she's just saying...

We have sharp sticks and we like to use them.

I'm posting my past Ravelympics medals proudly on my sidebar again. My favorite part is highlighted below: our work denigrates athletes, but they'd like us to send them some anyway...  Hmm, what should I knit?

Latest NPR News:

After Knitters Get In A Twist, USOC Apologizes For 'Cease And Desist' Letter

Note to the USOC: Those are balls of yarn, not puts.

It wouldn't seem to be a good idea to get 2 million people with pointy sticks angry at you, but the U.S. Olympic Committee did just that.

So it has just apologized for sending a "cease and desist" letter to a social networking site for knitters that is holding its own sort-of Olympic games.

Here's what the knotty legal dispute is about:

As Gawker reported, knitters were "in revolt" because the USOC's legal beagles got on their case this week over the website Ravelry's "Ravelympics" — featuring such competitions as the "Afghan marathon."

To the USOC, that "may constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution of our famous trademarks," as its letter to Ravelry co-founder Casey Forbes states.

"It's looking like we may have to rename the Ravelympics," Forbes said in a Ravelry post.

But his fellow fans of the knit and the purl didn't give up easily. They left a ton of messages on U.S. Olympic Team's Facebook page, hit Twitter with their complaints, and emailed the USOC. Of particular concern to many: What they felt was the letter's insulting tone.

Which led to the Olympics committee casting off the idea of going after the knitters. In a statement posted online this afternoon, spokesman Patrick Sandusky says in part:

"Thanks to all of you who have posted, tweeted, emailed and called regarding the letter sent to the organizers of the Ravelympics.

"Like you, we are extremely passionate about what we do. ...

"The letter sent to the organizers of the Ravelympics was a standard-form cease and desist letter that explained why we need to protect our trademarks in legal terms. Rest assured, as an organization that has many passionate knitters, we never intended to make this a personal attack on the knitting community or to suggest that knitters are not supportive of Team USA.

"We apologize for any insult and appreciate your support. We embrace hand-crafted American goods as we currently have the Annin Flagmakers of New Jersey stitching a custom-made American flag to accompany our team to the Olympic Games in London. To show our support of the Ravelry community, we would welcome any handmade items that you would like to create to travel with, and motivate, our team at the 2012 Games."

 

 

Breaking News: Knitters denigrating Olympics!

From Gawker.com:

Knitters Outraged After U.S. Olympic Committee Squashes Knitting Olympics—and Disses Knitters

Adrian Chen, Gawker

If you mess with the Olympics trademark, a cloud of legal hurt will descend on you faster than Tyson Gay in the Men's 100 meters. Case in point: The U.S. Olympic Committee has sent a cease and desist letter to a knitting-based social network for hosting a knitting "olympics." Now, knitters are in revolt.

2012 was to be the third year that the knitting social network Ravelry—yes, this exists and is surprisingly popular—hosted a "Ravelympics," a knitting competition for users that includes events like an "afghan marathon," and "scarf hockey." Knitters were supposed to compete in their events while watching the actual Games on TV.

But that was before the U.S. Olympics Committee got wind of it and sent Ravelry a cease & desist, for making a mockery of the Games with their needlework. Here's a passage from the letter, sent by the USOC's general counsel and posted by Ravelry founder Casey Forbes to his blog:

The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them.  For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career.  Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them.

...

We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games.  In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

Yeah, Ravelry, do you want to make olympic athletes cry with your dumb knitting olympics? If you wanted to dignify athletes, your Olympics should also accept millions of dollars in corporate sponsorship from Dow Chemicals. But the USOC has a case: In 1982, the "Gay Olympics" were sued and the United States Supreme Court ruled that the USOC had exclusive rights to the word Olympics, and anything vaguely related to the word "Olympics".

...

The USOC is demanding Ravelry change the name to the "Ravelry Games," but we say: Why not make knitting an Olympic sport instead? Pair up knitting a baby sweater with target shooting and make it the summer version of the biathlon. Those would be some Nike ads.

Here's the full cease and desist, which also includes a few Olympics-themed patterns submitted by users:

Dear Mr. Forbes,

In March 14, 2011, my colleague, Carol Gross, corresponded with your attorney, Craig Selmach [sic], in regard to a pin listed as the "2010 Ravelympic Badge of Glory." At that time, she explained that the use of RAVELYMPIC infringed upon the USOC's intellectual property rights, and you kindly removed the pin from the website. I was hoping to close our file on this matter, but upon further review of your website, I found more infringing content.

