2247 Stuff I've Found

Saturday, January 31, 2009

This video cracks me up.

Mean Automakers Dash Nation's Hope For Flying Cars

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This post cracks me up. Johnny Virgil of "15 Minute Lunch" went to a conference in Orlando. The mental image of the escalator incident is itself worth the read.

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I use an online TV guide. I looked to see what was on at 9 pm, and noticed this entry:

9:00pm - 10:00pm, WTENR (10.3)

Battlestar Galactica

An interstellar warship protects survivors of a decimated civilization with a race of android predators in hot pursuit in this dark update of the 1978-80 space adventure.

• Original Airdate: December 31, 1969

Hmmm. Original air date was 1969, and it's an update of a version aired 10 years later. I'm confused. Time warp?
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2246 My head just exploded

Friday, January 30, 2009

I just got this email from a cube-bound friend who works for a large financial company:

The woman on the other side of the wall from me said "Christian Scientist are really Muslims, just like the Hindus".

I fear for the future of this nation.
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2245 My head is spinning

Friday, January 30, 2009

The woman who had octuplets had, according to one story, taken fertility drugs to get pregnant, and according to another had multiple embryos implanted and they all "took".

Ok, I can understand fertility treatments when there's a history of infertiltiy. However, I just heard that she already has six children at home, ages 2, 2 (twins), 3, 5, 6, and 7.

Now I don't understand.

She already had more children than most people would choose. She has already proven (presumably) the capability to produce implantable eggs. She had twins two years ago, one year before starting the treatment. She's not approaching menopause. She lives with her parents and her six children. There has so far been no mention of a husband.***(see update below)

So I don't understand how she could have been approved for fertility treatments, AT ALL! They should have known what would happen, plus the doctors should have been aware via ultrasound of the number of follicles that had ripened, that it was an unsafe number, and that they should stop and try again next month. I don't understand.

The only thing I can think of that comes anywhere close to (but not quite) justifying fertility treatments under those conditions is that she had remarried a man who had no children, and he wanted one, and it wasn't happening naturally fast enough for him. But there's no mention anywhere of a husband.***

What the hell was going on? Is she a baby-collector, like those folks who collect stray animals? Is she mentally ill? Is she playing the welfare system? Her doctors should be responsible for supporting those kids.

This is totally wrong wrong wrong!

My head is spinning.

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***Update: This says there's a husband, a contract worker due to return to Iraq.
***Even Later Update: Nope. There's an Ex, but he has nothing to do with the kids. The contract worker mentioned is the woman's father.
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2244 Ice

Thursday, January 29, 2009

I found 2 solid inches of ice on the driveway this morning. The lower part that gets the sun was almost all melted, but the upper sections were a perfect skating rink. No winter sun ever gets there. I walked down to check how bad it was, and even walking on the roughest parts I almost slid down several times.

I'd left the Aerio at the top of the drive, and decided to chance it. I figured if she started to slide, she'd go into the snowbanks on the side, and I'd figure out then what to do about that.

I'm so proud of her. She didn't slip once. The brakes didn't much work, but the steering did, and she rolled smoothly.

I went to the pet supply store to get the pill-pocket treats for Jasper. The lady behind the counter raved about them. I bought about three times as much as I figured I'd need, planning to give some pill-less to Jasper as treats, so he'd be more likely to take them with a pill. I got both chicken and fish, hoping he'd like at least one of the flavors.

Uh uh. He's not interested in either. He sniffed them and looked at me like he wasn't sure what he was supposed to do with them. Mother is not happy.

On the way back from the pet store I stopped at two places where I used to get someone to spread gravel or sand on the driveway. It's been several years since I've needed that, and neither place does it any more. So then I went to the bank to get some cash, and as I pulled into the parking lot there was a guy climbing into a truck with a plow on the front and a sand spreader on the back. So I rolled the window down and asked.

He followed me home, and I now have a mix of sand and salt on the ice. I'm not too happy about the salt, but beggars ... etc. That was definitely a bit of luck.
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2243 Realization

Thursday, January 29, 2009

Yesterday I wrote:
"Well, since his vet visit, I've given Jasper two doses of the pills and one of the liquid. He struggles and fights, but without biting or scratching. His struggling seems to be more just registering a strong objection. I'm sure if he wanted to get away, he could. I think he trusts that I won't hurt him, but he has to struggle to preserve his autonomy."

