What a great idea! Pay the Something Store ten bucks, and they mail you a random item.
Hooray for surprises!
December 23, 2009
December 10, 2009
Difference Engine
Holy crap, this is awesome: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=121206408
A team of engineers used Babbage's designs to build an operational 5-ton difference engine, with materials available in the 19th century.
Those of you who live near Mountain View, I am jealous! I don't think the east coast will have an opportunity to see this thing.
A team of engineers used Babbage's designs to build an operational 5-ton difference engine, with materials available in the 19th century.
Those of you who live near Mountain View, I am jealous! I don't think the east coast will have an opportunity to see this thing.
November 30, 2009
Thanksgiving in the Sun
Just returned from an eight day trip to Punta Cana, Dominican Republic, for a destination wedding. This was my first all-inclusive resort experience, and it was pretty fun, although I probably wouldn't do it again. It's nice getting food and drinks whenever and wherever you want (plus, they were extremely generous with the alcohol) but I discovered I'm not really a beach person. I enjoyed the pool, horseback riding, and snorkeling (another first for me!) and it was great relaxing amid the coconut trees and sand, but after a few days, I was ready for something else.
Did I mention they were extremely generous with the alcohol?
Overall, it was a good vacation. There were some hiccups with the particular resort we stayed at, but the wedding was beautiful and the setting was lush. Definitely the warmest Thanksgiving of my life!
November 13, 2009
A Monumental Waste of Time?
I've been selected to attend some sort of Management Training next week.
On the one hand, it means my bosses are paying attention to me, because those invited to this training are a small hand-picked group, obviously being groomed for something.
But it's an all day session. About Management. More specifically, about "Managing for Value" which is about as bullshit as corporate training gets.
Of all the courses I took in college, management was the most useless. Not because management as a discipline is useless - on the contrary, good management is necessary and difficult. It's because no classroom can ever imitate real life. No class can prepare you for navigating petty departmental in-fighting, coping with inane employee sensitivities, and surviving the general stupidity of corporate politics and policies. Management in real life is about dealing with people. And the only way to learn how to successfully deal with people, is to truly deal with them, again and again, in all their various fucked-up forms. All those case studies, fancy models, paradigms and methods, fly out the window when you're in an actual room with actual people. At that point, you have to rely on force of will, personality, healthy doses of common sense and luck, and experience.
Suffice to say, I'm not looking forward to losing a whole day of work to this training. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I'm not betting on it!
On the one hand, it means my bosses are paying attention to me, because those invited to this training are a small hand-picked group, obviously being groomed for something.
But it's an all day session. About Management. More specifically, about "Managing for Value" which is about as bullshit as corporate training gets.
Of all the courses I took in college, management was the most useless. Not because management as a discipline is useless - on the contrary, good management is necessary and difficult. It's because no classroom can ever imitate real life. No class can prepare you for navigating petty departmental in-fighting, coping with inane employee sensitivities, and surviving the general stupidity of corporate politics and policies. Management in real life is about dealing with people. And the only way to learn how to successfully deal with people, is to truly deal with them, again and again, in all their various fucked-up forms. All those case studies, fancy models, paradigms and methods, fly out the window when you're in an actual room with actual people. At that point, you have to rely on force of will, personality, healthy doses of common sense and luck, and experience.
Suffice to say, I'm not looking forward to losing a whole day of work to this training. Perhaps I'll be pleasantly surprised, but I'm not betting on it!
November 2, 2009
Veggies Weeks #15, 16, 17
Despite the wedding, veggies still came in during Sept! Here's a quick catch-up post. As you can see the bounty was quite good!
The last of the tomatoes, along with plenty of green beans.
We also got more eggplant, and a lovely variety of peppers and squash. The butternut (pale whitish one) makes for a tasty soup. The jalapenos were very flavorful and perfect for nachos and chile.
There was fresh watermelon two weeks in a row!
And the beginning of fall heralded the return of lettuce!
The last of the tomatoes, along with plenty of green beans.
We also got more eggplant, and a lovely variety of peppers and squash. The butternut (pale whitish one) makes for a tasty soup. The jalapenos were very flavorful and perfect for nachos and chile.
There was fresh watermelon two weeks in a row!
And the beginning of fall heralded the return of lettuce!
October 24, 2009
Twilight Zone
Yesterday morning, I had a craving for pumpkin spice latte. And that's when realization dawned...there are absolutely no Starbucks along my commute route!
That is so freaky.
That is so freaky.
October 10, 2009
Baseline
It finally feels normal again! The past three weeks (insane client on-boarding, wedding festivities, crazy month-end accounting) have been exhausting, and this weekend has been the first relaxing one in a while.
Maybe I'm just getting old, but it's nice having routine again. Something as common as making Sat brunch together feels so comforting, after a long time without.
Work is still as busy as ever, and there's always house chores and personal projects waiting in the wings. But it's familiar, and a nice calm after the storm!
Maybe I'm just getting old, but it's nice having routine again. Something as common as making Sat brunch together feels so comforting, after a long time without.
Work is still as busy as ever, and there's always house chores and personal projects waiting in the wings. But it's familiar, and a nice calm after the storm!
September 27, 2009
W00T!
I'm not sure I have the linguistic capacity to describe our amazing wedding weekend. So I'll just leave it at that :)
September 24, 2009
The Final Countdown!
(cue heroic synthesizer riff)
Wedding shenanigans start today!
I actually feel pretty good. I'm excited and a tiny bit tense, but nothing close to the wholesale panic some brides go through. I've been sleeping well and have a good appetite. Things will go as they may!
Wedding shenanigans start today!
I actually feel pretty good. I'm excited and a tiny bit tense, but nothing close to the wholesale panic some brides go through. I've been sleeping well and have a good appetite. Things will go as they may!
September 20, 2009
Still Alive!
I managed to squeeze a ten day project into five days of insanity. Part of me is relieved it's over and I can concentrate fully on wedding stuff now. Another part of me feels bad for those who now have to support my release while I'm out. I'm pretty sure it's riddled with random issues that nobody could have caught in the condensed timeline!
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