Went shopping for a tie last week ..
April 26, 2008 Leave a comment
Who woulda thunk that paisley would be back ..
.. and in neon colors to boot?
I went with a subdued stripe.
Spam turns 30
April 25, 2008 Leave a comment
NewScientist Tech wishes us a "Happy spamiversary! Spam reaches 30", commemorating the first advertisement sent over the nascent Internet. The message was sent from a DEC marketing representative as an offer for the recipients to attend a product presentation.
Some 393 users were intended recipients, but from the archived copy, "Reaction to the DEC Spam of 1978", it appears most recipients likely never saw the message.
The Latest Mid-Life Crisis Mobile
April 24, 2008 1 Comment
Okay, this was fun courtesy of Avis:
A few ragtop rules in Seattle:
- Wear a polar fleece.
- If you don’t open your top because you’re waiting for sun, you’ll never open your top in Seattle. Just be prepared to pull over to the side to put it back up. 😛
- Be prepared for strange glances from people with foreign license plates.
- As to both of the above: always look like you’re enjoying yourself.
When in a convertible, music plays an important part of the entire experience. Be keenly aware that if you’re going to play tracks at sufficient volume to enjoy them, others will have to "enjoy" them as well. In my case, I’m a gray-haired guy; I don’t want to look like I’m in in mid-life crisis mode (I’m not), nor do I want to appear silly.
Hence, I was in a bit of a quandary as to what to play. Wheeling through my Zune, I found (and avoided playing):
- Trance: while I love it (it’s my favorite workout and "thinking" music), it might appear to be a bit too high-energy; a bit too happy.
- Sade, Basia or Dead or Alive: forget about it. While not exactly "thinking" music .. might appear to be a bit too happy.
- Huey Lewis and the News, Blood Sweat and Tears or The Eagles: would make me look like too much of a throwback.
- The Doors or The Moody Blues: would make me look like too much of a holdover.
- Barry Manilow: get serious. Yes: he’s on my Zune, and he gets major props from me, but in a rag-top?
- Dixie Chicks, Garth Brooks or Toby Keith: Yes, I listen. No, others don’t need to know (hey, a fellow Next-Generation denizen is a NASCAR fanatic).
- Jazz: Not cool enough for a convertible in Seattle. San Francisco? Maybe.
- Frank Sinatra: too blatantly stereotypical.
There is no Rap on my Zune, and very little Pop. The radio? No.
I settled on Evanescence (described as "The goth-inspired Arkansas rock band" :: cackle :: ), which gave way to Santana (Shaman, of course) and Marc Anthony (Libre; the Spanish version).
I enjoyed the strange glances from people with foreign and domestic license plates all around.
Collisions .. on a galactic scale
April 24, 2008 Leave a comment
This is an image of the aftermath of two galaxies colliding in the constellation of Ursa Major.
The galaxies are some 500 million light years away from us.
The collision between the two galaxies produced a shockwave that first drew matter into the center and then caused it to propagate outwards in a ring.
This image is part of a large collection of 59 images of merging galaxies taken by the Hubble Space Telescope and released on the 18th anniversary of Hubble’s launch.
JPL posts "Galaxies Gone Wild!" with a number of cool images and statistics.
I’ve been tagged for eight "randoms"
April 23, 2008 1 Comment
Fellow evangelisto Jeremy Cath shared eight random things about himself in his “8 random things about me” post. A fun read.
Well, it was fun until the little bugger tagged me, making me responsible to fulfill my part in this game.
The rules:
- Each “player” shall assemble eight random facts / habits / things about themselves.
- Each “player” shall write an “eight things” post with these things and include these rules.
- Each “player” shall choose another eight “players” and list their names in the post.
- Each “player” shall notify (email or blog comment) their eight and advise them they’ve been tagged.
- No Tag-Backs! (I added this rule).
Okay. Gotit. Here we go:
- I have five children and three grandchildren.
- I love old and romantic music. To the point that I get really, really misty (to an awful degree) around the first day of Spring. If you’re close to me, you’ll hear me breaking into song (sort of a musical Tourette’s) at the drop of a hat.
- I play the trombone. Pretty darned good at it, too. I play guitar, but not near as well. Piano? A bit, mostly for myself.
- I fold Origami and I play craps. Not at the same time. I realize it’s two random things, but they’re cool things that I do. I’ll show you, if you can get me to stay in one place long enough.
- I think Barry Manilow is a genius. Not just a commercial musical genius, but a really, really smart guy.
- My favorite expletive is “dogshit taco” (uttered by Eric Cartman from South Park in “Bigger, Longer and Uncut“). I don’t use it, except among friends and those whom I seek to shock.
- I’m a member of AARP (yes: you read that right). Note that despite that, I’m really well-connected to the Next-Generation Web; ask anyone. If they argue, I’ll sit down and connect with them.
- I’m an active member of Mensa.
My eight victims (frankarr called them “eight lucky souls” in his “eight random things about me” post) is below; I’ve posted a comment on each of these folks’ blogs
(removed in the re-post):
Apologies in advance, but it doesn’t hurt to share.
Say "hello" to my little friend!
April 18, 2008 Leave a comment
This little guy showed up in my office today:
Yes: he says "Las Vegas".
Many thanks to my friends at Travelocity.
Building 18 Panorama
April 14, 2008 Leave a comment
I’m having too much fun with the Windows Live Photo Gallery (a FREE download .. what are you waiting for?).
This is outside my building in Redmond, looking toward the cafeteria; a total of 24 photos (three high by eight wide):
The Good Wife’s Guide
April 5, 2008 Leave a comment
This is classic (literally); from Housekeeping Monthly, 1955):
:: runrunrunrunrun ::
Update: may be faux (imagine that). Thanks to fellow evangelisto Jeremy Cath, who points me to this Wikipedia article: Good Wife’s Guide.
Snopes.com adds to the fray in “How to be a Good Wife”.
April Fool 2008
April 1, 2008 Leave a comment
From my past:
April Fool is passed.
You’re a bigger fool, at last.
Up a ladder, down a tree,
you’re a bigger fool than me.
Thanks to Wikipedia for "April Fool’s Day".
Of Shuffles and Re-Organizations
April 1, 2008 Leave a comment
‘Tis that time of the year in Redmond .. when folk look at what they did last year and what they’d like to do next, in the coming year (our fiscal ends on 6/30/08).
‘Tis also a time of box ticking .. as managers and directs sort through their commitments to ensure they’ve exceeded the bar.
We have the added delight in our organization of a re-organization. More than one, actually. Nothing’s been announced, but lots and lots and lots of chatter, speculation, fear and loathing (even whilst in Las Vegas).
Change is the only certainty, I hear.
OpsanBlog 