What my plan was when I created the ZOT

(and how I ended up) ^ | June 28, 2010 | Lord Dagon

[Tax-chick]

Lots of that "job security" in doing things other folks really don't want to do.

Yes, that got me the position as "State and Municipal Tax and Regulatory Compliance Specialist" at my former place of employment. It's not the kind of job normal people want to do.

[Tax-chick]

Ick.

The family has gone off to do a Frisking of Cub Scouts activity, soccer-type. They took Ash and Susan (the snake). Cub Scouts are crunchy, I guess ...

I’ll see if I can bore Frank to sleep with a “Midsomer Murders” episode.

[NicknamedBob]

"I drank part of a dixie cup of sand when I was 2-3. My elder sister told me to."

That's what I like about you, man!

You've got grit in your craw!

[Tax-chick]

“She’s got sand!” was a compliment in the old West, according to Louis L’Amour.

[NicknamedBob]

"I got 'distracted' by a work-related book on "The Universal Modeling Language," which is something I've tried to avoid for at least 6 years now but I cannot continue to do so any more. At least I don't have to become an expert in UML."

Let's look on the bright side, shall we?

You're probably now well on your way to being fluent in Dolphin.

Can LOM say that?

[NicknamedBob]

Oops. Yes, she does.

I like sand. Did I ever tell you about the poem I wrote about sand?

[sionnsar]

Yes, that got me the position as "State and Municipal Tax and Regulatory Compliance Specialist" at my former place of employment. It's not the kind of job normal people want to do.

Ugh. Even to me that sounds awful. But it sounds an awful lot like my current job as "expert in [technical] standards." If I don't know the requirement off the top of my head, I know where to find it fast.

"It's not the kind of job normal people want to do." Yup. Which might mean I can keep doing this for many, many years to come. Retirement is a killer for men in my family; better to stick with something fun, and the kids on my committees look at the white beard with awe. (As they should *\;^)

[trisham]

That's what I like about you, man!

You've got grit in your craw!

*************************

Awwwwwwww. That may be the nicest thing anyone's ever said to me. :)

[trisham]

No kidding? I think my father may have read Louis L’Amour.

[sionnsar]

That's what I like about you, man!

I think trisham is female. Profile says: "Married to Mr. Trisham since 1983"

But I will ask trisham to re-verify the quote on [her] profile "Chlanna nan con thigibh a so's gheibh sibh feoil"

Shouldn't that "con" be "cur"? My Gaelic is fading but "nan con" (of the ??) does not look like "nan cur" (of the dog).

[sionnsar]

Did I ever tell you about the poem I wrote about sand?

I think it bears repeating. At least once.

[sionnsar]

You're probably now well on your way to being fluent in Dolphin.

Dolphin? That's my hometown swim-team and yes, I was once a Dolphin.

But we spoke English back then.

Dolphin?

[trisham]

I am female, but I’m not going to decline a compliment. :)

My husband is of Scottish, Irish and Swedish ancestry. His name is not Cameron, but it is Scottish, and we do own hounds.

http://www.boydhouse.com/alice/Cameron/cameron07cameronsofscotland.htm

[NicknamedBob]

"I think my father may have read Louis L’Amour."

I've read most of what he's written. In fact, just last month I picked up a paperback of his that I hadn't seen before, "With These Hands", a collection of very interesting short stories.

My brothers and my father were also avid readers, back in the Sackett days.

L'Amour is easy to read, but you always feel as though you've been someplace when you get done.

[trisham]

I should look up his books sometime. I believe they are considered classics of the genre.

[NicknamedBob]

"Dolphin?"

It's been theorized that dolphins have a visual language; that somehow their vocalizations and echo-location abilities have merged and developed into an ability to "speak" a visual scene.

I consider this not dissimilar to the ability of honeybees to translate sun-angle to gravity angle, and distance traveled into a rotational component. We've only recently learned how to interpret the "waggle-dance", and we are still hopelessly mired in confusion about the clearly meaningful sounds that dolphins make.

So when you said you had become conversant with "The Universal Modeling Language", I naturally assumed you were talking about Dolphin. What else could it mean?

[sionnsar]

"nan con"

Seems to be what's quoted. Maybe it's older Gaidhlig, or maybe it's Irish (Erse).

[sionnsar]

So when you said you had become conversant with "The Universal Modeling Language", I naturally assumed you were talking about Dolphin. What else could it mean?

I'm not aware that Dolphin was modeled in UML. For that matter I'm not aware that English is modeled in UML.

But I don't know enough yet. It hurts my brain.

Gaelic was much easier, and a whole lot more fun.

[trisham]

I don’t know. It’s certainly possible.

[NicknamedBob]

"I think it bears repeating. At least once."

Once should be ssssufficient.

Sand is a very complicated substance, you know.

S.A.N.D. ... Summertime, and the living is ... sandy.

Sand gets in the carpet,
Sand gets in your shoes.
Fight to keep the sand out,
I guarantee you'll lose.

The toddlers in the sandbox,
Teenagers at the beach,
It even gets down in my shorts,
Where it's rude to even reach.

Where does all the sand come from?
How did we get so much?
It is a longish story,
But it has a pleasant touch.

Find a grain of sand somewhere,
You needn't look too far.
There may be some left in your shoe,
There's more out by the car.

Hold that little grain of sand,
Where you can see it close.
I'm going to explain exactly,
How we got this healthy dose.

You'll see it sparkle as it turns,
Reflecting gleams of light,
But there's a lighter side as well,
If you'll hear my fancy flight.

Each single grain of sand is more.
It's silicon dioxide, Si and then two Os,
Three million billion molecules,
And here's what they compose.

The silicon has fourteen parts,
That are quite positive,
They're mated up with neutral ones,
Which has some peace to give.

Twenty-eight bits of whichness,
All mixed up in a what,
And circled round with wonderment,
That's tied up in a knot.

The Os that hang around it,
Are not just airy moons,
Each has eight bits of fire within,
And eight water balloons.

Sixteen pieces more then,
Of whatness in a where.
And not just in the sand but it's,
One fifth of all our air.

And out there in the water,
Nine-tenths of all of that,
Though you may get it in your nose,
It's not for sneezing at.

Every one of these small things,
Was made so long ago,
We think they are forever,
But I must tell you no.

God put these things together,
A blessing is in each.
If you want to count your blessings,
You can start down at the beach.

NicknamedBob . . . . . April 8, 2004