Discover

Got my first issue of Discover magazine yesterday. Very cool!

A Fishsnatcher Apprehended... and more!

I went in to work Monday, and Gordie was GONE!!

Gordie is a much beloved (and slightly neurotic) betta that resides in the office for entertainment reasons. He's my pal. Anyway, he was GONE Monday. Gone!! The bowl and everything. Obviously, my personal inquisition started immediately, even to the point of contacting former employees. I wanted my fish back, and I wanted him back like yesterday. No one had any information Monday.

I was sad.

Tuesday, I cornered the owner and demanded (albeit politely) any information as to the whereabouts of MY fish. To which he responded... "oh. Was that your fish?"... As it happens, his daughter, who is temporarily helping out with clerical work, TOOK HIM HOME! So I tracked her down, and she has promised to return my fish.

I haven't seen her since. I want my fish BACK!!


Random information for your perusal...

49 words for snow and ice from West Greenlandic

(This word list is taken from a book on West Greenlandic grammar is almost certainly not comprehensive. )

'sea-ice' siku (in plural = drift ice)
'pack-ice/large expanses of ice in motion' sikursuit, pl. (compacted drift ice/ice field = sikut iqimaniri)
'new ice' sikuliaq/sikurlaaq (solid ice cover = nutaaq.)
'thin ice' sikuaq (in plural = thin ice floes)
'rotten (melting) ice floe' sikurluk
'iceberg' iluliaq (ilulisap itsirnga = part of iceberg below waterline)
'(piece of) fresh-water ice' nilak
'lumps of ice stranded on the beach' issinnirit, pl.
'glacier' (also ice forming on objects) sirmiq (sirmirsuaq = Inland Ice)
'snow blown in (e.g. doorway)' sullarniq
'rime/hoar-frost' qaqurnak/kanirniq/kaniq
'frost (on inner surface of e.g. window)' iluq
'icy mist' pujurak/pujuq kanirnartuq
'hail' nataqqurnat
'snow (on ground)' aput (aput sisurtuq = avalanche)
'slush (on ground)' aput masannartuq
'snow in air/falling' qaniit (qanik = snowflake)
'air thick with snow' nittaalaq (nittaallat, pl. = snowflakes; nittaalaq nalliuttiqattaartuq = flurries)
'hard grains of snow' nittaalaaqqat, pl.
'feathery clumps of falling snow' qanipalaat
'new fallen snow' apirlaat
'snow crust' pukak
'snowy weather' qannirsuq/nittaatsuq
'snowstorm' pirsuq/pirsirsursuaq
'large ice floe' iluitsuq
'snowdrift' apusiniq
'ice floe' puttaaq
'hummocked ice/pressure ridges in pack ice' maniillat/ingunirit, pl.
'drifting lump of ice' kassuq (dirty lump of glacier-calved ice = anarluk)
'ice-foot (left adhering to shore)' qaannuq
'icicle' kusugaq
'opening in sea ice imarnirsaq/ammaniq (open water amidst ice = imaviaq)
'lead (navigable fissure) in sea ice' quppaq
'rotten snow/slush on sea' qinuq
'wet snow falling' imalik
'rotten ice with streams forming' aakkarniq
'snow patch (on mountain, etc.)' aputitaq
'wet snow on top of ice' putsinniq/puvvinniq
'smooth stretch of ice' manirak (stretch of snow-free ice = quasaliaq)
'lump of old ice frozen into new ice' tuaq
'new ice formed in crack in old ice' nutarniq
'bits of floating' naggutit, pl.
'hard snow' mangiggal/mangikaajaaq
'small ice floe (not large enough to stand on)' masaaraq
'ice swelling over partially frozen river, etc. from water seeping up to the surface' siirsinniq
'piled-up ice-floes frozen together' tiggunnirit
'mountain peak sticking up through inland ice' nunataq
'calved ice (from end of glacier)' uukkarnit
'edge of the (sea) ice' sinaaq

you have got to be kidding me...

poker is not a sport. It's a game that you play with your buddies; goes good with chips and beer. But it's not a sport, and even if it were, it's definitely not a spectator sport. And yet, Americans still tune in by the thousands to watch people play poker on TV. Seriously, if you're that bored, grab a deck of cards and call your friends.

