Bloggers and Productivity
A teeny note found at the bottom of page 36 in the October 9th
-
New Yorker
(yeh, I’m a little behind in my reading . . .)
“A report last week by Advertising Age Editor at Large Bradley Johnson noted that about 35 million workers – or one in four people in the U.S. labor force – spend an average of 3.5 hours, or 9% of each work day reading blogs.”
I’m not all that great in math, but wouldn’t 3.5 hours of a work day be more than 9%? Depending on whether you work a fairly standard seven – eight hour day, that would be nearly HALF your working day. They must have meant 9% of the work week . . . still, significantly cutting into productive working time.
Morning Culture
In Kuwait, driving early Friday morning is a delight – everyone is sleeping in, things won’t get busy until around noon. Sometimes you have the whole road to yourself.
Here, in the land of the descendants of Scandinavians, the morning may dawn dark and foggy and damp, but by 8 this weekend morning the highways are already crowded with early birds, out to catch the worm. I can’t help but wonder where they are all going on a Saturday morning, so early.
Saying goodbye to my parents this morning was really heart wrenching. They have become so weak and so frail. They are already up, although I am stopping by early, and Dad is watching a football game and Mom is fixing coffee. It breaks my heart to know how hard they struggle to stay independent, and that there is nothing I can do to make them young and hearty again.
I remember when my Dad was always on the cutting edge of technology. Well into his 70’s, he was buying new computers and writing code to make them do what HE wanted them to do. Now in his late 80’s, we were all astonished when he showed no enthusiasm for the new laptop we bought him – until we discovered that his hands were now bothering him, and the keys on the laptop were too small for him. I wonder when we will no longer find new technologies so enticing, and will long for simpler days – and we will look back on the early 2000’s as the “good old days” when life was simple.
The flights are crowded today – it’s a full flight, and here is is, the end of October. Isn’t this usually low season?
Big Diamond and Little Diamond
Today is my last day here, before I leave to go back to Kuwait. This morning, I packed everything except what I am wearing today and tomorrow. I know myself too well. I have to go to one of my favorite stores today to buy my father some soft cotton gardening gloves. I will have to face one last temptation.
No, I did not make it out of the store without buying something for myself. It’s the smell. . . You walk into a hardware store and something in the air gets to you. I love hardware, I love new bathroom ideas (glass block makes me shiver in anticipation) and oh! a new magic tool! A storage solution! Hardwood flooring! New countertop options. . .! New shades of paint! steel wool! Oh! Oh! Oh! The problem is I know I still have a little room in my suitcase. . .Yes, I am a hardware junky.
My sister, Big Diamond, is in town and called me to ask if we could have lunch together with her daughter, Little Diamond. They like Vietnamese food too – I have to have one last portion of Vietnamese salad rolls with shrimp, and a “small” bowl of vegetarian Pho. I picked them up nearby. I know you have a lot of curiousity about me and my family. Here is my sister and her oldest daughter:
myafrica September Statistics
I like Africa anyway, but this blogger, Cerengeti, goes way outside the Africa box. He has gathered statistics from all over the world – and he gives all the references – that are amazing, horrifying, fascinating – from abortion in India to plagiarism in the United States – take a look at Myafrica’s Index for September 2006.
A Visit to Williams Sonoma
I am visiting Williams Sonoma looking for the elusive white truffel butter required in The Equalizer’s recipe for Pumpkin Risotto. Can’t find the white truffel butter, but I did find some very lovely things – things we can get a lot cheaper, maybe even better, in the Middle East.
First is what they call a Greek pepper grinder, for a mere $79.
I bought the same, beautiful pepper grinder in the Diraa souk in Riyadh for $10 – and I believe it came from Turkey. It grinds peppercorns beautifully and stores the grindings airtight in the bottom until you need to use them.
Then these two pots. The first one is $200, and the second ranges from the low $200’s to $320, depending on the size . . .
they are beautiful, hammered copper from Italy . . .and we bought beautiful, heavier pots with beautiful handles in Damascus for a fraction of what these cost. If I had to choose, I would choose Damascus any day for shopping, over Dubai. 😉
Is there anyplace in Kuwait where you can get copper pots re-tinned? Or has that, too, gone by the wayside?
(And a BIG shout-out to Joan of Arc who patiently taught me how to link pretty)
Dubai 2010
My niece (Little Diamond aka adiamondinsunlight) doesn’t have her own blog yet. Until she does, I get to share all the information she shares with me.
This one is from New Left Review and is a fascinating article about the Dubai of the Future, a playground for the rich and idle, with unimaginable luxuries – but at what cost?
“How Can I NOT Help You?”
Today I was steamed. I don’t get really steamed often, but man, I was red hot steamed. It is my last week here. I have been focused on family business, but now it is time to scurry, to take care of business.
I remembered that the battery on the Apples around the time when I bought my Mac laptop has been recalled, so I went, first thing this morning, to CompUSA nearby. There isn’t a customer in the store. A guy asks if he can help me and I tell him I need to know if my computer should have a new battery. He blah blahs saying I need to contact Apple. He takes me to the customer service guy. He says blah blah I need to contact Apple. He also says there is an Apple tech at the other CompUSA, three miles away.
I know where it is – that’s where I bought it. So I drive the three miles and the Apple tech says blah blah blah you have to contact Apple.
EXPLETIVE DELETED.
I could have contacted Apple from Kuwait! I bought the computer in THAT store, but now it’s all “go away, we can’t help you.” I remember when you bought Apples at Apple stores and they always knew what you were talking about when you walked in and they could fix anything.
Rant. Rant. Rant.
But it’s a good reminder. We always complain about indifferent customer service in Europe and Kuwait. It’s nice to be reminded that we also have great customer indifference here, too. (sarcasm, in case you don’t recognize it because I use it so rarely. I really am still steamed.)
Colorful Season
These aren’t even my favorite colors; I just can’t stop taking photos because it has been so long since I have seen autumn. The weather changed overnight, though, from warm and sunny to cool and rainy. (shivering)
First Frost
The light frost was already evaporating when I took this photo, early Sunday morning.
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