A few days ago I saw this:
I think they're in love. :)
Friday, February 26, 2010
The Life and Times of our Toothbrushes
A couple of weeks ago I bought a new toothbrush holder. Before the holder we kept the toothbrushes in a drawer. Now that the toothbrushes are out, I find myself paying attention to them. I'm mostly attending to their moods--and how well they are getting along. (I can tell from their body language).
A few days ago I saw this:
I think they're in love. :)
A few days ago I saw this:
I think they're in love. :)
Friday, January 22, 2010
Fun with Toilets
Matt and I were recently in SE Asia. On the way home we had a 12 hour layover in Tokyo, so we took a train into the city and did a bit of touring. I had extremely limited battery power left in the camera, so I was careful to only take photos of things that were *really* compelling. I ended up with a small collection of photos of cabs, various food products, ducks, and toilets. I'm tempted to say that weariness from travel had affected my judgment, but most of the people who read this blog have known and loved me for years, which means that most of the people who read this blog have already suffered through hours of viewing vacation photos chock full of pictures of things like street signs, fire hydrants, and those metal utility plates embedded into streets. So I won't bother making excuses, I'll just move on to showing the toilet photos. :)
The gist of the story here is that public toilets in Tokyo are *awesome*!
Here's a view from above:
Notice the very special arm rest next to the toilet. I spent so long playing around with that arm rest that Matt got a little worried about my extended absence. (He foolishly used a urinal and missed an opportunity to fully experience the glory of a public toilet in Tokyo.) When I offered to wait so that he could go back into the bathroom to check out the toilets, he indicated that he would prefer to spend his time checking out the art in the museum, rather than the toilets. Silly silly man.
Here's a close-up of the special arm rest of gadgets-and-great-adventure:
We're going to go all Japanese-style here and start with the right side of the armrest and we'll move to the left. Way over on the right there are some indicator lights, one of which reassures the user that the seat is heated. And it was indeed heated to a lovely lovely temperature.
Next is the small button down low on the right side. It is labeled "POWERFUL DEODORIZER". This button needs no explanation, and is a very considerate offering in a public restroom.
Moving to the left, take note of the large round button with the musical note on it. You might be tempted to think that pressing this button will cause the toilet to play music, but it does not. The text above it reads "FLUSHING SOUND". I pressed the button, and sure enough, the toilet produced a very realistic flushing sound, though it was not actually flushing. Right below it are a couple of buttons to control the volume of the flushing sound. These three little "flushing sound" buttons are PURE GENIUS. Oh what I would give to rest easy in public restrooms, knowing that the option of producing a flushing sound loud enough to cover up any other, uh, undesirable, sounds is available for use at any time without offending mother nature by flushing with actual water when no water is needed. Also of note, the flushing sound continues until the user presses the "STOP" button on the far left of the armrest. This degree of control over the duration of the flushing sound allows the user to relax, and take his or her time knowing that the flushing sound will not go away until the user is good and ready for it to go away. How very considerate of both mother nature and the average public-toilet-user!
Next in the line up are two round buttons, one labeled "BIDET" and the other labeled "SPRAY". Honestly, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two buttons. With a spirit of adventure, I tried them both. I kind of cringed, unsure of what was coming as I have very little experience with bidets, and was pleasantly surprised to note that with the use of either button, a warm, gentle (but still useful) spray was directed with surprising accuracy to the, uh, "action zone", providing gentle but thorough cleansing that was *far* superior to what can be accomplished with toilet paper alone. Also, the small buttons below the larger buttons allow the user to adjust the pressure of the spray. Very nice. Very nice indeed.
I feel compelled to explain that this particular toilet was found in an art museum, but it wasn't just a special art museum toilet. I saw similar toilets in the airport and train station. Not all of the toilets offered the "powerful deodorizer", and some of the toilets had a dial to adjust the pressure of the spray instead of buttons, but they were all surprisingly similar overall. In general I found them to be surprisingly reassuring. In addition to being a source of fun-times and adventure during our short stay in Tokyo, they were also all warm, comforting and considerate--a surprising find in a public bathroom.
