Thursday, September 06, 2007

Apple announced that they're giving a $100 credit to anyone who bought the iPhone before the price drop. To me, that is more than fair and makes me very happy, as I'd expected to get nothing.

So I'm in a good mood. Hopefully this will end my string of bummed out, whiny blog posts.

Wednesday, September 05, 2007

So Apple had their big announcement today. Every iPod has been revamped, and they introduced the iPod Touch -- like an iPhone without the phone. They also dropped the price on an 8GB iPhone from $599 to $399. And I have to say, I'm a little annoyed.

I knew that prices would drop. But a $200 drop -- 33% -- after only two months on the market? This says two things to me:

1) They want to sell more, and realize that the price was an obstacle.
2) They could've offered it for $399 two months ago.

I bought mine one month ago. If I'd known a $200 price drop was coming, obviously I would have waited. Alternately, if they'd offered it for $399 from the get-go, I'd have bought one even earlier.

I think Apple owes me $200.

I'm not actually that upset about it. I wish I had known the huge price drop was coming, but I made my decision based on what I knew at the time, and I was satisfied with my decision at the time. And I do love my iPhone.

But it's still a little annoying.

Thursday, August 30, 2007

Last night was the second week of class at UHCL. As I mentioned last week, this semester I'm taking a lecture class -- the first class I've taken there that doesn't involve design projects and lots of computer work. Instead, the homework is almost entirely reading and then reporting on the reading.

It is an odd class. The first hour is a "viewing" of something related to communication technology, and the rest of the class is lecture time. Last night's viewing was a PBS special called Transistorized that covered the invention of the transistor and how it changed the world. It was very interesting. The lecture discussed digital and cable television, since those are the chapters we will be reading for next week. It was also very interesting.

However, the class is nearly ruined by incessant quizzes and busywork that make me feel as if the professor thinks I'm about five years old. We have not one, but two quizzes per class. We have one quiz when we walk in the door, which covers the reading we were assigned the previous week. Ok, fine. He quizzes us to make sure we did the reading. But then halfway through class we have another quiz, this time covering whatever viewing we just had. So last night we had a quiz about the PBS special -- which we had just watched. The professor was there and saw us all sitting there watching the special. Is a quiz really necessary? All it does is prove how well you can take notes -- or how good your short term memory is.

Our weekly assignment (in addition to reading) isn't much better. We have to find an article about that week's topic. Once we find a few, we have to email the professor with the headlines so that he can pick which single article we should continue working with. (That's the part that bugs me the most -- that we have to get approval from him on our article.) It has to be an 800+ word article, which we then have to summarize in 400-500 words. That sounds to me like I will be basically rewording the article with a lot of edits. Then we have to report on it in class. Sigh.

Maybe I was especially annoyed because I wasn't feeling very well last night. But it is so frustrating to me that a class with good content is being strangled by pointless (and endless) quizzes and 5th grade book reports. I know I'm going to sound like an educational snob again here, but I feel like I'm above all that. I have been to college. I have done the whole pop quiz thing. I have done the whole book report thing. I don't want to do busywork anymore, I want to be treated like an adult. This is a graduate level class. Is it too much to ask that he treat us like graduate students? That he trust us to read the material, and grade us on a couple tests and overall class participation?

Anyway. The good content means that I will suck it up and put up with the pointless busywork for the semester, but it doesn't mean I won't be frustrated every week. Rant over.

I am feeling a bit under the weather. Sore throat, slight congestion, general achiness. It is another of my typical "functionally sick" periods, it seems. I rarely get so sick that I can't continue with life -- working, going to class, etc. It just means that I spend a few days doing all my normal things but feeling really icky. It's no fun. And it popped up fast. I did speedwork on Tuesday night and felt fine. Later that night at the Astros game, my throat started hurting. And now here I am.

Saturday, August 18, 2007

So if you don't live in Houston, you may not have heard that there is a very large hurricane brewing in the eastern Caribbean. Almost Category 5. Hurricane Dean. Yep.

If you do live in Houston, you know this, because the media has been talking about it non-stop since Wednesday. As Jose and I drove back from the museum district this afternoon, the highway signs were announcing "Hurricane forming near Gulf. Keep gas tanks full."

Near Gulf.

Now, hurricanes are nasty things. I don't want to be here in the middle of a Cat 5 storm. Heck, I don't want to be here in the middle of a Cat 2 storm. But let's take a step back, people.

This storm hasn't even hit Jamaica yet. It is something like 2000 miles away from Houston. Yes, it is headed in our general direction, but can we hold off on the hype?

There may be a time for panic, but it is not today.

Thursday, August 16, 2007

I come home just now and walk in the door. My apartment smells slightly like paint. "That's odd," I think.

I put my mail down on the table. I get a glass of water. I go downstairs and bring my bike upstairs so I can ride for an hour on my trainer. I go into the bedroom to get my cycling shorts. I go into the bathroom to get a hair rubberband, and suddenly I notice:

There is a GIANT HOLE in my bathroom wall, backing up to the shower plumbing, and covered by a trash bag.

I ponder this for a moment. What the heck is going on? Why is this trashbag secured by screws? Why are pieces of my wall now sitting on my floor? Does my shower still work?

Finally I notice the piece of paper on my sink, stating in nearly illegible handwriting that something related to the tub was leaking into the apartment below me, and that the maintenance guy will be back tomorrow to repair the sheet rock.

You know, I really like this apartment complex. It's nice, it's safe, I like the location, etc. And I understand that you can't control when things need to be repaired. But you'd think they would have the foresight to call me and at least let me know that they're cutting into my walls! I hope the shower still works because I'm going to need it in about an hour...

Monday, August 06, 2007

From this morning's section meeting minutes:

Round the horn…. acquiring several copies of FreeFlyer - open invitation to grow a brain on lunar trajectory….New RCS failures CC was accepted at OFTP with strings attached - do a “Phase II” to tweak the existing GPC/MDM Failures cue card to better segregate Rndz & Prox Ops items…..Sarah is about ready to quit after seeing two FDO evals in her first three sims….124 Load checkout on 8/8….NGSMS is coming starting with 122….all the normal things happening on 120 thru 125…..

Friday, June 15, 2007

My sister and brother-in-law have bought a house in Seattle, a mere month after moving there. I found out last night, as Jose and I were sitting around relaxing, web surfing, and watching TV.

My reaction: "Oh my God. I'm 29 years old, I'm unmarried, and I still live in an apartment. My sister is 24 years old, has already been married for two years, and just bought a house. What's wrong with me? Waaaaaaah."

Jose's reaction: "Cool, there'll be a guest room for us when we go visit!"

That, my friends, is the difference between men and women.

-----

The space station is having some very serious problems this week with their computers. I'm not involved in working them, because 1) I am a shuttle person and 2) I'm not qualified to do any rendezvous or separation analysis yet, but tons of people are finding themselves working on things they never expected to think about. As such, I am headed to Corpus for the weekend as planned, with fierce hopes that the problems will be resolved by the time I get back.

Wednesday, May 23, 2007

We were talking about baseball while on coke break today, and one of the guys in my group mentioned this home run "assist" by Jose Canseco. I can't believe I'd never seen this before. Hilarious.

Friday, March 02, 2007

I picked up my packet this afternoon for tomorrow's Gator Ride, a 62 mile bike ride through and around Baytown. Pickup was at Bay Area Schwinn -- a nearby bike store that I had never visited. See, I've always just headed to the Bike Barn. No particular reason other than that's the bike store I bought my road bike from four years ago.

Bike Barn makes me uncomfortable. They seem like nice guys, and have always been helpful -- and yet they have an air of condescension about them. They don't do it blatantly, but I've always left the store with a vague, uneasy feeling, like I've just been talked down to and silently ridiculed.

So when I wanted someone to give my bike a once-over (after experiencing knee pain during and after last week's ride), I decided to just try Bay Area Schwinn, since I had to go there anyway.

Bay Area Schwinn was great. Their store is smaller, and more cramped, and they don't have the selection of Bike Barn, but the service was outstanding. The mechanic didn't make me feel silly for asking him to look at my bike and see if it needed adjusting. He didn't make me feel inept when he found the flat tire-causing culprit (a tiny sliver of wire stuck in the tire). He didn't make me feel stupid as he recommended that I replace the back tire, which was worn and cracked, with a new, sturdier tire.

I was there for an hour; they gave me personal attention for an hour. He replaced the tube, since I hadn't had any at home to do it myself. He replaced the tire. He gave everything a once-over. Then he checked my shoes to make sure the cleats were adjusted right, and put me on the bike on the trainer. He adjusted my seat to a better height, and when that didn't help, he adjusted the elastomer (the what??) that's inside the seat tube to make it tighter and less springy.

