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RANDOM THOUGHTS & PONDERING (FIFTH EDITION)
February 10, 2009I haven't posted random thoughts for a number of months, so here's my latest batch.
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I always consider it a pleasant start to the work day when I arrive at the office and immediately notice that red message light on my phone is NOT shining.
And, if there are no internal messages on my computer, that's a nice little bonus.
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It's been only a couple of weeks since I signed up for a Facebook account, and already I understand what so many people warned me about... it has a ferocious appetite for my time and attention. But it can also be fascinating.
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I was raised in the Eastern time zone, and though I've spent most of the past four decades living here in the Central time zone, it seems the calibration of my own inner clock is still most in harmony with the Eastern time zone.
Of course, having our late TV newscasts at 10 rather than 11 is a fringe benefit of working in the Central zone.
For all of the six years I lived in sunny, southern California and the Pacific time zone, everything felt slightly out of step. I found myself constantly calculating the "real" time back east.
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I think maybe they should just do away with Mountain Standard Time.
It seems the most unnatural and unnecessary of all. Just divide that zone between Central and Pacific time.
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Mercury -- which used to be called quicksilver -- can be quite dangerous. The experts warn against exposure, and I believe them.
I don't want my kids or grandkids exposed to its dangers.
Yet -- when I was a child -- we played with the liquid metal quite often.
We would roll it around on tables or the floor.... we'd break open thermometers just to get the mercury out.... we'd hold it in our hands.... we'd make coins shiny by coating them in mercury.... it was even available in some children's chemistry sets.
It was great fun to play with.
Nowadays, if even a small spill of mercury takes place, a building will be evacuated and taken over by haz-mat crews, wearing suits that look like what astronauts wear for space walks or landing on the moon.
I hope it did no damage to me and my boyhood pals, but I have fond memories of touching it.
Click Here to send a comment to DanClick Here to return to Dan Miller's Notebook
---------------------------
I always consider it a pleasant start to the work day when I arrive at the office and immediately notice that red message light on my phone is NOT shining.
And, if there are no internal messages on my computer, that's a nice little bonus.
----------------------------
It's been only a couple of weeks since I signed up for a Facebook account, and already I understand what so many people warned me about... it has a ferocious appetite for my time and attention. But it can also be fascinating.
----------------------------
I was raised in the Eastern time zone, and though I've spent most of the past four decades living here in the Central time zone, it seems the calibration of my own inner clock is still most in harmony with the Eastern time zone.
Of course, having our late TV newscasts at 10 rather than 11 is a fringe benefit of working in the Central zone.
For all of the six years I lived in sunny, southern California and the Pacific time zone, everything felt slightly out of step. I found myself constantly calculating the "real" time back east.
-----------------------------
I think maybe they should just do away with Mountain Standard Time.
It seems the most unnatural and unnecessary of all. Just divide that zone between Central and Pacific time.
-----------------------------
Mercury -- which used to be called quicksilver -- can be quite dangerous. The experts warn against exposure, and I believe them.
I don't want my kids or grandkids exposed to its dangers.
Yet -- when I was a child -- we played with the liquid metal quite often.
We would roll it around on tables or the floor.... we'd break open thermometers just to get the mercury out.... we'd hold it in our hands.... we'd make coins shiny by coating them in mercury.... it was even available in some children's chemistry sets.
It was great fun to play with.
Nowadays, if even a small spill of mercury takes place, a building will be evacuated and taken over by haz-mat crews, wearing suits that look like what astronauts wear for space walks or landing on the moon.
I hope it did no damage to me and my boyhood pals, but I have fond memories of touching it.
Click Here to send a comment to DanClick Here to return to Dan Miller's Notebook
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