Good Morning

It's about 11:00 on Sunday morning, I'm on the couch working on my last few law school applications. It's been snowing outside since I got up, making for a beautiful winter neighborhood scene outside my balcony window. Even though I'm not outside in it, I can feel the world being peacefully muffled by the white blanket. LT and Whiskey are sleeping in the bedroom, Tiki is on my lap, simultaneously cuddling and playing with my hoodie drawstrings in that way that only Tiki can, making it fairly difficult to type.

My little world is peaceful, the future is hopeful, and it's a good morning.

Eat More Fiber

Maybe one of these days I'll have time to make a real blog entry. In the meantime, let me share the theory I have developed from this week at work:

People don't eat enough fiber, so they end up using their brains as roughage and flushing them down the john.

It's not elegant, but it works for me right now.

Sad News...and, Media Mediocrity

I heard on the radio driving home from work today that they just found Heath Ledger dead in his apartment. I don't follow movies and such very often, but he was one guy that I usually really liked in movies. Not just his acting, although I did usually like what he did, but the little I saw about his personality. He wasn't always in the headlines with relationship drama or getting into trouble, and in a couple interviews I saw with him around the time of Brokeback Mountain he seemed really low key and down to earth. So, I'm pretty sad to hear that.

I have to comment, though, that I was just getting home when they said something on the radio, so I flipped on CNN to see if they had any more info. In addition to being bummed about the news, it was another ugly reminder of the current state of media these days; the coverage was idiotic. Asking the same questions over and over; asking about stupid, inane details that mean nothing ("The appointment he had with the masseuse, would that have been a regular thing?"); blathering canned phrases of shock, attempting to sound educated and serious; and just generally talking to hear themselves talk. Just as with all other big breaking news stories, digging for any bit of potential new info, no matter its questionable validity or relevance.

Best Invention Ever

Getting back home from a very cold and tiring hockey trip, I decided yesterday that hot showers are quite possibly the greatest invention mankind has ever made. Sure, there are others that accomplish more tangible things and more striking things, but as far as everyday usefulness and all-purpose functionality, the shower wins.

Think about it...

Dirty? A shower will clean you. Duh.
Sick with the cold or flu? A shower will help clear you out and make you feel better.
Cold? A shower can get the blood flowing and warm you up.
Tired? A shower can invigorate.
Can't sleep? A shower can help relax you.
Sore and achy? A shower can soothe sore muscles.
Anxious? A shower can help you calm down.
Need to solve a problem? A shower can help you think.
Just in a crappy mood? A shower can help you chill and just feel better.

I personally think that no important difficult events should happen without everyone involved having a really good shower just beforehand. The UN should think about this before holding its next round of talks for the Middle East or Korea.

Quote

Something you don't want to hear while walking past the guy examining the office sprinklers:

"Well, what I think happened is that these were recalled a reeeeeaaaally long time ago."

Yay Nerds!

The webcomic xkcd, which I've referenced a number of times, pulled off quite the feat today, I think. Today's cartoon managed to successfully impact the Google trend tracker, single-handedly sending "Died in a blogging accident" to at least as high as #6 on the list of trends. Probably higher, actually, as the picture in that link says it reached its peak some 7 hours before the screenshot was taken.

Not bad for a bunch of nerds!

Taking the Fence

For those of you who don't know, the Carnegie Mellon campus has a fence that is traditionally painted by student groups, teams, or just random individual people. LT and I had some time and energy to kill last night, so on a whim we decided to take the fence.

A quick trip to Home Depot provided some nice cheap "Oops" paint. Because I'm an old fogey, a nap was in order since the fence can't be painted earlier than midnight and I've already been short on sleep. The previous paint job on the fence was blessedly sparse and not difficult to cover over. The wind picked up, but thankfully the rain held off long enough for us to finish, and hopefully for the paint to dry enough. (I haven't yet had a chance to see it since we painted.) We were lame and decided not to camp out, since the risk of someone else taking it was minimal, and there was a cold front coming through.

We decided to pay homage to the continued adventures of Babe and the Bumblebee, make everyone who reads the fence lose the game, and celebrate our status as xylophones (if you don't get that, it's OK). And primarily, since the nice weather of the last few days was quite the exception to Pittsburgh winter, we decided on the front side to bring students some imaginary happy sun to brighten their days.



Babe and the Bumblebee take the fence.

This Just In

Taking the fence is fantastic. Details to follow.

Calendar Fetish 2008

People who know me, I don't have to explain my calendar fetish. People who don't, now you know I have a calendar fetish. Addiction. Strong craving for. I really really like them. I don't know quite where it came from--it doesn't stem from any psychoanalytical need to control my life or time or anything, I just think they're fun. I think it started one year I was in a calendar store to get one for the new year, and I realized there were a bunch that I liked, so I decided to break free from the chains of societal calendar pressures and buy all the ones that I liked.

And so it goes. I go calendar shopping after the holidays, because a) then I already have the gift ones that I get, and b) when you buy as many calendars as I do, waiting until they are 50% off really pays. So yesterday I indulged in my calendar excesses for the year, and here's what I came up with:

Wall Calendars:
- Pittsburgh!
- Cool horse photography
- Vintage world maps
- Monte Nagler black & white photography
- Bridges
- Art by Gustave Baumann
- Art by Wolf Kahn
- Old photography of NYC
(And of course at work I have wet erase calendars to keep track of project schedules. But I usually categorize those under my office supply addiction, not my calendar addiction.)

