So, I have a day ahead with no meetings scheduled, no conference calls, nothing but open space, open time, and work.
This article provides the result of a study that shows that the less skilled that we are, the less likely that we are to admit it. Humbling.
We're very close to obtaining the final approval for hiring. It will be fun to have some new people join us. A couple of people have already been hired, as replacements, in our New York office.
A while ago, I mentioned that I was using del.icio.us to manage my online bookmarks. I've added a link on this journal's home page that will take you to the Del.icio.us site. As I find things of interest, that may or may not wind up in this journal, I post the on Del.icio.us. Enjoy and let me know what you think.
Yesterday I mentioned the Dummies series of books. Later in the day, I found this site, which lets you create your Dummies book cover.
The President, according to "Scooter," authorized the leak of a CIA agent's name. Well, isn't that special? And now that Justice O'Connor is free to speak, she's speaking freely. (A tip of the hat to SR on another mailing for bringing the speech to my attention.)
Fudd. Paging Mr. Elmer Fudd.
Friday, April 07, 2006
Thursday, April 06, 2006
Say what?
A friend of the family learned that, with a coupon from the local paper, he could get a (much needed) hearing aid for $495. At the store, he learned that $495 product, however, wouldn't be good for his type of hearing loss. (You can probably guess where this is going.) The product that he would need costs $5,600, but they'd let it go for $4,800.
I've had a couple of dentist appointments this week. The anesthetics continue to improve, making the procedures minimally discomforting. Not like the old days. The very old days.
We picked up about three inches of snow yesterday at work, and much less at home. We may see more snow showers today, but nothing that requires much attention. (Note to self: put stabilizer in the gas tank of the snow blower before putting it away for the season.)
Yesterday's mail brought an offer for one of the Dummies books. This one, Guide to Life After 50, 60, 70 & Beyond For Dummies, has tips on how to block cancer, cure high blood pressure, eat sweet potatoes, buy golf balls, and feel like I'm 25. The Dummies series of books came out in the mid-90s. A friend of mine edited a couple of books. I argued that it was demeaning to refer to users as dummies (to their faces) and made it hard for the users to value their own skills and knowledge. My friend replied that the users, of course, loved the books. "Have you got something really simple for me?" they'd ask. "Something really basic. Sometimes I feel like a complete idiot." With a gazillion copies sold, the Dummies series has certain found its mark. Of course, Cliff Notes were my only way of making it through Shakespeare's plays in high school.
And, did you know that there is a Koran for Dummies?
So, now, I'll go read Depression for Dummies. They don't make mention a recent study that shows that John Kerry is depressing.
Nice mention of Niece Lori's blog in an LA media trade paper. (Next-to-last item on the page, just above the obituary.)
A study shows that other cell phone users are annoying, but not me.
If you are planning to walk to Russia, call ahead to let them know that you're coming.
Imagine that an American and a Scot would be ahead of a Canadian in curling. 'Tis true. The Finn, one Markku Uusipaavalniemi, misspelled as Uuspaavalniemi in the story, is still in contention, despite an injury.
We're almost adjusted to daylight saving time. About the worst that we have had to ensure is the loss of an hour of sleep on Sunday. Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka claim that their time changes caused the tsunami. The government is discussing a plan to return Sri Lanka to +5.5 hours GMT, the same as India and the same as it had been in 1996.
The keys to a German nuclear power plant are missing. Many people would suspect terrorists. I think it's this guy.
I've had a couple of dentist appointments this week. The anesthetics continue to improve, making the procedures minimally discomforting. Not like the old days. The very old days.
We picked up about three inches of snow yesterday at work, and much less at home. We may see more snow showers today, but nothing that requires much attention. (Note to self: put stabilizer in the gas tank of the snow blower before putting it away for the season.)
Yesterday's mail brought an offer for one of the Dummies books. This one, Guide to Life After 50, 60, 70 & Beyond For Dummies, has tips on how to block cancer, cure high blood pressure, eat sweet potatoes, buy golf balls, and feel like I'm 25. The Dummies series of books came out in the mid-90s. A friend of mine edited a couple of books. I argued that it was demeaning to refer to users as dummies (to their faces) and made it hard for the users to value their own skills and knowledge. My friend replied that the users, of course, loved the books. "Have you got something really simple for me?" they'd ask. "Something really basic. Sometimes I feel like a complete idiot." With a gazillion copies sold, the Dummies series has certain found its mark. Of course, Cliff Notes were my only way of making it through Shakespeare's plays in high school.
