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I discovered the importance of paperclips in first grade. One day at lunchtime, my friend Brad gathered a few of us geeky types together on the playground and solemnly handed each of us a small, shiny object. "These," he said, "are paperclip communicators. You must carry them with you at all times and guard them carefully: these are the only ones of their kind." He went on to explain that using these special communicators, which merely looked like paperclips, we could talk to each other from a distance. The next morning, a few of us arrived at school early, before Brad got there. We decided to call him on our paperclip communicators. We didn't hear a reply, but perhaps we just weren't listening carefully enough. A few minutes later when Brad walked in, we asked if he'd heard us. "Oh yes," he said, "I heard you on my paperclip communicator when I was riding the bus." Well, that settled it: there could be no doubt that we were in possession of some powerful technology.
I proudly wore my paperclip communicator on my belt. A few weeks later, though, it disappeared. I looked everywhere, but couldn't find it. In tears, I told my mother what had happened. She didn't seem upset; she simply reached into a drawer and handed me another paperclip. "No!" I shouted. "It's not the same thing! That's just an ordinary paperclip. Brad couldn't hear me if I talked into that!" For days I was inconsolable at my loss, and deeply frustrated that my mother couldn't tell the obvious difference between a paperclip communicator and a bent piece of wire. Brad, of course, couldn't help me: there were no more paperclip communicators to be had.
Little Things Mean a Lot
About twenty-five years later, I started working for a computer accessories company called Kensington, which is a business unit of ACCO Brands—a major office-products manufacturer. I knew that ACCO made products like paperclips and binders, but what I did not know until I'd worked there for several years was that ACCO was originally short for "American Clip Company." The humble paperclip was largely responsible for the initial success of what is today a gigantic and extremely profitable business. (There is, I should mention, a school of thought according to which this fastener's name should be rendered as two words: paper clip. My opinion is that, inasmuch as the purpose of the object is to join things, it's only right to join the words, too.)
Where did this simple, cheap, and indispensable invention come from? Appropriately, the story is twisted.
As recently as the late 19th century, the most common way to hold papers together was by using a straight pin. This was an inexpensive and functional solution—and, unlike staples, easily removable. It did, however, leave holes in the paper (and occasionally in the finger). But as steel wire became more common, inventors began to notice that it had just the right amount of springiness to be formed into various sorts of effective cliplike devices. In the years just prior to 1900, quite a few paperclip designs emerged—both in the U.S. and in Europe. Some were patented, some not. There was at the time, and still is now, considerable disagreement about who devised which particular type of wire loop when.
The Norwegian Clipper
The name most frequently associated with the invention of the paperclip is Johan Vaaler, a Norwegian inventor who received patents on several designs—from Germany in 1899 and from the U.S. in 1901. However, Vaaler's clips were by no means the first, nor are they the same as what we think of today as the paperclip—they did not have an interior loop. The familiar double-U design was devised by Gem Manufacturing Ltd. in England; this clip is therefore sometimes known as the Gem clip. (Incidentally, despite the fact that ACCO made a name for itself with paperclips, the so-called ACCO Fastener is not a paperclip; it's a two-pronged brass fastener that was invented in 1912.)
Because the Gem clip itself was never patented, we don't know exactly when it first appeared. Some sources speculate that it may have been as early as 1890; in any case, it was certainly well before Vaaler's first patent in 1899. In that year, a Connecticut man named William Middlebrook patented a machine for bending Gem-style clips. Such a device would be crucial to the paperclip's success, as it would enable the clips to be manufactured much more quickly and inexpensively.
Clip Will Keep Us Together
Despite the fact that Norway holds a rather dubious claim as the birthplace of the paperclip, it played an important historical role there. During World War II, when the German army occupied Norway, they forbade citizens to wear any likeness of the king, or even his initials. So instead, people began to wear paperclips on their lapels—symbolizing both national pride and "sticking together." When the Nazis realized that paperclips were a sign of solidarity against the occupation, they outlawed the practice. Later, a giant paperclip statue was erected in Oslo to honor Vaaler—even though his design was never actually manufactured.
The Gem clip (by whatever name) is, of course, just one of many modern paperclip designs. Some competing clips have little or no tendency to become tangled with each other. But this seeming advantage hasn't kept the Gem design from becoming synonymous with "paperclip" and holding the top position by far, to this day, in worldwide sales. As for the paperclip communicator…unfortunately, it hasn't been manufactured since 1973.
Note: This is an updated version of an article that originally appeared on Interesting Thing of the Day on May 1, 2005.