Day-by-day Calendars:
- Daily paper airplane (fun!!)
- Bad President Bush countdown calendar
- Bye-bye Bush countdown calendar (yes, it was worth getting two)
- Stuff on My Cat
- Pooch Cafe
- Daily lawyer jokes (couldn't resist)

The one bummer about waiting until January is that a few of my staple comics that I get every year are sometimes sold out. So I'm currently waiting for the following day-by-day calendars to come in from ordering them online:
- Dilbert
- Pearls Before Swine
- Get Fuzzy

So, for those of you who are counting, yes, that is 16 calendars. And I'm PROUD OF IT!

Down to the Business of Winter

OK, holidays are over, so now it's time to get serious about this winter thing. Most people don't like winter after the holidays--they like the nice pretty snow for their picturesque holiday scene, but after that they just want spring. For my money, January and February are the best time to REALLY enjoy it! No more nagging feelings hanging over your head that you're supposed to be planning something, buying something, wrapping something, wondering if your life is full enough, complete enough, etc. And let's face it--here in Pittsburgh winter usually doesn't really get serious until January anyhow.

It's that time of year to feel free to take some extra time to enjoy this stuff. My weekend morning walk for coffee was absolutely brilliant. Crisp and clear, the world was quiet and snowy, the cold air sharpened my senses, woke me up, and was thoroughly invigorating. Later today I fully intend to pull on my winter hiking boots and take a jaunt through Frick. And boy...am I itching to be on a mountain right now. (Grrr...haven't gone boarding in 2 years.)

Speaking of which, let's not forget about winter sports! Hockey is in full swing (3rd row seats to the Pens game later today!) and NFL playoffs are gearing up (go Stillers!), and across the pond, the real football national leagues are charging right along (yeah, that's right Americans...those "pansy soccer players" do their thing year 'round, especially in the winter when we're at home crying).

It can be hard because this point of winter can be so tough for many people. It seems like it's always dark. It's cold. The snow gets all dirty and black by the side of the road. A lot of people have a really tough time with SAD, plugging through the winter months. So it's even more important to take extra steps to enjoy it. Yeah, it's dark when I go to work and dark when I leave...but it's not dark in the middle of the day when I sneak out for a quick walk. Pile on those extra layers...I'm not ashamed to have nothing but my glasses poking out between the beanie and turtle fur. I feel so pumped up after embracing the elements and biking to work than after shivering in my car on the drive there.

Besides...all the winter hating in the world won't make it go away, so I might as well make the best of it.

The Bumblebee Goes to Washington (So Do I)

I spent the last five or so days visiting LT in our nation's capital. First things first, a shout out to EmJ and Kirbs for taking me in all five nights when it became apparent that the T homestead was not an option, and for hosting a fine New Year's Eve shindig.

Also a hug to LT. Keep your chin up; I still believe that patience and reasonable understanding will win out in the end.

A very cool thing about DC is that it is eminently bike-able. There are bike lanes on many streets and lots of great paths and parks and monuments to explore; you can take bikes on the Metrorail (provided it's not rush hour); most places we went had plenty of bike rack space. And oh yeah...it's FLAT (compared to Pittsburgh, anyhow). Although time constraints forced us to the car more often than we had wanted, we did manage to get in two great bike explorations, which I would recommend to anyone.

The first was a ride from the Capitol Building grounds and the National Botanical Gardens, through the National Mall and past the Washington Monument, along the tidal basin past the Jefferson Memorial, and down to the FDR Memorial. I hadn't been to DC since the FDR Memorial was installed--it is definitely a thought-provoking place if you are the type to let your thoughts be provoked, especially in light of some present day public discourses. We rode back much the same way, although we likely would have continued the rest of the way around the tidal basin were it not for dinner plans and rain.

The other was a ride from Gravelly Point (where you sit in a field and get buzzed by incoming planes at Reagan National Airport) up a path that runs along the Potomac. You can turn around at any point; we went to the Key Bridge and across into Georgetown, along the canal, then back to city streets to Foggy Bottom. Then we took the Metro from Foggy Bottom back to Reagan National. Getting back to the path to Gravelly Point from the airport was interesting, but we managed not to violate any homeland security zones, I think.

One cool thing along this path is Theodore Roosevelt Island, which is only accessible from a pedestrian bridge off the river path, near Rosslyn. Although, I feel obliged to point out that by law you're not supposed to bike through it and it's closed at sundown...um, just in case anyone out there was tempted to illegally ride your bikes through it at night. Yeah.

I was also thrilled to meet Monica, Susanne and Danny. They've given LT a lot of support and I could tell they care a lot about her. And the long list of the other good people I met...Renee, Alicia, Leah, Panah, Jim & Lizzie, Susie, Keith and family (and the other XC guys), Dean, brother Kirby, another Emily, etc. etc. etc. etc. etc. (Sorry people I know I'm forgetting or whose names I misspelled...)

And lest I forget, thanks to MT for her always-superb care of my furry children.

I will now leave you with pictures of some of our bikes' great travels.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to the Capitol.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to the Washington Monument.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to the FDR Memorial.

Babe and the Bumblebee go to an undisclosed location.