'Tis the season

A lot of people do a lot of good things at this time of year. It's a shame they don't continue all year long the selfless acts of kindness they share in the last month or two of the year...

Oh wait! Some do! The Gives Me Hope site collects evidence that humanity exists all year.

To those that perform random, or targeted acts of kindness all year round... Thank you! The world is a better place because of you. To those that don't - may I suggest a New Year's resolution? :-)

Hey you!

In case it wasn't obvious...

How often have you seen a sign that just flat out states the obvious? Many are the results of lawsuits (or to prevent them). Remember the "Caution: This cup of hot coffee may be hot" warnings? Or "This jar of peanut butter contains peanuts"?

The folks over at Oddly Specific have collected signs from all over that have the same flare. I'm curious what lawsuits brought on some of these signs...

Unemployment stats

The New York Times posted an interesting infographic about the differing unemployment rates that apply to the US population based on race, gender, age, and education. See who else is suffering with you at the NYT's Unemployment Lines.

A little doodling

One of the little "personality" things about Google is their Google Doodles -- changes to their logo on the main Google page that represents a significant event or anniversary. I'd been catching most of them by accident when I saw them. Using bookmarklets as I do, I don't often go to the Google homepage often anymore.

Along comes Doodle Watch. Several sites had collections of the Doodles, including Google itself, but this is the first site that does it all automatically, from different countries, allows rating, searching via tags, guesstimates when the next one will appear, and a lot more. Kinda cool just to browse random Doodles as well.

Quick note: Did you know that clicking on one of these Doodles on Google's home page will automatically take you to more information about that particular topic?

Happy Holidays

Jack Bauer is no match for Santa!

Think ahead!

Snow hearts

My youngest son and I went out to shovel snow Saturday before all of our Christmas travelling around. We did our driveway, neighbor's driveways and sidewalks. He's really getting good at getting at it, and I'm glad for the help. It's still fun for him :-)

When I shovel snow, I shovel in front of me, so that I don't leave ghost prints (the snow that's packed down in the shape of footprints and doesn't shovel up easily with the rest). I try to get out to shovel before we drive the cars over the fresh snow as well for the same reason.

That day, we hit the snow about 7:15 or so, but not before some traffic had made the rounds apparently. The newspaper carrier (I think) had driven up the apron on my neighbor's driveway to turn around. Apparently making a three-point attempt, this is what was left behind after I shoveled the unpacked snow off the top... Simply amazing!

Candy Canes

How they're made:


More fascinating history about them can be found at this Mental Floss article

Bad Economy?

The economy is so bad that I got a pre-declined credit card in the mail.

It's so bad, I ordered a burger at McDonalds and the kid behind the counter asked, "Can you afford fries with that?"

The economy is so bad that CEO's are now playing miniature golf.

The economy is so bad if the bank returns your check marked "Insufficient Funds," you call them and ask if they meant you or them.

The economy is so bad Hot Wheels and Matchbox stocks are trading higher than GM.

The economy is so bad Obama met with three small businesses to discuss the Stimulus Package: GE, Pfizer, and Citigroup.

The economy is so bad parents in Beverly Hills fired their nannies and learned their children's names.

The economy is so bad Dick Cheney took his stockbroker hunting.

The economy is so bad Motel Six won't leave the light on anymore.

The economy is so bad the Mafia is laying off judges.

The economy is so bad Exxon-Mobil laid off 25 Congressmen.

9-11 all over again

September 11, 2001 was a terrible day for America (and many other countries for that matter).  For many it's still really hard to remember.  For others, remembering is necessary to keep their loved ones alive, if only to them. 

Wikileaks has released 500,000 text messages sent on that day (from 3am on September 11, until 3AM the following day (US east coast time)).  Conspiracy theories asside, it is interesting and scary reading.  Interesting how the event was broadcast and communicated.  Interesting how the pages were intercepted.  Interesting how people reacted (corporate meetings called, etc).  Scary to relive the events.  Scary to have the human side of the events broought back to the front of your mind. 

Scary that this could still happen again.

Chrome

My wife had been suffering with IE for a while and so I finally got her set up with Google's Chrome browser. No more unresponsive links. No more crashing the whole browser when one tab flakes out. The great speed claims are holding true for her so far. She said the transition was really easy and no issues. It imported her bookmarks. Saved her default search engine...

Google is apparently really pushing Chrome this holiday season as well. Though I've not seen them anywhere "in the wild" yet, I did come across some really cool ads for Chrome...

Speed:


Tabs:


Themes:


Stability:


Security:


Omnibox:


Incognito:


Full video:


Making of...


