Tiptoe Tuesday

The tulips are poking through; some of the daffodils are in full bloom. But oxalis dominates. Squirrels are raiding the bird feeders, as usual.

Ruth said I could use her sighting. Each year about this time, down on MacArthur, a tax outfit takes up residence in the old video store next to Subway. Each night in the thick of the commute time a kid dressed as Lady Liberty stands and jiggles and twirls a sign, aiming to lure in tax neophytes as he (and it has always been a he in our neighborhood) dances. Recently she passed by and noticed the police taking down the latest Lady Liberty, who knows what this child did. He was spread-eagled. he pointy foam crown on Lady Liberty's head askew. Just sayin'....My husband gets upset when I suggest he could get a job--any part time job-- to help meet the current gap,including doing a Lady Liberty stint. I envision that I'd sell my body, if times were excruciating (depending on pt of view), but who would want it? Comes to mind. Just sayin'....

Just when you thought it couldn't get any better...Daniel Handler plays the ACCORDION:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6_xY4Gto7EY&feature=related

A friend at work, Diana, and I are working out way through the Lemony Snicket series of unfortunate adventures. Oh would that I had these gloomy tomes to read as a kid.

Hail, Bopp

Twice it hailed today, a harbinger of pagan rites ahead? 

Puppy Bowl

Just when I think I can't get it any better, Puppy Bowl VII has chickens for cheerleaders...

quote of the week

““The Swarmatron is a gateway drug to other Dewanatrons.”  Read more http://www.newyorker.com/talk/2011/01/24/110124ta_talk_paumgarten#ixzz1CeGGUM5W

 

Many years ago, these cabins were $25 a night. Now they're $110 and nearly impossible to get via the State Parks System. But we snagged one night, for the start of a (gulp) milestone birthday. http://picasaweb.google.com/wordsworth99/SteepRavineCabins

Kindling

Halfway back on the tech train I am. My new Kindle has on it Scrabble*, The Autobiography of Ben Franklin, Oxford Dictionary of English, How to Camp Out, The Possessed: Adventures of Russian Books and People Who Read Them,* The Emperor of all Maladies,* Everyday Foods in War Time, Alice's Adventures in Wonderland, Autiobiography of a Yogi, and the New Oxford American Dictionary.  (*=purchased) There's a lot of free words out there, especially from the 1940s and earlier. CONS: no paper turning, no paper corner folding, no good back button functionality, hard to prop, cool tactility vs warm, easy to lose. PROS: easy to take along, can make type big, can highlight stuff, share highlights via facebook etc, thin and small. Audible feature that reads text to you in a mechanical voice I find vaguely hypnotic. Ben Franklin's description of monitoring his habits is very entertaining. The dictionaries aren't particularly browsable; 'tis a shame.

Loud shoes

No doubt about it, the women with loud boots always seem to be right behind me as I huff up Columbus, from Market St. on my way to work. I cross over, they cross over. Grr. Now I know why my father used to tip me cash money to not wear Dr. Scholl’s around the house.

 

Shuffling to the bus

Looked up from my shuffle to the new temp terminal to see a pickup alongside. All hail the three giant Doggie Diner heads. Darn, no camera, once again. And my lo-tech phone doesn't have one; I stepped off the tech train for a while. But apparently these dogs get around: http://laughingsquid.com/doggie-diner-dog-heads/