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January 30, 2006
Two Faced
That's exactly the way the photograph came out. I can't claim responsibility for painting the duck's bill. :-)
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January 29, 2006
Lunar New Year 2006
It's the Year of the Dog.
Also known as the Spring Festival, Lunar New Year is a two week celebration that begins on the first day of the first month of the Lunar calendar (typically in late January/mid-February) and ends on the full moon 15 days later. It celebrates the family, the earth coming back to life and the start of a new beginning and possibilities. A major holday, Lunar New Year is celebrated in China, Korea, Vietnam, Malaysia, Singapore and in Asian communities all around the world.
There are many traditional taboos for Spring Festival. Crying on New Year's Day means you will cry for the rest of the year, and washing your hair signifies washing away good luck. The number "four" is banned because it sounds like the word for "death," and using knives or scissors may cut off good fortune.
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January 28, 2006
And now for my next trick...
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January 27, 2006
Today's Quote
You don't stop laughing because you grow old. You grow old because you stop laughing. - Michael Pritchard
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January 26, 2006
Can't Talk Now...
... mouth full.
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Cool Widget
isnoop.net's fridge 3.0 -- play with magnetic words.
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January 25, 2006
Give Yourself a URI
So says Sir Tim Berners-Lee on his blog.
You know, that almost sounds obscene - give yourself a URI - or is it just me?
*wink*
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The Rule About Orifices
From Guy Kawasaki's* blog, Let the Good Times Roll, about his Hindsights II list:
5. If you think someone is an orifice, everyone else does too.
*Kawasaki is the former ambassador ('evangelist' is so passe') for Apple. There's more and you can find it all on his blog.
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January 24, 2006
Hey YOU! Fat and Grumpy!
This is for you. The official crab salute. :-)
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January 23, 2006
And the wise man wrote...
Whenever anybody tells me what's really in their heart once they know and expresses any doubt as to what to do with it, I tell them to follow it. That's not always easy. There's no complacency in these words. It can be difficult to know your own heart and your intuitions and even harder to act on them. One of the greatest obstacles to being able to do that is "overthinking," cluttering our minds with hypotheses and switching on our analytical circuits where they can be of no use to us. Whether tomorrow it's bliss or the proverbial bus, it is up to two people to shape, alone together and together alone each in their own way and time.
- Back for the Girl
Excerpt contains minor edits I know the author understands. Merci, Nicholas!
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Oz a finalist!
This just in...
Oz is a favorite/finalist in The Consumerist's 'Your Worst Starbucks Experiences contest.
Yay!
------------------------
The Consumerist is having a contest.
... we will be giving a price of high irony to the person with the story dubbed most awful: a $500 gift card to Starbucks Coffee.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (1)
No iLife Upgrade? Pfft.
I see I'm not the only person outraged over Apple's failure to offer an iLife '06 upgrade price (or free upgrade) for owners of iLife '05. Note: there an upgrade offer, but that offer is good ONLY if you purchase a new Apple computer. See the bottom of Apple's iLife06 page for irate iLifers.
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You know you're a geek when...
While sifting through a bunch of old floppys, you find one dated 1993 for The Internet Starter Kit for Macintosh Disk:
This disk contains all the software you need to access the Internet!
The disk contains Eudora 1.4, Fetch 2.1.1, InterSLIP 1.0.1, MacTCP 2.0.2, Stuffit Expander 3.07, and TurboGopher 1.07
Geek. ;-)
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January 22, 2006
Rodeo Clown
This just about sums it up for me, though remaining a teen idol well into my seventies isn't exactly a bad idea. :-)
ARIES (March 21-April 19)
So Aries, what are you going to be when you grow up,
anyway? The best damn rodeo clown who ever lived?
A wise-cracking astronaut with odd metaphysical
notions that make NASA nervous? An almost overly
charismatic leader of workshops on how to thrive in
the face of a chronic identity crisis? These next few
weeks will be an excellent time to tiptoe up to the brink
of the verge of making a decision. Wise-old-elder vibes
will be flowing your way in abundance, and may just
wash away any inclinations you're harboring to remain
a teenage idol into your seventies.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (4)
January 20, 2006
Today's Tune
So needless to say I'm odds and ends
But that's me, stumbling away
Name that tune, and don't cheat by Googling!