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The ever industrious Comrade Obama has delayed his 17-day vacation. Once again, the Bitter Half is going ahead without him, costing taxpayers a fortune:
First lady Michelle Obama's separate voyage to Hawaii promises to cost taxpayers tens of thousand in extra dollars, as her separate entourage and hefty flying costs pile on the costs.
The military jet flight alone is priced at more than $60,000, according to government estimates. But that's only the beginning. The additional cargo flight that often accompanies the first lady on such a trip must also be paid for, as well as the limos and other accoutrements it will contain.
As she will be separated from the presidential security bubble, Michelle will require her own entourage of Secret Service protection, in addition to the staffers who will be leaving early to go to Hawaii with her.
Estimated bare minimum cost of Mooch's impatience: $100,000. Good thing for her it's someone else's money. She recently managed to spend $10 million on vacations in one year.

subset: commoncrawl


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This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2013, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
A knife-wielding, would-be bandit got an unpleasant surprise Monday when he tried to hold up a South Salt Lake convenience store and found himself facing a gun.
South Salt Lake police spokesman Gary Keller said the suspect, described as Latino man wearing black jeans and a black jacket, first paced back and forth in front of the Tesoro store at 3900 South and Main Street. About 11 a.m. he walked inside, pulled out a knife and demanded the owner give him all the cash from the register.
Store owner Ahmed Nazir later admitted the incident was frightening. According to Nazir, the man was outside crying and mentioned to another customer that he needed an ambulance.
Then he walked into the store, pulled out a "normal-sized knife" and demanded cash.
The other customers slowly moved away, Nazir recalled, and then he told the suspect, "No."
"I said, 'Man, I'm not going to do that.' "
When the man repeated his demand for money, Nazir pulled out his gun.
Nazir declined to describe his gun in detail, but said it is a .45-caliber handgun.
When the suspect saw the firearm he placed his knife on the counter and slowly walked out of the store, heading east on 3900 South toward State Street. Moments later, police responding to a 911 call located the suspect inside a nearby Kentucky Fried Chicken outlet and took him into custody without incident.
The 28-year-old Mexican national was booked into Salt Lake County jail on suspicion of aggravated robbery, a first-degree felony. He was being held without bail on Tuesday.
Nazir said he's glad he had the gun, which he alone has access to at the store. He also said the store has been burglarized while it was closed, and this is was the first time he has had to brandish his weapon at a would-be robber.
"I have a right to protect myself," he added. "If you use it right and you use it sensibly, there is nothing wrong with a gun."
Keller declined to comment on the wisdom of brandishing a gun at a potential criminal, but said that the incident ultimately "did go well, no shots were fired."
Keller also pointed out that Nazir was able to protect his own life, as well as the lives of his customers, because he had the gun.
Still, Keller described owning a gun as "a lot of responsibility," which requires training, among other things. Keller added that the use of deadly force is only legal when protecting life and not when protecting property.


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I finally got out of the house yesterday and took the trusty netbook with me. (This thing was well worth my time as a supply teacher just to be able to afford it.) I went to the gym for the first time since Jan 2nd too. After that, I grabbed my mug of coffee and sat at the cafe in the park to continue on my project.
The sun was out for the first time since forever, the sky was blue, and although very windy, it was a nice day. No snow cleats, no boots, no heavy coat. I could have done with some thermals but, what can I say, I'm a wussy Floridian who can't function in anything below 70s F.
Or rather, I used to.
Anyway, so now that the weather has perked up, so have I. Even though it's going to get cold again, I'm finally feeling that brand of hope that the New Year always promises. I have hope that I'll get my project done, and I have hope that I'll get my driver's license. Even though I failed the test again on Monday.
This time, I knew what I did wrong. I screwed up the gear changes on a really steep hill, going about 20mph. I also hit a curb. Now, if you live in Florida, you'd think this means I'm a really reckless driver. Oh no. Here, the curbs are long and jut out into the street so you have to "be aware at all times."
Yeah, you have to be aware of 100 things at all times. I'm surprised more people aren't given Valium just to handle the undo stress of driving around here. But someone else yesterday told me not to give up hope because they passed their test after after five attempts. These are people who have lived with this road system their whole life! The main irritant about the whole thing (aside from being chastised by the driving instructor each lesson) is that it costs £62 plus the cost of the lesson because you have to use the driver's ed car. I could have put a hefty down payment on my own car by this point!
