Although my distaste for memes is undeniable, an exhibitionist like me can seldom resist one that involves self-portraiture. So here's what I look like with glasses on instead of the usual contact lenses. Or at least, it's what I looked like ten months ago, when this picture was taken.



Warning: Clicking the photo will take you to the uncropped (Not Work Safe!) full frontal version.



But am I naked? Of course not. I'm wearing glasses.

Here's a little something for you architecture fans. I've always been a fan of modern and/or offbeat architecture, and this one featured on Dvice.com definitely fills the bill. I have a hard time believing this house will be big enough for a family of four for very long, but it's an interesting concept nonetheless.

Okay, I'm a complete nerd, but I just love this. I dedicate this post to brilliant musician and fellow nerd jayceeloop.

I know what you're thinking. Me too. I could really use this, at least if they made it in a bigger size. (MUCH bigger, my friends tell me.) But it could probably end in pain and anguish.



Read all about this and several other "Products that Look Like Sex Toys But Aren't (Officially)" at OMGLists.



I might note that this isn't the first time some of these items have been identified as sex toys: A memorable gag in "Sex and the City" has Samantha quarreling with a Sharper Image salesman over her broken "vibrator," which he insists is a neck massager.



To each his own.

I hate it when I make my usual high-protein turkey and fat-free cheese sandwiches at home and then forget to bring them to work. But at least it means I can pig out on more chicken from the local deli. And wash it down with skim milk. No rice, extra meat, please.

Ready or not, my alarm goes off at 6:30 every work day morning, telling me to get to the gym. Today is chest day.

I always figured that sooner or later I'd meet my online friend ramsjb in person, especially since we live in the same city. But I never thought it would be on one of his last days in Seattle.



The very adorable Sam, who is far cuter than you would know from my crummy photo, has just been offered a great new job in the Bay Area and has mere days left here in the Pacific Northwest. Our loss is San Francisco's gain.



I'm sad to know I'll have fewer chances to have dinner with Sam like I did last night. But LJ and instant messaging will keep our friendship going until we can meet again. Good luck, Sam!

We've had many sunny but decidedly cold days in Seattle this January. But we've also had a couple of rare snow days, the last one being this Monday. I brushed snow off my windshield in the early hours of the morning and skidded my car around until I go to and from the gym.



But, as usual, it melted off as quickly as it came. Even so, it made for a pretty sight from my deck and added some seasonal variety and natural beauty.



Until the next snowfall or other weather change, it's back to Seattle's year-around rain festival.

This is just a housekeeping note: After spending waaaaaaay too much time messing with HTML and CSS, chasing down dead-ends and using a lot of trial and error, I have finally come up with a version of my photographic 2007 year-in-review post that isn't completely messed up either by the quirks of some browsers or the coding imposed by my LJ template. The latest edition appears to work in most Web browsers — or at least the ones I was willing to test. If you were unable to view it before, chances are it should look passable now. Look for it here (link requires friend status).

My last laptop, a Dell Latitude, was a cut-rate refurbished model that needed more than one serious repair in its day. It was annoying in many ways (compared to my previous ThinkPad), but at least it did the job. And its DVD player kept me company during many a sick day a year ago.



Sadly it died on me just days before the new year, a total loss. I didn't lose any important data (thanks to a fortuitously timed backup), but it meant hurrying to buy a new one before my upcoming business trip.



I did a little checking around, but when I got to Fry's, my planning and sales resistance melted when I saw the Fujitsu Lifebook. It's big, beautiful display and full-sized keyboard were irresistible. I sprang for it. (Go ahead: Call me a size queen. You know you want to.)



Here's what the new system's desktop looks like today, for all you desktop meme fans. I don't normally have the computer's desktop quite this clean, but I haven't had time to really clutter it up yet. This theme also represents how it looks on business trips. At home, the background is a lot more bawdy.



I don't exactly have buyer's remorse, but the new baby is significantly heavy and large, meaning I'm going to need to get a new bag for it. Moreover, the battery life is a pathetic one hour. And it doesn't help that my trip to took me to the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, where sleek, lightweight ThinkPads teased and taunted me.



If only computers would warn you when they were going to die. I could have used my holiday vacation to do more careful comparison shopping.



But hey, no regrets. It may be a battery pig, but my Lifebook is a joy to look at.