Doing some errands last week – had been raining all day. Waiting for the left-turn arrow at an intersection, I noticed that on the berm between the street and the parking lot, the automatic sprinklers had turned on.
Thinking of all the technology we have these days (people on the moon, 3-d printing, chatbots, apps that can track your heartrate – the list goes on and one), why can’t they program automatic sprinklers to know when it’s raining?
Any absurdity bothering you this week?
I looked out my bathroom window yesterday to see the scene in the photo above of my neighbor’s house to the north.
Based on having been a homeowner myself for 40+ years, I’m guessing Brian tried to knock down some icicles.
Now YA and I have a pool going to see how long it takes for the balls to return to earth. I say four days; YA says two.
Any projects that with hindsight just weren’t going to work out well?
YA and I are on what we are calling my retirement trip. This travel is made possible by my old company (her current company) using “award credits” that we’ve been amassing the last year and a half. Wonder where we are?
In the “always something new under the sun” category – I came downstairs last week to find Nimue’s two ceramic bowls replaced with these two plates.
YA purchased them because apparently kitties can get “whisker fatigue” if they eat from regular bowls. I’m not even going to look up whisker fatigue; if I do find it legitimized online, it will just make me crazy.
Any new “news” in your world lately?
Photo credit: Fernhern A/S
I see in the news that they are building what will be the world’s longest immersed tunnel. Linking Germany and Denmark under the waters of the Baltic, construction actually began in 2020 and is expected to be complete by 2029
I’m sure lots of folks are excited about this but not me. I don’t even like driving through the I94 tunnel downtown and last month when folks got stuck in The Chunnel for several hours, I almost had a panic attack just reading the news story about it.
Any phobias you’ll admit to?
Main character: Relatively intelligent woman with cooking skills
Location: A kitchen loaded with pots, pans, utensils and cooking toys
Weapon: Kitchen Pro 2000
Plot: The main character, despite being careful, always manages to cut herself when using her mandoline. The latest attack by the mandoline occurred not when she is actually using it but as she is moving back to the sink to wash a dish.
Mystery: Why does the mandoline have it out for her?
Any kitchen mishaps you’re willing to share?
My little neighbor, who is six, gave me a very stern warning over the weekend. “My friend had a bear come up on her deck to eat from her bird feeder. So be really careful and be sure to close your gate at night.”
I’m not sure where the friend lives, but I’m pretty sure it’s not in southwest Minneapolis. We normally keep an eye on the gate so the dog doesn’t get out, but I will admit that I did look out the back window last night to make sure it was closed!
Any irrational fears you’ll admit to?
Husband has always been a pretty deep thinker, and lately has been talking to me quite about about how he strives to teach his clients to navigate complexity in effective and healthy ways. He defines this as paying loving attention and using carefuly planned, organized strategies to solve problems.
Husband says that to do therapy well is to navigate complexity with loving attention. He says that we do this while cooking. He says that this also draws us to musical performance. Other would do the same by canoeing the Boundary Waters, flying an airplane, and leading a rock climbing expedition. The ways we have to navigate complexity in our every day lives are more subtle but equally as important.
What complex situations have you had to navigate? What have you seen others navigate? What are your hopes for how we and others shall navigate complexity in the future? How good are you at asking for directions?
Dictionary.com still sends me an email every day. Some days I already know the word and most days I think “I’ve never seen this word before and I doubt I’ll ever see it again.” But it’s still fun. Last week, the word snollygoster hit my Inbox. It means a clever, unscrupulous person. This definitely falls into the category of “I’ll probably never run into this again” but it seems like such a fun word that maybe I should play with it for a bit.
If you are clever
But a bit unscrupulous –
A snollygoster!
Can you use it in a sentence? Extra points if you can do a better haiku than I did!
Well, we have had non-stop national drama for the past four years, and I am so looking forward to a respite. I was imagining the other day what political figures I would cast in plays by Shakespeare, imagining who on the national scene would make a good Lear, Lady Macbeth, or Beatrice. The possibilities are endless and amusing, so go to it, Baboons!
What roles would you cast current national or international political figures in plays, movies, musicals, or operas? Don’t limit yourself to Shakespeare. What are your favorite political dramas or comedies?
Trail Baboon 