January 06, 2009
Bon Ami
Went back to work again today after a much needed vacation... Er, VPNed to work today and was glad -- it was cold and wet out there. As my wife says, I'm in geek heaven here in my home office. Four monitors adorn my desk: two in support of this computer, my new 22 inch widescreen for my work PC (love the real estate on the desktop now), and my old trusty 17 inch flat screen for my other two 'puters (connected by a KVM switch). If you haven't tried dual monitors on one computer, don't knock it. But it was a quiet day filled with catching up on email, approving this and that all while trying to get my head back into the game. During one conference call I had to IM a co-worker: "what is this call about and why am I on it?"
After cooking dinner then going out to the store again to pick up stuff I returned to a dirty kitchen. Yeah, the Mrs. had a long day too but I had hopes... Once all the easy stuff was washed and put away I spied the stove. We hosted Christmas dinner and our guests left late in the evening and we were leaving for Colorado the next day so some things had to wait until our return. The stove was one of those things... In its normal, pristine condition it is gloss black. Looks good and it did fit into the color scheme, but one speck of dirt stands out on the surface. Alas, the entire stovetop contained the detritus of a full Christmas dinner prepared by multiple cooks. It was hideous and needed to be cleaned.
It's funny how certain things can trigger memories. I happen to use Bon Ami to clean the stovetop since it is non-abrasive. I first heard about it over 30 years ago from Fay Blaker, the mother of the first woman I ever considered marrying. As I recall it, I was visiting their farm while on leave from Eglin AFB and, the truth be told, I just wanted to be alone with Mary. Young, dumb and head over heels in love! Anyway, Fay kept nattering on about Bon Ami and how it was the best cleaner in the world. OK, I did listen to what some of my elders said back in those days and everytime I take out the can to clean up something I always remember Fay.
So I've finished cleaning up the kitchen and made some progress in cleaning up the web site. I have no idea how long it takes Google to re-index, but it's taking them forever and there are items that have been changed which are not reflected by using certain search terms. Anyone who knows me well knows that I hate to throw away anything but deletion was my first option. The second was to password protect certain directories, but that would have defeated one of the purposes of that area but it's still under consideration. Have a good password? Email it to me. ;) So I wound up with the least destructive option I could think of, I just renamed the pages in question. I hope it provides the necessary cover yet maintains the content.
It's so much easier in Facebook though. Having a daughter who is absent most of the year, Facebook has been a godsend. Especially with her being in Italy with school, I can see pictures of what she's seeing, see what kind of mood she's in and know that everything is OK. We almost never communicate via posts on each other's wall since that's for all to see, but it does give each of us a peek into what's going on in our lives. It's also a great way to network - even for those who crave their privacy since you control who can see you by who you allow on your friends list. Of course, I can always be found at mark@sixfootzero.com...
Yikes! Way past my bedtime!!
Posted by mjwoods at January 6, 2009 01:31 AM