By way of review, the USOC is a non-profit corporation chartered by Congress to coordinate, promote and govern all international amateur athletic activities in the United States. The USOC therefore is responsible for training, entering and underwriting U.S. Teams in the Olympic Games. Unlike the National Olympic Committees of many other countries, the USOC does not rely on federal funding to support all of its efforts. Therefore, in order to fulfill our responsibilities without the need for federal funding, Congress granted the USOC the exclusive right to use and control the commercial use of the word OLYMPIC a and any simulation or combination thereof in the United States, as well as the OLYMPIC SYMBOL. See the Olympic and Amateur Sports Act, 36 U.S.C. §220501 et seq. (the "Act"). (A copy of the relevant portion of the Act is enclosed for your convenience.) The Act prohibits the unauthorized use of the Olympic Symbol or the mark OLYMPIC and derivations thereof for any commercial purpose or for any competition, such as the one organized through your website. See 36 U.S.C. §220506(c). The USOC primarily relies on legitimate sponsorship fees and licensing revenues to support U.S. Olympic athletes and finance this country's participation in the Olympic Games. Other companies, like Nike and Ralph Lauren, have paid substantial sums for the right to use Olympic-related marks, and through their sponsorships support the U.S. Olympic Team. Therefore, it is important that we restrict the use of Olympic marks and protect the rights of companies who financially support Team USA.

In addition to the protections of the Act discussed above, the USOC also owns numerous trademark registration that include the mark OLYMPIC. These marks therefore are protected under the Lanham Act, 15 U.S.C. §1051 et seq. Thus, Ravelry.com's unauthorized use of the mark OLYMPIC or derivations thereof, such as RAVELYMPICS, may constitute trademark infringement, unfair competition and dilution of our famous trademarks.

The USOC would like to settle this matter on an amicable basis. However, we must request the following actions be taken.

1. Changing the name of the event, the "Ravelympics."; The athletes of Team USA have usually spent the better part of their entire lives training for the opportunity to compete at the Olympic Games and represent their country in a sport that means everything to them. For many, the Olympics represent the pinnacle of their sporting career. Over more than a century, the Olympic Games have brought athletes around the world together to compete in an event that has come to mean much more than just a competition between the world's best athletes. The Olympic Games represent ideals that go beyond sport to encompass culture and education, tolerance and respect, world peace and harmony.

The USOC is responsible for preserving the Olympic Movement and its ideals within the United States. Part of that responsibility is to ensure that Olympic trademarks, imagery and terminology are protected and given the appropriate respect. We believe using the name "Ravelympics" for a competition that involves an afghan marathon, scarf hockey and sweater triathlon, among others, tends to denigrate the true nature of the Olympic Games. In a sense, it is disrespectful to our country's finest athletes and fails to recognize or appreciate their hard work.

It looks as if this is the third time that the Ravelympics have been organized, each coinciding with an Olympic year (2008, 2010, and 2012). The name Ravelympics is clearly derived from the terms "Ravelry" (the name of your website) and OLYMPICS, making RAVELYMPICS a simulation of the mark OLYMPIC tending to falsely suggest a connection to the Olympic Movement. Thus, the use of RAVELYMPICS is prohibited by the Act. Knowing this, we are sure that you can appreciate the need for you to re-name the event, to something like the Ravelry Games.

1. Removal of Olympic Symbols in patterns, projects, etc. As stated before, the USOC receives no funding from the government to support this country's Olympic athletes. The USOC relies upon official licensing and sponsorship fees to raise the funds necessary to fulfill its mission. Therefore, the USOC reserves use of Olympic terminology and trademarks to our official sponsors, suppliers and licensees. The patterns and projects featuring the Olympic Symbol on Ravelry.com's website are not licensed and therefore unauthorized. The USOC respectfully asks that all such patterns and projects be removed from your site.

For your convenience, we have listed some of the patterns featuring Olympic trademarks. However, this list should be viewed as illustrative rather than exhaustive. The USOC requests that all patterns involving Olympic trademarks be removed from the website. We further request that you rename various patterns that may not feature Olympic trademarks in the design but improperly use Olympic in the pattern name.

