May 3, 2004
From today's Campus Watch crime report:
Consumption of Alcohol by a Minor (2610 Whitis)
A UT student, who was under the age of 21, was found leaning over a trash can
while displaying an extreme involuntary physical reaction to the over consumption
of an alcoholic beverage. The student was under the influence of an alcoholic
beverage to the point she needed to be transported by EMS to a local emergency
room for the treatment of alcohol poisoning. Occurred on 5-1-04 at 1:47 am.
These stories about kids drinking too much aren't very funny but the phrase "extreme involuntary physical reaction to the over consumption of an alcoholic beverage" nearly always makes me laugh. And, that's the way it's always described in these reports. It's such a roundabout (albeit accurate) way to describe the situation, eh? Heh.
. . . .
Oh. And, I finally spent my Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust Litigation Settlement check. 'Bought Mary Chapin Carpenter's new CD: Between Here and Gone. So far, I'm liking it just fine.
May 1, 2004
I was set to leave the house this morning about 9 o'clock with plans to donate blood, mail some bills, and pick up a package at the post office. As I was about to step into my car, I noticed a snail on the floor of my garage. Its shell was about one inch in diameter. Perhaps a bit larger. Yikes! :) So, I called Carolyn (mama to 4 kids) to see if they'd be interested in said snail. Sure! So, I popped it into a box (I don't know what I'd have done if it had been a shell-less slug) and drove on over. Zachary (who turned 8 in February) was thrilled beyond belief. He took the box excitedly from me and just couldn't take his eyes off his new prize. There was plenty of nudging and looking and noting the slime trail it left behind as it wandered slowly around the box. He asked how the snail could breathe in that box and I said it was just a temporary holding pen. His mom told him they could find one of their old containers (used on previously "owned" bugs, butterflies, etc.) for the snail to live in. I stayed around for about 5 minutes before continuing on with my planned errands. Zach piped up as I got to the door: "I'm gonna name him Bob!" Heh heh. I loved it. Bob the snail. I called a couple of hours later when I got home 'cause I'd found another snail in my garage. His shell was about half the size of Bob's. I asked about Bob and was told he was living in the lap of luxury with lots of leaves and grass to munch on. Poor mini-Bob out in my garage...with only dust and fuzz to munch on. Ah well. Them's the breaks.
April 23, 2004
I get lots of spam. Lots. I've got junk filters set up on Eudora and most of it gets thrown in a junk mail box. Once a day, I go through that box and make sure none of my legitimate mail gets thrown in there. As for the spam, I get quite a bit in English and Spanish. So, this morning, as I'm scanning through the subject lines to make sure none of my "real" mail has found its way into the junk box, I spy the following:
Subject: El lugar donde buscar tu pájaro
Which translates to: the place to find your bird.
Huh? The place to find my bird? What in the world does that mean?
Then I take a closer look:
Subject: El lugar donde buscar tu pareja
Which translates to: the place to find your pair.
AKA, your match. Y'know...one of those typical "find true love on the Internet" sorta things. Your bird...your true love...whatever. It gave me a good case of the giggles. So, every once in a great while, the spam can be good.
Needless to say, I did not open the message. So, I still have no idea where to go to find my bird. Or my soul mate. Or, more likely, some sort of enlargement or endurance product. Isn't that what all the spam is about these days?
April 8, 2004
From today's Campus Watch crime report:
Driving Under the Influence by a Minor / Consumption of Alcohol by a
Minor / Reckless Damage (500 East 23rd Street)
Two UT students who were both under the age of 21 were found in a blue 2001
BMW that had four flat tires. Both of the vehicle's air bags had been
deployed. Both students were found to be under the influence of an alcoholic
beverage. The investigation showed the driver of the vehicle failed to turn
left or right at the T intersection located at 23rd street and Robert Dedman.
The vehicle caused damage to the lawn around the LBJ Fountain as the driver
attempted to find the paved roadway. Repair cost: $200.00. Occurred on
4-8-04 at 2:42 am.
About all I have to say about that is: oh, my.
April 7, 2004
A few days ago I noticed that the Pots & Plants nursery out on Loop 360 had hidden a big ol' slew of Easter eggs amongst its herd of flamingos. I didn't have time to photograph them that day but went back:
Jennie went along for the ride and noticed a rather sad thing:
Poor guy.
March 19, 2004
The mountain laurels have been in bloom 'round Austin for the past 2 or 3 weeks. I love the way they smell. It's been so pleasant arriving at work over the last couple of weeks. I get to the garage, park, open my door, and ahhhhhh... the sweet smell of the blossoms wash over me. There are quite a few mountain laurels planted all around the garage. This is one of the last ones that's still in full bloom. The first ones I noticed have lost almost all of their petals. I just love the fact that the landscapers planted these heavenly plants so near my place of work. Thanks!
March 16, 2004
Remember last month's Dixie/Yankee quiz? (See my ramblings for Feb. 20.) The link died shortly after I posted it. And, I've been watching for it to reappear. That hasn't happened but I found another link for the quiz. So, have at it if you didn't catch it the first time.
March 8, 2004
Happy Birthday, David! And, from three days ago: Happy Birthday, Christy!
. . . .
From today's Campus Watch crime report:
Burglary (T. S. Painter Hall)
A Dell computer, a Macintosh G4 computer and a Dell flat screen computer monitor
were stolen from a secured cabinet inside of a 2nd floor classroom. Loss value:
$1,500.00. Occurred on 03-07-04 between 6:18 pm and 6:29 pm.
So...I'm guessing they've got a real good idea who stole said computer components, eh? What with there being an 11-minute window of opportunity and all. That's an awfully specific time frame we're talking about. Hmmmm...
March 2, 2004
In January of last year, I posted a link to the Compact Disc Minimum Advertised Price Antitrust Litigation Settlement and encouraged everyone who'd bought CDs to sign up for the settlement. I signed up. Last week I got an entertaining piece of mail:
And, lo...attached to the bottom of the letter was a check:
Woo hoo! Lemme tell you...I'm gonna go wild with that $13.86. There's no stopping me now.
joanna@joanna.org
URL: http://www.joanna.org/archive/Feb2004-May2004.html
Last updated: May 3, 2004