Steel White Table

Now that I bought my first acoustic guitar (I’ve always borrowed Phillip’s, who has had at least three, I think: classical, regular acoustic, and a 12 string), what songs should I learn to impress the chicks?
I USED to know a lot of tunes, but that was 20 years ago: The Beatles, Pink Floyd, Rolling Stones, [...]

I took this morning off, renting a garden tiller for 4 hours, preparing my garden for the garlic I’ll be planting soon. Afterwards, my children helped me get dirty.
Garlic, like most hardy plants, establishes its roots in the fall, then slowly grows in the near frozen ground. Sometimes you’ll see green shots coming [...]

I got a haircut today. I now look like a pencil-necked geek.
At one point the barber shaved the back of my neck. He lathered up some cream that he mixed in a cup by adding some hot water. He brushed it on the back of my neck and then shaved off the fussy hairs with [...]

Make $75 per hour at Google.com:
…typically we pay $75 for each hour that you spend with a Google researcher, either in person or on the phone. Most studies last for one to one-and-a-half hours. We don’t pay for your travel time, or travel expenses, though. For online surveys, which you complete from your own computer, [...]

How to Act Crazy
Be subtle. Don’t overdo it. Instead of screaming swear words at people and claiming to be “seeing” things, maybe talk in a low whisper and look at “someone” next to you who isn’t there.
Repeat yourself. Pretend you did not. Insist you did not.
Take a sip of soda, hum while you do it, [...]

Here’s an interview with Jolie Holland I bookmarked from GoogleVideo ages ago and then completely forgot about. It’s worth a peak if you’re curious what she looks and sounds like when she’s not singing — when she’s just sitting there combing her hair.

And here’s a bootleg video of her playing “Catalpa Waltz.”
[...]

The OED (Oxford English Dictionary) has added some new words to their famous publication, including:

bada-bing, int.
beer pong, n.
Disneyfication, n.
Emily’s List, n.
GIF, n.
treeware, n.

The OED is known for their inclusion of quotes that illustrate a word’s meaning:
For each word in the OED, the various groupings of senses are dealt with in chronological order according to the [...]

A recent phone conversation:
Mom: How do I play a DVD?
Me: Did you put it in? What’s on the screen?
Mom: A TV channel.
Me: Change to channel three.
Mom: Okay, I see “Play movie” and other stuff now.
Me: Good. Press “Play” or “Enter” on the remote.
Mom: The remote has no labels. The buttons are all [...]

Episode 5 of Jody Checks His Loto Numbers, this time with Iain. He catches on to my “Nope”s quickly as I’m checking the second ticket.

Previous episodes are available.

A cassette deck for the PC:
The PlusDeck 2c is a full-logic cassette deck for your PC. Use it to archive your old cassette tapes of 80s hair bands into digital media files for playback on your PC.
And, a turntable with a USB interface:
…the first USB turntable for converting your old vinyls directly to CD or [...]

It’s been one of those weeks where today just doesn’t feel like Friday.
It feels more like Monday.

From No One Dares to Help:
On a recent Sunday, I was buying groceries in my beloved Amariya neighborhood in western Baghdad when I heard the sound of an AK-47 for about three seconds. It was close but not very close, so I continued shopping.
As I took a right turn on Munadhama Street, I saw a [...]

An interview with Neil Peart where he talks about being a drummer, writer, and motorcyclist. When asked what his favorite Rush song is:
“Tom Sawyer” is certainly one of our best known songs, but it’s always hard to play. It’s always a challenge, so how can that be boring? There’s still an exciting thing about playing [...]

Tags: neil peart, rush

One of the daily rituals with my daughter (who started school this year) is finding out how many time-outs she received during the day.
Her: Only one today, Dad!
Me: Alright! High-five!
Well, last night was our first parent-teacher meeting and I was expecting the worst:
You’re CAITLYN’S parents?! You don’t look like awful parents.
It went well, [...]

A man was walking home alone late one foggy night, when behind him he hears a…
…BUMP!
Then another…BUMP!
And another…BUMP!
Walking faster, he looks behind him, peering through the curtain of fog, and makes out the shape of an upright casket banging its way down the middle of the street toward him.
BUMP!..BUMP!…BUMP!
Terrified, the man begins to run [...]