Thursday, June 28, 2007

Fun with trademarks

These words were once trademarks:
  • Cola (the last word in the two-word name on the red can with the swoosh)
  • Aspirin (Bayer)
  • Yo-yo (Whammo)
  • Hula hoop (Whammo again, I think)
  • Heroin (Bayer again, I think)

The companies that own these trademarks are fighting to keep them from becoming generic:

  • Kleenex (tissues)
  • Xerox (copies)
  • Photoshop (modify a photo)
  • Coke (some Southerners use this term for any soft drink)
  • Google (internet search - not making eyes, or talking about really big numbers)

I seriously never heard a "tissue" called a "Kleenex" until I moved down here.

Monday, June 25, 2007

Vacation!!!

I've got a week off between classes!!

Plan:
  • Clean my room and toss old papers.
  • Cull through my clothes and bring what doesn't fit to The Resourceful Woman
  • Cull MM's clothes and books ditto.
  • Cook and freeze, cook and freeze.
  • Make fund-raising phone calls, send fund-raising e-mails.
  • Figure out a way to be less cryptic about what I'm fund-raising for without being Googleable.
  • Read non-school-related books.
  • Do a mug or two.

Google is in danger of losing its trademark, according to the professor of my just-completed ethics class, btw. It's becoming a verb!

Saturday, June 23, 2007

An Announcement

Ladies and Gentlemen:

I am involved in a community project. A big community project. An unbloggable community project. I am raising funds from folks near and far. If you are interested in knowing more, please e-mail me your phone number (liz+at+miller+household+dot+com).

Don't be surprised if you also get an e-mail from me. I'm going to be beating the bushes!!!!

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Two down, one to go

Physio Psych and Social Work finals done. Ethics final tomorrow.

Going to bed now. Night all.

Tuesday, June 19, 2007

Whoo. Glad that's done.

I turned in a major project for my social work class this afternoon. Now I just need to complete a take-home exam for Thursday and I'm done for that class.

Physio. Psych and Ethics classes tomorrow. Finals in those classes Thursday and Friday. Then I have a week off between summer sessions.

How's by you?

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

Just a smidge cranky

Remember this post? Well, the teacher is giving folks an opportunity to make up their grade with added work on their final projects. I wouldn't mind if she'd just let people drop their worst exam grade or required them to write short paragraphs on the right answers but this is very amorphous. It feels unfair. How much work is she going to consider enough? And will it make mine look worse if I don't do the added work? It's not like the test was that hard -- pick the crunchiest granola answer and you're pretty safe. Okay, okay, I know this is sour grapes...

I like my teacher, btw, I think she's fun and enthusiastic. She's also knowledgeable and really does want the class to learn these concepts.

No one in my class knows I'm the one who busted the curve. When asked by one what my grade was, I said, "Let's not go there. That exam is over and I'm thinking about what we have to do next."
"Wow," she said. "Did you fail it?"
"I'm not going to discuss my grade. Seriously."

Plus, the advent of the red tide is making me take this more personally than I should. And it's rainywindythunderlighteninghailing outside.

Signed, Cranky McCrankerson.

I spoiled the curve!

That is all.

Monday, June 11, 2007

What we did this weekend NOW WITH MORE PARENTHESES!

  • Homework (me)
  • Super Top Secret Father's Day Gift Stuff (me and MM)
  • Studying (not enough)(Me)
  • Attempting to go to pools that were closed due to human waste and other bodily fluids (blood!) and actually going to see Shrek 3 (not bad! makes me wish I'd seen the second one!)(Me, MM, DeepVoicedPreschooler (formerly DeepVoicedToddler), and DVP's mom).

Friday, June 08, 2007

He's getting so big...

Scooped him up in my arms this morning and looked in the mirror. His head's on my shoulder and his feet are waaaaay down past my knees.

Trimmed his finger and toe nails after his bath tonight and I swear his hands and feet have grown in the less than two weeks since I last trimmed them. The feet that were so small they could wear socks that looked tiny on my thumb are now a size 12 (kids), his itty bitty hands are almost as big as mine.

MM: "I think I should have a bath every two days, Mommy. I should have my next one on Sunday, then Tuesday, then Thursday, then Saturday, then...uh oh, what happened to Friday?"

Me: "On that schedule you'd have another Friday bath the week after."

MM:"Oh! Where was I? Saturday! Then Monday, then Wednesday, and THEN Friday again!"


MM: (on seeing that we bought a new white board) "You didn't need to buy a new one, I would have shared mine with you."

Tuesday, June 05, 2007

Music to drive by (inspired by CornDog)

Dr. Dog has, once again, written a kick-ass post on music. Though I can't describe music as well as he can, I thought y'all might be interested in what MM and I listened to on our odyssey to visit my mom and step-father at their country house:

1. Free to Be You and Me. While supremely corny and a product of its time (1972), this was a favorite of mine as a kid and is now a favorite of MM's. The songs are interspersed with funny stories and, though each and every one has a MESSAGE, the message does not detract from the fun. MM's favorites on this album are the first Dudley Pippen story, Helping, Housework, and It's Alright to Cry. We always skip Girl Land.

2. Really Rosie. Another favorite of mine. Carol King sings Maurice Sendak. Brilliant. MM's favorite is Chicken Soup With Rice. He won't let me play past Avenue P, 'cause that half the album (the old "B" side) is scary.

3. Dog Train. Several bands, including Blues Traveler sing Sandra Boynton. The title track is a keeper as is I Need a Nap (Weird Al and Kate Winslet), Sneakers, Wave Bye-Bye, Pots & Pans, and Brocolli. We skip all the Cow Planets and, unfortunately, Dragon Fire and the Allison Kraus song.

4-6. Beethovan's Wig, Beethovan's Wig 2, and Beethovan's Wig 3. MM and I love these. We sing along. We Sing Verdi Very Loud, we ask each other to Please Don't Play Your Violin at Night.
MM now recognizes these pieces of classical music everywhere. At Panera, during commercials, at dinner parties. He impressed a room full of grownups singing Vivaldi a few weeks ago.

7. (groan) Aladdin. On the plus side, we hadn't listened to it in a long, long time and we only listened to it once.

8. No! by They Might Be Giants. MM likes this less than I do. But we're both fond of Bed Bed Bed and In the Middle, In the Middle, In the Middle.

What I like best about all but (groan) Aladdin is that, for the most part, I enjoy these albums as much as MM does. There's no Hokey Pokey or Apples and Bananas on any of these guys. They're good singers singing good music with (often) very, very silly words.


MM was an excellent traveler, btw, and very helpful - looking out for signs for exits and food and not whining at all.

Bonus conversation!

MM: (on seeing a car with no lights on in the rain) "Hey! You! Headlights!" (I wonder where he got that from....oh! Me!)

Sunday, June 03, 2007

Spoiled. Rotten.

God, I love my cable modem. Love it. Love it. LOVE IT.

I also love my mom and stepfather, with whom MM and I just spent a Truly Lovely weekend. Laughing, joking, eating well. Plus, I did homework while they carried MM off to have exciting adventures. But...

They have dial-up. I didn't remember what dial-up is like. It's....


It's going to my school's WebCT page and reading a chapter in a book while it loads. Seriously, I read all of Ghosts Who Went to School (a favorite from my childhood that I just bought for MM) while I uploaded my homework for my Wednesday night class. The whole book. That's how slow dial-up is.

In any case, I'm back and you folks have written far too much in 3 days.