I've been swayed

I haven't been crazy about Hillary for a while. I wasn't sure if I liked Obama or any of the other Dems that much either. Now of course it's just down to Clinton v. Obama and the WA Dem causus is coming up on the 9th (more info). So I'm reading and exchanging ideas with folks. I was already liking Obama more and more over the last few months, but didn't feel knowlegeable enough to make a call. The NYT editorial I posted earlier got me thinking. Then some email conversations on GeekPIC, plus this endorsement article from The Stranger sealed the deal. I'm going Obama on the 9th. Read The Stranger article: Our Endorsement for President for the February 9 Caucus

A thousand words

Baby Mia, daughter of Chris and Graham. I'll meet her on Saturday.

Obama v. Clinton--Get Out the Gloves

I read an interesting editorial today that compares Hillary's and Obama's economic philosophies. The author is Obama-inclined, but it's a thoughtful comparison and worth reading even if it's not completely evenhanded. Read the New York Times editorial: Democrats: More Than Health Care

Update on baby Mia

I talked to Chris tonight and confirmed that baby Mia is healthy and happy. Chris went into labor at 35 weeks and Mia was only delivered via c-section because she was breech. She was 5 pounds 11 ounces and 19" long at birth. She had no premie health complications. Despite being less prepared than they'd hoped, the little family is doing well.

Snow day

It snowed early this morning and I woke to find a lot of white around the house. I slept late due to exhaustion and waiting for the snow to melt. Later, when I was nearly ready to leave for the office, it started to snow again. I had only one meeting scheduled for today, so I said screw it and decided to work from home. Benjamin and I both worked from home today and I realized tonight that the front door is still locked from last night. Not only did we fail to go play in the snow, we just never left the house. Oh wait--I did take out the yard waste using the side door. Take that, fresh air! Anyway, we did actually get a bunch of work done, even if we were in woolly socks and possibly without pants on. I wrote all of my peer reviews and my manager review and I started on my individual performance review (though the bulk of what I wrote was eaten by the online form when I tried to save). I also did some other misc stuff. In the other room, Benjamin fixed big work emergencies via conference calls and VPN. Somehow this isn't exactly what I think of when I remember snow days from childhood...

Nostalgia

Nostalgia by Corinne S.

This reminds me of when Maple was a pup, even if she is a bit fatter now. ;-)

Here are some cute pics in this same locale from when Maple was a wee thing. Worn out puppy, 8-9 weeks old Maple sleeping, 10-12 weeks old Upside down pup, 3-4 months old

Like Harry Potter? Check this out.

One of my best friends, who I've known since I was three, is a semi-finalist in the Amazon Breakthrough Novel Award competition. Piper's entry is a juvenile fiction fantasy novel and it's the first book in a trilogy. Despite being a biased reader, I found the excerpt compelling--I bonded with the main character quickly and I find the premise interesting.

If you enjoy juvenile fiction books like the Harry Potter series or Cornelia Funke's great novels, check out the excerpt of my friend's first novel, The Wall of Pacidral. Customer reviews are one of the ways that the 10 finalists will be chosen, so please take the time to write a review if you can. Piper requests genuine reviews only.

To get the excerpt free from Amazon.com:

1. Go to The Wall of Pacidral page on Amazon
2. Click Download for Free (you'll be prompted to create an Amazon account if you don't have one)
3. To read the excerpt, click View Now for the web page version or Download to my computer for a PDF
4. To write a review, scroll down the Customer Reviews section on The Wall of Pacidral page and click Create your own review

To read and review excerpts from additional Amazon Breakthrough Novel Awards semi-finalists, browse the entries by genre.

Beautiful evening at the dog park

Beautiful evening at the dog park by Corinne S.

Baby girl born early

Yesterday morning, 6 days after the baby shower and about 5 weeks shy of their due date, Chris & Graham became parents to a little girl. Baby Mia was born via C-section, but I have no other details. I believe mother and daughter are both okay.

The modern family

Herrling family excursion by Corinne S.

I had brunch this afternoon with Mikler, Nathan, and Mabry. Afterward family Herring-Sherling was off to run errands on this cold bit beautiful day. Miller just reported back that Nathan now has two more holes in his head than he did this morning. He got an "industrial" barbell piercing in the cartilage of his left ear. That's one rockin' daddy. :-)

Wet Saturday

Freezing rain at the farmer's market by Corinne S.

It was a cold and wet day today at the farmer's market. Still, I ran into Meghan N., little Nathan, and their friend. It's a small (local organic foods) world out there. After that, I worked on Maddy's wedding invitations with her. Then swimming (3/4 mile today) and then dinner and chilling with Rob & Steph. Steph and I were going to hit the company party, but we couldn't drag ourselves out.

TV time

TV time by Corinne S.

Time for a pig pile. :-)

Today's fort

Today's fort by Corinne S.

