Author Archive
Why I am not an editor, or successful, or a successful editor
The latest copy of symmetry (a joint Fermilab/SLAC publication) just arrived today.
In the letters to the editor section is the following:
“Could you please tell me the name of the font family that you use for the print edition of symmetry? From what I can tell, the slanted terminals on the c, e. and s and [...]
So make me a liar
As we last left off, I was bemoaning the demise of Jolt cola (“All the sugar and twice the caffeine!”)
So, of course, after posting my rant I drove over to Milton-Freewater to renew the beer supply at Rite Aid.
As I pull in, I glance at the signboard.
“JOLT AND PROPEL ON SALE” it said. (Or something [...]
Bring back Jolt cola!
I miss Jolt cola.
I also miss Jolt gum.
This occurred to me just now as I started to pass out while reading about redistricting. The thought also strikes as I’m fending off attacks of narcolepsy at staff meetings by stabbing myself in the leg with my pen.
Jolt Cola came along in the 80s. Whoever made it [...]
Early spring office flowers
Sheila was running around planting bulbs recently and this is what happened. Just ignore the guy in the background, he’s some bum who wanders in here and tries to foist photographs off on the editor. Calls himself “Gorner” or “Norner” or something like that….
Yachts and junk drawers
So my friend sends me pictures of this ultra-luxury yacht with a line attached to the e-mail saying “think we should rent it for a weekend?”
He was kidding of course. We couldn’t afford to rent the boat that takes people out to something like that. But while pondering my relative poverty, I got to wondering [...]
The chocolate calendar
The ancients used the moon and stars to track the passage of the seasons. Witness Stonehenge and the Sun Dagger at Chaco Canyon. But mankind has moved far beyond such primitive mechanisms. Today we use chocolate.
At least that’s what I do. This is because when I go to restock the beer supply, I usually have [...]
Sheila started it…
So my colleague, Sheila Hagar, went and posted photos of the toys she has on her desk. Then she asked for others to post photos of their stuff.
So here goes.
First off there’s the minature Zen garden being admired by punks, bendable wire figures and others…
Then there’s the Singing Christmas Dog right next to them…
And over [...]
Darn, now what am I gonna do with all this liquid nitrogen?
Well, I’m sure glad we got this issue cleared up. Thanks, Cecil.
Penitentiary Bed & Breakfast
Even if it makes it through the next couple of years, the handwriting is on the wall for the old Main Institution (or East Complex) at Washington State Penitentiary.
“In the long term, the Main Institution is going to close. That’s the way they’re headed,” Port Executive Director Jim Kuntz summed up at a recent meeting [...]
Shuttles for sale-Previously owned-Not cheap
That’s the headline for this article by Guy Gugliotta in the current issue of Air&Space Smithsonian magazine.
After 29 years and hundreds of flights (129 at last count) NASA is getting ready to pull the plug on the Space Transportation System, which is the official name for the space shuttle program.
“Sometime this year – right [...]
