Monday...

[susandennis]

I have no meetings today. Whew. I have three tomorrow so I need to conserve my energy and store up what teensy bit of patience with other people that I actually do have.
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I'd like to introduce a new foil in my work life. She's not an airhead like the Twinkies were or a blatant idiot like The Challenging Client was. This is a different breed - a true Technical Prissy. She is about my age. A writer. And very loud and proud about her technical incompetence. She searches high and low for every chance to proclaim that she knows nothing about anything digital or even remotely non-analog. She's one of a couple of writers on this giant multi-month project I'm managing. I have worked with her before so I'm on to her tricks. But, I know that Miss Priss will be the new thorn in my side....
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This morning's paper had a bit about a 5 piece sculpture that was installed in a park a few blocks from here. The sculpture is made of salt! It's eroding as I type and a good rain will eliminate it. We might have rain on Wednesday. I think I'll pop over today at lunch to see it before it goes.
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Ken Jennings new book comes out tomorrow and he's on the book publicity tour. I'm enjoying following along. His blog is full of trivia stuff that really does not interest me that much but his general cleverness and wry outlook on everything keeps me coming back.

As an interesting side note, my co-worker, Tyler, is a Morman like Ken Jennings. I have some deep seeded prejudices against the Church of the Ladder Day Saints. Most of my anti-LDS sentiments come out of my feminist beliefs. Both Tyler and Ken force me have to continually remind myself that the root of what they believe gives me points off for not having a penis. Neither of them make that easy.
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I called the online drug place this morning. It seems that they are able to price their stuff so competitively because they are not wasting money on highly skilled customer representatives. Probably a good plan. I'm sure glad I started with freakin' toothpaste instead of some drug that I actually really need. Getting started ain't easy. I'm sure once it's all set up it will be fine. But geesh.
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My friend, jimcarson wrote about his beginning adventures in knitting on jimcarson.com and drew way more comments than he usually gets from his bike adventures or even his recipes. Back in the olden days before pedophiles became media darlings, my single men friends used to borrow kids for showcasing in grocery stores and on playgrounds in the hopes of picking up chicks. (This was generally after the walking the dog method had failed.) These days, the way to chicks unlimited is clear... learn to knit. Or at least give it a go and publicly.
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Ok, enough rambling. I need to take the garbage down to the dumpster and drop off the latest teddy bears at my neighbors and by then, I'll have some work work waiting for me plus, probably, two stupid emails from Miss Priss. (And yes, the irony of her decrying things digital via email is not lost on me - on her, apparently, but not on me.)

Comments

[legalmoose]

I hope they somehow keep the salt from the sculptures out of the ground, otherwise you're going to have a lovely bald patch there in the park. ;)

[susandennis]

It's on pavement. BUT... I was actually surprised that the environmentalists aren't screaming about runoff. Fotos will Follow...

[jimcarson.livejournal.com]

I'd never in a jillion years think my single knitting post would have had so many comments. Later this week I will post some "design elements."

Thanks again for the encouragement.

[susandennis]

It cracked me up - it's still cracking me up.

I look forward to your design elements!!

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

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Interesting observation about Ken Jennings. I can't even remember how I ended up adding his blog to my friends list -- no wait, I think maybe it was linked to by Scott Adams in his Dilbert Blog -- but I often wondered about similar things when I read that he was a Mormon. For me, naturally, it had more to do with curiosity about his attitude toward gay people, and whether or not it would have any effect on how I enjoyed his writing. (I'm with you -- the trivia itself is something I find boring, but nearly everything else he writes about, he writes about well.)

So far, though, in his writing at least, he has been surprisingly secular. He even recently used the word "breeders" in a way that, at least to me, came across as totally non-judgmental, and thus seemed almost like he had little personal problem with people like me.

Or maybe I'm deluded, I don't know. But compared to what I grew up being told about what Mormons are supposed to be like, he seems pretty down-to-earth and cool. And besides, there are plenty of people who are proud members of a given religion (or denomination of a religion) but not necessarily proud of everything done or said in the name of that religion.

Hence Seattle's plethora of open and affirming churches, yet another of a long list of reasons I love this city. (And, to my surprise, Jennings himself lives in the area -- and while we certainly have our share of conservatives, this sure as shit ain't Salt Lake City.)
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[susandennis]

I caught the breeder crack myself and was very impressed. I read it like you did ... very non judgmental .... comfortable and knowledgeable. I know a fair number of straight people who would never get that reference much less use it!

It thought of another LDS reference in my life. The TV show Saved (TNT, I think) is a series about paramedics. One of the teams is a Morman guy (young) and a lesbian. They explore each other warily and provide the audience with an excellent insight into both worlds. It's a minor subplot but one that is beautifully handled.

[machupicchu.livejournal.com]

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If your ratings on Netflix are any indication, our movie tastes don't always mesh, but you might want to consider the film that was called Saved! -- as I felt it impressively handled teenagers struggling between piousness and teen angst/sexuality (McCaulay Culkin plays the wheelchair-bound brother, and actually does a good job!). I thought it was a rare film that mixed religion, growing up, and just plain humanity in a surprisingly fair and balanced way.

(I first wrote about it here (http://machupicchu.livejournal.com/389606.html#so).)
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[susandennis]

what an interesting name coincidence... but also, I went to Netflix to add it and it was already in my Q! I upped it to first place. Thanks!