Mild winter day

Today has not been beautiful per se, but it has been quite mild.  The temperature reached about 50 degrees today, mild enough that I started a project that needed to be done outside.  We have some old cat litter bins that I have cleaned out and cleaned up for using as storage containers in the kitchen.  But obviously we don’t want them looking like old cat litter bins, so I got some of the spray paint that sticks to plastic.  A nice navy blue that would match our kitchen seemed like a good choice, and so I waited for a day with decent weather so I could spray.  Today seemed like the day.  So I painted and then set everything out on newspaper in the back yard to dry.

Then it started to rain.  The forecast said there was a 20% chance, and I guess the roll of the dice was just so.  I hope the paint job isn’t totally ruined.

-Geoff

Refusing to learn from experience

Sometimes, there is some wisdom in doing something yourself so you can actually understand it.  Regarding the winter weather debacle in Georgia, this is NOT one of those times.   This is not the sort of thing you want to figure out for yourself, any more than you want your architect to forget about silly things like plans so you can just “play it by ear”.  Learn from the wisdom and experience of others.  Hell, learn from your own experience, Atlanta.   It’s been only 3 years since your last winter storm nightmare.  Besides, your traffic is gridlocked in perfect weather on a normal day.  I have been there, I know.  Whenever I was driving to Macon for the weekend, I avoided Atlanta completely.  What made you think having everyone go home at the same time during a snowstorm was a good idea?

Continue reading “Refusing to learn from experience”

Zombies vs. animals? The living dead wouldn’t stand a chance – Boing Boing

Kelly found an article recently that she knew would interest me.

One of the things about zombies that is commonly accepted within the genre is that they are dead and rotting.*  And in the normal world, all dead flesh is eventually broken down and picked apart by Mother Nature, leaving only bones, which will also one day disappear.  Everything from bacteria to bugs to birds to bears, all feast on whatever carrion they can find.  And so one scientist finally asks, how would zombies fare in the real world?  Pretty poorly, apparently.  As the author puts it:

Relax. Next time you’re lying in bed, unable to fall asleep thanks to the vague anxiety of half-rotten corpses munching on you in the dark, remember this: if there was ever a zombie uprising, wildlife would kick its ass.

-Geoff

*There are notable exceptions.  The zombies in films like 28 Days Later and Zombieland, as well as the zombies in the Left4Dead video games, are  technically alive, but have been turned into rabid/feral monsters due to some nasty disease.

Recent news roundup- Political cartoon edition

These are mostly what has been popping up on my Google+ feed lately.  Some of them are doozies.  Enjoy.

Continue reading “Recent news roundup- Political cartoon edition”

REMINDER- Meravelha tonight at #PBFund, PARK Restaurant, Cambridge

This is a reminder post for you Boston area music lovers that tonight is the Opus Affair Punch Bowl Fund at PARK in Cambridge.  It should be a great time, Geoff and I will be there, and we’re hoping to win the fund raising competition for Meravelha.  Please, come and have a drink for a good cause.

Details are here.

See you tonight!

~Kelly

Bitter cold is back

The snowstorm is pretty much over for us, although the winter storm warning is still in effect until 1 PM.  It looks like we only got a few inches here in Cambridge, but you don’t have to go very far to see a lot more.  I don’t anticipate having a lot of problems shoveling, aside from the ridiculous cold temperatures, plus wind chill.  It’s currently about 6 degrees Fahrenheit here, with wind chills between -5 degrees and -20, depending on how hard the wind is blowing.   And tonight it’s supposed to get even colder.

-Geoff

 

Winter is coming (back)

It looks like today will be the last “balmy” day for a while, insofar as the temperature was well above freezing most of the day.  Starting tonight temperatures will begin to drop, and they are predicted to not go above freezing for a good while – possibly as long as two weeks.  And we will probably get more snow too, starting tomorrow night.  So enjoy today, Boston, but prepare to be cooped up inside for a while.  You aren’t going to want to spend a lot of time outside after today.  So go grab some DVDs from the library or Netflix or whatever and catch up on your favorite show or shows.  You might have some free time in the near future.   Or if you are like me, grab a stack of books.  It will be a good time to curl up with that monster George R.R. Martin book with a cup of something hot to drink and some small furry companions at your side.

-Geoff

Major kitchen reorganization and cleaning, supervised by Scratch

My big project this week has been the kitchen.  I have wanted to do a major cleaning for a while now, and it’s as good a time as any.  This also gives me a chance to do some reorganizing since I have a good idea now of what new kitchen items (I mean post-wedding) get used more often than others.  So my electric griddle gets put somewhere that makes it easier to use, for example.  The clam boil pot, as much as I love it, might get used once or twice a year and so it can go somewhere out of the way.

Anyway, as I was cleaning yesterday Scratch decided he was going to “help” by heading up to his new cat bed, up on the freezer.  Now, before I get into this too deeply, some background is required.

Continue reading “Major kitchen reorganization and cleaning, supervised by Scratch”

Meravelha featured at Opus Affair Punch Bowl Fund

I’ve written about Meravelha in this space before.  Most recently I mentioned that they were up for nomination for the Opus Affair Punch Bowl Fund.  Well, they won, and now they need your help.  The Punch Bowl Fund is an event happening on 1/27/14 from 6pm-9pm at:

59 JFK Street, Cambridge, MA 02138

It should be a great time, its walking distance from the T, and with any luck Meravelha will win the money raised there as well.  Will you come and support music making in the greater Boston by purchasing a $5 drink?  This will be great socializing and great fun and I think we can all drink to that.

Geoff and I will be there.  See you on the 27th!

~Kelly

The kitteh who wants to be a puppeh

One of the things we always say about my cat Scratch is that since he grew up with a dachshund, and since he spends so much time with the dogs, he wants to be a dog.  He has always wanted to go outside with the dogs whenever they go out to do their business.  And he tends to curl up with them to nap from time to time, especially when the weather is cold.

Well, it turns out he also likes to burrow into the blankets, just like the dachshunds do.   And I managed to snap a few pictures for once.

Continue reading “The kitteh who wants to be a puppeh”