Uneasy there, for a while: I pressed the blue Fn key on my keyboard, and then the F2 key, which has a blue antenna on it, thinking that this would give me some kind of display about my connection. What it actually did was disconnect my wireless connection, and it took multiple tries before it would connect again. A laptop without a wireless connection is not much fun.
The cupcakes are out of the oven. We'll see, in about ten minutes, how good this recipe is:
One-Bowl Chocolate Cupcakes
Makes 2 dozen
Cupcakes can be made ahead and stored one day in the refrigerator or up to one week in the freezer.
3/4 cup unsweetened cocoa powder
1 1/2 cups all-purpose flour
1 1/2 cups sugar
1 1/2 teaspoons baking soda
3/4 teaspoon baking powder
3/4 teaspoon salt
2 large eggs
3/4 cup warm water
3/4 cup buttermilk
3 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 teaspoon pure vanilla extract
1. Preheat oven to 350ยบ. Line cupcake pans with liners; set aside. In a large mixing bowl, sift together cocoa, flour, sugar, baking soda, baking powder, and salt. Add the eggs, warm water, buttermilk, oil, and vanilla; mix batter until smooth, about 3 minutes. Scrape down the sides and bottom of bowl to assure batter is well mixed.
2. Divide batter evenly among liners, filling each about one-third full. Bake until tops spring back when touched, about 20 minutes, rotating pan once if needed. Transfer to a wire rack; let cool completely.
And, OBTW, I am sitting in the blue chair -- the one with the footstool and high armrests. For the first time, I lifted my left arm under its own power, up to the armrest. It twinged, but I did it. (giggle)
=================
Update: My daughter pronounced the cupcakes 'excellent'.
Saturday, September 30, 2006
Rereading
I wonder: does anyone else go back to what they've written several times after publishing, just to see if it still 'sounds right'?
.
.
All Booked Up
We just came back from the used bookstore, and, once again, we brought back more than I can comfortably read. They're light reading, no doubt about it, but I've been getting behind in reading -- I've had copies the The Economist magazine, and Fine Homebuilding, get lost under piles of things, and that never happens to me -- these are the magazines that I read to relax, to think about something other than, oh, the Appointment with the Oral Surgeon on Tuesday.
About which:
My wife is accompanying me to it so that I don't a) come across the desk at him when he lays whatever bad news he has planned, or b) break down in a paroxysm of self despair and anguish on the way home, which is, unfortunately, more likely than not. Do I know he has bad news? No. But we've already met once, and now he wants to meet again. I doubt this means good news, and I doubt its neutral. What does that leave? I'm betting that either/both will occur: it's going to cost significantly more than the significant cost he's already cited, or its going to take significantly longer than the 18 months I'm assuming it will take. Another possibility is that he'll say it just can't be done, though I think that's unlikely. So, I'm glad she will be there. Seems odd to say that I need support, at my age, but I do.
I just want to get off the dime on this one. Fish or cut bait.
So the Economist or FH are my drugs of choice, and when I've not had enough time for even them -- let alone, the two books I am reading -- why in the world would I pick up three more (light, I assure you), let alone some more magazines? I don't know, but I did. Hey, at least I got less than the kidling, who got eight. Actually, as I think of it, I do know why. It's the store. It's small (very small), crowded with books, and friendly. It feels like a neighborhod bookstore, the kind of place that ought to have crowds of people sipping coffee, listening to quiet classical music, and, most important, buying books. But they do -- there are rarely more than three or four other people in there, usually just us. Whenever we go, I just want to give money to them -- I would be unhappy if I found that they closed, even though we rarely go, and if giving them money out of the blue would help stave that off, I would. I like them.
I also picked up some arm weights to build up the muscle in my left arm. It looks weird because the only arm weights available were in five pound units, and I can't lift five pounds with that hand (not for a sustained period, anyway), so what they suggested was ankle weights, which are heavier overall (ten pounds) but come in one pound increments. (Wonder if we'll ever had selectable weights via a gravity device?) So I wore one today with two pounds in it. I looked like a suicide bomber or the Six Million Dollar Man, but it works -- I can tell the difference when I take the weight off. Since I may be looking at less formal rehabilitation in the near future, this seemed a good thing.
I think I want to bake cupcakes this afternoon (even there, I'm going to slack off: I might use pre-mixed chocolate cake mix (oh, the horror!)), but right now, I think I want to -- take a nap.