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympics-rings-af...\

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/vancouver-2010-ol...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2010-olympics-inu...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-swimmer-d...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/2008-olympic-ring...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/olympic-rings-nec...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/bode-miller-hat-2...

http://www.ravelry.com/patterns/library/usa-olympic-hat

http://www.ravelry.com/projects/belgianwaffleknit/usa-oly...

Thank you for your time and attention to this matter. We would appreciate a written reply to this letter by no later than June 19, 2012. If you would like to discuss this matter directly, please feel free to contact me at the number above, or you may reach my colleague, Carol Gross.

Kindest Regards,

Brett Hirsch

Law Clerk

Office of the General Counsel

United States Olympic Committee

1 Olympic Plaza

Colorado Springs, CO 80909

Romneycrate

Wiener Envy

Ever since I stopped blogging in July, I have been wondering what event would motivate me to start up again. Many comment-worthy events have occurred since then, but I haven't been compelled to post until today. The must-blog event has finally arrived.

 

Bend has been blessed by the presence of the Wienermobile all week. Numerous sightings on Facebook have allowed the wiener-focused to follow it around town. And of course it's tweeting and posting on its own pages. Henry spotted it on our drive to school this morning and we risked a tardy warning to stop and admire. It was parked all alone in a motel parking lot, waiting for its handlers to wake and fire it up. (unintentional lame pun there)

I have nothing profound to say about the Wienermobile; I just like saying the word. However, no matter the number of hot dogs it causes to be eaten, it's also performed another valuable service: it's gotten me to start up the blog again. So really, we're all wieners.

Avenging the Great Hamster

Hamsters everywhere breathed a sign of relief this week.

From the New York Times, By STEVEN ERLANGER

PARIS — France was punished on Thursday for not taking proper care of its hamsters.

The Court of Justice in Luxembourg, the European Union’s highest court, ruled Thursday that France had failed to protect the Great Hamster of Alsace, sometimes known as the European hamster, the last wild hamster species in Western Europe. If France does not adjust its agricultural and urbanization policies sufficiently to protect it, the court said, the government will be subject to fines of as much as $24.6 million.

The Great Hamster, which can grow up to 10 inches long, has a brown-and-white face, white paws and a black belly. There are thought to be about 800 left in France, with burrows in Alsace along the Rhine. That is an improvement: the number had dropped to fewer than 200 four years ago, according to figures from the European Commission, which brought the lawsuit in 2009.

The Great Hamster likes grass and crops like alfalfa, but these have largely been replaced by corn, which is not ripe in the spring when the hamster awakens from six months of hibernation, eager to eat and mate. It must make longer and more hazardous journeys as its grazing area shrinks because of new highways and housing developments.

 

Headed to the party?

 
I couldn't resist this one, courtesy of Chris B. In honor of the big wedding on Friday, you can now reveal your royal wedding guest name. Start with either Lord or Lady. Your first name will be one of your grandparents' first names. Your surname is the name of your first pet, hypenated with the name of the street you grew up on.

OK, mine is: Lady Orpha Cracker-Field Club. *curtsies*

Here are a few from my Facebook friends. Charmed, I'm sure.

Lord Applegate Chipper-Chapman
Lady Viola Old Blue-Livingston
Lady Emilie Clifford-Elmwood
Lady Mary Snagglepuss-Cambridge
Lord Ephriam Tinka-John
Lady Betty Ginger-Freeport
Lord Leo Goober-Coloma
Lady Ruth Jet-Patton
Lord Raymond Skeeter-Bohna Park
Lady Stella Blitz-Appaloosa
Lady Martha Heidi-Chowen
Lady Ruth Chipper-Hill

3.14

It's Pi day!  I've been contemplating titles for this post: Thank God it's Pi Day, I love Pi, Pi in the Sky, etc., and I hit on this:

It's Pi Day! Be irrational!

The power behind the post

Today we have a guest post from YrBigBro!*

"As one of the 20% of Americans who are under-employed, I am lucky to have a $12/hr job moderating corporate websites. I am the guy who sits for hours on end waiting for someone to click on the 'report abuse' or 'flag this post' button in website comment forums. I'm also the one who looks at your travel pictures and decides if they are fit for public consumption. I am the power behind the screen, and I have been doing this for nearly a year now.

