Life in the Slow Lane

More than a decade ago, while a guest at someone's home, I was privileged to watch a TV interview with an expert in car fashion who showcased the new paint colors that would eventually grace car exteriors. At that time, I thought it a rather bold statement, as he said with utmost certainty "In ten years, our cars will be these colors." A year or two ago I first caught sight of a car in one of the hues I remembered and I was amazed. Since then I have seen a steady increase of others. I bring this up because I really want to rant about a different trend and it seems gauche to leap right into a rant without some sort of lead in. Why on earth must everyone assume that jokes about chocolate are the way to the attention of an audience of women? Now, I like chocolate just as much as the next person (I am drinking a cup of hot cocoa as I type), but I don't understand why chocolate is such a laughing matter. Okay, so that is the end of my rant for right now. Thanks for st...

I think the term "gift exchange" has inherent problems. It makes me think of exchanging clothes: an attempt to gain something of equal value for something that is not quite right; and it makes me think of money exchange: handing over something of familiar value for a pile of monopoly money that may not even get you Free Parking. Is it any wonder I think "gift exchange" sounds mercenary? Of course there are the mercenary exchanges, the "everybody bring a wrapped picture frame and everyone will go home with a different frame" and the infamous white elephants. But when gift giving is done well, it is not merely an exchange. Gift giving done well is one of those magic things that brings greater satisfaction than any component by itself. By no means is it merely an "exchange". Maybe it is better called a gift boost?

Why does style not mesh with gemütlich ? The closest they managed to get today was when my cozy-clad knee smacked right into the corner of the ultra-modern coffee table.

What is it that prompts someone to pay international postage to send a picture of his piano? No explanation. No other request. No greeting. Just a picture of a piano.

If the male readers of this blog could help me out on this question, I would appreciate it greatly: How critical to your development were near death experiences and wounds earned by your study of the properties of momentum, gravity, and the juxtaposition of the two? Discuss.

How many times can you apply the five second rule to one piece of food?

How many gallons of boiling water do you think I would need to pour into the pool in order to raise the temperature from 70 degrees to 85?

With the recent change in weather from blistering to cool 80's, I have shifted my focus from getting cool at any cost, to remembering where I hid all of my blankets. And along with thoughts of blankets, brings thoughts of rabbits. I once remember reading the question "How many rabbits does it take to heat a three bedroom house?" or some such thing. This of course got me thinking about how you can usually tell whether an animal is used to warm climes or cool by the size of their ear, since the more surface area of the ear, the longer blood has to cool off before going back to the warmth of the heart. Which got me thinking about humans, who don't have very large ears at all (then there is also the question of why do human ears keep on growing? Does that mean that as you age you need more time to cool off?). And then I considered the fact that humans lose the most heat through their head and their feet. So maybe, the bigger your head and feet are, the more yo...