Technology Blog

My daughter showed me a blog about Japan's cutting edge technology: pinktentacle.com. Most of the entries have to do with technology, but there are also entries about biological advances, art, and architecture. Very cool stuff.

Lorem Ipsum and Word 2007

Here is a great tip I just read on a writing blog. If you are using Word 2007, and need to insert dummy text into your document, you no longer need to copy and paste a block of lorem ipsum. Just type "=lorem()" into the body of the document, press enter, and voila, a couple paragraphs of lorem! To indicate how many sentences and paragraphs needed, just use the following syntax: =lorem(paragraphs, sentences). So, for example, =lorem(6,20) would get you six paragraphs of 20 sentences each.

Say what you will about Bill Gates, he does stay on top of pressing issues like this one!

For Your Health!

This has nothing whatsoever to do with the topic of writing, but John C. Reilly is fantastic!

Writing from Days Past

The following is an excerpt from a short multigenre piece I wrote in 2004 titled, "The Promise of Gold":

Well… I says to Da and Mam.
What is the ‘well’? Da says to me. He is smiling.
The ‘well’ is…I have a great mind to go to America.
The smile leaves my father’s face.
Aunt Peg has sent me a letter with an American Ticket, and she says I can get work there for two dollars a week, I say. Two dollars! Just think, Da, I can save and send for Colm in just a few years, you and Mam as well.
I want to go to ‘Merica, too, Da! says Colm.
I see the look on Da’s face, like a thundercloud.
You know there is nothing in Ireland for me, Da, I say. ‘Tis best I go.
Well, fly away at once, says Da. Away with you over the sea and ‘tis sure you will find the gold on the streets.
Da turns away.

Time for a Theme

So I have decided that I am going to focus the topic of this blog on writing- writing I enjoy, writing I have done, writing I find intriguing.

Right now I am reading an excellent book called "The Secrets of Mariko" by Elisabeth Bumiller. Bumiller spent 14 months interviewing a "typical Japanese housewife." During that time she learned intimate details about Japanese families to which Westerners are rarely exposed. Even though the book is now 16 years old and many of the family dynamics in Japan have since evolved to mimic Western ways, it is a still fascinating read.

Zen and Cookery

So my daughter and I spent some time on Sunday at the Como Zoo Conservatory. Since she has a long trip (2 months, very jealous) to Japan coming up in a little over a month, we are doing all things Japanese this month. We walked around the Japanese Garden, then headed over to the Bonsai room. She took a couple of nice pics.

Afterwards, we tried our hand at making Okinomiyaki. She sent some photos of it to her friends in Japan, and they told her it looked very good- so we must have done it right!

Welcome to the World of Blogging

Well, this is my first foray into the whole blogging thing. Typically, I am not a big fan of posting personal events and feelings on the internet, but what the heck, let's give it a try.

So, not really sure what I can post here that anyone would want to read. I am a full-time working adult and a part-time college student (graduating in December, finally). Although my schedule is very busy, I don't think I do much that would be of interest to those out there in cyberspace.

Hopefully, I will have something a bit more riveting to say in my next attempt at blogging.