My carpet was re-laid today. Got some new carpet in the hallway, it doesn't quite match, but I like the way it looks with the old. A nice contrast. My apartment also smells like glue now – I have the windows open, and it's a lot better than it was a few hours ago. And yes, I turned the a/c off.

Last night I had to go over to a friend's apartment and save her from a bat. Which turned out to be two bats. A little guy, and a momma bat. I've never seen a bat up close like that, I got right up to the little guy and was checking him out like a kid in a candy store. They're pretty amazing. I watched him follow my head around with his ears, and all I could really think about was how silly it seemed for him to have to blink his eyes so often when they weren't really doing anything.

Also, you know those pull-strings on window blinds? The kind that kids apparently choke themselves on? Yeah, those. I get really annoyed by the ones that "solve" that problem by separating the two strings and making me pull two plastic pieces at the same time and speed. Are there any that keep the convenience of having only one pull string yet are "child safe"? I was thinking something along the lines of having the plastic pull still be two pieces, but one half has a magnet in it, and the other a piece of metal. Or velcro between them. That way you only have to search for the end of one string, they're both automatically pulled at the same speed.. and if a kid decides that putting his head between two strings is a good idea – the pulls would easily separate. Two obvious? Where are these things?

thum-pi-ty [thuhm-pi-tee]
adjective

1. of or relating to an abundance of thump
2. something with a heavy bass or a strong beat ('My techno is more thumpity than yours')
3. an exciting object or event ('That was one thumpity party!')

Use at your own risk

and this just feels right:

Click it for the full-size comic.

Now that google has 'acquired' GrandCentral.com and moved to their classic invite system, it has come to my attention that there are people seeking out these 'invites.'

Personally, I find that the novelty-factor of the service outweighs its usefulness, but I'm sure there are plenty of you that would be able to utilize it more fully than myself. I do like that I can record a separate greeting for different contacts, send some of them directly to voicemail, and that it can ring multiple phones at once so I can answer wherever I happen to be – all using just one phone number. I guess that alone makes it worth using for me.

So, first 10 commenters on this post – I'm going to send an invite your way. Make sure that you type in a valid email address, since that's where I'll send the invite to. Your email address will not be visible, and will only be used for sending your grandcentral invite.

I decided this morning to try to be as positive as I could throughout the rest of the day. This meant no getting upset with anyone, no getting stressed out, just staying in the zone for as long as possible. I made it a point to smile constantly, a genuine smile.. people can see through fakeness.

It was good. I noticed that other people smiled as they responded, and it made me feel better. It was a kind of self-perpetuating happiness. The more I did it, the easier it was, the better it felt, and the more I felt like doing it.

It even saved me a bit of cash.

I went out to Culver's to eat, big smile, and asked the cashier girl how she was doing. The standard small-talk, mostly taken for granted, almost meaningless in most conversation. But I did something different, I asked it and actually cared what the response was, I wasn't just saying it out of habit like 99% of people do. And the way she responded, sounding happy and smiling, you could tell that she knew it wasn't just a cold greeting. And she rung up a 10% discount.

Being happy kicks ass!

and a game? sure.. Winter Bells