This role has given me a unique insight into the psyche of the citizenry, and unfortunately, as Fran Leibowitz has said, "The common good isn't very." The process is both surprisingly complex and ridiculously simple. I have 10 or 12 sites on my screen, and every so often I look at them to see if there are any 'red lights;' then I go back to watching the news, reading a book, taking a nap, or mowing the lawn. We promise that any abuse will be dealt with within an hour, so as long as I glance at my monitor every 59 minutes, I'm cool.

That's the simple part. The complexity comes from the convoluted rules and guidelines that we use to determine which posts really are ok, and which ones we delete. Obviously, spam, obscenity, porn, and personal info get zapped. But deciding what constitutes a personal attack, libel, hate speech, or violations of each site's unique ToS (terms of service) requires some judgment and consideration.

Easy rules: Hate speech is speech targeted against a protected group. Therefore 'libtard', one of the most frequent insults we see, is hate speech, because the disabled are a protected group. But 'looney liberal' is not, because birds (loons) aren't.

Some of our clients have millions of users, but the most troublesome ones are the 80+ small town newspapers' online channels, comments on which are often vicious, personal, and specifically targeted to local officials or neighbors. A sad lesson I have learned is that racism is far more prevalent than I realized, and is an evolving genre. Obviously the 'N' word is anathema, but now the word 'thug' has become synonymous, and is also banned on sight. Right now, the hot issue is lying. Lies themselves are not violations, but accusing another of telling lies is a violation, as a personal attack.

This is all very frustrating, especially to the millions of retired persons whose site I manage. These users are all grumpy, totally convinced of their correctness, and most importantly, seem to have nothing else to do but spend 8-10 hours a day arguing with each other and with me and the other moderators.

The online-community phenomenon may be the single most transformative shift of our lifetimes. But at a granular level, it is really a mess of confusion, misinformation, and interpersonal conflict. Where these disputes used to involve a handful of neighbors in a coffee shop, they now spread across the globe, and more and more seem to be dominated by the extreme tail ends of the curve. Or maybe I am just yet another grumpy old man..."

 

*Actually MyBigBro, but you probably knew that.

Remembering Kent State

Thanks to Ten Bears and MyBigBro for reminding us of this 40th anniversary yesterday, both quoting the same song.

In case you don't know what I'm talking about, here's some history for you:

The Kent State massacre occurred on May 4, 1970 at Kent State University when students were protesting against the invasion of Cambodia and the Vietnam War. The Ohio National Guard fired 67 rounds into the crowd, killing four students and wounding nine others. Several of those shot weren't involved in the protest, but just changing classes.

Neil Young wrote a song about it, singing:

Tin soldiers and Nixon's coming
We're finally on our own
This summer I hear the drumming
Four dead in Ohio

Gotta get down to it
Soldiers are cutting us down
Should have been done long ago
What if you knew her
And found her dead on the ground
How can you run when you know?

Top ten Tues: Breaking Pet News

In September I posted a bit about the local newsrag, the Bulletin, and its ceaseless coverage of happy (and not so) pet news on the front page above the fold.

In the hubbub of Easter, I overlooked another high-profile local news story: Cat in Tree. This story got two days of front page headlines: once about said Cat In Tree, then a follow-up: Cat Gets Out Of Tree. 

So, I thought I'd compile a list of the top ten Animal News items covered on the front pages of the Bend Bulletin in the last couple of years, as follows, in reverse chronological order. This list only includes Real News stories, not any articles from the weekly Pets section, the "Meet My Pet" feature, the lost animals column, the Best Pet Photo contest, etc.

They are:

1. Llama attacks jogger: found to be suffering from "Berserk Llama Syndrome" [the llama, not the jogger]
2. At-large wallaby returned to owner
3. Pet fish killed in domestic disturbance [found with knife through it]
4. Nickolas the Llama is found
5. Buster the Dog is found
6. Deer, shot by an arrow, survives
7. Deer dies in backyard [not the same deer as #6]
8. Local chimp bites off owner's finger
9. Cat gets stuck in tree
10. Cat jumps out of tree

And today's: Local Mountain Goat Tickled by Motocrosser

(Probably not really what's going on here, but I didn't read the whole story)

Yes! I medaled...

(When did that become a verb again?) For finishing a few projects during the knitting Olympics, from Ravelry.com:

WIP DANCING (finishing old Work In Progress)

"Please accept this lovely bouquet of snowdrops from the knit-clad Bobettes and crochet-covered Bobdudes:

And bow your head for your medal -- what an honor!

