The travelers left at 7:20 this morning. It will be clear and cool for most of the ride, with flurries in the forecast for PEI for the next few days.
We haven't armed our Coast Guard ships on the Maine/New Brunswick border, as was done in the Great Lakes, but it's only a matter of time. Who knows when the bad guys will come charging across the St. Croix River?
Last weekend, Sandra and I went to Boston to see Spamalot and to spend the night at the Parker House. Good show. Could have been better. The all-white audience seemed to have fun. One family brought their four daughters, ages seven through about 17. It seems that some of the material might have been a bit rich for the younger kids, said by one who sang the Lumberjack Song to his grandchildren at bedtime.
We went to Quincy Market for lunch. Outside, on the back steps of Faneuil Hall, Deval Patrick was having a rally. Patrick is a Democratic candidate for governor. He's making a good challenge at the front-runner, Attorney General Tom Reilly. Patrick's speech was clear, forceful, and inspiring, marred only by the pre-recorded applause that punctuated each of his major points. Oh, and, the crowds for the juggler and the escape artist were a bit bigger.
The Parker House looks a bit worn, like an old rug at an estate sale. The room we had was oddly shaped, with the walls higher than they were wide. The Parker House has a lot of history associated with it. Ho Chi Minh worked there in the pre-WWI years, as did Malcom X. Parker House rolls originated there, as did Boston Cream pie. The rolls were that much different from what you'd get from Poppin' Fresh. The pie, though, was nothing like the layers of foam rubber and Cool Whip that passes for pies elsewhere. As lightning is to a lightning bug.
A few days ago, a drug on human subjects went very bad. Six people people were injured, two critically. The tests were conducted at the UK labs of Waltham, Mass.-based Parexel International. A British tabloid tried to find out from Parexel's CEO, Josef von Rickenbach, if the company would issue an apology. A company spokesman said, "He’s too busy to say sorry."
On the way home from work last night, I heard Bob Newhart's "Mrs. Grace L. Ferguson Airline and Storm Door Company." It's one of the finest bits in comedy delivered by one of the finest comedians.
Saturday, March 18, 2006
Friday, March 17, 2006
Green stuff run wild
One would think that the good folks of the Great and General Court of Massachusetts would have found a way to make St. Patrick's Day a state-wide holiday. Apparently, however, the religious and ethnic issues proved too daunting. The commissioners of Suffolk County (Boston, Chelsea, Revere, and Winthrop) went back to the books and discovered a historically significant event - on March 17, 1776, the British were run out of Boston. So, since the early 20th century, Suffolk County has had Evacuation Day as a holiday. The school kids can walk right past the Revolutionary War exhibits on their way to the local pub for corned beef and cabbage.
Back then, in the late 19th centry, school was tough. How tough? This tough. Let me know how well you do with trigraphs, subvocals, diphthongs, cognate letters, linguals.
Woody is making corned beef and cabbage for our supper. I was tempted to make a novel dessert - Spam Swiss Pie - but won't have the time. (Mmm, Spam, whipped cream, eggs, cheese.)
Tomorrow, Woody is going to PEI with John and Suanne, They'll leave around seven in the morning. Tignish, where images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary have appeared on a cloth, is about 100 miles (160 km) away, so they probably won't have a chance to visit the site.
I like cats and I like guitar music, but that doesn't mean this is a good idea.
Tony Blair doesn't know how to use an iPod, but the Pope isn't afraid to try. Draw your own conclusions.
David Weinberger is one of the smartest people I know. Well, I don't know him directly, but we have mutual friends on a technology email list. So, I was a bit surprised when he wrote this in his blog. Of course, I wear penny loafers almost all of the time and shoes with Velcro straps aren't too many years away.
Back then, in the late 19th centry, school was tough. How tough? This tough. Let me know how well you do with trigraphs, subvocals, diphthongs, cognate letters, linguals.
Woody is making corned beef and cabbage for our supper. I was tempted to make a novel dessert - Spam Swiss Pie - but won't have the time. (Mmm, Spam, whipped cream, eggs, cheese.)
Tomorrow, Woody is going to PEI with John and Suanne, They'll leave around seven in the morning. Tignish, where images of Jesus and the Virgin Mary have appeared on a cloth, is about 100 miles (160 km) away, so they probably won't have a chance to visit the site.
I like cats and I like guitar music, but that doesn't mean this is a good idea.
Tony Blair doesn't know how to use an iPod, but the Pope isn't afraid to try. Draw your own conclusions.