About which:
My wife is accompanying me to it so that I don't a) come across the desk at him when he lays whatever bad news he has planned, or b) break down in a paroxysm of self despair and anguish on the way home, which is, unfortunately, more likely than not. Do I know he has bad news? No. But we've already met once, and now he wants to meet again. I doubt this means good news, and I doubt its neutral. What does that leave? I'm betting that either/both will occur: it's going to cost significantly more than the significant cost he's already cited, or its going to take significantly longer than the 18 months I'm assuming it will take. Another possibility is that he'll say it just can't be done, though I think that's unlikely. So, I'm glad she will be there. Seems odd to say that I need support, at my age, but I do.
I just want to get off the dime on this one. Fish or cut bait.
So the Economist or FH are my drugs of choice, and when I've not had enough time for even them -- let alone, the two books I am reading -- why in the world would I pick up three more (light, I assure you), let alone some more magazines? I don't know, but I did. Hey, at least I got less than the kidling, who got eight. Actually, as I think of it, I do know why. It's the store. It's small (very small), crowded with books, and friendly. It feels like a neighborhod bookstore, the kind of place that ought to have crowds of people sipping coffee, listening to quiet classical music, and, most important, buying books. But they do -- there are rarely more than three or four other people in there, usually just us. Whenever we go, I just want to give money to them -- I would be unhappy if I found that they closed, even though we rarely go, and if giving them money out of the blue would help stave that off, I would. I like them.
I also picked up some arm weights to build up the muscle in my left arm. It looks weird because the only arm weights available were in five pound units, and I can't lift five pounds with that hand (not for a sustained period, anyway), so what they suggested was ankle weights, which are heavier overall (ten pounds) but come in one pound increments. (Wonder if we'll ever had selectable weights via a gravity device?) So I wore one today with two pounds in it. I looked like a suicide bomber or the Six Million Dollar Man, but it works -- I can tell the difference when I take the weight off. Since I may be looking at less formal rehabilitation in the near future, this seemed a good thing.
I think I want to bake cupcakes this afternoon (even there, I'm going to slack off: I might use pre-mixed chocolate cake mix (oh, the horror!)), but right now, I think I want to -- take a nap.
Sittin'
I'm sitting here on the Group W bench...no, wait, thats something else entirely. I'm sitting here listening to the Tommy Emmanuel CD that I got a bit ago, and enjoying it greatly. Right now, it's 'Blackbird', played with a whimsical, tentative air. I think there's only one piece on the CD that I actively don't like -- sort of his equivalent of what the local symphony's conductor was referring to when he said 'And now, the words that strike fear into an audience's heart -- an original piece by....' This is his original piece, and its a small price to pay. Do wish I could auto-skip it, though. I remember when CDs were first becoming popular, and one article mentioned that you could 'code' the CD to skip pieces, play in different order than whats on the CD, repeat pieces, and so forth. Never have seen that. Perhaps it was hyperbole.
Speaking of hyperbole: the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, to which I've alluded earlier. My wife and I talked about it a little this morning, while the offspring was downstairs improving herself by absorbing the best of Saturday morning television. My feeling is that I want her to take the tests (turns out the second is an actual test, not some flimflam they made up) knowing that they will be hard, and that while she is bright and may do well, she may also have trouble with some of it -- and thats okay. I don't want her to be afraid of it (as I am apparently afraid of it). I do NOT want her to become in any way a 'brain' or a 'grind' --excuse me, Instructor, but I believe that what you're referring to actually occurred in the latter years of the Pelopennesian Wars, and not, as you suggested, in the Great Mudville Riots of Ought Two. I don't think she will, but I really don't want that, anyway. Yet at the same time I want her to know that she is smart, and that she can stretch and reach and get things that might seem beyond her. I've told her that I did not do well in high school (thats putting it kindly; I did abysmally poorly), mostly because I did not realize that being smart did not mean that I would not have to work for things. Instead, I assumed that if I was smart -- and I knew that I was -- then that simply meant that I would 'get' things at a higher level, but if it didn't come to me right off the bat, then I could never get it. I didn't realize that almost everyone has to work, and I surely did not realize the thrill and delight of achieving something I'd thought impossible. I want her to have that -- to be a smart kid; one thats smart, and one thats a kid.
So we'll do it... warily.
