John Scalzi on self description: For no particular reason, I thought of an observation that lexicographer (and old college pal) Erin McKean had about the word “classy,” the gist of which was that if someone used the word to describe themselves, it was often quite obvious that they were in fact the opposite. [...] I’ve [...]

August is almost over. I know that makes some people happy but it makes me just a wee bit sad. I like August. My first child was born in August which would be enough reason for a sentimental fondness for this month, although, in recent years his birthday is another reminder of how old I [...]

What would happen to the oceans if the Earth stopped spinning? Even more uses for bacteria Spitting fungi – fascinating Golden neurons – beautiful

Every time we get a new computer and have to move all our stuff over to it, or I lose my bookmarks and the husband has to restore them, I end up with bookmarks from like five years ago instead of the most recent ones. But, strangely enough, this time I don’t care. I always [...]

I wouldn’t say I’m addicted to flashlights but for some reason I am attracted to them. I always want to look at them in the stores and in catalogs. I have three (and two of them I have because two people in my family both gave me a flashlight for Christmas one year) and I [...]

A customer service story Future archeology Round Table discovery? Appliances that connect to the Internet – I hate to sound like a luddite but no thanks. The tweet clock is kinda cute though.

We have a new PC. Yaaayyy! With Windows 7. yay. It’s pretty but I always hate having to change operating systems at first. It’s like having to learn to drive all over again. Where is all the old familiar stuff and what the hell was the point of moving or changing it and what is [...]

You’ve probably already seen this. I’m late to the party as usual but I just can’t turn away. Peg Aloi at the Huffington Post is distressed because women are blogging about girly things like knitting and baking cupcakes. (Found here) She begins, “Women are girly. Again.” No, sweetie, women are girly, still. It’s just that [...]

Number One Son sent this to me as “Redneck Home Security System” but I claim it for Oklahoma. 1. Buy a pair of size 14-16 work boots. 2. Put them on front porch with a copy of Guns & Ammo. 3. Put some giant dog dishes next to boots & magazines. 4. Leave note on [...]

For the second day this week we have exceeded our ISP’s “download allowance”. We are not prevented from accessing the Internet; it’s just very very slow and some websites won’t load at all – sort of like being on dial-up again. So there’s not much I can do online right now other than sit here [...]

Around here these are called Surprise Lilies. They might have a different name in other parts of the world. They come up in the spring but after a few weeks the foliage dies back without blooming. Then in August straight, leafless stems come up and these lovely pink blooms appear seemingly overnight. If they are [...]

My new walking shoes came yesterday so of course it rained off and on all day and it’s threatening rain this morning so I’m going to wait to test them out on a real walk but I’ve been wearing them around the house and I love them. They’re a perfect fit and very comfy. This [...]

…I’ve never once seen a photo of Michele Bachmann that doesn’t make me think, “Wow, I really hope the docs from the loony bin find her soon.” — here …I tend to hold the label of “geek” in fairly high esteem – to me, it means it’s someone who cares about something, who is interested [...]

I had a very cool dream last night. (Steph shared one of her dreams earlier this week and I didn’t expect when I was commenting yesterday that I would be telling one of my own the very next day.) My dream was about an old fashioned corner store. It was in a downtown, old brick [...]

A commenter on the book list post recommended I, Robot. I’ve been a huge fan of Isaac Asimov’s non-fiction books and I always enjoyed seeing him on talk shows. My first encounter with Asimov was Adding a Dimension, a sort of idiot’s guide to difficult science. Asimov had a way of explaining science so as [...]

People in science – how people in science see each other Restaurant websites – I find this to be true of most commercial websites that are not trying to sell something directly online. They never give you the information you’re looking for. It’s all, “Yay us! Look how great we are!” How to Deal With [...]

Jaquandor posted the Top 100 Science Fiction Books, according to an NPR poll, and bolded the ones he’s read, italicized the ones he wants to read and commented on some of them. I don’t usually take the time to do these lists but I’m interested in this one. I’m just going to bold the ones [...]

Sunday afternoon the sole of one of my walking shoes came apart. (Technically I think they’re “running shoes” but I wear them for walking.) It was unexpected because they still appear to be in very good condition. The sole is in two layers and the bottom layer of one came off. At first I was [...]

I was on my way to Wal-mart this morning. In the middle of The Nearby Small Town there are four short blocks with traffic lights that seem to be purposely synchronized to make sure that you will always have to stop at at least three of them. This morning the traffic was more backed up [...]

The entire state of Oklahoma is currently under a burn ban. I’m not going to complain about burn bans per se. They are necessary. In fact, this time of year I’m always wishing for surveillance cameras every 100 feet along every mile of highway and country road in the state to catch all those inbred [...]

One of the commenters over there where I found this complained about having lost five minutes of her life watching this video but I watched it twice. And I might watch it again. I might even add it to my favorites so I can watch it over and over again. This is more than just [...]

If you’re one of these people, and are offended by my post, remember I’m only posting because I don’t like you. Get out of the way. — here Clay isn’t supposed to fucking move around and make faces, okay? — there (I never liked claymation even when I was a kid. However, I do like [...]

Is anyone else out there tired of hearing about the bad economy? I know I’m being terribly insensitive to the sufferings of the unemployed, not to mention all those much abused millionaires who have to live in fear that those mean old Democrats might succeed in making them pay taxes just like we peasants have [...]

Because the previous post made me think of this and because I needed an excuse to use the word “sartorial”. 1. Fear of being noticed 2. Fear of not being noticed 3. Desire to not look like everyone else 4. Discomfort with looking too different from everyone else 5. Fear that styles I like will [...]

I’ve never made much of an effort to seek out sewing blogs, which is sort of strange I guess. I just happened to come across A Dress A Day a couple of years ago and have been reading it semi-regularly ever since. Now Erin has linked to a list of Top 10 Dress Making Blogs, [...]