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OK, that's pretty cool
Google Gives All SF Homeless Free VoicemailSAN FRANCISCO, Calif. - Google has made an announcement that could help hundreds of homeless people in San Francisco get back on their feet. Every single homeless person in the city will be given a life-long phone number and voicemail, should they choose to accept it, NBC11's Lisa Bernard said.
Google is partnering with San Francisco to provide the service to homeless individuals and to shelters and agencies so they can distribute the numbers to their clients.
Ok. This is probably the coolest thing I've seen a company do in a while. I'm willing to suspend my suspicions about Google being an evil empire for a while on the merits of this one. Nice one, Google!
Labels: free phone number, free voicemail, Google
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Can you look at this picture without laughing?
Because I can't.
 Labels: hedgehog
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Rolling Coffee Blackout
I am laughing today that is all over the national news:
Starbucks to close all U.S. stores for training
SEATTLE - Starbucks is shutting its doors for three hours Tuesday night, the latest drastic step in a companywide bid to improve its sagging fortunes.
...
Schultz has said the shutdown, which begins at 5:30 p.m. local time, is a way to energize its 135,000 employees and provide some barista re-education in the "art of espresso" at its 7,100 U.S. locations. Never mind the art of espresso. What will the bloggers and web designers of America do without their haven, their anchor? How can they hope to look down on the rest of us without comfy chairs and electrical outlets with which to one-up us? 3 HOURS, people! 3 HOURS! |
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Oh, hi mom!
This is why, among other reasons, one should supervise one's child when said child is brushing teeth:
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The Horror
 So, if you know me, you might know that I can be a bit political. You can stop the sarcastic "Nooooo"ing now, thank you. That's quite enough.
So I asked Frank to vote in the Democratic primary for a certain candidate I like. Normally I'd never consider being actually be so obnoxious, but in case you haven't noticed, it's a pretty tight race and Texas could make or break it. Plus, the Republicans have settled nicely on their candidate and voting for him wouldn't really help things much.
Well, in the end, Frank couldn't bring himself to vote in the Democratic primary. He shuddered when I asked him why not, and then when I said, "Hon, it doesn't make you a Democrat!" he replied with a mock horrified whisper voice, "It MIGHT!"
I had to laugh. Then we went upstairs to watch Entourage, Season 3.
Don't worry, I won't get all political on this blog. Just thought the story offered a good window into our relationship.
And yes, I realize that the picture I've put in this post is creepy as heck. I'm trying to desensitize myself to it, and also it was perfect for Frank's reaction. The end.
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6 year-old brain, part deux
This morning, Christopher asked me what "Duh" meant.
I told him that it meant "You're dumb if you don't know that".
So on our way to school, he asked, "I wish the Ipod thing hadn't happened, duh?"
Except the way he said "duh" was exactly like he'd say, "right?" It was very sincere and said sweetly.
I laughed a bit and told him that "duh" isn't a polite thing to say and that you can't use it in a regular sentence like that, and demonstrated the usual tone of voice used when saying "Duh!"
He giggled a bit, and then said, "Look, there goes a bus. Duh."
Good times, good times.
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The 6 year-old brain
...a cautionary tale about valuable items and young children.
 A few weeks ago, Frank attended a conference which gave out iPod Shuffles to all the conference goers. As Frank and I both have iPods, he asked if I thought we should give it to Christopher. I was a little reluctant initially, but figured that since he's handled his digital camera well that it might be ok. The biggest worry I had was for his ears.
I think he had the cute little orange iPod for one night before he lost the privilege because of the way he was talking to Frank.
After about 2 weeks, we decided he'd been good enough to earn it back, so Frank gave it back to him. C was THRILLED. This was Tuesday.
On Thursday morning I scooped up a bunch of old toys and put them in the donation box. By noon, the donation box had been picked up from our front porch.
So this morning I asked him if he wanted to bring the iPod on the weekend trip to Dallas we'll be taking, and he ran upstairs to find the iPod. After about 3 seconds he yelled down that he couldn't find it, which irritated me because sometimes he has trouble finding things that are literally right in front of him.
But nope - it wasn't there. I asked where he'd last seen it, and he showed me a place in the corner of his play room behind his kitchen. He explained that he'd put the iPod inside a plastic orange train to keep it safe.
So yeah, long story short: due to some unfortunate (from our point of view) circumstances, hopefully some kid will get a nice surprise inside a plastic orange train. I hope the donation people didn't throw it away without noticing the treasure inside. Or keep it themselves.
The six year-old brain intrigues me. Of course I'm irritated that he put the iPod inside something that could easily get tossed, but that's projecting my 33 year-old thought process on my son, who probably though he'd found a perfect safe place for his beloved big boy gift.
Once he realized the magnitude of what happened, he implored me to tell Daddy that it was an accident and that maybe Daddy could get him another one? When he saw my face change he backpedaled and added, "I mean, maybe when I'm 10 or 11." He was holding together, but barely. Poor kid.
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Go Frank!
Frank ran the AT&T Austin Marathon (his 65th marathon since 2002) on Sunday and busted right through the 3-hour barrier, knocking 2.5 minutes off his previous best. This time means that for 26.2 miles, he ran an average pace of 6:48, which I cannot even comprehend. Way to go, honey! Also, for a limited time you can see him here. Be patient - like go take a bath while this is loading patient - as it's a slooooooow download. |
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Blinding you with science
Don't forget the total lunar eclipse Wednesday night! 9:36 central time is supposed to be the prime viewing time.