Today I read it, and realized that the italicized part applies to The Man, too.

Then I said of Jasper: "He is such a good boy."

I'll accept independence asserting behavior from a cat that I won't accept from a man? Neither of them want me to mother them. I guess I'll have to think about that.
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2242 Feeling Weird

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

I've been feeling strange lately. It's been growing slowly for the past week or more. It's a "wrong" feeling in my middle. Sometimes I feel hollow. Sometimes full. Sometimes weak in the legs. Weak and tired all over, but if I just get up and go, I can do anything I need to, so maybe it's not real.

If I had to label it, I'd say it feels like fear.
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2241 Driveway

Wednesday, January 28, 2009

By early afternoon there was 7.5 inches of snow, and then the sky paused, and I knew it was about to start raining. The snow-thrower can't handle rain-soaked snow, and I certainly don't want slush to freeze, so I got out there and cleared.

The snow thrower was fantastic! It started right up, allowed me to drop the choke to the bottom, made powerful roaring sounds, and threw the snow further than it has since its first year in service. Wonderful! I hadn't noticed the reduction in throwing distance. I had pretty much accepted that on the wider parts I'd have to throw the same snow two or three times to work it over to the sides. Today it was blasting it halfway into the woods.

By the time I finished it was starting to rain hard. I was wet all the way through to my underwear.

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Well, since his vet visit, I've given Jasper two doses of the pills and one of the liquid. He struggles and fights, but without biting or scratching. His struggling seems to be more just registering a strong objection. I'm sure if he wanted to get away, he could. I think he trusts that I won't hurt him, but he has to struggle to preserve his autonomy.

He is such a good boy.
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2240 I Lose My Cool

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I have reached the end of my rope. It's time to start screaming.

To quote Conde Nast: "How will Wall Street be defined in an era of contained compensation and greater government over site?"

Aren't they supposed to have fancy-pants writers and editors and (good grief) proofreaders? That's inexcusable. If it's supposed to be a pun, I don't get it.

How can a professional writer not know the difference between these words:
site/sight
lose/loose
enormity/enormousness
to/too
problematic/a problem
quite/quiet
moot/mute
- all of which confusion I have seen within the past 24 hours from people who consider themselves pros!

You are not professional if you don't know how to use your tools!

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Computers have raised writing to a new low.

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We're supposed to get snow, 6 to 12 inches or more, starting tonight and continuing through tomorrow. My snowthrower has been in the shop for the past 10 days. I was making "snowed in" plans and collecting phone numbers of plowers this morning, when the guy from the shop pulled in and unloaded the snowthrower. I told him I appreciated his timing.

I'm glad I was here when he arrived. He started it up, and it sounds a lot stronger, steadier. Then I noticed the oil running down the side under the motor. A lot of oil.

We couldn't figure out where it was coming from. We checked the dipstick, and it was higher than the "full" mark, so I'm hoping it was just overflow. The guy was willing to take it back, but if he did, and I have to deal with a foot of snow without it, that's a guarantee there'll be nothing wrong with it.

I guess I'll find out tomorrow. Either it will run smoothly, or it will freeze up and explode. I can hardly wait to find out which.

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Jasper got home a bit before 2 pm. Yup, UTI. He'll get Metacam liquid once a day (in a squirty syringe), and Ammonil tables twice a day. I was hoping all the medicine would be liquid. I don't know how well he will take pills (and I'm very good at the shoving down the throat bit), but Jasper being smart and strong, he might be better at avoiding it. After the first pill, I might not be able to catch him for the next ten days. He's way too smart to be lured with tuna fish.

He's cute when he's suspicious, by the way. He squints his eyes, furrows his brow, sticks his lower jaw forward, lowers his body and tail, and you can almost hear the gears switching into reverse. I've lived with many cats over the years, and except for Smokey (I swear she was half human), he's the most expressive I've known.
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2239 Jasper

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

Jasper is in the kitty hospital. I think he has a urinary tract infection of some kind, and they can use a special litter there to catch a urine sample. I'm to call at 1pm to find out what they know.

His symptoms:
- searching for new places to piddle, including my bed
- licking "there"
- piddling often, but only a little bit each time
- ears and forehead feel warm
- not eating much
- Miss Thunderfoot is suddenly much more tolerant of him.

