There are so many great things in this article about a bank's efforts to rid itself of pesky pigeons, but my favorite part is the very last paragraph. It's not every day you hear death described as an "unfortunate side effect."
It made me think of those ads you see on TV for allergy medicines or whatever, and they start rattling off the fine-print list of side effects really fast at the end. Just imagine: "Use of Xiloagiuannicin may result in hair loss, runny nose, death, and stomach cramps."
Hmmm, I think we're all going to have to listen a LOT more carefully to those from now on.
Wednesday, September 13, 2006
Tuesday, September 12, 2006
Productivity is Overrated
I love tea.
If I could, I would instate an "afternoon tea" in my office. What better way to ease toward the end of the day than with a steaming hot cup of Earl Grey and some little cakes and pastries and light desserts? I love it!
Today I bought Chocolate Caramel Tartlet cookies from Trader Joe's, to go with my tea. Mmmmmmmmm, delightful!
Speaking of innovative office ideas, I would also institute naptime, reading time, and going-for-a-walk-in-the-afternoon time during the workday. Which may not leave much time for actual working, I admit, but I bet it would make for more productive workers.
Or at least, happier ones.
If I could, I would instate an "afternoon tea" in my office. What better way to ease toward the end of the day than with a steaming hot cup of Earl Grey and some little cakes and pastries and light desserts? I love it!
Today I bought Chocolate Caramel Tartlet cookies from Trader Joe's, to go with my tea. Mmmmmmmmm, delightful!
Speaking of innovative office ideas, I would also institute naptime, reading time, and going-for-a-walk-in-the-afternoon time during the workday. Which may not leave much time for actual working, I admit, but I bet it would make for more productive workers.
Or at least, happier ones.
A Little Security Is A Dangerous Thing
I listened to President Bush's speech last night as I drove home from work. He talked about why we are in Iraq, but as always as far as I'm concerned, very unconvincingly. He said that Saddam Hussein posed a risk we couldn't afford to take, and that "We are safer now, but we are not yet safe."
As I look at the exploding Middle East, I have trouble believing in Bush's words. The world does not seem like a safer place to me. And besides, I wonder: How safe can an open, democratic, free society ever really be? Is safety worth the price of any of those freedoms enshrined in our Constitution?
I heard someone else on the radio yesterday morning, talking about how there are still security problems in our country, and pointing out how Israel, for example, has much more stringent measures. I was shocked. I remember my trip to Israel two years ago. I remember the giant wall between Israel and the West Bank, the razor-wired checkpoints, the way I was questioned at the Taba border because of being half-Egyptian, the armed guard in Jerusalem who demanded to check my bag, as well as my friend's, before he would allow us in to a McDonald's. Is that the kind of society we want to make for ourselves, so that we can be "safe"?
God, I hope not.
I am not saying we should not have any security measures, of course. But let's not kid ourselves... complete and total safety is an illusion in a society that acknowledges the free will of individuals.
As I look at the exploding Middle East, I have trouble believing in Bush's words. The world does not seem like a safer place to me. And besides, I wonder: How safe can an open, democratic, free society ever really be? Is safety worth the price of any of those freedoms enshrined in our Constitution?
I heard someone else on the radio yesterday morning, talking about how there are still security problems in our country, and pointing out how Israel, for example, has much more stringent measures. I was shocked. I remember my trip to Israel two years ago. I remember the giant wall between Israel and the West Bank, the razor-wired checkpoints, the way I was questioned at the Taba border because of being half-Egyptian, the armed guard in Jerusalem who demanded to check my bag, as well as my friend's, before he would allow us in to a McDonald's. Is that the kind of society we want to make for ourselves, so that we can be "safe"?
God, I hope not.
I am not saying we should not have any security measures, of course. But let's not kid ourselves... complete and total safety is an illusion in a society that acknowledges the free will of individuals.
Sunday, September 10, 2006
Five Years Later
For the hurt of the daughter of my people I am hurt. I am mourning; astonishment has taken hold of me.
Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! --Jeremiah 8:21, 9:1
In my Bible, there is a scribbled note in the margin next to the verses I've just quoted. The note is five years old, and it says simply, "9/11."
I did not lose anyone I loved as a result of the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers. I had never been to New York, and had no ties to the city that I should have felt the impact of the event that knocked our nation, and our world, into a new, and frightening, era. I didn't know why I should feel any sense of loss.
But I did.
I remember one or two weeks after the attacks, I was in a grocery store. A special edition of TIME magazine caught my eye as I was by the checkout stand. The issue was dedicated simply to photos taken of the World Trade Center and New York that day. I flipped through slowly, and came across a picture of two tiny people, hands locked together, black specks against a wide blue sky, with the long, smoking wall of one of the towers off to the side.
I put the magazine back on the rack, and left the grocery store. I went to my car and, for a length of time I don't remember now, I just sat there crying.