I'm such a geek for this type of thing. I'll post some pics on Thursday, if they turn out this time.
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Our Little Politician
In the car on our way to swimming class:
C: is reading very important?
Me: extremely! It's one of the most important things!
C: what if a driver was reading a book & not paying attention & the light turned green & everyone honked & got mad & hit them?
Me:......
Me: honey, reading is important...it's just that -
C: see? Reading's not that important.
Well, he's about as advanced as many of the Debate I students I used to have. When given the debate topic, oh, say......whether capital punishment is immoral, a typical Debate I student might say that because executing innocent people is immoral, then necessarily capital punishment must be immoral. It's the typical use an extreme example to prove the rule strategy.
As much as it made me roll my eyes (inside. Not outside. What kind of teacher do you think I was?) back then, today it sort of impressed me that my 6 year-old was capable of such clever logical fallacies.
Perhaps he will be a politician? A lawyer? A bigot?
It will be fun to find out. Unless he turns out to be a bigot. Because that would suck.Labels: our little
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Another delivery giggle
Ok, so I'm also waiting for some handsoap from Bath & Body Works, and when I tracked my order I saw this funny screen:
Leave it to the US Postal Service to overcomplicatify everything. Why sort when you can sortate?
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Shoutout
Hey, blog reader(s)!
A good friend of mine has started a fitness & nutrition blog with the awesometastic name of MizFit.
Go there! Laugh! Learn! Get fit!
Seriously, this isn't your average fitness site. MizFit is a straightforward, encouraging, welcoming place for anyone regardless of your fitness level. And she's FUNNY.
And we writer types don't make a lot of cash so feel free to click an ad or two while you're there. :)
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He's at it again
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Yeah, Yeah
I've been waiting for a package from UPS - just a couple of shirts but I was happy that Zappo's ships overnight for free & was excited to receive the shirts.
All day yesterday the UPS website kept listing the status of my item as "Billing Information Received" which means 'We've been told we'll be shipping something for you but don't have it in hand to send out yet.'
Today I logged on and it said this:
I'm not too sure what adverse weather conditions there were this morning as it's a GORGEOUS day.
But seeing this made me laugh. I guess you're never too old or too big to say "The dog ate my homework."
Just give me my shirts already.
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LiveBlogging Hollywood Week
So, Christopher and I enjoy watching American Idol together from time to time, and I'm letting him stay up slightly later than usual to watch the first hour of Hollywood week (and by "week" I mean "day", thanks to the interminable audition episodes).
It occurred to me during the show that it would be funny to live blog his commentary:
On the rocker chick: "She sounds....different."
On the long-haired blonde dude: "He sings like a farmer."
On the guy who plays the drums: "That's not a good idea."
On the sultry Venezuelan dude: "Why does he have a ponytail? His hair is kind of like Daddy's but Daddy would never do that with his hair. He probly wouldn't like that."
On the girl with tattoo sleeves: "Did her Mom let her do that?"
On the guy from Blue Springs, Missouri: "Why the heck is his tongue blue?"
On Perrie Cataldo: "Not very good."
On the nerdy guy from Dallas: "I like him because his hair is curly like Daddy's. But Daddy's bigger than that boy. Or man. Or whatever."
Stay tuned tomorrow!
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Necessity is the Mother of Invention
Sorry for the lack of posts lately; it's a combination of me being busy - with work and obsessing over the election - and that there's not a huge amount of news 'round here.
Tidbits:
Necessity is the Mother of Invention. Jax, in his desire to get outside and tree a wily squirrel (who mocks him mercilessly), has learned how to open the back door with his paws AND his mouth. He still has to figure out to pull the door while simultaneously pushing down on the door handle lever, but I'm betting that's next. I'll try to get a pic of him doing this next time.
I received the following email yesterday from Christopher's teacher:
Subject Line: Ice Cream Day
Dear Parents,
It has been brought to my attention by the lunchroom monitor that the majority of our class is eating their ice cream before they eat their lunch. She has asked that my class not have ice cream. Next week the class will not be having ice cream. I will communicate to the monitor that our class will have to earn the priviledge back. I know that their were probably some who did not do that, but I am not there to monitor. Thank you for your support on this and please talk with your child about the importance of eating their lunch for energy and brain power.
My first reaction to this email was to giggle. Of COURSE a group of kindergartners would try to eat ice cream first.
But, I had a feeling that Christopher was not one of the ice-cream-firsters, mostly because he's too afraid of getting in trouble. (This is the same reason he is extremely quiet in class: he doesn't know when it's ok to talk or when he might get in trouble, so he clams up. And then melts down at home from all the bottling-up. Good times.)
Christopher confirmed that he wasn't one of the "troublemakers". He further told me the names of each and every one of the offenders, and mentioned that it wasn't fair that he got in trouble, too. I told him he shouldn't keep track of who's doing what and that I was proud of him for doing the right thing, blah, blah, blah, but I feel badly because this kid LOVES him some Ice Cream Day.
Also, there's a lizard loose in our house. Not the tiny geckos which we saw for a while, but a 6-inch lizard. I keep seeing him (her?) in different places. I'm surprised at myself that I'm not too creeped out by said lizard, and it makes me smile to see it pop out in unexpected places.
Wondering....do lizards eat scorpions? I'll just assume that they do and go tra la la happily along my way.Labels: tidbits
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