My daily dose of learning in recent months has come from Wikipedia, an ersatz attempt to document the entirety of human knowledge and evolve the WWW into some crazy hive-minded meta-brain. It's my off-site storage for all my Trivial Pursuit answers. I love it.
For the last week or so I've been eagerly awaiting the outcome of the proposed redefinition of what comprises a "planet" in the astronomical sense.
I must admit I am quite disappointed with the result. Perhaps this is illogical, out of a need to cling to what "facts" I "know" about the universe, or a gut-level emotional reaction that we have somehow shut some new friends out in the cold. But having it confirmed that Pluto is no longer considered a true planet is giving me an odd pang of grief.
Pluto is still out there, and I'm sure its fans and many researchers will find their admiration and their work undiminished. But I must admit, I am one of the faction who was cheering for the INclusion of not only Pluto but the three to twelve additional far-out objects which might have been defined to be new "planets" in our eccentric rotational system. Somehow the result of having the family reduced to an official Eight is even worse than the more harmonious status-quo of Nine, and an immense letdown when I thought I'd have an even dozen. I'd already memorized all the names and re-framed my recitation of their order, progressing outward from the Sun! Alas, where's the challenge in now having to forget one of the names I've known by memory since I was a wee thing reading Owl magazine and watching "astronomy for tots" on PBS?
Go hit Wikipedia, or even Google, if you want the details and exact reasoning for the decision. Me, I'm off to raise an icy cold, deep, dark drink in toast to Pluto's continuing, plodding, eccentric orbit out there in the icy cold, deep, dark reaches of of our neighborhood of the galaxy.
Thursday, August 24, 2006
Wednesday, August 23, 2006
Reverse, for Dummies
Well, the first day of my 9th year without a pancreas did not start well.
So, it's no secret that I am not firing on all cylinders first thing in the morning. And I'm worse when my sleep has been disturbed, which it has been several nights recently.
Today, unfortunately, my poor little car wound up suffering for it, and Adam and I consequently had an Amazing-race like chase around town to a body shop first thing today. And all because I was off by probably less than a centimeter.
Yep - bumped the garage door frame trying to back out of the garage. Turned the car just a smidge too soon (I was trying to do the car-shuffle manoeuver and was looking behind me at where I'd parked Adam's car). It wasn't even enough of a bump that I really felt the bump. What I FELT was the bumper cover popping bouncily off the front of my car as I nicked it right at the corner on the weatherstripping of the garage door.
The damage seems like it should be inconsequential. The tiniest of paint chips on the edge of the body panel, and the only breakage of the bumper were two of the loops that hold it to the frame. BUT - car bumpers are a single molded piece of plastic. So, you can't "repair" the clips. Rather, the body shop said they COULD, but the labour to do so would far outstrip the cost of replacing the bumper cover. Add to that, the paint chip, also tiny, nonetheless took the paint off down below the primer and the shop says that means the panel should be repainted or it will corrode - surface touch up would only be a temporary fix.
So began my Wednesday. That was a pretty expensive trip to my first cup of coffee. Bleah.
So, it's no secret that I am not firing on all cylinders first thing in the morning. And I'm worse when my sleep has been disturbed, which it has been several nights recently.
Today, unfortunately, my poor little car wound up suffering for it, and Adam and I consequently had an Amazing-race like chase around town to a body shop first thing today. And all because I was off by probably less than a centimeter.
Yep - bumped the garage door frame trying to back out of the garage. Turned the car just a smidge too soon (I was trying to do the car-shuffle manoeuver and was looking behind me at where I'd parked Adam's car). It wasn't even enough of a bump that I really felt the bump. What I FELT was the bumper cover popping bouncily off the front of my car as I nicked it right at the corner on the weatherstripping of the garage door.
The damage seems like it should be inconsequential. The tiniest of paint chips on the edge of the body panel, and the only breakage of the bumper were two of the loops that hold it to the frame. BUT - car bumpers are a single molded piece of plastic. So, you can't "repair" the clips. Rather, the body shop said they COULD, but the labour to do so would far outstrip the cost of replacing the bumper cover. Add to that, the paint chip, also tiny, nonetheless took the paint off down below the primer and the shop says that means the panel should be repainted or it will corrode - surface touch up would only be a temporary fix.