I hadn't realized how much we interact. He's been gone 2.5 hours, and I've been missing him for the whole time.
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2238 eBay Titles

Tuesday, January 27, 2009

I have a lot of experience searching for things on eBay. Some people make it easy to find their item. Some make it hard. I've learned a lot about good and bad titles, and that will come in useful if I ever start selling.

I've learned that a lyrical description of the beauty, features, and virtues of one's thingy is a complete waste of letter count. There's a picture that shows up in the list. Let that photo show the beauty and virtues.

The title should consist mainly of search words. Think of all the words that someone who is looking for your item would put in the search arguments, and put those words in the title.

For example, you have a pink peekaboo lace and chiffon long nightgown for sale. It has embroidery on the fitted underwired bodice, ribbon flowers at the shoulders, pleated skirt, lace around the hem, and the tag says "M". To create a searchable title for that listing, you've got to climb out of your own head, and into the head of someone who might be searching for an item of that type.

If they're looking for something long, pretty and alluring, perhaps seductive, and very feminine, they'll probably love your item. But if you don't use the right words, they may never find it.

Forget "embroidery", "ribbon flowers", "pleats", and all that. Forget hooks like "Valentine" or "gift". Someone searching for a gown like yours is unlikely to be that specific. Words that might get you a hit are more like:
sexy
long
nightgown
gown
lingerie
lace
sheer
satin
...

Let the photo do the rest of the talking. Include the color in the title only if it's different from the photo, or a color that might be a search argument, like "white" or "black". (Some people will search specifically for bridal-looking white, or figure-hiding black.)

The searcher will likely get hundreds if not thousands of hits, so the next challenge is to get them to click on yours. That's where the photo is most important. Choose one that shows the special features of your item - on a figure or manikin, not a hanger or lying on a bed or table, and with a neutral background, not against clutter. That'll catch the eye.

But any searcher can click on only so many items - so to encourage a click, include the size in the title. "S","M", "L", "1X", and so on is ok, but doesn't mean a lot, so please actually measure wherever it matters and include the inches, like "L, 38-40". If the searcher likes the photo and wants a "38", this will almost guarantee a click, because they already know they like the looks, and it will fit.

Forget punctuation in the title. You're listing search arguments, not writing a sentence. Also forget that silly mIXed CaPItaLizAtIOn (I don't understand why anyone would ever do that, anywhere), or the "~"s between every word. Cute doesn't help. If I can't get the info I want without straining, or if the title annoys me, I'm not going to click, because I probably don't want to deal with a ditzy or immature seller.

Now, could someone please list a gown similar to the one I've described (but not so frou-frou), and title it such that I can find it?
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2237 Jury Duty

Monday, January 26, 2009

I had an amusing post a bit ago about how to get out of jury duty (Stink). That post has earned me visits from all over the US and Canada. It seems like a lot of people are looking for ways to disqualify themselves.

That bothers me.

Yeah, jury selection is usually badly managed. You get your notice and go to the room, and then you sit there for hours, knowing full well that when they finally get to you you'll be disqualified because you know the defendant, or you were once in a serious automobile accident, or whatever the automatic disqualifier is this time. But you're not allowed to say that up front. You have to wait until they ask you, which is rather arrogant of the lawyers.

I always wondered why it would be so impossible to send out a questionnaire, or hand you the questionnaire when you arrive and get rid of the obviously unsuitable candidates right away.

It annoys me that people try so hard to get out of it. Yeah, I understand you have to take off work, but there should be some way to compensate for lost salary. The system doesn't do that well. Maybe it should be treated like national guard time off. I consider it a responsibility of citizenship.

It annoys me when I hear people say, "How would you like to be tried by a jury of people too stupid to get out of jury duty?", even as they themselves are working hard to get out. If I were ever on trial, I'd want a jury of intelligent, thoughtful, interested people, who are not impressed with their part in a drama and are willing to make decisions based on facts, not allegiance or emotion. I think every accused deserves that, and I think we all have a responsibility to provide it. If we want to get it, we should be willing to give it.

But many people consider themselves too important to be bothered to provide a fair trial to a fellow citizen, and I think that's terrible.

