Lunch

A few weeks ago the podcast Podictionary aired an episode that featured the word lunch. This was a word suggested by my son.

One day he asked me why the word breakfast was what it was. I was able to answer that one. It is the time you break the fast that you had been on all night. Interestingly, the word in Spanish has exactly the same meaning. Desayunar is the infinitive. Ayunar is to fast. Des would be the breaking, or not continuing the fast.

He then asked me about lunch. I had no answer to that. I told him I would ask the Podictionary host about doing an episode on it, and he did.

If you like words and their origins, Podictionary is a great podcast for you.

Adventures of Spot and Fluffy

Yesterday my wife and I got up and did our respective things. She went downstairs to get the coffee going and I checked the email inbox (like I do about 350 times a day).

Shortly my wife was calling me downstairs to help with “a problem.” I got down there and she was looking around on the floor for something. It was Fluffy the hamster. Somehow, he disconnected his water bottle from the side of his box. Then he used the extra height that the bottle provided to jump up to the ledge of the box. He pulled himself up and over the edge.

How he got down from there is not known. He could have jumped the 3 feet from the table to the floor. Or he may have jumped onto a backpack that was sitting near. Either way, it was quite a leap of faith.

We found him under the couch making friends with a dust bunny.

As soon as we put him back in his cage he was jumping up as hard as he could trying to grab the ledge and pull himself out again. He is quite adventurous.

This morning our daughter was talking to Spot, whom she had already declared was sleeping. We tried to explain that they like to sleep during the day. It is something that you explain hoping that the 3 year old will understand, but knowing you will probably have to say it a few hundred more times before it sinks in.

A short time later, she jumps back a little bit and screeches, “Oh No! Spot’s awake!”

I think I would be too if a giant human were standing over me singing and talking as loud as she could while I was trying to sleep. Hmm, not much unlike the music our neighbors play all night.

Gadget blog

I came across a gadget blog today that seems to showcase the bizarre along with some useful. To demonstrate, there is a post about the Bomba Alarm Clock. It is both bizarre and useful.

Though I was made aware of this site via a sponsorship deal, I have already subscribed to it through my RSS reader. It looks like something that I want to keep track of for some time.

There is not a lot of content on the site yet, but there is a never ending supply of odd gadgets coming out. The pictures are what make the site. There is some good text as well, but the pictures are what grabs your attention.

[This is a sponsored post.]

Alexandra is back

One of the podcasts I have enjoyed is the Chess is Cool podcast hosted by Alexandra Kosteniuk. She has been on a break way too long. But just last week she released a new episode. In it she talked about a new video podcast that she is now doing. It is called Chess Killer Tips.

Chess Killer Tips logoWhile I really don’t watch many video podcasts, this one appeals to me. She is planning to keep the shows short (1 to 3 minutes). It is also much easier to follow chess moves when you can see them as opposed to just hearing the positions read.

If you are into chess at all, then Alexandra has some great tips. She obviously knows what she is talking about since she has been a Grand Master since the age of 14 and is currently ranked #6 in the world for women. Much of her stuff is understandable by the common man. But, some of it is pretty advanced and it takes me much longer to think through it than she gives me time for. With the video podcast it is pretty easy to pause and see the moves as they happen.

I have only watched a couple of episodes so far. She is planning to put a new one out several times a week. I think this is a great tool for anyone wanting to improve their chess skills.

Office supplies

Rapid Supplies is an on-line office supply store. They advertise discounted printer paper as well as various other office supply needs.

I did not find their site to be overly easy to navigate, but you can certainly find the items you are looking for. Their search function seems to work well if you know the particular product that you want. In fact, I was able to more easily find the items using the search than just their general navigation.

Their prices seem fair. I have not done much comparison shopping, but they do advertise below MSRP. Plus, there is free shipping on all orders of $75 or more.

They even have a pretty good selection of office furniture.

[This is a sponsored post]