It cost me $38. $38 for an hour of attention, three new tubes, and one new tire. As I walked out the door, he told me to have a great evening, and that he'd be at the 4th rest stop tomorrow morning, and to stop by and tell him how the adjustments were feeling.

That is so worth it.

As I was revelling in Bay Area Schwinn's attention and service, I came home tonight and tried to install the clip-on aerobars that I bought at Bike Barn three weeks ago. Now, my bike is a little unusual in that it has two sets of brake levers -- the normal ones on the front of the curved bars, and a second set on top of the handlebars. When I bought them, I had my bike with me, and I asked the mechanic selling me the aerobars if he was sure they'd fit on my bike, seeing as how it has the unusual brake levers on top.

"Oh yeah," he said with a cursory glance. "They'll be fine, really easy to install." He practically rolled his eyes, then sold me $120 worth of equipment and hustled me out the door as quickly as he could.

You can tell what's coming next, right?

The aerobars don't fit. Well, technically they fit -- if I slant them down at about 30 degrees below horizontal. Which is pointless and useless. But to install them correctly is impossible, because guess what: the inside top set of brake levers are in the way, and are pretty inflexible. They either need to be removed or moved farther out on the handlebars -- two things that I'm not willing to do the night before a 62-mile ride.

Screw Bike Barn. Hello Bay Area Schwinn.

Thursday, September 28, 2006

Jose's idea of how to

Jose's idea of how to end baseball games, instead of going to, say, the 15th inning: each team picks their fastest person, and they race around the bases. (Because, he says, Taveras would win.) Yep, races, or arm wrestling. (Which, he says, Berkman would win.)

Tuesday, August 08, 2006

At Vic's suggestion, I'm thinking

At Vic's suggestion, I'm thinking of adding this to my triathlon training program... ;)

Monday, July 17, 2006

Best line in an email

Best line in an email all day:

"It turns out I did get the FIRST leadership program email... it actually looks like something more than a goofy catch me blindfolded thing..."

(In response to an email announcing a new agency-wide leadership program for early career employees.)

Goofy catch me blindfolded. Hahaha.

Monday, July 17, 2006

Around the world, stuff is

Around the world, stuff is happening. A large earthquake and ensuing tsunami hit Indonesia. Israel and Hezbollah are trying to start World War III. On the plus side, the space shuttle landed successfully this morning.

And what is the lead story on CNN's website? That Bush said "shit" while talking to Tony Blair.

Whoa. Stop the presses, people!

Sigh. You've got to be kidding me.

Tuesday, July 11, 2006

Strong Bad's take on logo

Strong Bad's take on logo redesign, office redecorating, and Hollywood green screens.

Wednesday, June 28, 2006

Nick just walked into my

Nick just walked into my office. He just had his bird, Oliver, or Ollie for short, DNA tested.

Turns out Oliver is actually Olivia.

I am laughing so hard.

Wednesday, June 21, 2006

My phone rings. "Flight Design,

My phone rings.

"Flight Design, this is Sarah."

"Hi Sarah, this is Paul at FAA Houston Center. My security people just called to tell me that they have your driver's license."

Pause.

"Really. Hmm."

"Yep."

"Let me check my wallet... heh, well, I have no driver's license! I guess I didn't realize that they didn't give it back after I went through security!"

(laughing)

"Yeah, they usually give it back when you stop to turn in your temporary badge."

"Uh oh -- I didn't stop to turn in the badge, I just drove out the gate!"

"No worries, you're definitely not the first to do that. Want me to mail it to you? Let me get your address."

"Well, the address on the license is correct. Just mail it there."

(more laughing)

"That would make sense, wouldn't it."

"Yep. Thank you!!"

I can't believe I went a whole week without missing my driver's license! This is proof that no one checks even if your credit card says "see ID" and that I look enough older than 21 that I can get a margarita at Mely's without getting carded.

Monday, June 19, 2006

You may have noticed the

You may have noticed the photo in the Flickr sidebar of Jason stringing Mentos together. A bottle of Diet Coke inevitably followed, and I took a video for posterity. The fact that our Diet Coke fountain only rose about 2 feet just makes it even better. Check out Jason running for cover from what we hoped would be a huge fountain. Check out me and Jose giggling in the background. Check out Cari commenting "that's lame." Hee hee hee.

Thursday, April 20, 2006

From Astros.com: Real (funny) Men

From Astros.com:

Real (funny) Men of Genius: One of the highlights of Tuesday's game occurred prior to the top of the seventh inning, when the Real Men of Genius guys -- singer Pete Stacker and voiceover lyricist Dave Bickler -- recorded a new commercial on the field.

The "song" focused on the train that runs on the tracks above the outfield at Minute Maid Park, and its conductor, Bobby Vasquez.

The lyrics, with Stacker's musical interjections in parenthesis:
Bud Light presents Real Men of Genius
Today, we salute Mr. Houston Astro train conductor guy
Go ahead everybody, wave at him ... he thinks he's a real conductor
(In his bib overalls)
Wait a minute, those are not giant pumpkins. Those are enormous oranges. At least two hundred large glasses each.
Every time there's a home team homer, he drives the same three hundred feet, end to end, non-stop
(How does he do it?)
So crack open a nice cold Bud Light and toast the train conductor, for the National League Champion Houston Astros.
(Stand up and cheer for your champions)
Bud Light beer, Anheuser-Busch, Houston, Texas

I met Bobby the train conductor in the press dining room before Game 3 of the World Series last year. He was very funny, and said he stumbled into the job after interning for the team. He is, or was, a freelance writer in real life. The best part was that he told me he'd had to change his cell phone answering message to say "Hi, this is Bobby. No, I can't get you tickets."

Wednesday, April 12, 2006

Shuttle: Cheers to 25 years

Shuttle: Cheers to 25 years
Veteran space reporter lists strangest astronaut, best Elvis impersonator
by Todd Halvorson
Florida Today

CAPE CANAVERAL - Columbia blasted off 25 years ago today on NASA's first space shuttle mission. Seems like a good time to roll out my own personal list of shuttle program superlatives. And the winners are:

Best shuttle mission: STS-49 in May 1992. Three spacewalking astronauts grabbed an 8,960-pound satellite with gloved hands after two failed attempts to snare it with a $7 million capture bar. First flight of Challenger replacement orbiter Endeavour. First drag chute landing.

Loneliest astronaut: Pierre Thuot, on the end of Endeavour's robot arm during that same flight, watching the stranded satellite tumble away from the shuttle after tapping it too hard, for the second time in two days, with the capture bar.

Best shuttle bar: The Outpost near Johnson Space Center in Houston. A shrine to shuttle astronauts.

Most recognizable shuttle astronaut: John Glenn. Runner-up: Sally Ride.

Best shuttle crew: STS-27 in December 1988. Set to fly a classified military mission, Robert "Hoot" Gibson and his crew wore black masks to a preflight press conference. Asked by reporters about their top- secret payload, Gibson said: "We could tell you, but then we'd have to kill you."

Best answer in an astronaut candidate job interview: Bill Shepherd, first commander of the International Space Station. The U.S. Navy SEAL was asked what he does best: "Kill people with a knife."

Best crew nicknames: STS-69 in September 1995. Known as Dog Crew II, the group included the late Dave "Red Dog" Walker, Ken "Cujo" Cockrell, Jim "Dog Face" Voss, Jim "Pluto" Newman and Michael "Underdog" Gernhardt. The crew wore an alternate mission patch that featured a bulldog peering out of a doghouse shaped like a shuttle. They ate their preflight breakfast from dog bowls. Runner-up: Jean- Francois "Billy-Bob" Clervoy.

Best crew walkout: STS-44 Terminal Countdown Demonstration Test. For a launch-day dress rehearsal one day after Halloween in 1991, commander Fred Gregory and his crew wore hairless skullcaps as they departed quarters. It was a tribute to bald crewmate Story Musgrave.

Strangest shuttle astronaut: Story Musgrave. Runner-up: Rick Sturckow.

Smartest-and-bravest shuttle astronaut: Mir crash survivor Michael Foale.

Sickest astronaut: "Barfin' " Jake Garn. The U.S. senator from Utah suffered a notorious bout with space adaptation syndrome on his 1985 flilght. Runner-up: J.O. Creighton, who fell ill before STS-36, delaying the February 1990 launch.