And, did you know that there is a Koran for Dummies?
So, now, I'll go read Depression for Dummies. They don't make mention a recent study that shows that John Kerry is depressing.
Nice mention of Niece Lori's blog in an LA media trade paper. (Next-to-last item on the page, just above the obituary.)
A study shows that other cell phone users are annoying, but not me.
If you are planning to walk to Russia, call ahead to let them know that you're coming.
Imagine that an American and a Scot would be ahead of a Canadian in curling. 'Tis true. The Finn, one Markku Uusipaavalniemi, misspelled as Uuspaavalniemi in the story, is still in contention, despite an injury.
We're almost adjusted to daylight saving time. About the worst that we have had to ensure is the loss of an hour of sleep on Sunday. Buddhist monks in Sri Lanka claim that their time changes caused the tsunami. The government is discussing a plan to return Sri Lanka to +5.5 hours GMT, the same as India and the same as it had been in 1996.
The keys to a German nuclear power plant are missing. Many people would suspect terrorists. I think it's this guy.
Tuesday, April 04, 2006
Bugs and other pests
If you use the American-style dates, then a bit more than an hour after midnight tonight is a special time; 01:02:03 04/05/06.During a conference call yesterday, the project leader told us that our customer was taking a particular issue very seriously. "They're holding the stick to the mud" said the project leader.
A local extermination business has a sign on the side of their building, showing the pest of the month. This month it's skunks. On the front window, they have a sign about the Bug Club, where kids can learn about entymology. "Have your next party here." Um, no, thanks. Besides, Yucca Mountain looks like a much better place for kids.
Periodically, I check the referrer logs for this journal. The logs don't tell me the user name or email address of the person visiting the site, but they show details such operating system, browser version, IP address and domain name of the Internet service provider. It's interesting stuff. Someone from Costa Rica visited yesterday. Some of entries show up frequently; others are new. This one, though, spooked me a bit.
You may to give up your plans to build a new communications infrastructure with tin cans and string; someone has already patented the idea. (Via)
Finally, Tom DeLay, aka "The Hammer," is stepping down from Congress and will not seek re-election in the fall. Schadenfreude is a malicious delight in the misfortune of others. Shall we succumb to that temptation? Well, maybe a little. (His congressional site is here. His official website is here. As a footnote, his web site has no privacy policy.)
A local extermination business has a sign on the side of their building, showing the pest of the month. This month it's skunks. On the front window, they have a sign about the Bug Club, where kids can learn about entymology. "Have your next party here." Um, no, thanks. Besides, Yucca Mountain looks like a much better place for kids.
Periodically, I check the referrer logs for this journal. The logs don't tell me the user name or email address of the person visiting the site, but they show details such operating system, browser version, IP address and domain name of the Internet service provider. It's interesting stuff. Someone from Costa Rica visited yesterday. Some of entries show up frequently; others are new. This one, though, spooked me a bit.
You may to give up your plans to build a new communications infrastructure with tin cans and string; someone has already patented the idea. (Via)
Finally, Tom DeLay, aka "The Hammer," is stepping down from Congress and will not seek re-election in the fall. Schadenfreude is a malicious delight in the misfortune of others. Shall we succumb to that temptation? Well, maybe a little. (His congressional site is here. His official website is here. As a footnote, his web site has no privacy policy.)
Sunday, April 02, 2006
Hey, there's a trunk in my engine.
So, I'm wandering around the net and I see that some guy has posted his Nerd Score on his web page. This might be fun, I say to myself, so I take the quiz.
I work with nerds all day long and I certainly wouldn't rate myself this highly in comparison. Maybe I do know what to do with compressed air, that I take notes in more than one color, that I used telnet daily. I'll bet that there are lots of high school sophomore who do the same.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall...or a stack of wood. We went to the camp yesterday and discovered that the stack of wood at the end of the wood shed had tumbled to the ground. This after another, smaller stack had partially fallen about a month ago. The wood at the camp is cut shorter, about 12", and so isn't as stable when stacked. Nevertheless, everyone's susceptible. My father lost a part of his stack when the sun warmed the frozen ground and caused everything to shift. It happens and it's not a moral issue, much.
