Word of the day

thug

1810, "member of a gang of murderers and robbers in India who strangled their victims," from Marathi thag, thak "cheat, swindler," Hindi thag, perhaps from Skt. sthaga-s "cunning, fraudulent," possibly from sthagayati "(he) covers, conceals," from PIE base *(s)teg- "cover" (see stegosaurus). Transferred sense of "ruffian, cutthroat" first recorded 1839. The more correct Indian name is phanseegur, and the activity was described in Eng. as far back as c.1665. Rigorously prosecuted by the British from 1831, they were driven from existence, but the process extended over the rest of the 19c.

- - etymology.com

Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Hard Row, Margaret Maron

Fun fact

The place I intend to buy is within the catchment area for Galileo High.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Disclosure Package, The Realtor

Sandcastle

Woodsy!

Today's earrings: hands, basketweaves

Bedtime reading: Dolly and the Bird of Paradise, Dorothy Dunnett

3 is a Magic Number

Three is a magic number,
Yes it is, it's a magic number.
Somewhere in the ancient, mystic trinity
You get three as a magic number.

The past and the present and the future.
Faith and Hope and Charity,
The heart and the brain and the body
Give you three as a magic number.

It takes three legs to make a tri-pod
Or to make a table stand.
It takes three wheels to make a ve-hicle
Called a tricycle.

Every triangle has three corners,
Every triangle has three sides,
No more, no less.
You don't have to guess.
When it's three you can see
It's a magic number.

A man and a woman had a little baby,
Yes, they did.
They had three in the family,
And that's a magic number.

3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.
3-6-9, 12-15-18, 21-24-27, 30.

- - Bob Dorough


Today's earrings: hands, basketweaves

Bedtime reading: Fool, Christopher Moore

Cramps bad

Muscle relaxant & ginger ale good.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave

Bedtime reading: Spaceland, Rudy Rucker

Worked late

The Troll left around 6:30. I thought I was the only one left in our end of the office. Really, I did. So I started singing aloud to the music in my headphones. It was mostly Johnny Cash, which is not too bad, but have you ever tried to keep up with the lyric to "I've Been Everywhere"? Anyway, just after 7 Newbie wandered into my field of vision; she was peering down the hallway, apparently looking for the source of the sounds. oops! I told her I'd thought I was alone, sorry about the singing...

I did not ask, and she did not volunteer, why she was hanging out in the break room at 7 when her shift ended at 5:30. Life would be nothing without its little mysteries.

I'm kinda glad I wasn't singing along to Sublime.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Smoke and Mirrors, Neil Gaiman

Thoughts while surfing the intertubes

A post on Pharyngula led to a NYT story about people who thought they were getting "death before dishonor" tattooed in Chinese characters and found out later they really said "bite the wax tadpole" which led to a website full of incompetently written pseudo-Chinese tattoos with the actual translations.

And I thought (as I do every time I run across this phenomenon), why didn't these folks get themselves tattooed with runes instead of Chinese? Runes are pretty, look exotic, and there's the huge bonus that almost no one else can read them, either. If you mess up Chinese characters, there's a billion-plus people who can spot the error on sight. If you mess up runes, there's maybe a few hundred people currently on the planet who'll be able to tell if you did it wrong without checking a textbook.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Too Many Blondes, Lauren Henderson

Busy like bees

Tiger and S went to school, and K and I went shopping in NJ. There was a Target and an Ikea, then K decided we'd had enough & we headed back to the city. (Tiger has a new hat! Most cute.) K and I had a very nice late lunch at the local branch of Cafe Pretentious. I took a nap and she did workish things. Then it was time to collect Tiger and head for the lake. Tiger and I passed the time making pictures for each other. Once at the lake, K turned on the heat, ordered pizza, and we hit a grocery store on the way to meet S. On the way back we collected the pizza and Tiger fell asleep. (So cute!) They tucked Tiger in, we ate yummy pizza, and now, my friends, it is bedtime. Sleep well.


