Going deaf

Our office building is getting a new roof. The equipment -- some kind of big semi-truck kind of thing -- is right outside my window. It is so loud. You can feel the vibration in your skull and rib cage.

I have my iPod cranked to drown out some of the noise. I will likely lose part of my hearing.

Another reason not to eat beef

Human Head Found In Hamburger


Also from The Onion, a cynical, yet frighteningly truthful, take on the 2008 elections.

Polish language progress

I'm getting a little used to the Polish pronunciations. They are quite different than what I know but the words are really fun to say. The spelling, however, freaks me out. In the same way math freaks me out. So far I have to practice the pronunciations without looking at the words or I freeze up.

A few things I've learned:

• Dzień dobry (good day; jane DOUGHB reh)
• Jak sie masz? (how are you; yaak sheh maash)
• Dziękuję (thank you; jane COO yeh)
• Proszę (please; PROH sha)
• Przepraszam (excuse me; sheh PRASH ahm)

You can listen to pronunciations of these and other basic phrases here.

Nice reading comprehension

I was in a store in the card aisle. Among the various types of cards, “birthdays” “graduation” etc., there is a section called “milestones.” When I first saw it I thought it said “mistresses.”

This and that

Randomness from today:

• Saw this sign: Sample "sock" sale


• Heard this in the audio of Master and Commander: "A ham that could only have come from a hog with a long-borne, crippling disease."


• My new wood blinds went up yesterday. They are lovely!


• Beginning Polish class starts tonight. Hooray!


• Bryan Ferry's CD of Bob Dylan covers, Dylanesque, is very good.


• The sun is out! The sun is out! The sun is out!
  

Made me laugh

I went on Comedy Central to find something. At the top of the page it said, "You are so not logged in." It made me laugh.

Not so springy

It is snowing outside. It's April 10 and it's snowing.

Musings on prophets

It's been a week of death remembrances. Last Friday, April 4, was the 40th anniversary of Martin Luther King, Jr.'s assassination. 63 years ago today Dietrich Bonhoeffer was executed. Both were 39 when they were murdered. Both pushed their fellow human beings, often their fellow Christians, to higher standards yet knew that they, too, were flawed.

It was messages like the below that got both into trouble. Bonhoeffer -- fighting for peace, human rights and the overthrow of Hitler; King -- fighting first for civil rights and then to eliminate poverty and end the Vietnam war. We love the prophets when they're speaking truth to others. When they speak truth to us we kill them.

Christianity stands or falls with its revolutionary protest against violence, arbitrariness and pride of power and with its plea for the weak. Christians are doing too little to make these points clear rather than too much. Christendom adjusts itself far too easily to the worship of power. Christians should give more offense, shock the world far more, than they are doing now. Christian should take a stronger stand in favor of the weak rather than considering first the possible right of the strong.

Dietrich Bonhoeffer, from a sermon on II Cor. 12:9

Product recall

Do you have any pot pies at home? You need to listen to this.


Hungry FDA Official Orders Massive Pot Pie Recall

Coolicious!

Idealist is like candy! Designers post things like this dog bone phone . You can vote "yes" or "no." I want this phone. Mostly because the ad has a Sophie dog.

Via Technomarketer on Twitter.