Umbrellas vs. Fedoras (or, Can You Tell It Rained Today?)

I don't like umbrellas one bit.

The rain? Totally fine. I don't mind walking in it at all (with the caveat that if it's torrential, I know about it in time to plan accordingly). If it's a moderate amount, I might wear a fedora. A heavy downpour, and I'll wear rain pants and a jacket.

Five reasons why I don't use umbrellas:

1. They're awkward to hold if you're carrying other things.
2. They're lightning rods.
3. The wind blows them out of your grasp.
4. They're easy to forget.
5. Those little plastic tips on the end of the metal rods, they get detached from the fabric that they stretch taut, reducing the effective area of shelter.
   

In short, to me, they're a bigger pain than they're worth.

Although, I do think that these ones at least look cool.

Happy Taffy

I tried salt water taffy this weekend, for the first time. Wow, is it ever delicious.

Fortune Cookies

Affirmations and other statements have no place in "fortune" cookies. For the record.

I'm A Sucker For Zero Gravity

I couldn't resist. This picture from LOLtheorists made me laugh so much, I had to share it.

By the way, there are a bunch of 'LOL macro' pages listed on Laughing Squid, my favorites are LOLbots and LOLpresident.

When Wishing Makes It So

This morning while on the train to NYC (boarding at 5:52 AM, woo), I was thinking. 'If only I could read these Google Reader items while in transit, without an EVDO adapter.'

Well, when I next get online, it turns out... I can! Thanks Google, for releasing Google Gears and Offline. You rock.

Edges of the World

I stand at the edge of the state. At the edge of the continent. My work is done, the conference is over, and here I stand. Shiny shoes, suit jacket, and all.

The wind whips a mist of sand at me, steady and ceaseless. It's a struggle to keep my hat on as I run through sandy dunes, one I fail at a few times. I will be cleaning sand out of my ears and hair for days on end, but keep rushing towards the water. I had to come to the ocean. I always do. It's the insatiable urge to see something so much larger than myself, the ensuing avalanche of thought that leaves me reminded of how incomprehensibly large the universe is.

About two weeks ago, it was the Atlantic shore. Perhaps it's poetic that I stand in front of the Pacific so soon after, but the verse will have to wait. For now, I just look into the horizon that threatens to go forever. I savor the moment where I see my first sand dollar, actual sand dollar on an actual beach. I marvel at the sky that would be hard-pressed to be more perfect.

A plane cuts across it, filled with travellers. I'm reminded that I, myself, will be in the air soon. Heading home to the man (and the cat) that miss me. That I miss, too.

I'll see the oceans again.



Delayed post from April

Darwin Channels The Fonz

I went up to my office the other day, and found my small digital camera on the ground. The resident feline, Darwin, must have knocked it off my desk.

This particular device had been acting sporadically, the LCD not properly displaying the scenes to be photographed. I had meant to take it apart and give it a good cleaning, but it looked like such an action might now be for naught - the lens could be cracked, other parts irreparably damaged.

It turns out that the camera worked perfectly once I plucked it from the floor. Go Darwin.