Speaking of hyperbole: the Johns Hopkins University Center for Talented Youth, to which I've alluded earlier. My wife and I talked about it a little this morning, while the offspring was downstairs improving herself by absorbing the best of Saturday morning television. My feeling is that I want her to take the tests (turns out the second is an actual test, not some flimflam they made up) knowing that they will be hard, and that while she is bright and may do well, she may also have trouble with some of it -- and thats okay. I don't want her to be afraid of it (as I am apparently afraid of it). I do NOT want her to become in any way a 'brain' or a 'grind' --excuse me, Instructor, but I believe that what you're referring to actually occurred in the latter years of the Pelopennesian Wars, and not, as you suggested, in the Great Mudville Riots of Ought Two. I don't think she will, but I really don't want that, anyway. Yet at the same time I want her to know that she is smart, and that she can stretch and reach and get things that might seem beyond her. I've told her that I did not do well in high school (thats putting it kindly; I did abysmally poorly), mostly because I did not realize that being smart did not mean that I would not have to work for things. Instead, I assumed that if I was smart -- and I knew that I was -- then that simply meant that I would 'get' things at a higher level, but if it didn't come to me right off the bat, then I could never get it. I didn't realize that almost everyone has to work, and I surely did not realize the thrill and delight of achieving something I'd thought impossible. I want her to have that -- to be a smart kid; one thats smart, and one thats a kid.
So we'll do it... warily.
Friday, September 29, 2006
Weak End
I occasionally mention how pleasant it is to be able to 'go to work' by walking across the hall to the PC. Therefore, I should not care all that much that I have to do it this weekend. My commute time will be fifteen seconds; I'll be in my pajamas; I can leaf through magazines while on the phone. Perhaps it's the time of going to work: Midnight, Saturday. For at least two hours.
I am going to be wasted on Sunday.
Incidentally, I've made a small change to the material over to the left -- there is now a link directly to email, just in case you wanted to send me an email but didn't want it to be a public response to a post. Its just below the time/temperature gizmo.
Also, I had mentioned that my daughter was offered the chance to be an an 'advanced' program, as a result of some standardized tests. This is the site for the people that are offering the program. I believe that the 'talent search' is what she was offered. I'm pleased by the concept,of course... but a little queasy about the idea that they're offering to give my child a test, for which we'll pay an unspecified fee, and then they'll possibly recognize her if she does well on it. I don't think it's a scam, but I do wonder about its value. What's the point?
I am going to be wasted on Sunday.
Incidentally, I've made a small change to the material over to the left -- there is now a link directly to email, just in case you wanted to send me an email but didn't want it to be a public response to a post. Its just below the time/temperature gizmo.
Also, I had mentioned that my daughter was offered the chance to be an an 'advanced' program, as a result of some standardized tests. This is the site for the people that are offering the program. I believe that the 'talent search' is what she was offered. I'm pleased by the concept,of course... but a little queasy about the idea that they're offering to give my child a test, for which we'll pay an unspecified fee, and then they'll possibly recognize her if she does well on it. I don't think it's a scam, but I do wonder about its value. What's the point?
Friday Mid
Just back from therapy, and lunch. Still improving - my horizontal angle is up to a tad past 90 degrees, and my side reach also increased. Its all due to increasing muscle in that arm. I also got a new test -- grip strength -- but that didn't reveal any problems, as my grip is almost as strong in my left hand as my right (I'm right-handed). On the downside, I found that the therapy payments run out at the end of next week. After that, if I want to continue, I have to pay for it myself.
I admit to a feeling of irritation about that --how dare they cut me off? -- and then I got a grip, thinking about it. Wasn't it me who said too many people take 'insurance' as 'money that I have a right to'? Let alone the question of being able to afford to pay for it myself -- I can, though not at the frequency, let alone the rate, that the insurance company does.
So I'll continue going -- though I warned them that if I have to pay for it myself, I'll be a more demanding customer -- and likely be there longer each time, too.
I admit to a feeling of irritation about that --how dare they cut me off? -- and then I got a grip, thinking about it. Wasn't it me who said too many people take 'insurance' as 'money that I have a right to'? Let alone the question of being able to afford to pay for it myself -- I can, though not at the frequency, let alone the rate, that the insurance company does.
So I'll continue going -- though I warned them that if I have to pay for it myself, I'll be a more demanding customer -- and likely be there longer each time, too.
