- Caret – The “hat” symbol over the number 6 on your keyboard. (Also known as a “circumflex” when placed over a letter in a word. e.g. fête)
- Carat – A unit of mass, particularly in regards to gems.
- Carrot – A tasty treat eaten by Bugs Bunny.
Category Archives: Silliness
Thundersnow
I just read on John’s blog about the Album Cover Meme where you create an album cover for an imaginary band (after seeing that Flickr is down, I concluded that my band’s album would be available for download only). My next stop was the Washington Post’s site where I learned that last night’s half inch of snow was just a prelude.
The forecast is for 4-8 inches of snow, and a “strong possibility” of 6-10 (or more!) inches. This will make getting to work tomorrow interesting. Plus, although it’s a DC stereotype, I really am out of bread and milk.
The exciting part of the forecast though is the possibility of isolated cases of Thundersnow. I skipped the part of the album cover meme where you choose a random Wikipedia title as the name of your band, but that’s OK.
I think we can all agree that Thundersnow would be an awesome name for a band.
Today in History
On February 24, 1863, Arizona was organized as a territory.
Before that the place was an absolute shambles with newspapers and unopened mail littering the living room, laundry piled on the dining room table, and a half dozen bowling pins scattered in the upstairs hall.
Reply to All
More than once, I’ve seen where somebody hit “Reply-to-All” when responding to a company-wide email. I’ve seen people follow-up by using “Reply-to-All” to tell people not to use “Reply-to-All.” And just once, about five years ago, I’ve seen that escalate to three or four levels of people saying “You idiot! Don’t use Reply-to-All.”
I’m not sure how much coverage the news story got outside the DC area, but back in January, employees of the US State Department managed to cripple their own email system by hitting “Reply-to-All.”
Gene Weingarten’s matter-of-fact reporting of that event has to be the funniest thing I’ve read in quite a while.
Fiscal Policy
I lived off-campus during my senior year of college. I don’t recall whether it was me, or a friend who lived across the hall, but one of us glued a nickel to the floor in the hallway. For the next six months, every Friday and Saturday night you could hear drunks tripping as they tried to pick it up.
This random memory brought to you by Elmer’s, manufacturer of Crazy Glue and many other high quality adhesives.
What are the overdraft fees are for a bounced reality check?
Madness takes its toll. Please have exact change.
- According to a statistic I heard on the radio during my drive home this evening, approximately 9,000 people per day are losing their jobs.
- Also according to various news sources, the median pay for members of Congress is approximately $200,000 per year.
- A couple months ago, members of Congress received a pay increase. (This was an automatic raise, not one they had to vote for.)
- The Senate has 100 members, the House of Representatives has 435.
- Hey! I just came up with a way to trim the Federal budget by $110,600,000!!!
Pot, Kettle, Black
With all the talk over the past few weeks about Peanut Corporation of America’s big salmonella-flavored peanut recall, I was mildly amused by today’s User Friendly strip about the recall. True, it’s not uproariously funny, but I found it amusing and passed it on to a few people.
Dad wrote back: “you have too much free time”
That verdict might have carried a bit more sting if it hadn’t come from the same guy who had just moments earlier sent me detailed instructions on how to “test” a motion-activated sprinkler:
To test the sprinkler –
Insert battery(ies) as required,
Stick sprinkler in ground,
Connect hose to sprinkler and hose bib,
Turn on water,
Walk past sprinkler.
Things Are Looking Up!
As noted previously, my year got off to a rough start, but it’s my belief that this just means I’m getting all the crap out of the way up front and the rest of the year will be significantly better.
The good part of the year is starting to kick in. On Thursday, I went to an MVA Express office to renew my driver’s license. The last time I went to an MVA Express office, I was there for more than an hour. This time I was in and back out in just 10 minutes. The photo even looks like me!
The rest of my year is gonna rock!
Always Read the Directions
Now this is my kind of Public Service Announcement.
A Winning Investment Strategy
Back in April, shortly before the most recent rate increase for first class postage, I took advantage of the opportunity and stocked up on “Forever” stamps at the 41-cent price.
The rate went up to 42 cents on May 10. Since then, I figure I’ve probably used about 200 of them. That’s a savings of $2 on an $82 investment. Granted, 2.4% doesn’t seem like much, but that’s pretty fantastic compared to the return on my 401k during the same period.
Doubts About The Dentist
I’ve known for years now that Herbert! (C) is a dentist. I’ve even read some of the articles he’s written from time to time encouraging people to take care of their teeth and explaining why oral hygiene is so important. (He can be a very entertaining writer.)
I’ve always thought dentistry was a specialization in the world of medicine, but now I’m not so sure. I got a letter from Herbert! (C) today and his handwriting is far too neat to be for him to be any sort of a doctor…