8th
February
2009
It might be a quiet Sunday evening at home, but the living room is filled with dozens of (virtual) friends, all on a first-name basis. Therein lies the secret of our music industry. There are no strangers. Some might be eccentric, others quite ordinary when not on stage; no matter, there are no family names to remind us of genetic proximity. I’m watching the Grammys, and it has nothing to do with grandparenting.
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posted in humour, music |
7th
February
2009
The headlines from a news site this afternoon carried a story that sounded like a plot for a cheap TV movie. Or worse, like proof of a global warming conspiracy. At one point, as many as 155 avid ice fishermen were adrift on a large ice pan, waiting for rescue from the Coast Guard. Except, unlike fiction, they weren’t off the coast of Antarctica; instead, they were only kilometers from downtown Toledo, OH.
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posted in media |
6th
February
2009
Other than a series of Revell models, painstakingly glued together and never painted, I’ve not had much experience in building replicas of things. The Revell period of my life happened long before I even owned a bicycle, so I guess I needed something to fill time. Give credit to their engineers; if I ever have to assemble a rocket and capsule in the order necessary for launch my training phase is complete. But, let’s get on track here, because the idea of building a replica is in the news.
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posted in history, technology |
5th
February
2009
Even someone as talented as me in the kitchen (false modesty is neither necessary nor virtuous) sometimes needs inspiration. When the opportunity to make a counter offer against a meal in a local chicken kitchen was offered, I was ready. One method for combatting the cold of winter is to eat something from a warmer climate. How about Mexico? We happen to have a small restaurant in the area, Senor Sombrero. Our previous visit was fun, so we bundled up and headed down to their site in an older city home.
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posted in computing, food |
4th
February
2009
There’s something intrinsically pleasant about applying textbook knowledge to real life. Despite the motivation of curriculum designers, the learner doesn’t always “get” the content of a lesson. No blame laid here; teachers and students are the warp and the weft of the cloth, each essential and neither able to sustain alone. But let’s cut to the chase on this one. Today I watched a video on YouTube that was simply cool.
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posted in education, Idol |
3rd
February
2009
The water pipe was still frozen today. No surprise, given that the temperature locally has been below what we call zero up here for weeks now. It does complicate life for the fifty-odd employees. We were summoned to the conference room within the first hour, told that the problem would be fixed once the city maintenance workers started their work day and given some alternatives.
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posted in environment |
2nd
February
2009
The adoption of a new regulation dealing with force majeure only a few weeks ago came in handy this morning. Not enough to seed world peace, but enough to send the employees of my building “packing for home” as they say. The first sign of difficulty came early. When I took my rightful place in front of the coffee dispenser, the LCD display notified me that the level of water was extremely low. This did not augur well.
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posted in environment |
1st
February
2009
After a six hour pre-game show (which we didn’t watch) followed by four hours of knuckle-biting action, the game has finally ended. Even if you don’t follow the action, weekend by weekend through the summer and autumn and onset of winter, football offers up a great show, with none bigger than the Super Bowl. I guess that’s why they named it that way. Actually, they didn’t, but let’s let the magic stay in place for now.
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posted in sports |