Hey, Teach !
I've occasionally wanted to be a teacher. Okay, I've also wanted to be a professional photographer, a software designer, and the Pope, none of which seem to be playing out all that well. But this interesting page suggests that I'd better give up on the teacher part, because there's no way I'm qualified.
Thursday, September 28, 2006
Schenectady
Apparently, Schenectady, New York, is a very safe place.
Must be, if the police there have the time to act like this .
Is it a biased article? Probably. So much so that we should ignore it? I don't think so.
Must be, if the police there have the time to act like this .
Is it a biased article? Probably. So much so that we should ignore it? I don't think so.
Dinner Out
After the last couple of days, we thought that we deserved a dinner out. My choice would be a quiet restaurant with fine linen tableclothes, and all that, but as we live in a burg, and the choices are much fewer, we're going to: Hooters. Mostly out of curiousity. I don't expect it to be a den of iniquity (not that I'd know what to do in such a place), and I don't expect the food to be all that great, even by my standards. Its just someplace to go on a rainy Thursday night.
Work's been busy. I've been putting in about ten hours a week more than normal. I don't like being that busy, but you know what? It's got advantages. I'm doing a system build for the very first time. Not particularly high density technical, but not bad. In fact, its fun.
Got a letter from the people who do testing for the school district. The reason our daughter was offered the chance to attend the special program is that she scored in the highest level in both reading and math. Apparently, thats not too common. Neat.
Work's been busy. I've been putting in about ten hours a week more than normal. I don't like being that busy, but you know what? It's got advantages. I'm doing a system build for the very first time. Not particularly high density technical, but not bad. In fact, its fun.
Got a letter from the people who do testing for the school district. The reason our daughter was offered the chance to attend the special program is that she scored in the highest level in both reading and math. Apparently, thats not too common. Neat.
Hear the Drums?
I found the original of this in multiple places, but this is the first I found with a response. Some of the observations or responses are silly or narrowminded; some make a good point. To me, the tenor of muhc of it means that the drumbeat is starting - of I have a good point or a good response, I post it, if not, I josh, jeer, or change the subject.
A variant, incidentally, can be found here.
Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion. Not entirely accurate. Saddam was always bad; some folks are more willing than others to work with "bad" is the issue.
Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony. You're just mad because Cuba has good cigars. But you've got me with this one, I can't figure it out (unless there is nothing of value to the Federal Gov't in Cuba)
The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq. Not accurate. We wanted the UN to enforce its own sanctions. When they would not, we used it as a reason to move forward with eradicating what we then thought were Saddam's WMD.
A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation. Give it a rest with the "woman can't be trusted..." clap trap: Everyone with half a brain knows a woman's right to swing her arm stops where that baby's nose begins.
The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay. Well, since it's Bush making the speeches but Clinton who slashed all the benefits, funding, budgets, and pay of the Military, I'm not exactly sure where you get this one
If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex. Typical misdirection from the left. Conservatives want the kids getting their sex education and materials from their families...NOT from some sterile educator
A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money. Bellittle? How (given that you just assignated any president who claimed Saddam as a ally).
Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart. Weren't you one who was just in here crying about us harming the innocent civilians in Iraq? hard to shoot at them but leave them to bleed and die on their own. SOME insurance companies DO have their customer's best interests at heart.
Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton. Neither Jesus nor me (nor any of my Born Again friends) hate anyone. We don't like homosexuality or Hillary's behavior but I don't expect that will change your oft-chanted mantra
Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. Neither are junk science, but you're right about Intelligent Design (not creationism)
A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy. No, a president lying to a grand jury is an impeachable offense. Also, there is no evidence Bush lied.
Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which includes censoring the Internet. Not sure from where you've dredged this one up but if it is typically liberal, there is a misdirection of truth and a lot of hyperbole in it.
The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business. Where does George Bush drive? When did Hillary trade cattle? Who cares about either one?
Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.More misdirection of truth. I have personally prayed for EVERY drug addict I know; but that doesn't mean "they don't have to pay the consequences of their behavior/decisions." Everybody should.
What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant. I don't care what either of them did in either decade
Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail. Yeah, once you have a knife in someone's back, keep twisting it.
Friends don't let friends vote Republican. OR post idiotic, hate-based rhetoric that has no socially or politically redeeming qualities.
A variant, incidentally, can be found here.
