No more state dropdowns!

Enough already. If I'm forced to input my zip code, there is no reason I must also enter my state (or city for that matter). Stop wasting my time!


2 years ago on TTaT: The order of a series

You don't need to know this

So... my underwear keeps riding up. One of those stray inconveniences in life I wouldn't pay much mind other than to consider it's time for another underwear size, except that they always ride up the same cheek. Is my ass really that uneven? When you're right-handed, your right arm tends to be stronger and a bit bigger than your left. Is the same true for ass cheeks? What could I possibly be doing that would make one side more toned than the other?

Maybe the ride-up is due to how I walk. That answer's preferable to staring over my shoulder to assess cheek symmetry in the mirror. Besides, the over-the-shoulder twist would likely impede the determination of evenness anyway. Altering subjects by the act of observing them and all that.

New underwear then. Alas, according to wikipedia, Jockey had to stop making their FormFit line (FormFit had the same Jockey bikinis I liked for less than Jockey on sale, just different colors or patterns). Living somewhat in the boondocks, I'm accustomed to chain stores having smaller selections here, so I'd hoped FormFit would turn up again.

I remember when a 3-pack of Jockey bikinis cost $12. Now it's $18. Damn, I'm becoming some saggy-assed geezer. Sigh. Maybe it's time for a new brand or cut. Anyone tried "modern briefs" or boy-cut styles? What brand and style underwear do you love? Do you find their sizing measurements to be accurate? (I.e., by hip measurement, I'm wearing the right size, but I think the next size up might be a better fit, much as it pains me to admit.)

Boys, your comments and thoughts on the underwear you wear are welcome too!


3 years ago on TTaT: Mortal Mama

Don't touch the cub

If Grey's Anatomy taught us anything this week, it's

Considering my recent bear encounters, with a mama and cub no less, seeing fictional consequences of a bad bear encounter resonated all the more. As tempting as it was to try and lure the bears back with food scraps, I'm glad I didn't try it.


Two years ago on TTaT: PRSD

National Day of Silence

What are you going to do to end the silence?


A year ago on TTaT: Slow Seven

You don't know sweet, McD

Either they mistakenly gave us all unsweetened iced teas, or McDonald's has seriously underestimated how sweet people will expect their sweet tea to be.

I think the latter because I can't imagine they'd want to post the nutritional facts for true sweet tea. I've seen it made firsthand; it takes an obscene amount of sugar.

(That tastes so good!)


A year ago on TTaT: The best kind of assholes

Priapism

Am I the only one who's glad those erection drug ads have finally stopped bothering to use the word priapism? I'm all for vocabulary building, but when the advertisers feel obligated to explain what it means every frakking time, it just plays against the economy of words I expect from a decent ad.

Better yet, they could've continued to use priapism while choosing not to define it for the three thousandth time. Wouldn't your doctor explain it when you got the prescription anyway? If not, look it up, punk. (And start looking for a new doctor.)


3 years ago on TTaT: Tiebreaker

Out and about

A year ago on TTaT: Trees fight back

Bitten or biting?

I'm not sure how I should interpret this.

Your Slogan Should Be

Claire. Love Every Bite.

The Slogan Generator

What's your slogan?

(Stolen from Jenny)

I Like the DMV

Dave2 asked: Has anybody ever had a good experience at the DMV... ever?

I knew my answer was yes, so I sifted through some old newsletters to find my recounting of getting a new driver's license in San Francisco several years ago.

I LIKE THE DMV
It has a Parking Lot. With no meters! You walk in, get your number and then there are staffed windows the length of the building. They keep it moving quite well. I was in and out in an hour and a half. Maybe that sounds long, but that included filling out forms, paying the application fee, verifying my identity and birthdate, taking an eye test, and getting my thumbprint and photo taken. Also, taking the written license test and having it graded. (None wrong-- not even the weird question about u-turns in business districts. You can call me "Ace", baby.) Then they punched a hole in my FL license to invalidate it and gave me a temporary paper license. Still seems odd to me they don't do them digitally but rather make you wait 4-6 weeks to get it.

I miss Florida. You have a valid license from another state, you take an eye test, pay the fee, get a photo and you're done. Ah well, one step closer to being Californian I suppose.

The final perk of the San Francisco DMV is that it's right next to Golden Gate park. I took a few minutes to check out the gardens around the flower conservatory. They've been doing renovation on it and it looks great; I'm not sure when it reopens. The dahlia garden was pretty neat. And at least for now (although it's going to change), there are no parking meters there either.

A year ago on TTaT: Asked and answered, A rip in space-time and it could've been him

Another note to self

You know your already lint-prone blue fleece hoodie? Yeah, don't leave a small notebook in its pocket next time you wash it.


Two years ago on TTaT: Only when and if the time comes

Day 33 of 30

My 30 day workout challenge is officially over. I exercised for at least 20 contiguous minutes every day. The 9th day was rather half-assed, so I kept it up through today, day 33.

Turns out arbitrary rules drive me as crazy as ever, even when I'm the one who devised them. Also, when the arbitrariness starts getting to me, I tend to do the minimum.

I would do better with a weekly goal of 150 minutes, for example, divided howsoever I chose. Not that I'm committing to that just now.

I did discover that I don't need to feel particularly energetic to do some light weight lifting, so I will try to keep that up most every other day. Also, the sooner I get my workout out of the way for the day, the better I tend to feel about the whole fitness endeavor. Having a set time for it (which was most definitely not the case for the challenge) might achieve the same result.

