So Pithy

Or not.

Category: Miscellany

Disappointment

I scheduled my whole day–meals, workout, etc.–around our planned meal at Texas Roadhouse this evening, only to discover they were closed. The rolls have been, and still are, sorely missed.
As for the Super Bowl, I had no real stake in it, so no disappointment there.

Happy birthday to my wife!

The greatest gift you can give to the person you love? Not telling the staff at Texas Roadhouse that it’s that person’s birthday.
You’re welcome, sweetie!

Tipping

Tipping is not a science. There are, however, some rules. Normally, at the sorts of restaurants I go to, 15%-20% is a good rule of thumb. However, there are occasions when under-tipping is acceptable. These include especially poor service (are you listening, Deb?), buffets, etc. Of course, regularly tipping 10% or less, especially at a [...]

(W)Hy-Vee

When I go shopping I like to buy in bulk: big boxes of cereal, big bags of noodles, etc. But recently, while shopping at Hy-Vee, I noticed something that annoyed me. I could get:

a 12 pack of Ramen for $2.42
two 6 packs of Ramen for $2.40
twelve individuals packs of Ramen for $2.00 (those prices might [...]

Happy New Year

I have a few resolutions for the new year. Time will tell how many I can keep.

swim laps at least twice a week…
…so I can run the Quad Cities Triathlon in a triathlon (Quad Cities is out because there’s a marathon the same day)
eat less fried food
communicate better
write more

Adventures in soldering

Deb’s sister gave us her old Pioneer TiVos with built-in DVD burner, but one of them had a major problem: the RF in jack had come loose, spinning freely whenever I tried to attach coax cable and failing to provide signal to the tuner.
Opening up the case, I saw the problem: the connection from the [...]

The Shortest Day of the Year

Apparently today was the shortest day of the year. So, theoretically the sun coming up earlier each morning should make it warmer, right? Please?
Even though the days had been getting shorter to this point, I was able to get quite a few chapters of the dissertation done this semester. By the start of next semester [...]

Happy Thanksgiving!

Deb and I took the dogs to a nearby state park for the first time. I ran while she walked. It was nice, especially the weather.
With one official marathon behind me, one just around the corner, and a couple unofficial ones under my belt, I’ve started to think about my options for the future. More [...]

Useless and Useful

Useless: the word “frenemy” because, let’s face it, that person probably isn’t really a friend at all, they’re an acquaintance.
Useful: a water heater that doesn’t leak water all over your basement floor for who knows how many days while you’re out of town. Yeah.

Disapointed

1896. Plessy v. Ferguson. The US Supreme Court upholds the constitutionality of racial segregation 7-1. Not until 1954 in Brown v. Board of Education would that ruling be overturned. In the intervening years those seven justices’ interpretation made possible countless injustices that a reversal nearly 60 years later and even additional legislation such as the [...]