Ugh. The mail system at work has been very odd lately. Last Friday a message was sent to me and I did not receive it until Saturday morning. That didn’t matter so much because it was just a thank you note. What did matter was that today, something that had to be taken care of ASAP was sent at 4:51 and didn’t make it to my inbox until after I had left. My manager took care of it, but it upsets me because he had already left too.

I had sent a test message about something else from my Gmail account to my work account and it never made it to me until after I was gone. I’m just wondering what is up with our mail system. This isn’t good. /sigh

This kind of stuff upsets me because it makes me feel like I’ve done a crappy job, when I know I haven’t. Ugh.

John Updike has passed away. Harumph.

I have the Doublemint gum theme song stuck in my head. Considering it is really only a few lines, it is kind of annoying.

I have convinced Josh of the desks we should get. Of course they are Ikea. I have decided not to get glass desks. There are some nice birch ones that I like. Two of them will fit wall to wall exactly. Then, because they are wood, we can mount a few Summera Computer Holders. We need desks, so it is time. Josh’s desk is sagging even more now. Considering they are pushing ten years old, I think it is time.

Tomorrow is the 200th birthday of Edgar Allen Poe. He’s probably the first writer to scare me with my own imagination. I can remember being small, reading Poe and then frightening myself with my own versions of his story. Perhaps I was a little too imaginative.

So, with this very important day tomorrow, I have changed a few things on miftik.com! I have changed the header graphic using the nevermore design from urbanthreads.com.

For Tuesday’s big event, the innauguration of our 44th president, I will be changing things up a bit for that. Nothing too drastic. I’m just trying to note the occasions as I can.

Many months ago I was watching NOVA on Public Television and they were on the topic of Play Pumps. If you’ve never heard of it, it is a merry-go-round that also functions as a pump. While it is played with, it pumps water into a water storage tank. It is a great little innovative thing that can help a village while at the same time encouraging children to play.

I can recall as a child loving the merry-go-round. There were two types that I used to play on. There was the one with the flat base that you could stand or sit on. Then there was the type at old Barking Park. Those were similar to the Play Pumps style.  It took me a while to work up the nerves for that type of merry-go-round. I was the youngest out of my family (brothers and cousins), so I evaluated the possibilities of being pushed off of it and opted to wait until I was bigger.

I recall a lot from Barking Park. Especially the video my parents have, where I declare my dislike of “that kind of water”. By that I meant any water that wasn’t clear. I managed to get over that dislike, but I am still a little reserved when it comes to murky waters. Shouldn’t we all be?

So what brought all of this on? The word pump. One word and the flood of flashbacks began. Isn’t that always fun?

I have been going through old photos we have on the server. There are roughly ten years worth of photographic evidence of my existence. Well, maybe not so much. I was the photographer in 99% of the photos. I did notice quite a few photos of my cat. I think it is because she is such a willing subject. The kittens are only willing when there is food involved or if they are tired. Kittens are tired often, so they have made for good subjects as of late.

My darling evil princess is asleep on my desk. I have managed to remove my mouse from her clutches, but my camera, external HD and anything else I would like to use is under her. She is sleeping so soundly now that I really don’t want to disturb her. She is very adorable when she sleeps. It is the only time that her nickname is not true.

I think I shall just let her be and I will go read a book. At least she won’t try to climb onto it then.

Nooooooo. So I just read something that irked me. Apparently Ben Affleck and Jennifer Garner have stolen the name I wanted to use should I ever have a daughter or another female pet. Seraphina. I have loved that name and now it will forever be tainted. Just last week I was speaking with one of my co-workers about how much I like that name.

Oh well. I still haven’t sold Josh on it. He still won’t let me name anything Saladin. A girl can try.

This article pretty much sums Pushing Daisies. It is a bright spot in the dim world that is television today. Unfortunately, that bright spot is going. It is slightly disheartening the ABC has chosen to cancel it. I only watch a few shows on television because I have a dislike for reality shows. Television was supposed to be the place that took us away from reality. I fear that it is because of reality television [as babysitters], that kids today are the way they are; lacking in skills, imagination and general knowledge of life.

I just noticed that when you go to a site using the twitter app, it is asking for a username and password. Well, seeing as it shouldn’t, I have removed it from my site (without ever entering my username and password of course). I know there has been some stuff going on lately, so this is the best choice for the time being. I will bring it back when needed. Of course you can find me on twitter.com as well, but where’s the fun in that?

OK, I’m following some incarnations of the main characters of Pushing Daisies on Twitter.

Digby, the dog
Emerson Cod
Olive Snook
Charlotte Charles aka Chuck
Ned the PieMaker

I like following them because occasionally there are some bits from the show thrown in. Like the most recent (as of now) post from Chuck,

“A hug is like an emotional Heimlich. Someone squeezes and all your fear and anxiety come shooting out of your mouth in a big wet wad”

You have to love those little nuggets of wisdom.