Saddam was a good guy when Reagan armed him, a bad guy when Bush's daddy made war on him, a good guy when Cheney did business with him, and a bad guy when Bush needed a "we can't find Bin Laden" diversion. Not entirely accurate. Saddam was always bad; some folks are more willing than others to work with "bad" is the issue.
Trade with Cuba is wrong because the country is Communist, but trade with China and Vietnam is vital to a spirit of international harmony. You're just mad because Cuba has good cigars. But you've got me with this one, I can't figure it out (unless there is nothing of value to the Federal Gov't in Cuba)
The United States should get out of the United Nations, and our highest national priority is enforcing U.N. resolutions against Iraq. Not accurate. We wanted the UN to enforce its own sanctions. When they would not, we used it as a reason to move forward with eradicating what we then thought were Saddam's WMD.
A woman can't be trusted with decisions about her own body, but multi-national corporations can make decisions affecting all mankind without regulation. Give it a rest with the "woman can't be trusted..." clap trap: Everyone with half a brain knows a woman's right to swing her arm stops where that baby's nose begins.
The best way to improve military morale is to praise the troops in speeches, while slashing veterans' benefits and combat pay. Well, since it's Bush making the speeches but Clinton who slashed all the benefits, funding, budgets, and pay of the Military, I'm not exactly sure where you get this one
If condoms are kept out of schools, adolescents won't have sex. Typical misdirection from the left. Conservatives want the kids getting their sex education and materials from their families...NOT from some sterile educator
A good way to fight terrorism is to belittle our long-time allies, then demand their cooperation and money. Bellittle? How (given that you just assignated any president who claimed Saddam as a ally).
Providing health care to all Iraqis is sound policy, but providing health care to all Americans is socialism. HMOs and insurance companies have the best interests of the public at heart. Weren't you one who was just in here crying about us harming the innocent civilians in Iraq? hard to shoot at them but leave them to bleed and die on their own. SOME insurance companies DO have their customer's best interests at heart.
Jesus loves you, and shares your hatred of homosexuals and Hillary Clinton. Neither Jesus nor me (nor any of my Born Again friends) hate anyone. We don't like homosexuality or Hillary's behavior but I don't expect that will change your oft-chanted mantra
Global warming and tobacco's link to cancer are junk science, but creationism should be taught in schools. Neither are junk science, but you're right about Intelligent Design (not creationism)
A president lying about an extramarital affair is a impeachable offense, but a president lying to enlist support for a war in which thousands die is solid defense policy. No, a president lying to a grand jury is an impeachable offense. Also, there is no evidence Bush lied.
Government should limit itself to the powers named in the Constitution, which includes censoring the Internet. Not sure from where you've dredged this one up but if it is typically liberal, there is a misdirection of truth and a lot of hyperbole in it.
The public has a right to know about Hillary's cattle trades, but George Bush's driving record is none of our business. Where does George Bush drive? When did Hillary trade cattle? Who cares about either one?
Being a drug addict is a moral failing and a crime, unless you're a conservative radio host. Then it's an illness and you need our prayers for your recovery.More misdirection of truth. I have personally prayed for EVERY drug addict I know; but that doesn't mean "they don't have to pay the consequences of their behavior/decisions." Everybody should.
What Bill Clinton did in the 1960s is of vital national interest, but what Bush did in the '80s is irrelevant. I don't care what either of them did in either decade
Support for hunters who shoot their friends and blame them for wearing orange vests similar to those worn by the quail. Yeah, once you have a knife in someone's back, keep twisting it.
Friends don't let friends vote Republican. OR post idiotic, hate-based rhetoric that has no socially or politically redeeming qualities.
Wednesday, September 27, 2006
A Stallone Day
Rocky day so far, and the day is young.
My wife had to leave early for her ultrasound, and she was apprehensive about that. We talked a little, which seemed to have the effect of calming her and agitating me.
I had to leave early because my daughter wanted to get to school early. We encountered a backup of vehicles going to the school, so a 5 minute drive became 10. The school has a parking area with an L shape road wrapping around the outside of it for dropoff. Each time, people pull in, almost always just to the knee of the curve (closest to the door), which means the line can hold about seven cars -- the rest have to squeeze past if they want to try a dropoff past that first car -- and usually what happens is that just as they get there, the first one moves, and then you get to guess whether you want to pull into the lot instead.