Anyway, I'm just going to keep on keeping on. I'm also going to sign up with an office temp agency next week so maybe I can find a job I'm actually good at for a while. Every time I see someone praising a teacher for their wonderful lesson or fun activity in the classroom, I know Primary and Secondary School teaching is not my calling. I've never had training in things to make school fun. I asked the Department of Education yesterday if I could take any college courses to get myself more accustomed to working in the UK classrooms; the answer was, "no." Since I'm already a certified teacher, I can't take any teaching courses. Isn't that insane?
They suggested I shadow a teacher, but from what I've seen, those girls are busy as it is, and I want fact, examples, reading material, creative ideas, Q&A… I may as well go into a classroom as is, and try to fumble around to find a place where I can be re-trained. But that's what I've been doing since 2003 and without that initial teacher training, it's just not as easy to put all the puzzle pieces together.


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What client do you use for instant messaging? According to a recent study by comScore Networks, there's a decent chance that it's MSN Messenger, which lassoed in 61 percent of worldwide instant messaging (IM) market share.
Besides determining the leading IM client, the survey also returned a hodgepodge of other interesting results. For instance, Europe has more people (82 million) using IM than the United States (69 million) does, which amounts to 49 percent and 37 percent of web users in the respective locations. In the United States, MSN Messenger usage is about even with AOL Instant Messenger usage while Yahoo's IM client only trails by a few notches. One other interesting point mentioned in the survey: 14 percent of all instant messengers use Skype, but that only amounts to 3 percent of IM users in the United States.
comScore based its survey on roughly 2 million consumers who gave the company permission to track their online habits. Companies which use comScore's services consist of AOL, Microsoft, Yahoo!, Verizon, Best Buy, The Newspaper Association of America, Tribune Interactive, ESPN, Fox Sports, Nestlé, MBNA, Universal McCann, the United States Postal Service, and Merck and Orbitz


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The past two Auctions at Graceland have been loaded with Elvis rings. The one on January 7 (during the celebration of Elvis' birthday) had five rings, and the one on March 4 (during the opening celebration for Elvis Presley's Memphis) had six. And one ring at first appeared to have been sold at both auctions, but a closer look revealed they are examples of Elvis purchasing multiples of the same or similar rings from his favorite jeweler, Lowell Hays. First, here are the rings sold in January.
Diamond Cluster Cocktail Ring:
The auction website had this to say about this gentleman's cocktail ring:
Elvis' star shone bright and part of that sparkling came from the jewels that adorned his fingers. The offered flower-shaped seven-diamond cluster ring was worn on stage by Elvis as documented in photographs from the period. The 10k gold ring weighs 6.5 grams with seven diamonds, one weighing 0.18 carat and measuring 3.5 mm while the remaining six each weigh 0.12 carat and measure 3 mm.
Although they mention Elvis was photographed wearing this ring, no picture was offered as verification. Instead, a Letter of Authenticity from Joe Esposito was included to prove Elvis actually wore the ring. But the LOA included something strange. Instead of saying Elvis gave him the ring, Joe states "This ring was given to a particular friend." I wonder who that might have been, and why the name wasn't given.
The ring fell a little short of the $10-15,000 estimate, going for $9,375 (which includes the 25% auction house fee).
Gold and Diamond Lion Head Ring:
The next four rings were all originally given by Elvis to Charlie Hodge. It is part of a group of twelve rings Charlie sold to an unnamed man is the early 80s. Here is a portion of the man's letter describing the event:
At one point in the very early 1980s there was an event in Antwerp, organized by the Belgian fan club, that featured Charlie Hodge as the headliner. He was one of the very first people who had known Elvis up close to come to Europe to speak at an Elvis event. I found Charlie in one of the hallways at one point and talked to him for about twenty minutes. He was a bit shocked to hear a teenager asking if he had any of Elvis' stuff for sale, but I convinced him that I was very, very serious about expanding my Elvis collection with as many personal items as possible. He told me to visit him at his hotel the next morning.
He showed me a small black box full of rings, and said Elvis had asked him to hold on to them at some point in the early 70's and then had never asked for them again afterwards. He said this kind of stuff would happen all the time, because Elvis would go through a lot of rings and other jewelry all the time. He asked me if there was any ring I liked best, that I was most interested in buying from him. I could not take my eyes off the box and immediately knew I wanted the entire thing! Within minutes we agreed on a price for all 12 rings that were in the box. I was short so I borrowed some money from my parents, and we left with a dozen of Elvis' rings!
The gold and diamond lion head was the star of the Elvis jewelry at this auction. It blew past the estimate of $10-15 and topped out at $37,500 (including the auction fee).
