Red Nose

I advised a friend who was having a frustrating day to take a nice, deep cleansing breath of fire. Turns out I needed one too. An email started it all - a client support person emailed me about a topic in our documentation portal. The client had gone looking for it and found that it had been replaced with a similar topic that was not what he was looking for. It's kind of complicated... Read more →

Four years ago, I bought my Fiat 500, Chicolini. It's been a great little car. Oh, it had its flaws, but I accepted them because I bought it used, after all. It had the proper inspection stickers on it, so I figured all was well. They couldn't sell a car that wouldn't pass inspection, now would they? Each subsequent year, it passed inspection, sometimes needing minor repairs. But it always passed. (Cue ominous music.) In... Read more →

I've been reading about how social media has given rise to new ways for a person to be a dick; for example, the phenomena known as "ghosting" and "zombie-ing." For you folks unaware of these behaviors, ghosting occurs when a person disappears from another's social media. Maybe you were in the beginning stages of dating, texting up a storm, friends on Facebook, blah blah blah. Suddenly the object of your attention is gone. They don't... Read more →

Well, I continue to get older - how about that! I am now 67 years old, hurtling toward old(er) age. Given the alternative, I'm fine with it! I had a lovely day. Joe surprised me, as he always does, with a card and gifts. I got this top, a Stephen King book that I haven't read yet, a book about the Daily Show with Jon Stewart, a nice thick pair of wool socks. Then, after... Read more →

Friday was going along just fine. I was working on a document that was coming together nicely. I'd done a lot of it on Thursday, so Friday was nice and relaxed. I finished up the content, then tackled the formatting and layout. I knew that would be tricky, because my authoring tool can be cranky. Sure enough, it was. It looked just fine in the source, but the PDF output simply would not behave. It... Read more →

Now let's take a look at the second half of the year in pictures! In July, we went to see Cirque du Soleil's Volta under the big top. It was a wonderful show! In August, a freak downpour caused serious flooding outside my office. It wasn't terrible in my neighborhood, thankfully. We also visited the Reading Pagoda, one of Pennsylvania's Top Ten Marvels. We climbed all the way to the top - 84 steps! In... Read more →

Joe had a tough time at work yesterday evening. Why do normally nice people suddenly turn into rude motherfuckers when it gets close to Christmas? Whatever happened to peace and good will? There were the people who ignored the "Line starts here" sign and walked right up to Joe's register. When Joe politely told them where the line was, they gave all kinds of excuses: But you just waited on her. (Yes, because she was... Read more →

Well, Chicolini (my Fiat 500) has a new battery. I should have known it was coming. First, it was the slight growl before starting. Then, the growl acquired an crescendo-pause-decrescendo-roar. I found that I had to pump the accelerator a couple times. In the last couple of days, all of the dash lights have brightened and dimmed in time to the growling. Of course, we're also having a cold snap here in the greater Philly... Read more →

Ronni Bennett, of the wonderful Time Goes By blog, asked: What I am wondering is how you experience yourself in dreams. Are you ever older or younger or different in some ways from what you are when awake? Has that changed as you've gotten older? Interesting question. I remember some of my dreams, both good and bad. I have recurring dreams - mostly where I'm trying to climb up or down staircases that become high... Read more →

Today I decided to switch out the winter clothes for the summer clothes. Out came the sweaters and long-sleeved tops; in went the tee shirts and short-sleeved tops. Then I decided to go through my clothes and get rid of stuff that I hadn't worn, had worn out, or no longer wanted. I'm not a slash-and-burn clothes culler - someone who can go through drawers and closets with the "If I haven't worn it in... Read more →