Archive for December, 2007

Happy New Year from the Cuparium

Sunday, December 30th, 2007

We are nearing the close of another year, and I am renewing the traditional link to the words to Auld Lang Syne (which I forgot to post last year). So, here they are: the words to Auld Lang Syne. Learn them. Sing them. [Edit: Er, I corrected the URL... on January the 2nd.]

The coding, you may notice, is a bit haphazard and archaic. That is because it has not been altered since it was first posted in… December 1999 (the year I first started learning HTML). Maybe I’ll fix it. Then again, maybe I won’t. Hm… [Edit: I fixed it. You may need to reload the page to see the new version.]

This year, I forgot to mention that October marked my fifth year of not smoking cigarettes. Five years! I marvel at this because every Christmas season I get the urge to buy a pack of cigarettes again. I resisted the urge, though, and I am taking this opportunity to give myself a figurative pat on the back.

NaNoWriMo was a bust this year, and ExNaNoWriMo bore no fruit whatsoever, but I did write 10,334 words in November, and I intend to continue until this new novel is finished. The end of the year is just the worst possible time to start a novel for anyone who works in retail. How about March?

At any rate, have a great year.

Be seeing you…
:-?

Merry Winter Solstice

Saturday, December 22nd, 2007

Despite the fact that today (the Saturday before Christmas) is typically the busiest day of the year for bookshops (which is where I work), I still think it ought to be mandatory for most businesses to be closed on the winter solstice (and all other Celtic holidays).

Coffee and the Water Used to Brew It

Monday, December 17th, 2007

I have been reduced to brewing the morning coffee with tap water today. Spring water really does make a difference in the flavor, if you are one of those coffee drinkers who cares about the taste of coffee. I also think a small amount of half & half is better than any amount of any other dairy product. I ran out of half & half, too. So, although I am drinking freshly ground Sulawesi coffee, it isn’t quite as good as it could be. The difference really is noticeable. Brewing Sulawesi coffee with tap water is a bit like having your Padrón Anniversario cigar with a diet soda… or having a Swisher Sweet machine-made cigar with a single malt scotch.