There's a small, spring-fed pool by the side of the camp road. The pool was full when the freeze came earlier in the winter and about 3" of ice former. Over the dry winter, the water below seeped back into the ground, eventually leaving the ice to collapse into the dry hole.
My father doesn't wear his hearing aids when he's at home alone so he can save the batteries. Sandra and I have a bit of gentle fun as we wonder how long it will be until he gets his gear into his ears. Usually, it's five to 10 minutes. Yesterday it was 35. It isn't an official visit with one's parents unless you are talking to yourself as you leave.
I was walking from my hotel to the office in White Plains last week when a new Volkswagen Beetle pulled into a parking space. The driver got out, open the rear hood, and took something from the trunk. "That's just wrong," I said to myself. The engine's supposed to be back there with the trunk in the front. The first VW that I saw in person was owned by a family friend, Kaija, in 1957 or '58. I called it the "backwards-frontwards" car.
Dang. We missed Spamarama.
In this article, Dave Eggers explains why nearly every kid in America plays soccer until age 10. After that, they'll do almost anything else. (Which is why ESPN is thinking about broadcasting domino matches.)
In less than two weeks, western Christians will celebrate Easter. (The eastern churches observed the holiday a week later. More about that here with the math that lets you calculate the days yourself.) It's time to think about those traditional meals, such as cooking with Peeps.
I work with nerds all day long and I certainly wouldn't rate myself this highly in comparison. Maybe I do know what to do with compressed air, that I take notes in more than one color, that I used telnet daily. I'll bet that there are lots of high school sophomore who do the same.
Something there is that doesn't love a wall...or a stack of wood. We went to the camp yesterday and discovered that the stack of wood at the end of the wood shed had tumbled to the ground. This after another, smaller stack had partially fallen about a month ago. The wood at the camp is cut shorter, about 12", and so isn't as stable when stacked. Nevertheless, everyone's susceptible. My father lost a part of his stack when the sun warmed the frozen ground and caused everything to shift. It happens and it's not a moral issue, much.
There's a small, spring-fed pool by the side of the camp road. The pool was full when the freeze came earlier in the winter and about 3" of ice former. Over the dry winter, the water below seeped back into the ground, eventually leaving the ice to collapse into the dry hole.
My father doesn't wear his hearing aids when he's at home alone so he can save the batteries. Sandra and I have a bit of gentle fun as we wonder how long it will be until he gets his gear into his ears. Usually, it's five to 10 minutes. Yesterday it was 35. It isn't an official visit with one's parents unless you are talking to yourself as you leave.
I was walking from my hotel to the office in White Plains last week when a new Volkswagen Beetle pulled into a parking space. The driver got out, open the rear hood, and took something from the trunk. "That's just wrong," I said to myself. The engine's supposed to be back there with the trunk in the front. The first VW that I saw in person was owned by a family friend, Kaija, in 1957 or '58. I called it the "backwards-frontwards" car.
Dang. We missed Spamarama.
In this article, Dave Eggers explains why nearly every kid in America plays soccer until age 10. After that, they'll do almost anything else. (Which is why ESPN is thinking about broadcasting domino matches.)
In less than two weeks, western Christians will celebrate Easter. (The eastern churches observed the holiday a week later. More about that here with the math that lets you calculate the days yourself.) It's time to think about those traditional meals, such as cooking with Peeps.
The 23-Hour Day
So, when the clock said that I was getting up at 5:45, it was really 4:45. We'll be doing that all day - I know what it is, but what time is really?
The Red Sox open their season tomorrow in Texas. The local papers are working hard to help us get to know the new players. I can recite the 1975 Red Sox lineup, but I know barely half of this year's starting team. Meanwhile, the folks in New York are wondering if the ex-Red Sox players will be ready.
Just after noon yesterday, the April Fool's jokes on the web started getting tiring. The "Hubble Resolves Expiration Date For Green Cheese Moon" photo was clever. There were stories of several key Microsoft employees going over to Google. Meanwhile, Google launched Google Romance, a dating service based on the premise that Google knows more about everything than you do. "When you think about it, love is just another search problem." The British newspaper, The Independent, carried a story about a long-secret romance between Chuck Berry and Sylvia Plath. And so on. There was some fun stuff, to be sure, but the net certainly doesn't need a special day to be weird, foolish, or funny.