Traffic flow fascinates me, but I have no -- well, few -- insights. In addition to the school lot, another area that always gets my attention is a main road up to the next town. It crosses a highway at one point, and is a choke point. Picture this: two lanes, multiple on/off feeders. Just before the highway, another feeder which brings up semi's that will want to get onto the highway, so they come up the ramp, push into the right lane, and about a hundred yards further down, turn right and down onto the highway. At just past that spot, cars from the left lane are trying to either go straight or get into the right lane -- right either to go straight too or right to pull onto the on ramp onthe far side of the highway. You have to watch the traffic on your right -- is he slowing to get on, so that I have a slot to pull into the right lane, or is he moving straight, so I don't? -- and the traffic in front of you, which moves sporadically -- the effect of a traffic signal about five hundred yards further down, and, to some extent, another signal about a half mile past that.
We're told the state transportation department has plans to improve that choke point. Oh, joy. My thought: during peak periods, disable that first light. No turns -- just straight on, relieve some of the pressure around that second on ramp.
I returned the call to the oral surgeon this morning. First they called my wife at work, under the impression that that was my work number. She gave them my work number, whereupon they called our home and left a message. The message: call us. So I did. Oh, the doctor says he doesn't want to send the estimate after all. This is a multistep process, so he wants to do another consult with you on it. He apparently wants to see me cringe at the cost -- which, I just bet, just went up.
=================
My wife just called. It is a lousy day when I cannot be elated at news which deserves elation: It was just cysts.
My wife had to leave early for her ultrasound, and she was apprehensive about that. We talked a little, which seemed to have the effect of calming her and agitating me.
I had to leave early because my daughter wanted to get to school early. We encountered a backup of vehicles going to the school, so a 5 minute drive became 10. The school has a parking area with an L shape road wrapping around the outside of it for dropoff. Each time, people pull in, almost always just to the knee of the curve (closest to the door), which means the line can hold about seven cars -- the rest have to squeeze past if they want to try a dropoff past that first car -- and usually what happens is that just as they get there, the first one moves, and then you get to guess whether you want to pull into the lot instead.
Traffic flow fascinates me, but I have no -- well, few -- insights. In addition to the school lot, another area that always gets my attention is a main road up to the next town. It crosses a highway at one point, and is a choke point. Picture this: two lanes, multiple on/off feeders. Just before the highway, another feeder which brings up semi's that will want to get onto the highway, so they come up the ramp, push into the right lane, and about a hundred yards further down, turn right and down onto the highway. At just past that spot, cars from the left lane are trying to either go straight or get into the right lane -- right either to go straight too or right to pull onto the on ramp onthe far side of the highway. You have to watch the traffic on your right -- is he slowing to get on, so that I have a slot to pull into the right lane, or is he moving straight, so I don't? -- and the traffic in front of you, which moves sporadically -- the effect of a traffic signal about five hundred yards further down, and, to some extent, another signal about a half mile past that.
We're told the state transportation department has plans to improve that choke point. Oh, joy. My thought: during peak periods, disable that first light. No turns -- just straight on, relieve some of the pressure around that second on ramp.
I returned the call to the oral surgeon this morning. First they called my wife at work, under the impression that that was my work number. She gave them my work number, whereupon they called our home and left a message. The message: call us. So I did. Oh, the doctor says he doesn't want to send the estimate after all. This is a multistep process, so he wants to do another consult with you on it. He apparently wants to see me cringe at the cost -- which, I just bet, just went up.
=================
My wife just called. It is a lousy day when I cannot be elated at news which deserves elation: It was just cysts.
Tuesday, September 26, 2006
Veed-Yohs
Apparently, the Canadians have apologised.
Ever wonder what would happen if the Starship Enterprise encountered the Death Star?
And finally, a card trick!
Ever wonder what would happen if the Starship Enterprise encountered the Death Star?
And finally, a card trick!
Mail and News
Interesting things in the mail today.
One was a note from my insurance company -- the one that paid that startling hospital bill -- asking, wistfully, if perhaps anyone else was involved with my accident, or if maybe it happened someplace where someone else might have insurance coverage. Alas, I have to tell them no, it was just me, alone, at home. But if it helps, I don't wear baggy pajamas any more.
It disturbed me to get the letter, though. I have this lurking feeling that somehow I'm going to end up regretting what they had to pay out. I know, thats what insurance is for. Still...
