JBot Mania

It’s really the top notch reporting that brings me back to CNN. If I just announced that I had breast cancer, I couldn’t think of any better way for it to be covered than with this very touching and very sensitive piece by CNN.

NEW YORK (AP) — ABC “Good Morning America” anchor Robin Roberts has been diagnosed with breast cancer and will be undergoing surgery Friday.

Roberts, 46, told viewers about her cancer on Tuesday morning’s show.

“I am so blessed that I found this in the early stages and the prognosis is so promising that my doctor expects me to be flying planes and hanging on to submarines in the middle of the Atlantic and scaling the Mayan pyramids in no time,” she said.

Roberts, who is co-anchor of “Good Morning America” with Diane Sawyer, said she examined herself and found a lump on her breast the same day she had done a report on former “GMA” movie critic Joel Siegel, who died of colon cancer last month. The network wouldn’t say which breast was affected.

It’s this kind of attention to detail that I find really makes me feel secure in my news source of choice. Those kinds of facts are what Americans want to know. Which breast? Obviously one is more significant than the other. What? Are they hiding something? Does she have a third breast?

I also like these completely related details about her marital status—because marital status has a direct relationship to breast cancer risk.

Roberts, who is single, said there is no history in her family of breast cancer.

I then like how they end this story on a truly uplifting note.

She’s been a contributor to ABC’s morning program since 1995 and was the newsreader before being named in May 2005 as one of the show’s anchors.

Former ABC news anchor Peter Jennings announced on “World News Tonight” in April 2005 that he had lung cancer. He never appeared on the air again and died four months later.

Seriously, do they have some kind of personal vendetta against her or are they all just completely souless.

So, I’m trying my best to implement GTD (Getting Things Done) and it’s going somewhat well. Things are out of my head certainly. Now my biggest hurdle—procrastination and a lack of discipline. These would be the harder hurdles to overcome.

As I found myself, yet again, being somewhat overtaken by my bills, I decided that I really needed the tickler file component. I had gotten as far as the lists, using a great site called Vitalist, but the tickler file was a little harder to get started. Why? How could a collection of 43 folders be that difficult to accomplish? Well, I’m in my first house and it’s pretty much in shambles so I have gotten pretty picky about the way things look because some things just look plain bad. I wanted something swanky and chic, and, oh, I don’t know, functional. Something I could neatly fit in my kitchen or living room and that did NOT involve black plastic. I was saddened by how few choices there were.

My major criteria were:

• Attractive
• Small
• Freestanding

After much searching, I found the following:

The pros:

• Sturdy
• Freestanding
• Attractive
• Small
• Portable

The cons:

• Does not have 43 slots
• Current slots are too small for letter sized folders

It’s not a total failure, though. It’s close… and hopefully there is a cigar.

What I am proposing might seem a little radical BUT, with a small pair of scissors, some cardboard and a glue gun, I think this could work.

First, I am going to strip out the superfluous innards of this stylish tote. Then, I am going to get some nice sturdy cardboard to add in my own sides that will be wide enough for letter sized folders. That should just about get what I want.

This design not only retrofits this particular carrier, but it also allows you to easily maneuver your daily and monthly file folders without having to readjust the whole pile every day. Imagine having 43 slots that you’d have to rotate a good chunk of every day. Not a pleasant thing to look forward to. In fact, it might make you quit this all together if you’re at all as easily stymied by life’s little challenges as I am.

I’m excited by this prospect. So easy and so attractive, kind of like m… Well, anyway. It’s worth a shot.

I’ll let you know how it turns out, with pictures and all.

So yesterday was the day that Target (tar-jay) opened in my town. What’s better is that it is located about 10 minutes from any corner of this fair city. It’s quite the coup. Marshalls, Bobs, and now Target? I’m guessing it’s some kind of massive tax breaks, which is actually pretty smart on our part. There’s almost nothing else to bring anyone here other than shopping opportunities. We offer proximity to actual points of interest.

A Target is a Target is a Target, but there were some things that I noticed.

The good:

That new cart swagger. Very rarely do we get to experience that virgin shopping cart. It was solidly built to glide effortlessly from store to parking lot to car. Soon it will be run ragged like some cheap whore, but for that day, it was brand new.