Benjamin knows that Maple enjoys sleeping under the blankets all snuggled up with her pack. So some mornings he constructs these elaborate little dog forts around Maple's perch on the couch. This one is particularly cuckle-worthy. :-)

Pregnant princess

Pregnant princess by Corinne S.

Yesterday I went to my friend Chris' baby shower. Here she is exloring the box of baby clothes I had fun shopping for on Friday.

This baby's gender is a surprise, so that added a new challenge to my shopping. Plus, I tried to fulfill Chris' desire for organic cotton. Thanks Bootyland consignment clothes!

Blasphemer

I've started blaspheming my green tea and it's all Starbucks' fault. One day this summer Benjamin got me a venti iced green tea slightly sweetened. And I liked it. So now my hot green tea has been suffering the same fate. My 'Chado - The Way of Tea' teacher would be so dissapointed in me.

Not work safe?

Not work safe? by Corinne S.

I watch/listen to a lot of TV shows while I work. This is one of the benefits of working in the digital TV and movie space. ;-) So I'm sitting here watching an episode of Psych (a perfectly harmless show), when I find the need to pause it so I can listen to son other audio. I then forgot about the show and went about working. When my coworker came over to ask a question he asked "what in the heck are you watching over there?" when he saw this paused image on my screen. LOL.

Creativity

TJ makes a bike jersey by gabesnider

My brother is very creative in a different way from me. He reminds me of my mom sometimes. He can sew amazing things, including hats, custom messenger bags, gators, and now this bike jersey. He's gotten into sewing things out of reclaimed clothes.

This bike jersey is made of two sweaters from a used clothing store and the hat is made from a pair of men's trousers. Of course, beggars can't be choosers when it comes to reclaimed fabrics, but apparently TJ's motto is "Ugly is the New Black." :-)

Prohibitions

Prohibitions by Corinne S.

An unlikely combination of signs. Where else but the swimming pool might you see these two prohibitions posted?

Yummy office space and benefits

Drool. (That's my drool. Maple would be drooling over it too, though.) Read the article: Inside look at Google Seattle: Puppies, lava lamps, etc.

Web Falacies

This is an interesting article that tests the validity of the "Three Click Rule" of web design--namely that nothing should be more than 3 clicks away from the user. This research found that there was correlation between task success or user satisfaction and the number of clicks. I think this astute observation at the end of the article nicely sums it up.

"The Three-Click Rule isn't completely bad. People talk about it with users in mind, even executives who have never designed a web site. The rule may help designers focus on the information that users need and may help them create better web sites....

However, the Three-Click Rule does not focus on the real problem. The number of clicks isn't what is important to users, but whether or not they're successful at finding what they're seeking."

An interesting aside in the article that I wasn't expecting.

"[I]n one e-commerce study, we found that the more pages users visited (more clicks), the less they bought."

Read the article: Testing the Three-Click Rule

Old TV shows wanted

In light of the fact that most TV shows are going to come to a close in the coming weeks due to the writer's strike, I am going to be looking for something else to watch. For other TV addicts out there, you may be interested to see the list of upcoming Season Finale Dates. On the bright side, Lost starts again at the end of January and will at least run for half a season. I think Jericho also starts up again soon. :) Who's got recommendations for good TV shows to watch that are either completed shows or just old seasons? Movies are also an option, but I don't burn through those nearly as fast as TV shows. So far in the old and unwatched show arena here's what we're doing so far. From Amazon Unbox, Benjamin and I are watching season 1 of House, Amy Sedaris' odd show Strangers With Candy, and a British show called Sexual Healing. We just finished watching all our unwatched episodes of This American Life (the TV show). On my own, I'm watching a trashy cancelled show called Dirt and a cable show called Psych. Benjamin is watching It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia. When we get desperate, we'll probably watch season 6 of 24 (we got burned out after the first 5 seasons). From Netflix I want to finish season 2 of Dead Like Me, and based on recommendations I may check out Nip/Tuck, One Tree Hill, The OC, The L Word, My So-Called-Life, and Wonderfalls. Now that I've figured out how to stream Unbox videos to our Xbox 360 (and therefore watch them on our big TV in the living room), I find myself wishing I could figure out a way to watch Netflix's streaming video on our big TV too. I wonder if I could get Netflix streaming to work in the PS3's web browser (doubtful). The only other option I can think of is hooking my laptop up to the TV, which works but requires re-setting it up each time since I have to take my laptop back to work daily. I know, my life is hard.

Mabry makes me smile

Happy swimmer by Corinne S.

After a long, shitty day at the office today and only 4 hours of sleep due to working late, I went to visit Miller and Mabry. I took a bunch of photos tonight, but haven't posted them yet. I did, however, post a bunch of other recently-snapped Mabry photos from the pool as well as a quick video from tonight.

She's cute, but powerfully stinky

Maple has a cold and her breath smells like death. Good thing she's so cute.

Mother-daughter portrait

Mother-daughter portrait by Corinne S.

Mabry hanging at the pool while her mom and I do laps. That's Miller in the pool behind her. :-)