weather.com looking out for my interests

I was checking the weather again, when my eyes drifted to the sidebar containing "Today in Los Angeles."

Here they often have things that are sort of weather-related. Scanning the list, I saw "Rush Hour Traffic Conditions", "Allergy and Pollen Conditions," and ... what the? "Baby Animal Slideshow." Baby Animal Slideshow?!?! I clicked on it and, sure enough, pictures of baby animals. This is quite awesome, because I am happy to look at pictures of baby animals whenever I'm given the opportunity. Indeed, I often frequent cuteoverload.com.

Links that did not worked claimed that I could show off my pets by submitting photos or video of my pets. I wonder how long it will be until weather.com will soon allow me to show off my lip syncing talent, stand up comedy, or other things that should be left to YouTube. Meanwhile, I am trying to think of other things I would like to see on weather.com.

weather.com, or note to self: notice the small things that make you happy

I used to leave home in the morning with no idea what the weather would be like outside immediately or for the rest of the day. It must have been years ago, maybe in college. Now I almost always check weather.com in the morning at some point before I leave, or before Alex leaves (if he asks). At one point I added the weather forecast for Los Angeles, CA (90066) to my bookmarks toolbar so that, at any given moment, information about the weather would be a mere click away.

But more recently I found myself checking the weather even if I wasn't planning to go anywhere, i.e., on days that I had intended to work at home all day. Or even multiple times during the day, just to see what outside is (objectively) like.

I think it comforts me that I have instant access to weather information. The information helps me feel calmer, more relaxed, even a bit more happy. Right now it is clear, 50 degrees Farenheit, and it feels like 50 degrees. Better yet, clicking over to the 10-Day allows me to believe that I know what the weather will be like for the next week and a half. On Sunday evening there will be some chance of rain, followed by just a 10 percent chance of rain for the rest of the week.

What else in life can you bet on with any degree of certainty about the next week and a half?

secret package

Sometimes I come home to this scene. Someone has disturbed our welcome mat from its regular flat-to- the-ground -in-front- of-our-door position. It does take me about 3 seconds to go from "What on earth?" to "Oh, we must have a package." Today it is a cartridge full of laser printer toner, having arrived via UPS Ground.

It is raining today, but the second floor balcony makes it such that there's no chance of our doorstep getting wet. Sure, there's a bit of wind, but it's not like the package is going to blow away. They must be using the doormat to decrease the likelihood of parcel theft.

I appreciate the additional effort the delivery person must have gone through to reach down and pull the welcome mat up over the box. But it also makes me wonder ... who do they think they're fooling?

Six months

Today is our six month anniversary*. It's been a good six months, full of joy and no wedding planning. We don't have specific plans, but will probably end up doing that which people do on their anniversaries. Today I also

• Upgraded my amateur radio license to General Class.
• Submitted the necessary paperwork to become a TA at the MAC.
  

And it's still morning!

Elaine has spent her morning at Costco. We spent some time discussing the purchase of a second Wii, but since most of the conversation occurred after Elaine had finished checking out, we decided that selling a Wii on Ebay would be ``added stress''.


* We have debated whether it is possible to have a six month anniversary, but ultimately decided that this was acceptable in colloquial English.