Luckiest astronaut: Dan Bursch, the only astronaut to survive two perilous shuttle launch pad aborts (on STS-51 in 1993 and STS-68 in 1994).

Tallest astronaut: 6-foot-4 Jim Wetherbee.

Shortest astronaut: 5-foot Nancy Currie.

Biggest shuttle flier: Russian cosmonaut Valery Ryumin.

Best "astro-couple": Robert "Hoot" Gibson and Rhea Seddon. Runners-up: Mark Lee and Jan Davis, who became the first married couple to fly together in space on STS-47 in 1992.

Coolest spacewalk: STS-41B in 1984. Bruce McCandless and Robert Stewart tested Buck Rogers jet backpacks known as manned maneuvering units.

Greatest spacewalking achievement: STS-61 in December 1993. An unprecedented five consecutive days of spacewalks were performed to repair the myopic Hubble Space Telescope and outfit the observatory with new science instruments and equipment.

Scariest launch pad abort: STS-41D in 1984. A fuel valve triggered an engine shutdown four seconds before a planned launch, leading to a propellant leak and a fire with six astronauts aboard.

Scariest launch since the 1986 Challenger disaster: STS-93 in 1999. An electrical short crashed two engine computers five seconds after launch, leaving the crew one failure away from a risky emergency landing attempt. Runner-up: STS-114 in 2005. In a haunting reminder of the 2003 Columbia accident, a one-pound piece of external tank foam insulation broke free two minutes after launch, barely missing the shuttle's right wing as the ship climbed toward orbit.

Best bullet-dodger: Astronaut Mike Mullane. The first case of solid rocket booster O-ring "blow-by" (which later doomed Challenger) was recorded on his first flight, STS-41D in 1984. The most serious shuttle heat shield damage prior to the Columbia accident was tallied on his second, STS-27 in 1988.

The dreaded do-over award: STS-73 in 1995. The flight was scrubbed six times before blasting off. Three earlier missions (STS-61C, STS-35 and STS-36) each were delayed five times.

Most likely to be sent back to crew quarters: Astronaut Steve Hawley. He endured 11 launch scrubs prior to his five space flights.

Best all-astronaut rock 'n' roll band: Max Q.

Worst all-astronaut rock 'n' roll band: Max Q.

Best Elvis impersonator: Max Q lead singer Carl Walz.

Best sticks: Max Q drummer Jim Wetherbee.

Best stick: STS-49 Mission Commander Dan Brandenstein. On the 1992 flight, Brandenstein squeezed enough gas out of Endeavour's tanks to pull off a third rendezvous with a wayward spacecraft after his crew failed to snare it during two initial attempts. Mission planners had only budgeted enough propellant for two tries.

Best beer fund: STS-49. Brandenstein's crew was fined during training for each uttered curse word. As things got hairy during the mission, he reminded his crew over open communications loops: "The Eagle Is Listening."

Best crew patch: STS-71 in 1995. Famed aviation and space artist Robert McCall designed the patch, which depicted Atlantis and the Russian space station Mir converging before a rising sun. The sun symbolized the dawn of a new era in space flight.

Best post-landing picture: STS-43 in 1991. A supermarket tabloid published a doctored photo showing an alien exiting the shuttle with the astronaut crew.

Most mysterious shuttle manager: George Abbey, former director of Flight Crew Operations. His process for selecting astronaut crews:
black magic.

Best shuttle-era Kennedy Space Center director: Forrest McCartney, who led KSC through the tumultuous post-Challenger recovery. McCartney was loved and respected on the fourth floor of KSC headquarters and the shop floor. Runner-up: Jay Honeycutt. A great manager and a really nice guy, he also understood the media's role in "telling the NASA story."

Best shuttle launch director: Bob "Part-the-Clouds" Sieck. A former Air Force meteorologist, Sieck's expertise in weather systems and forecasting came in handy. Unflappable, the iceman also was the very picture of grace under pressure.

Most accomplished KSC manager: John J. "Tip" Talone Jr. Talone was flow director for Discovery during the post-Challenger recovery and oversaw the manufacture and delivery of replacement orbiter Endeavour. Talone directed ground testing and processing for International Space Station components before taking on his most recent challenge: heading the effort to convert KSC back into a moonport.

Most likely to be an astronaut: Stephanie Stilson, who oversaw ground processing of Discovery for last year's first post-Columbia flight.

Best International Space Station construction crew: The STS-98 astronauts, who delivered the U.S. Destiny science lab to the ISS in February 2001.

Best 2-for-1 deal: STS-83 in 1997. One mission. Two launches. Two landings. Led by Jim Halsell, the crew cut short a science mission because of a failed fuel cell. NASA launched the crew again in less than three months so their mission (reconstituted as STS-94) could be completed.

Best space taxi driver: STS-71 Commander Robert "Hoot" Gibson. He ferried two Russian cosmonauts to the Mir station and returned to Earth with U.S. astronaut Norman Thagard and two other cosmonauts in 1995.

Best shuttle homeboy: "Booster" Bill Nelson. A native of Brevard County, Nelson's grandparents homesteaded on land where NASA eventually built the Shuttle Landing Facility. The politician-in-space flew aboard Columbia the mission before the Challenger accident.

Best shuttle homegirl: Kay Hire, the first KSC engineer to be selected as an astronaut. She flew on STS-90, a neuroscience mission, in April 1998.

Best liftoff line: Launch Commentator Lisa Malone on STS-95 with John Glenn onboard in 1998. "Booster ignition and lift-off of Discovery with a crew of six astronaut heroes and one American legend."

Best diving catch by a launch commentator: Bruce Buckingham on the initial STS-68 launch attempt in 1994. "Three, two, one, liiiiiiiiiif-Rendundant Set Launch Sequencer abort."

Most star-crossed mission: STS-35 in December 1990. Repeatedly delayed during a six-month period by diabolical fuel leaks. Shuttle toilet broke in orbit.

Weirdest science experiment: STS-58 in 1993, the headless rat mission. A guillotine-like "rodent dispatcher" was used to "fix" rats in orbit as part of a life sciences study.

Worst summer: 1990, also known as the "summer of discontent." Within a period of about 72 hours, NASA announced the Hubble Space Telescope was launched with a misshapen mirror and also grounded its shuttle fleet because of mysterious fuel leaks.

Weirdest launch delay: STS-70 in 1995. Set to launch on the historic 100th U.S. human space flight, the mission was delayed after Yellow Shafted Flicker Woodpeckers drilled dozens of holes in external tank foam insulation. The shuttle was returned to its assembly building for repairs. The mission ultimately became the 101st U.S. human space flight.

Best prelaunch astronaut prayer: "Please, God, don't let me screw up."

Friday, March 17, 2006

Studying for the GRE with

Studying for the GRE with help from Shiloh the dog. Emily is too funny.

Tuesday, March 14, 2006

From Monday's Daily Show: "Man

From Monday's Daily Show: "Man took his first tentative steps on the moon in 1969 and since then, frankly, its been a bit of a disappointment. Doesn't really do a whole lot except sit there controlling tides and trying to make stuff romantic..."

And later, after making fun of SMART-1's (an ESA spacecraft) plan to crash into the moon: "Is that all they got now, have we truly run out of experiments to do on the moon, we're just gonna crash something into it and see what happens? There's so much still exciting to see! I got an idea -- why don't we send a werewolf to the moon? Because I wonder: would being so close to the moon would make him a werewolf all the time? Or would he only transform when standing on the light side of the moon? THESE ARE THE QUESTIONS WE NEED ANSWERS TO!"

I love it when Jon Stewart makes fun of my business.

Thursday, February 09, 2006

Gavin walks into my office.

Gavin walks into my office.

Gavin: "There's something in my office beeping."
Sarah: "Ok..."
Gavin: "I can't figure out what it is or where it's coming from."
Sarah: "Maybe it's coming from Josh's office."
Gavin: "Hmm."

Minutes pass. Gavin walks back in.

Gavin: "Do you have any room on your C drive?"
Sarah: "Not much. 4 gigs."
Gavin: "Can I put some stuff there temporarily?"
Sarah: "...Ok."
Gavin: "I think there's something wrong with my computer. It's beeping."
Sarah: starts to create a folder for Gavin
Gavin: beep boop
Sarah: looks at Gavin
Gavin: "That's the noise my computer is making."
Sarah: "Gavin, that's your cell phone."
Gavin: "So it is. It's never made that noise before."
Sarah: "It needs to be charged."
Gavin: looks sheepish
Sarah: "Your phone has never been low on battery before?"
Gavin: "I guess not."
Sarah: "How did you not notice that the beeping was coming from your waist?"
Gavin: "I'm going to go nurse my wounded pride now."

