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Rejuvenated.

March 28, 2009 11:11 AM | filed in:

I was given a crazy deadline at work and turned it into an opportunity to learn something new. I don't know why I work this way, but somehow, greater pressure makes a better environment for me to learn. Weird. I've been toying with Movable Type since 2001 and never really "got" it. (In fact, this blog is built on Movable Type, but it's not very modified, so I don't consider it a good example of MT development.) When we decided at work to change to a scalable CMS-based site, I knew enough to think MT would be perfect, but I...

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...and we didn't even vaporize!

March 21, 2009 10:18 AM | filed in:

We went to Disneyland with my niece and sister-in-law yesterday. I was surprised to find that we didn't spontaneously combust or even have a horrible time. There is enough magic for the kids and enough good craftsmanship for the parents (of course, we did see lots of parents having their own meltdowns). I guess I won't mind if our future kid begs to go--in five or six years, that is.

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Too much = not enough

March 15, 2009 5:21 PM | filed in: ,

There is some saying that runs along the lines of, "If you want something done, ask a busy person to do it." I have always pretty successfully managed a big workload comprised of many different projects, but I've found that I do have a threshold. At some point, the idea of so much on the to-do list actually hinders much progress on any of them. If I have any work weakness (beside being too intense sometimes), I'd say it's this. My productivity when I'm on task is stellar... but if I'm distracted by the thought of how much is looming...

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Design Biz: wedding invitation

March 14, 2009 2:12 PM | filed in: ,

My cousin is getting married in September, and Dan and I are doing the invitations. This is more fun than the usual boring "we cordially request" invite: Their wedding has a tropical theme and will be held at a Hawaiian restaurant, so they wanted something sunny, island-y, and Sailor Jerry tattoo-inspired. We showed them the first set of comps yesterday, and they are totally on board for what we have planned. I have to keep the stuff under wraps for now, but I can't wait to share the finished product... they are so cute and cool! Here's a label from...

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Would Anyone Care for a Five-Hour Energy Martini?

March 11, 2009 11:23 PM | filed in:

There's a new round of radio spots for Five-Hour Energy, and one part disturbs me: "People choose Five-Hour Energy over 2.5 million times per week." Really? Anytime I've seen the television commercials for Five-Hour Energy, I've thought, Does anyone actually buy those? The answer is, obviously, yes. Maybe it's only 500,000 customers drinking one each day. Maybe it's 2.5 million people drinking one per week. Either way, it's too many. The thought of taking a shot of something to boost my energy strikes me as unhealthy and unnatural. It also reinforces the suspicion that the American Way to fix something...

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Worm Moon

March 10, 2009 8:22 AM | filed in:

My friend Julie tipped me off that tonight's full moon is the "Worm Moon," the first full moon where the ground begins to thaw so worms can "wake up" and start doing their thing. Cool trivia, huh? (Next time, we'll cover "Blood Moon," another worth seeing.) Whatever it's called, the full moon is gorgeous tonight. It's nice to be living in an area where a full moon makes a difference... rarely in the city would a full moon shine brighter than the city glow, but now that we're in the boondocks, we can tell what phase of the moon we're...

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Cause of Death: Overused Brain

March 7, 2009 4:36 PM | filed in:

I'm a big fan of documentaries--I'd rather watch one than a "regular" movie, although there are admittedly lots of crappy ones--and probably watch a couple per week on average. Between my doc picks and Dan's Blu-Ray eye candy selections, we definitely milk our Netflix account.Last week, we watched Word Play, which is about The New York Times's legendary crossword puzzle; its editor, Will Shortz; and a few of the people who can't get enough of crosswords. What a collection of nerds. I like crosswords. I think it's fair to say I love them, and I do about ten of them...

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The 6-5-4-3-2-1 Concept

March 6, 2009 10:10 PM | filed in:

One of the perks of getting oil changes at the Ford dealership nearest us is the array of local luxury-living magazines in the waiting area. Whoever stocks the magazine table has totally overshot the mindset of a Ford owner by providing the kind of publications that considers hard-hitting journalism ten-page photo pieces about wealthy stars of yesteryear discussing the interior design (that they helped with, really) of their beachfront homes.Whenever he takes the car in for maintenance, Dan brings back a little trivia from Malibu or Ocean View. Did you know Fran Drescher had to fire several doctors to get...

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Design Biz: Limited-edition Louboutin shoes

March 6, 2009 9:41 PM | filed in:

While we all are being inundated with dreary news of a supposedly failing economy (and consequently retreating to a life of at-home entertainment and bargain-shopping), it's refreshing to see an injection of pure luxury items to celebrate craftsmanship in decorative arts. Christian Louboutin designed three styles of a shoe inspired by Marie Antoinette, producing 36 pairs that, despite their $6,300 price tags, are selling. (Had I an extra, unneeded seven grand laying around, I'd be all over the yellow ones, which would look hot with a skinny jean.) It seems that, whatever the status of the stock market or...

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Why does the Lipking family keep coming into my life?

March 5, 2009 10:40 PM | filed in:

When we were looking for a house to move into a few months ago, my husband and I checked out a house in Simi Valley, California. The four-bedroom, '60s-style ranch home was owned by Mrs. Lipking, who we chatted with via email and who met us on a weeknight to give us a tour. While showing us the house, she made various condescending remarks: "You're so young. Do you know how much the rent is?""Are you sure you need all this space?""There are a lot of townhouses and apartments around here."Forget about the fact that these statements were probably illegal...

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