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Airport bars have introduced a new drink called "The Sully". It's 2 shots of Grey Goose with a splash of water and a twist.
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2236 The "Done It" meme

Sunday, January 25, 2009

From the looks of this list, I've already done much of what folks want to do, or think they ought to do.

bold = done it
italics = want to
strike = don't mind if I don't, thank you
(comments)


1. Started your own blog.
2. Slept under the stars.
3. Played in a band.
4. Visited Hawaii.
5. Watched a meteor shower.
6. Gave more than you can afford to charity.
7. Been to DisneyWorld.
8. Climbed a mountain. (In the French Alps, no less!)
9. Held a praying mantis.
10. Sang a solo.
11. Bungee jumped.
12. Visited Paris.
13. Watched a lightning storm.
14. Taught yourself an art from scratch.
15. Adopted a child.
16. Had food poisoning. (Lost 25% of my weight in 12 hours.)
17. Walked to the top of The Statue of Liberty. (Both times I'd visited, she was closed above the waist. I have walked up the Washington Monument, and have been up in the St. Louis Arch.)
18. Grown your own vegetables.
19. Seen the Mona Lisa in France.
20. Slept on an overnight train. (In a cabin with a bathroom and drop-down bed. Nice.)
21. Had a pillow fight.
22. Hitch hiked.
23. Taken a sick day when you’re not ill.
24. Built a snow fort.
25. Held a lamb.
26. Gone skinny dipping.
27. Run a Marathon.
28. Ridden in a gondola in Venice.
29. Seen a total eclipse.
30. Watched a sunrise or sunset.
31. Hit a home run..
32. Been on a cruise.
33. Seen Niagara Falls in person.
34. Visited the birthplace of your ancestors.
35. Seen an Amish community.
36. Taught yourself a new language.
37. Had enough money to be truly satisfied.
38. Seen the Leaning Tower of Pisa in person.
39. Gone rock climbing. (Scrambling, yes, but not the kind of climbing with pitons and ropes and stuff.)
40. Seen Michelangelo’s David.
41. Sung karaoke.
42. Seen the Old Faithful geyser erupt.
43. Bought a stranger a meal at a restaurant.
44. Visited Africa.
45. Walked on a beach by moonlight. (And the sand fleas almost ate us alive.)
46. Been transported in an ambulance.
47. Had your portrait painted.
48. Gone deep sea fishing.
49. Seen the Sistine Chapel in person.
50. Been to the top of the Eiffel Tower in Paris.
51. Gone scuba diving or snorkeling.
52. Kissed in the rain.
53. Played in the mud.
54. Gone to a drive-in theatre.
55. Been in a movie.
56. Visited the Great Wall of China.
57. Started a business.
58. Taken a martial arts class.
59. Visited Russia.
60. Served at a soup kitchen..
61. Sold Girl Scout Cookies. (Hated it.)
62. Gone whale watching.
63. Got flowers for no reason. (There's always a reason, even if they're from a stranger.)
64. Donated blood.
65. Gone sky diving.
66. Visited a Nazi Concentration camp.
67. Bounced a check.
68. Flown in a helicopter.
69. Saved a favorite childhood toy.
70. Visited the Lincoln Memorial.
71. Eaten caviar. (Many times, many types, hated it all.)
72. Pieced a quilt.
73. Stood in Times Square.
74. Toured the Everglades.
75. Been fired from a job. (First job, summer job as a teen.)
76. Seen the Changing of the Guards in London.
77. Broken a bone.
78. Been on a speeding motorcycle.
79. Seen the Grand Canyon in person.
80. Published a book.
81. Visited the Vatican.
82. Bought a brand new car.
83. Walked in Jerusalem.
84. Had your picture in the newspaper.
85. Read the entire Bible.
86. Visited the White House.
87. Killed and prepared an animal for eating. (Only if fish count.)
88. Had chickenpox.
89. Saved someone’s life.
90. Sat on a jury.
91. Met someone famous.
92. Joined a book club.
93. Lost a loved one.
94. Had a baby.
95. Seen the Alamo in person.
96. Swam in the Great Salt Lake.
97. Been involved in a law suit.
98. Owned a mobile phone.
99. Been stung by a bee. (... actually hornets, wasps, and yellow jackets.)
100. Read an entire book in one day.
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2235 Metal Me

You Are Copper

You are provocative and challenging. You help people realize who they really are. You live a very balanced life. You always take time for love and art. You are both a powerful and generous person. You always have time to give back. People find you to be incredibly ethical and loyal.

What Metal Are You?

