I am suffering from some writer’s block that is seriously interfering with my dissertation progress. On a positive note, however, it looks like I’ll be presenting at THE conference in my field this autumn. And most of that paper is written already.
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.
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 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 [...]
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 [...]
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
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 [...]
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 [...]
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. [...]
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.