Gah. I think the power adapter on my laptop just said "Enough is enough. I quit. My time is up." I'm more than hoping it's not an adapter unique to my laptop. We're planning to replace the laptop in August, so I don't really want to be spending money on parts to keep this one running in the meantime.
Hopefully, given the amount of computer gear we have squirrelled away, we'll already have something that works. Of course, I'll never hear the end of how if Scoob had uncluttered like I wanted, we wouldn't have the part we needed.
Anyhow, the battery light is getting dim, and the screen is starting to fade to black. And I had a whole flurry of posts to do.
Saturday, May 30, 2009
Link Purge
Once again I've been sitting on a number of links that I've either been too busy to post, or I can't really come up with a way to tie them together. I may need to make the purging of links a monthly event, though it probably needs a catchier name.
There are all things I found interesting on some level, or they just made me laugh.
Here's a comic on over-exertion. I'm with the cat.
A while back, I guess it was really only a month ago, when the Swine Flu frenzy was kicking up, I commented on how, due to illegal immigration, closing down the border with Mexico wouldn't be a feasible solution for containment. Later I found this infographic on where legal immigrants come to the United States from.
Sometimes, you just need to state the obvious.
I'm not really sure what this sign is warning me of, cow-tipping revenge? tm-tm has a whole set of crazy sign photos on flickr.
We've been passively house hunting for a few years now and we know that when we're finally ready to move, we'll need to sell this house. Here's an interesting article on using a blog to sell your home.
In a related vein, here are a few things web workers should consider when relocating. The comments are pretty informative too. Obviously for web workers, connectivity is going to be important. Here's an article that looks into whether or not broadband connectivity fosters job growth in rural areas.
Not really related to moving so much as location, I ran across this infographic on water sources for major U.S. cities.
There are all things I found interesting on some level, or they just made me laugh.
Here's a comic on over-exertion. I'm with the cat.
A while back, I guess it was really only a month ago, when the Swine Flu frenzy was kicking up, I commented on how, due to illegal immigration, closing down the border with Mexico wouldn't be a feasible solution for containment. Later I found this infographic on where legal immigrants come to the United States from.
Sometimes, you just need to state the obvious.
I'm not really sure what this sign is warning me of, cow-tipping revenge? tm-tm has a whole set of crazy sign photos on flickr.
I thought this eco-friendly pizza box design was pretty ingenious. One of those "Why didn't I think of that" things.
We've been passively house hunting for a few years now and we know that when we're finally ready to move, we'll need to sell this house. Here's an interesting article on using a blog to sell your home.
In a related vein, here are a few things web workers should consider when relocating. The comments are pretty informative too. Obviously for web workers, connectivity is going to be important. Here's an article that looks into whether or not broadband connectivity fosters job growth in rural areas.
Not really related to moving so much as location, I ran across this infographic on water sources for major U.S. cities.
Graduation Season
I've been out of school for a number of years now, and not having any children in school myself, the graduation season seems to sneak up on me each year. Last week I mentioned that I'd been away for my sister's junior college graduation.
This week I received an invitation to my second-step-cousin's high school graduation also up in Humboldt. Or is that step-second-cousin, or second-cousin-step? I dunno, she's my step-mom's sister's oldest daughter's daughter. I call her and all her first cousins little cousin--though seeing as how she's now the 5th of the little cousins to graduate high school, I may need to rethink that, but some of them are still little. (Turns out I'm totally wrong, she's my step-cousin once removed.)
Graduation is June 12th, and I'm not sure if I'll go, we'll see how life plays out. I would actually kind of like to. The whole extended step-family thing can be a little awkward, even after 35 years, and she's always been one of the kids that makes me feel welcome rather than tolerated. So, like I said, we'll see.
In other cousin once removed news, my other cousin's bundle of joy arrived May 17th! Both baby and mom are safely home now, and everyone is adjusting to the new addition. My mom and grandma (now a great-grandma!) are making the trip to Portland to visit. Some eighteen-odd years from now, it'll be her turn to graduate high school.
Isn't she adorable. (No, that's not a question.)
Anyhow, keeping with the graduation theme, I ran across this Dilbert strip. On one level, it's a pretty cynical take on things, but on another level it's a good reminder that we're all the same.
