Better than TV

Changing windows
There was a high(ish) speed chase through our neighborhood tonight: several cop cars with sirens wailing in pursuit of an SUV. They finally got the guy to stop just one house down from ours! Chloe and I had been watching funny cat videos and ignoring the noise until we heard the cops yelling things like, "Get your hands behind your head!" We scurried to the kitchen window in time to watch the passenger surrender, but then we decided we'd better change windows when the cops advanced on the SUV with guns drawn.

Safely removed to higher ground, we realized the driver had skedaddled before the cops got there. We indulged ourselves with imaginings of a fugitive hiding in our garage, and I almost got out of taking out the trash, but later we saw they had two people in custody.

So, I took out the trash, and we ate our dinner in a darkened-for-better-visibility kitchen while the investigation continued, the culprits were questioned, and the SUV was towed to Abby's lab. Or someplace like that.

It was just enough excitement for the night.

In jokes

Q. How many testers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Testers don't replace lightbulbs; they just report that it's dark.

Q. How many developers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. Just one, but then the house falls down.

The guy who told me these didn't have one for technical writers, but that would probably go something like this:

Q. How many tech writers does it take to screw in a lightbulb?
A. "For more information about this topic, click Help."

Tip for travelers

If your family is like my family, the places you stay while on vacation tend to supply their rooms with plastic cups. Like free wireless Internet, it turns out that is actually one of the perks they offer over their fancy-schmancy counterparts.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=y3OWE2Lx0dk&NR=1

Put to the test

I had a dream last night in which my mom administered intelligence tests to several of my coworkers and me. The tests were strange game boards with lots and lots of tiny pieces (pegs and such) that had to be placed so as to illustrate one's knowledge. My coworkers were all done in just minutes, while I struggled in vain with tiny pieces and test questions about obscure historical events.

Did I mention I've been writing a Software Development Kit these past few weeks, a technical document full of terminology that might as well be Greek for all it means to me?

But I'm not sure where my mom came into the picture. :-)

A word game

A few years ago, some fellow unschoolers introduced us to Quiddler, a rummy-like game that uses letters instead of numbers. You gather letter cards to make words, and it's pretty fun.

This evening, Chloe and I used the Quiddler cards to play our own game. We used all the cards in the (large) deck to make a bunch of random words. Well, we used almost all the cards: we had one Q left over. Next, we tried to use all of the words in a bit of creative writing. I am not allowed to share Chloe's, but here's what I came up with. The required words are boldface.

A wiser Jack did dig that day
His one-quid tax resigned to pay,
"Hey, you there, Pearl!" he called with fear,
"Evil Nott has bid me quiz your lair!
"With thunder clap and roar of jet,
"His Key of Truth I must now get."

So while Heaven watched and Evil waited,
With Ruin, her gay air a-bated,
Jack the 'Niner, with ladle and drum,
Against the cliffs applied weary thumb,
Til in Zone of Six he found his cure—
The hope of hopes for one less pure—
And mounted his toboggan and left his woes
To pass beyond the status quo.