Saturday, March 31, 2007

You can has cheezburger! Yes you can!

I am addicted to the insanely cute weblog I CAN HAS CHEEZBURGER? It's right at the top of my daily blogroll. This post is my current fave.

Why are these strangely spelled and structured captions with cute-cat (and, sometimes, cute-animal) photos so charming? Though some of the photos, like this one, could have been taken in any cat-owning household, the cheerfully fluff-brained attitude of the "webspeak" captions elevate them to perfection.

Wednesday, March 28, 2007

Bag sighting

A few weeks back I blogged at length about the search for a replacement for my old Ellington backpack (discontinued by the manufacturer). I continued to browse both backpacks and messenger backs, from el-cheapo travel gear to massively overpriced designer bags in sumptuous pebble leather. Without any luck. I'm currently using a cheap but well-organized messenger bag that Zorg squinted at and termed "very '80s." (I think it's the thin leather).

Today, I spotted a great dressy backpack. In leather, no less. It was on the back of a woman at the Anthony's Oyster Festival. Turns out the bag is made by Libaire, a small leather goods company in California that I'd never come across in any of my online or in-store searching.

But, sure enough, there's a Libaire site, with a full catalog, online; the bag comes in a choice of some traditional colors, plus a choice of brass or nickle zipper pulls. I've saved a search for it on eBay, but if a nice one doesn't turn up in a few weeks, I'll probably break down and buy it retail.

Sunday, March 25, 2007

Great day

Sunday was a great day: Yoga class, a walk around the neighborhood with Zorg, lots of gardening, and dinner at Snoose Junction Pizza.

I did not observe Shutdown Day Saturday, but I might observe it tomorrow, particularly if it's a nice, sunny day.

Wednesday, March 21, 2007

LatteWorld

I went to the Starbucks annual meeting this morning and found myself comparing the presentation to an Apple MacWorld keynote. At first, I thought this wasn't fair because Apple has, in addition to MacWorld, a low-key annual meeting. But after Chairman Howard Schultz and CEO Jim Donald trotted out first the President of Rwanda (in person) and then Sir Paul McCartney (by satellite feed from London) I realized the Starbucks annual meeting just rolls the two speeches into one. Let's call it the LatteWorld keynote.

With these comparisons in mind, I came home and logged on to find that the Motley Fool investment site is also comparing the two companies -- from an investment perspective as part of a "March Madness" feature. The result?

I agree with this analysis that Apple wins. But note that while I'm blogging on my Mac I'm sipping a (Starbucks-owned) Tazo tea.

Monday, March 19, 2007

The sun factor

It's hard to have a bad day when the sun is out.

After yoga this morning I worked on the round Pottery Barn coffee table I bought on Craig's List Thursday and have been lugging around in the car. I set it in the driveway and employed pecans and liquid floor wax to fill in the scratches. Some day I'll touch it up with more professional products, but for the moment it fits in fairly well with our eclecticly furnished living room.

My friend Chris and I drove down to see the new Seattle Art Museum Sculpture Park. It's a popular place on a warm spring day -- particularly with photographers. I brought along the Canon Digital Rebel and was pleased with the quality of the pictures. The camera is amazingly easy to use, but bulky to lug around -- not something I can put in my purse "just in case" I want to take a picture.

After dinner I went a final round with our 2006 taxes. That was finished shortly after midnight and I am so relieved it's over. Unfortunately, there's no one around to celebrate with; even the cats are asleep!

Wednesday, March 14, 2007

Brown rice I can love

My yoga instructor is a huge fan of brown rice. She thinks it should be eaten cold with a sauce of rice wine vinegar and chopped Ume (pickled plum).

That'll clear your sinuses!

I cook a pot of brown rice every week (first toasting the rinsed brown rice in sesame oil) and dutifully explore ways to consume it.

With broccoli, pieces of roasted chicken, and soy sauce is...OK. The brown rice is much better warm, I noticed.

Until this evening, my two best renditions of brown rice were Brown Rice Pancakes (the traditional potato pancake recipe, only with rice instead of grated potatoes -- it requires much less oil to cook the rice ones) and Brown Rice Pudding, with egg, a little maple syrup, skim milk, and a bit of salt and cinnamon.

But tonight I nailed it, though I think the dish is really a breakfast item: Brown Rice Cereal. Sprinkle with cinnamon, raw sugar, a bit of salt, and a few drops of mild olive oil. Mix and microwave. Yum!

Sunday, March 11, 2007

Time to be grateful

All my electronic devices (two Macs and a Treo) have come to grips with the new Daylight Savings Time and are able to sync amongst themselves. (Rather amazingly, the little PowerBook acquired the new time without having the new software installed. Hmmm... I'm installing it anyway.)

Tomorrow I'll re-set my car clock to DST and then all we have to do is wait for the atomic clock in the kitchen to figure out what's going on. Usually it's late for a few days, I give up and re-set it, then a day or so later it compensates and I have to re-set it back. One of these years I'll have to give in to Zorg's pleas and buy a normal clock for the kitchen.

Friday, March 09, 2007

The Dude's got the tickets

"The Big Lebowski" is one of my top 10 favorite American films, with a place of pride in my small but carefully chosen DVD collection.

Lebowski Fests take place throughout the country, and this weekend there's one in Seattle. The film will be shown Friday night, and then there's a big costume event and bowling at Kenmore Lanes Saturday.

Had we not been planning to go to Potlatch in Portland, Zorg and I would likely have gotten tickets for the costume/bowling event. When the costume is Hawaiian shirt, surfer pants, and sandals, how can you not want to get "dressed up?"

Checking Craig's list for tickets to the (sold-out) bowling event, I found the following:

2 Tickets to Saturdays Kenmore Lanes Lebowski Fest. Will take a live Marmot for payment Dude. Let me know where the drop is.










Most likely this deal will go down, as the many, many, "tickets wanted" posts were offering as much as $75 a ticket.

Zorg and I will be watching the film at home, sipping my signature White Russians made with vanilla ice cream.

Tuesday, March 06, 2007

Just a migraine

Whew! My headache turned out to be just a seasonal migraine, not the flu that is making Zorg so miserable. By four p.m. today I was my usual energetic self. Which was fortunate, because at that point Zorg's fever was over 103 and he needed to see a doctor.

Poor Zorg. The doctor gave him Tamiflu anti-viral to reduce the virus' strength. I'm taking a half-strength dosage of Tamiflu to reduce my chances of getting the virus.

We missed out today's beautiful 75-degree weather and now have to cancel our plans to attend the Potlatch SF gathering in Portland this weekend. (We're assuming Zorg will be better by then, but he will have to spend the weekend catching up on work to prepare for a business trip next Monday.)

My plans, assuming I remain flu-free, are to catch up on my yoga classes and attend some evening dance events. Too bad the weather is slated to relapse to its seasonal drizzle.

Bad hair day

They've installed a new phone system at the expensive spa/salon in Ballard where I get my hair cut, and it's right on the cutting edge -- of abysmal customer service experiences.

I called and attempted to book an appointment, was told to push "one" to book, did so, waited (while being bored by a gushy ad for acne relief), was blithered at about how I could go to their website to get a gift certificate that I didn't want, and then was very suddenly told to "push 'pound' to stay on the line."

I quickly pushed "pound"...but was disconnected anyway.

I am sure the new phone system is extremely convenient -- for them. But for their customers it's about as pleasant as a dog-poop facial.

"Thank you for choosing [name of salon]," indeed!