Mundane Ramblings

Nikki and I have been doing some painting around the house lately, and thinking of some other small renovations in the near future. It’s the small things you do that make the difference in your house, I think.

This Old House has long been a great source of “Home Inspection Nightmares” where there are 19 “Nightmare” galleries and counting.  Some of them are incredible, most are scary, but usually just hilarious.

First we have the most convenient shower anywhere:

A window, electrical outlet, AND the toilet paper all inside the shower!  Well done, sir.

These steel support beams are just for looks, anyway.

That PVC pipe will probably take the load, sure.

Finally, yes, that is a potato being used to cap an active gas line.  I would have used a turnip myself, but I can see that this guy is a tater man, so whatever works for you.

via Metafilter.

http://trololololololololololo.com/

but thank you anyway, Internet.

March 3, 2010 is our 9th anniversary.

or

3/3/2010  =  9th

or

3 + 3 + (2+0+1+0) = 9th

9 = 9

Cosmic.

I love you honey.  The universe wants it so.

This sort of number geekery has happened before here.  It seems I am a one-trick pony.

It’s ok folks, it’s not me.

Still here, just unusually silent.

I am lucky.

In general I think I have been one of the luckiest people I know.  I have been employed steadily at a job I generally love for the past 16 years without any real interruption, I have the best family and wife I could ever hope for, I’m healthy, I have great friends, the list goes on and on.  I’m sickeningly happy.

I have always felt that this was a direct result of me simply expecting to be that happy and successful.  It makes no real sense, and I had no reason to believe that it would actually work, but it did.  I am one of the more, ah, relaxed people I know, and it’s probably because of that very fact; I expect things to probably be just fine, so I’m not worried about them, and because I’m relaxed they do in fact turn out fine.

Now this has been basically “proven” in a sort of long term study.  The article gives lots of detail, but the main point is: being lucky can be learned.

You can become luckier just by trying, and upon reading the article I understand now that I have been doing this for years without realizing it.

• Lucky people tend to look on the positive side of misfortune
• Lucky people trust their instincts
• Unlucky people tend to be creatures of routine.

Way cool.  Saw the article on Lifehacker.

The Ottawa Citizen has a great photo gallery from the Westminster dog show, which of course is a humongous deal for a teeny tiny fraction of dog owners, and for the rest of us just provides sheer amusement.

I subscribe to the “dogs are incredible, loyal, often hilarious companions, but they are not my life” group, like most folks I think, so the shots of these pampered pooches casting long-suffering looks balefully into the camera are pretty funny.

The caped Corgi shown here in particular seems to be saying “Oh, keep laughing.  I will keell you slowly and taste your hot blood on my tongue… aaas soon as I am done perching here like an eediot.  What is this?  A bird house?  What the hell are these things I’m standing on?  Corgi stilts?  Why am I wearing a purple cape?  Bah, I shall keel you all for this.  Tremble before me….Tremble!”

Almost every picture there is caption-worthy, I had a hard time deciding which one to make fun of….  This guy’s super-intense gaze spoke to me.