2234 Timely Advice

Sunday, January 25, 2009

Advice for the times:


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You can make posters at http://obamiconme.pastemagazine.com/. Mine didn't come out as clearly as their examples - I don't know how they get all that white on the faces. I get red with every photo I try. If I bring the white up, all features disappear. You do have to register, but it seems innocuous enough. And they produce a ".gif", but there are free conversion sites available to make it a ".jpg". Pardon my lack of enthusiasm.




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2233 State's Rights? And other bits.

Saturday, January 24, 2009

The Vienna Convention on Consular Relations provides that arrested aliens have access to diplomats from their home country. The U.S. ratified it in 1969, including an annex to the treaty under which the U.S. agreed to let the world court resolve disputes over interpretation.

The U.S. insists that foreign countries afford Vienna Convention privileges to Americans in trouble overseas, under the provisions of this treaty. However, the U.S. does NOT ITSELF honor the treaty, because, believe it or not, states are under no obligation to honor the treaty. That's really stupid.

The issue heated up recently when the International Court of Justice unanimously found that the U.S. had violated the Hague tribunal's July order to stay the execution of José Medellín, a Mexican convicted in Texas of murder. The court had called for additional judicial hearings to be held to weigh whether he was entitled to a new trial or other relief because local police failed to provide him consular access after arrest, as required by the treaty.

Texas simply ignored the order.

The federal administration says they can't force individual states to obey. So foreign nationals who run afoul of state laws may not be (in most states are not) allowed consular access. That's kind of like if you were arrested and jailed in Yemen for a crime you did not commit, but you were not permitted to contact the U.S. Embassy, because you'd been arrested and charged by local police, not the national police.

The controversy "makes the U.S. look like it's putting itself above the law," said Diana Shelton, an international law professor at George Washington University. "And it's also putting U.S. nationals at risk" when they travel abroad, she said, because foreign governments can cite U.S. noncompliance should they deny consular access to Americans.

Spokesmen for Mr. Obama couldn't be reached for comment.

Frustrated by their nationals being jailed without consular access, foreign governments have increasingly turned to The Hague to pressure Washington to comply. After Paraguay and Germany won world-court cases against the U.S., Mexico in 2003 asked the Hague tribunal to find the U.S. in breach and vacate the death sentences of dozens of Mexican nationals in several states.

In a 2004 opinion, the court stopped short of Mexico's request but directed the U.S. to conduct additional judicial hearings to see whether the inmates were entitled to new trials or other relief.

The decision sparked a battle early in President George W. Bush's second term between hard-liners who considered international law largely irrelevant [!!!! emphasis mine] and moderates concerned that perceptions that the Bush administration was ignoring Washington's international obligations would undercut U.S. diplomacy.

Full Wall Street Journal story here.

Ok, I understand most of it. What I don't understand is that bit about not being able to make states comply. It was my understanding that federal law supersedes state law, and that should include treaties, shouldn't it? I mean, could Michigan declare war on Canada? Well, ok, but you know what I mean.
A) It shouldn't require a law from Congress to force states to recognize treaties, and
B) if it does, then why isn't there such a law already?

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Repeating a question I still don't have an answer to. I should ask Sheldon, from "The Big Bang Theory". It's my understanding that it's our yellow sun that causes Superman to have super strength and super powers.

It's my understanding that you build muscles by working them hard.

Now, if Superman has super strength, so to him nothing is heavy, how did he manage to build big muscles?

Just something I don't understand.

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Another old question. I've never understood the part in the Irish blessing, "...may the road rise up to meet you...". It's supposed to be good, but I don't understand why. Doesn't it mean that there should be no downhills? Aren't downhills the easy parts? It still leaves uphills, maybe even steeper ones if the road keeps rising. If you fall flat on your face, the road rose up to meet you. That's not good.

I don't understand.

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I forgot something important. As strong as silk fiber is when it's new, it weakens with age.

I've purchased many very beautiful especially soft old silk saris to use for sewing projects. Yesterday I was holding one up to myself to judge how sheer it was, and I accidentally stepped on the edge. When I pulled it up a little higher, it tore. The scary part - I was barefoot, and didn't even feel the pull. It's really fragile. Like cobweb.

