Different signage philosophies

On the drive down to Rhode Island, I noticed this road sign:

Take a break,
Stay Awake
for safety's sake!

Catchy little rhyme.

It made me recall the equivalent yet much more blunt signage I saw in Australia:

DROWSY DRIVERS DIE

Um, whoa.

I guess one look at that sign is worth two cups of coffee and a bucket of ice water in the face.

A stroll around Newport

This past Sunday was a gorgeous autumn day. Tom and I drove to Rhode Island and walked part of the Cliff Walk in Newport. It's a walking path that takes you along the ocean and the backyards of some very startling houses.

Like this humble little cottage here.


You get the idea.

The ocean was very active here, lots of crashing waves. There were people surfing (shivering in wet suits, but still catching some good waves).


The path was scenic and had some unexpected cool things, too.



The pagoda was really striking, of course, but see that tunnel over there?


I mean, how totally fun are tunnels?!




We didn't do the entire path, because the sun was starting to go down. But it was a really nice afternoon.

The humans weren't the only ones who thought so!

Well hi there!

We also learned that what I consider a "milkshake" and what most New Englanders call a "frappe" is called a "cabinet" in Rhode Island. I don't know where this term came from, but it was a fun thing to find out!

Rolling up my sleeve

I got my seasonal flu shot this morning.

No one around here has H1N1 vaccines, but I figured with so much going around this year I'd at least get the "normal" shot.

I'm no fan of needles, so I got to recline for the shot. The nurse was just glad to make me comfortable so I wouldn't pass out on her, which apparently someone had done just last week. I guess it's not so much fun for the nurses either when a patient konks out.

So, no smelling salts required. It was quick and easy. The needle didn't even hurt.

My shoulder muscle kinda kills now, though. Ow ...

A little too early for my taste

Okay. Observe today's date. It's October. Pre-Halloween.

And what is the weather outside right now?

Snow.

It's true. It's snowing, people. Snowing. In October. Which is autumn.

It's not sticking (yet!), but those are big, fat flakes, and they are coming down hard.

Geez. I mean, I like snow. And it's better than the cold rain we'd had all day. But after the not-so-warm summer we had, having a cold snap with snow right now just feels a little mean.

Brrr.

The tree outside my workplace

Pretty, isn't it?


It's not the best framed picture ever, I know, but I was snapping this in near-freezing temperatures while it was drizzling out. The "near-freezing temperatures" part isn't exactly normal for this time of year, so it was a little traumatic. So I kinda wanted to get it over with and run inside for some hot chocolate.

It's a nice tree to look at out the window, though.

Cougher's Chorus

It's quite a symphony in my office right now, as four of us (yes, I'm one of them) are recovering from the same virus and are all in the final cough stage at the moment.

Sometimes it's round-robin: one starts, a second starts when he finishes, and all the way around.

HACK HACK HACK
*cough* *cough* *cough*
COUUUUGH cough
wheeze hack wheeze

But other times, when the four of us get going at the same time ...

HACK *cough* COOOOUUGH HACK HACK *cough* wheeze HAAAAACK cough.

It's almost melodic!

Almost.