Month: July 2010
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No Problem
I had to call the Department of Workforce Development on the phone after filing my initial claim for unemployment benefits because I ticked the “No” box after the question, “Did you look for work during the week?” Bells rang, lights flashed and a page with lots of red-letter warnings, all in capital letters, told me… Read.
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Lavender
Some people have lawn gnomes, some decorate with hoity-toity copper sculpture. This homeowner on Jenifer Street, in the heart of Madison, used bowling balls, dinner plates and a plastic Tyrannosaurus Rex to add a charming, light-hearted note to her front lawn. Even in a neighborhood ripe with colorful houses and eclectic tastes in decoration, there’s… Read.
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Bargain-basement spies
I haven’t been paying much attention at all to the media frenzy that erupted when ten captured Russian spies almost overshadowed the monumentally shattering decision by Lebron James to leave Cleveland to play foosball, or something, uh, somewhere else. Sorry, it was way too involved and dramatic for me to absorb it all. I’ll try… Read.
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Morning Ride
I hit the pavement for a bike ride early this morning, before the sun had a chance to get burning hot enough to melt me like butter, and pedaled my way slowly around Lake Monona so I wouldn’t be sweating and gasping my way to the finish. I keep my bike in our garage where… Read.
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Due Diligence
It’s easier to find an image of a dandelion on the internet … no, wait: It’s easier to find more than 2,010,000 images of a dandelion on the internet than it is to answer this question: Do I have to declare my military pension when filing for my unemployment benefits? I know, because I’ve spent… Read.
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Willis Carrier
Thank goodness for Willis Carrier, that’s the best thing I can say about the weather we had yesterday. If it weren’t for the awesome power of air conditioning I would’ve ended up looking like a sad little wrinkled prune in the middle of a puddle of my own sweat. I kept the airco dialed back… Read.
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The Secret
Here’s one that’ll take me a little while to live down, at least in my own mind: My Darling B and I go to a group dance class each Tuesday and Thursday night. It sounds like a lot, but each class is only forty-five minutes and it goes by so quickly that it’s over just… Read.
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To The Curb
I dragged this old rolled-up carpet out to the curbside because there’s a better than even chance someone driving by will stop, shove it into the back of their vehicle and drive away with it. Beats going through all the work of shoving it the back of my own vehicle and lugging it away to… Read.
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Polar Cub
Ladies and Gentlemen, meet the Polar Cub, a table fan with sharp-edged metal blades and no safety cage to speak of. Turn it on and the blades whirl so fast you could lose a finger to this thing faster than you can say “Emergency Room.” Now that I’ve restored it to working order I imagine… Read.
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Tulpan
My Darling B said she heard good things about the movie Tulpan at the film festival last fall and, indeed, there seem to be nothing but good reviews about it everywhere we look: “Astonishing!” “Magnificent!” “Spectacular!” are typical of the ways it’s described, so we popped the DVD in the player, curled up on the… Read.
This Is Drivel 