Japanese ad

What would Christmas be like?

Colors of the rainbow

I used to think that the presence of all colors was black. Mix all the paint together and you got black.

Then I learned about prisms in school and that taught me that the presence of all colors of light is white.

This weekend I made another discovery. The presence of all colors of Play-doh is purple.

I'm so confused!

Benefits of living in the country

Out the back window of my Dad's house...  And this is a common occurance!

Snowman humor

See Tundra Comics for more...

Hand getting tired?

Is your hand getting tired from addressing all those Christmas cards?  Or maybe you are still recovering from writing thank you notes for your birthday.  Technology is here to help!

Typing is so much faster, and less painful, but so much more impersonal than handwritten letters.  Now you can have the best of both worlds with FontCapture in a few easy steps.  Print the template.  Fill it in.  Scan it and upload it.  Download your font.  It's that simple.  And Free!

Then create labels, postcards, or entire letters to grandma in your own "handwriting" on the computer.  She'll never know (unless she too reads this blog!)

Siiiiiiiinging in the... BATHROOM?!

When my nephew was really young he used to sing while he was going to the bathroom. When he wasn't within eye-shot, we'd just listen to see if he was singing. If so, we knew that he'd stepped away to go to the
bathroom. I think that my youngest did this for a while as well (now he whistles).

A trip to the restroom at work just now took me back to those days so long ago as I heard the soft humming of Christmas songs coming from behind a stall door. Funny what makes you remember things.

I often times will have some really weird thought pop into my head. It seems totally disconnected from anything that we're talking about at the time, and yet somehow related. If I take a couple of seconds I can
usually trace it back 4, 5, 6 or more steps to something that is relevant.

Odd how my mind works...

Summary of Life

Summary of Life

GREAT TRUTHS THAT LITTLE CHILDREN HAVE LEARNED:
1) No matter how hard you try, you can't baptize cats..
2) When your Mom is mad at your Dad, don't let her brush your hair.
3) If your sister hits you, don't hit her back. They always catch the second person.
4) Never ask your 3-year old brother to hold a tomato.
5) You can't trust dogs to watch your food..
6) Don't sneeze when someone is cutting your hair.
7) Never hold a Dust-Buster and a cat at the same time.
8) You can't hide a piece of broccoli in a glass of milk.
9) Don't wear polka-dot underwear under white shorts.
10) The best place to be when you're sad is Grandma's lap.

GREAT TRUTHS THAT ADULTS HAVE LEARNED:
1) Raising teenagers is like nailing jelly to a tree.
2) Wrinkles don't hurt.
3) Families are like fudge....mostly sweet, with a few nuts.
4) Today's mighty oak is just yesterday's nut that held its ground.
5) Laughing is good exercise. It's like jogging on the inside.
6) Middle age is when you choose your cereal for the fiber, not the toy.

GREAT TRUTHS ABOUT GROWING OLD
1) Growing old is mandatory; growing up is optional.
2) Forget the health food. I need all the preservatives I can get.
3) When you fall down, you wonder what else you can do while you're down there.
4) You're getting old when you get the same sensation from a rocking chair that you once got from a roller coaster.
5) It's frustrating when you know all the answers but nobody bothers to ask you the questions.
6) Time may be a great healer, but it's a lousy beautician.
7) Wisdom comes with age, but sometimes age comes alone.

THE FOUR STAGES OF LIFE:
1) You believe in Santa Claus.
2) You don't believe in Santa Claus.
3) You are Santa Claus.
4) You look like Santa Claus.

SUCCESS:
At age 4 success is . . . . Not piddling in your pants.
At age 12 success is . . . Having friends.
At age 17 success is . . Having a driver's license.
At age 35 success is . . . ..having money.
At age 50 success is . . . Having money..
At age 70 success is . .. . Having a drivers license.
At age 75 success is . ... . Having friends.
At age 80 success is . . .. Not piddling in your pants.

English Language

As a native speaker, I guess I am just used to all of the nuances of the English language.  When I took foreign language in school (German, Japanese), everything seemed to be based on rules.  For English everything seems to be based on exceptions.  I'm learning that all over again while helping my youngest learn to read. 

Definitions of words are also kinda wacky.  English started as a mixture of languages (if I recall correctly), but in general, words have "stems" that can help at least get you close tothe true meaning of the word.  Then mix in homonyms and it's incredible that two people can speak to each other in English at all.

The folks over at the Washington Post turned this chaos into a little humorous activity, asking readers to provide alternate, humorous, meanings for common words.  The Apropos of Nothing blog captured the winners of this neologism contest.