So began my Wednesday. That was a pretty expensive trip to my first cup of coffee. Bleah.
Tuesday, August 22, 2006
Pancreas? We don't need no steeenkin' pancreas!
I believe, if I check blog archives, I had a post this day last year. But, I never read my old journals, I bore me.
I am quietly celebrating my 8th "I'm not dead" day today, as follows:
1. One eye exam, passed with flying colours but with a prudent warning about how quickly diabetic retinas go awry with poor glucose control.
2. Some slightly deliberate but mostly impulsive shopping: I got the bottom half of an outfit to wear to the next wedding I must attend, a stunning, flouncy metallic copper skirt (any suggestions for what to look for in a top are welcome). While I was in the market for the wedding outfit, the funky sweater from France was just something I fell over and HAD to have, and the little-black-dress-that-crumples-for-travel was a long-sought lucky find and on sale, so that came home too.
3. My hybrid Macadamia Rooibos and Yogi Chai Spice infusion, in my little spherical steel teapot that makes me happy.
4. An unfortunate bit of on-call work to start in a couple of hours, but for which I will bill my time (and hopefully thereby fund the impulse shopping).
Happy Not-Dead Day! Yay!
I am quietly celebrating my 8th "I'm not dead" day today, as follows:
1. One eye exam, passed with flying colours but with a prudent warning about how quickly diabetic retinas go awry with poor glucose control.
2. Some slightly deliberate but mostly impulsive shopping: I got the bottom half of an outfit to wear to the next wedding I must attend, a stunning, flouncy metallic copper skirt (any suggestions for what to look for in a top are welcome). While I was in the market for the wedding outfit, the funky sweater from France was just something I fell over and HAD to have, and the little-black-dress-that-crumples-for-travel was a long-sought lucky find and on sale, so that came home too.
3. My hybrid Macadamia Rooibos and Yogi Chai Spice infusion, in my little spherical steel teapot that makes me happy.
4. An unfortunate bit of on-call work to start in a couple of hours, but for which I will bill my time (and hopefully thereby fund the impulse shopping).
Happy Not-Dead Day! Yay!
Monday, August 21, 2006
Public Service Announcement from Snopes.com
Most folks know I generally resist passing on those "danger in your everyday environment" emails and do my best to debunk alot of them. Snopes.com is one of my favourite web sites, run by determined volunteer "mythbusters" who work hard to reassure us that floor mops do not kill dogs and there is no psychotic perfume salesman actually macing women at the shopping mall.
Snopes current list, however, includes a CONFIRMATION of a recently circulated email warning of the danger of household paper shredders. There are numerous, valid reports of children and pets being maimed, and in the case of pets, killed, as a result of these very common home office tools.
The article is here at Snopes. WARNING!!! The reports are graphic, and disturbing. You don't need to read it if you're feeling overly sensitive, here's the key point:
TURN OFF, DISCONNECT, UNPLUG, OR REMOVE THE BATTERIES from household paper shredders unless you, an ADULT person, are directly making use of such a tool. NEVER leave a paper shredder set in an "auto" mode, which causes it to turn on if something contacts the blades. NEVER leave a paper shredder unattended anywhere a child or pet might possibly gain access to it.
These are common and useful tools in any home office - but because they were designed with office/industrial environments in mind, they have no safety features aimed at preventing small fingers or curious snouts from getting to the blades.
Snopes current list, however, includes a CONFIRMATION of a recently circulated email warning of the danger of household paper shredders. There are numerous, valid reports of children and pets being maimed, and in the case of pets, killed, as a result of these very common home office tools.
