February 1st, 2010 10:00:19 am pst by Sterling Camden
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January 30th, 2010 4:07:11 pm pst by Sterling Camden
My youngest son likes to eat a fortune cookie as a snack. I’ve been trying to put on some weight, so I decided to have one, too. I popped one out of its plastic wrapper, then crunched the two halves apart. Pulling out the slip of paper, I anticipated reading some vague prediction that might serve as a not-too-serious guide for my day. It read:
You will read this and think, “Geez, I could come up with better fortunes than that!”
Truly, a self-fulfilling prophecy.
I heard a piece on NPR the other day that claimed that fortune cookies were not Chinese at all. Rather, they were brought to America by Japanese immigrants. When the Japanese on the West Coast were interned during Word War II, the Chinese restaurants picked up on the popular oriental after-dinner treats – and that’s how they became associated with Chinese food.
I turned to my son and asked, “So, what did you get in yours?”
“Paper.”
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January 28th, 2010 12:00:01 pm pst by Sterling Camden
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January 21st, 2010 11:00:34 am pst by Sterling Camden
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January 19th, 2010 11:24:20 am pst by Sterling Camden
A psychologist told me many years ago that rather than getting out and doing things, I prefer to (as he put it) “sit in the catbird’s seat” and critique all the options. He may have been right about that, but I’ve often wondered about his choice of metaphor.
Have you ever actually seen any bird… sit? In a seat? I don’t know about you, but to me the whole sitting concept seems completely out of the avian character. Their hip bones just aren’t right for it. They can blame the dinosaurs for that. You never see an artist’s conception of a Tyrannosaurus kicked back in a La-Z-Boy, now do you? No, it’s not working for him. It might be relaxing for you and me, but for T-Rex it’s just not comfortable. No place for the tail, arms too short to reach the lever – what was the idiot who designed this thing thinking?
And why a “catbird?” What does that have to do with smugness? The catbirds I grew up hearing were so named because they mewed like a cat — that doesn’t sound so smart to me. What conversation could an intelligent bird possibly want to have with a cat? Maybe something along the lines of “No birds in this tree, Snowball – I already checked.” I can tell you, though, if you’re a bird trying to speak Feline, you’d better be sure you have the local dialect down. You don’t want to accidentally invite Felix and friends over to dinner.
I suppose this post proves the psychologist’s point. Naturally, Wikipedia has all the answers – if you can believe them.
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January 18th, 2010 3:00:08 pm pst by Sterling Camden
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January 15th, 2010 10:53:06 am pst by Sterling Camden
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January 12th, 2010 12:20:17 pm pst by Sterling Camden
Yes, it’s my bloggiversary today – four years since the first post here on Chip’s Quips. While I’m not as ancient and established as some of my fellow bloggers, 48 months exceeds the longevity of the majority of blogs. It’s as long as the term of office for the US President, which prompts the question: “would you re-elect this blog?” Sorry, I don’t have any bribes or promises to fix all the country’s woes with which to gain your vote.
Only 191 new posts graced this space over the last year, down from 321 the year before. Only 42 of those were more than just link posts, so well under one per week. I’d like to post more, but I’ve just been far too busy with work and other stuff. I’m not going to beat myself up about that, though. I write here because I love it, and I don’t want to smother that love with the pillow of obligation.
Despite my reduced posting, our conversations here have generated 743 comments (not counting spam, which was about an order of magnitude greater). Thanks to all my readers for not giving up on me.
Here were the five most popular posts for the last year, measured in page views:
- You can’t handle the truth
- My Dad, the phone phreaker
- Extreme Snakes and Ladders
- I’d add more, but the web already has too much ADD
- Backstage humor
And here are my personal favorite five:
- Thanks, Wally
- The winning season
- No harm
- Thoughts on MLK day
- Newspaper obituary
As you can see, I lean towards the more emotional pieces, even though I’ve been accused of not being in touch with my emotions. Perhaps that’s why.
Here are links to the three previous annual celebrations. Onward, into year five!
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January 9th, 2010 10:54:39 am pst by Sterling Camden
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January 6th, 2010 4:52:25 pm pst by Sterling Camden
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