And, of course, I was looking around the net because I was doing my taxes and was easily sidetracked. The calculations aren't hard, particularly with a program such as Turbo Tax. The difficulty comes as I try to find that one bit of paper with the information that I need to complete a section. Sandra asked me, at the end of the day, how much more I had to do. I said somewhere between 10 minutes and four hours, depending on the status of that particular piece of paper.
We used Quicken to handle our finances. We've used it since 1992. It has a feature that allows you to rate vendors to whom you've written checks. When I was looking up what we'd paid to the Feds for taxes last year, I noticed a little "Rate Treasury" link in the lower left corner of Quicken. It was asking me if I wanted to rate the United States Treasury. Words fail me.
For supper, Sandra and I went to George's Coney Island Hot Dog in Worcester. We each had a pair of their great hot dogs. The place has lots of booths, most of which were empty at the time we arrived. A passageway opens to the bar next door, where a half dozen denizens were keeping watch in the dark. The only change since our last visit was that there are three signs, one on the door and one behind and one above the counter, telling patrons to turn off their cell phones. I guess they don't want to disrupt the ambiance of the eatery or the bar. You guessed it; one guy came in, walked past all three signs while talking on his phone.
The hot dog place is in a ragged section of Worcester. So, it was a bit surprising to see that, next door, Sonia's Used Cars next door is selling a Mercedes M-class SUV and several other Mercedes sedans, along with the expected collection of used cars. "Hey, honey, let's go get a couple of hot dogs. We can get that Mercedes that you've wanted while we're down there."
Frank Zappa is quoted as saying, "Jimi Hendrix 'There's a guy who shouldn't have done drugs.' Eddie Van Halen: 'There's another guy who shouldn't do drugs.'" Jimi died of an overdose at age 27. Eddie lasted longer, but doesn't look much better than Jimi.
The Red Sox open their season tomorrow in Texas. The local papers are working hard to help us get to know the new players. I can recite the 1975 Red Sox lineup, but I know barely half of this year's starting team. Meanwhile, the folks in New York are wondering if the ex-Red Sox players will be ready.
Just after noon yesterday, the April Fool's jokes on the web started getting tiring. The "Hubble Resolves Expiration Date For Green Cheese Moon" photo was clever. There were stories of several key Microsoft employees going over to Google. Meanwhile, Google launched Google Romance, a dating service based on the premise that Google knows more about everything than you do. "When you think about it, love is just another search problem." The British newspaper, The Independent, carried a story about a long-secret romance between Chuck Berry and Sylvia Plath. And so on. There was some fun stuff, to be sure, but the net certainly doesn't need a special day to be weird, foolish, or funny.
And, of course, I was looking around the net because I was doing my taxes and was easily sidetracked. The calculations aren't hard, particularly with a program such as Turbo Tax. The difficulty comes as I try to find that one bit of paper with the information that I need to complete a section. Sandra asked me, at the end of the day, how much more I had to do. I said somewhere between 10 minutes and four hours, depending on the status of that particular piece of paper.
We used Quicken to handle our finances. We've used it since 1992. It has a feature that allows you to rate vendors to whom you've written checks. When I was looking up what we'd paid to the Feds for taxes last year, I noticed a little "Rate Treasury" link in the lower left corner of Quicken. It was asking me if I wanted to rate the United States Treasury. Words fail me.
For supper, Sandra and I went to George's Coney Island Hot Dog in Worcester. We each had a pair of their great hot dogs. The place has lots of booths, most of which were empty at the time we arrived. A passageway opens to the bar next door, where a half dozen denizens were keeping watch in the dark. The only change since our last visit was that there are three signs, one on the door and one behind and one above the counter, telling patrons to turn off their cell phones. I guess they don't want to disrupt the ambiance of the eatery or the bar. You guessed it; one guy came in, walked past all three signs while talking on his phone.
The hot dog place is in a ragged section of Worcester. So, it was a bit surprising to see that, next door, Sonia's Used Cars next door is selling a Mercedes M-class SUV and several other Mercedes sedans, along with the expected collection of used cars. "Hey, honey, let's go get a couple of hot dogs. We can get that Mercedes that you've wanted while we're down there."
Frank Zappa is quoted as saying, "Jimi Hendrix 'There's a guy who shouldn't have done drugs.' Eddie Van Halen: 'There's another guy who shouldn't do drugs.'" Jimi died of an overdose at age 27. Eddie lasted longer, but doesn't look much better than Jimi.
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