Done yesterday (20110618 Sa)

( raw notes )

Colleen and I went shopping; the nominal reason being to get some packing cubes for my new suitcase. The Container Store, in nearby Santana Row, was still having its "organized traveler" sale, so that was our first destination. We also added absorbant drink coasters to the shopping list when I found Colleen's phone sitting atop a thin film of water condensed off her iced tea glass.

I got an Eagle Creek "complete organizer"; basically a cube and two half-cubes that zip together and are able to hang up when unzipped. That plus my toiletry/med kit fill Chami pretty completely, suggesting that she's not quite big enough for a weekend trip unless I take the CPAP in its own case.

We also stopped, as we always do, at Sur La Table, where we were both instantly attracted to the Miyabi Birchwood series knives - you'll find them at the end of this post. Curly birch handles and Damascene blades. OMG gorgeous. We succumbed and bought the 3.5" paring knife. But they didn't have coasters.

We got the Thirstystone coasters -- which we've been admiring for years -- at Bed, Bath, & Beyond. It ended up being a long, tiring, but delightful afternoon. I think I got my walking in, though it was mostly too slow to be aerobic.

I used the new knife to make dinner -- it is indeed a joy to use. The handle is slightly asymmetrical, but not enough for using it left-handed to be problem. The blade is double-edged, and sharper than our ceramic knives (though of course it will require occasional sharpening to stay that way).

I also installed the new power strip. It's a Prime "Energy Saver" -- three of the outlets are controlled by the state of a "master outlet", which I put my desktop computer on. The slave outlets have the monitor and the speakers. Works perfectly. I also discovered that the WAP was not on the UPS, which explains why it went out immediately when the power went out a couple of weeks ago. Oops.

On the whole a very nice day.

Writer's Block: Father figure

[Error: unknown template qotd]

Probably "A locked car with an open window is not a locked car." Applies to computer security, too.

One of his favorite aphorisms was "There are no rules of architecture for castles in the air", slightly misquoted from G. K. Chesterton.

I miss him a lot.