weekend

[cellio]

This year's bunny melt (hosted as always by ralphmelton and lorimelton) was a great success. The fondue was easy to manage, neither too hot nor too cold, and we had vast quantities of food. We also got to see dr4b, visiting from Seattle, which was nice. Note for next year: it looked like a pound (or maybe a pound and a half) of chocolate bunnies will suffice. (I think we had another three pounds or so that didn't get melted down.)

Saturday night at a restaurant we were given a "pager", a gadget that would flash when our table was ready. (And this was with reservations. :-) ) The pager is a hunk of plastic that also serves as a coaster; it says so right on it. (I guess they want you to go into the bar and wait.) While waiting, we read the advertising on the coaster, which said that such-and-such brand (yeah, I've already forgotten -- not very effective advertising) was the perfect pager for restaurants, bars, something else, and church nurseries. Church nurseries?? Dani tried asking the hostess (she said she'd be happy to answer questions), but she had no enlightenment for us.

Saturday's mail brought a letter from my health-insurance company with a $7 coupon for Allavert, an OTC allergy drug. (If the coupon is for $7, I shudder to think what the stuff actually costs.) The letter first said that OTC drugs are better than prescription because you don't need to see your doctor -- and then went on to say that before changing medicines you should consult your doctor. Their spin-meisters need some remedial training. Of course we all know that the real reason they're doing this is that OTC drugs don't involve any insurance pay-outs. I think I would have respected them more if they'd pursued a "...and that helps us keep your rates down" line of reasoning, but they didn't.

We've now (re-)watched B5 through the end of season 3. I suppose you could say it ends on a cliff-hanger. :-) We have B5 season 4 and West Wing season 3 DVDs waiting for us now. We tend to be pretty busy and only see a couple episodes of anything per week, so this will last a while.

Short takes:

The bachelor and the dust bunny, via metahacker.

"There's an amazing variety of things to do in Pittsburgh. It's just that all those events share the same three parking spaces, and two of those spots are staked out with folding chairs." -- innerbitch_rss.

Comments

[indigodove.livejournal.com]

Church nurseries could probably use the pagers to summon the parents of a sick or unruly child to the nursery so that they can foist the child back onto his/her parents. :-)

[dmnsqrl.livejournal.com]

Yeah, that would be my guess, too

[rectangularcat]

Why am I not surprised P&G is mentionned in that cleaning article.

[cellio]

A pager for parents makes sense, true. The built-in coaster requires more rationalization. :-)

[tashabear.livejournal.com]

Something to place your sacramental wine on? Or your beer? (Sorry, I've seen the Blue Collar Comedy Tour movie one too many times, I guess.)

I think that the coaster thing is just a side benefit, in this situation. It's certainly a nice discreet way to get a parent's attention that their little angel is having a meltdown in the nursery.

[psu-jedi.livejournal.com]

Folding chairs! I've forgotten how much I miss Pgh!

I'll never forget the first time I went to the Southside, and saw these chairs sitting along the sides of the streets. I said, "What the hell are people putting chairs out on the streets for?" My roommate, who had lived there a year longer than me, said, "To save their parking spaces, of course!" I don't recall seeing this in Shadyside, where I lived, but only on the Southside. Has it migrated? ;-)

[cellio]

I've seen it randomly throughout the city -- certainly Oakland, I think Highland Park, and other places here and there. Maybe not Shadyside. Some neighborhoods seem to be more aggressive in discouraging it.

[nickjong.livejournal.com]

I suppose you could say it ends on a cliff-hanger. :-)

Heh. I showed season three to a bunch of friends last semester, before season four came out. One of my friends asked if the season ended on a cliffhanger. I instantly responded, "no." When we finally reached the end of the last episode, I looked over at her dismayed face and explained, "if it were a cliffhanger, he'd still be on the cliff!"

[cellio]

I suppose you're right; it's merely close to being a cliffhanger. But you've gotta score some points for the presence of an actual cliff. :-)

[jducoeur]

a $7 coupon for Allavert, an OTC allergy drug. (If the coupon is for $7, I shudder to think what the stuff actually costs.)

Actually, it isn't too awful. Alavert is a generic replacement for Claritin, and costs about half as much. (Still about $.50 per pill, but that's manageable for an all-day drug.) I use the stuff all the time. $7 is pretty decent -- about 25% off the standard box of 48.

I suppose you could say it ends on a cliff-hanger.

Once upon a time, just after B5 had introduced John Sheridan, folks were complaining incessantly about how damned smug and happy he was all the time. JMS responded that yes, that was true right now, but just wait -- he'd be dropped down a deep hole eventually.

My jaw dropped the first time I saw that scene. JMS really is a bastard sometimes...