who do i sleep with tonight?

i meant to tell you ....

i've read laurell k. hamilton's series Anita Blake, Vampire Hunter. the first 8 or 10 of them were interesting/intriguing although pretty grisly at times. then she segued into this seamy, sordid, aberrant sexual miasma which just about turned me away from her stuff.

the latest, i think 15th, in her series is called The Harlequin and is pretty much a return to the style of her initial offerings. there are soooooo many characters by now that i get totally confused and wish i had started a list back in the beginning. regardless, it was good to see she wasn't still wallowing in the gutter. i hope she continues this upward trend, although, wow -- how far can she take anita?

they're trying to bring the future

i like the way some companies have been coming up with fuel-efficient vehicle options for us consumers.

Tesla has a neat car, but it's a little pricey (starts at $109,000).

there's a T-Rex, but it didn't really interest me, so i don't know the price.

there's the VentureOne (or Carver as i heard on one video) which is a little more interesting, but i don't know the price.

the two i was most interested in were the Aptera and the smart car fortwo.

the Aptera starts at $27,000 and goes to $30,000. the fortwo starts at $11,590 and goes to $16,590.

the Aptera is a new company based in california and you can't get one of those cars right now unless you have a california address. the fortwo is mercedes-benz.

if you'd like a few details about the Aptera, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TeN1Okyy05Q . if you'd like more technical details about the Aptera, go here http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XArAnuK3cW4&feature=related .

i've been excited about the smart car for a couple of years, but the Aptera .... it brings back memories of flash gordon, glimpses of the late 50's and early 60's, and thoughts of a simpler time. *sigh...*

movin' on out, er... in, er... right

i had an interesting heads-up just now. My Younger Son, who lives in rochester ny, sent me an article about the traffic cops in and around seattle. it seems they are pulling people over for being in the left lane and going the speed limit!!! the left lane is passing only and many people (mwah included) use it as a regular lane. i do that mainly 'cause i don't like people passing me -- juvenile, i know. at any rate, supposedly they are trying to keep road rage down and one way is to get people out of the way of other people wanting to move on down the road.

i'm going to give up the left lane 'cause i don't want to have to pay a $124 traffic ticket!

thank you My Younger Son -- you have once again been a blessing!

another seizure

i got an up-close look at more than $1,000,000 worth of diamonds last week. there were several pair of earrings and a couple of bracelets. one of the pair of earrings was really pretty and i could see wearing them (with a fancy dress, of course). another pair was very very fancy, but nothing i'd ever wear.

all the earrings were long and dangly, and one of the bracelets was one of those amazon-arm band things made up of small-diamond-studded wires going round and round ever-which-way. all-in-all i thought .... huh, no big deal.

if i were going to spend a LOT of money on expensive earrings, i would want understated, quiet ones which said expensive, classy good taste.

politics

voting republican? or undecided? maybe this will help: http://youtube.com/watch?v=CqczNpLg9b8 (... tee, hee hee ...)

on the other hand, maybe you would like to diss all the candidates, but aren't sure what you'd say: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZPch2k63uj4

and for fun: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=n3ZF2460bbI&feature=dir and http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YlYkWmjcAbs and this one is cool http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fBUjWaa04N8

isn't youtube interesting? if i were really young, i would go into computer graphics!

do the best you can

this week was a surprise. well, last week first -- i had a huge project i needed to do, IMMEDIATELY, for the big boss. after almost two weeks, i got it done (two days early) and sent it off. as it turned out, we were one of only three offices in the whole country which completed this thing on time. (whoa -- what does that tell us?) the big boss was so pleased that she gave me an appreciative certificate to a very nice dining establishment in an upscale area on the water.

then this week, totally out-of-the-blue, one of the supervisors that i interact with, occasionally, presented me with a written certificate (which said all kinds of nice things about my helping people), and a gift certificate to a nice dining establishment. i was so stunned that i could only say 'thank you'. (well, duh. let's be a little more gracious next time, shall we?)

