Visit the kelpforest....

Nifty new motion-sensitive faucets and soap dispensers in the restroom at work. We had noticed them downstairs (outside of our office) and were wondering why we didn't rate, but finally they showed up. Maybe this will cut down on not only water use, but the masses of paper towels used by the germ-phobic admin staff.

YOU ARE ALREADY WASHING YOUR HANDS!!! THERE IS NO POINT IN USING PAPER TOWELS TO PRESS THE SOAP DISPENSER!!! YOU DON'T TOUCH IT AGAIN AFTER YOU'VE WASHED YOUR HANDS!!!

Sorry. Peeve of mine.

Faucets
Office, Los Alamitos CA
Kyocera Switchback phone camera
17 September 2008

Dear Virgin Mobile,
I recently bought a Kyocera Royale phone, and so far am happy with the phone service. I downloaded a Coldplay ringtone which I was very happy with, so I also purchased a screensaver and an animated ringtone for it.

First of all, I am confused as to why you list wallpapers and screensavers separately on your website, because they appear to be the same images. The "screensavers" certainly aren't animated, something the word "screensaver" implies to me. The two screensavers that came with the phone may be somewhat lame, but they certainly are animated.

I also purchased the Squidward animated ringtone. I expected it to not look exactly like it does on the website, since my phone screen is smaller, but I was surprised and very disappointed to see that the animation is only in one corner (about a quarter of the screen, which is already small) and cut off at the top and bottom. It's pretty much worthless.

I am very disappointed with the quality of your graphics and feel very ripped off for the couple I purchased. Needless to say, I will not be buying any more, at least for this phone. I think the animated ringtones, at least, should not be listed as working for this phone, and the link to screensavers removed, since they are exactly the same as the wallpapers. You are making people think they are are purchasing something different when they actually aren't.

I realize I am somewhat outside of the demographic you are marketing these phones to, but I can't believe even teenagers can be happy with the quality of most of your graphics.

Thank you,
Leeanne

I guess it's another sign I'm getting old - it puzzles me. When I was in high school (and granted, I started high school in the fall of the year of this country's Bicentennial), there actually was a dress code. Fairly lax, since this was a public school in Southern California, but one of the things against the rules was wearing clothes that exposed your midriff. Not one I ever really worried about, since I have never had a midriff worth exposing, even then. And my mother had a strong Puritanical streak, so she wouldn't even allow us to wear shorts to school. I left that kind of thing to the pair of girls in my algebra class - the ones who spent the whole class period applying lip gloss and perfume and redoing their makeup.*

Now, however, it seems to be de regueur. I drive past the same high school on my way to work, and a good half of the female students wear not only a shirt that ends slightly above the bottom of her rib cage, but jeans that seem to be painted on and that she must have to shave her pubic hair to be able to wear. Cheerleader uniforms follow the same trends, and even many of the cartoons my kids watch depict teens dressed the same way (Kim Possible and Totally Spies come to mind). Toys too. Don't even get me started on Bratz dolls - that's a whole 'nother post.

Personally, even if I had the proper shape to wear stuff like that, I'd get cold. And I'm kind of mystified when I see people my shape who do wear it. My neighbor's daughter across the street graduated from high school, and continued to wear the same clothes, even though she gained about 30 pounds shortly thereafter. VT was telling me about a woman she was behind in a line at Disneyland who actually had rolls exposed. Don't get me wrong, I'm all for diversity in body shapes, but when your belly and sides are lapping over the top of your pants, you need new pants, woman.

I don't pay much attention to fashion, except when it starts making the people who follow it look stupid.

John's attitude, of course, being male, is "Why didn't girls wear that kind of stuff when I was in high school?" And then he shakes himself and thinks "Wait a minute - my daughter is going to be going to that school someday!"
_____________________________________________________
*They came to school on Halloween dressed as a pair of breasts one time, and walked around holding hands all day. I guess the teachers didn't realize what they were (seperately) or they'd have gotten sent home. Even though they had "Tit" and "Tat" written across the backs of their costumes.

I came in yesterday morning and found two Lego game sets and a couple of small Dragonball Z posters on my desk chair. Apparently, DP's son is totally over DBZ; he was cleaning his room and DP came in and found the posters in the trash. She told me she kind of got verklempt -"You're throwing those away? *sniff sniff*" - since that was something she and her son used to enjoy together. And indeed that was one of the first things I found we had in common when I was training her to do docks - "What, another adult who's actually heard of it?!"

One of the posters is a Where's Waldo-style collage of probably all the characters (and quite a few at different points in their lives) who appear in both series (DB and DBZ), and she confided she was hoping I'd put it up in my office so she could still see it. I stuck it up in one of my only bare spaces left, behind my computer monitor and next to a California Seafood Index poster about the same size, where it won't be really obvious. The only thing about it is Vejita should be more prominent - it's definitely Goku centric.

I'll probably put the other poster up in the kid's room at home, and save the games until the holidays.

