Benjamin's 32nd birthday

Benjamin and I at Canlis by Corinne S.

Monday was Benjamin's 32nd birthday. We went to Canlis Restaurant for dinner Monday night, using a gift certificate given to us last Christmas by Benjamin's parents. The view is lovely and the food was deliciously prepared, but I don't think I will run right back. Benjamin's steak was excellent and my halibut was good, too. The music wasn't great and the atmosphere was geared toward people older than us, but everyone was very nice.

Building my new computer

Pretty video card by Corinne S.

Benjamin and I worked together to build my new computer. We did most of it last Saturday afternoon, but last week Benjamin picked me up a new CD-DVD and disk drive and we put them in today. We also installed Windows XP, but unfortunately there are still a few kinks to work out . (More pictures on Flickr).

Benjamin's new screen

So much gaming, so little time. by Corinne S.

I never thought it would really happen, but Benjamin now owns a 30" Dell flat screen "flanked" by two Dell 20" screens. He's a happy boy.

Hanging out with Pete & Amy

Amy checks out some inappropriate stickers by Corinne S.

Last Friday Benjamin and I had dinner at Beso del Sol with Pete and Amy. It was fun and tasty. Afterward we walked on 45th and discovered a store called Not a Number. They have all the great liberal bumper stickers and more. You should definitely check it out (more photos on Flickr).

My Jewish co-worker included an amusing comment in his Out of Office message for Yom Kippur.

I will be out Monday for Yom Kippur, atoning for all my sins of the past year. I’ll be back on Tuesday ready to go with a clean slate.

I'm cleaning out my mailbox. Our Exchange mailboxes don't give us nearly enough space, so I run out of space often. I've been cleaning out some distribution list folders this morning and I think it's time to empty the trash.

Adobe Labs - Adobe Photoshop Lightroom

I'm thinking of trying out a new tool from Adobe Labs called Adobe Lightroom (Beta 4). I think I will install it on my new computer after I get Windows installed. :) If you've tried it, let me know what you think. You can also see what beta users are saying.

mini-Vanpool

mini-Vanpool by Corinne S.

My vanpool got a new Metro van that's more of a mini-van.It's pretty sweet (as mini-vans go).

Ouch.

Ouch. by Corinne S.

Last week this crackup on 520 slowed down both directions of traffic. Why is the term crackup used to refer to both heinous car wrecks and laughing hysterically?

Networking with other women

There's an article in the Seattle Times on networking groups for women. I recently joined one of them, Digital Eve Seattle, which is where I learned about the article. They also list networking groups for women business owners, writers, entrepreneurs, women of color, and more. Read the complete article: Welcome to the new girls' club.

Walking at Gasworks park

Sea plane landing by Corinne S.

On Thursday afternoon Maple and I went for a walk with Miller and her friend Carlos, who was visiting from Spain. It rained a little, but the sun also came out. I parked near Lake Union and walked with them to Gasworks park. After that, we walked up to the Essential Baking Company in Wallingford for coffee and pastries. More photos from Thursday.

You are beautiful

Industrial space, Los Angeles, CA by slimdandy

I like this even better than the Knitta, Please! project. Learn more about the You are Beautiful project and see the You are Beautiful Flickr pool. Consider spreading the message.

Our modern world

cafe blogging by gotomobile.com

I think this is hilarious.

A new source of puggy porn

Exhausted by akapumba

A few months ago, I mentioned Benjamin's term "puppy porn." Today I discovered a new source of said porn,it's a Flickr group - Pug Art/Emotion. Isn't this adorable?!

Premie makes good

by Sallywsu

My cousin Sally's baby Lilly was born 10 weeks early on January 15th. Now she's a big, healthy girl with red fuzz on her head. She's even sitting up!

An Event Apart

Eric Meyer by Dylan W.

Yesterday I attended a one-day web design conference called An Event Apart. It was good. It's a conference put together by CSS guru Eric Meyer and web standards expert Jeffrey Zeldman. In Seattle, the other speakers were Happy Cog Web Designer Jason Santa Maria and "design ethnographer" Kelly Goto of gotomedia. After the conference, there was a Happy Hour hosted by the small local web firm, Blue Flavor. I chatted with people I know from social life, people I met at the conference, and Mr. Meyer himself. I also bought a bouquet of dahlias in the market. All in all, a good day.

More photos from the conference.

I got to see Claire & Amelia

Claire and Amelia on the slide by Corinne S.

On Sunday afternoon, Claire was nice enough to accompany me to the Plant Amnesty fall plant sale at Magnuson Park even though she had a cold. There weren't any plants I was interested in, but we took a nice walk around the (flat parts of) the park and then hung out at the playground so Amelia could play.

It was nice to see her and I'm looking forward to seeing more of her now that she's completed her MBA. Yea Claire!

More Flickr pics

Maple yawning again by Corinne S.

I added some pics to Flickr the other night. This is cutie Maple yawning. Flickr pics posted on Sunday.

iTunes 7 is here (and here)

I just installed iTunes 7 on my PC and I am very excited to see they've added automatic downloading of album art. Finally! As the oh-so-shiny reflection of this screenshot indicates, Apple is fully on board with the new web 2.0 look and feel (see 8 Web Design Clichés of 2006). The fancy album cover browser is along the same lines. I haven't decided yet whether I like it. They moved things, which is always annoying at first, and the took away some of my control over importing tracks from CDs, which is pissing me off. More once I use it for a while (if Irememberr).