Doug is silently laughing from his desk next to mine as Gavin leaves the room.

Friday, January 27, 2006

It's been another good week

It's been another good week on The Daily Show. On Wednesday night, Ed Helms did a segment on how his New Year's resolution was to get a new job because his current boss is crazy like Willy Wonka and psycho like Hitler. (Ha!)

At the end, he presented "Ed's Job Wish List." Tops on the list was astronaut, which he oh-so-eloquently qualified with "but I don't wanna be some bullshit orbiter. I wanna land on a planet, ok?"

I cracked up.

I should just turn this blog into a recap of what I found funniest on the previous night's Daily Show.

Seriously.

Friday, January 06, 2006

I have been trying to

I have been trying to convince Jose to come to Patagonia with us. I have sent him numerous breathtaking pictures, and today I even sent a limerick:

There once was a guy named Jose
who thought Patagonia was way
cool ('cause there's ice)
and the penguins are nice
so he bought his plane ticket today!

"Ha," I thought. "I am so clever. How can he resist a trip like this, especially when he would be with someone as clever as myself?"

In response, I got a haiku:

I want to go really
Penguins and glaciers, why not?
If I had known sooner :(

Apparently he is a bit clever himself.

Though I chose not to point out that his haiku has too many syllables...

Monday, January 02, 2006

I just got a call

I just got a call from the front gate of my apartment complex asking me if I was expecting a delivery from Papa John's. I resisted the urge to say "well, considering the fact that I'm currently stuck in airport hell in Atlanta, no, I'm not expecting a delivery, though pizza does sound pretty good right now, can you send it here?"

Monday, January 02, 2006

Kill me now. I am

Kill me now. I am stuck in airport hell.

We left Kent's at 4:30 to get my to the airport in time for my 6:20 flight. It has been thunderstorming on and off since last night, and I thought it might affect my flight, but hoped for the best.

It is 8:15. I'm still sitting at the airport. Our airplane has just left Houston, and now we have to wait for it to fly here, rid itself of equally irate passengers, get cleaned, and then finally we get to depart for Houston. Current scheduled departure is 9:52, more than 3.5 hours late. This may actually be the longest I've ever been delayed; I can't recall any other longer wait.

The "best" part? I've been sick for the past two days. My standard cold, which means sore throat followed by aches and pains followed by a general feeling of malaise. A recent bout of Advil has made me feel better at the moment, and I'm hoping the espresso in my Starbucks gives me a jolt. I thought of just taking a shot of Nyquil once I get on the plane, except I think I accidentally left my Nyquil at Carter's. (Oh, and because I've been feeling ill, I haven't gone running since Thursday. Four days without a run. Makes me feel antsy and keyed up in addition to the feverish congestion.)

So here I sit at the airport, having just paid $7.95 for WiFi access to pass the time after I got tired of reading People, feeling like poo and sharing the experience with a few hundred of my closest friends. I would kill for my Firefly DVDs right now, but alas, they're in my checked suitcase. I would've grabbed them, but oh, when I checked my luggage I thought the flight was only 1.5 hours delayed. Sigh. Sigh sigh sigh. I am not a happy camper at the moment.

Happy 2006!

Wednesday, December 28, 2005

Ha ha!

Ha ha!

Friday, December 23, 2005

OH! This is for all

OH! This is for all the Firefly and Serenity fans. Katie and Joel and I were driving out to Walmart today, and as we turned a corner I glanced at a sign advertising office space for rent. I wouldn't have thought twice about it -- I'm constantly reading signs just out of habit -- but the name on the sign immediately caught my attention. The name of the person to call with inquiries about office space: Jubal Early.

Wednesday, December 21, 2005

Santa Claus paid us a

Santa Claus paid us a visit at our faux group meeting.

We then proceeded to follow him down the hall giggling as he greeted everyone and left a trail of "who was that??" behind him.

Friday, December 16, 2005

Cari, Chris and I went

Cari, Chris and I went to see "Narnia" on Wednesday night. I got there first, so I just went ahead and bought all three tickets. I emailed them both yesterday asking them to transfer the $8.25 back to my bank account. When you transfer the money, you have the opportunity to write a note or description of the transaction that shows up both on your statement and on the person you're transferring the money to. I was just balancing my checkbook and saw the following:

DATE         DESCRIPTION         AMOUNT
12/15/2005   narnia              8.25
             STAR-PC
12/15/2005   i want a unicorn    8.25
             STAR-PC

I'll let you guess whose deposit is whose.

Today I got an actual paper ticket in the mail for our flight from Buenos Aires to El Calafate in February. We're really going to Patagonia. Yippee!

Thursday, December 15, 2005

Sigh. Sigh sigh sigh. Today,

Sigh. Sigh sigh sigh. Today, for the first time in a while, I felt like I was talking to a brick wall. It was upsetting. I felt very strongly about the topic but was being watched with uncomprehending (or maybe just unsympathetic) eyes.

Wednesday, December 07, 2005

After too many months of

After too many months of getting in the habit of eating out, we have resolved to start packing lunches again (except Fridays of course). As we walked down to lunch today, I wondered where Rich was...

Me: Oh, so now that we're eating in the cafeteria again, Rich is too good to eat with us?
George: No, he's going to eat with his other friends.
Me: I see how it is.
George: He said he feels guilty for not eating with them as much anymore.
Me: Well they could all come and sit with us. His friends are nice enough.
George: No.
Me: (assuming he's joking, I laugh) Oh wait -- you're serious? No?
George: Yeah, I'm serious. They always talk about politics or religion and get into deep debates and arguments. It's annoying. I don't want to talk about serious stuff at lunch.

Later as we sit enjoying our food and chatting...

Me: So this movie called Silent Hill is coming out in the spring and there's a contest for it. You design the movie poster and if you win, it gets printed and put on display in theaters.
Matt: Don't you need to know what the movie is about before you make a poster?
Me: It's a horror movie. Duh. Can't you tell from the name?
Matt: No. Silent Hill? That could be anything! It could be a war movie, or a chick flick, or anything.
Bini: I dunno, it sounds like a horror movie title.
Me: Yeah, I mean, if it were a war movie it would be Bloody Hill. Sci-fi, you know, Alien Hill. A chick flick would have to be Running-Through-The-Wildflowers Hill...
George: (laughing) See? This is a lunch conversation.

Tuesday, November 29, 2005

I guess I waited too

I guess I waited too long to decide what class I want to take next semester -- Drawing for Non-Art Majors is full for both the Monday 7-10 class and the Thursday 4-7 class. I'll be taking Web Design after all it appears.

Thursday, November 03, 2005

Turns out that all those

Turns out that all those "your computer needs ventilation" comments are actually true. My internet connection was fine; the modem was kaput. I had the modem underneath my wireless router, and it got hot, and that may be the reason it conked out. So I get to pay $159, $99 for a new modem and $59 for the guy to take 5 minutes to set it up, which I probably could have done myself. Sigh.

I am feeling too stupid for today's technology.

Wednesday, October 19, 2005

CNN had an online article

CNN had an online article today about the Orkney Islands. I sent the link to Karen and Becca with the subject line "Been there, done that" referring to our trip there in September 2002. The best part about visiting Orkney, besides the fact that it was beautiful and had some amazing prehistoric ruins, was that no one ever goes there. In the grand scheme of travelling, being able to say you've been to Orkney is pretty unique. (That, and it's fun to remind Becca of the Orkney bike ride from hell. I swear the wind followed us.)

This led to Becca reminiscing about her first conversation with Ollie and Doug, two of Cari's friends from her year at ISU:

Becca: Hi! Where in Scotland are you from?
Ollie: I'm from Orkney.
Becca: I've been to Orkney!
Ollie: No shit! No one goes to Orkney.
Becca: Well, I did.
Ollie: Bloody 'ell, No one goes to Orkney!
Becca: Well, I did with two of my girlfriends. [Describe details of trip, the beauty, the bike ride from hell, the oldest piles of rocks ever]
Ollie: You are the first person I've ever met who's been to Orkney.
Doug: I have lived in Scotland all my life and have never been to Orkney!
Becca: Well, you're missing out. Except never try to ride a bicycle into the wind in three directions.
Ollie: Bloody HELL! No one goes to Orkney!

