I ordered an accessory a week or so ago from the company that built my recumbent bike, and I just got a phone call from one of its employees. Here’s how the conversation unfolded, more or less: Him: We got your order and we shipped it. Unfortunately, our shipping clerk forgot to update your address… Continue reading How to keep a customer after you mess up
My new “Life Verse”
A hilarious post entitled Having a ‘life verse’ appeared a few days ago on the Stuff Christians Like blog and it made me realize that I, like the anonymous author of that post, have never really adopted a favorite Bible verse that I could roll out to demonstrate my superior-yet-humble spirituality. For one thing, my… Continue reading My new “Life Verse”
Does Praying Make You a Christian?
Last week, in response to a poll wherein almost 20% of respondents said they believed that President Obama is a Muslim, a White House spokesman stated that “the President is obviously a – is Christian.” The spokesman went on to support this assertion by saying “he prays every day,” as if that settled the question… Continue reading Does Praying Make You a Christian?
Redesigned US Currency
There have been a number of attempts to redesign US currency, which I’ll readily admit looks old and drab next to that of many other countries (but which also demonstrates that beauty does not always equate to utility or value, but that’s a completely different issue). The Dollar ReDe$ign Project brings many of those attempts… Continue reading Redesigned US Currency
Tattooed Teachers
Semi-interesting post over at the Freakonomics blog about the possibility that college professors who have tattoos could be more successful than their non-ink-stained counterparts. I’m pretty skeptical about the relevance of the study cited in the post, as are most of the commenters. If nothing else, showing male undergrads photos of tattooed female models* is,… Continue reading Tattooed Teachers
Conversation
Scene: Master bedroom, this morning Her: That’s not the same shirt you were just wearing. Him: No, I decided that other one looks like a clown shirt. Her: What?! Him: Well, those wide vertical stripes make it look like a clown shirt. Her: So, you’re never going to wear that shirt again? Him: Well, not… Continue reading Conversation
The Dance of [Unintentional] Mystery
Today’s “Close to Home” cartoon hits, well, close to home. However, in our case the caption is wrong. In our case, the neighbors would be saying, “The Siegmunds aren’t being tormented by wasps after all; they’re practicing the rumba.” Or the cha cha…or the foxtrot…or, well, you get the idea. Sometimes it’s hard to tell… Continue reading The Dance of [Unintentional] Mystery
The baddest geek in the ‘Bucks
So, I stumbled across this – a mock-up of an add-on iPhone QWERTY keyboard – and while it’s somewhat interesting in concept, it’s still far from an ideal solution for those who can’t seem to master the phone’s tiny virtual keyboard. But it made me wonder whether the iPhone plays well with the dockable keyboard*… Continue reading The baddest geek in the ‘Bucks
Barn Swallows: Winning the battle, losing the war
As you may recall, I was successful in convincing the local barn swallows that our porches were sub-optimal for nest placement. That battle was messy and frustrating for both sides, as battles always are, and neither side emerged feeling entirely satisfied with the outcome. During the aftermath, it became obvious that barn swallows are masters… Continue reading Barn Swallows: Winning the battle, losing the war
Dos Burros
There are two burros pastured about a quarter mile from our house. Every so often, something will set them off – a rattlesnake, a coyote, perhaps even each other – and we’ll hear their braying all around the neighborhood. I took a photo of them a year or two back, when we were in the… Continue reading Dos Burros