Been very tied up on work lately, so I haven't been able to share my brilliance with you as frequently. One of these days I hope to put more time into Daily Affirmations, since it impresses the chicks and all.
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Did a round-trip to and from Houston today. Went there on SH71, came back on US290. The bluebonnets are out, though it seems a bit early. They aren't exactly thick like in years past. I've heard the drought is going to depress the wildflowers this year. Anyway, there was a modest amount of bluebonnets, and fewer buttercups, paintbrushes, and just a very few winecups, on SH71. Once you get to IH10, there's no more visible flowers. I didn't see much in the way of flowers in Houston itself, except near Memorial Park, where they always do a good job of cultivating flowers in the nature areas. Coming back on 290, the flowers begin to pick up after Sealy and are pretty good in Brenham, as you'd expect, but its still just a sprinkle, compared to the thick fields of springs past. Hopefully later this month we'll see a lot more of the treasured bluebonnet blues and red-orange paintbrushes that make Texas so beautiful each spring.
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This changing time business has got to stop. Twice a year, it gets harder and harder for me to sleep, and for several days I'm just dragging around all day. I did a little research on this. Turns out we can't blame the farmers, as I'd hoped (I had what I thought were some good "Jessica Simpson starring at the rodeo" lines now rendered useless). Turns out it was that busy-body Benjamin Franklin who dreamed it up, figuring "summer time" would save on candle usage by utilizing more natural light during the late afternoons. Then Europe followed by the US instituted it in World War I, resumed it in World War II, and the US finalized the switchover in 1966. Energy usage considerations appears to drive the debate, and there is a debate, by the way. Historically, DST proponents have urged the Ben Franklin argument-it saves energy by allowing greater reliance on natural light in afternoon hours, rather than artificial light. What did that guy know? He wanted the turkey to be the national symbol, and what was the only governmental office he held-Ambassador to France. 'Nuff said. That kite flier needs to step back. Actually, some UCal geeks did a study in Indiana recently and found that DST actually increases energy usage, because people use more air conditioning. When they get home its an hour earlier and therefore the heat of the day is still present. Naturally they went to the "we need to support Obama" card to get their point across (University of California professors wanting to help Obama by writing a New York Times op-ed piece...that's totally not cliche).
Personally, I prefer daylight savings time over standard time, because I'm usually up later so I like having more afternoon hours. But we should just find which one works better and stick with it. This time-switching business is just nonsense, and in the days of nuclear power plants, 345kV transmission lines, computers, and the internet and the like, has no legitimate justification.
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What the hell is Twitter, and more importantly, how does it help our lives? Let me answer my question. Twitter is an on-line service for people to enter one-line updates about their current "status." The Facebook Monolith has a similar functionality, in which you can enter your status on your profile page. Twitter allows you to enter your status; the Twitter web site gives examples of "eating soup," "running late to a meeting," and "partying." Entries are called "tweets," which totally sounds like something a bunch of Cal State Northridge guys thought up between bong rips. Twitter explains that "with Twitter, you can stay hyper–connected to your friends and always know what they’re doing." Now that the Bush Administration has concluded, formerly amusing comic strip Doonesbury is left without much to talk about and is trying to return to the funny. Trudeau has satirized Twitter recently with great success. Twitter is slowly making inroads to popular culture, the next symptom of the Great 21st Century Information Overload Epidemic. My cave is looking better and better.
Look, don't anyone take this the wrong way, but for the most part I couldn't care less what you do during your day. I don't care if you're eating soup, or drinking coffee, or moving from the den to the living room, or if you just got back from Home Depot. Tell me quickly if you ran into Catherine Zeta-Jones at Home Depot, or won the lottery, or were trampled in a yak stampede. Otherwise, just assume you need to keep some of your juicy news in reserve so we'll have something to talk about the next time we awkwardly run into each other at the grocery store or at a wedding or funeral. Let's not totally ruin the mystery between us. If you get to the point in life where you're hanging on to my next update to find out if I got a refill on my diet coke, you, my friend, need a hobby (or maybe a date).
* * * *
The Decline of Western Civilization:
Paul Blart: Mall Cop has earned $133 million in gross revenues.
Somewhere, the "Hey Vern" guy is cursing his bad timing, and Billy Wilder spins in his grave.