Monday, October 17, 2005

More funny stuff (seen on

More funny stuff (seen on Edwin's blog, from the Chronicle):

Book it now: Angels closer Francisco Rodriguez will be card No. 666 in the 2006 edition of Topps Total baseball cards. Topps officials acknowledge that the employee who assembles the company's card checklists is a Yankees fan who assigns the undesirable number to the pitcher or player on the team that knocks the Yankees out of the playoffs.

That's why Red Sox reliever Keith Foulke, who got the last out of the 2004 ALCS, was number 666 in 2005 Total, and why the Florida Marlins' Josh Beckett of Spring, who beat the Yankees in the 2003 World Series finale, was 666 in the 2004 set.

And that's why Rodriguez, who closed out the Angels' victory Sunday in Game 5 of the Division Series, will be 666 in next year's set. It's the safest sure thing in the world of cardboard � unless Yankees Fan goes with Ervin Santana, who pitched 5 1/3 innings in relief of injured starter Bartolo Colon.

Sunday, October 09, 2005

Jen's photo of us celebrating.

Jen's photo of us celebrating.

Monday, September 26, 2005

Kent has a way with

Kent has a way with words:

"I'm happy to hear that everyone survived hurricane Rita and Becca's plague. Hopefully Gavin's parents survived the NASA onslaught on their house. They converted their house into a petting zoo for nerds, which only the most resilient people could survive."

Monday, September 12, 2005

I just got around to

I just got around to watching a Daily Show from last week, and this cracked me up: an alphabetical list of "Major Disasters of Bush Administration" that the show suggests the President is following, in order:

Abu Graib
Bin Laden
Chalabi
Deficit
Enron
Failure to Find WMDs
Halliburton
Iraq
John Bolton
Katrina
Locusts
Mars Attacks
North Korea
Osama and Jenna
Pregnancy: Osama and Jenna
Queer Revolt
Rodents of Unusual Size
Syrian War
Tigers
Unicyclists, Nuclear
Voldemort
WWIII
X-Rated Tape: Osama and Jenna
Yam Shortage
Zero People Left on Earth

Each had little check boxes next to them. He's up to K...

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Somehow I missed this song

Somehow I missed this song earlier, but I'm glad I discovered it now. It cracks me up. NASA made it into a rock/pop song -- we must be cool!

Bowling for Soup -
Ohio (Come Back To Texas)

She said she needed a break
a little time to think
but then she went to Cleveland
with some guy named Leeland
that she met at the bank

There's nothing wrong with Ohio
except the snow and the rain
I really like Drew Carey
and I'd love to see the Rock n' Roll Hall of Fame

So when you're done doing whatever
and when you're through doing whoever
you know Denton County will be right here waiting for you....

Come back to Texas
It's just not the same since you went away
Before you lose your accent
and forget all about the Lone Star state
There's a seat for you at the rodeo
and I've got every slow dance saved
besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway

I think I made a mistake
It's not that easy to take
She went to make a deposit
then she cleaned out her closet
Guess I'll sit here and wait

For her to come back home (I'd wish you'd come back home)
It shouldn't take very long (so long so long)
I bet she misses the sunrise
and misses the fruit flies but I could be wrong

So when you're done doing whatever
and when you're through doing whoever
you know Denton County will be right here waiting for you....

Come back to Texas
It's just not the same since you went away
I bet you missed your exit
and drove right on through the Lone Star state
There's a seat for you at the rodeo
and I've got every slow dance saved
Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway

Troy Aikman wants you back
Willie Nelson wants you back
NASA wants you back
and the Bush twins want you back
Pantera wants you back
and Blue Bell wants you back
I got a premonition
I'm taking a petition
and the whole state's gonna sign

Come back to Texas
Its just not the same since you went away
Before you lose your accent
and forget all about the Lone Star State
There's a seat for you at the rodeo
and I've got every slow dance saved
Besides the Mexican food sucks north of here anyway...

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

Pet Peeve of the Week:

Pet Peeve of the Week:

People who spell the word "loose" when they really mean "lose." My professor in the graphic design class did this on Monday night, on a slide that spoke about the importance of paying attention to the details, no less.

Every time I read about how someone always "looses" their keys or "looses" their train of thought, I picture keys flying free, and a train running rampant down the tracks. Although loosing and losing, say, a tiger might have the same effect, they don't mean the same thing!

Wednesday, August 24, 2005

A Story, by Kent: So

A Story, by Kent:

So I was changing the water jug on top of the water cooler on Monday afternoon. Well as I was putting the new jug on, I put it on top of the base however it didn�t settle into place. It was supporting its weight on the valve that prevents water from spilling out when you turn the bottle upside-down to mount it on the base. Anyway, so I shimmied the bottle around a bit and BAM! It slid into place, however sadly on my ring finger on my left hand. OW! So I bruised the area under my fingernail pretty good, and the lower 1/3 or so of the fingernail bed was dark purple immediately after the mashing. Several hours later it was still throbbing since the blood under the nail had no where to go, and the increasing pressure in my finger kept me awake a good portion of the night. So the next morning I went into our medical facility at work and they fixed me up, however they had to burn a hole through my fingernail with a cauterizing tool!!! It was pretty cool and it looks really gross right now. I would say the hole is about a millimeter or a little over in diameter which is pretty big for a hole in your fingernail. Anyway after the nurse burned a hole into my finger the blood under the nail could come rushing out, and I�ve been keeping a band-aid on it because it�s still bleeding : ) She said the nail might fall off, but she wasn�t sure since the entire nail bed hadn�t been damaged, just most of the bottom part. If it doesn�t fall off then a new nail will just grow over it, and it�ll look bad for a while. I laughed at her when she said that apologetically. As if I care what my fingernails look like. It was very exciting minus the loss in sleep. The nurses were very amused that I injured myself with a water jug considering that I work in a manufacturing plant where people actually work in areas where injury is more plausible. They told me I should tell people that I injured myself rescuing someone or saving a kitten from a tree. However I find great amusement in my wound from the break room.

He has taken to sending me funny emails. Here's one from last week:

I wonder if my apt complex would mind if I converted the pool into The Amazing Kent's Ocean Life Extravaganza! I could have sea lions and an orca! Ooo but they don't mix too well, however I'm sure I can train them to be the best of friends. Perhaps they will even play patty-cake together. Tickets will be expensive, and the revenue could pay for my rent plus all the training whistles I could ever want. Now I know what you're thinking, "gee Kent, I don't think anyone could ever have too many whistles," but there is such a thing as too many. If you have too many whistles, eventually the sea lions and orca will get hold of them and start training people. We can't have that happen. I know, I know...you're thinking "Gee Kent, on a government salary how could I ever afford a ticket to TAKOLE [pronounced "Tak-OLE!"] (The Amazing Kent's Ocean Life Extravaganza)?", but don't you worry...your ticket will always be complimentary.

Tuesday, August 23, 2005

11:44 p.m. last night: I�ve

11:44 p.m. last night:

I�ve lived in my apartment complex for three years now. Thirty-six months. For almost 35 of those months, I lived without experiencing any power outages, in fact, nary even a flicker. Suddenly, in the past four or six weeks, it seems that power flickers and outages are becoming a weekly occurrence. At the beginning of August, as I already wrote here, it went out in the middle of the night, taking my alarm clock with it and resulting in my oversleeping a race I�d volunteered to help with. Either right before or right after that, it was out for a half hour or so in the middle of the afternoon, but that was during a thunderstorm so I wrote it off.

But just now it went off and has been off for going on 20 minutes. Now, I know 20 minutes is not exactly a long time (in 6th grade, when Hurricane Hugo came through Charlotte, my family and I went for two weeks without lights in the house), but I can�t help but wonder what the hell is going on! It�s clear outside. No storms. Nothing special, and nothing unusual, except that I was happily sitting at my computer editing a photo until WHAM! Darkness. Fortunately my laptop stayed on and illuminated the room so I didn�t crash into something trying to find my flashlight and light some candles.

I walked down to the parking lot, and every building in my field of view was dark, with some flashlights moving in the windows. So I called Reliant Energy. I called five minutes ago. I�m still on hold. At 11:46 at night.

What gives, Reliant Energy?? Why has my power suddenly become less reliable, Reliant? Nice company name there. Love it. I set my battery alarm and am about to go to bed. When the power comes back on though, I�ll wake up, because all my electronics will start whirring again.

I can deal with not being able to finish my photos or watch the end of the Astros game. I can even deal with being on hold at 11:50 at night. But if my power doesn�t come back on soon, it�s going to get HOT, and that is something I do NOT want to deal with. I just paid, literally just paid tonight prior to the disappearing electricity, a $105 electricity bill and they can�t keep my air conditioning running.

