The Narcs are Watching

Last night, my library friend Louis came to tell me I had a phone call. Turns out, Governor Bredesen wanted to bring some postal inspectors to the library for database training. Illegal trade in peat moss (through the mail) is on the rise, and the governor thought that some library research was just the thing to give the postal inspectors the edge against the bad guys. Even though the governor was kind of rude about the whole thing, and even though I thought it would be a waste of time, I said yes. I mean, he is the governor.

Thankfully, I woke up to realize this was all a bizarre night dream. Or at least, I think it was.

By the Numbers

I noticed the "50 Books in a Year" group on Goodreads, and it got me wondering how many books I've read this year. A quick Goodreads scan shows 77 to date, a far cry from the 44 I read in 2008.

Aha! So that's why I never get anything done.

Imponderables

• Why do my shoelaces repeatedly come untied no matter how intricately or securely I knot them?
• Why hasn't someone invented and marketed a Jetsons-like shower machine?
• Why do I eat things before bed that I know will come back to haunt me?
• Why do I procrastinate nearly every task in both my personal and professional life?

Name that Restaurant

Our last night in San Francisco/Burlingame, A and I ate at a local burger joint. It was probably 1.5-2 miles from the hotel, but there wasn't anything closer that offered a good value. We managed to use a combination of free shuttles and daring dashes through freeway offramp intersections to get there and back.

Anyone recognize the brand?

Perspective

Here is one of the upright cables on the Golden Gate Bridge, with my hand in front for perspective. When I got to the Marin County side of the bridge, I rested at the visitors area for a while, and heard a tour guide telling his group that the bridge is so named because of the golden effect of morning sunlight glinting off the bridge.

Hmm. And what about the fact that the strait itself was called the Golden Gate long before the bridge was built?