I used to hear this song everywhere! This really takes me back! 😀
(one verse later)
Oh, yeah. I hated this song. 😒
Author Archives: Kelson
Sun Halos: Always Look Up
Have you ever seen a ring around the sun? Or a pair of bright spots flanking it? Or a rainbow-colored cloud? Just as sunlight reflecting and refracting inside raindrops can create a rainbow, sunlight reflecting off of ice crystals can form fascinating and beautiful halos. It doesn’t even have to be cold at ground level: if the ice crystals are high up in the atmosphere, spread in a thin layer of cirrus cloud, you can still see them… even in places known for warm weather like Los Angeles. I have a whole gallery of halo photos I’ve taken in southern California. (Edit: Most of them here on this blog too!) You’ll see them more often than you expect. You just have to look up.
Photo Challenge (WordPress): Look Up
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Finally Upgraded!
After way too long, I finally upgraded the processor on my desktop. I’d held off because that always involves upgrading the motherboard, which is major surgery on the computer, and with a small child who wants to grab everything, that wasn’t really a good idea. Replacing phones and tablets, and replacing the Windows box, sure, those are relatively simple. Nothing fragile is open for several hours, and we use them all the time.
But I’ve recently done some small maintenance with him around and he’s been able to keep his hands to himself and just look, and I’ve trusted him to help with a few things like clipping in the panels on unused drive bays and opening/closing the main case screws.
I ordered a processor/mobo/memory combo from NewEgg, and it showed up on Saturday. I waited until Sunday morning to get started, knowing that these things always take more time than you expect (and typically at least one extra trip to the computer store). No surprise, it turned out I needed a new power supply for the new motherboard. In an odd echo of the last time,* I drove out to Fry’s and found one with the connectors and wattage I needed, with a rebate on it, then picked up some takeout for lunch.
The kiddo was able to leave the half-disassembled box alone while I was out. Things were strained by the time I was finished around four, and he had a full-on meltdown at the grocery store later, but I got the new hardware installed.
It’s amazing how much smoother everything runs now. I feel like I can actually use the computer again!
*I may have done another upgrade between then and the time we moved, but I only remember adding the wireless card in 2010 so that I could move the computer desk to another room and put the crib in its place. I definitely hadn’t done anything this major on the home desktop since he was born.
Free Shavocado!
This sign used to say FRESH AVOCADO. But for several years, it’s said something more like FRE SH AVOCA DO. I’m not 100% certain, but I think they may have actually moved the SH further from FRE and toward AVOCADO a few times…and now they’ve finally just added another E.
After I posted it to Instagram, a friend on Tumblr pointed out that the “Free Shavocado” tag already exists. I found a short video of the sign in its “FRE SH AVOCA DO” state, narrated by someone giggling and saying, “Come to Del Taco! They have free sha-VA-ca-doo!” Even funnier: The restaurant updated the corporate sign between then and now without correcting the spacing.
Or maybe that’s when they decided to “fix” the spelling instead!
Out with the old tech, in with the…slightly less old.
I finally removed the floppy disk drive from my desktop. I don’t know why it took me so long, except that it wasn’t in the way of anything. Living with a small, inquisitive child means either making hardware changes at night or keeping the work brief, and timing it so that he still has enough metaphorical spoons to keep his hands to himself.
Why would you risk eating out with a food allergy?
On every news story about someone who experienced a severe allergic reaction outside the home, there will be someone who says, “If it’s that dangerous, why would you even risk it? Keep your kid at home and make all their food yourself from scratch all the time!”*
Let’s think about this.
A car could kill your child. Today, tomorrow, years down the line. This is not a hypothetical. This is a fact, and it’s a risk that you live with.
Why on earth would you risk letting your child cross the street? Keep them at home! Don’t let them out of the house in case someone jumps the curb!
That’s…not exactly practical, is it?
You don’t keep your child inside 24/7 to avoid cars. You take them outside, with precautions. You teach them to stay on the sidewalk, cross at corners and crosswalks, and look for cars before crossing. You walk with them until they’re old enough to walk safely on their own.
You rely on drivers to follow the rules of the road…but you still look both ways in case someone’s distracted or feels entitled and plows through a red light anyway.
And then your children can live their lives out in the world instead of being frightened recluses who hide in the basement whenever a car goes by.
You can’t eliminate risk 100%, but you can manage it.
The exact balance is going to be different for each person with an allergy.** But it’s not unreasonable to expect the food industry to follow basic safety procedures to avoid cross-contact — and to not introduce a danger that wasn’t there to begin with.
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*Even if you have the time to prepare every meal at home, there’s still the risk of mislabeling or cross-contamination in the supply chain. Right now, there’s an ongoing recall of baked goods produced with peanut-contaminated flour. A year ago, supplies of cumin were tainted with peanuts. That impacted everything from prepared foods down to bulk-bin spices. Everyone’s at risk with the massive listeria recall of vegetables, allergies or no.
**Heck, it’s different for each of my allergies, and I’m one person. I’ll cheerfully walk into a coffee shop that serves almond milk and soy milk, but won’t set foot in one of those burger places that plops a bin of peanuts on the table. Even with my Epi-Pen. That’s just playing live-action Frogger.