White Gold and Star Sapphire Ring
This is another ring Elvis gave to Charlie Hodge. Elvis had a fascination with sapphire jewelry, perhaps because of the special significance of sapphires in numerology, of which Elvis was an enthusiast.
This 14 karat white gold ring has a black star sapphire, which weighs 14 grams, mounted above two sapphires each weighing 0.08 carat. While the estimate was for the same $10-15,000 as the lion head ring, it sold for only a fourth as much, topping out at $9,750.
$2-1/2 Indian Head Gold Coin Ring
Elvis had a number of rings made with gold coins. This one is a U.S. 1911 $2½ Indian Head gold coin. Rings of this ilk were worn during many of Elvis' hallmark moments on stage and screen, including during the filming of the 1970 documentary film Elvis: That's the Way It Is.
The coin is set in 17 grams of 14-karat gold. I'm surprised the ring did not blow past the estimate of $10-15,000. Somebody took it home for $9,375.
Gold and Diamond "Pyramid" Ring
This is the last of the four Elvis rings given to Charlie Hodge and sold at the January 7, 2017 auction. However, there are four more coming up in the March 4, 2017 auction.
Elvis showed this affinity for jewelry by wearing and gifting a hundreds of rings in the 1970s. This 14-karat gold men's ring weighs approximately 9.5 grams and contains a 0.18 carat diamond.. The diamond is centered in a starburst, which is centered in a pyramid-shaped concentric surround. With just one small diamond, this ring brought in a modest $8,125.
The March 4, 2017, Auction at Graceland provided multiple phots of the rings, but no shots of Elvis wearing any of them.
Gold and Diamond Panther Head Ring
This 14-karat yellow gold panther head ring has marquise-shaped diamond eyes that each weigh 0.18 carat, a diamond in the panther's mouth that weighs 0.20. It was gifted by Elvis to Tom Hulett who, with Colonel Parker, managed Elvis' live performances in the 1970s.
The auction website had this to say:
The ring is a stunning example of the kind of dramatic touch that Elvis was always seeking in his wardrobe and especially in his jewelry. Elvis adored larger rings later in his career, and since the symbolism of the panther represents courage, valor and power, this ring would have been a perfect choice for Elvis in his career.
Like most of Elvis' rings in this auction, it had an estimate of $10-15,000, and it did go for $15,000.
Diamond and Blue Sapphire Owl Ring
Back to the rings Elvis gave to Charlie Hodge. According to the auction website, the owl is known to symbolize wisdom and it was a favorite of Elvis', who would wear jewelry adorned with the depiction of an owl. Of the eighty Elvis rings featured in these ElvisBlog posts, there have been three owl rings.
This 14-karat yellow gold ring weighs 12 grams and has two round blue sapphire eyes which each measure 2.9 mm and a singular V-shaped brow of 15 1-point diamonds. This owl ring is 14K and has gold-feathered texture surrounding the eyes, brow and beak. It had the usual $10-15,000 estimate, and thirteen bids ran the price up to $13,750.
Gold and Diamond Cocktail Ring
This ring is another that Elvis gave to Charlie Hodge. Remember the first ring in this post that Elvis gave to a "particular friend." Here it is again:
And here is one given to Dave Hebler covered in Part 7 of this series:
The auction website stated: "When Elvis discovered a style he liked, he would often acquire several examples of the piece of jewelry." This flower-shaped diamond cluster ring is certainly a good example of that. Who else but Elvis would buy rings in bulk to give to people?
The Charlie Hodge version on this ring is only 10-karat, but it contains seven champagne-colored diamonds, one weighing 0.12 carat and the remaining six each weighing 0.15 carat. The gold in the ring weighs 7 grams. Of the three versions shown here, the Charlie Hodge had the highest bid of $16,250.
Diamond and Black Sapphire Ring
The auction website says, "The shimmering rays of the star effect in the star sapphire is called asterism, from the Latin word astrum, or "star." Black star sapphires owe their stars to the included crystals of the shiny, dark mineral hematite."
This diamond and black star sapphire ring was a favorite of Elvis' and he was as known for wearing this style as he was for gifting it to friends and family. The men's yellow 14-karat gold ring, with black star sapphire weighs 10 grams and is mounted in a nugget-style setting that is marked 14K and "Heirloom" on the interior band. The ring measures approximately size 10 with three diamonds each measuring 1.5 mm.
This diamond and black star sapphire ring was a favorite of Elvis' and he was as known for wearing this style as he was for gifting it to friends and family. The men's yellow 14-karat gold ring, with black star sapphire weighs 10 grams and is mounted in a nugget-style setting. The three diamonds each measure 1.5 mm. It sold for $11,875.
