Ways to Say Goodbye
As we say goodbye to the first month of 2008 (and I have met my goal of average one post per day each month), this is the ideal post. I have an ongoing email conversation with a friend (who might comment and reveal their secret identity) and we have started using foreign terms for farewell as something to do to end the emails. Here are the ones that have shown up so far:
Adios (Spanish)
Arrivederci (Italian)
Au revoir (French)
Ciao (Italian)
Kwaheri (Swahili)
Namasté (Sanskrit)
Sayonara (Japanese)
This is only the beginning. There are so many choices left. More languages than I can count (especially if you try to use Wikipedia). I will probably update this post as this silliness continues.
The 100 Grace
Yesterday when I picked up Peter from afterschool (Grace was at jumprope practice), two of Grace’s friends came running over and gave me the above project. Grace wanted us to give this to you, they both said. She wants you to take it home. There was also a note in Peter’s cubby.
Peter
Please get 100 Grace.
Grace
We brought it home, having no idea what it was.
Grace told me that it was her musical instrument she made in science lab. It’s called 100 Grace.
Why is it called 100 Grace, I asked.
Because it does a lot of things, she said, She took the two sticks and showed me that you can hit the top, hit the side, hit the cup on the side, and you can even strum the rubber band on top.
That’s a lot of things, I said, but not 100.
I know, she said. But that was just what I wanted to name it.
Branding in the Toilet
Here’s a video clip hosted by Ad Age magazine about a Charmin toilet paper sponsored bathroom in NYC during the holidays. As anyone who has spent any time in New York, public restrooms either don’t exist or you just don’t want to go in them. Nearly every restaurant has a sign that says “Restrooms for Customers Only.” I remember when I was looking for job in New York I would seek out the rare, usable public restrooms and arrange my day so I could be near one during the course of the day. A clean, branded, nicely scented bathroom with a variety of kinds of toilet paper to try would have been a real treat.
Video Link
(Note there is a commercial before it starts)
Boy Leaves School
Tonight Peter and Grace told me a story about a boy in Peter’s class. Grace wanted to tell me the story and she said to Peter before starting, I want to tell the story. You just let me know if I get anything wrong.
This particular boy asks to go the the bathroom. His helper can’t go with him, since she’s a girl and he’s a boy, so he goes alone.
Why does he have a helper, I asked.
I know that over the years there have been kids with various learning disabilities in their classes who have someone with them all day long, helping.
Peter, very matter of factly answered, He has Asperger’s Syndrome.
Oh, I replied. We know about that.
One of the neighborhood kid has it and the kids have learned to deal with it.
After about 20 minutes and the boy still hasn’t returned, the teacher sends another boy to look for him. He comes back to report the boy is gone.
Apparently, they discover that the boy snuck out a back door of the school and went to the bus stop in front of the school. He caught a city bus to UNC, where his parents work.
(Here is where both Peter and Grace have their reliability questioned).
Peter’s teacher and another woman from the school went up to UNC Campus, found him and brought him back to school.
(It was not clear whether he went to see his dad or his mom, nor was it clear if it was the university or the hospital.)
And finally, the teacher looked in the boy’s desk and found a map of the school with an arrow drawn from the classroom to the door. It said Escape Route at the top.
There is a very surreal story, but even with my usually reliable, but this time seemingly unreliable narrators, I can’t even imagine how a teacher responds to a kid disappearing from school. Head up to the university campus and look for him?
Saturday Night Poker and Guitar
Last night I was invited to a gathering of a friend’s co-workers. It was guitar jam and poker party. I didn’t really know what to expect, but it sounded like fun. We got there and several folks were sitting around a table playing guitars and other stringed instruments, including a mandolin, ukulele and violin. They even broke out a accordion at one point. This is a regular gathering and they all work from a common songbook, with everyone taking a turn picking songs. It was pretty cool watching a bunch of talented musicians work their way through songs and then playing them. This inspired me to think about picking up my guitar again. Or maybe get a ukulele.
And the second part of the evening was the poker part. Let me begin by saying that I have never played poker. I know some of the basic games and hands from when I was younger, but I have never played a real game with betting. First they played regular poker, so that beginners could get the hang of the game. I sat this part out and just watched. I don’t really know why, but I just wasn’t ready.
Eventually, this game ended and they started a Texas Hold ‘em tournament. It was $5 to get in the tournament. We had printed copies of the rules that we kept referring to during the game. Even the experienced poker players didn’t have much experience with Texas Hold ‘em. You play with 2 cards in your hand and 5 cards face up on the table for everyone to share. You place bets as the cards are dealt.
