People who aren't bike-oriented sometimes have a very hard time understanding that for bike-oriented people, being on the bike is not a hardshipI went to a party tonight with some work friends and had a very nice time, but did wind up bumping into this ( Read more... )

I finally got to read Neal Stephenson's latest book, REAMDE. (I had put a hold on it at the library shortly after it was released, but the wait list was forever.) It's only out in hardback at this point, and it's massive. I put it on the kitchen scale. 2.8 pounds. Undaunted, I lugged it all the way to Irvine last week for a work trip. And back, of ( Read more... )

It's not as though Pirate and I are flush enough that we lightly have him tell his company he's unavailable. And we're certainly not going to burn his credit with his bosses by having him call off a shift that he's been scheduled for, short of him getting a level II headache or above.

So imagine my delight when, after he's sent in his availability ( Read more... )

I stopped by the market on the way home to pick up bread and beer (the Yankee math still applies). When I came out, there was a young guy - I'd be surprised if he were over 20 - sitting on the bench near the bike rack, looking glum ( Read more... )

Currently hating Russian hackers.

So I get to work this morning and find that co-worker R is out because she broke her toe Sunday night. Co-worker J is out because she got burned over the weekend. Co-worker S is out sick. And BossLady is out REALLY sick ( Read more... )

BossLady's birthday is this weekend, so we took advantage of the monthly all-hands vendors/brokers/insurers/third-party-administrators/department meeting today and adjourned to a local restaurant for wine, beer, and appetizers. It was a very pleasant evening and a nice chance to see some folks I quite like but rarely get to see outside of the ( Read more... )

From a recent post on Consumerist:The cameraphone of reader Thomas points us to a classic American slogan that has been bedeviling consumers for decades, "Everybody doesn't like something, but nobody doesn't like Sara Lee." It is shortened on this truck to "Nobody doesn't like Sara Lee." Huh? Isn't that a double negative? Yes, and it was planned ( Read more... )

When you figure out a better way to do something halfway through the process*, the "a-ha!" is tempered with "erf!"

* In this case, how to evenly distribute an extremely thick and sticky cinnamon roll filling over a fairly tender dough. Ah, well. Now I know how to do it next time.

Because then I wouldn't have to smell burnt microwave popcorn every afternoon.

*sigh*