him Reebok because he always had a tennis ball in his mouth. They didn't know his exact age, but estimated that he was a year.
He was (and is) exuberant, affectionate unless you are a dog. We walked him around the building and knew before we were halfway around that we wanted him. We went to the office, settled up with the paperwork, and put him in the car. He showed his gratitude by eating the small plastic wastebasket in the back of my car.
And my mother was the one most affected. The two of them became best buds. She would make a large salad every afternoon for our evening meal. Marley came to like broccoli stalks, tops of the tomatoes, carrots, and pretty much every else except celery (unless it had salsa on it). She was the only one who could get him to sit and wait before diving into a bowl of whatever.
So, Happy 10th Birthday, Marley, whether it's today or some other day.
Monday, February 27, 2006
Bouncing around zero
This is one of the coldest mornings of the season, if not the coldest. The temperature touched zero before bouncing back up. It shot up to .5 and now sits at -.1. I received a digital thermometer as a gift last year, so this is its first winter with us. The outside sensor is about a meter off the ground on our fence. We didn't receive the snow that was predicted for Saturday, but the few inches that fell have made everything look fresh and clean.
Yesterday afternoon was full and, for the most part, fun. We went to Mike and Lynn's to celebrate Lynn's birthday. Several folks asked if it was going to be a big party. As we've noted before, what we might call a big party Mike and Lynn call lunch. A splendid time was had by all.
Afterwards, we went to my father's. He'd been having trouble with his garage door opener. The Jeep with the plow was on one side of the door and the driveway with the snow was on the other. He was finally able to get the door open, the driveway plowed, and the path to the wood pile cleared. He was tired, but doing well.
He was also subdued. His long-time friend, Arne, died yesterday morning. Arne was the last of my father's friend of the same age. Arne used to come to my father's house for coffee on Sunday mornings. He was a nice guy - soft-spoken with a good sense of humor.
The more I drive it, the more impressed I am with my Subaru. It has about 130,000 miles on it; there are dog hairs all over the inside and more than a few scratches on the outside. There are some rattles, but none that can't be overpowered with the radio. Yesterday we drove to the camp. The car walked up the hill through the fresh snow as though it was springtime.
We walked around the lake some. It was windy and very cold. In many places, the wind had blown the ice free of snow. On the southwest corner of our property we have a small pond, perhaps 40' square. We often forget that it's there, as we did yesterday, until we stepped onto the ice and slipped and nearly fell. Marley came running, slipped and tumbled, reminding us of how my mother would say that Marley enters a room like Kramer.
According to the folks at the Pew Research Center, I'd be happier if I was a Republican. Sometimes, as we know, the price of happiness is too high. (Here's more about the study.)
OK, I don't dispute that this trial program might be working. Nevertheless, the idea that you'd treat homeless alcoholics with maintenance doses of wine seems, well, seems loony to the eighth power. I'll grant that science sometimes proves that the obvious isn't true, proving, for example, that the Earth revolves around the sun when our eyes would tell us otherwise. But, still, I mean, c'mon.
Several people have mentioned that they have difficulty getting to the blogspot web site, either because of problems with their email or browsers or because their workplace is blocking such access. So, I will resume sending the full text of the journal entries in email. If you'd rather not receive these mailings, please let me know and I'll remove your name from the list with no further questions. Thanks.
Yesterday afternoon was full and, for the most part, fun. We went to Mike and Lynn's to celebrate Lynn's birthday. Several folks asked if it was going to be a big party. As we've noted before, what we might call a big party Mike and Lynn call lunch. A splendid time was had by all.
Afterwards, we went to my father's. He'd been having trouble with his garage door opener. The Jeep with the plow was on one side of the door and the driveway with the snow was on the other. He was finally able to get the door open, the driveway plowed, and the path to the wood pile cleared. He was tired, but doing well.
He was also subdued. His long-time friend, Arne, died yesterday morning. Arne was the last of my father's friend of the same age. Arne used to come to my father's house for coffee on Sunday mornings. He was a nice guy - soft-spoken with a good sense of humor.
The more I drive it, the more impressed I am with my Subaru. It has about 130,000 miles on it; there are dog hairs all over the inside and more than a few scratches on the outside. There are some rattles, but none that can't be overpowered with the radio. Yesterday we drove to the camp. The car walked up the hill through the fresh snow as though it was springtime.
We walked around the lake some. It was windy and very cold. In many places, the wind had blown the ice free of snow. On the southwest corner of our property we have a small pond, perhaps 40' square. We often forget that it's there, as we did yesterday, until we stepped onto the ice and slipped and nearly fell. Marley came running, slipped and tumbled, reminding us of how my mother would say that Marley enters a room like Kramer.
According to the folks at the Pew Research Center, I'd be happier if I was a Republican. Sometimes, as we know, the price of happiness is too high. (Here's more about the study.)
OK, I don't dispute that this trial program might be working. Nevertheless, the idea that you'd treat homeless alcoholics with maintenance doses of wine seems, well, seems loony to the eighth power. I'll grant that science sometimes proves that the obvious isn't true, proving, for example, that the Earth revolves around the sun when our eyes would tell us otherwise. But, still, I mean, c'mon.
Several people have mentioned that they have difficulty getting to the blogspot web site, either because of problems with their email or browsers or because their workplace is blocking such access. So, I will resume sending the full text of the journal entries in email. If you'd rather not receive these mailings, please let me know and I'll remove your name from the list with no further questions. Thanks.
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