I tied the first hand (and split the pot) and won the second hand. These early winnings allowed me to play hands that I might have ordinarily folded because I had the money to blow. I was rewarded several times, including getting a straight on the last. If that card didn’t turn, I would’ve had nothing. My luck held through the whole game, including winning the last hand with a full house. It was a friendly, relaxed game, where the beginners were not harassed for making stupid mistakes (like showing a hand too early) and more about fun than winning.
I was the big winner with a total of $32.50 in chips at the end. The tournament rules were that the winner gets 50% of the pot, so I got $20. Fun and money, what more can you ask for?
How to Escape Down an Airplane Slide
I travel a decent amount for work, and some personal, so I was interested in this article from Time. I am certainly not a road warrior by any stretch of the imagination, but I’ve spent my time on planes. This article offers 6 tips for passengers to prevent injury on a slide evacuation. They begin with have a plan, and have another plan.
from Time.com:
Emergency airplane evacuations happen more often than most people think: about once every 11 days in the U.S.
Improv Comedy
Tonight I went to the DSI Comedy Theater with my social meetup group. There were five performers who improved scenes based on audience suggestions. Performers used audience suggestions to tell a personal monologue and generate a series of improved sketches related to the topics of the monologue. Scenes included vampires, baby-selling in Mexico, eating dirt and even a briss (which every cast member mis-pronounced as brisk).
The performers were of mixed improv ability, but the bits were generally funny. It was fun to do something different, right in my backyard (Carrboro), and always nice to see live performances.
New Laptop
I couldn’t stand being offline with no quick solution to getting back. I also knew that it would take some time to transfer files, re-install software and get used to a new machine, so I wanted to get moving. I didn’t like the idea of ordering something that would take 3-5 days before it even shipped, so I went to Best Buy. Not my first choice of computer selection and pricing, but I need a new machine. I did not want a Vista machine, but I looked at their choices. All Vista Home, except one small Toshiba laptop with Vista Business. Again, not my choice, but better than Home.
I was on the phone with one of my client contacts (the Digital Asset Manager and person responsible for the web site) and someone I talk to about technical stuff. He is also a budget-minded guy and never pays retail for anything. He thought this sounded like a decent deal for the computer, and since I was standing in front of it, I should probably get it. I told him I was going to go look at DVDs and think about it.
I hung up the phone (by pushing the red button since most phones don’t hang anywhere anymore) and went to the DVDs. I picked up the 4-disk collection of Blade Runner, since I really don’t need the collectible briefcase and the 5-disk set, and thought more about my laptop.
I went back over to the computer section and asked someone for help. This is always a dicey prospect in a big-box retailer, but I asked the kid who might actually know something. He was pretty smart and knew more about the technical details than I cared about. I pointed to the computer I was interested in, but told him that I was more interested in an XP Pro machine rather than Vista Business. He told me those are only online through Best Buy for Business, so he logged on and started looking. It seemed that comprable laptops were nearly $500 more, because they have no incentive to discount XP Pro machines. If someone wants one, they are probably will to pay for it. So I purchased my new Toshiba Satellite U305 with 13.3″ widescreen and Vista Business. The first thing I did when I got home was eVISTArate it and make it look like Windows 2000, or Classic as they called it.
It turned out that my wireless routed died during all these problems and I didn’t even know it. So it is back to the store tomorrow for a new router.
Computer Woes
My computer has been acting up since last week before I went to Nashville, and the problem seems to be getting worse. I can’t even get the darn thing to boot up and blue screen as it has been doing. It doesn’t even POST (which loads the BIOS). I spent some time this evening looking for a new laptop to buy, and I almost bought a Dell. It wasn’t going to ship until next Thursday. That sounds like a long time. I even considered buying a desktop while I was waiting. I can’t make my mind up. If I could walk into Best Buy tomorrow and buy a Windows XP laptop, I would. All they have is Vista Home. I would rather carve on a tablet with a sharp rock.
Double Downtown Durham Dinners
Tonight I went to my second dinner at a downtown Durham restaurant in 3 days. We had a client in town and we went Piedmont. It is a big city type restaurant that focuses on local food with a menu that changes weekly. We shared two kinds of charcuterie, one made from chicken and one made from duck. The chicken one taste like very smooth chopped liver and reminded me of the 2nd Avenue Deli in New York. I had the bouillabaisse, which was delicious and very fresh. I did get some sauce on my shirt trying to remove the tail from a shrimp. It is my work shirt (with company name embroidered on it), so I may need to take it to the cleaners. The funny thing about Piedmont is it is the building that used to house a photo studio where a photographer I used to work with shot.
On Monday night I met a friend for dinner at Pop’s, a staple of the downtown Durham restaurant scene that I have never been to. I had a local greens salad and grilled salmon. It was a fresh and light meal that was very tasty. I also tried the mussels, which were delicious. We lingered at the table talking until the waitress started giving us dirty looks and they were stacking chairs on other tables. We were not the last to leave, though.