IMR: 1998: June: 12

IMR: 1998: June: 12 -- Friday, 2:35 p.m.
UH Press, Manoa, Hawai`i

It took me three days to scan the covers of a dozen books. But this afternoon, it only took me two hours to slap together the HTML and send the page proofs to marketing (where they will no doubt catch a million typos and a couple of titles by "authornamehere").
Damn my wrists hurt. I've really got to lower this keyboard. Or get a taller chair. Or something. Clocking in at 110-wpm is great for the ego, but it also signals a short life span for cartilage.
I just read somewhere that it's hitting the shift key that does most wrists in. Maybe those ridiculous VT-52 terminal keyboards (and their ghastly layouts) at Hamilton Library aren't so worthless after all.

Katie flipped today. This time I'm certain of it.
She's turned over lots of times, you see, but only on the bed and only toward Jen or I. I wasn't sure whether she was really flipping, or merely tumbling into the dent we made in the mattress.
But this morning, apparently, she was on the floor on her back, looking up at mommy (who was, I believe, doing a little dance for her entertainment). She did a little wiggle-thrash -- a recent habit that had Jen worried she was autistic or something -- and ended up on her side. One more wiggle, and she was on her stomach.
The way Jen was squealing when she called me at the office, you'd think she won the lottery or something.
To be honest, I was excited too. I just couldn't compete with Jen's unrestrained glee.
Sure enough, when I came home for lunch and looked at her, she somehow seemed twice as wise and alert as she was when I left for work. I'm convinced she doubles her intelligence almost daily, to the point where sometimes, when I look into her eyes, it's almost scary.
Of course, today's milestone marks a totally new phase in parenthood. No longer can we dart off to grab a diaper or pour a drink and expect Katie to be where we left her when we come back. Indeed, perhaps the floor is about the safest place for her until her manual dexterity catches up with her basic mobility.

From the "you never thought you'd see it for real" department, there's a new commercial for Pedigree dog food in which the spokesman is so proud of the quality of the chow's premium ingredients, he pops a nugget in his mouth and smiles through the stomach-turning crunch.
They'll probably start using red dye instead of blue in maxi pad commercials any day now.

Yesterday was a holiday. Kamehameha Day. I love this state.
We spent most of it lounging around at home, but we did run off to Ala Moana so Jen could get a haircut. It's shorter than her last one, and she's a little miffed at that, but I like it. It increases her cute factor exponentially.
Then last night, Jen and I went grocery shopping.
She'd just gotten her check from her two-week stint back at Tower, so I figured why not make my mother proud and actually buy our own food for a change.
So we toured the isles, comparing ounce-to-price values and scanning for store specials and the like. We ended up with a cart full of grub, including at least 10 pounds of hamburger, all varieties of Hamburger Helper (natch), assorted canned vegetables and a dozen other easy-lunch ideas.
I got enough "Star Stamps" to fill a whole card. I'll give it to mom and probably knock her socks off.
Oh, and I finally heard from Donica, who informed me that she (and Mio and a smattering of others) were also at the picnic that never was. So I guess Martha and I must have been thinking of a Waimanalo Beach in some alternate universe.
They're promising another gathering next Saturday. This time I'm insisting on directions.

Geeks of the Pacific, rejoice.
Our first CompUSA store opens this month in Kaka`ako.
I doubt CompUSA will draw the kind of crowd our first K-Mart did (we're talking traffic backed up for miles), but it's still significant. Sort of.
First, now that big-chain retail outlets have put little stores out of business, the only thing we can pray for is equally-big competition. Computer City and Circuit City aren't bad, but I still would consider taking my chances at Sears.
Second, CompUSA is now the exclusive authorized outlet for Macintosh computers. Wanda, my boss, isn't too sure Apple should be limiting its retail presence, but after experiencing the baffling, almost offensive lack of Mac expertise at Computer City, I think Apple may be wise to make sure its computers are sold by people who know something about them.
In other "opening" news, the billion-dollar Hawai`i Convention Center was blessed yesterday.
Unlike most folks I know, I kind of like the design. Sort of a cross between that opera house in Australia and a corporate plaza in Seattle. I'll be 40 before we'll know for sure whether or not the thing pays for itself, but at least it looks better than the gravel lot that used to serve as the "gateway into Waikiki."

In a pathetic attempt to pretend I have more free time than I actually do, I clicked over to Amazon.Com and picked up Douglas Adams' "Last Chance to See."
Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy" series was one of the most influential reads of my aspiring-writer childhood, and his Dirk Gently titles were the last books to ever make me laugh out loud. I knew "Last Chance" it wasn't science or detective fiction, but I'd heard Adams' style still shines through.
Besides, at under $12 including shipping...
Okay, I confess. I plugged into that "Amazon Associates" program some time ago, living off a tiny link over at my LeahiNet News page. Even though I never did anything else besides link a bunch of titles (yet another "small side project," but one that I never got around to finishing), it still managed to generate some change each month. Enough for my regular bag of gummi bears, at least.
So I figured, why not compound my savings, first by buying "Last Chance" from Amazon (which is regularly cheaper than the stores around here), and then by getting back the nickel or so referral fee, just by juryrigging a temporary link.
I might not ever have the time to read it, but boy do I feel clever.

Speaking of milestones, In Medias Res finally made the Yahoo! cut (as did several other of my sites... must've been a slow day). So... Yahoo!

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