The gist of the story here is that public toilets in Tokyo are *awesome*!
Here's a view from above:
Notice the very special arm rest next to the toilet. I spent so long playing around with that arm rest that Matt got a little worried about my extended absence. (He foolishly used a urinal and missed an opportunity to fully experience the glory of a public toilet in Tokyo.) When I offered to wait so that he could go back into the bathroom to check out the toilets, he indicated that he would prefer to spend his time checking out the art in the museum, rather than the toilets. Silly silly man.
Here's a close-up of the special arm rest of gadgets-and-great-adventure:
We're going to go all Japanese-style here and start with the right side of the armrest and we'll move to the left. Way over on the right there are some indicator lights, one of which reassures the user that the seat is heated. And it was indeed heated to a lovely lovely temperature.
Next is the small button down low on the right side. It is labeled "POWERFUL DEODORIZER". This button needs no explanation, and is a very considerate offering in a public restroom.
Moving to the left, take note of the large round button with the musical note on it. You might be tempted to think that pressing this button will cause the toilet to play music, but it does not. The text above it reads "FLUSHING SOUND". I pressed the button, and sure enough, the toilet produced a very realistic flushing sound, though it was not actually flushing. Right below it are a couple of buttons to control the volume of the flushing sound. These three little "flushing sound" buttons are PURE GENIUS. Oh what I would give to rest easy in public restrooms, knowing that the option of producing a flushing sound loud enough to cover up any other, uh, undesirable, sounds is available for use at any time without offending mother nature by flushing with actual water when no water is needed. Also of note, the flushing sound continues until the user presses the "STOP" button on the far left of the armrest. This degree of control over the duration of the flushing sound allows the user to relax, and take his or her time knowing that the flushing sound will not go away until the user is good and ready for it to go away. How very considerate of both mother nature and the average public-toilet-user!
Next in the line up are two round buttons, one labeled "BIDET" and the other labeled "SPRAY". Honestly, I'm not sure what the difference is between the two buttons. With a spirit of adventure, I tried them both. I kind of cringed, unsure of what was coming as I have very little experience with bidets, and was pleasantly surprised to note that with the use of either button, a warm, gentle (but still useful) spray was directed with surprising accuracy to the, uh, "action zone", providing gentle but thorough cleansing that was *far* superior to what can be accomplished with toilet paper alone. Also, the small buttons below the larger buttons allow the user to adjust the pressure of the spray. Very nice. Very nice indeed.
I feel compelled to explain that this particular toilet was found in an art museum, but it wasn't just a special art museum toilet. I saw similar toilets in the airport and train station. Not all of the toilets offered the "powerful deodorizer", and some of the toilets had a dial to adjust the pressure of the spray instead of buttons, but they were all surprisingly similar overall. In general I found them to be surprisingly reassuring. In addition to being a source of fun-times and adventure during our short stay in Tokyo, they were also all warm, comforting and considerate--a surprising find in a public bathroom.
Saturday, October 31, 2009
The Many Faces of Princess Leia
The Many Faces of Darth Vader
Dorky Darth Vader
Sweet Vader
Darth Vader with Orthopedic Problems (check out the legs)
Darth Vader Experiencing a Wardrobe Malfunction
(When the photo above was taken Rudy was sitting still so that he could get a treat--when his hat fell over his eyes he didn't move--he just sat there--waiting to be released. He is one committed pup!)
Sweet Vader
Darth Vader with Orthopedic Problems (check out the legs)
Darth Vader Experiencing a Wardrobe Malfunction
(When the photo above was taken Rudy was sitting still so that he could get a treat--when his hat fell over his eyes he didn't move--he just sat there--waiting to be released. He is one committed pup!)
Thursday, October 29, 2009
Wounded
Our little brown beast got chomped at dog day care.
This is her wound.