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Kinda Stuck
I'm almost finished with the November 26 Things Photographic Scavenger Hunt (on a given date, 26 items are listed on the website and participants set out to photograph each item in their own interpretation. ) There's just one more photograph I need to take, and it is for understated.
Any ideas?
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January 19, 2006
How Can This Be?
I spent a good deal of time on the Lufthansa web site this morning searching for a halfway decent airfare, having missed out on an unbelievably inexpensive $184/roundtrip (NY - Berlin, Germany) via Travelocity. Anyway, how is it that the plane ticket is around $209.00, but the TAXES for that ticket are $277.00 ... ???? Was I seeing things?
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January 18, 2006
Aloha, Indeed!
I forget how I found this but just stumbled upon the Hawaii Surf Session Report ... choose either the Quicktime movie or Video iPod version. Cowabunga, duuuuuude!
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Back on the Blog
Please go say hello to my longtime darling best friend Holger (Berlin, Germany.) He has returned to blogging after a long hiatus and it's great that he's writing again. Here's a photo I dug up from the archives. We were working together in NYC at the time and he occasionally referred to me as a wrong blonde. Of course we're both much better looking NOW than we were in those days.
Anyhoo, his blog is -- Next Big Thing in Everything -- don't be put off by the fact that it's written in German. A quickie visit via Babelfish or Google makes for some amusing translations. :-)
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January 17, 2006
Steve Jobs Movie Poster Competition
A winner was chosen. Be sure to check out the slide show of entries. :-)
Posted by me, of course!
Splendid, Splendid, Splendid
I've had an absolutely splendid day so far. Though I'm still not sleeping as soundly as I'd like, everything else has been splendid.
Splendid
Splendid
Splendid
One more splendid and someone's going to hit me with a frying pan. ;-)
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January 16, 2006
Your Worst Starbucks Experiences
The Consumerist is having a contest.
... we will be giving a price of high irony to the person with the story dubbed most awful: a $500 gift card to Starbucks Coffee.
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (6)
January 15, 2006
Exposure
This morning I awoke at 4ish, unable to further tolerate the heat of my apartment. This after suffering through a month of no heat when I couldn't put on enough clothes to stay warm. Damned if you have it, damned if you don't. I opened up one of the windows in order to get some of that outside 20-degree Fahrenheit cold air in here. What a relief it is!
Meanwhile back at the funny farm (favorite saying) <-- stolen from P&T -- what the hell does one do at 4 a.m.? After what seemed liked days of charging the battery of my iPod, I opted for listening to some wakeup music (listening inspiration via my favorite snotty Brit Nicholas - which I say with deepest affection, mind you.) So I've been sitting here, futzing with the blog as usual and plugged into the iPod. The music's been blasting in my ears for HOURS now.
About that new header graphic. Uh, yeah. Photos taken a few years ago by a dear friend who happens to be a professional photographer... and look at the size of those smiles. A photograph is multilingual and can speak 1000 words... or so. Well, well, well. I'll only say that the person sitting next to me (and obviously not included in this viewing of moi) had me smiling like an idiot all the time. More on that story? Sure. One day I will. For now I'll just sit here and stare at that lovely visage of my alter ego. That is, of course, until I get tired of looking at my mug and change it... again.
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January 13, 2006
Now Playing: iTunes MiniStore Spying
The new music software includes a "MiniStore" window, which provides recommended links to Apple's music download service when a listener actively clicks on a song in their personal playlist, including songs that haven't been purchased from the iTunes store. To provide those recommendations, the software sends information about the selected song, such as artist, title and genre, back to Apple. But the software also transmits a string of data that is linked to a computer user's unique iTunes account ID, computer experts have found.
More here:
Apple's iTunes raises privacy concerns
iTunes: Apple's New Spyware and Adware Application
How to show or hide the MiniStore in iTunes
Updated January 18: Apple tweaks iTunes following privacy concerns
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Today's Quote
I've had a perfectly wonderful evening. But this wasn't it.
- Groucho Marx
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January 11, 2006
Back Like a Bad Dream
Heh, I love that line.
