Double Dipping - Science Made Me Bland

Yes it is a double blogging feature. Twice the entertainment for the price of one! I figure since I havent blogged in almost two months it is only right I try to get right with my blogging regimen. I was actually starting to develop a following when I fell off the face of the blogging earth. Folks would undoubtedly come to my blog, anxiously awaiting the next chapter in my rambling saga only to notice I hadnt written a thing. The next time they came and noticed there was nothing new, maybe they read the archives or re-read a favorite from months gone by. Then, eventually they stopped coming, assuming (correctly I might add) that I had once again been too lazy or too busy or just otherwise occupied to write in my blog. Well I am back for now, tonight anyway so enjoy.

Not long ago I wrote about smoking in Ohio, we have that infernal smoking ban. You know the one where the government tells me I cant participate in a legal activity in a public building. Well I made an analogy to things other people do in public that I dont like but you dont see the government legislating against it. One of those things is heavy perfume on a woman (or man but it seldom happens with men). There is that woman in the check out line at the store, on her cell phone, trying to fish out her debit card to purchase her groceries and I can smell her perfume two aisles away. Or the woman that walks by briskly and leaves a pool of thick perfumed air so thick you can swim in it.
I recently started a new job, there is a patio outside where us smokers are relegated on our break. There arent many smokers so it was several days before I found a couple. One of the smokers was a woman with that heavy perfume! It was so thick I could taste it and we were outside. Now I know my smoking numbed taste buds should be pretty immune to such things as scented air but I could literally taste her stinky perfume. I moved about 20 feet away down a little path to avoid her scent and enjoy my smoke, when I decided to see how close I could get before it was intolerable. I nonchalantly inched closer till I was a mere 15 feet away, that was the threshold, 15 feet, before my eyes started watering and I had to gag.
So those of you who dont smoke, remember that there are things out there worse than cigarette smoke, how about half a bottle of Charlie!?

Please visit our snack bar, where we offer a wide variety of delicious snacks and drinks. Dont forget the popcorn. Now for our second feature.

My new job is with a non profit organization that deals with the wide and varied world of ceramics. There is the art side we all know and love. A world of brightly colored cups and bowls and vessels and things. Then there is the hard working end of the business, heat tiles for the Space Shuttle and ceramic semi-conductors etc. I work on the website for this organization and it is in the middle of a huge re-design. We are using nice colors, some rounded edges and bright but tasteful design elements. The hue and cry in our design meetings always comes down to the same thing. The argument is made that "our target audience doesnt like style and design". The logic is they are doctors and scientists and professors and they dont care for all the bright colors and design. Today I acknowledged this fact by saying these people remember the LYNX browser. You know, the pre Al Gore internet with no images and just text. The quick reply from my boss was, "Yes they not only remember LYNX but they liked it!". Too bad, I am going to bring them kicking and screaming into the light.