“Some things are better left unsaid, so that’s why I write.” – Lilly (from an old journal)

Sometimes items that have a definite monetary value are worth more than that value. If I need to mail a bill and I’m out of stamps, I’d pay more than face value for one. People who need quarters for laundry will value four quarters at more than a dollar when they are out of clean skivvies. There are probably numerous other exact change situations where this principle can apply.

The new dollar coin is in circulation. You can get them as change at Walmart and Sam’s Clubs. Will it change the way we use money? Some interesting facts from the U.S. Mint’s Business Information Center: Coins induce impulse sales. Consumers tend to part with coins more readily than bills. A dollar coin translates to higher value purchases. The U.S. Mint is taking unprecedented steps to make the Golden Dollar a success. A major media effort combining product tie-in’s, national advertising and public relations events is scheduled to build consumer awareness and demand for The Right Change(tm). (great…another annoyingly trademarked phrase)

Do all cats like watching printers or is mine being a nonconformist again? Everytime I print something with my LaserJet 6L, she comes over to see what’s going to come out. “Oh look, another piece of paper! Wow! Can I sit on it?”

The Gap is pushing the jean jacket — again. Did it ever go out of style? I still have my Gap jacket from the late 1980’s. The collar is frayed, but I still wear it. If I’m being unintentionally stylish, well, I guess I can live with that. But I do dread the return of fashion trends that I actually used to follow! Two terrible words: designer jeans. Remember “Oo la la, Sasoon”?

Well-meaning DSL-addicted friends want me to join them on the high bandwidth-wagon. While it may seem logical that faster downloads will expedite my web surfing and allow me to get to sleep sooner, the truth is I think I would just stay up surfing even longer. I keep saying this but I never do it: I need to set an alarm to remind me to GO to sleep!

Now that’s creative! This New York Times article explains how the New York City welfare department has been recruiting welfare recipients to work from home as telephone psychics. “What if I’m not psychic?” asks a potential clairvoyant. “They’ll train you” is the response. Self-described “genuine psychics” are not amused. But who else is better qualified to listen with compassion to down and out callers?

Going near southern Virginia sometime soon? Maybe you’d like to visit The World’s Only Ass-Kicking Machine.

Why do ad designers sometimes seem to lack common sense? I’ve seen three billboards with web site advertisements which do not have the URL prominently displayed. The URLs are in a smaller font, don’t catch your eye, and are overshadowed by the large message that the ad tries to get across. The Northern Light billboard which loudly proclaims “SEARCH THE WEB” has the URL stuck in the bottom right corner. OK, it’s true that many people get stuck in traffic here with ample time to digest the contents of all the billboards, but it seems that the “takeaway” for a web site ad has got to be the URL. It’s useless otherwise.

After unsuccessfully using Word to convert the stories I wrote for my writing class into HTML, I was all ready to write a horrific rant about the awful HTML generated by Microsoft products. But Andy Oram over at O’Reilly has already taken a stab at “Stalking the Non-Conforming Microsoft Format”.