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Something I've just discovered: I have twice now hidden this journal by changing the URL. It's pretty easy with blogger. But they don't warn you that when you do that, it breaks all the backward links in posts pointing to previous posts.
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2232 Sportsmanship

Friday, January 23, 2009

A friend is all het up over the Covenant School/Dallas Academy high school girl's basketball game. Wants the Covenant coach fired. Briefly, the Covanent School stomped the hell out of Dallas Academy, beating them 100-0. Dallas has a total of 20 female students (120 male), and only 8 on the girls' team. They haven't won a game in four years. At halftime, the score was 59-0. The Covenant coach kept the starting players, and they continued to push throughout the second half. Their supporters were also rather loud.

Ok, it wasn't very sportsmanlike. In fact, it was pretty much nasty and unnecessary. The Covenant school authorities and the coach have apologized, and have voluntarily forfeited the game.

I think I know what happened. In girls' high school basketball, 100 is rare, and I think they just saw their chance to "steal the baby's lollipop" so to speak. Temptation is a bitch.

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This all reminded me of the first, last, and only sports event I attended at my college. The college won the state wrestling championship year after year. Nationally famous for wrestling. It was THE sport at that school.

No other college in the state had come anywhere near them - until this particular year. This evening was the final evening of the state championships, and it was being held at our school, and the other team was very very good. It wasn't going to be the usual walk in the park.

So everybody went to the gym that afternoon. I didn't want to go but got talked into it. Things went back and forth, tied, until it came down to the last match. The winner of that one would win the championship for their school, they could take it away from us for the first time in more than a decade. (Or something like that. Anyway, it was a very big deal.)

The guys faced off, and grappled a bit, and then the kid from the other school landed on the mat awkwardly, and we all actually heard his forearm snap.

A timeout was called, the kid went to the side with his coach, there was a lot of fuss and discussion, some kind of pneumatic splint was put on his arm (like a balloon, somebody said it was chilled), and then the kid went back out to the mat!

I couldn't believe it! He was going to continue!

So then they started again, and the wrestler from our school went straight for the kid's arm. And that's the way it went. Our guy grabbed the arm and twisted, pulled, bent, and pounded it. He wasn't even wrestling - he was just attacking the arm. The referee didn't stop it. It went on and on, and the kid screamed with every twist. "Our side" of the stands was chanting "Work on the arm! Work on the arm!" It was the most disgusting thing I'd ever seen in my life.

I was also standing and screaming, but I was screaming "Leave his arm alone! Stop! Stop it! Not the arm! Not the arm! If you can't beat a one-armed man fairly you don't deserve to win!"

When it went on and on I got hysterical, and friends dragged me out - with me still screaming the whole way.

For a long while afterward, there were people who wouldn't talk to me in the lounge. I was a traitor. Didn't I understand how important it was? They seemed to feel that the important thing was to win - that HOW didn't matter. There were very few people who agreed with me, and that troubled me for a very long time.

I blame first the kid's coach. The coach should not have left it up to the boy to make the decision, because the amount of pressure on the kid was enormous. The coach should have pulled the kid and taken the forfeit. He should not have allowed the torture to continue.

I blame our wrestler and our coach second. There's no reason that our wrestler could not have won without torturing the arm, because if he couldn't beat a one-armed man he didn't deserve to win anyway.

I blame the referee (or whatever he's called). He had the power to stop it, and didn't.

To this day, I wonder about the kid, and whether his arm healed ok. Or whether his arm has been messed up ever since. And I don't know or remember who won. It never was important to me.

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The worrisome registered letter waiting at the PO, that I worried about yesterday, turned out to be from an acquaintance in Australia. I don't know why it was registered.
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2231 I need to borrow a life

Thursday, January 22, 2009

I've got to start up some kind of life again. I do a lot of just sitting around waiting for something to happen.

Today I:

• washed my hair
• wrote an email to my sister
• went to the grocery store for dry cat food, litter, and toilet paper
• cleaned the litter boxes
• read some internet stuff, nothing necessary, mind you
  

and, uh, that's pretty much it.

On the list, but not done:

• read new dental plan booklet
• search desk & floor piles for tax stuff
• search desk & den files for name and address of the estate lawyer
• pay bills
• write to everyone I've owed notes to for the past six months
• make dentist appointment
• make doctor appointment
• make vet appointment
  

This is not good. Sometimes days go by that I don't speak to any live person. Only 18 months ago I was pretty active. I've got to get involved in some activities again, but I don't know what. The volunteer group hasn't assigned me to anything since last spring. Maybe because they like to get new recruits involved? I'm pulling away from Mensa for a while, because a few people have been bugging me lately and I need to let the piles of crap erode a bit before I let them throw more on.

