Just one more quick rant.

I surf lots of blogs. Bloggers who put music on their blog should be shot.

Somebody asked why.

It's intrusive. It's rude. People might want to look into your little slice of life, but we don't want you to bang on our door and download your personal selection of what you think your life is, as expressed by somebody who we don't care about at midnight while surfing.

And then there's some piece of music you STOLE from somebody.

There's the general stereotype that sites with music almost never mention anyone or any activity that isn't completely self centered. Well, sometimes it's moms blogging about how incredible their little offspring is and will be. Get over it. If you're lucky, your kid will be normal.

Yeah, blogs tend to be personal and rather like diaries, but jeepers, doesn't anybody know anybody besides themselves? Funny, I don't generally hear music on blogs that require reading and thought.

That's why.

A bit of a rant on sociability.

It's the nature of our situation here in Seattle that we often meet new people in social settings. We're not social butterflies, but we're introduced to new people on a pretty regular basis. These meetings generally take place in restaurants.

It amazes me how bad people are at social conversation.

Ed and I tend to ask the new people at the table about their lives. What do they do? What activities or interests have they? Generally people answer these questions with side information that allows us to segue down another path. The objective is to get these people to open up and feel comfy at the table. Ed is the best at this, but it's a tactic I've used for years to make folks feel they're in a pleasant setting. After all, dinner without conversation is just a restaurant review by consensus.

People seldom have difficulty talking about themselves and their lives.

Within a few minutes, Ed and I let the conversation rest for a while. No sense in making the new folks feel like they're being probed by aliens.

What amazes me is that about 2/3 of the people we meet don't have the courtesy, decency, or social skills to turn the conversation around and learn something about us. When I say "let the conversation rest", I mean it takes a nap more than half of the time!

So what's up people? Do you not understand that basic social courtesy suggests you ask us a few questions? Do you not care who you're sharing a table with?

If this is how people are in common social settings, is there any wonder blind dates go so badly?

An active weekend.

Ed and I did our usual weekend maintenance stuff most of Saturday, then we went out to dinner with a friend. The friend's boyfriend was visiting from Boston and it was nice to finally meet his S.O. I'm going to guess that the age difference between them is approximately equal to the age difference between Ed and I. With 20 years difference in our ages, Ed is occasionally 'older' than I. It's funny how that works sometimes.

On Sunday morning, Ed woke up and announced he wanted a Filipino breakfast, so we went back to our new Filipino restaurant and had 'silog'. Basically, this is garlic fried rice, two eggs, and whichever meat you choose. As an example, tapsilog would add thinly sliced beefsteak that has been pan fried. Tucilog would add marinated pork. Longsilog adds short little sweet sausages (Longanisa sausages). Ed makes spamsilog at home quite often. Yes, it's made with fried Spam.

Anyway, after a heavy brunch cum lunch, we lazed around the house most of Sunday afternoon. Nice weekend.

Spoiled Rotten

I spent all day doing errands and running to the doctor in Ed's new car. We both like it, we really do. It's small, maneuverable, zippy. There's just one little thing....

It doesn't have power windows or power door locks and we're spoiled. When we leave the car, we actually have to lock it...by hand. We have to reach across the car to unlock the door for a passenger.... and we have to roll the windows up and down by hand. Primitive.

We'll get through it....

Ed's new wheels.

Ed's been thinking about a new set of wheels since he murdered his sedan. Truth is, he really didn't like parking or driving the big car in Seattle, and he hates driving my full sized pickup anywhere except the freeway.

So he's been looking for deals and he found one a gently used 2007 Hyundai Hatchback. It's the right size for him. It's a car he's familiar with. The price was exceptional and I mean exceptional.

We spent most of Saturday buying it. I drove it home. It's a surprisingly comfortable and quiet car. Absolutely no frills, but I like driving it. Ed loves it. It's his new toy.

Here are the pics. Click to enlarge.