THE CAT’S PAWS

I mentioned this photo management application a few months ago when I loaded it up on my (Mac) G4. I revisited it this morning; I opened it and tried, just for the heck of it, if I could retrieve the three thousand-or-so photos I copied from my iPhoto picture file to it. Presumably I could horse around with it and experiment with what looks to be advanced image enhancements. I wanted then (and now) to begin artistic edits and manipulation of a few of my pictures, with an end goal of posting a more variety of picture files on my blog’s headings.
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I stopped in the Apple Store while Renae browsed the mall. Apple Stores are where you lose yourself and hear very bright young people tell you great things about products in words that you often can’t understand.

I got a kick out of how a very commited and excited young man talk about the World’s most powerful and sleek laptop. I’ll spare you techincal feature details, but I won’t shy away from proclaiming this item that (and this cracked me up when I heard it) ‘is fully recyclable’. Read the rest of this entry »

Most Anglo-Americans shun legumes in spite of their food value and low caloric intake. They impact the digestive system far less than the hard work of our bodies’ processing of meats. The best feature of beans–I work with Pintos the most–is their property to combine with small portions of shredded cheese or soy-based product (firm tofu, for instance) in our stomachs to make and occasional break-from-routine, protien-rich side, or even main, dish. I married into a Spanish family (my first time around) and learned a trick or two. Here’s what I find works: Read the rest of this entry »

Traditional Japanese poetry is metered entirely unlike Old English iambic pentameter. It’s strictly constrained to three lines, the first line followed by a comma, the second (in English, anyway) by a semicolin, and the final line in enclosed by a period. The meter of Occidental poetry, origininating apparently in about Occidental 8th century BC..

(QUITE prior to Western consensus of standard anything resembling any standards in language, let alone writing–my memory better be right as I skipped my standard ‘lookup’ on the Internet–I think this is correct, though)

…is a smidgen more confining than mere rigidity in punctuation rules of order. Each line’s required to be a designated number of syllables: The first line contains five, the second seven, and the third ’squares off’ the metrical.

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I’m from here, Renae didn’t come down to the park very often growing up. We generally do something in the city of StL a couple of times a week, and we spend ’slack time’ (if such exists) walking in the park. The other day, we only had time for a quick stroll. Read the rest of this entry »

I’m a lot luckier than most people. I grew up in a ‘normal’ nuclear family. Years before it was standard in America, both my parents worked full-time. In days when home economics meant saving more money than folks do today, my parents held down a pretty wonderful house.

Storms raged through it from time to time, and I sure ignited my share to share around.

Years after other families got away from it, we had a black-and-white set to watch The Stooges, Mission Impossible, Mannix, and Columbo on. Commercials came and plowed through our brains, but then again, so did network programming. In hindsight, it’s hard to decide which harmed us more. Read the rest of this entry »