Today's earrings: squirrels, basketweave

Bedtime reading: One on One, Tabitha King

400th post

The headline was:

_________!

IF LIFE'S A BLANK

TAKE NUTRAX

"And in any case," grumbled Tallboy, "the Morning Star won't take it. They won't put in anything that looks like bad language."
"Your look-out," said Ingleby. "Why not ask'em?"
Tallboy muttered something impolite.
"Anyway, if Hankin's passed it, it'll have to be laid out, I suppose," said Ingleby. "Surely the studio - oh! hullo! here's your man. You'd better worry him. Bredon!"
"That's me!" said Mr. Bredon, "All present and correct!"
"Where've you been hiding from Tallboy? You knew he was on your tail."
"I've been on the roof," admitted Bredon, apologetically. "Cooler and all that. What's the matter? What have I done?"
"Well, this headline of yours, Mr. Bredon. How do you expect them to illustrate it?"
"I don't know. I left it to their ingenuity. I always believe in leaving scope to other people's imagination."
"How on earth are they to draw a blank?"
"Let 'em take a ticket in the Irish Sweep. That'll larn 'em," said Ingleby.

- - Dorothy L. Sayers

Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Interesting Times, Terry Pratchett

Potato soup

With grateful acknowledgment to Rombauer & Becker:

• Start frying 6 strips bacon in a large saucepan
• Peel & chop 2 large russets
• Eat 1 slice bacon, set the rest aside to drain
• Drop the diced 1/2 onion leftover from Saturday in the bacon grease
• Turn on fan
• Add chopped potatoes
• Saute a while
• Add water and chicken stock to cover
• simmersimmersimmer
• Check tenderness; add more stock; have another slice of bacon; simmer some more
• Turn off fan
• Check tenderness; rejoice
• Spoon mushy potatoes into blender
• Pour in some half and half
• Blend
• Notice an odd burning smell from the blender; wonder vaguely if there's someone out there who still does small appliance repair; decide to think about it another day
• Add some more half and half
• Blend
• Pour back into the saucepan & bring back to temperature
• Have another half slice of bacon; get a grip and crumble the rest into the soup
• Add salt, pepper, and seasoned salt to taste
• Dish up a bowl of potato soup
• Gloat over its excellence
• Pour a glass of wine and have another bowl of soup
• Tell the internet what you had for dinner
  
• Go to bed happy.

Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Nine Stories, J.D. Salinger

Clouds & rainbows

Something wonderful


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave

Bedtime reading: The Wee Free Men, Terry Pratchett

Protest Day

A police motorcade passed my bus this morning on the way to work. I understand many people got arrested.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: The Amazing Maurice and his Educated Rodents, Terry Pratchett

Half day

Went in late today, d/t digestive upset. [/tmi] Turns out I'd actually missed something that morning, and they wanted my input, since it's my project and all. I felt needed. But I didn't get a chance to answer all my email... sorry.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Neverwhere, Neil Gaiman

Feast of All Saints

Caught a re-run tonight of the Iron Chef Battle Milk.

Milk: the Logos; the heavenly milk from the mystic bride, the Church; milk is also the simple teaching given to the neophyte before initiation and the wine of the sacrament. Milk and honey, food for the newborn, was given to the newly baptized. In Christian iconography the milk pail, muletra, portrays the spiritual nourishment of Christ and the Church.

- - An Illustrated Encyclopaedia of Traditional Symbols, J.C. Cooper

Iron Chef Cora won.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: The Supper of the Lamb, Robert Farrar Capon

Company picnic

The weather suddenly got all seasonal, so a bunch of us picnicked in somebody's office. Then we walked over the SFMOMA to look at art.

Best thing is a running electric fan head hanging pendulum-style in the atrium, just above head height. It blows itself to wider and smaller swings, depending on which way the fan twists as it goes. Loved it!

The ring-of-poodles installation wasn't out, and the third floor was closed to hang a show... but that fan was worth the trip.


Today's earrings: ants, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: Making Money, Terry Pratchett

And, for my one hundredth post, something earth-shaking

http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/c/a/2007/08/16/BANMRIC93.DTL


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: The Great War and Modern Memory, Paul Fussell

TGIF

If nothing else, it was Friday.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave spoons

Bedtime reading: JPod, Douglas Coupland

Going places

I should treat my boss with more respect. She's a very good boss, and a very big reason I like my job.


Today's earrings: hands, basketweave-pattern spoons

Bedtime Reading: The Driver's Seat, Muriel Spark