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While I'm not a total slouch at text messaging, I can't hold a candle to Kimberly Yeo, a Singaporean business student who just broke the world record for sending the fastest text message. To win the competition, Yeo typed the following two sentences (160 characters):
The razor-toothed piranhas of the genera Serrasalmus and Pygocentrus are the most ferocious freshwater fish in the world. In reality they seldom attack a human....in 43.24 seconds! With no T9 program!
I admit - there were many things I did not understand about Seattle when I first moved here. The rain, the lack of a decent public transportation system aside from buses, the seeming unwillingness to dance at shows, and the almost legendary steely Northwestern reserve. While I have come to grips with most of these features of the Emerald City (having friends from the East Coast to whom I can whine helps), there's one peculiarity that I've never quite understood: ornamental kale. Yes, here in the PCNW, we like to grow kale - not simply something to be savored in a pot of greens, but as a plant that can adorn our summer gardens. Flowerpots surrounding many local coffee shops are likely to include purple kale, but it was not until yesterday that I fully understood the pervasiveness of this relative of the cabbage family.
It was a beautiful day in Seattle, and I wandered around downtown, enjoying the sunshine and the throngs of tourists. I found myself in Pike Place Market, and, as is my wont, I could not leave without buying some flowers (pictured below).
A close-up of the beautiful bouquet I bought.Looking closer, I noticed something unusual about the greenery surrounding the bouquet.
Hmm, what is that green stuff near the bottom of this bouquet?
It's green and curly...looks like kale to me.My fears were confirmed when I got home and took apart the arrangement...the greenery was, indeed, kale.
Um, shouldn't this stuff be cooking on my stove instead of gracing my flowers?Once again, the Pacific Northwest has foiled my attempts to understand its subtleties.
On today's bus ride home, I saw a car with a personalized license plate that read: HTMLFX.
That's so '98.
As if this should come as a surprise to anyone who's been paying attention:
A recent poll suggests that very few Iraqis (2%) see the occupying American and British forces as liberators. Here's more from a recent story in The Independent -
The poll results are devastating for both President George Bush and Tony Blair, who are fond of saying that future generations of Iraqis will thank them for liberating their country. Tony Blair has consistently said that history will prove him right for engineering the downfall of a cruel tyrant, even if weapons of mass destruction were not found.Really. Why shouldn't the Iraqis see us as liberators? I mean, we've tourtured their fellow citizens, failed to restore basic utilities to their cities, and revamped their flag without even asking - seems like we should win some sort of award for the amount of "liberating" we're doing.President Bush, giving a pep-talk to American soldiers in Florida yesterday, said: "We have come not to conquer, but to liberate people and we will stand with them until their freedom is secure."
....
The White House spokesman, Scott McClelland, put on a brave face when reacting to the survey: "The President has previously said no one wants to be occupied. And we don't want to be occupiers," he said
But a coalition official in Baghdad interviewed by the Associated Press news agency, which obtained the survey, was despondent. "If you are sitting here as part of the coalition, it [the poll] is pretty grim," said Donald Hamilton, a career diplomat who helps oversee the CPA's polling of Iraqis.
In Washington, Congressman Ike Skelton, the ranking Democrat on the House Armed Services Committee, said he found the poll "disturbing. ... It demonstrates quite jarringly that we are not winning the hearts and minds" of Iraqis.
Wouldn't you love it if all of your problems could be solved using only two easy-to-remember phrases? The Two Things presents short, informative gems that just might help solve your work and/or life problems. Here are a few to whet your appetite (via xBlog):
The Two Things about Art Criticism:
1. If it isn't novel, critics aren't interested.
2. If it is novel, no one else is interested.
-TheLetterM
The Two Things about World Conquest:
1. Divide and Conquer.
2. Never invade Russia in the winter.
-Tim Lee
The Two Things about Working with Building Materials:
1. It's all about the wood.
2. Don't giggle like a 12-year-old when the L is not pronounced in caulk.
-Dina
The Two Things about Dormitory Food:
1. Everything is cold, except what should be.
2. Everything is greasy, including the corn flakes.
-Steverino
The Two Things about Blogging:
1. Everyone who runs one is a kook.
2. Everyone who comments in one is a kook.
-Josh
Other educational links:
A few links for my woefully under-updated blog:
Q: What should Adrienne be doing tonight?
A: Working on the myriad papers she has due next week.
Q: What is she doing instead?
A: Listlessly walking around her apartment and reliving her college days by listening to early 90s music.
Q: Like what?
A: Oh, good bad stuff. Pet Shop Boys. Electronic. Pearl Jam. Alice in Chains. Smashing Pumpkins. The Breeders. FSOL. The Orb. And in a vain attempt to get actual work done - Suzanne Vega.
Q: Does this really help her work?
A: Not really. But she's bored and easily amused. Notice her lame attempt to update her blog.
CIA Director George Tenet has resigned for "personal reasons." Yeah, right.
GWB was, once again, stunningly articulate in his assessment of Tenet's contribution to the Bush Administration (from today's article in the NYT):
"He's strong. He's resolute. He's served his nation as the director for seven years. He has been a strong and able leader at the agency. He's been a, he's been a strong leader in the war on terror, and I will miss him."Um, hedge much?