Remote Is All In Your Mind

I had lunch with a friend yesterday and we talked about work.  Her job, like most others, requires her to go in to the office every day (that's an hour commute for her in good weather...each way).

So, we ended up talking about how I telecommute.

She thought that was so odd to be working with people world-wide over WebEx and other "productivity" tools.

My point back to her was this:  well, most of it's email and phone calls.  It's just the same as what you do every day.

And then I think it dawned on her- how the "remoteness" was all in her mind.  

I mean, if you have an IT job, chances are you're either heads-down (like programmers) all day and don't want to be bothered, or you're emailing and calling people.

So, does it matter where you do that work?

Does it matter where the person you're contacting is located?  (well, besides the time zone consideration)

It's quite sad and irritating that modern society is ready to embrace technology like laptops and cellphones, trusting in the technology, but they expect the working life to go on as it has for the past centuries.

Does that really make sense???

Why make all of these advances when we're not going to embrace the life changes that accompany them?

Scary

Well, instead of writing to you about my daughter's play kitchen (which will have to wait until later), I thought I'd share a scary experience of my own:

when a microwave almost explodes.

When you start noticing that your beverage or dinner just isn't as hot as you think it should be- it's NOT you.

OR
when you start noticing that your beverage or dinner is hotter than you think it should be- it's NOT you.

It's the magnetron in the microwave wearing out.

And when it finally wears out, it will make a sound like a unpopped kernel of popcorn skittering across the floor, followed by the typical "appliance on fire smoking smell", followed by a whirring noise that isn't the normal 'uuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuuu' of the microwave fan.

Now, I've had a lot of microwaves in my life (though I still remember life without one) and this is the first time that I've ever had one die.

It's just Murphy's Law:  just when you replace the expensive light bulb in the thing, it decides to blow up.

<headshake>

China, With The Pictures All In Blue

I think that Bargain for Frances is one of the most popular children's books (though I'm still not sure how I feel about the message of cheat others when they cheat you). Despite what being published over 40 years ago, it still appears on "Book of the Week" lists.

And, as parents, we all know that children want to mimic what they read about in books and see on TV- heck isn't that what action figures and character-licensed apparel is all about?

So, what I find sad, is that a book about a girl and her tea set, while being one of the top reads of childdom, does not register with any manufacturer of toys.

Because you just can't find that china tea set with the pictures all in blue.

Now, I know, I know.  To product a china tea set for a toy sounds like a disaster waiting to happen (after all, Frances had one and she broke all the pieces...just as I suspect many children did and continue to do with fragile things).  But no one even makes a plastic tea set that matches the book.

Talk about a missed opportunity!

In fact, if you want a child's tea set, with the pictures all in blue, you'll need to shop on Ebay and buy one from the 40's/50's.

Perhaps I'm being too hard on toy manufacturers.

Perhaps the problem isn't that they wanted to stop making tea sets with the pictures all in blue.  Perhaps it's that Americans (the largest consumer market in the world), have lost their class and don't have tea parties or elegance or refinement anymore.

Either way, if you want a tea set for your daughter, you'll be stuck with a Dora- or Disney-branded set of just the tea pot, cups, and saucers - NO SUGAR BOWLS.  Perhaps this is because no one needs a sugar bowl since most sugars for teas come in little packets.

Changes the story a bit to not have the sugar bowl.


Thelma was right:  guess they really don't make them any more.

Seasonings For Processed Food...

Do you like to cook?

Think you're the next Iron Chef?

Well, if you don't know about Penzey's you should.  It's an old fashioned spice merchant with herbs and spices that actually smell and taste like something (yes, there actually is a distinct difference in flavor between oregano and basil, but if you only buy the little brown leaves in the supermarket, you'll never know).  The best part is:  it's actually cheaper, per ounce, than McCormick's and Spice Island.

And they now have free shipping over $30.

Yeah, subsidized shipping!

Anyway, they put out their little catalog on a quarterly basis.  This issue features their new flavor:

Frozen Pizza Seasoning


o_O

WTF?

I mean they used to have "Pizza Seasoning", but now it's "Frozen Pizza Seasoning"?

My first question is "why?".

And after my initial shock of dumbing down the spice industry to accommodate processed food that has already been flavored, I have to ask:

"Is this because frozen pizza tastes so bad or is this spice designed to make other food taste like frozen pizza?"

Now, don't make it sound like I'm being nitpicky.  When you buy "Butter flavoring" and "Vanilla Extract", it's to make food taste like the flavoring.

So, honestly, is this spice supposed to make other food taste like frozen pizza?

Seriously, folks, I think that you're listening too much to your marketing people because I think that some things (like spices) don't need "improved flavors"- just keep the ones we all know about tasting good at a good price.

If I Only Had the Money

So, there's a fantastic international salon group called TED.


They supposedly encourage innovations among the masses by spreading the word about current discoveries and findings in a wide variety of social, economic, and scientific fields.

However, the price to attend one of their seminars is self-limiting; only those in the upper brackets of management or who like living in debt can afford to go.

Perhaps it's just too socialist of me, but you'd think that if a group is really supposed to be FOR the common folk, that the common folk would be able to afford to go.

Silly me.

We Pledge Allegiance To The Corporations Of America

Yeah, this is another bitch about how the government, by the people, for the people, and of the people is not actually representative of the people.

My latest thoughts on this revolve around the pursuit of life, liberty, and happiness...particularly during dangerous conditions.

I find it despicable that when the federal government issues a weather advisory to a location, oh, say Minnesota, saying that there are DANGEROUS conditions and that travel should be limited to emergencies, people are still expected to report to work, on time, as usual.

Why?

Because the federal government has no power.

Corporations have power because corporations have money.  Might makes right, after all.

And in this case, corporations can demand that their employees report to work or lose their jobs (that would be the pursuit of life and happiness, right?) during conditions that are, frankly, deadly.

I find this particularly interesting that people just don't seem to feel that the weather has any power over their lives...until it comes with such a destructive force that it kills many at once.  But picking you off one at a time because your car swerves into on-coming traffic during a blizzard- well, that's acceptable and you better get your ass in the office on-time.

Isn't the federal and state government that for matter, supposed to protect the people?  How is it protecting the people in Minnesota during a blizzard?

They could do things like close roads to all but emergency personnel.

They could do things like start charging a safety tax to corporations for putting not only their employee's lives at risk, but also that of the emergency crews that have to come and dig them out of the ditch during hazardous conditions.  And what about the damage to state property?  Road signs and whatnot?  Crashes from commuters ruin the K-rail and who pays to fix it?  The worker.  Is that fair!?Seems that would solve a lot of financial issues for the government and perhaps put the focus back on the safety and well-being of the people.  I mean, it wouldn't be the first time that a state entity made policy based on the weather.

But that would be if the government was actually in control.

It's obviously not.

Big and Small

Why is it that clicking the "enlarge" or "zoom" function on eCommerce sites (like Amazon) opens a pop-up window that has a picture that's SMALLER than the original?

Developers:  HONESTLY!

Don't tell me that you can't require an image of higher resolution or larger dimensions for the enlargement.

Otherwise, disable the function.