Rants —
30-Jul-2005 00:10
Agnes ran across this on SFGate.com today:
A man cooking in his kitchen was shot after one of his cats knocked his 9mm handgun onto the floor, discharging the weapon, Michigan State Police said.
The article dates all the way back from March but it’s message is still relevant. That cuddly furbull curled up next to you may be a ticking timebomb waiting to go off. So if you leave your loaded handgun lying around the house, make sure you switch on the safety.
And always remember: “Guns don’t kill people, cats kill people.” You have been warned.
The weather was pretty lousy on Sunday so I had to cancel plans to hike some of the trails in Brown County. Rapidly running out of reading material for this trip and anticipating some long flights later this week, I instead spent the afternoon browsing the local Barnes & Noble. Buying books south of the border is a great deal with the current exchange on the Canadian dollar. The price printed on the jacket is usually close to 50% higher on the Canadian dollar, which is nowhere close to the current rate. So I decided to stock up!
Joel recently linked to his Programmer’s Bookshelf and I noted a few books in there worth picking up (that I didn’t have already). By way of coincidence, the bookstore had a “Computer Classics” display showcasing a number of books from his list. So I snagged a few (20% off!) and now have enough to last me for the trip home.
I was especially excited to find Robin Williams‘ “The Non-Designer’s Design Book”. Anyone reading this site will immediately note my poor design talent and total lack of colour sense. I’ve already finished this book and it has really helped me identify why I prefer certain designs over others. I also understand why I prefer to format reports a certain way (I make a mean report, if I may say so myself) and my newfound knowledge can only help to improve on that.
So if you’re clueless about design like me and need a few pointers on the basics and a good treatment of fonts, I highly recommend this one. Maybe I’ll write up a review of the others once I finish them. That is, if I can find room in my bag to bring them all home!
For those following along at home, the reason that I haven’t written in so long is that I simply haven’t had the time. I’ve been home barely 5 days in over a month! This week finds me in Kokomo, Indiana, a nice enough town about an hour’s drive north of Indianapolis. Sadly not the Kokomo of the Beach Boys’ song…
With the weekend to kill, I spent a few hours today walking around downtown Indianapolis and then took to the trails in Eagle Creek
State Park. It was pretty hot today, but overcast and threatening to rain all afternoon. At least it was cooler than earlier this week.
Indianapolis is smaller than I expected, but pleasant and sprinkled liberally with historical buildings. Most of my time in the city was spent wandering past the various war monuments near the city centre. I also drove past the Indy track but there wasn’t much to see, save some massive bleachers.
Eagle Creek was a nice getaway, just what I needed to recharge my batteries. All of my fellow park-goers were either picnicking (what’s the proper spelling there, Yogi?) or fishing. I couldn’t help thinking that only the amateur fishers come here, all vying for the same undersized fish, if any exist here at all. At least they were outside and seemed to be having fun. The trails were wide and gently rolling, only challenging due to the heat.
See more pictures on Flickr.
Agnes pointed out this article on CBC.ca today. It’s refreshing that the U.S. Secret Service and Treasury Department can take a break from fighting terrorism and the deficit to care for a single-parent family of ducks trying to make a go of it in these troubled times. Proof that a kindler, gentler administration is in charge.
American families worried about the safety of their children can take hope from this story: just camp out on the Treasury Department’s sidewalk and you too will be taken care of and “relocated to a wetter and safer location.”
Well, as long as it’s not slated for drilling oil…