Now with 20% less ink!

A group in the Netherlands has designed a font (sans serif of course) that uses 20% less ink when printed--each letter of the font is embedded with small "holes" (non-printing white circles) that does not greatly affect its readability but uses less ink when printed.

Merry Christ-moose

Investing for Beginners

Just a few days back I bought a $400, 13-Week Treasury Bill for the auction price of $399.99. Meaning that when I get my money back in 13 weeks I will have made exactly $0.01. Today at the gym I found $0.02 in the bottom of a locker and another $0.11 on the bench at City Bakery while eating brunch.

I'm thinking that there is something wrong with my investment strategy.

The Virtual Friendsgiving

I know it is not the same as getting together in person (and I am a couple days late), but here's a virtual taste of a virtual together.

The traditional breakfast egg n' cheese, in all its cheesy goodness:


The pecan pie, deconstructed for the postmodernists among us:


The pie assembled, for those modernist among us:


The mid-day snack (consumed after tossing a football in a park):

The meal itself:

And the next day invention, new to 2008! Chili-warmed turkey with melted cheddar cheese and bacon served on toast:

Happy Friendsgiving!

We don't have to be in one house (or one state, even) to celebrate Friendsgiving, do we? I'm still grateful and thankful for The Circle of Nerd just the same.

Enjoy your respective feasts!

Relief

Maine

with a little help from Bob Dylan . . .

NH Getaway

A few pics from our weekend in NH...


Arriving at our destination


The Bear Mountain Lodge, Bethlehem, NH


Early morning walk


A tree within a tree


New England autumn


Doggies! (Remy & Ruckett)


Guess who?


Tree Creature


Can you sit on that really uncomfortable pointy rock so I can take your picture?


Creature Double Feature


Homeward bound

Big Shock

For you, Michaela, Judy Graves' result:

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston   You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.
The Midland
The West
North Central
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The Inland North
The South
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

R.I.P Richard Wright, 1943-2008.

Off to play the Great Gig in the Sky...

Who said Woo, part 2

So I just awakened from my slumber to hear an owl-y visitor-- the cute and creepy little screech owl-- singing his ghostly song. I don't know that I have heard one since posting about my first visit here on Silencio and so, curious, I logged on to look back at that post.

I'll save you the trouble of looking, but I just thought it was interesting... it was EXACTLY one year ago (ok, plus one day) that he last visited me-- September 11th.

Weird, huh?

As I always say, my peeps are Midwestern . . .

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Midland   "You have a Midland accent" is just another way of saying "you don't have an accent." You probably are from the Midland (Pennsylvania, southern Ohio, southern Indiana, southern Illinois, and Missouri) but then for all we know you could be from Florida or Charleston or one of those big southern cities like Atlanta or Dallas. You have a good voice for TV and radio.
Philadelphia
The South
The Inland North
The Northeast
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

You've Been Warned...

...That's Numberwang.

Jersey Girl

I swore it would never happen but apparently despite my best efforts, my accent is now identifiable as "North Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island". Stephen, we need to move to New England RIGHT NOW! ;)

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Northeast   Judging by how you talk you are probably from north Jersey, New York City, Connecticut or Rhode Island. Chances are, if you are from New York City (and not those other places) people would probably be able to tell if they actually heard you speak.
Boston
The Inland North
Philadelphia
The Midland
North Central
The South
The West
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Boston, You're My Home Town

What American accent do you have? Your Result: Boston   You definitely have a Boston accent, even if you think you don't. Of course, that doesn't mean you are from the Boston area, you may also be from New Hampshire or Maine.
The Midland
The West
The Northeast
Philadelphia
North Central
The Inland North
The South
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Me too...

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North   You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

What Accent do you have?

Apparently, my accent is "The Inland North"

What American accent do you have? Your Result: The Inland North You may think you speak "Standard English straight out of the dictionary" but when you step away from the Great Lakes you get asked annoying questions like "Are you from Wisconsin?" or "Are you from Chicago?" Chances are you call carbonated drinks "pop."
The Midland
The Northeast
Philadelphia
The South
The West
Boston
North Central
What American accent do you have? Quiz Created on GoToQuiz

Reasons I Love Noah, #347

Pancakes, mini sausage, spicy homefries, and a mixture of pears and peaches in a syrup made from peach and ginger preserves with a touch of cinnamon... yummy!

Bucolic Minnesota

The Luce Line. A converted railroad bed that stretches from near my house to South Dakota. A playing stomping ground for childhood Stephen.


The woods behind my parents house. This is old growth forest and part of the original Big Woods that use to cover huge tracts of Minnesota and Wisconsin:


More Big Woods.


Bucolic MN. Head east from my parent's house and you are in the city. Head west and you see horse farms:



Walk me out in the morning dew, my honey . . .


Local fauna with two flavors of local ice cream (for the record, Peppermint Stick ice cream and Peppermint bon-bon, both from Licks Unlimited in Excelsior Minnesota on Lake Minnetonka):

By Request

They said it would be a Hyundai. Somehow, the acceleration and growl of the engine said differently:

Minnesota State Fair

Another Game

No, not the game of the banal. This is a word game. The rules are simple: ask a question that can be answered in English. But the answer or a word in the answer also sounds/is a foreign language word that also is related to the original question. For example: Does Japan have a theatrical tradition? No.

New question I thought of tonight: Are Chinese noodles exciting? Yes, they are fun!

Eine Kleine Niagara Music

A little stroll down the Niagara River

Niagara River . . .





.

















The way down (or up) . . .






















This time with an obstacle . . .

Somewhere...

Sadly, it had started to fade by the time I wrestled my cell phone out of my bag, but I was greeted with this lovely rainbow upon exiting work this evening. Hard to believe with all the late afternoon thunderstorm we've had, but I think it might be the first I've seen all summer...

The various skies of Jersey City

Red in the morning, sailors take warning . . .

Sunflowers Bring Showers

These are a few of my rather poor attempts to capture an amazing bed of sunflowers in the field along Scotland Road. Unfortunately, although my cell phone does take good pics, it's not very adept at adjusting to lighting issues. So the sunflowers themselves aren't very visible, but I rather liked the thunderheads forming in the background... not too long after I took these photos, we had an apocalyptic mix of thunder, lightning, and hail so fine it looked like it was snowing a blizzard.

Harkness State Park redux

Took a daytrip to the shore yesterday, accompanied by Michael Powers, and thoroughly enjoyed the only patch of sunshine in the entire state. Some random pics for your enjoyment:

Down the Shore . . .

Sharing a little of the Jersey Shore (Stone Harbor) from this past weekend.