Mouse for Sale/Barter

I really want a Mac "Mighty Mouse," with programmable buttons and a pleasurable little nubbin of a multi-directional scrolley-ball, but the user reviews are so poor I can't bring myself to spend the money for it. I did buy this highly-rated Kensington "PocketMouse" for about $14, thinking I would like the scroll wheel and that the small size might be suitable for the size of my hand. Alas, after a brief trial, I find I still prefer the elliptical Apple mouse.

So if anyone is looking for a mouse suitable for a laptop, drop me a note in comments. The mouse has a long cord and a travel pouch. It works wonderfully - it's quick and responsive; I just couldn't get used to the arched feel of it after years of the flatter Mac mouse.

Arbordale

Maple tree in the middle is already starting to turn red.

Happy Cycling

First Day of Class

Forgot camera.
Tired.
More news as events warrant.

20:35 - Anti-war protest on the Diag right now, and here I am sitting on my arse, drinking a beer in my robe listening to J.Lo. I am a slug.

My Passport

is expired and I have been loath to renew it, because I would have to turn in my old one with all the stamps from my travels before most of the European borders were "open."

The Russians inexplicably used page 21 for my comings and goings at Sheremetyevo.

I will have to renew it though, as P. and I want to go to Finland in 2009 (and depending on who the president is, we might not want to come back).

Tomorrow is the First Day of the Rest of my Life

This is my schedule for the next 15 weeks.

I am gonna hafta feel my Ginsana.

New Dress

The fool camera wanted to focus on the doorknob.

Here Comes the Rain Again

Is it raining with you?

Out

I'll be in meetings all day and then at a non-profit reception this evening, so I doubt I'll have any pictures. In the meantime, please enjoy this Flash animation of the end of the world, ho-kay?

http://www.endofworld.net/

I'd also like to draw your attention to the link at the top of the sidebar - Kimmijo's Shared Items in Google Reader. The feed for this looked really cool on the blog, but it doesn't seem to update (thus rendering it useless as a feed) so I've supplied the link in case any of my five readers are absolutely dying to see what tickles my fancy on Boing Boing.

Don't Know Where to Go?

Let the intersection of Jackson and Wagner tell you!

Cioppino

Trader Joe sez the bag makes two servings, but it looks like one to me.

Bonus Post: A Wee Question

Would a blanket of six hundred 98.6° mammals make the glacier melt faster?

cn i buy u lunch @ zingRmans b4 u go?

Lawyer P. is leaving Ann Arbor today. True to his free-spirited nature, he informed me of this development via text message while I was out of town Saturday night. I wish him well on his new endeavors, tho' I did point out he is depriving me of a cat-sitter.

Stella d'Oro Gull

Hoping for french fries in a McDonald's parking lot in Toledo.

D - forgot to tell you - the new bridge is open on I-280. It's waaaaaay up there. It's kinda freaky.

Bed & Breakfast

As Blue as Sky as You Will Ever See in Michigan

I cannot believe I did not know that Geoffrey Chaucer Hath a Blog.

Anyone want to come see a movie about a typeface with me?

From Brunching Shuttlecocks via Shakespeare's Sister, a diagram of Times when I am truly happy.

Had Enough Elvis?

Happy birthday, Madonna!



She lived in Ann Arbor for a few weeks, ya know!

Pussytoes

Can't wait to see my StatCounter searches on this headline.

Numbers Game

Many electrons are being fired on the Internet over this story in the NY Times, which includes this sentence:

One survey, recently reported by the federal government, concluded that men had a median of seven female sex partners. Women had a median of four male sex partners.

The rest of the article quotes a couple of researchers who basically admit to having no idea how to reconcile or explain these numbers.

Online commentary includes*, but is not limited to:

• The women are underreporting.


• Prostitutes make up the difference.


• Two of out every three times for the men are with their hands.


• It says median, for fucks' sake. Why the fuck dont you people understand statistics? Yet another failure of our edumacational system!


• Maybe respondents define what constitutes a "sex act" differently.


• They left out the homosexuals and the transwomen.


• Are they saying prostitutes don't count as people?


• This is the LIBERAL AGENDA at work. Marriage is between ONE MAN and ONE WOMAN as ordained by G-D. The numbers shuld be 1 and ONE. That bridge collapsed in Minnasota because we are SADAM and GOMORRAH. LIBERALS WANT YOUR CHILDREN TO HAVE SEX.

Here my only reaction was: Seven? Four?
Seriously?
Four?
























Heh.



