Curmudgeonly environmentalist

I hate the whole thing about taking reusable bags to the store. I'm sure it's just a way for stores to save money, and the environmental argument is just an excuse.

But I realized today that there is one bright side: It's revived the art of careful grocery-bag packing.

Maybe this only ever happened in big cities where many people carried groceries home by foot, but there used to be people who packed groceries into bags beautifully, like it was really their life's work. Maybe the difference is that for years now I've shopped at more suburban stores, but at these places it wasn't uncommon for them to toss only two items in one of those plastic bags and move on.

But today I had ONE reusable tote and slightly too many groceries, and by God if someone hadn't actually spent some time training that cashier to bag, I'll eat my tote.

when piglets flu

Can't find the source... but this is actually the second Pooh-themed swine flu cartoon I've seen. One more and it's a genre.

Quote of the Week

I'm trying to think but nothing happens. - Curly Howard

OMG ME TOO.



Thanks to zoomar's (of Roscoe the Pug fame) Twitter.

Quotes of the Week

He's not the only one:
"What Poe most wanted was never again to answer to an editor." -this week's New Yorker

Good news for scatterbrains!
"Cognitive psychologists have found that there is a trade-off between attentional focus and creativity. And there is some evidence that suggests that individuals who are better able to focus on one thing and filter out distractions tend to be less creative." - ditto

Possibly the best DC conversation I have ever been privy to:
"Cherry laurel, it's in bloom now. You know the guy who exposed Watergate - he lives a couple blocks - Bob Woodward. He has one in his yard."

In a bad mood

howling
Originally uploaded by wombatarama

I'd go into detail, but isn't a picture supposed to be worth a thousand words?

The pug mind

Somehow, Lilly knows when I am cooking meat scraps for her in the microwave. She doesn't get excited when I am microwaving something for humans, or when I am cooking meat on the stove. How does she know when I am cooking meat in the microwave for dogs? I suppose she can smell it - but it seems like she also knows that I never cook meat for humans in the microwave.

But she's not as smart as she thinks she is. Because you know what she does, in the remodeled kitchen, when I am microwaving meat for her? She runs over and stands, licking her chops, in front of the counter where the microwave USED to be.

Bizarro Customer Service World

We live two blocks from a fancy new shopping street. They do that very, very evil thing where they have Muzak OUTDOORS. I've learned to live with it, but last week, the music was much louder than before, and also, they'd changed the repertoire to the most annoying Baby Boomer era pop hits that you could possibly imagine.

The Technical Staff theorized that they'd chosen the music to chase away teenagers, who have been causing some problems in the area. I decided to write to the management company and inform them that whether or not they were repelling teenagers, they were certainly repelling us and our more-than-teenage income.

I assumed this was one of those things where all the email would accomplish was getting something off my chest. I figured I wouldn't get an answer, or at least, no more than a form letter.

Well, imagine my flabbergastation when I got an email back almost immediately. The woman said she'd look into it the next morning - it was already after the end of the business day when she answered - and even asked what kind of music I would prefer.

When I walked down the street the next day, nothing had changed, and when I remarked cynically upon this, the Tech Staff opined that they probably had to have a week of meetings first.

And indeed - yesterday, I got the following email:

I just wanted to follow up with you and let you know that we have adjusted the volumne on the Muzak System and we have made some changes to the types of Muzak.

Thank you so much for your comments and please let us know what you think of the changes.

I have not actually checked out what they have done yet - it's been raining, but also, I'm just enjoying the moment.

If this weren't weird enough, I just had an experience with the cable company that was remarkably similar. It requires too much tedious technical detail to explain, but suffice it to say, it was so far beyond their usual level of competence and service that I wanted to say to the woman "Excuse me? Don't you know you work for the cable company? Are you sure you won't get fired for this?"