Diamond and Opal Ring:
This large white opal ring got fourteen bids, the most of any of the rings in this auction. Bidders must have liked the big size of the emerald-cut opal (19.5 x 14.5 mm). There are 40 diamonds surrounding the center stone which each measure .01 mm. The 24k gold ring weighs 10.5 grams. Elvis gave it to his concert tour promoter Tom Hulett during the 1970s. Hulett certified that Elvis wore it both on and off stage. "Opal held a special meaning for Elvis and wore it often."
Unlike the other rings in the auction, this one had a lower estimate of $8-10,000, but fourteen bids ran it up to $15,000.
Gold and Red Star Sapphire Ring
I get a kick out of the auction website that says, "Star sapphires were one of Elvis' favorites." They have said that about black onyx, opal, diamonds, lions, tigers, owls, horse heads and many more. It seems like everything was an Elvis favorite.
A star sapphire is named because it has needle-like inclusions that refract a star-shaped pattern in effect known as "asterism." Star sapphires are typically blue—but this is the less common red star sapphire . This 14-karat white gold, oval cabochon red star sapphire measures weighs 9.5 grams. The star sapphire is mounted in a textured white gold setting with two channels down either side.
There must have been many bidders hoping to score an Elvis ring without paying big bucks, but fourteen bids ran the price up to $6,875. If the winner ever finds a photo of Elvis wearing it, it will be worth a lot more.
The next ElvisBlog post or the one after it will also cover Elvis items sold at an auction. But this is a unusual one that has a Smith & Wesson revolver expected to bring $160-225,000, a diamond and ruby studded sheriff's badge ($50-75,000), plus Elvis' contract to purchase Graceland, two more guns, and two Nazi knives. Stay tuned.
© 2017 Philip R Arnold, Original Elvis Blogmeister All Rights Reserved www.ElvisBlog.net
Elvis, Elvis Presley, and Graceland are registered trademarks of Elvis Presley Enterprises, Inc.


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So far so good.
Container gardening has its advantages – like no weeding. I'm loving that! The plants are growing – actually looking better than I had hoped. If nothing else, I'll have tomatoes!
When I was a kid, our family had a big garden. Each morning, my sister and I would accompany my mother to the garden where we would weed and water the plants. Each evening, my mother served a variety of fresh vegetables for dinner – greens, corn, beans, squash, tomatoes, etc. – the only thing different was the meat. We didn't realize how lucky we were. Kids being kids, we would have given our right arm for a can of Chef Boyardee spaghetti and meatballs.
Trust me when I tell you that I hated early morning gardening. I was sure that as an adult, I'd never weed another hill of beans. Yet, here I am filling the watering can.
I don't look at myself as a health freak but I have to admit pesticides, fertilizers and genetically engineered vegetables worry me. The fact that the companies which supply the foods we eat basically foot the bill for their oversight raises serious concerns. So when I can, I've started buying organic fruits and vegetables. Maybe I'm jumping at shadows but erring on the side of caution seems wise.
That leads me back to my little garden.
I know what isn't being put on my plants…
And no chemicals makes me happy!


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The topic of quality of legal advice seems to come up a lot more frequently these days. Perhaps that's a sign of a more competitive marketplace. Maybe it's down to more discerning purchasers of legal services. Either way, the days when law firms could talk in general terms about providing a "quality service", without any proof, are long gone.
I recall discussing the take over of the mighty Liverpool FC football club, with a U.S. Liverpool fan who is also an attorney. The subject turned to Slaughter & May, the law firm acting the club, and I assured my friend the club was in safe hands, as the name of the firm is synonymous with quality and the (albeit fairly brief) dealings I have had with them in my career had done nothing to change my perception.
At first that got me thinking about brand, market perception, and the way firms communicate with clients and prospects, but a chance conversation with another senior lawyer about the nature of quality in law firms meant that this post took a different turn…..
My starting point was whether the word "quality" always has to refer to "high quality".
In simple terms, I might not want to buy a Rolls Royce, and indeed if I choose to buy a mid-market family estate car (sadly representative of my requirements at the moment!), then surely I am still entitled to expect a degree of quality.
The key point is that my expectation of quality will be different, but my perception of whether the supplier meets my quality expectations will go a long way to determining what I communicate about my experience with the product (The "Servqual" model does a good job in offering a framework to think about the gap between client expectation and management perceptions of client experience).