David Weinberger is one of the smartest people I know. Well, I don't know him directly, but we have mutual friends on a technology email list. So, I was a bit surprised when he wrote this in his blog. Of course, I wear penny loafers almost all of the time and shoes with Velcro straps aren't too many years away.
Thursday, March 16, 2006
More on working
From Tuesday morning's Worcester Telegram, and I quote, "The Wachusett Regional School Committee decided last night not to revote its decision to set no date for reimbursing $3.1 million received from the state for modular buildings." Standing boldly, they decided not to reconsider a decision not to set a date to do something. They done our town proud.
The problem with a job, says Jackie Mason, is that it takes all day.
And then some. I received an email last night around six, asking me (but not really asking) for a document that needed to be sent to a customer this morning. The material that the customer is seeking hasn't been documented before. It should have been, but it wasn't. So, I'll need to research, write, and verify the material. Fortunately, the customer is in the central time zone, so I get an extra hour of morning.
The white board in my cubicle is located inconveniently at the back of the fixed counter that is my desk. As a result, I can scribble just a few things, such as my phone numbers. (I don't call myself often, so I have a tough time remembering my internal line, external line, and new cell phone number.) It's almost impossible for two people to work at my white board, trading ideas and markers; some problems are better addressed visually than verbally. Anyway, I asked our office administrator if the facilities people could move my white board to the opposite side of my office. She said that she would ask, but that it probably wouldn't happen. "It's against company policy," she said.
"Is yours is like everyone else's?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Well, then it probably won't happen."
In preparation for the bird flu pandemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt recommends that we put canned tuna and powered milk under our beds.
Did you know that if you lose a mitten in Canada, the National Mitten Registry may help you restore it to its mate?
How many ways can you make this guy sick? My score is 8.
One more from the Department of the Flippin' Obvious: "Heavy marijuana use for five years or more may impair memory and slow cognitive function, according to researchers here."
The problem with a job, says Jackie Mason, is that it takes all day.
And then some. I received an email last night around six, asking me (but not really asking) for a document that needed to be sent to a customer this morning. The material that the customer is seeking hasn't been documented before. It should have been, but it wasn't. So, I'll need to research, write, and verify the material. Fortunately, the customer is in the central time zone, so I get an extra hour of morning.
The white board in my cubicle is located inconveniently at the back of the fixed counter that is my desk. As a result, I can scribble just a few things, such as my phone numbers. (I don't call myself often, so I have a tough time remembering my internal line, external line, and new cell phone number.) It's almost impossible for two people to work at my white board, trading ideas and markers; some problems are better addressed visually than verbally. Anyway, I asked our office administrator if the facilities people could move my white board to the opposite side of my office. She said that she would ask, but that it probably wouldn't happen. "It's against company policy," she said.
"Is yours is like everyone else's?" she asked.
"Yes."
"Well, then it probably won't happen."
In preparation for the bird flu pandemic, Health and Human Services Secretary Michael Leavitt recommends that we put canned tuna and powered milk under our beds.
Did you know that if you lose a mitten in Canada, the National Mitten Registry may help you restore it to its mate?
How many ways can you make this guy sick? My score is 8.
One more from the Department of the Flippin' Obvious: "Heavy marijuana use for five years or more may impair memory and slow cognitive function, according to researchers here."
Tuesday, March 14, 2006
day in the U.S. (3/14).Monday, March 13, 2006
Green for a day
It was the best treatment that the family name has received. Mike gathered family and friends and family of friends to march in yesterday's St. Patrick's Day Parade in Worcester. The float was a trailer carrying a replica of a housefront. Mike's box truck pulled the trailer. Atop the truck was Nate Schroeder, fresh from his heavyweight boxing championship at Notre Dame. The participants wore green t-shirts provided by Mike and his crew. During the parade, the crew handed out balloons to children of all ages.
When Sandra and I arrived, Marian was sitting on a couch with little Cassie asleep in her arms. In front of the truck and in back of the float, various youngsters carried banners of greeting from the Hakkarainen family. At several points, the gang started a chant - "Hakk a rai nen" - particularly when the announcer at the reviewing stand mangled the name. The weather was cool, occasionally showery, but all had a great time.
When Sandra and I arrived, Marian was sitting on a couch with little Cassie asleep in her arms. In front of the truck and in back of the float, various youngsters carried banners of greeting from the Hakkarainen family. At several points, the gang started a chant - "Hakk a rai nen" - particularly when the announcer at the reviewing stand mangled the name. The weather was cool, occasionally showery, but all had a great time.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)