Now will Ravthletes and spectators alike bow your heads for the stately yet intoxicating Ravelympic anthem … dum de dum dum … dummmmmm .. DA DUMMM!

and the crowd goes wild as the competitors proudly sport finally-finished objects of all shapes, sizes and ages, walking off the podium showered with cake and hot chocolate "

MITTEN MOGULS (for the fingerless mitts)

"drums rollin Please accept this Ravatar bouquet for the lovely hand-warming pieces you’ve finished! crowds cheerin

and this wonderful medal is from our very own head of the International Ravelympic Committee, Adonis Dionysius Bobicus Maximus because he knows how much training went into this year’s Ravelympics.

badges waving Please salute our hard working raveletes as our Ravelympics National Anthem takes us to our next commercial break."

Knitting humor. Ya' gotta love it.

Fri. frylet: bad kitty (PG-13)

Tiger Woods’ lawyers threatened to sue PETA if they used the campaign presented below. “We agree and have now turned the focus of our campaign to Mark Sanford,” said a PETA spokesman. The organization has confirmed that the new ad campaign for the South Carolina governor would feature the possible tagline,”Your dog doesn’t have to go to South America to get laid.”

 

(Media note: I got this from Facebook, posted by Cheryl, who got it from Entertainment Weekly who got it from Fox News who got it from the New York Post. I didn't dig deeper than that.)

Phrases I'll ban when I'm Queen

This is officially a Friday Frylet, as it's Friday.

This week's phrase: "Game changer" 

GAACK! I HATE this phrase. Everything's suddenly a game changer this year. Who started it? There are books, blog posts, editorials and pedantic pundits who are now calling anything new a "game changer." Quit it!

In my opinion, this is the only thing that can be called a Game Changer:

Yes, that's a doggy remote-control holder, available here.

And Kathi D: they didn't make a Sheltie version.

Obama and the Lama

But will anything change?

(Official White House Photo by Pete Souza)

President Barack Obama meeting with His Holiness the Dalai Lama in the Map Room of the White House, Feb. 18, 2010.

(Sorry - couldn't resist that title)

Ravelympics 2010 - get your needles started...

Alright. We've established that I have no life, correct? This is what it's come to: I'm getting overexcited about the start of RAVELYMPICS 2010!

From the Ravelry website:

Time for the next round of madness that is the Ravelympics. This time we’re “gathering” in Vancouver, Canada during Feb 12-28, 2010. Goal: 2 weeks of focused, intense personal & team challenges to tackle while watching the actual Olympics unfold before our eyes.

Tonight, mass quantities of knitters, spinners and crocheters are going to start projects all at the same time when the opening ceremonies begin. Right now the count of participants is 8,729, with 33 events like Beading Biathlon, Felting Freestyle and Hat Halfpipe. There are hundreds of teams and it all unfolds live via the website with forum chats, countdowns, music and general silliness.

Oh, those wacky crafters! 

I have a few UFOs to tackle and am going to challenge myself with toe-up socks on two circulars. Whoa. Hope I don't break a finger.

So who's with me? Anybody??  Polly?

Bob, the Boston Terrier, the official mascot of Ravelry and Ravelympics.

Update:Just finished my first unfinished object! Medalled! On to the next...

Coolest. Quit. Ever.

Sun Microsystems CEO Jonathan Schwartz announced his resignation yesterday through a haiku on Twitter.

"Today's my last day at Sun. I'll miss it. Seems only fitting to end on a #haiku. Financial crisis/Stalled too many customers/CEO no more"

I don't know about you, but I'm pretty impressed. It almost makes me want to follow my Twitter timeline again. Of course, if you had to tweet in haiku it would be a hell of a lot more interesting.

What would you write if you were a Twitter quitter? In haiku?

I actually love my job, and believe me, I'm very aware of how lucky I am. So I don't even want to write a hypothetical resignation, in case it jinxes me somehow.

However, I'd just like to point out the following:

*From wikihow: "A haiku is a non-rhymed verse genre, conveying an image or feeling in two parts spread over three lines, usually with a seasonal reference. There are 5 syllables in the first sentence, 7 in the second and 5 again in the last sentence. ...