This raises an important point. Taking the car analogy a step further, what if the car passed a number of rigorous production line checks before it left the factory, was subject to further inspection at the dealership, and then goes through a final barrage of tests before it is driven away. If those tests and checks are the right ones, and the product met the manufacturer's specifications, does that guarantee quality?
The point I'm trying to draw out here, is that quality has both internal and external dimensions for lawyers, whether in private practice or in-house. Quality can mean different things to different people, and indeed can mean different things to a single person at different times.
For example, quality may mean technical excellence. It may mean a piece of drafting that simply can't be improved. It may mean advice that is delivered with empathy and by a lawyer who genuinely cares about his or her client. It may mean some advice that is extremely commercial, and allows a business client to achieve their objective. Quality might have a compliance angle, in that the advice has complied with all regulatory or process requirements. Quality might mean not just meeting client expectations, but exceeding them?
One way of thinking about this is to start with CTQs, or "critical to quality" factors, which is tool from the six sigma methodology that is used to start an examination of a process by looking at what the client sees as the critical factors in determining the quality of the output (I wrote a bit more about this here: https://intelligentchallenge.wordpress.com/2010/04/13/delighted-by-a-lawyer/).
When it comes to quality, I would argue that clients are not the only stakeholders. Advice is also likely to need to meet certain internal thresholds and pass regulatory hurdles, irrespective of whether the client requires this.
Another angle to consider is the extent to which quality assurance in "hardwired" into your firm's (or team's) processes. What checks or audits are made during service delivery to pick up errors before they reach a client (at which point the error would become a "defect")? Indeed do you know where errors are most likely to arise?
What feedback is taken at the point of, or after delivery, to investigate the client's experience? While the net promoter score ("NPS") metric is contraversial in some circles, many client focussed organisations in the corporate world (admittedly often serving consumers rather than business) live or die from their scores, but in my experience similar tools are not widely used in the legal profession.
"How was it for you?" may be a cliché, but understanding client expectations of quality upfront, and then asking directly for feedback as to how you did in meeting them after the event, can give hard data that offers lawyers a real chance to improve quality and to adjust/build processes to make these improvements permanent.
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Only a few days after we moved into our new home last January, we were driving on the main highway, and we passed by a hideous warehouse-type store that was painted a dull, cheap shade of orange.
"What's that?" Sutton asked.
"Um… that's Spookytown."
That's what the sign out front said, though instead of o's in the word "Spooky", there were two fiery red demon eyes. If I thought the name might scare my kids, I was dead wrong.
"Oooh, can we go there?" Sutton pleaded.
"No, it's only open around Halloween."
She brought up Spookytown constantly — whenever we passed by it, whenever the subject of Halloween came up, and sometimes completely unprompted. "Next Halloween, we'll go to Spookytown!" she announced. "I won't be scared, because it's just pretend."
She was simultaneously horrified and fascinated. At two years old and change, scary is supposed to be simple. If something's scary, you stay away from it. But here, there was this store that sold nothing but scary stuff, and people went there ON PURPOSE. My curious little girl was dying to learn more.
As someone who's never much liked Halloween, it's taken me some adjustment having a daughter who's obsessed with it. She brings it up every single day, all year round — more than Christmas, more than her birthday. The topics range from what her costume will be to the character traits of different types of monsters like vampires, ghosts and wolfmen to, of course, Spookytown.
We drove past that deserted eyesore for months, and every time, it launched a conversation. Then one day, it was gone. Spookytown disappeared, and overnight, a tile store moved in. They slapped on a fresh coat of paint, installed a new sign and dismantled the demon eyes.
Sutton was crushed — and Halloween was only getting closer. "We'll find another Spookytown," we assured her.
For months, she lived with the uncertainty of not knowing where her October scares would come from. Drew and I know that Halloween stores are the bad pennies of retail. You can always count on one showing up again. Sutton was forced to take our word for it.
Then, in late September, there it was, a quarter of a mile up the road from the old Spookytown. New Spookytown. The second we saw it, Drew jerked the steering wheel toward the parking lot and the tires screeched cartoonishly as we skidded up to the entrance.
It was, as expected, a shithole.
There were cheap packaged costumes, cheap overpriced decorations, and a display of animatronic ghouls in a decorative graveyard. Even though the store had just opened, only half of them seemed to moan on cue.
The kids loved it.
The way they ran from the Smurf costumes to the zombie makeup rack, shrieking at full dog-whistle pitch, it was like they were in Disneyland.
