Supine Sublime
webulous wordplayOld Timey is New Again
See some similarities here?
Is this text representative of the early stages in the natural evolution of advertising copy?
(wine label picture cribbed from Elyse Sewell’s Blog, Snake Oil image cribbed from the State of Oregon)
Stuff
I. The wedding and reception were lots of fun! Definitely an outlier on the wedding enjoy-o-meter scatter graph.
II. During various wedding-related activities, hung out a bit with my Brother-in-law’s girlfriend. Too bad she lives out in New York, so interaction is limited to potential Facebooking. We exchanged phone numbers before she left, and promised to plan some kind of outing to Traverse City for some tea-housing, and perhaps a midnight covert gate-installation op.
III. Saw said Brother-in-law off to New York. They are driving a rented Ford Explorer cross-country with the remains of his worldly possessions. He’s been quasi-living there for a couple of weeks already. Apparently the job transfer went smoothly, and his apartment in Brooklyn is very nice.
IV. Spent much of Sunday setting up tents. The inventory: Two 6-person tents, one newish and complete, one old without poles. Two 2-person tents, one newish without poles, and one old and complete. I am very proud of myself for being able to pack them all in their original packaging.
I’d like to take the newer two-person tent, since it’s very light and seems to be of good quality, but I’ll either need to find the poles for it (still a possibility), or order new ones from the company. The only difficulty is that it is out of production, and thus I’m having a fail of internet wrt finding pole dimension info. I have an email out to the company, asking what poles go with it. We’ll see if their customer support doesn’t suck.
V. Called my Dad on Sunday night to wish him Happy Fathers’ Day. Got through after a couple of tries. We talked about his new apartment (to be delivered soonish?), the economy (bad), what he did that day (not much).
VI. Ride talked about his yard work this morning.
VII. Looks like it’ll be a beautiful sunny day here.
VIII. Diet Plan for Monday, June 16
| Breakfast | |
| Coffee w/ Sugar | 40 |
| 4 bacon | 150 |
| Snack | |
| Canteloupe | 100 |
| Lunch | |
| Pasta w/ Meat Sauce | 350 |
| Snack | |
| 1/2 T peanut butter | 50 |
| Dinner | |
| Sandwich w/ Jelly | 400 |
| Snack | |
| Apple | 100 |
| Sour Power Strawberry Belt | 40 |
| Total | 1230 |
Daily Diet Plan 6/12/08
I want to lose some fat before Burning Man. I’ve got 11 weeks or so, which is totally doable.
The idea is that if you plan your eating ahead of time, you won’t need to go through the whole “What shall I eat today” thing*. Plus, this creates a feeling of accountability to you, dear readers. Ideally, I’ll remember to update these posts with what I actually ate**.
| Breakfast | |
| Coffee w/ Sugar | 40 |
| 4 bacon | 150 |
| Snack | |
| 1/2 T peanut butter | 50 |
| Lunch | |
| Moe’s Taco | 350 |
| Snack | |
| 1/2 T peanut butter | 50 |
| Dinner | |
| 1.5 Chili Dog | 500 |
| Snack | |
| 2 Snickers Mini | 90 |
| Total | 1230 |
*which makes you feel deprived because you are imagining all the things you aren’t allowed to eat before you settle on the “healthy alternative” which won’t seem as good in comparison.
**in order to satisfy the exhibitionistic/voyeuristic urge that underpins all blogging.
Mixing It Up
I’m creating a revised weight lifting plan.
Here’s my draft.
Day 1 (usually Monday) – Biceps and Back
Dumbbell Curl
Seated High Row
Stiff-leg Deadlift (with Dumbbells)
Day 2 (usually Wednesday) – Triceps, Chest, Shoulders
Dumbbell Bench Press
Supported One Arm Triceps Extension
Dumbbell Upright Row
Day 3 (usually Friday) – Legs / Abs
Hanging Leg-Hip Raise
Lever Seated Leg Curl
Dumbbell Single Leg Calf Raise
Dumbbell Reverse Calf Raise
Smattering Randomly
Lunge
Scarcity
This happened with us (in all but the final set of CD/artifacts) a long time ago.
Now that I have my Sony Reader, I’ve started to get rid of most of my paperback books too. Post-scarcity, the electronic books that I download have become the equivalent of an ultra-convenient public library. If I find that I like a book enough, then I’ll purchase a hardcover copy because I want to support the author, and reward them for doing a good job. It’s the ultimate try-before-you-buy, no return policy required.
Everyone knows that libraries are a-OK. And everyone knows that stealing is bad, mmkay? But, how is electronic book “piracy” any different from what a public library does? You still read the book for free, even if it’s not sourced directly from the library. I’m still paying taxes to have access to these books. Where is the ethical difference here?
Something in Common
I am, by nature, a lazy person. If the activity isn’t SUPER FUN or otherwise rewarding, requires a wardrobe change or a lot of manual labor, I’m going to be unhappy about having to do it. I know this about myself, so I try not to put myself in situations where these kinds of activities are required. I don’t own a house (manual labor, not fun), I hire a cleaning lady (manual labor, not fun) and a lawnscape service (manual labor, wardrobe change, not fun). I don’t run (wardrobe change). I don’t have kids. You get the picture.
So, when I am subjected to one to two hours of conversation every day with someone who talks exclusively about the housework and home maintenance they accomplished or will accomplish… well, I end up not saying much.
It would be one thing if the guy loved doing the work. I can relate to enthusiasm. He doesn’t, though. He’s always complaining about how never-ending it is, and how expensive and a pain in the ass it is. He sounds like a slave, and he is. A prisoner of his own possessions.
I have a hard time finding anything in common with that.
Tags: conversation, housework
Waving the Big Three-Fingered Glove
io9 Inverview with William Gibson
William Gibson is in my top five favorite authors. While I’m actively reading his novels, he creeps up to the top two.
While his earlier works were wonderful, and even revolutionary in their own way, I think his language and his sub-surface world-building have reached new heights in his latest two novels: Pattern Recognition and Spook Country.
That man can really string those words together.
