A couple of days ago, I happened into a discussion involving the word fonds. Not one of the common words, learned from my Dick and Jane reader. In retrospect, I’d never heard the term before a couple of years ago, but that shows my lack of contact with the archival mentality.
posted in education, genealogy | Comments Off on The value grows, day by day | 285 words
There. Without malice, I missed the department luncheon and went to let people stick their fingers in my eye. Had to be done.
posted in health | Comments Off on Our health system is better than they think | 254 words
Clear alternatives make for easy choices. Today, I had the chance to stay at my desk and work on through the lunch period (otherwise called “an ordinary day”) OR go outside and join in an office picnic. I threw off my antisocial shawl and found a folding chair.
posted in environment | Comments Off on Picnic delights | 256 words
Once again, on a beautiful sunny afternoon, I found myself solving a computing problem in someone’s home. Which leads to the obvious question: Am I happy because I get paid to do what I like, or am I unhappy because work has taken over my existence? Ask me later.
posted in computing | Comments Off on Walls that would withstand the fury of nature | 258 words
The warning on Slashdot was sufficient. Although this instance of WordPress is kept “up to date”, I am responsible for several other bloggers, so this morning saw me applying updates, over and over again. The difference between now and several years back is large. Now, bringing WordPress in line with the best efforts of the programming team is about as easy as it can get. My hat is off to people who can plan around the disorder of others.
posted in travel | Comments Off on Hunting the rare cheesecake | 330 words
Cooking is full of mysteries. I’m not going to fixate on the simple ones, like why does a soda cracker get soft if left on the counter, while a piece of bread gets hard. That’s too tough. I’d prefer to solve the easier ones, along the lines of determining the cooking time for a piece of chicken.
posted in food | Comments Off on Another familiar face | 285 words
This is one of the bigger long weekends of the year. Schools are open, but the weather keeps us in a summer frame of mind. Often, this is the last real chance for travel before we start to think about snow as a road mode. I, for one, managed to make the weekend even longer by taking an extra day off from my normal routine.
posted in environment | Comments Off on An extra day to relax | 271 words
My parents always believed that musical education was important. Still do, I imagine. I was an early pupil for such social instruments as the chanter (which could have grown in to bagpipes, in my little fingers had grown more quickly). I took to drums like, well, a drummer. The fiddle still hangs around, trying to shame me. And then, there’s the guitar.
posted in music | Comments Off on Joining the ranks | 344 words
What makes a popular fiction book jump to that uber-category of super popular? Over the years, the family has read most of the stuff that gets front shelf status in the bookstores; the Potters are poster children here. This year, though, there’s gender bias.
posted in media | Comments Off on Really popular books and a trip into space | 257 words
Don’t get me started. Sometimes the advertising industry jumps the shark, and we can only stand by, shaking our heads in wonder. Take, as an example, the slogan I heard this evening:
posted in media | Comments Off on Black and white, or salt and pepper | 251 words