I�m moving back to San Francisco.

The end of the story is that I went to bed at midnight and half an hour later everything came back on and scared the crap out of me, jolting me awake.

Monday, August 22, 2005

From Overheard in New York

From Overheard in New York (and seen on Cassie's blog):

Chick: Hey, did the space shuttle land yet?
Man: No, it's still circling in space endlessly.
Chick: Really, so are they stuck up there?
Man: I'm kidding. It landed last week.
Chick: So did it land in California or at JFK?
Man: JFK? What the hell are you talking about? You mean the Kennedy Space Center, not JFK! I can't believe you're going to be a doctor.

--Overheard at the George Washington Bridge Bus Station

Sunday, August 07, 2005

I went to Best Buy

I went to Best Buy this evening to get a wireless router. As I left, I saw a guy in a red polo shirt walking in. The shirt had a Fry's logo stitched onto the chest, and the guy looked like he'd just gotten off work. At Fry's. Walking into Best Buy.

I had to laugh.

Saturday, August 06, 2005

Nick's mom is really funny.

Nick's mom is really funny.

Friday, August 05, 2005

Jen wrote a post last

Jen wrote a post last night/this morning after a coworker said some fairly insensitive comments about women, or "mommies," doing "hard" jobs like flying the space shuttle. While I don't tend to get as worked up about issues like this as Jen or Becca or Jen O, it still amazes me that intelligent people can have such unintelligent opinions.

Yesterday I responded to a swap shop ad looking for "volunteers to assist with trail maintenance and learn about free hiking opportunities on the Lone Star Hiking Trail in Sam Houston National Forest. No experience necessary." The Lone Star Hiking Trail is about an hour and a half north of here, and I've thought about heading up there to hike for a day or two multiple times. It seems like it's the closest thing to a true hiking experience here in Houston. I just haven't made it up there yet, but helping with trail maintenance sounded like something that could be both fun and for the greater good of outdoorsy people everyone.

I emailed the guy who placed the ad, and he called me to let me know more information. He first asked me if I had any experience hiking. "Of course," I responded. "I've hiked in Texas, Colorado, California, Canada, Peru..." He sounded encouraged by this, so I was excited to see what he said next.

Well, he spent the next 10 minutes explaining that I was welcome to come help if I want to but that 1) most of the people are older than me and 2) most of the people are male.

I didn't see how either of those things would bother me.

But he continued: I could come help if I want, but usually women aren't interested in doing the labor in the woods. He goes in with a chainsaw and another guy goes in with a little 4-wheeler to clear trash, etc, and most women don't want to do that. And oh, that there are actually two clubs, and he belongs to this one, but I might want to look into the other one because if I was really interested, oh, the other one tends to attract more women. And that they don't do as much trail maintenance because the women aren't interested in that.

His attitude totally killed my interest at the time, so I just said I'd get back to him and hung up.

What makes a person take that attitude with someone they've never met, and someone whose interest in hiking and trail maintenance they know nothing about? I've never done any work like that before, but it doesn't mean I'm not interested or willing. Why would I have contacted him, when ad clearly said "trail maintenance and hiking," if I wasn't interested in trail maintenance and hiking??

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

On Monday night the Daily

On Monday night the Daily Show spent 5 minutes talking about Lance Armstrong's Tour de France victory. It was hilarious. Watch it now, both the "Quitter!" and "Tour de Fr-Lance" segments. The second gets a little out-of-control at the end, but still funny.

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

I just went down to

I just went down to the Starbucks kiosk in the cafeteria to get a drink. While waiting on mine to be prepared, I was treated to 5 minutes of bitching and moaning by the woman who'd been in line behind me, complaining because the way the Starbucks kiosk makes her Creamice is not the exact same was that the real Starbucks makes a Frappachino. "The real Starbucks does it this way," she haughtily said. The woman manning the register tried to explain how the kiosk makes it, due to the way the supplies are received from wherever they come from. Finally the customer huffed and puffed and pouted "fine, just make it whatever way you usually do, I don't want to waste any more of my time."

It's one thing for the customer to make sure they get what they want, but I have very little patience or sympathy for customers who are unnecessarily rude to those trying politely to serve them. Lady, if you're unsatisfied with the way the JSC Cafeteria makes your fake Frappachino, then go to the freaking Starbucks down the road and get one that's been made the "right" way. The rest of us are just glad to have a place on site that will make us a mocha and charge us a bit less than Starbucks, even if it's not quite the same.

Thursday, July 21, 2005

The Weinermobile is having a

The Weinermobile is having a contest. You have 100 words to describe how you would use $5000 and the Weinermobile for 8 hours of fun and excitement. I totally entered. I love the Weinermobile!

Tuesday, July 19, 2005

Cari has sent out an

Cari has sent out an email about EarthKAM (a camera on the space station), and tells us to let her know if we have places we want to photograph. We give her the latitude and longitude points and if the station passes over the site, click goes the camera.

I check the list of sites she already has, including my house, listed at 35.xxx, 80.xxx. The following email conversation ensues.

Sarah: FYI my house's coords are obviously NEGATIVE 80.xxx. It's in your list as positive. :)

Cari: I�ll fix it, but I cut and pasted it directly from the original information! =P

Sarah: I know, not blaming, just correcting.

Cari: And the 35 should be negative, too. :) I caught that. Might have been why didn�t work last time. ;)

Sarah: No, I'm pretty sure my house is in the northern hemisphere...

Cari: Oh right, that part. DUH. This is what I get when I try to act all superior and stuff. :(

Wednesday, July 13, 2005

This dude is my favorite

This dude is my favorite Tour de France spectator. He's there every single year. Yesterday he was in red, today he was dressed in green. Still a devil though.

Monday, June 27, 2005

I recently came across a

I recently came across a list of "You Know You're in Houston When..." Here are some of my favorites:

1. You're on your way to work one FEBRUARY morning and suddenly you're trapped in a traffic jam caused by a chuck wagon and fifty horses with riders and you look around to see that everybody in the cars around you is wearing a cowboy hat.

4. You have to turn on the air conditioning in January, two days after a low of 29 degrees.

6. When you see your neighbor dancing around the front yard, you don't think he's won the Publisher's Clearing House Sweepstakes; you know that he just stepped in a fire ant bed.

14. The "Killer Bees" are not stinging insects, but rather members of the Houston Astros.

19. Spring is not the season, Katy is not the lady, and 1960 is not the year.

22. You've never seen I-45 in any condition other than under construction, and you've lived here for 20-30 years.

27. A 747 with the Space Shuttle riding piggyback has actually flown low right overhead, and nobody paid any attention to it.

28. You know that while saving you money, "Mattress Mac" has amassed more than the U.S. treasury.

Tuesday, May 10, 2005

I've learned my lesson on

I've learned my lesson on car rental. I didn't ask for gas service because I'd planned to stop at a gas station on my way back to the airport. Of course I was running a bit late, so I didn't stop for gas. I needed half a tank, which would cost me $15 normally, so I figured it couldn't be more than $30 to pay Avis to do it. In retrospect, I had time to stop for gas but I didn't know it then.

Turns out they charge per mile if you don't drive more than 400 miles. 150 miles times 31.5 cents per mile = $50.

Stupid me. Bastard Avis.

Monday, May 09, 2005

Katie and Joel are on

Katie and Joel are on the Georgia Tech graduation photos page, kissing. Heehee. (Bottom row, far right photo.)

Wednesday, April 27, 2005

Cari wants to TiVo 60

Cari wants to TiVo 60 Minutes tonight because they're doing a story about Return-to-Flight. Becca wants to TiVo Alias. (Forget for a minute that they are not on at the same time. People in that household don't check the obvious things.) Becca provides the following summary for Cari as an argument for Alias. (Plus, I provided the helpful input that Alias has better costumes.)

Ok.

Let me summarize what is going to happen on 60 Minutes:

Dan: So, Eileen, tell me about what changes have been made to the space shuttle for Return to Flight
CDR: Well, Dan, blah blah blah blah blah (everything we know)
Dan: Sounds like a lot. What about these rumors I hear about us not being able to fix any problem?
CDR: [flashes a confident smile] Well, Dan, spaceflight is a risky business. We did our best to mitigate the risks, but there's still some technical challenges we haven't managed to solve.
Dan: Aren't you worried?
CDR: Not at all, Dan, I wouldn't be flying this mission if I didn't think it was the best thing for this country and our crew.

Flashes over to SMS.
Dan Rather is flying the space shuttle.
Big red flashing light appears on the screen. CDR starts waiving her hands in the air and saying "Wooo wooo woo no survivors."