Neither of them could make up their minds what costumes they wanted to wear, so we bought them each three different ones over the last month. I know, we're suckers, but we've gotten plenty of use out of them with all the costume parades we've had up and down the hallway of our house.
As we counted down the days to Halloween, reports started coming in of an unprecedented storm headed directly for us. Drew and I gathered candles and filled the bathtub with water, while the kids played quietly with their toys and talked about candy.
"Why did you take down the pumpkin in the front yard?" Bennett asked.
"Because the Frankenstorm is coming," I said.
It seemed like a joke, like the kind of twisted boogeyman parents make up to scare kids. A Frankenstorm. But this wasn't something out of Spookytown. It was real, and Drew and I were genuinely scared.
Somehow, the storm that tore apart most of our geographic area left us untouched. The lights flickered a few times, but we never lost power. By Halloween morning, everything seemed normal. I put the kids in their costumes and herded them to the car.
"Who wants to go to Spookytown?" I asked. They went nuts.
It seemed like a simple plan. We'd been to Spookytown half a dozen times over the last few weeks. Why not now? I made a right turn off our street and almost immediately had to hit the brakes. Up ahead, the road was blocked by a giant tree.
It was just sitting there. No one was even trying to remove it. I turned down a different street, and I soon realized why that fallen tree wasn't a priority. There were downed trees everywhere, practically one every block. I saw one that had landed on the roof of a house, but mostly they were in the streets. It was like driving in a maze, constantly having to turn around and find a different path.
The ten minute drive to Spookytown took forty-five minutes, even with almost no traffic on the roads. When we pulled into the parking lot, it was eerily empty. A man at the door told us that the store had no power. It was their biggest day of the year — in fact, the only day that really mattered — and they weren't sure if they'd even be able to open.
I took the kids instead to the supermarket. It was open, but barely functional. The shelves had yet to be restocked from the pre-storm hysteria. The freezers were cordoned off with police tape, and what remained in the refrigerated cases was marked "Not for sale". Employees whose job was to fill up the shelves were instead spending the morning throwing things away. Clearly, they had lost power at one point, and all the perishables had perished.
So this was our Halloween. One thing was for sure: it delivered on spookiness.
The only bright side was that my kids didn't have many past Halloweens to compare this to. For all they knew, this was a kick-ass All Hallow's Eve. We decided that our afternoon would be spent watching Halloween specials on TV and having a pizza party. You know, typical Halloween stuff.
Then, the doorbell rang. It was Cinderella. She had tiny glass slippers and a school jacket draped over her light blue ball gown. Her tiny arms spread open the mouth of a shopping bag full of fun sized candies.
In my 17 years in Los Angeles, living in apartments and condos with security codes, I'd never had a single trick-or-treater come to my door. This was the first time I'd given candy to a little kid in a costume since I was a kid myself.
I thought Halloween had been canceled, but when I looked up and down my block, I saw more of them. Harry Potters and Spider-Men and, for some weird reason, a lot of Crayola crayons. (Seriously, what the hell? Is there a factory nearby?)
"Drew!" I shouted. "Trick-or-treaters! Tons of them!"
It was like the sappy final reel of a Christmas movie, where the protagonist loses his last bit of holiday spirit only to glance out the window and see snow falling or Scrooge hoisting a roast goose.
A Halloween miracle.
We turned off Dora's Halloween episode and raced the kids to the door. "You guys want to go trick-or-treating?" we asked.


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Press Releases: Government to Citizen
September 5, 2006
GSA Contract Helps Veterans Get Education Benefits
Washington D.C. - The U.S. General Services Administration (GSA) has awarded a contract task order under its USA Services' FirstContact program valued at $24.7 million to Pearson Government Solutions of Arlington, Virginia, to assist veterans eligible for education benefits.
Pearson will train customer service representatives at its state-of-the-art telephone call center in Richmond, Virginia to assist veterans who have an interest in pursuing a college degree, enrolling in vocational programs, receiving on-the-job or apprenticeship training and more. This will be accomplished by providing information about the various education and training programs administered by the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs' (VA) Veterans Benefits Administration.
"There is certainly no more deserving group than our veterans," said Lurita Doan, GSA Administrator, "and we look forward to supporting the VA in making educational benefits available to them. This task order award reflects GSA's commitment on that score and, in general, to the concept of offering services that make the government more responsive and accessible to citizens."
Overall, the VA receives on average 2.5 million telephone and electronic inquiries per year, with the heaviest volume occurring during the fall and spring. Of these queries, questions about education include the status of payments and education claims, verification of enrollment, applying for education benefits and more. With the award of this task order, the VA will be able to more quickly and efficiently respond to their customers.
