And I leave you with this thought

Had lots of ideas, not lots of time, so I will pack them into some little crease in my mind and they will come out at odd times. Like maybe when I'm asking someone to pass the ketchup.

Anyway, I will be off-line for a couple of weeks. I leave you with a picture and a thought. When I get back on line again, I will be a mother-in-law.
Seriously.

I'll come back with some beach wedding pictures. Looking forward to some serious sun and serious warmth. And maybe a story or two.

Until then...

My idol pick

I've never been an American Idol watcher. I might catch a show once or twice a season near the end, but all the "fluff" drove me nuts, so I never got hooked. I watched twice this year, and I have a favorite. Unfortunately, I don't think he'll win, but I just love listening to Jason Castro. I even like the dreads. He's got a great laid back style and doesn't try to be something he's not. Unusual for A.I., yet perfect for him.

Overall, I'm not terribly impressed with this group, but there are a couple I really like. I might even have to vote this year. I want Jason around as long as possible.
Go Jason!

Happy Pi Day

Happy Pi Day!

Last year we surprised my colleagues with "Pi Day". Having never celebrated it, and actually only hearing about it 6 months or so prior, it was new to me, and I presumed most of my department. We put out a notice to hold a block of time for a special occasion and let people start wondering and guessing. Then a day or two prior to 3.14, I started sending out "hints". On 3.14, I sent out a word problem having to do with pi, and the fun began.

Peanut, the overexcited dog, makes 40 laps around a stake and travels a total distance of 1 mile. If his bowl of water is 20 feet away from the stake, can he get a drink?*

The programmers shot back the answer right away. Done. The analysts wondered if he got his leash stuck and so his laps would be increasingly smaller, or perhaps there was a big rock in his path and he would run around it every time - but what if it wasn't exactly every time? hmmmm. And what if he decides to back track, or a scent takes him on a different axis. Mostly they decided that was too much work and figured it out like the programmers, but you could sure see the difference in approach.

This year we decided to have Pick a Pi(e) day. We posted a bunch of pie recipes - people tried new pies or brought favorites. I ordered pizza for the crew and we ate. You don't have to do a ton of stuff to have some fun in the workplace.

* from a math forum site

Creepy Toys

There have been strange toys since toys became toys. And I know that I should probably lighten up a little – none of my friends who had Barbies (I didn't, but that's a whole other post) growing up actually thought they were going to look like Barbie when they grew up. I don’t think they even wanted to. But these are still disconcerting –

I have problems with these dolls on so many levels.

The make up. These dolls have the heaviest made up eyes and lips I’ve ever seen.

• The hair. Like Barbie’s, it’s long, silky and shiny. And ridiculous. And it has some strange painful plastic thingy coming out of its head. Gross.

The body. Actually, I’m not that bothered by the body. The boobs aren’t like Barbie’s, so strangely out of proportion. Instead, they’re teeny tiny. Kind of pubescent. Perfect for the pervert in the family.

Sexy clothes. Not so unlike Barbie’s, I have to admit, unless you bought Nurse Barbie or Corporate Ladder Barbie.

Anyway, it makes me cringe that we have such dolls in our home (I am not responsible for the purchase of any of them).

But the thing I think is creepiest, and just wierds me out everytime I see them around the house is the feet.

You don’t change the shoes of these dolls.

You dismember them.

See – I told you – CREEPY.

And just LOOK at the size of these feet! Ewwww.