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February 02, 2010
Fair Witness
Feb 1, 2010
Our friend Christine has new poison dart frogs. They are shiny, and blue, and improbable; as an adult observed, they look rather like their fingers aren't even properly finished. Opal observed them closely, and then said "One moved!" "That's how you know they're real," I answered. She contemplated their container. "Well, that one is, anyway." We admired her skepticism. She watched ...
February 01, 2010
Something Terrible
Jan 31, 2009
Opal: "I'm really tired." Me: "Good, then get ready for bed spit-spot." Opal, winsomely: "Sometimes when I'm really tired I don't have to brush my teeth." Me: "Those are times when you didn't just eat a dried apricot." Opal: "What difference does a dried apricot make?" Me: "They're yummy, but they stick to your teeth something terrible." Opal: "What?" Me: "The dried apricots." ...
January 31, 2010
Powums
Jan 30, 2009
Opal and I read some Maira Kalman, about Max, the dog poet, and she wrote this poem
I saw Miss Cat Walking on Miss Catshair Walking on Mr. Cat's feet And I'll bet you who you're betted in Little bed of twine(Yes, there are three people here, Miss Cat, Miss Catshair, and Mr. Cat. I was taking dictation, and I checked.) Read to and by Opal recently: I ...
January 22, 2010
January 21, 2010
Three Handed
Jan 20, 2009
It is raining here. Sometimes hailing. There was what the locals called a tornado warning, while all the midwestern transplants scoffed and called it a watch. The weather is, all told, nasty. This complicates school, since Opal needs a rain coat, and rain boots, and shoes. Normally the only thing she takes to school is her lunch, so she just carries it, but there's a high risk in ...
January 20, 2010
Grated Lemon Rind
Jan 19, 2009
Tonight's dinner was without culinary interest, but yesterday I made semi-Indian lentils, because Opal liked the lentils best of Sunday's dinner, and when I said I could make some, she was totally enthusiastic. So I made some lentils, and she squealed in glee and hugged me. I was planning to gussy up the lentils, but in mid-afternoon she asked for a snack, and specifically wanted ...
January 19, 2010
Born Under
January 18, 2009
After we had been talking about when Opal was in my tummy, she asked "Mommy, where did I come out?" We discussed anatomy for a while (She thinks it's a remarkably silly concept, and who can blame her? I've given birth and I still think the entire undertaking is physically improbable.) And then she asked again, "Where did I come out?" I was stumped. Didn't we just do this? "I ...
January 18, 2010
Car Fire
Jan 17, 2009
As we were driving back from San Francisco, we passed a car on fire (to the side of the opposite direction on the freeway, thankfully, and with fire crews already there). Opal commented on it, and I said it was a car on fire. "Do you think the people are dead?" she asked. "No. Usually if your car catches fire on the freeway like that, you notice and get out before it's a big ...
January 13, 2010
Twitter and the Worst Passwords of All Time
If you follow security news, you will have seen stories about Twitter and its banned password list, 370-odd passwords which Twitter has embedded in the source code of its registration page so that if you try to use them, it can say that they are "too obvious". Here's one such ...
January 10, 2010
Occasional GPS Use
Jan 9, 2009
Contemplating a new GPS, I was struck by a comment about GPS apps on a phone being good enough for "occasional" use. The fact is, I'm not an occasional GPS user. I'm not totally convinced that occasional GPS users, in the sense of people who only need a GPS that's good enough for occasional use, exist. If you're not used to using a GPS, and you're thinking of it the way you'd think ...
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on 2009-01-05 at 04:31