Then she shows him how its done by greasing a perfect landing.

Dan says: Well, that settles it, NASA is ready to return to flight. Now we go into a hearwarming story about prisoners who have taught dogs to rescue snowboarders from avalanches.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

I, like Becca, am amazed

I, like Becca, am amazed and somewhat appalled at the New York Times' recent "Frugal Traveler" article about doing Paris on...drumroll...$250 a day.

$250 a day? That's frugal?? I'd hate to see what the daily cost of seeing Paris non-frugally is!

Becca and I and countless other friends could get you through a week in Paris on $50 a day or less if you don't mind staying in a youth hostel. $100 a day would be downright luxurious and would get you a decent hotel room. You might not eat at four-star restaurants, but the sidewalk cafes and random restaurants you find on back streets have far more character anyway.

I think Becca and I should offer to write a Times article on what frugal really means.

Thursday, April 14, 2005

I'm Groucho Marx!

Me playing around in Ye Olde Curiosity Shop in Seattle, taken by Irwin with his shiny new Digital Rebel XT! What you can't see is that the mustache hairs were really tickling my nose.

Thursday, April 07, 2005

t-minus 43 hours...

Frustration.

I have been planning the Yuri's Night 5K basically alone. No help. Now, for the most part, I can handle it, and a good part of the solo operation is my own desire to make sure everything is just so. However, my "I can do it better if I just do it myself" attitude is only reinforced by the times I do ask for help and receive none.

Tonight I have to stuff race packets. It's a simple job that won't take more than half an hour if I can get 3-4 people to help me; if I don't get any help, it will probably take me more like 1.5 hours. The only slight issue is that I'm not free to stuff until 9:00 p.m. because of softball and soccer commitments. It's a little late, but like I said -- it's a half hour job. Done by 9:30.

I sent an email asking for help. Only one person has responded, and they can't help because they'll be in Sugarland. And I know that one person can't help because they're frantically finalizing arrangements for the museum activities on Saturday afternoon. No one else has even bothered to write back.

So perhaps if some of them see this post, they will be guilted into helping me!! (Obvious hint, people.)

That said, the race is starting to come together here at the end. I've been working frantically all week taking care of last-minute issues. This morning we passed 70 entrants and our budget officially moved from the red into the black. Hurrah!

Wednesday, March 30, 2005

linoleum needs love too

I just spent 10 minutes pre-cleaning my office floor. Yes, pre-cleaning. They are scheduled to wax the floors tonight after everyone is gone. One would expect this to mean that they will clean the floors and then wax, but based on the countless years of nastiness currently sealed into the floor, I have my doubts.

So I just Swiffer wet-mopped my office. After two and a half pads, I ran out of cleaning fluid.

Sigh.

Thursday, March 24, 2005

I mentioned that on Sunday

I mentioned that on Sunday we went to the local community theater to see Jason, Paul, Curt and Michelle act in a Woody Allen script called "Don't Drink the Water." What I didn't mention is the horrible moment that occurred afterwards.

Imagine this: in one of the final scenes in the play, your friend Jason has to run around stage in his boxer shorts (with little hearts on them) and a straitjacket. When the play ends, he's taken off the straitjacket but is still in his boxers. Then he walks out into the lobby to greet the audience, still dressed like that.

You would want to get a photo, right?

I pulled my camera out of my purse, slid back the lens cover, and fired, but...nothing. Nothing? I glanced at the screen and was horrified to find out that I'd left all my flash cards, which I'd taken out as backup for my race photography that morning, in my big camera bag! Drat! So I went for my camera phone, but...I'd accidentally left my camera at home!!

For the first time in months, I found myself without any cameras on me. For someone who usually has two, if not three, with her at any given time, it was quite a shock. I felt naked.

Fortunately, Karen saved the day:

(That's Paul and Curt on top, Jason and Michelle on the couch.)

Friday, March 18, 2005

I just got a text

I just got a text message and, after reading it, went to delete it and a few other old messages. That's when I was rediscovered this beauty, received last Friday from Becca as Rich and I were telling her we'd arrived at Whistler and were waiting for the group outside the condo:

Becca
03/11/05
03:46PM
In to the room is NANCY we still skiing
***End***

If anyone can translate that from Becca-speak into normal wordage, I congratulate you. We found each other in the long run, after an actual phone call.

Friday, March 18, 2005

The woman who made my

The woman who made my coffee this morning in the Starbucks downstairs in the cafeteria is the same woman who sold me Girl Scout cookies outside the grocery store last night. I only notice because during each two-minute dialogue, she called me "sweetie" at least 6 times.

"Hi, sweetie?"
"How are you, sweetie?"
"What would you like, sweetie?"
"Here you go, sweetie."
"Enjoy that, sweetie."
"Thank you, sweetie."

Once, and I wouldn't think anything of it. But six times??

Wednesday, March 02, 2005

liquid hot mag-ma

I totally just cracked up at the last sentence in this excerpt from "Eruptus Interruptus" by Mark Sundeen, Outside, February 2005 (emphasis mine):

"We are transfixed--and who can blame us? An erupting volcano is a magnet, pulling us closer, never mind the danger. And science can't explain what makes us want to watch. We love St. Helens because she is ours. We're united in that way: America always roots for the home team, even if it might explode and cover us in magma."

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

sigh

My day is totally sucking. I'm accidentally offending people, I'm stupid, I do things too slowly, I don't pick up on new concepts fast enough, and I am a totally horrible mentor. I just want to go home and crawl back into bed.

Wednesday, February 23, 2005

"and Germany is boiled down to beer?"

Rachel Wiesz, that woman from The Mummy movies, was on The Daily Show last night talking to Jon Stewart. She was talking about the movie she's currently wrapping up filming in Montreal, and about how she loved Montreal because it was the best parts of France -- croissants, etc -- without the snootiness.

Jon Stewart says "You know we tried to create that in EPCOT Center."

The audience cracks up, but Rachel Wiesz is deadpan. "I don't know what that is," she says, confused.

Jon Stewart looks puzzled. He attempts to start an explanation a couple times, and finally says "hmm, how do you explain EPCOT Center?? Ok ok ok -- You know how big the world is?"

"Yeah," says Rachel Wiesz.

Jon Stewart explains: "Imagine if you could walk it...in an hour."

Sunday, February 20, 2005

FYI...

If you are ever getting ready to go to bed, and have taken out your contacts, and then go to wash your face with Clean and Clear Morning Burst facial cleanser, and lean in so that you can see what you're doing because, as previously mentioned, you have already taken out your contacts and can't see more than 6 inches in front of you, and the cleanser pump is a bit clogged, so nothing comes out for a moment and then suddenly it squirts out with a lot of force and a few drops of cleanser hit you RIGHT IN THE EYE before your instincts even have a chance to shut your eyelid, this might be your reaction as you clutch your face because your eye feels like it's burning away:

"SH!T F*CK G0D D$MN that HURTS like a SON OF A B!TCH!!!!"

Then you'll spend 5 minutes flushing your eye out under the faucet.

Thursday, February 17, 2005

cat-feeding instructions

Best pet-care note ever (Worm is one of the cats):

Rich,

The key to the house is in your desk drawer. Stephanie left instructions on the counter. Be careful. I think Worm is plotting to kill you...

Schottel

Wednesday, February 16, 2005

an email exchange

Me: "Happy Birthday, Cari!"
Cari: "Thanks. Nick left me a flower so now my entire group thinks he's my boyfriend."
Me: "So what's new? Everyone in DM used to think we were dating."
Cari: "Well, there was both you and Nick to tease. Here, it's all dumped on me."
Me: "Ah. Just tell them he's gay."

Monday, February 14, 2005

The Amusing Tale of the Runaway Purse

On Saturday night, Becca, Melanie, Josh and I went to a performance downtown by a dance company from Los Angeles called Diavolo. They do pieces that are rather Cirque du Soleil-ish and involve simple yet elaborate props. They did two pieces on Saturday: Tete en L'Air involved a staircase with many doors and hatches, and Trajectoire was done on a large half-cylinder that rocked back and forth on the stage. It was strange at first, but as the dances became more physical and acrobatic, it was really neat to watch.

The other part of the evening though, was that our seats were on the front row. Like, really, on the front row. In the orchestra pit, on the part that moves up and down to raise and lower the orchestra. The music for the performance was piped in, so they replaced the orchestra with seats, and we were on the front row.