Another was a package of Nonni's biscotti that we'd ordered -- we like it, and though the local store does carry it, they don't carry it consistently, and they like to move it around in the store (hey, lets put it next to -- no, behind -- the antifreeze!) -- so we ordered some directly from the company. Um. We're going to have biscotti around for a long time.
And we got a letter from a program at Johns Hopkins center for gifted children, saying that our daughter had qualified to be in one of their programs, due to her performance in a standardized test. Optional, of course. Are we interested? Well, sure, we're interested -- and pleased. We knew she was smart -- not a genius, but smart, yeah. Heck, look who she picked as parents!
I received a response from Muslim Apple to an earlier post. I'm afraid I offended her. That bothers me, because I didn't intend to. And yet it bothers me that it bothers me. I use normal courtesy with everyone. Is the subject of relations with Muslims so touchy that it can't be approached at that level? Is it even possible to ask the question without being offensive, because the underlying assumptions that buttress the question are themselves offensive? (Hey, you quit hitting your wife yet?) You can get really tied up in knots with this kind of thing.
Maybe I shouldn't talk about Muslims for a while.
I recall when I was in Thailand, courtesy of the Air Force, and they showed us this video about how to act properly and with decorum to the Thais == say 'goodbye' by bowing, hands together . Didn't take long to notice that nobody did it. Was it a scam? Did they really want it but not expect it from the ignorant Americans? Whew, mah haid hurts.... But dialogue has to start somewhere. I'll talk, at least once, to anyone. It appears to surprise some people. I once got a copy of an email from a senior exec at a company I worked for, mentioning that she had 'established an inadvertant connection' to me, because she'd responded to an email of mine. Turns out she thought that if I wrote to her, I must be pretty senior, too -- but I wasn't. Can't have that !
Tomorrow, the ultrasound.
One was a note from my insurance company -- the one that paid that startling hospital bill -- asking, wistfully, if perhaps anyone else was involved with my accident, or if maybe it happened someplace where someone else might have insurance coverage. Alas, I have to tell them no, it was just me, alone, at home. But if it helps, I don't wear baggy pajamas any more.
It disturbed me to get the letter, though. I have this lurking feeling that somehow I'm going to end up regretting what they had to pay out. I know, thats what insurance is for. Still...
Another was a package of Nonni's biscotti that we'd ordered -- we like it, and though the local store does carry it, they don't carry it consistently, and they like to move it around in the store (hey, lets put it next to -- no, behind -- the antifreeze!) -- so we ordered some directly from the company. Um. We're going to have biscotti around for a long time.
And we got a letter from a program at Johns Hopkins center for gifted children, saying that our daughter had qualified to be in one of their programs, due to her performance in a standardized test. Optional, of course. Are we interested? Well, sure, we're interested -- and pleased. We knew she was smart -- not a genius, but smart, yeah. Heck, look who she picked as parents!
I received a response from Muslim Apple to an earlier post. I'm afraid I offended her. That bothers me, because I didn't intend to. And yet it bothers me that it bothers me. I use normal courtesy with everyone. Is the subject of relations with Muslims so touchy that it can't be approached at that level? Is it even possible to ask the question without being offensive, because the underlying assumptions that buttress the question are themselves offensive? (Hey, you quit hitting your wife yet?) You can get really tied up in knots with this kind of thing.
Maybe I shouldn't talk about Muslims for a while.
I recall when I was in Thailand, courtesy of the Air Force, and they showed us this video about how to act properly and with decorum to the Thais == say 'goodbye' by bowing, hands together . Didn't take long to notice that nobody did it. Was it a scam? Did they really want it but not expect it from the ignorant Americans? Whew, mah haid hurts.... But dialogue has to start somewhere. I'll talk, at least once, to anyone. It appears to surprise some people. I once got a copy of an email from a senior exec at a company I worked for, mentioning that she had 'established an inadvertant connection' to me, because she'd responded to an email of mine. Turns out she thought that if I wrote to her, I must be pretty senior, too -- but I wasn't. Can't have that !
Tomorrow, the ultrasound.
Why I Won't be Pope
This is why I likely will never be Pope.
According to the news, the current Pope has invited ambassadors from Islamic countries to a fourth meeting to discuss the fallout from his comments that so enraged their constituents. (Pause while I think about their boiling point.) This one is to 'restart' the dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
I couldn't do that. Apologise, yes, absolutely. A second time, sure. Even a third time, possibly. But four?
