Saturday, November 13, 2004
We're having our first snow storm of the season. It wasn't supposed to be much. But this is Boston. These cute little systems come up the coast (thanks Billy on the Rock!) or over from Chicago (much obliged, Jake and Tony!), pick up damp ocean air, and become all that they can be. Circulating half over the Atlantic and half over the city (including "the normally colder northern and western suburbs"), they turn into regular little snow pumps, frequently JUST in time to create havoc with the morning commute.
Fritz and I talk every morning when we're not together. Seven AM is the customary time and I had set the alarm last night for ten of. I always wake up naturally between five and six no matter when I go to bed the night before, which I wish weren't the case. But I'm an early riser--yes, in both senses of the word. When I was younger I'd get up pretty much when I woke up, but I've learned to savor the langorous, half-awake state and do that voodoo that men do so well first thing off the (my) bat in the morning. Today was no different. When the alarm finally went off, I reached for my cell and began the day proper hearing his lovely rolling baritone voice in my ear. THEN, I got up and looked out--easily four inches deep and snowing steadily. From the look of it, it's a wet, cement-heavy blanket that isn't going to be a great deal of fun to shovel.
On the weekend if I'm at home in Boston I like to spend an hour or so in the morning on line, contacting friends, checking out all of you guys, and doing just a bit of exploring new blogs or new sites. Andy Towle (towleroad) and Ron (Ron's Log) are great sources of interesting and/or esoteric links and Andy posted one today, 10 x10. http://www.tenbyten.org This service scans major news media for the most significant pictures published in the previous hour on a 100 square grid. Moving the cursor over the grid activates an entension on the list of photos at the right to identify the location, etc. where the image originated. Clicking on the image enlarges it and provides even more information. You can't save the images--copyright protection, of course--which is a shame. But you can access previous hours easily and catch any important news images you may have missed on TV news or in print.
10 x 10 links to a related site, WordCount. http://www.wordcount.org where you can track the most used words in the English language. They appear in a seemingly endless line of just under 87,000 entries, the size with which the word is typeset indicating its frequency of use in English. The related link to QueryCount allows you to track what words site users most frequently explore and will constantly change depending on world events, etc. Site design is clean, very minimalist and uncomplicated. A nice place to visit when you're putting off shoveling cement-heavy snow for a while.
Fritz and I talk every morning when we're not together. Seven AM is the customary time and I had set the alarm last night for ten of. I always wake up naturally between five and six no matter when I go to bed the night before, which I wish weren't the case. But I'm an early riser--yes, in both senses of the word. When I was younger I'd get up pretty much when I woke up, but I've learned to savor the langorous, half-awake state and do that voodoo that men do so well first thing off the (my) bat in the morning. Today was no different. When the alarm finally went off, I reached for my cell and began the day proper hearing his lovely rolling baritone voice in my ear. THEN, I got up and looked out--easily four inches deep and snowing steadily. From the look of it, it's a wet, cement-heavy blanket that isn't going to be a great deal of fun to shovel.
On the weekend if I'm at home in Boston I like to spend an hour or so in the morning on line, contacting friends, checking out all of you guys, and doing just a bit of exploring new blogs or new sites. Andy Towle (towleroad) and Ron (Ron's Log) are great sources of interesting and/or esoteric links and Andy posted one today, 10 x10. http://www.tenbyten.org This service scans major news media for the most significant pictures published in the previous hour on a 100 square grid. Moving the cursor over the grid activates an entension on the list of photos at the right to identify the location, etc. where the image originated. Clicking on the image enlarges it and provides even more information. You can't save the images--copyright protection, of course--which is a shame. But you can access previous hours easily and catch any important news images you may have missed on TV news or in print.
10 x 10 links to a related site, WordCount. http://www.wordcount.org where you can track the most used words in the English language. They appear in a seemingly endless line of just under 87,000 entries, the size with which the word is typeset indicating its frequency of use in English. The related link to QueryCount allows you to track what words site users most frequently explore and will constantly change depending on world events, etc. Site design is clean, very minimalist and uncomplicated. A nice place to visit when you're putting off shoveling cement-heavy snow for a while.
