Hello Friends and Family,
Link to this year's index by clicking here.
Alien Life Form? |
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Okay, give up? These are frozen eggs. They were not frozen intentionally — it was quite by accident — although I'm putting part of the blame on our unseasonably mild weather (relatively speaking). Normally this time of year, Phoenix expects sunny days with highs about 110 degrees and 40%-45% humidity (I mentioned the weird weather in last week's issue). Well, the mercury is barely reaching 100 degrees and the relative humidity during the heat of the day has only been 20%-30%. In fact, people from California (which has been experiencing unseasonably hot weather) have been coming to Phoenix to cool off. I kid you not. That is a reversal of the usual pattern where people from Phoenix visit San Diego or Santa Barbara or San Francisco to escape the monsoon season. Oh, frozen eggs? Sorry, I got sidetracked there. My theory is based on the fact that the milder weather came just after we had our new central air conditioner installed. The old A/C had to struggle to keep us cool during the hot summer days. And we had to lower the temperature settings in our refrigerator to make sure things stayed cool in a not-quite-cool house. The new A/C is keeping the temperature at a constant 80 degrees — with the result that the refrigerator did not have to work so hard and thus kept its contents colder. In the case of the eggs, too cold.
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For any of you who occasionally venture to a sushi restaurant, you'll recognize that she just made tamago, just like tamago sushi but without the sushi rice. She is a talented cook who hates to waste food — and note that the tamago was quite tasty, even when made with frozen eggs. |
One of our gang is still working at HP in IT (Information Technology) and was potentially to be impacted by the new "IT-employees-must-work-in-an-IT-facility" policy. I have mentioned this new policy in previous issues — that no longer permits IT employees to work from their homes or remote HP locations — an arrangement that HP pioneered and has supported for many years. Well, the powers-that-be have decided to soften the policy slightly — so that if an IT employee has been working from a non-IT HP facility on a regular basis, they may continue to do so. Of course, all such employees must hold their collective breath waiting for the yet-to-be-announced next phase — which may cover all IT employees. So for now my friend, Scott, can stay in the phone-booth-size office in Tempe. He just can't plan for the future. Despite this dark cloud overhead, all of our gang (at least the five who were able to have lunch) are doing well. The retirees (three of the five) are enjoying their retired lives and keeping very, very busy. The remaining employee and contractor are enjoying their jobs. But the best thing is having the time to get together and catch up with good friends. |
Life is good.
Aloha,
B. David
P. S., All photos and text © B. David Cathell Photography, Inc. — www.bdavidcathell.com