Melyssa-with-a-Y

Now that we're all pros at chatting online with instant messenger or sending cellphone text messages, we all know what LOL, BRB, and LMAO** are. But the next generation (call them Generation Y, the "Millennials", the Internet generation - your choice) is way beyond these archaic abbreviations. NYT's David Pogue offers some suggestions for new terms. My favorites - (pay attention! you may see these soon in a message from me!) * 12OF -- twelve-o'clock flasher (refers to someone less than competent with technology, to the extent that every appliance in the house flashes "12:00") [I love this one!] * GI -- Google it * FCAO -- five conversations at once * IIOYT -- is it on YouTube? * SML -- send me the link * KYST -- knew you'd say that * NBL -- no battery left * TWD -- typing while driving * CYE --check your email And a few just for iPhone owners: [Andy, this means you:] * CSVUI -- can't send video, using iPhone * BPWMI -- boss playing with my iP...

You've all heard by now that I grew up in DC. A Native Washingtonian, born & raised -- and there aren't that many of us! And growing up there, we were exposed to a lot of things that other people 'outside the Beltway' are not. [Even calling the rest of the country "Outside the Beltway" is a DC thing. ;) ] The local news always has something to do with the President. You can get run down by a motorcade -- it may be the Prez, or the Veep (who nearly ran me down last year), or it could be a visiting dignitary from who-knows-where with flags waving. But don't worry, there will be nineteen motorcycle cops, three dozen cop cars, and twelve black SUVs letting you know that something is up. Museums are always free. And the traveling exhibits always stay for many months. Northern VA and the rest of VA are not remotely the same. You can tell when you've crossed from DC into MD, because the roads are better. "Going to the Mall" has nothing to do ...

Dani sent me a link today to the Political Compass , a site that gauges your left- or right-leaning tendencies, and your authoritarian vs. libertarian views. The questions are really thought-provoking... in some cases, I would have rather had the option to say "no opinion" or "neither agree nor disagree," but you have to pick one way or the other. Sample questions: (strongly agree/agree/disagree/strongly disagree) Charity is better than social security as a means of helping the genuinely disadvantaged. In a civilized society, one must always have people above to be obeyed and people below to be commanded. There are no savage and civilized peoples; there are only different cultures. Governments should penalize businesses that mislead the public. My results: (no one is really going to be surprised) ;) Economic Left/Right: -5.50 Social Libertarian/Authoritarian: -5.44 See that red dot? That's me. In case you're wondering, here's how some of the world's...

Every once in a while, in the cartoons, Daffy Duck or Bugs Bunny would realize they were "naked", and cross their knees and cover themselves up. We always knew they were naked, but it was a cartoon! Who cares? Well, somebody thought that chickens should be spared from running around naked, so voila! Chicken diapers! ... I mean, "chicken suits." To check out the various available designs, and meet the "models", click here. Actually, I could even knit a chicken suit ... if I knew anyone who had shy chickens! Here's the knitted version from the website - tres chic chicken!

In addition to a great article about Al Gore (and his pic on the cover), last month's issue of FastCompany had a huge article on the massive quantities of bottled water we drink in this country: the amount of money wasted in the process; the damage we're doing to the environment by trucking it around everywhere; and the irony of buying those neat square bottles of Fiji water when half of the nation of Fiji doesn't have potable water. Here's the quote that got me: If the water we use at home cost what even cheap bottled water costs, our monthly water bills would run $9,000. The article came out just as Coke and Pepsi 'revealed' that their own bottled waters, Dasani and Aquafina, are just filtered tap water . I have to say, the FC article really made an impact on me. When I do buy bottles of water, I re-use them for a week or more before I recycle them. I look for recycling bins everywhere I go now, and am always surprised when I go to an event (or a house)...

I've been busy! So sue me! Thursday night, I went up to Pflugerville to watch 'Lady Jane' with some girls from my book club. Our book last month was Innocent Traitor - a historical fiction novel about the life of Jane Grey, who was Queen of England for 9 days when she was 15 years old. The movie is also her story, although it paints a decidedly different picture of her life, and particularly of her reign. The movie (1986) stars Helena Bonham Carter as Jane and Cary Elwes as her husband, Guilford Dudley. The book portrays their relationship as painful and awkward... the movie, clearly taking liberties, spent a lot of time making it into a love story. But at least Patrick Stewart was in it. :) The heat has finally arrived, so it's been 100-plus degrees since last week. But that didn't stop us from going out dancing on Friday night! About 15 of us went to Cedar Street to see Skyrocket, a great 80's cover band. We took a bunch of 'before' and 'aft...

If you've ever eaten out on the patio at Rudy's in north Austin, you've seen the clear plastic bags of water hanging from the rafters. (I think we talk about those odd fixtures every time we eat there.) We've been told that the bags of water keep flies away, but I was never sure that was true. But if you hear something kooky like that from many different sources, does that make it true? Alton Brown is back on the road in "Feasting on Asphalt" on the Food Network. This year, they're riding up the Mississippi River, starting in New Orleans. In the first episode, AB was in a seafood shop, and noticed the bags of water hanging from the ceiling. Sure enough, the proprietor told him the bags were keeping the flies away! Here's a pseudo-scientific explanation . Believe what you will. (Having been to Rudy's and met up with some flies that clearly weren't intimidated by the bags of water, I'm still not convinced that it works!) And here's ...