But wait, there's more!!

I heard on the radio this morning that there are some people organizing a video game tournament to be broadcast on TV. Come now, that's really sinking pretty low into the depths of absurdity. Do we really lead such lackluster lives that we're content to sit in front of our TV and watch other people sit in front of their TV?!

There's a point where you should really get up off your butt and do something.

And we wonder why people from other countries think Americans are silly and lazy. Way to boost our collective image.

What?!

An open letter to Dallas Stars management:

What is wrong with you?? Nobody likes Eric Lindros!! The concussions, the injuries, the whining...sure, he used to be a good player, but now he's falling apart. And you want to sign him?? Come on!


Last night the kids had their program to close up music camp. Autumn sang, and Brandon...well, he danced around more than he sang. But they both had a great time and they want to do it again next year.

I have to go back to work today. I haven't really worked for about three weeks-- I was off the last week of June, I only worked three days the first week of July and I was off all last week. And no more holidays till September. Sigh.

Road rage

They're messing with my highway.

This may be normal for those of you who live in and around cities, but I don't. I grew up with a cow pasture across the street. I've seen the local police have to chase steers off the main highway that runs through town. I'm not used to this nonsense.

I've lived in the same small town for twenty-four years. I shouldn't say small anymore, since we've experienced the explosion in the past ten years, but that's beside the point. I'm used to dealing with small-town issues.

There's always been one main road in town--Highway 287. You get on it to leave town. They widened it and added stoplights, but it's essentially been unchanged until this past Tuesday when they opened the new road. Now it doesn't make sense.

Getting on the new road to leave town isn't too weird, you just have to veer left now to get on the highway. What doesn't make sense to me is that I have to veer left off of the highway to get back on the highway. But since the road is temporarily closed (still not finished with the construction) it's not too weird. You just don't have a choice.

What's weird is coming back.

Coming back to town, I'm driving along down 287. Right before I get to town, I have to exit 287,turn left, drive under 287 and then get back on 287. Go figure. This kind of nonsense is why I don't drive in cities, and now I have to deal with it at home. Sure hope the traffic gets better to make all this worth it.

Flips

Guess what?!

I was at Target this morning, and they had flip-flops for twenty-five cents!! I'm going back tomorrow to get some more.

Things I Don't Eat

squash
ketchup
shrimp
casserole
anything with corn in it
mushrooms
Asian food
stuff with sauce on it (except spaghetti, Alfredo sauce or BBQ sauce!)
mayo
potato salad
tuna
chicken salad
PB&J
pecans
pears
ranch dressing
spinach dip
Swiss cheese
chocolate
bologna
peach Schnapps (ok, so that's a drink, but it's foul)
sour cream
cooked carrots
veal
catfish
zucchini
giblet gravy
cranberry sauce
bananas
butterscotch


just thought you'd like to know...

Still here

No, I didn't fall off the face of the earth.

We've been without phone lines here for an entire week. It sucked a lot. Mike called the phone company EVERY DAY, and every day they said they'd be here, and every day they didn't show. Needless to say, I was pretty pissed by the time they finally got someone out here yesterday. I don't use my phone that much, but I hated being cut off from the WWW...any number of things I wanted to look up, plus I couldn't pay my bills. I had 57 messages in my inbox when we finally got reconnected. So, that's my story.

Renee said there's a MENSA special interest group (did I ever mention I qualify for MENSA? Heh. Just gotta pay the money and find my test results)called Shooting Guns. She's checking into it. Sounds like fun.

Yay vacation!

Yes, I do have a MySpace site. Also, I pretty much completely ignore it. Pick your favorite excuse...
a) I'm not trendy enough
b) It's too much work, I can barely keep up with the blog
c) Too much going on over there, I can't keep up.
d) I'm lazy. Wait, that's the same as b...

Sorry I haven't been around in awhile, but I've been busy lying around on the beach for a while. We went to Galveston last week, and it was great but for the mosquitoes. I got lots of really cool pictures at the Moody Gardens aquarium, too. I love fishies!! The kids had lots of fun catching hermit crabs, but I absolutely put my foot down on the question of bringing them home. They tend to die and stink.

Our kittens are getting cute. I know you want one.