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In other rants, there is a sign in breakroom to the effect of "if you take the last of the coffee, please make another pot. Use 3 rounded scoops." Well, the scoops disappeared from the coffee container and was replaced with a plastic teaspoon. Now, people, I know most of you like your coffee somewhat less strong than I do, but 3 teaspoons does not 3 scoops make!!! A scoop equals 2 tablespoons! If you look at the directions, it's supposed to be a tablespoon per serving, so even the original instructions made for weak coffee. Three teaspoons in a 10 cup pot, to quote Jasmine in Baghdad Cafe, "is not coffee, is nasty brown water!"

Blecch!

I get gas station rage. I'm going to have to start avoiding small Arco stations. Every time I have a bad experience at a gas station, it's at one of those.

First there was this incident (my, venomous, aren't I?).

A few months ago, I was at the one at HB Central Park. The machine refused to take my cash, so I went inside and gave the woman behind the counter my last remaining bills. Not much, probably enough to get me to work and back. I put in my gas, the pump clicked off, and I looked up at the meter and saw a dollar less than what I'd given her. I went inside to see what had happened, and she told me, "No, you only gave me this much." I had counted it before I gave it to her, and it certainly wasn't in my pocket anymore. I was so mad, I forgot the nozzle was still my gas tank and drove off - I'm very lucky I didn't rip it off or I would have been out even more.

Then yesterday, I stopped on the way to work. All the pumps on one side were full so I pulled around to where a single car appeared to be finishing up. It was a white Buick LeSabre convertible, a little shabby looking (but I'm a fine one to talk, the Trooper is covered with dust and bird crap because I park under a tree). A blonde woman was sitting in the passenger seat smoking, and finally the driver comes out of the convenience store. He opens the door and then stands there digging around in his pockets. He pulls out his smokes and a lighter, looks at them for moment, then starts fiddling about in his pockets again. Then he looks around the seat, then in the door pocket. Pulls out a cigarette, sticks it in his mouth, and digs in his pockets again. Dig, dig, dig. This goes on for a full five minutes. I wouldn't mind if he's lost something, but he's parked right between two pumps, so nobody else can use either of them. The guy on the other side of the island is even looking at him and shaking his head. I haven't said anything to him, but as the other guy leaves, having been there half as long as the guy in the Buick, he accidently touches his horn as he leaves, and Mr. Digger, finally in the seat with the engine running, turns around and flips me off.

I pull up to the pump (leaving enough room for someone behind me), he swerves around behind me, and dammit, I should have kept my mouth shut, but I say loudly, "Yeah, thanks very much for the bird, I wasn't the one that honked!"

"Well, I'm sooorrry!" he yells back, not sounding sorry at all.

"And you were taking up two freakin' pumps!" I retort, whereupon I get the bird again, and he and his passenger roar off with much shrieking of tires.

I could have handled it better, I suppose, asked "did you lose something? Can I help you find it? would you mind moving ahead a little?" instead of just sitting there getting irritable.

But today, I'd just rather think he's an idiot.

I apologize if you got an email from me about the RINGO updating service. My relatives are using this service for photos, and it's got a stupid "invite friends" function where the default is "send to everyone in your address book." I inadvertently clicked the wrong button. I did not intend to spam all of you.

Grrr. I already don't like this thing.

edit: well, thanks for those who did respond to the invite, it's nice that you did. I'm just really irritated because one of the addresses is a list-serve mailing list, which means that stupid email went out to hundreds of people all over the world.

So far this morning, I've:

• had to drag Angus into the shower to wash his greasy hair


• threatened bodily harm to get him to let me change the bandaid on his toe because it might hurt(he stepped on something last night and darned if I can't find what/where it was)


• remembered it is teacher appreciation week, and the kids are supposed to bring a flower from the yard today - I tried breaking off the stem of some love-in-a-mist with my fingernail and split it almost down to the quick


• before that I pulled out some foil to wrap the stems up in, and the roll flew out of the box and bounced across the kitchen floor


• realized I forgot my lunch when I got to the office


• also forgot my wallet - with my card key to get in the door. Luckily, someone was coming down the hallway and let me in, so I didn't have to ask the license counter ladies.


• my connection with the state computer is not working since was updated, so had to ask VT to do a download for me to do the monthly update

Umph! Where's that live toad I was supposed to have swallowed? Could be worse, but I did get a kick out of this in my email when I turned on my computer...

When feeling stressed, click on the following link. Then, click on the PIG.

(repeat a few times)

http://members.cox.net/ladysarakat/piggy.swf

Hint - if you're wearing headphones like I usually do at work, you might want to take them off or turn the volume down.

My god. Matthew Lesko seems to get more psychotic every time I see another one of his ads. Why is he screaming at me?

My father actually bought one of these massive tomes, thinking it might help John start an at-home business (or something). He dutifully (if reluctantly) pored through the entire thing - turned out he didn't qualify for anything - if you were a Caucasian male, you had to have just gotten out of prison.

(Probably should've posted Saturday, but I'm sure will be applicable at some time in the near future)

Why does the toilet always choose my watch to overflow???!!!

( TMI )