tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-77045812024-01-31T02:57:11.658-05:00I attribute many of the good things in my life to accident. Or perhaps I should credit "divine order," as one sage would put it. This page is full of happy accidents.Omarihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.comBlogger69125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1115345615313051922005-05-05T22:12:00.000-04:002005-05-06T10:32:40.606-04:00

The Center for Serendipity has MOVED!! All my new posts will go to the new site...check out:http://cfs.smileystation.com/There you'll find the first new post about futuristic television programs...Soon I will import all the old posts from Blogger to the new site...

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1114836152480916202005-04-30T00:40:00.000-04:002005-04-30T00:44:12.790-04:00

Blogger hasn't been the most reliable place in the last several weeks, and now I have a better option available. Soon I will move the blog to:http://cfs.smileystation.comBut for now it stays on Blogger. Even so, you can update your bookmarks now: cfs.smileystation.com currently points to Blogger. Of course I will have it point to the Center for Serendipity's new home after I move it.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1114483113811899212005-04-25T22:20:00.000-04:002005-04-25T22:38:33.813-04:00

Occasionally I have a great, eye-opening event in my life when I say with awe and wonder: "I did not know that!" Typically following this realization is a new period of discovery and understanding of something in our world.I recently have had such an "I did not know that!" moment which has caused me to learn a great deal about the way people with disabilities access the World Wide Web. Previously

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1112838944744756462005-04-06T21:55:00.000-04:002005-04-06T22:24:55.343-04:00

A question that has surfaced with some frequency in the mass media lately is: are bloggers journalists? Cynthia Webb says she discussed "whether (or which) bloggers are journalists" at the Harvard Law School.Being a lawyer myself, I'm not surprised that people at Harvard Law School would ask such a silly question. Even though law school purports to teach us how to ask the right questions, lawyers

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1112663175118780592005-04-04T20:46:00.000-04:002005-04-04T21:06:15.120-04:00

If your ears are observant when you visit the cinema, you will surely recognize these two sounds even though you likely do not know exactly where they come from.The first sound is the call of the red tailed hawk. (Visit that link and click on "Play sound from this species" to hear it.) This is the standard sound used in the movies to indicate someone is in a forlorn wilderness. One might hear it,

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1112066939246002282005-03-28T21:58:00.000-05:002005-03-28T22:28:59.253-05:00

I grow weary (yet indignantly energized) when someone in the press suggests (L.A. Times editorial; visit www.bugmenot.com for login) that the U.S. has no energy policy. They point to $50 a barrel oil, $2 a gallon gasoline, and say, "we have no energy policy! This must change!"I roll my eyes. Of course we have an energy policy, silly! It's called conquering Iraq! That country is second in oil

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1112040750138450342005-03-28T15:10:00.000-05:002005-03-28T15:13:59.523-05:00

I used to think that people who wore tight clothes when they went to the gym or out running were only doing so to show off their bodies. Certainly this is a benefit of their apparel that I can appreciate, and for many folks donning tight gear it may be a motivating factor--even a primary one.But I have since learned that there are much more practical reasons to don tight or skimpy clothes for

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1112037641453524642005-03-28T14:18:00.000-05:002005-03-28T14:20:41.456-05:00

Awhile ago in the supermarket I spotted a new product on one of those tipsy cardboard displays: Jack Daniels Mustard.At first the appearance of such a product puzzled me. Who would buy a mustard because of the Jack Daniels name? It’s not as though the expertise required to make whiskey is somehow transferable to mustard.Upon further reflection I figured that perhaps Jack Daniels mustard was there

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1111955486241879132005-03-27T15:29:00.000-05:002005-03-27T15:31:26.243-05:00

Today is quite a dreary one outside. A thick grey sheet covers the sky, and some cars have on their headlights.I like sunny days, but dreary ones are nice too. I'm so content to be inside my nice warm home, writing or cleaning or cooking. Sun brings me outside, while clouds bring me home.

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1111955301612759592005-03-27T15:17:00.000-05:002005-03-27T15:32:39.416-05:00

I love all of nature's seasons. Just when I'm starting to get tired of one, another comes along. Every season has signs that herald its arrival, to wit:Spring buds on the trees crowds of tourists returning to Washington Union Station, aboard both trains and tour buses talk of baseball the ice cream man returns to the streets of Glenmont ("Hello!") Summer Memorial Day barbeques the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1111630249420945812005-03-23T20:47:00.000-05:002005-03-23T21:10:49.423-05:00

Yesterday I took a trip to Whole Foods Market, a place that bills itself as the "world's leading natural and organic foods supermarket." This is a remarkable supermarket in many ways, including in its decor. The entire store (including the floors) is decorated in earth tones. Though I would expect this to look dirty, they instead make it look pleasantly earthy.Matching this earthy decor are the

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1111233854933843552005-03-19T06:44:00.000-05:002005-03-19T07:04:14.936-05:00

Recently I read a book about plastic surgery. The author, a surgeon himself, says that women have a much higher tolerance for pain than men. He can perform extensive operations on women--sucking their fat out, stretching their faces, blasting their skin with lasers--and the women will suffer through the experience with little complaint. Men, on the other hand, will come into his office whining

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110830800833462502005-03-14T14:57:00.000-05:002005-03-14T15:11:21.276-05:00