Meanwhile back at the funny farm, I took off (as noted January 9) and went to meet the newest little critter... I mean member of my humble family. I suppose I thought of him as a critter since my mom refers to him as the "little monkey," whatever that means. Anyhow, whilst meeting the 2-week-old, I caught myself descending into that thing some of us do when we encounter the little folks -- (don't lie, you know you do too) -- baby talk. Do we do this because we think the kid might have a clue, or do we do it because we don't want to exercise our lungs the way the kid is and you think you've burst (bust?) an eardrum or two? Beats me. I stopped the minute I started... baby talking, that is.
I brought the new camera along and when I had enough of that ear-splitting noise that erupted from that tiny little person, I snapped away. He was not cooperative. Not one photograph where the tiny tot was looking at the photographer. What's up with THAT!?! Nope, in every shot he's looking elsewhere, screaming his head off, exhausted from feeding at mom's breast, asleep or just silently pooping in his diaper. Yup, that's what they do - eat, sleep, poop.
After this lovely visit with the new nephew, I returned to mom's house where I planted three trees. Yup, that's what I did - took the shovel out of the garage, dug the holes, shoved the trees into the holes, covered it up with dirt and voila! done. Luckily for me, the trees I had been asked to plant back in December had been stored in the garage. Luckily for me yesterday was a splendid day and the frozen tundra of mom's yard had softened quite a bit. Unluckily for me there was no mulch in the garage. Oh well. Good intentions and all that. We'll see if anything sprouts in a year or two, oh and I cut back the fig tree, which should have been done and wrapped for the winter by the gardener. I think I have to demand the gardener's wages from now on since he's obviously not doing his job.
By the way, for those of you who think I've really lost it since I started photographing birds, I found new and different ones to photograph. However, it'll be a cold day in hell before this becomes a bird blog. Nah uh. The birds are simply nothing more than the flavor of the moment, just like the color scheme of this page.
Someone asked to see photos I'd taken with the Nikon, and the bird shots (and the squirrel, in case you didn't notice the squirrel) in the header graphic are all shot with the Nikon and the zoom lens. Here's another I took yesterday -- a different type of bird. If the scientific name for a Blue Jay is Cyanocitta cristada, then the scientific name for this particular bird would be, uh, er, oh nevermind. It's Jet Blue. :-)
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January 9, 2006
Outta Here
I've been trying to depart all morning; meanwhile, the printer hiccuped and that just helped me to stay put longer than I planned. Oh well. Shit happens. Am off for a day and half or so... yay me. Going to see the newest member of the family...
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January 6, 2006
Aesthetics, Version 800.0
That idea I had for changing the aesthetic of this blog by season hasn't exactly worked out as planned. When I made the last change, specifically for the holidaze, it didn't occur to me how quickly I'd grow weary of maroon with splashes of green here and there. The hell with that! I'm trying blue because I like the color, but I really thought I'd be going for purple, which might happen also. Stay tuned. :-)
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Shiver Me Timbers, it's 70 Degrees
RonW at Hotel Waikiki writes of shivering at 70 degrees fahrenheit in Hawaii. I wonder if Ron's ever stepped foot out of Hawaii... not that I'd blame him if he hasn't -- Hawaii is indeed beautiful and the climate usually perfection. However, us Nor'easters surely get a few chuckles over a 70 degrees complaint. :-)
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U.S. Postal Rates Go Up on Sunday
U.S. postage rates go up starting on Sunday January 8 for the first time since 2002, raising the price of mailing a first-class letter by two cents to 39 cents. The increases will affect all types of mail and packages, including postcards, which will go up by a penny to 24 cents. The cost to mail an item weighing up to half of a pound via Express Mail, the postal service's fastest delivery method, will rise to $14.40 from $13.65. Priority Mail, which delivers packages in an average of two to three days, will cost $4.05 for packages up to one pound, up from $3.85. International rates will rise by similar amounts. Mailing a first class letter to Europe or Asia will cost 84 cents, up four cents.
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Apple History
Just in case you're interested in things Apple-related, like Apple history, along comes this widget:
Apple Matters has a new feature, This Day in Apple History. Every day the site will publish a story about what happened on this day in Apple's storied history. This widget displays the date and topic of this days event.
Find it here.