I somehow got on a contra-dance email list. Maybe I'll try that.

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I found a slip in the mailbox that I have a registered letter (a large envelope) waiting for me at the post office. I'm worried. Really. I'm not expecting anything registered.
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2230 Is it just me?

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

I'm sure there are technical words to describe what I'm seeing, but I don't know them, except maybe for "manipulation".

You know how the tv spots have been trying to convince us that the February switch to digital is "because it's so much better"? (Um, like, as opposed to all the money to be made selling the old bands?)

It seems to me somebody is stepping that argument up a bit.

For at least the past six or eight months I've had sets that pick up both digital and non-digital, and up until the past month I didn't notice a lot of difference on most of the channels that I get on my rooftop antenna. I could watch channel 10, or 10.01. The non-digital (analog?) shows have been coming in sharp and clear. About the only difference I'd noticed with digital is that the digital colors were more intense.

Suddenly, there's a BIG difference. (Although now that I think about it, it's been happening gradually over the past month, not suddenly.) The non-digital looks like it's put together with blocks of color. Slabs. Painted with palette knives. Wide ones. Looks a lot like the old beginner-level Paint By Numbers masterpieces. People's noses look strange.

It looks terrible.

It didn't always look that bad.

Do they think people will look at it and say, "Oh, wow, yeah, digital really is a lot better! I didn't realize there was so much difference!"

Well, there didn't usta be that much difference!

I really really don't like being manipulated.
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2229 Yup. Uh-huh.

Wednesday, January 21, 2009

In a post yesterday, I wondered how long it would take for someone to complain that Obama did not take the oath correctly and therefore cannot exercise the duties of President. Not long, it appears.

2228 Strange Mail

Tuesday, January 20, 2009

My mailbox was packed full this afternoon, eight packages. Two of them were unexpected and seemed odd. One was from Coldwater Creek, but it wasn't their usual overly large box and preprinted label - it was an envelope with the address and return address handwritten. The other was a small padded envelope with a return address for an unfamiliar business.

The small Coldwater envelope has a history.
I had ordered a sweater in gray from the discount outlet, and when it arrived, I loved it so much I went back and ordered it in red, using a coupon that pretty much covered its cost.

• A day later I got an email that the red was out of stock, order canceled.
• Ok. The coupon is about to expire, so I went back online to see what else I could get.
• Hmmm. The red sweater is still listed. Relisted? So I ordered it again, plus a t-shirt.
• A day later I got an email that the sweater is out of stock, but they'll send the t-shirt (free, 'cause the coupon covered it).
• Early last week the t-shirt arrived.
• End of story, right?
• Wrong.
• Yesterday I got a phone call from Coldwater Creek - first ever. The lady told me that the red sweater I had ordered is out of stock, and she assured me that I would not be charged for it.
• Um, yeah, I know, ok.
• Today I open the odd-looking envelope with the Coldwater return address, and in it is the red sweater,
• and the usual invoice with my name and address on it,
• and a note from a stranger that she had received it by mistake, that she had called Coldwater, and they had told her to send it to me. No return address for her.

Now what? Did I just get a free sweater?

The little envelope contained a pair of earrings. Two strange things about that - I haven't bought earrings in months, and this particular pair looked very familiar. I really like them. So I went online and looked for the business name on the return address, and it was an eBay seller.

• I went to my eBay account to see if I had bought anything from her lately. Maybe she sent the wrong item?
• Nope. I also verified I hadn't bought earrings from anyone lately.
• I verified that none of the items I have purchased recently included free earrings.
• Stumped.
• I pulled up my feedback, and searched for feedback from her, any past dealings.
• Ha! In April of last year, she left me positive feedback saying "So sorry they got lost in the mail. Wonderful buyer",
• and I had left her positive "Lost in mail, honest seller offered refund",
• and then I remembered!
• I had bought earrings from her, they had never arrived, she offered a refund, but I didn't accept it because I wasn't certain that I hadn't simply mixed them up with others I had bought at about the same time, the cost wasn't high, and I was satisfied that she had offered.
• I looked at the envelope, and the date on the USPS-printed stamp is "APR 03, '08"!

So I sent her an email (on one of her current listings) telling her they'd finally arrived.

Weird. I got something I think I didn't pay for, and something I paid for but thought I didn't get. Is this the way the year is going to go? If so, is that good or bad?
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