Sunday, December 27, 2009

Sometimes dreams come true!

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Richard and I went to Grand Prairie and then on to Dallas for Christmas. You'll never guess...IT SNOWED!




Sunday, December 20, 2009

Re-purposing

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There are all sorts of clever re-purposing ideas at Real Simple. The one at left is an earbud holder made from an old cassette case.

My own entry will have to be surgical gloves. Whenever I give blood I ask for a couple of pair of rubber gloves. I use them to bone chicken. No more nasty chicken grease under my nails.

For fifty great suggestions just follow the link above. The list kept my interest through 50 page refreshes. So it can't be all bad.
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Come Lord Jesus, burn bright and wild!

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Below is a post from the blog of Cliff Warner, Priest of Christ Church here in Austin. I visited Christ Church a couple of weeks ago and was really inspired. Cliff's short post has inspired me as well. I hope you find meaning it it as I did-
Shelly

For the past 5 years a short poem by Madeleine L’Engle has echoed in my soul at this time of year:

This is the irrational season
When love burns bright and wild.
If Mary’d been filled with reason
There’d have been no room for the child.

As heaven and earth collide in the cradle, at the birth of Jesus, we are struck with the powerful paradoxes of our faith. He became what we are that we might become what He is. God and man, fully both, united in one person. He began his life against the hard wood of the manger and ended it against the hard wood of the cross. Our High King, who is also Chief Servant, would wear a crown of thorns, an emblem of His glory. This is the irrational season, yes, but wise men and women know where to find life: at the feet of Jesus Christ, where every knee shall bow and tongue confess that He is Lord.

Come Lord Jesus, burn bright and wild!
Cliff

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Thursday, December 17, 2009

Into that Good Night

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As we boomers get older we're experiencing something new. The death of a good friend or older family member. After 5 years I still turn around and wonder why my Dad died. What was he thinking? He was so healthy till almost the end.

I have been so impressed and grateful for the wonderful folks at Hospice. Both in administering a great facility here in Austin and their home health care as well.

I received a card from them with the inevitable plea for money. What caught my eye was the illustration and verse.

I thought you might like to read it as well. And if you're looking for a way to thank them for the wonderful care your loved one received now's the time.

From Hospice Austin:

Every bird, in its winter,

needs a gentle branch

to help launch its final flight.

Merry Christmas little birds.

Noma Lee Welch
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Sunday, December 13, 2009

How do we browse?

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This illustration is interactive here. It's a visual history of browser market share. Kinda fun. I like the method of representation more than I care about the information. But it's very cool regardless.

Here's a little background on Axiis where the above graphic comes from:

open source data visualization

Axiis is an open source data visualization framework designed for beginner and expert developers alike.

Whether you are building elegant charts for executive briefings or exploring the boundaries of advanced data visualization research, Axiis has something for you.

Axiis provides both pre-built visualization components as well as abstract layout patterns and rendering classes that allow you to create your own unique visualizations.

Axiis is built upon the Degrafa graphics framework and Adobe Flex 3.

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Christmas Gift idea

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I love my neighbors. The "Avenue G FishParty" folks are getting together, once again, to adopt a family this Christmas. What great folks! Lindy got us all together and folks have jumped on board. We'll have fun at our annual progressive Christmas party, and pass some fun along as well.

But, as always, how do you figure out who to give money to? Well, I just stumbled on a great post from MintLeaf and thought I'd pass it on. Below is a snippet from their charity report. But the whole is worth reading. Lots of stuff I didn't know.


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Friday, December 11, 2009

Aggression on drawing board

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I've seen this in years past. But it never hurts to enjoy again.
Animator vs Animation!

Personally I think the animator is a poor sport.

Enjoy!
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Wednesday, December 9, 2009

Mrs. Brown Rocks-You gotta see this.

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Mrs. Brown's Boys

My friend Donna just sent me this YouTube video. It is so funny I laughed out loud.

WARNING: This is NOT something to share with the kids. Although you could consider it a training video.

The intro says, "A hilarious slice of working class Dublin life by the funniest man in Ireland...Brendan O' Carroll"

Enjoy!


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Monday, December 7, 2009

She kicked Josh's ass in the West Wing

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Mary Louise Parker was great in The West Wing. I hear she's great in Weeds which I've never seen.
Below is her thank you note to men. It is a tour de force of punctuation. I have no idea if she really wrote it or whether it's grammatically correct. But I could actually follow it. And the sentiment is great. It comes from a post at Esquire. --and guys, there are some great pictures.

A Thank-You Note to Men

By Mary-Louise Parker

To you, whom it may concern:

Manly creature, who smells good even when you don't, you wake up too slowly, with fuzzy, vertical hair and a slightly lost look on your face as though you are seven or seventy-five; you can fix my front door, my sink, and open most jars; you, who lose a cuff link and have to settle for a safety pin, you have promised to slay unfortunate interlopers and dragons with your Phillips head or Montblanc; to you, because you will notice a woman with a healthy chunk of years or pounds on her and let out a wolf whistle under your breath and mean it; because you think either rug will be fine, really it will; you seem to walk down the street a little taller than me, a little more aware but with a purpose still; to you who codifies, conjugates, slams a puck, baits a hook, builds a decent cabinet or the perfect sandwich; you who gives a twenty to the kids selling Hershey's bars and waits at baggage claim for three hours in your flannel shirt; you, sir, you take my order, my pulse, my bullshit; you who soaps me in the shower, soaks with me in the tub; to you, boy grown-up, the gentleman, soldier, professor, or caveman, the fancy man with initials on your towels and salt on your chocolates, to you and to that guy at the concession stand; thank you for the tour of the vineyard, the fire station, the sound booth, thank you for the kaleidoscope, the Horsehead Nebula, the painting, the truth; to you who carries me across the parking lot, up the stairs, to the ER, to roll-away or rice mat; to you who shows up every so often only to confuse and torment, and you who stays in orbit, always, to my left and steady, you stood up for me, I won't forget that; to you, the one who can't figure it out and never will, and you who lost the remote, the dog, or your way altogether; to you, wizard, you sang in my ear and brought me back from the dead, you tell me things, make me shiver; to the ones who destroyed me, even if for a minute, and to the ones who grew me, consumed me, gave me my heart back times ten; to most everything that deserves to call itself a man: How I do love thee, with your skill to light fires that keep me warm, light me up.


Hey bed man-thanks again.
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