For those folks trying to choose a major or career, here's a helpful career-planning infographic illustrating the amount of fame you can expect to achieve in a variety of careers along with the amount of skill necessary for each.
And lastly, to prepare you for the future, once you graduate college, your college will beg you for money. Incessantly. I think I've finally got my university off my back. Here's how Alex D. Reid handled it. (The original is posted here, but I was experiencing some speed issues while on their site and the fact that the letter is posted over two pages just compounded the problem, so I've reproduced it here.)
This week I received an invitation to my second-step-cousin's high school graduation also up in Humboldt. Or is that step-second-cousin, or second-cousin-step? I dunno, she's my step-mom's sister's oldest daughter's daughter. I call her and all her first cousins little cousin--though seeing as how she's now the 5th of the little cousins to graduate high school, I may need to rethink that, but some of them are still little. (Turns out I'm totally wrong, she's my step-cousin once removed.)
Graduation is June 12th, and I'm not sure if I'll go, we'll see how life plays out. I would actually kind of like to. The whole extended step-family thing can be a little awkward, even after 35 years, and she's always been one of the kids that makes me feel welcome rather than tolerated. So, like I said, we'll see.
In other cousin once removed news, my other cousin's bundle of joy arrived May 17th! Both baby and mom are safely home now, and everyone is adjusting to the new addition. My mom and grandma (now a great-grandma!) are making the trip to Portland to visit. Some eighteen-odd years from now, it'll be her turn to graduate high school.
Isn't she adorable. (No, that's not a question.)
Anyhow, keeping with the graduation theme, I ran across this Dilbert strip. On one level, it's a pretty cynical take on things, but on another level it's a good reminder that we're all the same.
For those folks trying to choose a major or career, here's a helpful career-planning infographic illustrating the amount of fame you can expect to achieve in a variety of careers along with the amount of skill necessary for each.
And lastly, to prepare you for the future, once you graduate college, your college will beg you for money. Incessantly. I think I've finally got my university off my back. Here's how Alex D. Reid handled it. (The original is posted here, but I was experiencing some speed issues while on their site and the fact that the letter is posted over two pages just compounded the problem, so I've reproduced it here.)
Dear College,
You and I parted ways a few years ago. It was amicable. I gave you four years of my life and thousands of dollars, and you gave me a piece of paper saying that I graduated from you.
I was to understand that this was the end of our business together. However, shortly after we parted ways, you asked me, quite insistently, to join your Alumni Association. Though your pitch, which involved access to your library and various other offerings, did not blow me away, I joined your Alumni Association as a lifetime member. At the time, I remember thinking, “I can now put college behind me and go out into the real world.”
However, recent events force me to ask for some clarifications about your intentions. For the last six weeks, you have been calling me daily at 7pm, asking for a donation. I have told you time and time again that I have no desire to give you money. Yet, your representatives continue to call me, seemingly unaware of this fact.
So allow me to set the record straight. I am not able to give you money right now because the degree I bought from you is worthless. The value it holds on my resume is nothing more than the cost of the ink used to print it.
The feeling I experience when I think about the four years and thousands of dollars I paid for it can best be described as a sort of “savage betrayal.” Sometimes, the anguish it causes me is so paralyzing that I am unable to do much else but lie in bed all day and masturbate.
So no, I cannot give you any more money, as the degree I purchased from you is barely earning me enough money to pay for my daily expenses, let alone your lofty ones. Furthermore, even if I were in a position where I could afford to give you money, I certainly would not. I find your aggressiveness off-putting and, quite frankly, I think you are nothing more than a common, rotten charlatan.
Please cease and desist or to put it bluntly, stop begging me for all my fucking money. It's pathetic.
Sincerely,
Alex D. Reid - Class of 2007
Despite what Mr. Reid says, a college degree is not worthless. Go to school, kids.
Here's a great comic strip site about life in academia, PhD (Piled Higher & Deeper). Check out this strip about how research gets misreported by the media.
Friday, May 29, 2009
More Fun with the Lady Doctor
I had my follow-up appointment with the gynecologist this morning for that biopsy. She warned me it would be uncomfortable, but Holy Mother of God, she didn't tell me (until the moment it was happening) that it would feel like 5 months worth cramping at once! Oh, and the bonus? The cramping will stay with me, at a 1 month level for about 3 -4 days, by which time I'll be ready for the main event, the real cramping.
