"many corporate names now have the ring of a collection of Dr. Seuss characters"

The following two articles showed up in my reading list today:

• Worcester Drug Company Gets Girlier Name
  
• How Do You Tell a Web Name From A Typo? - washingtonpost.com
  

Never get lost again, almost

The mobile version of Google Maps now has a built-in location finder, such that it can detect where you are, even if you don't have a GPS-enabled phone. On-screen, it shows your location, along with a disclaimer that says that you may or may not be exactly at that spot. (It'll depend on the proximity of the cell towers and other stuff.)

Eine kleine Blogmusik

A sidebar on this blog's home page includes a blurb about the music that I'm listening to or thinking about. Folks who subscribe to this blog via email or rss won't see the blurbs. If you'd like to receive the blurbs, you can sign up here.

One great song

Tina Turner's birthday was yesterday.

When River Deep, Mountain High came out in the late 60s, I'd load up the jukebox with nickels (yep, five cents a play) and punch its number over and over. There are a lot of great songs, but this one is worth your last nickel.

Here are a couple of videos from the early and later days (YouTube).

And, it goes to show you something. Two of the creepiest guys in the music business, Ike Turner and Phil Spector, collaborated to make this song into a great record. It's a reminder that, while we can't ignore the off-stage or out-of-studio behavior, that behavior can't wholly negate the talent that they brought to the recording. Republicans are stepping through this thicket as they embrace Rudy Giuliani's 9/11 performance while pretending not to notice that he looks like he's having a bit too much fun when wearing women's clothing.

That year-in-review letter

Euphemizing the year gone by:

What does a change change?

My application for Social Security disability benefits has been approved.

When I first read the letter, I was pleased, as though I'd achieved something of note. I guess that's true. With the help of family, doctors, friends, and others, I've been able to make a clear and truthful case that I'm unable to work. Clarity and truthfulness are important parts of the humility that supports a good life. So, there you have it. By way of federal paperwork (web- and paper-based), I've learned that, according to the rules of the SSA, I am disabled and unable to work because of treatment-refractory depression.

Knowing our limitations is a good thing, but that knowledge, by itself, is a death sentence.

Whether we're looking for a path out or just a path forward, we need to be able to see beyond our limitations. That ability to see beyond can come from many places. Some would call it a higher power. Others might call it reframing. Still others might find it on a long walk in a cold morning. The important thing to know is that any truth worth knowing is a truth that is in transition. A truth that doesn't change is a dead truth.

The disability benefits include a modest income, access to rehabilitation programs, and, in a couple of years, eligibility for Medicare. I'm permitted to work under some restrictions.

My life and my career(s) are filled with stuff that I didn't set out to do, most of which turned out to be better than I'd expected. Here's another one.