Ok, so now you have an idea of where we were sitting. The pit floor was lowered part way, to be at the level of the theater instead of the level of the stage. As a result, there was a 2-foot vertical gap/hole at our feet, which I didn't discover...

...until I dropped my purse through the hole and onto the pit floor beneath the stage about 6 feet below!!

Yes, I dropped my purse through the stage. And couldn't figure out how to retrieve it. It was far enough below me that though I knew I could jump down, I was unsure that I'd be able to get back up, and because of a strategically placed curtain (which was very deceiving and is the reason I didn't see the hole in the first place), I couldn't see whether there was a way out of the under-stage area. So I went and got the first usher I could find, who was inexplicably about 5 feet tall. I'm not sure if he was a kid, or just short, but it only made the situation funnier. He consulted his boss, who told him to "just go get it." I discouraged him from that idea, seeing as how it was a 6 foot drop and neither of us knew what was down there. He consulted his boss again, and said they'd get it at intermission.

Intermission came, and Josh (whose seat was the section over from us; we bought the tickets too late to get 4 together) came over to chat. We informed him that my purse was down below, and showed him. You could see it lying on the floor if you pushed the curtain back! Josh, matter-of-factly, jumped down and retrieved my wayward purse. Just, bloop, jumped down. As he was worming his way back up, the usher was trying to help him and ended up slamming his back repeatedly into the stage (as I said, the gap was fairly small, and vertical, and tough to get out of).

But Josh saved the day. Hooray for Josh!

And the lesson is, don't drop your purse down the orchestra pit!

Sunday, February 13, 2005

I'm addicted to you / don't you know that you're toxic

Becca, Jen, Gavin, Cari and I went out to see "In Good Company" this afternoon. I like Dennis Quaid, and Topher Grace, and Scarlett Johannsen. And I also really liked the movie. There was something that just felt real about it. Nothing ever felt "Hollywood-ized" about the story they were telling. It felt like real people, and real problems, and a realistic conclusion. Good flick.

Afterwards, I went to Fry's. I've been in the market for an external hard drive (for backup/archive purposes) and I hadn't been to check out the new store (it opened back in December). I picked out a hard drive that seemed like a good value, and that had a nice rebate, and began wandering the aisles just browsing.

As I entered the TV section, I was overwhelmed by a loud pop song and glanced at one of the screens. Ten TVs in a row were showing the same thing -- Britney Spears gyrating on stage at some concert.

Standing in the row watching very intently were -- I counted them -- nine men. Just standing. And staring.

I had to smile as I walked past.

Monday, February 07, 2005

and the things on our shoulders were epaulettes

Nick: "Why do people say 'throw down the gauntlet' when you duel? If I want to duel, do I have to run out and get a gauntlet?"
Becca: "No, you can just say 'let's duel.'"
Nick: "Where did that phrase come from?"
Becca: "Well, I think it's a throw-back from a time when people wore gaunlets."
Nick: "You wear them? Wait, what's a gauntlet?"
Becca: "It's a glove."
Sarah: "Yeah, and the part that goes on your forearm. We had fake ones to wear with our marching band uniforms in high school."
Nick: "What?? I thought it was, like, a glass."
Sarah & Becca: "No, that a goblet."

Friday, February 04, 2005

she must have a thing for togas

I'm at the video store. As I peruse the new releases, a man walks up carrying his ~2-year-old daughter on his hip. He heads straight for the entire shelf full of "Troy" DVDs. "Is this rated R?" he ponders into the air and then sighs as he turns to his daughter. "Your mom wants to see Orlando and Brad."

Friday, February 04, 2005

come on and get in the boat, fish / come on and get in the boat, fish fish

Chris, who updated, I mean, not like I check people's blog every day and wait for them to write something... Anyway, point being, he mentioned a local gay water polo team called the Atlanta Rainbow Trout. OH MY GOD, that made me laugh so hard. I love their name.

Wednesday, February 02, 2005

state of the union's pronunciation

Seriously. I'm convinced he just does it to bug me. Yes, me. He doesn't know me, but somehow, he knows it irks me.

Nuclear. Say it with me. New - clee - ur. NEWWWWWWWW - CLEEEEEEE - UR!

Monday, January 31, 2005

love is in the air

It never ceases to amuse me when I'm romantically linked to one of my guy friends.

My office is composed of 7 rooms, with about twice that many desks. There are 12 of us in the area -- 10 people in my group, a contractor manager, and his administrative assistant, Tracy. At the 5K on Saturday, Rich and I ran into the contractor manager who had also done the race.

Today he told Tracy that he'd seen us, and that there was apparently some inter-office dating going on between Rich and "that girl who sits on the other side of the wall from you."

I am amused.

Wednesday, September 03, 2003

yeah, i think tomorrow is a hiking day...

dear god. i am like the master of never-ending sims. we're talking two weeks now.

last night i took debbie to pick up her car, and then we went for a bike ride. she originally borrowed one of the mountain bikes that our apartment complex keeps locked up out front, but the stupid thing was practically unrideable. you could turn the gear shifter, and yet the gears didn't shift. and the right brake was so poorly adjusted that you couldn't even pull the handle far enough to actually engage the brake. i'm disappointed that the office doesn't do a better job of maintaining the bikes, but oh well. fortunately, i have my old hybrid, so debbie took that one, i hopped on my fancy bike, and off we went.

we rode up to hercules, over to saturn, all the way down saturn to nasa 1, then over into nassau bay. when we reached the lake, we noticed these weird pump-like things pumping copious amounts of water out of the lake and spraying it in two giant liquid fans onto the pavement. they were draining the lake, and yet creating a minor flood in the rest of the park. very bizarre. from nassau bay, we rode to a really cool little playground where we played on the monkey bars and ran through the obstacle course, then past debbie's old person doctor, down nasa 1 and back up el camino and home. the verdict: debbie's knee can handle riding a bike! hurrah!

i watched tv and lounged around for the rest of the night, occasionally taking 5 or 10 minutes to unpack something else or put away clothes. i'm still not completely settled into my new place, but it's always a gradual process for me. anyway, after "the o.c." on fox (which i am strangely liking), i was flipping channels and at some point ended up on mtv, which was showing a show called "newlyweds" about jessica simpson and her husband. in this episode, they decided to go camping.

yes, you can already picture it, can't you? pop princess, her hubby, hubby's brother, and hubby's brother's wife pack up the expensive sport utility vehicle and head to yosemite national park. watching the two men try to set up the tent, which they have obviously never done before (evidenced by having to read the instructions) was hilarious. they work, while the girls just sit around and look bored.

later, the boys go searching for firewood. nevermind that this is a national park, and though i'm not 100% sure, i'm guessing that gathering firewood is prohibited. anyway, cut to a shot of the boys using some sort of rope to throw up over a branch of a nearby tree and try to pull the branch off the tree!! whoa whoa whoa. 1) illegal. 2) live wood does not equal successful fire.

anyway. somehow they did manage to start a fire, with other wood they gathered. they cook food and drink miller lite. jessica simpson is not convinced that there are actually bears in yosemite, and thinks hubby might be merely trying to scare her. thus she "accidentally" leaves her louis vitton purse (containing all her toiletries) in the tent the first night. hubby gets angry, tells her not to mess with the bears.

next day, they decide it's not a hiking day, and go driving through the gorgeousness that is yosemite. sheesh.

next day, they decide to hike. cut to scene of hubby's brother's wife inspecting a brochure describing all the hikes in yosemite. the following is a direct quote, and i can only assume she's referring to half dome: "a 17-mile hike? why would anyone do that?? i mean, why would you really want to do a hike that takes 10-12 hours?" this was followed by much laughter on my part. anyway, they hike to the top of some waterfall (yosemite falls maybe, it was hard to tell), at which point they proceed to refill their water bottles with river water, oblivious to the fact that it probably needs to be purified first.

they hike back down, retire for the night, and the next day all jessica simpson does is complain about how sore she is and read more danielle steel. at the end of the trip, they pile back into the SUV, declaring that "well, it would have been better if we hadn't had to put all our stuff in the stupid bear locker every night."

oh my. i needed a good laugh.

Thursday, August 28, 2003

i love sweden in the springtime, i love sweden in the fall...

Ikea brings swarm of shoppers to East Palo Alto / 90 officers direct traffic at opening of Swedish-design home store

"Such is the cult following of Ikea that it sparks temporary mayhem everywhere it opens. A similar scene played out at the Emeryville store, the Bay Area's first Ikea, which opened in 2000.

Shoppers speak of a trip to Ikea as if it were as fun as Disneyland, as inspiring as church and as enticing as a candy store."