And a happy morning to you too...

And a happy morning to you too... by Corinne S.

This is what greeted Benjamin this morning when he went to his car to go to work. Apparently there was a series of break-ins in our neighborhood last night. B's window was broken and the neigbor's car was stolen...and left 1 block away. Her car had other people's stuff and Benjamin's window glass in it. Weird.

Friendly visitors

Circle of adoration by Corinne S.

Sylvia and Sabrina came to visit us Sunday afternoon and they were really great with Maple. I know I'm a dog dork, but it's always nice to see people bond with my furry little beast.

Sabrina's in a mommy-only stage and wary of strangers, but she warmed up to us after a bit. That just means she didn't give us the hairy eyeball anymore and expressed a wee bit of curiosity about us--there's no holding of this one by unfamiliar peeps at the moment.

I couldn't help drawing parallels between Maple and Sabrina--she's the closest thing I have to a baby (and we kinda treat her like one). Luckily Syl is a good sport and an animal lover, so she didn't shoot me. ;-)

Amazon Kindle

The Digital Media group at Amazon, of which I am part, just launched a cool new product today. It's called Amazon Kindle and it's an e-Book reader with wireless (cell tower) connectivity to download books. It uses "electronic ink" to redraw the page each time you "turn the page" and it has no back light, so it's more like reading on paper than a normal screen is and it uses very little battery power. For more info, check out the details about Kindle on the Amazon Kindle product detail page--particularly entertaining are the drop test videos about 80% of the way down the page. I have a Kindle I get to play around with at home. Yippee for being in the right place at the right time. :) Oh, and the digital media team is hiring if you're interested in working on Kindle 2.0, the Amazon MP3 Music, Amazon Unbox, Search Inside the Book, Amazon Mobile, or other cool "digital technology" efforts at Amazon. If you know me well enough to know my email address, then ping me about the openings. ;-)

So sad

dear universe, make vista work for my mommy and stop f'ing around. xoxo, gemma by sesame ellis

This photo's title, and the following comment accompanying it, make me sad for the part I played in Vista.

"Yes, I am a photographer still using a PC *shut up* and I have a new speedy laptop with Vista OS. I have a little suggestion for the folks over at Microsoft...Maybe you could make and release stuff that just, I don't know, works?"

On the up side, I know deep down that what I contributed was actually great, no matter the overall product outcome. Not that Vista is truly bad, it's just got some serious issues.

Mabry looking cute as always

Mabry looking cute as always by Corinne S.

Here's Mabry looking adorable in her jogging stroller at the swimming pool tonight. We gotta get this girl swimming some laps! ;-)

Parody of Payday Loan Industry

A friend and former colleague who really knows how to make things happen sent me mail about a new website he and others just created. It's a parody of a payday loan company aimed at educating people about this predatory lending practice and providing links to take action. Check it out and take action yourself.

read more | digg story

And I got this cool hat..

While Benjamin spent a bundle on music gear, I got this sexy hat. ;-) Benjamin also bought me beautiful handrafted earring and a necklace (wearing it here) made by local Portland artist Fred Imhoff. (Posted from my iPhone again.)

Benjamin's new toy

Benjamin just bought this Roland MIDI keyboard at Apple Music in Portland. It's for an electronic music project he and his dad are working on together.

(Posted from my iPhone. Pardon errors and such.)

We're hiding in the attic

We had a delayed start, but now Benjamin and I are in Portland at our weekend hideaway. We're staying at great B&B in an attic suite.

After what felt like a long drive down, we kicked off our weekend away with a nice nap. Soon we're going to walk down to a local Nob Hill Italian place that sounds yummy. TGIF!

(Posted from my iPhone. Pardon any odd formatting.)

Flu shot

Monocrhrome flu vial-close up 3 by obey_wann_ff

At the end of the day today I got a free flu shot at work. My first. Now my arm is very sore and it's making me cranky. Poo.

Go, go Elmo

Bondage Elmo and the Repaired Dog Toy Band

Sleep, sleep, sleep

I am a black belt in the Sleeping Arts. Today I slept about 14 hours with only a quick pee break to disrupt my bliss. ;-)

New navigation

Amazon.com just released a new --and in my opinion dramatically improved--global navigation system. It's actually been up for a while, but was only shown to a percentage of customers. Today it's the official navigation shown to all site visitors. It's not perfect, but I'm a fan. Here's a quick tour of the new nav.