Miss O'Laney

Mon - April 9, 2007

Maybe later I'll remember to forget.

Here we go again. Mrs. Runalong made out a shopping list for the grocery store and then left it on the bed. She does something like that several times a month. (So do I, but that really isn't relevant here, so why are you even bringing it up?).

What was I saying?

Oh yeah. Anyway, she called me from the store to see if she had missed anything on the list while shopping from memory (haha!).

She hadn't. All 25 items present and accounted for.

My wife has an amazing memory!

When she remembers to use it.

Posted at 11:57 AM

Tue - April 3, 2007

Hey kids!

Legendary athletes and patriotic cartoon characters promoting cigarettes? Back in the 50s it was SOP (standard operating procedure). It's nice to know that some changes ARE for the better.

Posted at 07:50 PM

Fri - March 30, 2007

Adults are such slow learners...

At last the "experts" are starting to figure out what every 12 year old kid in America (and a few of us adults) figured out long ago...

According to Meyer’s findings, by the age of 12, children believe that earning praise from a teacher is not a sign you did well—it’s actually a sign you lack ability and the teacher thinks you need extra encouragement. And teens, Meyer found, discounted praise to such an extent that they believed it’s a teacher’s criticism—not praise at all—that really conveys a positive belief in a student’s aptitude.

In the opinion of cognitive scientist Daniel T. Willingham, a teacher who praises a child may be unwittingly sending the message that the student reached the limit of his innate ability, while a teacher who criticizes a pupil conveys the message that he can improve his performance even further.

Posted at 06:34 PM

Sat - March 24, 2007

Grand Canyon Skywalk

Take a walk on the wild side...

Posted at 09:31 PM

Wed - March 21, 2007

Leaves of three, let it be...

The poison oak is nice and healthy this spring. The reddish leaves are kind of pretty, aren't they?

Posted at 10:38 AM

Sat - March 10, 2007

Flight Patterns: The Movie

too cool:

Posted at 03:58 PM

Fri - March 9, 2007

It's that time of year! Play Ball!

I don't follow baseball much anymore. But there was a time when it was my boyhood religion. Still, there's something about the fact that baseball is the one sport that begins in the spring that gives it an almost Easter-like metaphorical symbolism.

Posted at 01:19 PM

Thu - March 8, 2007

Highlands (non-random dylan lyric of the month)

This is one of my favorite Dylan songs. About a quarter of an hour long with just a few simple notes, it poignantly tells the story of what it's like to grow old; all the ambiguities and assurances of aging. Here's the beginning and the end:

Well my heart's in the Highlands gentle and fair
Honeysuckle blooming in the wildwood air
Bluebelles blazing, where the Aberdeen waters flow
Well my heart's in the Highland,
I'm gonna go there when I feel good enough to go

Windows were shakin' all night in my dreams
Everything was exactly the way that it seems
Woke up this morning and I looked at the same old page
Same ol' rat race
Life in the same ol' cage.

I don't want nothing from anyone, ain't that much to take
Wouldn't know the difference between a real blonde and a fake
Feel like a prisoner in a world of mystery
I wish someone would come
And push back the clock for me

Well my heart's in the Highlands wherever I roam
That's where I'll be when I get called home
The wind, it whispers to the buckeyed trees in rhyme
Well my heart's in the Highland,
I can only get there one step at a time.

...

The sun is beginning to shine on me
But it's not like the sun that used to be
The party's over, and there's less and less to say
I got new eyes
Everything looks far away

Well, my heart's in the Highlands at the break of day
Over the hills and far away
There's a way to get there, and I'll figure it out somehow
But I'm already there in my mind
And that's good enough for now

Posted at 04:09 PM

Glass Apple

I've been using Apple computers since, well, since I first learned about personal computers. I've never owned a PC. In my retirement portfolio, Apple is my biggest stock-holding, by far. I think that in ten years all computers will be running Apple OS. Fortune magazine has now named Apple as America's best retailer, click here to see why.

And how's this for artistic innovation- Apple's store in NYC: Wow!

Update: I just saw that Apple's notebook computer sales increased by 50% last year going from 2% market share to 7% in one year. Many still resist buying Macs, not because they aren't far superior to PC's (everyone knows they are) but because "it's a PC world". But at this rate, that last level of resistance will soon be antiquated.

Posted at 08:16 AM

Mon - February 26, 2007

How many of me?

There are over 400 of me, but only 6 of my wife.

How many of you?

Posted at 07:04 PM

Wed - February 14, 2007

Headline: Valentine Bouquets are bad for the planet

London's Daily Telegraph reports that sending flowers on Valentine's Day can contribute to warming--and not just of your sweetie's heart:

The Valentine's Day bouquet--the gift that every woman in Britain will be waiting for next week--has become the latest bête noire among environmental campaigners.

Latest Government figures show that the flowers that make up the average bunch have flown 33,800 miles to reach Britain. . . .

Environmentalists warned that "flower miles" could have serious implications on climate change in terms of carbon dioxide emissions from aeroplanes.

33,800 miles? There's no place on earth that's 33,000 miles from Britain. What planet are they growing these on? Do British guys send their girls authentic VENUS Fly-Traps?

Anyway, James Taranto has an interesting insight:

It occurred to us that some neglectful husbands and boyfriends are going to use this as an excuse: I would have sent you flowers, honey, but I wanted to save the planet.

Trust us on this one, guys, it won't work.

On the other hand, think of how much more meaningful it now is if you do send flowers. The message: You mean more to me than the whole world.

Update: I sent Taranto my comment about the mileage and my "venus fly-trap" joke and he liked it enough to use it in today's "Best of the Web ". He even gave me credit at the bottom of the page, thus enabling me to continue to justify my existence for another 24 hours.

Posted at 05:27 PM