Last night she was the epitome of pathetic. She wouldn't sit down, or lie down. She just stood with her head and ears down, staring at us. I was hoping she was at least partially acting that way because of the cone around her head, but when we took it off she just kept staring at us. She didn't even try to bite at her staples. I'm sure she was hurting. Occasionally she would try to sit, but then would pop right back up. It was very sad. With lots of pain killers, snuggles, and ice packs she eventually relaxed and went to sleep.
Tonight, she appeared to be completely over it. She was chipper, and very busy figuring out how to enjoy the evening with a cone around her head. It took her a few minutes, but at one point tonight she figured out how to scoop a dirty sock up into her cone so she could chew it. I almost felt bad taking it from her after she worked so hard to get it (while I watched and laughed). In the (fuzzy) photo below, Rudy and Leia are trying to figure out how to mouth-wrastle in spite of the cone (and without getting into trouble).
And now as I type this, Leia's coned head is peacefully resting in my lap.
Wednesday, September 30, 2009
Early Comb Over
We have a particularly brutal light in our bathroom that shows all. Matt saw evidence of thinning hair, so he came up with a plan. (It was either this or get rid of the light bulb.)
Saturday, September 19, 2009
Evidence Suggesting that Canadians Might be Superior to Americans
Matt and I recently spent a three day weekend in Victoria, BC. (To celebrate our first anniversary!) The charms of Canada are relatively new to me, and so far I'm, well, charmed. During our short visit to Canada I repeatedly found reasons to believe that the average Canadian just might be cooler than the average American.
Below is some evidence collected from our three day weekend:
1) Polite signage was rampant:
When was the last time you saw the word "sorry" on a sign in the U.S.?
I love that this sign not only includes the word "please", but also starts with "DIVERS WELCOME".
This sign was at Butchart Gardens. It was clear that dogs were expected to be kept on leash, but the subject was handled politely, and with a bit of humor.
2) The public is treated as if they posses the capacity to make reasonable judgements:
In the U.S. the public is not encouraged to walk along manmade objects with big drop-offs. (What if someone falls off and sues!) Below is a photo of a pathway at Ogden Point. There was a sign at the beginning warning people not to walk on the pathway at night or during storms, but that was it. I felt a little like I was living on the edge (so to speak), since there weren't any hideous tall fences to save me from myself:
3) This fountain alone would be enough to convince me that the average Canadian is cooler than the average American:
It's a fountain depicting a slobbering pig.
Let's take a closer look:
If you look closely, you can see the pig's teeth.
And, you can see SLOBBER!
Below is some evidence collected from our three day weekend:
1) Polite signage was rampant:
When was the last time you saw the word "sorry" on a sign in the U.S.?
I love that this sign not only includes the word "please", but also starts with "DIVERS WELCOME".
This sign was at Butchart Gardens. It was clear that dogs were expected to be kept on leash, but the subject was handled politely, and with a bit of humor.
2) The public is treated as if they posses the capacity to make reasonable judgements:
In the U.S. the public is not encouraged to walk along manmade objects with big drop-offs. (What if someone falls off and sues!) Below is a photo of a pathway at Ogden Point. There was a sign at the beginning warning people not to walk on the pathway at night or during storms, but that was it. I felt a little like I was living on the edge (so to speak), since there weren't any hideous tall fences to save me from myself:
3) This fountain alone would be enough to convince me that the average Canadian is cooler than the average American:
It's a fountain depicting a slobbering pig.
Let's take a closer look:
If you look closely, you can see the pig's teeth.
And, you can see SLOBBER!
Friday, September 18, 2009
Pretty Pretty Princess
Pretty Pretty Princess may be the most boring board game ever. The goal of the game is to collect a bunch of pieces of jewelry. The first one to get the crown along with all of the other pieces of jewerly in a particular color wins. I brought it as a surprise for Ashley's little girl while we were in Iowa (she's a super girly girl). She *loved* it. And she wanted to play it 27 times a day. As a result, most of the grown-ups had the honor of being princess at least once (even though we all regularly cheated to avoid winning).
Here are some photos of winning Princesses:
Here are some photos of winning Princesses:
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