Starbucks. Now on those rare occasions when I am tempted by a Skim Chai Latte, the trip is now minutes shorter. Maybe this proximity to the coffee bean God will make my house desirable to coffee addicts out there. If not me, then the Starbucks. Something to make my house a worthy destination.

Product design. I am continually thrilled with the amount of innovation that Target pours into their products, or at least into their search for innovative products. A few weeks ago, I bought a watering can with its hole on top, but to the side. Ah ha - no more fighting with the faucet to get under the handle. Yesterday, a cat collar that no longer had a belt buckle design, but rather variable sized fabric that widened and thinned to provide the tension that would hold the collar on. And the collar was like $2.00. You can’t beat that.

Sinful treats. They sell microwaveable pretzels! Oh how they saved the day, and saved me a trip to the supermarket for something I shouldn’t even be eating. I suppose this is a pro and a con.

But, with all Targets, there were some downsides:

Blatant cat discrimination. I counted three FULL aisles of dog food, dog treats, dog beds, probably dog wedding bands, and only one and a half aisles for cats. And the cat stuff had hardly any selection. The half aisle was shared with bird food. Who buys bird food? Seriously, you couldn’t put that in a quarter aisle and bring in some more litter and food options?

Poor entryway design. I’m not sure what possessed them, but they put the registers right in front of the entryway which gives you very little room to maneuver your cart out of the pen and into the store. Such a simple and yet poorly made decision. Come on guys, you came up with the watering can with the hole on the side. This should be child’s play.

Lack of selection. Not to say that they don’t have a wide variety of things, but their depth of offerings in any one area is small. I am sure this is guided by the idea that what they do offer is certainly the best, but I wanted a Dirt Devil type hand held vac and I was sadly disappointed to find only one like it, although Dirt Devil themselves sell a number of models. This is forgivable, I suppose, but I have been there at times when there was only one selection of garbage can. Simply impractical.

My conclusion:

This store should prove to be a welcome addition to my neighborhood and should elate at least as often as it disappoints. Now, I just have to get out of there just once with spending less than $60. It’s not as easy at it sounds. Everything is so pretty and seemingly so useful.

So, I’m not the only one with a new addition.

This is Zoe and she has joined the San Francisco contingent of the family. Here are the details from the chat with my brother:

JBot: Holy crap. You got a dog?
Brent: Yeah
JBot: But you and [his wife] aren’t a male gay couple?
Brent: I know, but our new neighborhood requires kids or dogs… so dog for now
JBot: How old is Zoe? Where’d you find her?
Brent: She’s somewhere around 3. We got her from the Milo Foundation that rescues dogs that are going to be put to sleep and finds foster places for them…. we got her from her foster home.
JBot: Awesome. What kind of dog is she?
Brent: Australian Cattle Dog/Pit/Dunno
JBot: Hahaha

Certainly after last summer’s horrifically bad luck with our various pets, and those that have passed during this year, it’s time that we got some new blood in the pet pool. I’m certainly done with two felines, so it’ll be up to the rest of the family to fill in the other gaps.

Did someone kill the electric car? You wouldn’t know it on this bright May morning in Scandinavia, where the idea of a mass-produced battery-powered vehicle is being resurrected and actual cars are scheduled to begin rolling off the production line by year’s end.

I work for free at a garage on Saturday mornings; because sometimes, the boss brings in one of his new toys…

This is a genuine Checker cab, with working taxi light. This beauty was used in the movie version of “The Producers” AND it has an upgraded engine. More VROOM. It was just sold to one of our somewhat regular buyers, but we’re still playing with it.

One nice additional feature—this vintage plate:

Some days, it’s good to be a grease monkey.

Brenda:
How is [the company I work for]?

JBot:
Pretty boring… the same shit. Big possibilities here and there but nothing solid.

Brenda:
Hahaha they will never pan out
possibilities= almost
And everyone knows that almost only counts in horse shoes and hand grenades
Possibilities mean nothing without fruition… the world is full of unfulfilled possibilities

JBot:
Like men

1. jbot

Cold metal sex beast who stikes fear in the hearts who dare cross the line.
Also a verb.

There’s more… 

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