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January 4, 2006
Blah, blah, blah
I've been meaning to write this for days; I've been a dam swollen from a wintery mix and ready to burst. Okay, I've burst. (wink)
So... the cold along with the new nephew's tardy appearance threw a few things out of whack for me, but having things change suddenly is something I'm used to. I planned to be out of town for the New Year, like always. I planned to have my buttocks parked firmly and snugly in a comfy chair, cup of tea by my side and ready, willing and able to tap along to the splendid offerings of the Vienna Philharmonic on New Year's Day. Unfortunately I have had to park my buttocks in front of the telly instead of in person at the Musikverein in Vienna, Austria.
For those of you who have followed my pathetic longing for tickets to this annual event, you know that we were all pitifully unsuccessful LAST YEAR in our collective attempts for tickets. Al @ Fulton Chain went so far as to offer MONEY to anyone who could procure 2 tickets for me. For those of you unfamiliar with this quest, I've tried for 4 years to obtain tickets through the wienerphilharmoniker's (Vienna Philharmonic) online registration/lottery. Each year I receive the same exact email from them with the same disappointing news. Translation: tough luck kiddo. Last year I asked friends in Europe to try. I asked friends here in America to try. I blog about it EVERY YEAR. Nada. Nothing. Zip. My name is frustration with a capital "F". I now refer to the Vienna Philharmonic as the "WEENER PHILHARMONICKER." :-)
I digress.
So as I was saying... things changed. Yes there were a few friends in from out of town, but they were here, I saw them and they went on their merry way, as did I. I had hoped to see other friends but it didn't work out due to scheduling and other commitments, and then my brother's wife had the nerve to go and give birth. (Yes I say that with sarcasm and a chuckle - babies are cute until they grow up.) Anyway... I finally managed to get out of town and without my mobile, leaving me unreachable. One of the friends I was supposed to see while out of town must have forgotten that I told him I'd be without mobile, otherwise he wouldn't have left 2 messages for me on it. We're still here. Where ARE YOU!? *sigh* Why is it that the minute I'm disconnected EVERYONE rediscovers the telephone? *shrug* Others who know better could've emailed me, and most likely I would have responded with a delightful little ditty of I'M NOT HOME. And damn the dam, damn it anyway, I missed a call I honestly never expected or thought I'd receive from someone in Paris, France. Digression number 2. :-)
Hmm. Where was I? Right. I managed to see the 2006 New Year's Day Concert on the telly with hot tea by my side. My eyes welled up while listening to The Blue Danube, not because it brings me to tears but because it made me think of my dad, who introduced me to classical music when I was a child. Of course this lapse in my typical steely eyes was quickly covered up, lest anyone actually see me become emotional. Thankfully Marche de Radetzky snapped me out of it and had me tapping my foot and that brought the concert to a close. Another year, another television viewing, another online ticket request January 2, 2006 on the molasses and quicksand dial-up electronic (not)superhighway. Heh.
... AND I had planned to be in Europe for the New Year. AND obviously I didn't go. AND that means that there's always this year. AND yes, ideally, wouldn't it be great to be in Europe for the next New Year's Day Concert, AND we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
uh oh. I feel something stuck in my craw. I think I'll be vomiting more words soon.... what a wonderful thing. ;-)
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Diving In
I've got a new toy that's been surgically attached to my hands. The Nikon D50 has turned me into a photographing fool.
I'm not going to bore you with the difference between the Nikon and the camera I was using, a Sony DSC-S85. Let's just say that I've been having a grand old time with the Nikon. The Sony still has its features, like the ability to record a few minutes of video... but given the choice between the two cameras, I'll happily take the Nikon. And if it's not been all that evident, I've moved from photographing deer to snapping shots of birds. For me, all it takes is bird feed and some self-imposed patience. Catching a crystal-clear photograph of a bird in flight is a new goal I've yet to manage, but I know I'll reach it one of these days.
In the meantime, here's a photograph I took that left me laughing each time I saw it. I put a plastic plate full of bird seed outside and waited. Once the birds discovered yet another food source, they'd dive right in. Granted, the photo is blurry, but it DOES amuse me.
I think I'm becoming wackier as time goes by.
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January 1, 2006
Happy New Year and all that
May the Blue Jay (the bluebird was hungover) of happiness do what it's supposed to do for you this year...
... whatever that may be. :-)
Posted by me, of course! | Comments (3)