My father introduced me to the Kurt Wallander mysteries, and I have been slowly working my way through them all. The While Lioness is the third of the series and the most ambitious so far. Moving from Sweden to South Africa and back again the book has an international intrigue flavor without losing the, all too human, viewpoint of the main character.
Rating: Excellent from start to finish
Today I had occasion to call the customer service number for Select Comfort, the “sleep number bed” people. My bed is now eight years old and the foam border walls, as well as the center foam piece are a bit compressed. I wanted to find out how much a replacement set would be, so I could either order a set or start saving money for a set.
Once the representative verified who I was, I explained that I wanted to price the foam border walls and center piece. She looked them up on her computer and said, “The cost for those is so minimal we’ll just ship them to you for no charge.”
Wow.
No hesitation, no quibble, just, “we’ll ship them to you for no additional charge.”
In a era when customer service is increasingly frustrating, and often ineffective, to have a call actually result in service is nice. To have a call be handled so adroitly, and to have it exceed my expectations is fantastic.
I’ve always raved about the comfort of my “sleep number” bed. Now I can rave about the organization behind it as well.
Yesterday, after a successful shopping trip to a new outdoor mall, we stopped into a coffee shop for something to drink and maybe a scone or cookie. The establishment was small, tiny really, and boisterous with the energy of the people inside. We waited for several minutes until reaching the head of the line, giving me a chance to observe the constant motion ballet of the three women behind the counter.
Each was working as fast as she could, and just a soon as one latte or espresso was ready, a new order was handed to them. I paid using my debit card and therefore was presented a receipt with a blank spot for a tip. In an instant I decided that I would tip them as they were keeping up with quite a line of people.
Normally you get to tip at the end of your experience with a restaurant. You’ve been served, had a chance to sample the food and the correctness of your order. The tip is in effect a grade given to the server or wait staff; twenty percent is an “A”, fifteen percent a “B”, and five percent or less is failing. Due to the work-flow of the coffee shop, however, we paid before getting our drinks or snacks. I was rewarding them for observed behavior, not for the quality of my service.
As it turned out, the drinks were good and the snacks superb. The service was good too. The tip was earned in the end.
I’ve long been a fan of Thomas Harris and his anti-hero Hannibal Lecter. In Hannibal Rising, the forth book to include Hannibal, the author goes back to the dawn of the second world war and shows us where, and how, Hannibal came into being.
I actually purchased an unabridged audio version of the book, read by Thomas Harris, and listened to it rather than read it. It was very good, and you come away almost liking, if not rooting for, Hannibal.
Rating: Listen with some fava beans and a nice Chianti
Since starting to lose weight in June, the graph of my daily weight has maintained a steady downward trend. There are flat spots in the plotted curve here and there, but the overall trend is downward. That is until recently.
I’ve stopped participating in kendo and the lack of “do more” (the DM part of Eat Less, Do More) has made a difference. My weight has been hovering between 202 and 207 for several weeks now. On the one hand it is nice to know what it will take to maintain a weight, but on the other hand I haven’t reached my initial goal yet. Nor have I reached my ultimate goal of 180 pounds.
Starting last week I’ve returned to the gym and weight lifting. I don’t expect that activity to count as “doing more”, rather I hope it will tone and tighten my body as I continue to lose weight. Kendo, especially in the extreme heat of July and August, helped me to burn a lot of calories. I need to find some new activity to increase my “do” quotient each week.
Having said all of that, I am very pleased with myself for having lost 45 pounds in five months. That’s nine 5-pound sacks of potatoes in the store.
In this day of email it is common to get a message from someone, smack the reply icon, bang out a response and click send; all without a moment’s hesitation. The mode of communication has become nearly seamless, at least for someone who has been using email for more than five minutes.
However, there is a danger inherent in hitting the reply icon. Once you’ve clicked on reply the send function is loaded like a gun, ready to go off with your words, thoughts, rants, et cetera - ready or not. You are in effect playing Russian Roulette with your email client. Maybe your first response is heated and meaning to save it for later you close the compose window. Answering the inevitable “send now?” prompt incorrectly means your correspondent now has your raw thoughts in their inbox.
A friend of mine taught me a new trick; use the forward function when replying. The compose window works the same, there’s just no address in the “to” field. It is almost impossible to “accidentally” send a message before you’ve had a chance to read it over again. You have to actively enter a name (address) before the mail goes anywhere.
Maybe a simplistic check and balance, but a valuable one. I, for one, will no longer be replying to your mails; I’ll be forwarding them back to you.
Go to your nearest pastry store, bakery, or donut shop and buy a couple of your favorite whatever to go. Watch carefully what happens next. The person behind the counter will grab a sheet of tissue paper, usually decorated with the name of the establishment and it’s logo, to handle the food items you are getting. One by one he or she will place your goodies in a box or bag for your take with you. When they are done they will leave the tissue in the container with your food.