If I were to try another 30 day experiment of some sort, I'd allow myself more flexibility. 6 days out of 7 for 5 weeks, perhaps.


A year ago on TTaT: Hop, hop, hop

Monster feet

If it's strange to kick back and think that I'm related to the Cookie Monster when I look at my feet, I don't care. Bring on the cookies!


Two years ago on TTaT: I smell bacon

Cities viewed from orbit at night

Cities at Night, an Orbital Tour Around the World: so cool!


A year ago on TTaT: Just a couple more...

iii, tre, 3, three, trois !!!

3 years of blogging.

Thanks for reading.

Y'all come back now, y'hear?

A wild, inspiring, disturbing journey

Eve Ensler writes about her speaking tour leading up to the V to the 10th anniversary celebration in New Orleans next week.

Dear V Warriors,

I am on my way to San Francisco, the last city of the V to 10th tour before New Orleans. It has been a wild, inspiring, disturbing journey. I have spoken at nearly 22 places—colleges, conferences, auditoriums, theatres. I have traveled on some main roads, but mainly I have been off the beaten track in small towns like Slippery Rock, Pennsylvania, Clemson, South Carolina, and Florence, Alabama. I have spoken to crowds of hundreds and thousands. I experienced nearly seven snowstorms, a hail storm, one blessedly hot day in Austin, Texas. I have stayed in places with names like the Sleep Inn, Apple Butter Inn, and The Mansion.

I have seen the faces of hundreds of activated, vital, committed, diverse women and men who are literally giving their lives to end violence against women and girls. Women and men who have changed their cultures, told their stories and helped others do the same. I have met the V-Day activists who have raised money, raised hope, raised hackles, raised the V flag in community after community. I have seen the most beautiful original posters, t-shirts and buttons. I saw Megan’s red and black skirt in Alabama, where she sewed the V-DAY logo as a design. I heard 200 women chant “Cunt!” in Alma, Michigan. I spoke in several churches, one called Beneficent, which is my new favorite word. It means “loving kindness”. These churches and the feisty spiritual women and men who run them or work in them gave refuge and support to V-Day when other churches or religions tried to censure the productions.

I encourage you to read the rest of her letter here.


A year ago on TTaT: ii, dos, due, 2, two, deux !!

Bears are like crack

You see them fairly close once, and then glimpsing them long distance on the way out of your neighborhood just isn't enough.

Yes, the bears were back. I shouldn't be disappointed, but I am because I could've had a good view of them again if only I'd been looking out my window at the right time. To be fair, I would also have had to be standing up because I can't really see under the bird feeder where they were because the angle's too steep. Grr!

Doesn't help to hear that the cub started climbing the tree. It's the hearing about what I missed that got to me. That my brain can take an experience that was such an incredible high last week and turn a similar one into a low this week is so wrong.

Apparently the grass is greener when the bears are hanging out in my yard.

20 & 21

20. Comics & Sequential Art: Principles & Practice of the Worlds Most Popular Art Form, Expanded to include print and computer by Will Eisner (3.5/5)

A basic breakdown of the design and language of comics. Most of his examples are from his The Spirit comic-- not really my thing but useful to illustrate his discussions on framing, timing, angles, style, and other elements to consider if you want to start writing and drawing your own comics.

21. Understanding Comics: The Invisible Art by Scott McCloud (4.5/5)

The book itself is a graphic novel, and McCloud takes the basics from Eisner's book a lot further. He tackles the origins and history of comics as well practical and aesthetic concerns. The aesthetic progressions he traces in art, history, geography, and technology as they relate to comics are fascinating. Informative and a pleasure to look at and read.


A year ago on TTaT: Let it burn

Omissions piss me off

When I call and ask if you carry a replacement battery for my car, and then inquire how late you're open after you've answered my price and warranty questions, I expect you to mention that your battery tester is out getting fixed.

I felt so suckered when I walked in and said, "Hi, I'd like to get my battery tested," and you said, "We can't do that. Our battery tester was acting up, so we sent it out. We can replace your battery for you, but we can't test it."

Tk, tk, tk, tk, tk, tk. That's the sound my car's been making lately when I try to start it. I felt lucky it started at all today without a jump; I wasn't sure it'd start again if I decided to go somewhere else. Besides, Walmart still had better battery prices than Sears and AAA.

"Is something wrong with yours?" she asked.

"Yeah, I think so." It is not at all my nature to fix something without diagnosing the problem first, but I agreed to let them replace my battery because I felt stuck.

Aside from the battery tester omission-- technically, I hadn't asked about getting my battery tested because it said on their website they do that for free-- her service was very good. After she entered my info, she gave me a bar code "passport" that I could scan at any price checker in the store to check on my car's progress. Very cool.

My car started with no problem with the new battery, so (fingers crossed) that's the end of it.

Of course within minutes of getting back on the road, I hit the worst two potholes I have all season because I was still preoccupied with feeling suckered and some asshole dude in a minivan was riding up my ass. No sooner than you fix one thing, you unintentionally do something horrible to your car. At least I hadn't just had my tires realigned.

Sheep do say baa

A year ago on TTaT: Here comes the sacrilege

Well, shucks

Just finished resizing a bunch of pics, but the thunder's really picking up... tomorrow then.

A year ago on TTaT: So much they don't tell you