Five years later, I find myself unable to watch the movies that have come out recently, about 9/11. World Trade Center, United 93, and others. I don't know why. Is it too soon? When will it be soon enough?
I can't say.
This morning, I am watching CNN's live coverage from 9/11, being shown in real time on their Web site. The first plane had already hit when I tuned in, and the reporters were still confusedly trying to make sense of what had happened. I saw the second plane run into the second tower as the first tower billowed smoke across a clear sky. I started to cry again.
Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears!
And now I have to get ready for work. I'm going to be late. Ah, the great absurdity of life... The fact that it will just go on, in spite of us, in spite of everything.
But oh God, the things we carry as we have to go along with it!
Oh, that my head were waters, and my eyes a fountain of tears, that I might weep day and night for the slain of the daughter of my people! --Jeremiah 8:21, 9:1
In my Bible, there is a scribbled note in the margin next to the verses I've just quoted. The note is five years old, and it says simply, "9/11."
I did not lose anyone I loved as a result of the terrorist attacks that brought down the World Trade Center towers. I had never been to New York, and had no ties to the city that I should have felt the impact of the event that knocked our nation, and our world, into a new, and frightening, era. I didn't know why I should feel any sense of loss.
But I did.
I remember one or two weeks after the attacks, I was in a grocery store. A special edition of TIME magazine caught my eye as I was by the checkout stand. The issue was dedicated simply to photos taken of the World Trade Center and New York that day. I flipped through slowly, and came across a picture of two tiny people, hands locked together, black specks against a wide blue sky, with the long, smoking wall of one of the towers off to the side.
I put the magazine back on the rack, and left the grocery store. I went to my car and, for a length of time I don't remember now, I just sat there crying.
Five years later, I find myself unable to watch the movies that have come out recently, about 9/11. World Trade Center, United 93, and others. I don't know why. Is it too soon? When will it be soon enough?
I can't say.
This morning, I am watching CNN's live coverage from 9/11, being shown in real time on their Web site. The first plane had already hit when I tuned in, and the reporters were still confusedly trying to make sense of what had happened. I saw the second plane run into the second tower as the first tower billowed smoke across a clear sky. I started to cry again.
Oh that my eyes were a fountain of tears!
And now I have to get ready for work. I'm going to be late. Ah, the great absurdity of life... The fact that it will just go on, in spite of us, in spite of everything.
But oh God, the things we carry as we have to go along with it!
Friday, September 08, 2006
Another Award-Winning, Dating Service E-mail
Thinking about my previous post a little more, I don't know that it's really the expense that keeps me from joining online dating services, such as eHarmony and Match.com. I think it's a stubborn, old-fashioned romanticism that persists deep inside my otherwise practical persona.
It's also the fact that I can't take any more of the weird e-mails these services send out. Consider this one:
Summer Romance Can Last a Lifetime
[grackyfrogg], You can’t forget the feel of his
lips – like velvet heat. The husky ring of
his laughter. A trace of his cologne
lingers in the air. You wonder how you
could have ever lived without him.
And to think it all began with an email on
Match.com.
Ugh.
It's also the fact that I can't take any more of the weird e-mails these services send out. Consider this one:
Summer Romance Can Last a Lifetime
[grackyfrogg], You can’t forget the feel of his
lips – like velvet heat. The husky ring of
his laughter. A trace of his cologne
lingers in the air. You wonder how you
could have ever lived without him.
And to think it all began with an email on
Match.com.
Ugh.
Wednesday, September 06, 2006
What Price for Love?
The other day, I received an "introductory offer" e-mail from eHarmony, which opened compellingly as follows:
Dear [grackyfrogg],
The summer's not over yet! Get to know a man you've always dreamed of finding, and at a great discount. (emphasis mine)
So, apparently the man of my dreams = Mr. Blue Light Special.
How...romantic.
Of course, the irony is that, even though I created an eHarmony profile about two years ago, I have never once subscribed to their service. Why not?
Um, too expensive.
I am a strange, strange girl.
Dear [grackyfrogg],
The summer's not over yet! Get to know a man you've always dreamed of finding, and at a great discount. (emphasis mine)
So, apparently the man of my dreams = Mr. Blue Light Special.
How...romantic.
Of course, the irony is that, even though I created an eHarmony profile about two years ago, I have never once subscribed to their service. Why not?
Um, too expensive.
I am a strange, strange girl.
Tuesday, September 05, 2006
Hot and Cold
You know the air conditioning is working a little too well in your office, when you are making yourself hot chocolate in the afternoon in order to get warm.
Especially when you get back to your desk and check the outside air temperature (thank you, weather widget!) and discover that it is nearly 80 degrees fahrenheit BC (Beyond the Cubicle).
Wow.
Especially when you get back to your desk and check the outside air temperature (thank you, weather widget!) and discover that it is nearly 80 degrees fahrenheit BC (Beyond the Cubicle).
Wow.
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