Sometimes funny, sometimes thoughtful, always a good time
A funny quote from a client (not a client of mine):
Inspired by Rob, who has two vertical monitors at work, I finally figured out how to change my triple-monitor configuration so the left one is rotated. That gives me a really tall screen which is great for reading documents or even long scrolling web pages.
Now as I write a proposal today, I have plenty of screen real estate for all of the documents I need to reference for the functionality spec. Woo hoo!
Some cool violets from our friend Christina for Laralee’s birthday yesterday.
From an article by Harriet Fraad of Tikkun Daily:
I must say that it’s frustrating for me to vote mostly Libertarian in every election (local, state, and national) and never see my candidate win. Under our electoral system it’s all or nothing. The minorities don’t really get a voice, and our two-party system is broken in so many ways that I don’t know how it’ll ever get fixed.
An interesting metric might be how much we as Americans talk about reform. It seems like there’s an ongoing political agenda to reform almost everything about our government:
If we feel like we need to change everything about our government, maybe it’s time to take a long hard look about the system of government itself and consider what might make it more of a true democracy.
I still need to finish my taxes, so I decided to wander around the house with my camera instead. It’s kind of fun to see how everyday items take on a whole different look when you zoom in enough.
Like a clock:
A miniature magnetic chess set:
My stereo:
Even some parts Zack collected from a few old hard drives:
Walter Morrison, inventor of the flying disc, died today at age 90.
He came up with the concept of a round piece of plastic to toss around. He originally called it the Pluto Platter, but when Wham-O bought the rights they called it the Frisbee. And of course it eventually formed the basis of the most awesome sport ever.
I wondered why it was called the Pluto Platter until I saw a photo of him back in the 1940’s:
A couple of weeks ago I bought a pair of “dress” slacks. Actually they’re Dockers, because I just can’t get into the whole dressing-up thing, even for church. I think the last time I wore a suit was in college.
Anyway, I bought them because my current pair of slacks– Dockers in fact– is probably six or seven years old. So I’m definitely due for a new pair. I went to Kohl’s and picked up a pair in a nice neutral beige color, choosing the 32×34 size. The jeans I wear (also by Levi’s, makers of Dockers) are that size so it seemed fine. No need to try them on in the dressing room.
Unfortunately I discovered that my waist is technically 32 inches around, but the pants were super tight across the seat. From the back I looked like some kind of perv 1970’s hipster with butt-hugging pants. If I dared to bend over I’d probably split the seam right up the middle. Ugh.
So today I went back to Kohl’s to get a pair of 33×34’s, but to my chagrin I learned that apparently no one else on the planet has those measurements. There are plenty of 32xsomethings and 34xsomethings, but 33 is elusive. I settled on 34×34, feeling a little depressed because it means I must be getting fat or something.
An interesting observation: the minority of pants have an inseam measurement larger than the waist. Apparently most men are wider in the waist than they are tall in the leg. Upon reflection I shouldn’t be too surprised. After all, I’m kind of a thin lanky guy and most of my contemporaries are a little more short and stout.
I joined a gym.
Yep, I’ve joined the ranks of all the flabby middle-aged guys who think lifting weights a few times a week will save them from being total couch potatoes. Well, okay, maybe I don’t think that. But my friend Cory told me about an awesome deal at the local gym (right down the street from me, in face) where I can pay $12/month for membership. That’s a fraction of the normal fees, and a deal at any gym.
Honestly I don’t really care about their two pools, multiple Olympic weight rooms, sauna, cardio rooms, aerobics classes, spinning classes (what the heck is spinning?), or even the basketball court. It’s all about racquetball. I love the game*, and since it costs $10 per person to drop in on any gym in town, I haven’t done so for many moons.
So I went down there today with Rob and we both signed up. We’ll play some racquetball on Mondays after work, and then on Wednesdays and Fridays Laralee and I will play (I got her a membership too). Now I just have to find my old racket and dust it off…
* When I say “I love the game” it does not necessarily imply I’m any good at it.
Sweet. My newest client, as of this afternoon, is NASA.
We’ll be building a web site for them to manage communities of users around the world who work in planetary sciences and astrophysics.
Six flavors of awesome. Because it’s true.
Credit: Alan Foreman @ poisonedminds.com