May 2005 Archives

Every Friday, I work out of a different Seattle-area coffee shop and offer up my review of the experience here.

This week, I spent the morning at Zoka Coffee in the Greenlake neighborhood. Zoka is home to the U.S. Barista Champion and roasts their own coffee. Needless to say, my triple Americano was quite tasty &emdash; not too thick and strong and nicely full-flavored. They also have a wide range of baked goods, bagels, and teas. The baristas were friendly and fast.

Why couldn't I find a resource like this when I carried a man-purse? Now, I'm saddled with an oversized bag and I'm constantly leaving stuff at home or suffering from Bulging Pocket Syndrome. I'm seriously considering going back to the man-purse, but if I tell Amy I'm going shopping for Yet Another Bag, she's going to take Ray and flee to an undisclosed location.

Ray is sleeping better in the morning lately. For the last few days, he's been sleeping until 7am, which is unprecendented and is great for him. He's much less tired and cranky during the day, according to Amy. The only problem is that I recently adjusted my work schedule and need to leave the house by 6:15.

It's amazing how much noise simple tasks can make when you're trying to be quiet. Brushing teeth sounds like scubbing gravel with power washer. Every squeak of the floor sounds like the whole house is falling down. And forget about showering. I might join the health club here on campus just to be able to shower in the morning. Oh, and maybe to work my sorry-ass into shape again.

I feel like someone in a heist movie trying to evade the motion sensors and sweeping laser beam security system just getting out of my house. Actually, I should treat it like a game and pretend I really am trying to abscond with the jewels. Except we have no jewels.

We really need to have a bathroom put in the basement, but I don't have a spare $10K lying around just now. But, maybe if I can fence the stolen jewels, I'll make enough.... Oh wait.

Sample conversation with Ray last night.

[Jim turns on stereo; puts on Disk 3 of David Bowie's "Sound & Vision" compilation. Music starts.]

Ray: Bo-bo! [Ray-language for "Bowie"]
Jim: Ray, you can say "ee." Can you say "Bo-ee?"
Ray: Bo-bo!
Jim: Repeat after me. "Bo."
Ray: Bo!
Jim: Ee.
Ray: Ee!
Jim: Bo.
Ray: Bo!
Jim: Ee.
Ray: Ee!
Jim: Bo-ee.
Ray: Bo-bo!!
Jim: <sigh>

An excellent article from Scientific American that covers the basic arguments against Creationism and Intelligent Design.

Embarrassingly, in the 21st century, in the most scientifically advanced nation the world has ever known, creationists can still persuade politicians, judges and ordinary citizens that evolution is a flawed, poorly supported fantasy....

To help with answering them, the following list rebuts some of the most common "scientific" arguments raised against evolution.

In trying to teach Ray a lesson last night, I ended up learning a valuable one myself ... about how much Ray understands.

All day yesterday, Ray complained about various "Ow-ies." Every time a body part even grazed some object, he'd clutch it and run to one of us for a kiss. At bedtime, his head hit the cushion of the changing table just a little harder than usual. He grabbed his head, put on a traumatized face, and cried "Ow-a" (his version of "Ow-ie").

I decided to educate him a bit using a bit of parable -- "The Boy Who Cried Wolf." Big mistake.

Every Friday, I work out of a different Seattle-area coffee shop and offer up my review of the experience here.

I was looking forward to setting up my temporary office in the Green Bean, which is a new coffee shop in my neighborhood. I liked the promise of being able to walk someplace, and they advertised free WiFi. Perhaps my excitement is what contributed to my disappointment.

I've always thought that businesses who announced that they were voted the "Best of..." something in some year were taking a huge PR risk. What happens if you don't win the next year? Wouldn't your customers wonder if your product/service has taken a dive? I know if I go to a shop and see a framed certificate that reads "Voted Best Seattle Coffee Shop in 1999" ... and nothing from recent years, I'd probably go try to find the "Best of 2005."

That's why this struck me a particularly funny.

Boy, do I need to take a closer look at this handwriting improvement site and try out some of the handwriting exercises. [Adds to to-do list]

When I was in elementary school, I consistently scored really low on handwriting. I never even learned to hold a pen properly. I figured I could get away with it now that I do almost everything on a computer, but it's coming back to bite me when I use the Tablet PC.

Errant aviators with outdated maps trigger big D.C. scare

Two lost aviators flying with outdated maps from a rural Pennsylvania airstrip yesterday triggered a red alert and the frantic evacuation of the White House, the Capitol and the Supreme Court before they were intercepted by Air Force jets firing warning flares.

They must have been using those maps from 1791, before the White House was built.