Book: Gone

Very enjoyable mystery

This was an enjoyable mid-level mystery. The suspect pool kept growing and the twists weren’t obvious, so I think it was good. It’s nothing ground-breaking, but it’s a solid mystery. Admittedly, the Alex Delaware series has some reality issues, but those are in the foundation of the series (he’s a psychologist that consults with a Detective at an unrealistic level) and I’ve already accepted them.

My new computer, waiting to be assembled

My new computer, waiting to be assembled by Corinne S.

Yesterday Benjamin and I went to Brice and Emilio's house warming party. Afterward, we went to Frye's and bought all the parts to rebuild my home office computer. Lately iTunes and Adobe Bridge have been taxing the current computer's poor CPU. We considered just updating the existing CPU, but decided that since I have the money right now it was better not to throw more money at an outdated motherboard and hard drives with a little history of instability. So, the next step is to assemble it all and install Windows. Pretty exciting!

I'm so linked in...

A while back I joined the business networking site LinkedIn. I hadn't used it for anything yet, so I had a whopping two contacts. Then a former coworker invited me to "make a connection" with him so I went in and poked around again. I let LinkedIn search my Outlook contacts, which I have a ton of, for LinkedIn users. I then invited most of them to make connections. In the next 20 minutes while I surfed the site I got about a dozen acceptances. Now that's some speedy networking! So if you know any of my email addresses, we can connect on LinkedIn now. You know you want to. ;-)

Yea for Flickr groups

DSC_0007 by bricelr

Brice added her photos from Pete & Amy's wedding to the Flickr group for said event. w0ot.

Asha cutie

Mama & me by Papa Morris

Yes, Leanne and Asha are getting more than their fair share of blog entires lately, but can you really blame me? This lovely shot was taken by Leanne's dad, who is now referred to as Opa (the Dutch term for grandpa). This weirds me out since I think of Leanne's Opa as The Opa. I decided this must be an indication of aging. ;-)

I met the baby!

Nap time by Papa Morris

Yesterday I made a brief stop at the Morris house to meet little Asha. She was overtired and a little "fussy" while I was there (not as relaxed as in this picture!), but she's an incredibly mellow little girl if that was her fussy side. I didn't hold her since she wasn't in her best frame of mind, but I will next time.

Mama and Papa Morris are doing well and considering leaving the house for something other than a doctor's appointment sometime in the next week or so. I hope to get on Leanne's walking partner list when she's out and about. What a cute couple Asha and Maple would make as walking buddies!

Movie: Akeelah and the Bee

Super cute and well acted

This is a great “feel good” film that is well-acted and well put together. Starbucks’ involvement as a producer is a little odd, but it has no discernible impact on the movie (only on the marketing). I recommend this one.

Saturday I woke up before noon to see my best pal Piper while she's in Seattle. She recently moved back to her mom's house in Bellingham with her hubby Eric so he can go to Western and get a bachelor's in teaching. She got her masters in teaching last spring and now she'll be substitute teaching in Bellingham and nearby towns while going to school at night to become an ESL teacher. She's awesome. I was too absorbed in her company to take any pictures. We took Maple to the U Village and drank coffee and talked outside of Starbucks while Maple's admirers flocked to her. After that we took Benjamin an iced Venti Americano and Benjamin and Piper bonded over anime and science-fiction. Then Piper and I ran off to the Sunlight Cafe where I planned to meet co-workers to go on a field research visit for work. It's funny, in college Piper worked at the Starbucks in U Village and at the Sunlight, where she met Eric. This is a small city! :)

Friday night I had dinner with Ola at Casa d'Italia. She found the restaurant charming and we had a really nice time chatting and eating Italian food. It was great to see her for the first time in a year. Sadly, I failed to take any pictures once inside the restaurant. After dinner she stopped by the house to see Maple and our basement, both of which have changed in the last year. :)

I went to the library today to return a few audio books and pick up a couple of holds that had come in. When I was there, I went a little crazy picking out additional audio books from the shelves. I am currently listening to Gilead, which is slow and plotless. The books I've listened to recently have been fairly serious and a little depressing. I need some light and uplifting, or at least fast-moving and interesting, books. "Summer reads" as they call them. So now I am ripping them all to the PC, one at a time.

ABC's 'The Path to 9/11' inaccurate schlock

Peter Stranks / AP A new ABC docudrama will portray the events of 9/11, laying blame on the Clinton administration. ABC claims the 6 hour movie is based on the 9/11 commission report, yet it directly contradicts the report in it's "fictionalized scenes." Perhaps instead of saying "Based on the 9/11 Commission report" their disclaimer should read "Based on George W. Bush's wet dreams." Read the Washington Post article: Clinton Administration Officials Assail ABC's 'The Path to 9/11'

Gorgeous Flickr pic

Windy by erglantz

Another nephew, make that niece, in the making

Pregnancy Anatomical Model by idahostudios

I keep forgetting to mention that my sister-in-law Davonna is pregnant with her third child. And it's a girl! I kept hoping to get a sonogram or something to include, but 'tis not to be. The bambina is due the first week of December.

Book: The Kite Runner

Excellent, but unpleasant, story

This is a well-written book narrated by the author (also well done). It’s the story of the life of an Afghan man. It includes a challenging and interesting life story, as well as insights into Afghan culture, and into the situation in Afghanistan prior to the US invasion. The abuse of children plays into the story and I found it pretty upsetting.

TV: 24 - Season Two

A continuation of the 24 goodness

Season 2 is not as good as season 1, but mainly just because it’s not new anymore. The format is known, as are some of their favorite ploys and gimmicks. I enjoyed and and still felt it was engaging and enjoyable. Recommended.