* Just so no one gets their guchies in a twist, these are not actual quotes.

Believe It or Not, Autumn is Around the Corner

How do I know?

Because the wee mums are blooming and the Steelers have already lost a pre-season game.

Summer Lace

Bad Environmentalist. Bad.

In addition to sugar-baby mini watermelons, my list of Acceptable Fruit has expanded to include the minneola tangelo, also known as a "honeybell." Super sweet and almost all juice, I like them approximately 300% more than oranges. But their availability is limited, with a season that seems to correspond with that of the crates of clementines my dad likes to get at Christmas.

On my way into Arbor Farms Market, a local purveyor of organic groceries, I saw a huge pyramid of minneolas glowing on a table outside next to the corn and tomatoes. "How do they have minneolas?" I thought. They were expensive, over a dollar a piece, but I got two.

It wasn't until I got home that I saw the label, which explains how Arbor Farms has minneolas:

The four-digit code also indicates that this fruit isn't organic. Organic would kind of be a moot point after flying it 9441 miles*, wouldn't it?

I feel badly that a ton of jet fuel was burned to bring me a tangelo in Michigan in August. Yet, it never before occurred to me to feel badly about the fuel burned to bring me a bottle of Australian shiraz.

Why? Why not?

I'll need to have another glass and get back to you on that.

* From Indo.com: Distance between Ann Arbor, Michigan, United States and Sydney, Australia, as the crow flies: 9441 miles (15193 km) (8204 nautical miles)

Initial heading from Ann Arbor to Sydney:
west (262.4 degrees)
Initial heading from Sydney to Ann Arbor:
east-northeast (62.2 degrees)

Streetlights

Goodfellahs

I stopped at the party store around the corner after work today to pick up some Leinenkugel's Sunset Wheat, which I had for the first time on the camping trip and has become a new summer favorite. Going to the party store in the early evening is better than going later. Later, I feel a little wary walking in alone, what with the random male loiterers around the door, and the two guys who run the place don't exactly put me at ease either. They look like, sound like, and project the auras of two men who know in great detail what happened to Jimmy Hoffa.

This evening a new, younger guy was selling the lottery tickets and working one register while one of the goodfellahs berated someone on the other end of the phone, per usual. He's the one who asked for my ID once when I paid for a bottle of Grand Marnier with a credit card. "How d'you say that name?" he asked me. When I told him, he gave me shit about it. "Cinco de Mayo! Cinco means 'five!' Cinco de Mayo! Hahahahahah!" I risked winding up under the 50 yard line at Soldier Field with Hoffa and unsmilingly said, "That's not an original joke."

But I digress.

Young goodfellah hesitated to ring up my $8 microbrewed six-pack. Because I didn't stick my ID in my pocket when I walked over, I got carded for the first time in about four years. Now, I knew I had a pimple on my forehead and a sparkly silver butterfly in my hair because I woke up at 8:26 and had to be at work by 9:00 and grabbed the closest barrette. But the Delaware Water Gap appears between my eyebrows when I make an expression and when I smile several crows stamp on the skin around the corners of my eyes. My hair is turning gray. I've the start of a pizza-fed double chin and some nice strega-style black whiskers. This kid thinks I'm not 21?

He wanted to consult with the senior member of the staff. Goodfellah held the phone away from his ear. "What do you want?" he asked me. "You want a bag? You want us to help you drink it?"

"I'm in here all the time," I said. "I just want to take this home."

"She's okay," he told young goodfellah.

"You still owe me $200," he said into the phone.

How YOU Doin'?

Still getting caught up on work. And sweating.

In Which the Market Creates Previously Unfelt Desire

OMG! I WANT THE RADICCHIO CHICKENS!



The zucchini daschund is cute too:

Weird, I Know

Despite the heat and humidity, I felt like making soup today.

Kimmijo's Random Soup

Heat minced garlic and onion in olive oil until onion is transparent
Add carrot, celery and one cup chicken broth
Simmer until carrot softens
Add two hands-full pasta and another cup of chicken broth
Bring to boil, then reduce
Skim the stuff off the top
Add oregano, freshly ground pepper and paprika to taste
When pasta is tender, stir in peas and dark leafy greens
Serve with shredded cheese and croutons

Humid Hair Day

Washington Street Parking Garage Mosaic

Turn Off Hi-Beamz Plz

I Knew They Were Selling Something

More Jesus Brand® Spirituality.

From the Spam Folder

My worshippers have finally caught on.

Please, you don't have to kneel.