There was a guy in the lab the other day calibrating the balances. He saw me taking my marbles from a beaker and putting them on top of little test tubes. He said, (very earnestly) "Do you test marbles here?"

I thought about saying, "Yeah, you know I'm quality control to make sure they are round enough, glass enough, that the cat eye is catty enough, stuff like that."

(my fleeting thoughts)

Instead I said, "No, I just use these as stoppers so my liquid doesn't evaporate when I heat it up."

It's not nice to make strangers feel dumb.
Making friends and family feel dumb is A-okay.

Pope news:

I follow pope news, if I wasn’t Baptist I’d be Catholic, or Buddhist.

Here’s how I found out about the new Pope: I was walking by the receptionist’s desk when I heard her say “The Pope is a Nazi.”

She is so uncouthy.

The Pope is not a Nazi. He was a compulsory member of Hitler’s Youth Movement.
I imagine Jesus would say, “Get over it.” or “Gettest thou above it.” if you prefer KJV.

He has taken the name Pope Benedict XVI. Everyone at work flipped when they heard that. “What a terrible name! Why would he choose such a terrible name? I can only think of Benedict Arnold!”

I could only think of, “benefit, beneficial, benefactor, beneficiary, benediction.” I figured it must mean something good and I said so in opposition to the crowd.

Benedict means blessing.

Don’t think of Benedict Arnold—tell the truth, you don’t even know what he did that was so bad do you?

There have been 15 other Pope Benedicts—goes way farther back than the American Revolution, (BTW I expect nobody outside of the US cares what Benedict Arnold did.)

In speaking of the new Pope, I’ve used this sentence twice today.
“He looks vital.”
Both time people looked at me like I didn’t know how to use my words.
It’s correct! Get off my back! Vital is a adjective, it means : full of life and vigor :

Why oh why does everybody think I’m crazy? Sometimes I do know what I'm talking about!

Grammar class tonight was a little over my head. I guess I should have done the reading before I got there. We were talking about non finite adjective phrase compliments and the difficulties non native English speakers have forming sentences correctly using these compliments.
(and the problems I have trying to figure out just what the heck they are)

Example: English is difficult to learn. To learn is a non required, non finite, infinative adjective compliment to: difficult.

My teacher was giving examples of mistakes non native speakers might make such as,
"I am difficult to know English."
or
"I am hard to know English."

THEN (I thought he said) "Sounds homosexual."

and I thought, 'How does "I am difficult to know English" sound homosexual?!'

After I thought about it for a minute longer I realized he was refering to the example
"I am hard to know English." and what he had actually said afterwards was,
"Sounds almost sexual."

Dear God,
Please let it be the case that I never have a student say to me, "I am hard to know English."
Thanks

what have you learned today?

I learned: The eastern spadefoot toad is probably the rarest and most secretive amphibian found in Connecticut.

see: http://dep.state.ct.us/burnatr/wildlife/factshts/esptoad.htm

My blog is not ready for Travis uncensored. For Travis uncensored please turn to:
www.seizureofpower.blogspot.com

Now, everybody get your feelers untangled and get out of my hair or I'm going to take my commenting abilities and going home!

I'm already home!
("Jesus said go home!") Betty @ DCC

Wabi Sabi-according to the newspaper, is the "art of imperfection."
Wabi- loosely translated as "fresh and simple things."
Sabi loosely translated as things with the beauty acquired by age."

Wabi Sabi includes an appreciation for the organic, embracing the imperfect, impermanent and incomplete.
Translate into home decor: unpainted woods, bare brick, earthy colors, antiques, plants fresh flowers (rocks, sticks, twigs, bird's nests?).
"Found items are very wabi sabi."

I may not have Feng Shui, but I am VERY wabi sabi.

Well, I'm a bit of a cluttered wabi sabi-ist. I'll work on it.

I was so pleased with myself the other day when I bought a chenille sofa cover at goodwill for the low low price of $20. it was such a good deal I got two matching pillows (also at goodwill) To finish up my goodwill experience I got (an equally good deal) a box of Betty Crocker recipe cards dated 1971. Pretty much all the desserts are jello, there is an entire section on fondue and lots of the presentations include toothpicks and gumdrops. Well worth my 99 cents.

Last night I prepared for myself a meal with international flare. My coworker, who is from Kenya, told me how to make samosas using tortillas for the shell.

(Samosas are Indian right?) I used to buy Somosas from the street venders in Islamabad. The other ex-pats warned me against such risky culinary adventures, but I said, "Pishaw!-these are super yummy, those who avoid street venders avoid real life!" (take note international travelers, I'm a vegetarian, it is likely street venders and meat are a more dangerous mix.)

So I bought some uncooked tortillas from the Mexican food store, I cooked up my veggies and added in my Thai curry paste from the Asian food store and made my Indian-Kenyan-American (Mexican-Thai) samosas. (umm, super yummy, almost just like I remember.)

I just did a class presentation on journaling. Quote:

"Responders should approach their task delicately, as invited guests in another’s world, appreciating the gift of another’s personal writing, and desiring to give in return” (Fenwick, 2001).

Remember this is my personal world, aka Shannonland. I have a flag, well I don't really, but I must have one before I begin colonizing. I will have a flag soon.

My fortune cookie just told me that there is a Sagittarius admiring me from afar . . . is that you?

46% (Yankee). Barely into the Yankee category.

Do you use a southern dialect?
It seems I'm almost there . . . see what happens to a nice yankee girl when she's been the south this long?

http://mywebpages.comcast.net/lgrob/southern_dialect_quiz.htm

Sometimes I wish I carried a little realia with me. A large plastic gun to point at people when the do really ignorant things.
One of my pet peeves . . . when I'm walking across the street at a corner, in the walk way with the little white "walk" guy signaling me to "go ahead walk across the street, it's your turn now!" and up comes a car who wants to turn across my crosswalk. Is this my problem? I only have 45 seconds to get across the street. I like to take that 45 seconds as "my time" I like to walk slowly and deliberately across the street, as is my right as a pedestrian.
The pompous idiot in the air-conditioned-cushy seat-turning-right-on-red-car has the self-importance to honk at me to get out of her way faster!
That's when I want to walk up to her window and tell her "Pedestrians have the right of way, even if your light wasn't red and my 'walk' light wasn't on, which are both the case at the moment, I would still have the right of way." Alternatively I'd like to point a plastic gun at her until I was across the street, and let her think that her impetuous and rash actions have consequences and she’s about to meet them.

In the early twilight the electric lights are just starting to blink on, blink off,
Blinking now flashing, throbbing with the pounding of the music and the crowd.

This is the ticket, this is the ticket line.
This is the way in through the narrow gate, out through the wide.

The scent on the wind—hot dogs and cotton candy and stale beer on stale breath
And the carnies cry out as I walk down the thoroughfare, as I wade though the people
As I move though the lights and the music and the odors on the air
I recall fairs and festivals and carnivals before and they echo like the game man
“Hey! Baby Doll! Baby Doll! Baby Doll! Hey! Baby Doll!
Hey! Teddy Bear! Hey! Teddy Bear! Teddy Bear!”
And when you meet his eyes he’ll say, “Hey, Baby Doll, I’ll give it to you hit or miss.”
But don’t believe him, you’ll always miss.

You’ll always miss.