My Two Cents

Adventures in podcasting. Had a little chat with John and Joe from Americablog last night.

Hear it here

It Figures

My washing machine broke yesterday. It's been noisy for months. Then it started to shake. Finally, the inner basket spun itself right off the frame. It's allegedly under warranty, but Sears can't come service it until the 12th. That's 2 weeks without laundry.

I was all set to suck it up and just make do. Then I spilled a full mug of coffee on myself and my couch.

It figures.

Sleeper Cells

The AP reports graveyard shifts may cause cancer. The article explains that overnight work will soon be listed as a "probable carcinogen," meaning it doesn't absolutely give you cancer, but it's likely to.

I'm no scientist, but having worked ridiculous (ridiculous!) hours on two separate occasions in my TV career, I have no doubt screwing with the whole day/night thing can do some serious damage.

Back in the day, I was the morning sports anchor for the NBC station in Hagerstown, MD. I got up at 2am and was at the station from 3am until noon. After a long week of abnormal, spotty sleep, I'd rarely manage to stay up past 7pm on a Friday night. My hair started to fall out. My body broke down. I was always exhausted. Not just "Oh, I could use a nap" tired. Think "I'm at the point of sheer exhaustion and yet there's no sleep in sight" tired. Then double it. For more than a year.

I went to a doctor to see if there was anything I could do to counteract my body's rebellion. His expert advice: Get a new job.

True story.

Turns out he was right.

cartoon courtesy onebean

Check Mate?

My signif told me this great story tonight about two girls he knew in grad school. They were fun friends, but he was neither attracted to nor interested in dating either. Let's call them Veronica and Betty for the sake of flow.

One day, Veronica hands signif a note. It reads, "Do you like Betty? Check yes/no." (He can't remember if there was a maybe, and the story is SO much better when we assume there wasn't.) He notices Betty noticing his response to the note, and being the good guy he is (he is), he checks yes so as not to offend his friend.

Next thing he knows, he gets word Betty expects to go out.

"The check note's not binding! It's not binding! Not after like second grade!"

But as he retold the story tonight, he started to give it more thought. Election checkboxes are binding. Disclosure form checkboxes are binding. So at what age do we officially outgrow the checkbox? Maybe in some weird way, elementary school prepares us for adulthood. You've got to put some thought into that checkbox lest you get strapped with someone you don't particularly like in that way.

Think we're onto something here?
〈yes
〈no
〈maybe

Candidates, Party of 8

I missed last night's debate. I was out meeting a friend's firstborn for the first time. Gorgeous child.

Anyway, I've been reading up on the debate this morning, and via Glenn found Stephen's take on the night. His closing paragraph:

For the future, I’d like to propose what I call the Algonquin Round Table Debate. No moderator, no stopwatches, no buzzers or red lights, no YouTube, and, please, no Anderson Cooper or Chris Matthews. Instead, put all the candidates around a big table, ply them with first-rate food and liquor, and just let them talk and argue with one another until—or beyond—last call. Now that, for Democrats or Republicans, would be an event worth watching.

Agreed.

C'mon Admit It

Conventional wisdom in journalism is that you're best off staying politically neutral. With good reason. Obviously, your reporting's read/seen with a skeptical eye if you've affiliated with or endorsed a party or candidate. I'd like to think I've done a respectable job so far in this vein and have always been careful to treat my sources and friends in the blog world - left, right, or otherwise - with an equal balance of respect and skepticism. So it is with this foundation that I post the following. It is by no means a declaration of anything more than a casual observation.

I've noticed an interesting trend lately in political cocktail party conversation. People kinda like Biden. My sense is his arguably strong yet seemingly unrehearsed debate performances are generating some quiet consideration. Since he's not a frontrunner (heck, he's barely a walker at this point), he's not registering as a viable option. But let's just say for argument's sake that he was a media favorite or that somehow the word got out that he had a shot at the nomination. Would even more Biden backers come out of the woodwork?

I mention this because now would be a good time for his camp to launch a "campy" online push.

"C'mon Admit It. You Kinda Like Joe."

If it's done right, at the very least, it would generate some press attention for being quirky (not that I would know what grabs the MSM eye or anything). And it may just tap into the undercurrent of potential momentum that keeps bubbling up at social gatherings.

The Internet and Web politics are supposed to be about circumventing big media. Wouldn't it just be something if the meme shifted because someone actually successfully worked around it? I give the Ron Paul supporters huge kudos for trying hard. They've just got to figure out now how to get their man covered as a real candidate and not just the topic of a story about freak fundraising. The fact that he HAS support at all has become more of a story than what he stands for. And that's unfortunate.

