Annoy the fuck out of me, for the record.

Sorry....

You know, I almost never offer assurances along the lines of "Don't worry, everything will be fine" for those cases where I just don't know that. Maybe some people appreciate such assurances, but... maybe I don't do that because it annoys me when others do it to me. I think I'll stick to not offering such reassurances....

Mandatory charge for plastic bags in unincorporated LA county.

We've had that in DC since January. It's only .05 here though. It's raised a crapload of money. And also, provided unintentional humour as you see people juggling piles of stuff because they don't want to pay for a bag.

Sorry, tommy. I didn't mean to be brusque. But those assurances rate around with "other people have it worse" for me. Yeah, the pain probably won't last forever. Doesn't help right now, though.

Lying down didn't work. My head's too tender to let press against anything. But walking through the lobby did let me realise what it probably is--construction odours. I am going to ask to work from home, because it should ease up if I'm away from it, and I don't think it will if I'm not. So I have to get up the ovaries to ask my boss that when he gets out of his meeting at 10:30. Here goes nothing.

The bouba-kiki effect. I think I can guess the people it doesn't work on.

Good luck, ita.

Today's team meeting didn't go particularly well. My boss will throw you under the bus, tell you the bus is a helicopter, and then ask why you're being so *negative* about some "bus".

My boss will throw you under the bus, tell you the bus is a helicopter, and then ask why you're being so *negative* about some "bus".

Heh.

Although this is probably less funny for you, huh?

Eh, my warped sense of humor keeps me going.

The bouba-kiki effect. I think I can guess the people it doesn't work on.

Didn't work on me... or maybe I'm just too tired.

European robot is the scariest housekeeper you'll ever hire

As humanoid robots move closer to mainstream appliance it's becoming clear that if your robot isn't from Japan, no matter how useful, it will probably look a bit sinister.

Developed by Spain's PAL Robotics, the ghost-faced REEM-H2 service robot has an autonomous navigation system, voice and face recognition, a chest-mounted touchscreen menu and the ability to carry large objects such as packages or luggage. The company hopes to soon commercialize the robot for use in venues such as hotels, museums, trade shows, shopping malls, airports, and hospitals. But they might want to work on the face. Just imagine giving it an order and looking into that face if it malfunctions and says "No." The only smart thing to do at that point would be to run.