Meld, knock, pluck, Schneider, deadwood, kibitz? If only we knew the vocabulary (as well as the rules) when the family sat down recently in Austin to attempt to play rummy-something-or-other. We all knew a rule or two but no one knew all the rules. As a result, it evolved into a game where each hand had a different set of rules. It was a blast, however, and was made more interesting by Nate trying to watch the Sopranos a few feet away. He was constantly, and patiently, adjusting the volume as the noise of the game rose and fell.

Here is a great rummy rules site for next time.

Kurt Vonnegut, Jr. died yesterday. Writer, social critic, POW, Tralfamadorian, Vonnegut was a friend of Billy Pilgrim, Kilgore Trout and millions of others. Thanks for helping us get through it all.



See: vonnegut.com
photo: www.samizdat.qc.ca

Ever wonder what the most complicated coffee drink might be? After extensive research I found some of the most cryptic concoctions I've ever heard. Here is a sampling:

"Non-fat half-caf triple grande quarter sweet sugar free vanilla non-fat lactaid extra hot extra foamy caramel macchiato"
PAULSOP.com

"decaf triple venti nonfat 3 splenda extra hot stirred no foam (can't hold the shots, silly lady) caramel macchiato with whip cream and extra caramel"
&
"Iced half-caf ristretto quad grande two pump rasberry two percent no whip light ice with bar caramel drizzle three and a half pump white mocha"
&
"grande, triple, 2 raw, half the white chocolate, heavy caramel, 2/3 rice 1/3 half & half, extra hot, extra whip, 2 straws
&
3/4 decaf quad grande 1 pump WM 1 pump vanilla 1 pump peppermint breve stir-before-pouring then freepour 165-degree no-whip white chocolate mocha"
Starbucks Gossip (a very interesting blog)

George from Cool Springs, Tennessee speaks of his high-maintenance clientele: "I routinely had orders for three-fifths Mocha Valencias (three regular shots, two decaf). Not to mention the 1 1/4 packs of Equal, 2 raw sugars, and 1/3 a pack of Sweet-n-Low. Oh, and do you have any Splenda?"
&
Genegieve tries to deconstruct the silliest order she's ever heard: "Venti non-fat breve half-caf Americano with whip - Ok, venti (got that) non-fat breve (uhhh, i didn’t know that half and half came non-fat…)half-caf (I have never fully understood this theory or justification) americano (any serious Americano drinker knows that there is no milk in it, unless you add it yourself. It’s just espresso with water.. espresso and water!…)with whip…..ok, uhhhh…. sounds to me like you want a venti breve decaf late with whip"
lay-c.com

And finally... everyone has heard this:
“I’ll have a half double decaffeinated half-caf, with a twist of lemon.”
LA Story

While researching something completely different, I ran across Mark Simonson's very cool blog about typefaces. Mr. Simonson has an incredible body of work including 70 of his own fonts. You can even buy a font online.

This particular article is about the correctness of typefaces in certain movies. I love people who know their stuff and apply that knowledge to other parts of our world. Worth reading. And, hey, don't just stand there, buy a font.

Tech support had to start somewhere... at the advent of written history there was a requirement for some 'techie' to help the smart people. This is how it went down back in the middle ages.




Does anyone in this clip remind you of someone you know?

Thanks to Sandi Marinella for the link.