Would someone please explain to me why they combine an expectorant, designed to make your coughs more 'productive' and get all that goo out of there, with a cough suppressant, designed to make you not cough? Seems dumb to me. Still not doing great. In fact, marginal at best. Keith made me get up and out of the house yesterday, and I think that helped some. I also suspect I threw my electrolytes out of balance - I have been drinking copious amounts of water (see above expectorant issue) but I haven't been eating much at all. The nice, yummy salty movie popcorn saved me, getting some sodium back into me. At least that's what I'm choosing to believe at ...

Well, this has been an odd day. My throat has been irritated and hurting for the past couple days, and this morning, I woke up and really couldn't manage speaking. Laryngitis, potentially of viral, not bacterial, origin. (No fever, no general cold symptoms.) It probably didn't help that we had a rowdy, goofy, raised-voices kind of weekend with the boys, either. So driving the boys to camp: I can't talk and everyone in the car is silent. I make some hand signals to Keith and he tries to make hand signals back. No no no - I can't talk, but you can, goofball! Most of the day was pretty quiet, lots of emails, Keith made some calls in my stead, and pantomimes to ...

Yesterday, I tried to enter this painting into an alumni show to be held during Art Fair. I was supposed to email the details and a picture, but when I did, the email bounced - mailbox full. Sigh. I had been keeping the painting to myself, as I'm unsure of it. But I figured if I was willing to hang it in a show, I may as well share it online. I haven't posted my work here in a long time, partly because I haven't been making much, partly because of the deafening silence when I used to. But in the spirit of Ze Frank and Bye Bye ...

I went to the Ann Arbor Ad Club meeting last night, at the dreadful SPARK place (sorry folks, you've got a great mission but an awful space), to hear about SEO and engaging the blogosphere. I know some about the former and well, I live in the latter, so I'm not sure why I felt compelled to attend, but there you have it. The talks were good - Linda Gerard from Pure Visibility was her perky and engaging self, evangelizing for good SEO practices (the white hat, google-fu kind). I picked up one thing I hadn't thought about - don't use your company name in the page title, use something descriptive (keyword-y). There were two ...

Feelin' mighty nostalgic this morning, not sure why. But I may as well share a little piece of my nostalgia, eh? I wish I was back on the Lochranza ferry With long legged Keefy Breathing the spray and the sweet island air of the morning But I'm wasting away in this sweltering prison The mercury's rising And freedom's a dream that arrives and escapes with the dawning I won't leave this link up very long, but if you want to hear the accompanying song running ...

Hacked it all off, I did. Well, I didn't do any hacking per se - the lovely Renay over at Serendipity Salon did the cutting, and I am now the proud wearer of a totally rocked out coif. I haven't worn it this short in a long, long time. Twenty years, maybe? I was due for a big change. Renay noted that I didn't flinch as the long locks fell to the floor. Nope, I've been needin' it. Feelin' it. And I've got it now. I reread Bernice Bobs Her Hair (by F. Scott Fitzgerald) this morning. It's a funny story. And it's funny to think that short hair on women was ...

The cheap wine at Trader Joe's is always so appealing in the store.   Such pretty labels, such promising words on the little cards - our store has now taken to putting up little country of origin flags, so it's like traveling the world for $5 a bottle. But the $5 a bottle jet lag is a killer.  My head's fuzzy, my eyes are tired - and it's only 8:45am. I should have taken the non-stop flight.

How would you like to be fooled? I like to be fooled by magicians. Not the bizarro David Blaine-make-an-airplane-'disappear' types - I can't enjoy those big tricks, can't suspend my disbelief high enough to enjoy them. But I do so very much enjoy good sleight of hand - making cards and rings and coins and hankies appear and disappear in the amusing mystery of legerdemain. I don't want to know how they do it, even if they were willing to tell. I enjoy the fooling, the last little bit of childish 'how'd they do that?' not kicked out of my brain by school and physics textbooks and various other life experiences that tell me they shouldn't ...

What goes in your dream sandwich? Roasted chicken, thick bacon, a slice or two or three of real tomato (I'm talking about a flavorful, juicy one from the garden or a local farmer, not the mealy waterbags they grow in California and ship hither and yon), mayo (real mayo, not that evil Miracle Whip crap), lettuce for crunch and a slice or two of muenster on freshly baked challah, preferrably Zingerman's. (From Consumating)

What is your most annoying trait? My need to be right all the time. It' not pretty. (From Consumating)