So yea me, approximately 7 days of solid, hard cramping in my future. The upside (there's always an upside), at least for Scoob, is that I won't be all PMS-y for the first few days. It's times like this I wish we had a hot tub.
On the more medical side of things, she said that visually, everything seems fine, but she's still sending in the tissue for biopsy. I should have more news in a week or so.
So yea me, approximately 7 days of solid, hard cramping in my future. The upside (there's always an upside), at least for Scoob, is that I won't be all PMS-y for the first few days. It's times like this I wish we had a hot tub.
On the more medical side of things, she said that visually, everything seems fine, but she's still sending in the tissue for biopsy. I should have more news in a week or so.
Tuesday, May 26, 2009
Sotomayor Nominated
President Obama nominated Judge Sonia Sotomayor to the Supreme Court this morning! I've already noted that I think Sotomayor is the best choice from the field, but we'll see how the vetting process goes.
Sunday, May 24, 2009
Around the World in San Jose
Well, we did it again. We went to San Jose yesterday with our neighbors and spent the entire day bopping around from place to place and had a great time. We went to the San Jose Flea Market a few weeks ago, which was like a trip to a Mexico street market; this weekend we went to Vietnam, then Mexico again, and wound it all up with a great Mediterranean dinner.
We started off with lunch at the food court in the Grand Century Shopping Center at Story Rd. and McLaughlin Ave. I know, food court fare doesn't sound all that special, but this isn't your typical mall food court. I used to live not far from this area and back then this was a Mexican neighborhood with a lot of gang activity, but now it's a Vietnamese neighborhood, and I have no idea what the gang activity is anymore.
Scoob learned of this place from a co-worker. The shopping center is your basic Asian shopping center, like a Lion Center, and was full of jewelry stores it seemed. But the food court was something else. There are about 8 food vendors all selling Vietnamese food. I ordered a pork sausage thing and it came with rice wraps that you have to soak in water to make pliable, a heap of fresh herbs, and a peanut sauce.
Our neighbors ordered a shrimp and pork crepe that you wrapped in lettuce leaves with another heap of herbs. There was also a tofu and noodle soup with a beautiful red broth and Scoob ordered a fried duck soup. It was all extremely good. Our neighbors and Scoob each ran into someone they knew there. Whoever knew a food court could actually be a destination?
In addition to the jewelry stores and the food court there were also a couple of shops selling dried and pickled things. You name it, they've got it, and it's either dried or pickled. Our neighbors bought some dried fish skins and baby crabs. The crabs were just like munching on little crackers! I bought a piece of deer jerky and some smoked octopus. There was also a bakery at the entrance to the shopping center where we got these green waffles. I've already forgotten what they're called, but they are aromatic and lightly sweet.
Okay, enough of Vietnam. How do you get from Vietnam to Mexico in 5 minutes? Head east on Story Rd., cross Hwy. 101 and you're there. We then headed north on King Rd. to the Mexican Heritage Plaza. There used to be a museum in the plaza but now there's just a gallery, and there was no exhibit running, so it was pretty quiet, though they were clearly planning to host a graduation party later in the day. We walked around the plaza and took pictures of the interesting tile work.
And this cute mariachi sculpture.
From the Mexican Heritage Plaza, we headed to downtown San Jose with every intention of going to the Tech Museum or the San Jose Museum of Art, and although we did step into the Museum of Art (where I got my favorite photo of the day)
the Fanime convention was also downtown this weekend and the people watching trumped staying indoors with the Warhol exhibit (see what I mean? Note: I didn't snap this shot.)
We hung out at a cafe and just watched all the colorful costumes and characters stroll by. Afterwards, we headed to Castro St. in Mountain View. The quirky, new-agey East & West Bookstore is still here as well as the GBI bead store I remember going into years ago. Castro Street has changed a lot over the years. Most of the store fronts have been spruced up and there are a lot more restaurants than I remember.
We wound up our day with a Mediterranean dinner at Cafe Baklava where I ordered the vegetarian dolma, Scoob had lamb shank (the sauce was incredible!), and our neighbors ordered fresh trout (which was super good) and shrimp kebabs.