FirstContact, developed under USA Services as a Presidential E-Gov initiative, offers a full range of contact center services to federal agencies. It focuses solely on contact center management services, such as telephone and e-mail inquiries, and makes it possible for agencies to very quickly make cost-effective awards. USA Services also provides other services, such as its award-winning Citizen Services Cost Calculator and Procurement Tool Kit that helps Federal customers with their procurement documentation and speeds FirstContact contract awards. FirstContact is managed by GSA's Office of Citizen Services and Communications. For more information about FirstContact, visit www.usaservices.gov.


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The subsoil investigations serve to describe the properties of the subsurface and to assess the seabed soil as an environmental asset. Knowledge of the properties of the seabed and the geological structure of the subsurface permits preliminary planning with regard to the foundations to be used and the wind turbine locations. They enable interested companies to make an initial estimate of the costs incurred for the construction of the wind farm.
On the open sea, wind turbines are constantly exposed to the forces of wind, waves and ocean currents. This poses a particular challenge. The designated areas for offshore wind energy lie in water depths of 20-50 m. Depending on the water depth, different types of foundations are available on which the turbines can be erected. The choice of a suitable foundation type is a decisive cost factor and depends on the local properties of the subsoil. Frequently, both the wind turbines themselves and the transformer platform are founded in the seabed with the aid of pile foundations.


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I'm currently about halfway through Hotel on the Corner of Bitter and Sweet by Jamie Ford, and it's both sad and grieving, but also full of hope, acceptance and personal growth. I will be posting the review of this book on May 11th, as part of the Pump Up Your Book Promotion Virtual Book Tour.
The author's name, Jamie Ford, is deceptive. "Ford is the great-grandson of Nevada mining pioneer Min Chung, who emigrated in 1865 from Kaiping, China, to San Francisco, where he adopted the Western name "Ford," thus confusing countless generations" 🙂 He is also of Southern gentility, giving him a multicultural worldview. AND… he's quite a cutie, I might add 😉
More about Jamie (Ja Mei to his Yin-Yin):
Career-wise, Jamie went to art school in Seattle to become an illustrator, and ended up an art director/copywriter. He's won an embarrassingly large amount of meaningless awards including 400+ Addys, 7 Best-of-Shows, and his work has appeared in Adweek, Advertising Age, Graphis and Communication Arts. He also had a commercial appear on an episode of The U.K.'s Funniest Commercials inspired by an embarrassing incident with a bidet that he'd rather not go into right now.
On the writerly side, he won the 2006 Clarity of Night Short Fiction Contest, was First Runner-Up in the 2006 Midnight Road Reader's Choice Awards and was a Top-25 finalist in Glimmer Train's Fall 2006 Short Story Award For New Writers. He's been published in The PicolataReview, and his fiction is online at Flashing in the Gutters and Fictional Musings. He's also an alumnus of the Squaw Valley Community of Writers and a survivor of Orson Scott Card's Literary Bootcamp.On the personal side, he's the proud father of two boys and two girls. Yep, it's chaos, . but the good kind of chaos.
- Post this giveaway on your blog and leave me a comment here with the link for 5 bonus entries.
- If you don't have a blog, email at least 5 people about the giveaway with the link to this post, and include my email address, firstname.lastname@example.com in the BCC (blind copy) bar for 3 bonus entries.
- Follow me on Twitter, and tweet about this giveaway for 2 bonus entries. (be sure to include @thekoolaidmom in your tweet, that way I'll catch your tweet and give you credit)
- Leave a comment here for 1 bonus entry, and 10 bonus entries for answering this question,
"What tangible thing (a toy, record, woobie, etc) from your childhood you wish you had back the most? What does this item mean to you?"
If you do all the above, you'll earn 21 bonus entries! Don't forget, though, you have to leave a comment on the review, otherwise… ya get nada!
And now, for the boring details:
- Contest is open to anyone, anywhere, so long as you have a place to receive mail. I can't ship the book to "The VAN down by the river," you need an actual, deliverable address… Which means, this is open to international readers, as well 😀
- Contest ends at 11:59 pm, Saturday May 16th, 2009.
- All entries will be listed randomly and numbered, then the winning number will be chosen using Research Randomizer. If you'd like a copy of the list of entries, email me and I'll be happy to send it 🙂
- The Winner will be announced in my May 17th Sunday Salon post, and will have 48 hours to email me their address or be disqualified and a replacement winner will be chosen.
Okay, so get busy posting and tweeting and emailing, and whatnot!
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