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I have decided that I am not going to apologize for these round-ups of odds and ends. I have never denied having a short attention span.
Celebrity Death Watch: Edwin Newman died. He was an influential newsman and his book, Strictly Speaking was a nicely curmudgeonly tome on the English language. I often disagreed with him, but I found his writing interesting. And I appreciated his fondness for puns. (In one essay, he included the line, "Quoth the Reagan, 'nevermore.'")
I'll also note the death of Irwin Silber, founder of Sing Out! magazine.
Why I Love Engineers: At work, I sometimes have occasion to track down the expert on some obscure technical subject. Apparently, not a lot of people ever talk to these people, because they always seem so eager to educate me on their subject. Despite being a big picture person myself, I actually enjoy this.
Quote of the Week: The context was how long it would take to coordinate some document or other. The guy whose office is next to mine said, "It's been like that since the Pentagon had three sides."
Things That Are Free: September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. Here in Fairfax County, you can sign up on-line and they will mail the library card to you.
Next Saturday (25 September) is Free Museum Day. That is less significant here, where many museums are already free. But it is useful in other places. (Note: you have to download a ticket from the site, which gets you free admission for two.)
Transportation: I bought a charter membership in Capital Bike Share. I'm not sure how useful it was actually be, but I wanted to support the idea. The location map is a bit odd. There are several stations in Crystal City (including two within a block of a my office) but the distances between them are too short to really make sense for a bike. But there are none in Rosslyn, which would actually be good biking distance from Crystal City. There are none in Alexandria, either, but I assume that is because of political boundaries. My most likely use is to go to a matinee at the Atlas Theatre (which would be a quick ride from Union Station and is not a particularly pleasant walk). But, as I said, I like the idea and a charter membership is just $50.
Thugs, I Say. Thugs: The New York Times had an article on the link between criminality and the Source of All Evil in the Universe. Okay, just their caps, but it is still a sign of identifying with thuggery.
Celebrity Death Watch: Edwin Newman died. He was an influential newsman and his book, Strictly Speaking was a nicely curmudgeonly tome on the English language. I often disagreed with him, but I found his writing interesting. And I appreciated his fondness for puns. (In one essay, he included the line, "Quoth the Reagan, 'nevermore.'")
I'll also note the death of Irwin Silber, founder of Sing Out! magazine.
Why I Love Engineers: At work, I sometimes have occasion to track down the expert on some obscure technical subject. Apparently, not a lot of people ever talk to these people, because they always seem so eager to educate me on their subject. Despite being a big picture person myself, I actually enjoy this.
Quote of the Week: The context was how long it would take to coordinate some document or other. The guy whose office is next to mine said, "It's been like that since the Pentagon had three sides."
Things That Are Free: September is Library Card Sign-Up Month. Here in Fairfax County, you can sign up on-line and they will mail the library card to you.
Next Saturday (25 September) is Free Museum Day. That is less significant here, where many museums are already free. But it is useful in other places. (Note: you have to download a ticket from the site, which gets you free admission for two.)
Transportation: I bought a charter membership in Capital Bike Share. I'm not sure how useful it was actually be, but I wanted to support the idea. The location map is a bit odd. There are several stations in Crystal City (including two within a block of a my office) but the distances between them are too short to really make sense for a bike. But there are none in Rosslyn, which would actually be good biking distance from Crystal City. There are none in Alexandria, either, but I assume that is because of political boundaries. My most likely use is to go to a matinee at the Atlas Theatre (which would be a quick ride from Union Station and is not a particularly pleasant walk). But, as I said, I like the idea and a charter membership is just $50.
Thugs, I Say. Thugs: The New York Times had an article on the link between criminality and the Source of All Evil in the Universe. Okay, just their caps, but it is still a sign of identifying with thuggery.
