Category Archives: About me

Wonderful whistles

Posted on February 24, 2010 | Leave a comment

The platform attendant (is this what they are called these days?) at the train station yesterday afternoon held a blue flag in one hand, a shiny gold tote bag in the other, and a whistle in her mouth. Most other train staff I have seen accessorise with an orange safety vest and a weary expression of unhelpfulness. I was very curious as to what she had in her gold not-quite-a-handbag. The standard wallet, keys, tissues and a lipstick? Or perhaps lots of flags in different amusing colours?

I like the fact that the train guards still use whistles. It’s reassuring to see an object that is simple, real (not virtual) and efficient being used for it’s original purpose. I hope they won’t be replaced by electronic devices with genuine whistle-simulation software.

Brought to you by the InterWeb – toy nunchuck with whistles

I found a description of a patent for a scary toy. “A toy double club with whistle including two elongate tubular bodies connected with a chain, each tubular body having a whistle in its inner cavity …” Just what every parent is looking for – a noisy AND dangerous toy weapon.

Is life better if it’s on a screen?

Posted on February 14, 2010 | Leave a comment

Yesterday we went in to the city to take a look at the Chinese New Year celebrations. We found ourselves at a rather damp market, watching ‘cultural performances’ of varying quality. The troupe of little girls in gold and pink sequins performing cute military-style arm gestures was adorable. The women doing Chinese Salsa were less impressive. How can you possibly combine Latin passion with Chinese distaste for public display of emotion?

The kids were fascinated by the costumes and dancing. However, instead of watching the real, live actual people on stage, they kept gravitating towards the huge screen showing the same performance. They were standing in front of the stage, beneath the camera that was filming the performance, watching the screen… Why is the screen always more compelling than the stage?

We go to restaurants with televisions more often than is fashionable. I am both relieved that there will be something to keep the kids sitting still, and offended that they find the screen more interesting than me.

Brought to you by the InterWeb – Chinese salsa

I Googled ‘Chinese salsa’ and came up with this story on page 3 of the results: Chinese company makes soy sauce from human hair. If it’s on Google, it must be true.

New iphone app – Mind the milk?

Posted on February 12, 2010 | 1 comment

Before we had a microwave, we used to have a small saucepan for heating up milk. We poured the milk into the saucepan, turned on the stove and waited for the milk to heat up. I remember having to be really careful not to miss that split second when the milk changed from a calm white pond to a bubbling cauldron of unhappy calcium.

I am not bemoaning the lost art of milk-warming up. I could not imagine living without the convenience of the microwave. As an equation, “freezer + microwave = happy working mother”. However, I do find myself operating in ESMT zone (Eastern Standard Microwave Time). In ESMT, 45 seconds is a long time in which to produce a balanced family dinner.

Microwaves allow me to rush around the kitchen conjuring up meals in minutes. But sometimes I miss the excuse to slow down and watch the milk. Virtual bubblewrap has been around for ages, so could this be the next iPhone app – Mind the milk? You heard it first here …

Brought to you by the InterWeb – Virtual bubble wrap

I found the official Bubble Wrap site, set up by the manufacturer Sealed Air Corporation. Aside from the virtual Bubble Wrap game (tucked away in the “bubblewrapfun” area) Bubble Wrap had a birthday this year and, of course, you can become a facebook fan.

I wonder what lucky bubble-happy person looks after this site?

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Posted in About me

Tagged bubble wrap, iphone, time, working mother

A life less digital

Posted on February 8, 2010 | Leave a comment

I am a digital immigrant. When I started my career, we would always put a hyphen in e-mail. I threw myself happily in to e-anything. Now, my children are digital natives, but I want them to remember the old country. We can participate online, embrace technology, and still appreciate life offline.