You gotta be deeply religious to think that'll work, in the absence of constructive feedback from the other side. That doesn't seem to be happening. Some of them are listening, some of them are still fulminating, and I've no idea what the others are up to. Their normal lives, I expect. At this point, I've have given up. I'd have concluded that he gave it the old college try (okay, it was the College of Cardinals), and it kind of worked, and now it was time to move on. But no, he's going to try again. The man obviously is either a glutton for punishment or he has depths of religious optimism that are virtually without end. Sounds like divine inspiration, if so. I don't think I can lay claim to anything like that, and I don't see it in my future, either.
So, no Pope Bill any time soon. Too bad. I'd look good in white. Wonder if Good Humor Ice Cream is hiring?
(By the way, for some good writing on the topic, I recommend this, at the Muslim Apple site. I don't agree with all that she says, but it's well done and worth reading. Listening to the other side when you don't agree is part of what dialogue is all about, to my mind.)
According to the news, the current Pope has invited ambassadors from Islamic countries to a fourth meeting to discuss the fallout from his comments that so enraged their constituents. (Pause while I think about their boiling point.) This one is to 'restart' the dialogue between Christians and Muslims.
I couldn't do that. Apologise, yes, absolutely. A second time, sure. Even a third time, possibly. But four?
You gotta be deeply religious to think that'll work, in the absence of constructive feedback from the other side. That doesn't seem to be happening. Some of them are listening, some of them are still fulminating, and I've no idea what the others are up to. Their normal lives, I expect. At this point, I've have given up. I'd have concluded that he gave it the old college try (okay, it was the College of Cardinals), and it kind of worked, and now it was time to move on. But no, he's going to try again. The man obviously is either a glutton for punishment or he has depths of religious optimism that are virtually without end. Sounds like divine inspiration, if so. I don't think I can lay claim to anything like that, and I don't see it in my future, either.
So, no Pope Bill any time soon. Too bad. I'd look good in white. Wonder if Good Humor Ice Cream is hiring?
(By the way, for some good writing on the topic, I recommend this, at the Muslim Apple site. I don't agree with all that she says, but it's well done and worth reading. Listening to the other side when you don't agree is part of what dialogue is all about, to my mind.)
Monday, September 25, 2006
Not Panicking Yet
Came home from therapy and learned from my wife that she'd gotten the results from her annual mammogram. For the first time, they want her to come in for a followup ultrasound.
Not quite yet...
.
Not quite yet...
.
Sunday, September 24, 2006
Carpe...
Perhaps not the day, but more the next couple of days. The week is off to a decent start. I did some baking this afternoon (chocolate chip oatmeal cookies), finished the mowing (that mower blade seriously needs to be sharpened), heard from a friend in California (intermittant, always pleased when it happens), filled up my little pill case collection (and discovered that somehow either I or Caremark managed to let a prescription not only expire but vanish entirely), and emptied/filled the dishwasher after a dinner of truly excellent honey chili.
Some time in the next two or three days I will get The Letter from the dentist's office telling me how much money they want to do the bone graft, at which point I will swallow hard -- and then I still have to physically go in to schedule it. Those bozos. But I want this done and behind me, journey of a thousand miles begins with a single airplane ticket, and all of that.
Oh, and I got my work email inbox down to five active emails, which, believe me, is quite the accomplishment, given how many stray bogus emails I get. Well, bogus to me, anyway.
Seize the week.
Some time in the next two or three days I will get The Letter from the dentist's office telling me how much money they want to do the bone graft, at which point I will swallow hard -- and then I still have to physically go in to schedule it. Those bozos. But I want this done and behind me, journey of a thousand miles begins with a single airplane ticket, and all of that.
Oh, and I got my work email inbox down to five active emails, which, believe me, is quite the accomplishment, given how many stray bogus emails I get. Well, bogus to me, anyway.
Seize the week.
Political Web Sites
I came across a site called Freedom Works that says you can use it to compare candidates on key issues. Well, heck, that sounded good.
Then I noticed that the upper right corner of the page said "Lower Taxes. Less Government. More Freedom."
Somehow, I don't think they're completely unbiased, do you?
Then I noticed that the upper right corner of the page said "Lower Taxes. Less Government. More Freedom."
Somehow, I don't think they're completely unbiased, do you?
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