All in all, aside from the parking ticket, it was a wonderful day with lots of great food and great company!
We started off with lunch at the food court in the Grand Century Shopping Center at Story Rd. and McLaughlin Ave. I know, food court fare doesn't sound all that special, but this isn't your typical mall food court. I used to live not far from this area and back then this was a Mexican neighborhood with a lot of gang activity, but now it's a Vietnamese neighborhood, and I have no idea what the gang activity is anymore.
Scoob learned of this place from a co-worker. The shopping center is your basic Asian shopping center, like a Lion Center, and was full of jewelry stores it seemed. But the food court was something else. There are about 8 food vendors all selling Vietnamese food. I ordered a pork sausage thing and it came with rice wraps that you have to soak in water to make pliable, a heap of fresh herbs, and a peanut sauce.
Our neighbors ordered a shrimp and pork crepe that you wrapped in lettuce leaves with another heap of herbs. There was also a tofu and noodle soup with a beautiful red broth and Scoob ordered a fried duck soup. It was all extremely good. Our neighbors and Scoob each ran into someone they knew there. Whoever knew a food court could actually be a destination?
In addition to the jewelry stores and the food court there were also a couple of shops selling dried and pickled things. You name it, they've got it, and it's either dried or pickled. Our neighbors bought some dried fish skins and baby crabs. The crabs were just like munching on little crackers! I bought a piece of deer jerky and some smoked octopus. There was also a bakery at the entrance to the shopping center where we got these green waffles. I've already forgotten what they're called, but they are aromatic and lightly sweet.
Okay, enough of Vietnam. How do you get from Vietnam to Mexico in 5 minutes? Head east on Story Rd., cross Hwy. 101 and you're there. We then headed north on King Rd. to the Mexican Heritage Plaza. There used to be a museum in the plaza but now there's just a gallery, and there was no exhibit running, so it was pretty quiet, though they were clearly planning to host a graduation party later in the day. We walked around the plaza and took pictures of the interesting tile work.
And this cute mariachi sculpture.
From the Mexican Heritage Plaza, we headed to downtown San Jose with every intention of going to the Tech Museum or the San Jose Museum of Art, and although we did step into the Museum of Art (where I got my favorite photo of the day)
the Fanime convention was also downtown this weekend and the people watching trumped staying indoors with the Warhol exhibit (see what I mean? Note: I didn't snap this shot.)
We hung out at a cafe and just watched all the colorful costumes and characters stroll by. Afterwards, we headed to Castro St. in Mountain View. The quirky, new-agey East & West Bookstore is still here as well as the GBI bead store I remember going into years ago. Castro Street has changed a lot over the years. Most of the store fronts have been spruced up and there are a lot more restaurants than I remember.
We wound up our day with a Mediterranean dinner at Cafe Baklava where I ordered the vegetarian dolma, Scoob had lamb shank (the sauce was incredible!), and our neighbors ordered fresh trout (which was super good) and shrimp kebabs.
All in all, aside from the parking ticket, it was a wonderful day with lots of great food and great company!
Saturday, May 23, 2009
Summer
Well this week has just flown by and I have no idea where all the time went.
But on the plus side, we started summer hours at the office today. So from now through Labor Day weekend our office will close at 1:00pm on Fridays. Wheeee! Our company has observed summer hours for at least as long as I've worked there, but with all the economic setbacks (no hiring, pay freezes, layoffs, benefit cuts) we were more than a little apprehensive that we might not have summer hours this year and we might actually have to work.
So today was the first day of summer hours and what did I do? I stayed at the office until almost 3:00, went grocery shopping on my way home, and brought some work home for the weekend. Now that I stop to think about it, staying 2 hours after is about what I do every workday. I generally leave the office around 7:00. Still not cool though, that on our first half-day I ended up staying. Though it's not as if anyone made me; I just had stuff to do. Anyhow, my plan is to give it a couple weeks then talk to my boss about maybe just working from home on Fridays.
I hit the jackpot at the grocery store today. I'm always telling mom that I cruise the short-date bin in the meat department just to see what's there. Sometimes I can find a really good deal on a nice cut of meat, but since I'm normally doing my shopping after I leave work at 7:00, there's usually not much to choose from. Well today I got there around 4:00 and picked up a few things—some pre-seasoned chicken and veggies for fajitas, New York style jalapeño sausage, and a seasoned tri tip. All at 30% off!
