Random Traffic Through Nick's Brain

Why is there a vertical double-squiggle down the middle of the new MA license plates?

• Lend something to a friend in need.
• Have that loan come back and bite me in the a** since it’s going to take time out of Mystery Hunt for me to retrieve it.

Sorry about the negativity… your regularly scheduled negativity will return soon.

So… I’ve been lazy since I tweaked my knee last year… but mainly I’m using that as an excuse…

I have a pamphlet for Boston’s Run To Remember ½ marathon. There are also a bunch of other runs I’m considering, I just haven’t had a chance to organize my thoughts about them.

Anyone interested in running something with me… c’mon… help me get my butt in gear.

This weekend I learned an important lesson.

• I made a suggestion for improvement to a group.
• I got stuck with a lot of frustrating work to scope out the work required for improvement.
• Lesson learned: Don’t make suggestions for improvement.

Were this work related, my Dilbert-quotient would be through the roof and I’d've quit by now if I didn’t have a wife and kid.

Alternate Title: It’s the time of year when a geek’s thoughts turn to anagramming.

I was playing with the letters of Alex’s first name and noticed that they anagram to Alderon ass. Not sure this is what we were thinking of when we named him.

Sifting through the Internet Anagram Server’s results I notice:

• Sans ordeal
• Senora’s lad (if the acorn falls far, far from the tree)
• Lad reasons
• Radon sale
• A rad lesson (for when I teach him to snowboard)
• Alas, red son (for when he forgets his sunscreen)
• Dare lass on (go kid go!)
• Dear Lass, No (shortest. date. ever.)
• Dear Lass, On (best. date. ever)
• Lad sans ore (don’t go mining)
• Lad sans roe (or fishing for sturgeon)
• Lard ass one (maybe we should stop fattening him up)
• Sad laser, no! (dear depressed sentient laser, do not blow up our planet)
• Sad real son (as opposed to our happy fake son)
• Sad neal sol (seasonal affective disorder be darned)
• Oral ass den
• Ends as oral (OK. Now, best. date. ever.)
• A red lass on (better. and. better.)
• Lo, a nerd ass (eeew).

Random bonus question: What’sIB150?

Any recommendations for software to maintain a database of books that we own? Features:

• Preferably free. Inexpensive lifetime subscription or one-time license fee OK.
• Works with a bar-code scanner.
• Allows me to mark books as unread by one or both of us.
• [Optional] Retrieve picture of book.
• [Optional] Allows me to rate books.
• [Optional] Allows me to list books that I want to buy.
• [Optional] Allows me to link books as part of a series.