Now, if you were to ask her or him why they use a piece of tissue paper to handle your food they would explain that it keeps whatever is on their hands from being on your food. The booger from their recent nose excavation for example, or whatever it was they recently scratched off their back. Sounds like a good idea. Keep the germs, and whatever else is living on their fingers, off your food.
I like it. Great idea. Fantastic.
I just have one question.
Why then, do they put the tissue in the bag WITH YOUR FOOD?
Ever since moving to Kansas in 2004 a considerable pile of my stuff has resided in two storage lockers nearby. It turns out that a 2200 square foot house doesn’t fit well into a 1000 square foot apartment. Also the house had considerable storage, including a 3-bay garage.
In the intervening two years I had on occasion gone into one or both lockers in search of items I missed or wanted. As a result the contents, particularly in the locker full of boxes (the other has some furniture hidden away in it’s depths), are a jumble. I’ve had it in my mind to try and get rid of unwanted or no longer needed items, and to consolidate half full boxes into full boxes. Ideally I like to clean out one locker and reduce my monthly rent by 50%.
Realizing that this is a daunting chore under any circumstances my plan is to tackle it in stages. Today my goal was to find as many music compact disks as possible and bring them home. Also, to get rid of all the old VHS tapes that I’ll never watch again. The afternoon excavation was highly successful. We managed to throw away two large boxes, and one medium one full of all bathroom and kitchen item that were past their prime. And we put together several boxes and bags of items to be donated to a shelter.
The locker is a long ways from empty, but it is a good start. In a couple of weeks it’ll be time to make another foray into the cardboard to see what else I can donate, toss, or otherwise remove from storage.
Sixty-five yeras ago today Pearl Harbor was attacked by the Empire of Japan. Sixty-five years ago tomorrow, December 8, 1941, Franklin Delano Roosevelt delieved the famous “Day of Infamy” speech. You can listen to that speech (and many other important speeches) on American Rhetoric. The text of his address is below.
Mr. Vice President, Mr. Speaker, Members of the Senate, and of the House of Representatives:
Yesterday, December 7th, 1941 – a date which will live in infamy – the United States of America was suddenly and deliberately attacked by naval and air forces of the Empire of Japan.
The United States was at peace with that nation and, at the solicitation of Japan, was still in conversation with its government and its emperor looking toward the maintenance of peace in the Pacific.
Indeed, one hour after Japanese air squadrons had commenced bombing in the American island of Oahu, the Japanese ambassador to the United States and his colleague delivered to our Secretary of State a formal reply to a recent American message. And while this reply stated that it seemed useless to continue the existing diplomatic negotiations, it contained no threat or hint of war or of armed attack.
It will be recorded that the distance of Hawaii from Japan makes it obvious that the attack was deliberately planned many days or even weeks ago. During the intervening time, the Japanese government has deliberately sought to deceive the United States by false statements and expressions of hope for continued peace.
The attack yesterday on the Hawaiian islands has caused severe damage to American naval and military forces. I regret to tell you that very many American lives have been lost. In addition, American ships have been reported torpedoed on the high seas between San Francisco and Honolulu.
Yesterday, the Japanese government also launched an attack against Malaya.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Hong Kong.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked Guam.
Last night, Japanese forces attacked the Philippine Islands.
Last night, the Japanese attacked Wake Island.
And this morning, the Japanese attacked Midway Island.
Japan has, therefore, undertaken a surprise offensive extending throughout the Pacific area. The facts of yesterday and today speak for themselves. The people of the United States have already formed their opinions and well understand the implications to the very life and safety of our nation.
As commander in chief of the Army and Navy, I have directed that all measures be taken for our defense. But always will our whole nation remember the character of the onslaught against us.
No matter how long it may take us to overcome this premeditated invasion, the American people in their righteous might will win through to absolute victory.
I believe that I interpret the will of the Congress and of the people when I assert that we will not only defend ourselves to the uttermost, but will make it very certain that this form of treachery shall never again endanger us.
Hostilities exist. There is no blinking at the fact that our people, our territory, and our interests are in grave danger.
With confidence in our armed forces, with the unbounding determination of our people, we will gain the inevitable triumph – so help us God.
I ask that the Congress declare that since the unprovoked and dastardly attack by Japan on Sunday, December 7th, 1941, a state of war has existed between the United States and the Japanese empire.
Wordie is like Flickr for words, but without pictures. Or at least that’s the tag line on their home page. As I grow older I am more and more fascinated by language and the hidden intracacies of words. My humble list is presented for your consideration.