My signif just pointed me to this Rasmussen survey that puts Biden two points behind Guiliani and even with Romney in polling 1200 likely voters. I usually don't trust polls as far as I can throw them, but my two cents is that Biden's staff would be wise to take a gander.

Just Curious

I'm always baffled by a lone item of clothing abandoned by the side of the road, particularly when the one is clearly half of a pair.

Today, I saw a girl's mitten in the leaves alongside my running route. Did it fly from a car window? Fall out of a bag? Get ripped off and thrown to the ground in the midst of a tantrum? Is it missed?

Without fail, one shoe raises the most curiosity. Who loses a shoe and doesn't notice?

Useless Knowledge Part II

The only value to come out of the hour-and-a-half I spent half-watching the world's worst film (film?) ever is this nugget:

Did you know Penn Badgley



went through a Heath Ledger "10 Things I Hate About You" hair phase?


You never know when this information is going to come in handy. Though probably never.

Broken Jet Set

Back in DC. We flew JetBlue to and from, and they seem to be going out of their way to compensate for all the lousy press last holiday season. Both flights were seamless and on time.

One interesting note. The row behind us had broken TVs. We overheard the flight attendant telling the customers that the flight was full so they couldn't switch seats, but they were welcome to go to the JetBlue counter upon arrival and get a $5 voucher.

Doesn't that seem a little cheap on behalf of the airline? They make a big deal about DirecTV at each seat. If you're denied that service by no fault of your own, shouldn't it be worth more than $5 and the inconvenience of having to go out of your way to collect the $5?

Happy Thanksgiving

Back Monday unless Florida follies prove too entertaining and I feel compelled to share.

Stripped!

Via FishbowlDC, here's today's Doonesbury strip about how hard it is to generate meaty blog content everyday.

Gives me an excuse to post this old Doonesbury strip about "Inside the Blogs:"

Purrfectly Useless Information

I'm one of those cat owners that loves her cat so much that blogging about my cat could very easily spin out of control. And who wants to be that cat blogging lady, really?

But Emmy purred so loudly last night that she woke us up.

I thought it was odd. I thought I should share.

Especially since it's usually her snoring that does the trick.

I'm Thaiming You

We ordered Thai food for dinner the other night, and the time from call to delivery...16 minutes. With that kind of service, where's the incentive to cook?

My signif is convinced we get special treatment because the restaurant recognizes our orders by now, AND he's befriended the delivery guy. He says it's not just that they're fast but that they go out of their way to get to us first. All I know for sure is said friendship produces a ridiculous number of free sodas with every meal.

And even though we live on the edge of their delivery zone, we get our food in 16 minutes. 16. I'm not even sure how that works.

I'll be in the 'hood

Heading to NYC tomorrow to see about a work thing.

Blog amongst yourselves.

Ha!

You offended?

Me neither.

Blow pop

My hairdryer came this close to spontaneous combustion this morning. I've tossed it and already bought a new one. But a little piece of me fears it's the haunted outlet and not the appliance. We shall see.

Say Cheez

I Can Has Cheezburger is wildly popular. I didn't really get why until last night. But for some reason, I was in a rotten mood and just scrolling through the site made me giggle.

The best part is you can upload your own cat.

Here's Em:

Not a Peep

So after several months of consuming both day and evening programming on a wide variety of channels, I am ready to defend my thesis.

Most TV is crap and watching it is the intellectual equivalent of eating nothing but bad Easter candy. It looks good on the shelf and no matter how many times you've had it before, you think this batch is going to taste better than you remember. But the minute you tear through the cellophane, the suckers go stale, and you're left with the aftertaste of cheap, granulated sugar.

I convinced myself mid-run today that the only solution is to abandon the tube altogether. And then I remembered Project Runway Season 4 starts tonight.

And I like sugar.

Btw, reason #7584924875 why Google Image rocks:

You Don't Know Jack

Now it's hammers. And drills. Someone's building a deck or a garage out back.

If you live in my 'hood, you can lie in bed and play "name that tool" at 7:15am every morning.

I name the guy who decided it was okay to start construction before 8am.

UPDATE: The water workers just kicked in out front. I give up.

Fruit Loopy

I have no idea why I was looking up pomegranates online since I haven't actually had one since I was, like, 8. But this site shows you the least messiest way to extract the seeds. In an odd coincidence, a friend on Facebook posted she wished pomegranates weren't so tough to eat. So I sent her the link. She claims she's got a crate of the things and is going to try the no-mess method and get back to me. I'm oddly excited to find out if it really works.

Once again, I clearly need a hobby.