at the end of the week, the big boss told me one of the chiefs had mentioned she thought i always dressed nice and professional. that was good to hear because i try to vary what i wear and try to dress it up (scarf, jewelry, etc.). that it isn't easy because i prefer to wear jeans and flannel shirts. (and some days some of the people here dress very casually, which i envy.) in addition, i'm having to wear tennis shoes all the time these days because i have plantar fasciitis -- it could take up to a year before i can stop wearing tennis shoes to work. (with suits or nice clothes? yuck!)

at any rate, it felt good to hear all kinds of nice things, especially since i've put forth effort. so ..... a word to everyone: try to remember to express appreciation whenever you see someone putting out great effort. some people toot their own horn and that's fodder for another blog. and some people do things and expect to be recognized for it -- another blog. it's the ones who silently slog away, going above and beyond their duty without expectation of any extra remuneration who deserve accolades. that is your assignment -- express appreciation to the silent deserving.

taking time

during any particular day i see quite a few people at work. i don't recognize all 320+ people yet, but i do know quite a few of them by name. which, actually, for me is pretty amazing. i'm really terrible at memorizing.

one of the people (a person in management) is a really nice person. he's always friendly and smiles and is polite and 'feels' like a gentle person. so imagine my surprise when, after a year of knowing him, all of a sudden one day he snapped at me. i was so caught off-guard. my first thought was 'what did i do that was wrong?', then i thought 'wow, does he have a dark side which is just now coming out?', then i decided he was just probably having a bad day.

a little more than a week later he sent me an e-mail apologizing for his rudeness and explaining he'd been under a lot of pressure. he said he was sorry he'd been so sharp, especially when i'd always been so nice to him. i was so touched by him taking time to compose the e-mail and send it -- today's world can be so impersonal, rushed, and uncaring. i e-mailed back saying i appreciated his comments and had wondered about the incident and was pleased to hear from him and knew him to be a good person.

don't you wish everyone would reach out as nicely as he did?!

planned obsolescence

we had an interesting revelation this evening: our refrigerator took a powder, shot craps, sailed into the sunset, stuck its spoon into the wall. and this thing is only three years old. disgusting!

good thing we have an old one in the garage so we could salvage some of the stuff. but, i mean, really ... three years old?? it's a top-of-the-line maytag and all i have to say is, that's it maytag. never again.

blue man

i keep forgetting to show you one of hubby's projects. he has a lot of latitude at work since he's such a wonderful worker, and one day he decided to put his creativity to work and do something to hide an ugly water pipe. voila!







is he clever or what?!

grab another blanket

wow, can you believe this weather? i have on a hooded sweatshirt and sweatpants. the husband wore two sweatshirts today.

i mean, i think it's great! i HATE hot weather, so i'd be content to have these temps all year 'round. but the poor midwest is having storms and tornadoes!

relatives: you are welcome to come out and stay with us, anytime!!

sir, if you'll just pull over ....

we had a large seizure earlier this week. i noticed they had pulled a car into the sealable garage and knew something was up. this guy had sophisticatedly stashed $5 million worth of ecstasy.

ouch in somebody's pocket.

happy feet

there are a number of things that i really love, or at least enjoy with total abandon. one of these is my job. another is the music i listen to when i'm at my computer. groovera, specifically Low Mercury, is just the ult when i need to have music in my ears.


some of my favorite groups, which i wouldn't have known about except for Low Mercury, are: Alexander Chereshnev, All India Radio, Anyma, Bluetec, B-Tribe, Chilled C'Quence ... my list goes on and on. so far i have 1384 titles in my list, although for sure they're designated as to ones i love and ones i C-A-N-N-O-T stand.

and it is my definite luck and happiness to be asked to be part of the new Team Groovera! i'm tickled about this volunteer opportunity since i love the station so much. there are four of us (five counting the founder) who will be helping out and we're from all across the country. wish me luck as i get into the groove with this new endeavor. i'm really looking forward to it!!

tune in and listen to really great stuff!!! no ads, all music, 24/7!

astrophysics

MYS has submitted another paper for publication. go here, if you'd like to read it. the title is Hypersonic Buckshot: Astrophysical Jets as Heterogeneous Collimated Plasmoids. it's 15 pages, and interesting in its own way.

and i understood it!