I almost didn't pick up the tri tip, because even though it said it was seasoned, the package didn't say what the seasoning was. So it was kind of a crap shoot. I figured mystery spices are probably a safer bet than mystery meat, so I said what the heck. I cooked that for dinner tonight and it was yum yum de-lish! Though I probably still couldn't tell you what the seasoning was.
Oh, and I got some Rooster Sauce!
I read an article about it in the New York Times a couple days ago, which got me thinking about how much I do like the sauce but normally only use it at a restaurant.
Scoob didn't understand why I bought that because we have Tabasco, Chalula, and Tapatio in the house already. But there's a difference between Mexican-style hot sauces and Asian-style hot sauces, and sometimes you just want one or the other. We're currently out of our favorite chili paste (good stuff, when we replace it I'll post a picture because I can't tell you what it's called since the entire label is in Chinese). When Scoob wentto replace it, the store was out and he bought something different, but it's just too hot. I like it, but even a tiny amount makes my lips feel like they're bleeding and it completely overpowers the food. In some situations that ain't a bad thing, but I think it's intended more for use in food instead of on food.
Another interesting read, was this article on the economics of poverty. Not exactly earth-shattering new information, but a nice reality check that things for the Wayward house are not as bad as they could be.
I also liked these motivational-style posters of Mark Twain. I particularly like the ones for Verbalization and Options.
Lastly, this item at Amazon had me laughing so hard the other day. The customer reviews are just crazy out there.
But on the plus side, we started summer hours at the office today. So from now through Labor Day weekend our office will close at 1:00pm on Fridays. Wheeee! Our company has observed summer hours for at least as long as I've worked there, but with all the economic setbacks (no hiring, pay freezes, layoffs, benefit cuts) we were more than a little apprehensive that we might not have summer hours this year and we might actually have to work.
So today was the first day of summer hours and what did I do? I stayed at the office until almost 3:00, went grocery shopping on my way home, and brought some work home for the weekend. Now that I stop to think about it, staying 2 hours after is about what I do every workday. I generally leave the office around 7:00. Still not cool though, that on our first half-day I ended up staying. Though it's not as if anyone made me; I just had stuff to do. Anyhow, my plan is to give it a couple weeks then talk to my boss about maybe just working from home on Fridays.
I hit the jackpot at the grocery store today. I'm always telling mom that I cruise the short-date bin in the meat department just to see what's there. Sometimes I can find a really good deal on a nice cut of meat, but since I'm normally doing my shopping after I leave work at 7:00, there's usually not much to choose from. Well today I got there around 4:00 and picked up a few things—some pre-seasoned chicken and veggies for fajitas, New York style jalapeño sausage, and a seasoned tri tip. All at 30% off!
I almost didn't pick up the tri tip, because even though it said it was seasoned, the package didn't say what the seasoning was. So it was kind of a crap shoot. I figured mystery spices are probably a safer bet than mystery meat, so I said what the heck. I cooked that for dinner tonight and it was yum yum de-lish! Though I probably still couldn't tell you what the seasoning was.
Oh, and I got some Rooster Sauce!
I read an article about it in the New York Times a couple days ago, which got me thinking about how much I do like the sauce but normally only use it at a restaurant.
Scoob didn't understand why I bought that because we have Tabasco, Chalula, and Tapatio in the house already. But there's a difference between Mexican-style hot sauces and Asian-style hot sauces, and sometimes you just want one or the other. We're currently out of our favorite chili paste (good stuff, when we replace it I'll post a picture because I can't tell you what it's called since the entire label is in Chinese). When Scoob wentto replace it, the store was out and he bought something different, but it's just too hot. I like it, but even a tiny amount makes my lips feel like they're bleeding and it completely overpowers the food. In some situations that ain't a bad thing, but I think it's intended more for use in food instead of on food.
Another interesting read, was this article on the economics of poverty. Not exactly earth-shattering new information, but a nice reality check that things for the Wayward house are not as bad as they could be.
I also liked these motivational-style posters of Mark Twain. I particularly like the ones for Verbalization and Options.
Lastly, this item at Amazon had me laughing so hard the other day. The customer reviews are just crazy out there.
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