60 Minutes is Officially Very, Very Old

We were flipping around post-football/pre-Amazing Race tonight and caught about 15 minutes of the 60. My signif was so turned off by this story about a so-called generation of soft, unambitious workers that he left the room. I watched because I'm the more naive of the two of us. I'm still hopeful that a show like 60 Minutes will give me interesting facts to back up its absurd allegations. I was wrong.

I have so much respect for real journalism that it pains me to watch someone like Morley Safer fall victim to a poorly conceptualized piece. Sure, the workforce is changing. Technology is changing. The opportunity to make money in ways our parents never imagined has emerged. Taking advantage of evolution and growth and exploring options doesn't make young workers lazy. It makes them smart. They've learned that given the chance to choose between tossing fifty years into a gig they hate in exchange for a gold watch and a retirement party or finding a career they truly adore, they're picking what's behind door number two.

Maybe these kids aren't moving back home because they're unambitious. Maybe they HAVE to move back home because starting salaries can be pitiful and college loans can swallow you whole. Maybe career counseling has failed to do more than post paper on a job board once a week. I'm not making excuses for my generation because I don't fall into this ridiculously nicknamed genre of younger adults. But as someone who has encountered her fair share of hard-working interns and entry level hires in the course of one of the most competitive/least compensatory industries around, I find the assertion that you have to patronize your employees in order to get them to perform imbecilic at best.

Speaking of downright dumb, Andy Rooney's rant was two minutes of my life I'll never get back. You don't even have to hear it. Just read the transcript. It's absolutely as incoherent as it seems.

This following 12 minutes of what's wrong with America's younger generation. Really?

Utilities not included

So I found out what the deal is with the construction crew outside my apartment. They're replacing lead pipes with copper pipes courtesy of the DC water dept. Good thing. Lead-free potable water is like Christmas come early. You know what else comes early? The jackhammers. Every morning. Earlier and earlier to be exact.

But the real treat is the suprise shutting off of my water. No one mentioned that. It's been burping the last few days as they open and close the lines. But to turn it off completely without notice? That's just terrific on a stick.

Couple it with the fact that my apartment's got no heat, and I've inadvertently taken up camping.

UPDATE: Water seems to be back. At least I think it's water. It's black, but it comes out of the faucet, so I'm going with water.

Drop the Burrito and Come out with your Hands up

I know my posts have been supershort lately. I'll try to be more prolific going forward. But in the interim, here's a little something to play with.

Do you eat at Chipotle? Curious how many calories you're packing into that Burrito Ball you just had them assemble for you? Chipotlefan.com lets you virtually create that same concoction and then calculates your intake.

I don't want to ruin the surprise, but I'm gonna. If you get anything but lettuce and....well, lettuce...you're screwed.

I tried to slim down my pickin's yesterday by ditching the rice, sour cream, and cheese and STILL came in over 600.

On a related note, this is why Google rocks. I typed in "huge burrito" to find an image for this post and found this write from 2005.

For Sale

One pair women's roller skates. Only worn once.

Shattered expectations sold separately.

Bring in 'Da Noise

Nothing like being woken up by the sound of the jackhammer's louder and more annoying cousin. I have no idea what machinery the road crew outside is using, but it's some cacophonous orchestra of the most grating metal on metal I have ever heard. It started at 7:45am and hasn't let up since.

Judging by the giant, still-intact chalk squares lining the street, this could go on all day. Judging by the dates on the "don't you dare park here" signs taped to the trees lining the street, this could go on all month.

Off and Rolling

They came!

Sleepy Smurf

Back from Cali. The weekend was terrific. A lot of fun.

Our hotel was attached to a Denny's. We ate there. Twice.

I'm exhausted. I'll post more when I can put together a coherent thought.

Bum Gift, Aisle 2

Posting will be light to nonexistent this weekend. We're off to NoCal for my signif's grandparents' 60th wedding anniversary. Good rule of thumb: Anyone throws a party celebrating 60 years of marriage, you go ... no matter how far away or how short the stay.

By the way, did you know the 60th anniversary is the diamond anniversary? You've got wait until 60 to get diamonds. You know what's worse? According to about.com's list of "modern" anniversary gifts, 44 years gets you groceries.

What a Treat

Last night was a lot of fun.

The "Only in DC" award for best Halloween costume goes to the kid who dressed up as a tax return.

Runner-up: The kid in the suit we thought was a politician but was actually a lawyer. Way to live it up!

"Cutest Flyby" award goes to the little Harry Potter who ran through our front yard to get to the neighbor's candy.

And "Best Strategy" award goes to the clever girls next door who explained they planned to put on new costumes and get new pillowcases and re-trick or treat for more candy ... then just ran up our steps and cleaned out the rest of our bowl.

p.s. Happy Birthday Kay. Love you!