* * * *
Did a round-trip to and from Houston today. Went there on SH71, came back on US290. The bluebonnets are out, though it seems a bit early. They aren't exactly thick like in years past. I've heard the drought is going to depress the wildflowers this year. Anyway, there was a modest amount of bluebonnets, and fewer buttercups, paintbrushes, and just a very few winecups, on SH71. Once you get to IH10, there's no more visible flowers. I didn't see much in the way of flowers in Houston itself, except near Memorial Park, where they always do a good job of cultivating flowers in the nature areas. Coming back on 290, the flowers begin to pick up after Sealy and are pretty good in Brenham, as you'd expect, but its still just a sprinkle, compared to the thick fields of springs past. Hopefully later this month we'll see a lot more of the treasured bluebonnet blues and red-orange paintbrushes that make Texas so beautiful each spring.
* * * *
This changing time business has got to stop. Twice a year, it gets harder and harder for me to sleep, and for several days I'm just dragging around all day. I did a little research on this. Turns out we can't blame the farmers, as I'd hoped (I had what I thought were some good "Jessica Simpson starring at the rodeo" lines now rendered useless). Turns out it was that busy-body Benjamin Franklin who dreamed it up, figuring "summer time" would save on candle usage by utilizing more natural light during the late afternoons. Then Europe followed by the US instituted it in World War I, resumed it in World War II, and the US finalized the switchover in 1966. Energy usage considerations appears to drive the debate, and there is a debate, by the way. Historically, DST proponents have urged the Ben Franklin argument-it saves energy by allowing greater reliance on natural light in afternoon hours, rather than artificial light. What did that guy know? He wanted the turkey to be the national symbol, and what was the only governmental office he held-Ambassador to France. 'Nuff said. That kite flier needs to step back. Actually, some UCal geeks did a study in Indiana recently and found that DST actually increases energy usage, because people use more air conditioning. When they get home its an hour earlier and therefore the heat of the day is still present. Naturally they went to the "we need to support Obama" card to get their point across (University of California professors wanting to help Obama by writing a New York Times op-ed piece...that's totally not cliche).
Personally, I prefer daylight savings time over standard time, because I'm usually up later so I like having more afternoon hours. But we should just find which one works better and stick with it. This time-switching business is just nonsense, and in the days of nuclear power plants, 345kV transmission lines, computers, and the internet and the like, has no legitimate justification.
* * * *
What the hell is Twitter, and more importantly, how does it help our lives? Let me answer my question. Twitter is an on-line service for people to enter one-line updates about their current "status." The Facebook Monolith has a similar functionality, in which you can enter your status on your profile page. Twitter allows you to enter your status; the Twitter web site gives examples of "eating soup," "running late to a meeting," and "partying." Entries are called "tweets," which totally sounds like something a bunch of Cal State Northridge guys thought up between bong rips. Twitter explains that "with Twitter, you can stay hyper–connected to your friends and always know what they’re doing." Now that the Bush Administration has concluded, formerly amusing comic strip Doonesbury is left without much to talk about and is trying to return to the funny. Trudeau has satirized Twitter recently with great success. Twitter is slowly making inroads to popular culture, the next symptom of the Great 21st Century Information Overload Epidemic. My cave is looking better and better.
Look, don't anyone take this the wrong way, but for the most part I couldn't care less what you do during your day. I don't care if you're eating soup, or drinking coffee, or moving from the den to the living room, or if you just got back from Home Depot. Tell me quickly if you ran into Catherine Zeta-Jones at Home Depot, or won the lottery, or were trampled in a yak stampede. Otherwise, just assume you need to keep some of your juicy news in reserve so we'll have something to talk about the next time we awkwardly run into each other at the grocery store or at a wedding or funeral. Let's not totally ruin the mystery between us. If you get to the point in life where you're hanging on to my next update to find out if I got a refill on my diet coke, you, my friend, need a hobby (or maybe a date).
* * * *
The Decline of Western Civilization:
Paul Blart: Mall Cop has earned $133 million in gross revenues.
Somewhere, the "Hey Vern" guy is cursing his bad timing, and Billy Wilder spins in his grave.
1 comment:
your critique of twitter sounds very similar to one you made about blogging years ago?
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