The most soothing part of my morning is my train ride in to work. It gives me about fifteen minutes during which I can sit and do pretty much nothing.I have noticed that the nature of my ride varies considerably depending upon where I sit. I feel most separated from my immediate surroundings in the train car, and most connected with the world whizzing past outside the train, if I sit directly

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110830021890514842005-03-14T14:26:00.000-05:002005-03-14T22:20:55.323-05:00

About eight months ago, I terminated my subscription to the Washington Post. This ended a habit I had been engaged in for over fifteen years: a daily date with a bundle of newsprint.The biggest single reason I cut the newspaper was because it started my day on a sour note. Generally I would awaken, stumble out to the front door, and begin my day with a dose of headlines. Not an uplifting start to

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110762857126657022005-03-13T20:01:00.000-05:002005-03-13T20:14:17.126-05:00

Must advertisements and their relentless message to consume, consume, consume pervade our daily lives? Examples of advertisement proliferation abound: stickers bearing advertisements placed upon bananas in the grocery store. I suppose this is regarded as particularly effective as I remember reading that Wal-Mart ascertained that bananas are the single most common item in a grocery cart. the "

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110723147129908062005-03-13T08:52:00.000-05:002005-03-13T09:12:27.133-05:00

A few days ago, an acquaintance from work invited me to a party at her home. She told me it was a "pampered chef" party. Having no idea what this was or that it was a brand name, I was naive enough to think that I would be, well, "pampered" with good food. I was honored--as I always feel when I'm invited to someone's home for social purposes--and I accepted the invitation. The day before the

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110509588740834052005-03-10T21:52:00.000-05:002005-03-10T21:53:08.873-05:00

"Come on, tell me I'm not Kramer."--television character on SeinfeldI am Omari Norman.I am not sure exactly what makes me Omari. Many elements comprise my identity. My name (first and last) is part of it. So is my past. My likes, dislikes, and passions are a big part of my identity. My body is also a key part of who I am. Even so, though, I have a difficult time explaining exactly what my "

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110298023604947962005-03-08T10:59:00.000-05:002005-03-08T11:07:03.606-05:00

The "open door" and "close door" buttons inside elevators are too difficult to distinguish in fleeting moments. I think they need to be color coded.Often at work, someone will rush up to the elevator just as the doors are closing. If a person inside the elevator is quick witted and notices the elevator-catcher, she will quickly reach for the buttons to manipulate the doors. (Which button she

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1110236720636549932005-03-07T17:37:00.000-05:002005-03-07T18:05:20.643-05:00

Now that I have graduated from a high school and two institutions of higher education, I understand why people give money to their alma maters. Of course, a big reason for donations is a desire to be charitable and to help the institution that has helped you along in life. But part of what drives donations is a selfish desire to bolster the value of one's degree.Quite simply, the better a

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1109945729519085952005-03-04T09:07:00.000-05:002005-03-04T09:15:29.520-05:00

Have you ever heard that Waylon Jennings song, "Luckenbach, Texas (Back to the Basics of Love)"? If not, this post will be completely lost on you, but you can hear a clip of it here.I can perfectly imagine George W. Bush saying, "Let's go to Luckenbach, Texas." Perhaps he would be at a summit of world leaders. At the end, all the leaders start discussing where to have their next summit. Bush says

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1109890455116489702005-03-03T17:28:00.000-05:002005-03-03T20:04:01.983-05:00

I love escalators.It is quite likely that I use escalators much more than the average American does. Every work day, I make a total of six trips on escalators as part of my commute on Metrorail. One of my stations has one escalator ride, while the other has two. (Certainly there are Metrorail commuters who use escalators even more than I do, as trips through some stations entail rides on three or

Anonymousnoreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1109816282690528602005-03-02T20:52:00.000-05:002005-03-02T21:40:25.746-05:00

One of my "midweek sorties" (as I like to call them) to the grocery store reminded me that all is not what it seems when you're looking at the supermarket shelf.First, take a look at the following product:Doesn't this look like candy? Just open up that bag, and there are some yummy mints inside...actually no, this is dishwasher detergent. Another funny thing about it is that the user does not

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1109641232376150342005-02-28T20:22:00.000-05:002005-02-28T20:40:32.376-05:00

I'm from Denver, where snow is a routine occurrence. One would not know this from watching Denver newscasts, which always feature hatless reporters standing in the middle of snowstorms in front of a road, imploring everyone to drive more slowly. Despite the idiocy of Denver television news, snow is common there--certainly compared to snow in Washington, D.C. Denver snow must accumulate to several

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1109368672160738132005-02-25T16:20:00.000-05:002005-02-25T16:58:46.513-05:00

"I'm Not Really Here"--title of a Tim Allen book"I was ensconced!"--"George Costanza" of the television program SeinfeldI am often amazed at people's ability to ensconce themselves in their own private worlds, even when they are in very public places. This ensconcement can be so effective that people do not notice things I'd think are obvious--such as the presence of other human beings.This

Anonymoushttp://www.blogger.com/profile/17244888533502850619noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-7704581.post-1109366010999530262005-02-25T16:05:00.000-05:002005-02-25T16:13:31.000-05:00

This afternoon I called to schedule an appointment for an eye exam. This is my first eye exam since I enrolled in this health plan, so finding a doctor involved playing roulette with the list of optometrists on my plan's Web site. I found a doctor close to my office, so I gave her a call."I need an appointment for an eye exam," I said. The swift and immediate response: "what kind of insurance do

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