It is important to distinguish between pseudo-haiku that says whatever it wants in a 5-7-5 syllable pattern and literary haiku that adheres to the use of season words, a two-part juxtapositional structure, and primarily objective sensory imagery."

Sorry, Jonathan. Major points for style, taken away for pseudo-haiku. I'd say you should keep your day job, but I guess you just trashed that option.

Meanwhile, I'm now fired up about attempting to write a haiku, something I haven't done since 4th grade. And of course, I'll share my work with you, dear readers. And I'm challenging you to do the same!

Color of the (last) decade

Chocqua. It's actually two colors, aqua plus brown.

As shown in the Nines Hotel: 

From the NY Times: "The color scheme was present in the carpeting, which had putty, Tiffany-blue, beige and dark-brown stripes." (This photo is not the area of carpet of which they gush. That was in the hall, I think.)

Aqua is a lovely hotelly color, with or without brown. Check these out from the same hotel:

Actually I was kind of surprised the Nines used the choqua color scheme, because it's been way done already. I mean, when you can get a blue/brown striped crib ensemble from KMart, maybe professional decorators should be moving on.  

Though I do love this self-patterning yarn: (mitts courtesy of ADD Knitter)

Actually, after blogging all this, I'm over this look. What's next?

Interesting question: what do you think the next new-new color scheme will be? Has anyone spotted one that seems fresh, of-the-moment, and oh-so-modern?

Friday frylet: We're melting!

Hundreds gather to protest global warming

 

It's not instant coffee, it's Ready Brew.

Starbucks is possibly the only company that could pull off making instant coffee hip, and I'm not sure even they can do it.

Yes, I had to buy some VIA pods or whatever they're called. They're just so cool, and super-cute! (High praise from someone who makes purchase decisions based on packaging design.) I really wanted to like the coffee too. But it's pretty flat, and I never wanted to finish the cup, which is telling. Either variety.

Starbucks has pumped up the marketing machine for this one, complete with taste test comparisons and re-branding: not instant coffee, ready brew.

"It's made with the highest-quality, ethically sourced 100% arabica beans. The magic is in a proprietary process, all-natural process that we spent years perfecting. We microgrind the beans in a way that preserves all of their essential oils and flavors. No other coffee company takes this step, and it makes all the difference."

Starbucks' stock and earnings have taken a hit in the last two years, and I guess this is their way of offering cheap coffee to get recessionistas to come back to the brand. Or of getting a share of the grocery store instant coffee biz, which in spite of the fact that no one you or I know drinks the stuff, is a huge business. [Correction: my parents drink it. Anybody else know of someone?]

What I don't get is why they're willing to put their own coffee up to a taste test with Via. If Via wins or even ties, isn't that saying that Starbucks brewed coffee isn't worth the extra $2? They set it up to cannibalize their own business. I wish I was a fly on the wall during those planning meetings.

Yes, they're positioning it as a way to get Starbucks while in the office, on a plane, hang-gliding or whatever. But that's a pretty small market and they must be counting on in-home use.

Strikes me that Starbucks loses either way. Instant coffee drinkers (cost-conscious folk) probably won't buy the stuff due to its high price vs. other instants (and don't think those brands are not rolling out their own little pods). And people who think it tastes just like a Starbucks cup may switch cause it's a lot cheaper.

Anybody want to take me up on a bet on this? I say it's pulled within a year.

Party like it's April 15th

Anybody out there not filed their 2008 taxes yet? Just me? And I'm getting a refund!

Well, the deadline for those extensions is this Thursday. And since my taxes are going out tomorrow, I'm AHEAD of schedule. Don't call me a procrastinator!

To be honest, I'm really a highly skilled procrastinator. I somehow can sense the exact minute when I have to start a project in order to finish right before (or on) the deadline. And then and only then do I buckle down. Often I'll actually start it early, then let it slide til the bell goes off in my head that says FINISH NOW. Is it that I need the adrenaline rush of pressure to motivate me, or am I just a slacker? Dunno, but it's unlikely I'll change the habit at this point.

My mother blames it all on the infamous Frog Pages of second grade, which I didn't finish and the teacher let slide or something. Frankly, I can't remember, but it made an impression on her that I hear about to this day. "It all started with the Frog Pages!" is the familiar refrain.

What can I say? It's been working for me ever since.

This is not from my frog pages, but go ahead and color it if you wish.