The article is here at Snopes. WARNING!!! The reports are graphic, and disturbing. You don't need to read it if you're feeling overly sensitive, here's the key point:
TURN OFF, DISCONNECT, UNPLUG, OR REMOVE THE BATTERIES from household paper shredders unless you, an ADULT person, are directly making use of such a tool. NEVER leave a paper shredder set in an "auto" mode, which causes it to turn on if something contacts the blades. NEVER leave a paper shredder unattended anywhere a child or pet might possibly gain access to it.
These are common and useful tools in any home office - but because they were designed with office/industrial environments in mind, they have no safety features aimed at preventing small fingers or curious snouts from getting to the blades.
Saturday, August 12, 2006
Finally Furnishing!
Well, it's going to be 6-8 weeks to deliver, but Adam and I finally dove in and committed to the sofa! We spent most of an afternoon at Schreiter's in Kitchener, a mid-range to deluxe, contemporary furniture showplace. It's not a bargain shop, but the lines they carry are extensive, and both the service and the free cookies are top-notch. We had a very friendly and accomodating salesperson who spent a couple hours touring us through all 3 floors to flop-test every sectional they carry.
I'm guessing we made the day worth his time. It sure as heck wasn't the cheapest sofa on the market - and it's a multi-piece sectional - but it could have been worse. Let's just leave it at it's a good thing we can spread the total cost over a couple of months' credit card bills before it goes onto the mortgage/credit account.
It's an all-wood-frame, handmade-in-Canada, Stylus custom sectional sofa. Look at the Lyric model on the site - ours is actually the Chorus, which they don't have on-line, but the form factor is almost identical to the Lyric. The Chorus has topstitching on all seams rather than piping, so it's the tiniest bit smoother in its lines.
The slightly muted blue Ultrasuade we chose is a bit more intense a colour than I had imagined, but is still pretty easy to get along with. I'm going through an "avoid beige at all costs" phase, but I didn't want a piece as big as a sofa being the furniture drama queen of the house. I'm still hoping for an eventual raspberry-red accent chair to do that and will be otherwise content with muted non-browns, I think.
Adam was an absolute dear today spending a whole afternoon on the kind of shopping he hates, so I am going to do my best to keep a lid on the mania of design ideas running through my head when it comes to our loft for a couple of months. Practically speaking, this is the only BIG purchase for this year anyway. I'm hoping a couple hundred $$ here-and-there will add accent tables and lighting and such, or maybe I'll get to paint my office, but we'll be harboring my old futon armchair and the $25 IKEA cube ottoman for a little while, I guess. I'm pondering asking Schreiters if they can get Stylus to send me a couple extra metres of the upholstery so I can slipcover an existing thing or two to match.
I'm guessing we made the day worth his time. It sure as heck wasn't the cheapest sofa on the market - and it's a multi-piece sectional - but it could have been worse. Let's just leave it at it's a good thing we can spread the total cost over a couple of months' credit card bills before it goes onto the mortgage/credit account.
It's an all-wood-frame, handmade-in-Canada, Stylus custom sectional sofa. Look at the Lyric model on the site - ours is actually the Chorus, which they don't have on-line, but the form factor is almost identical to the Lyric. The Chorus has topstitching on all seams rather than piping, so it's the tiniest bit smoother in its lines.
The slightly muted blue Ultrasuade we chose is a bit more intense a colour than I had imagined, but is still pretty easy to get along with. I'm going through an "avoid beige at all costs" phase, but I didn't want a piece as big as a sofa being the furniture drama queen of the house. I'm still hoping for an eventual raspberry-red accent chair to do that and will be otherwise content with muted non-browns, I think.
Adam was an absolute dear today spending a whole afternoon on the kind of shopping he hates, so I am going to do my best to keep a lid on the mania of design ideas running through my head when it comes to our loft for a couple of months. Practically speaking, this is the only BIG purchase for this year anyway. I'm hoping a couple hundred $$ here-and-there will add accent tables and lighting and such, or maybe I'll get to paint my office, but we'll be harboring my old futon armchair and the $25 IKEA cube ottoman for a little while, I guess. I'm pondering asking Schreiters if they can get Stylus to send me a couple extra metres of the upholstery so I can slipcover an existing thing or two to match.
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