shawnbakken.net

The internet! The entire world is open to me with the click of a mouse or the tip of my finger. Thanks, Google.
Google. When you’re about to make a joke, do a quick fact check and find out what you were going to joke about isn’t true… thanks, Google.
Fact checking. (See: 1 and 2 above.)
Work breaks. Taking fifteen minutes away from staring at the computer screen on my desk and spending all of it staring at the screen on my phone… sure, why not?
Comfy chairs on wheels. After fifteen minutes on my phone, I head back to my desk, roll out the chair, plop down into comfort, then roll myself into position to stare at the computer screen for a few more hours.

Rainbows. A few weeks ago, I was outside in a sun shower. The combined sun and moisture created a bright, vivid rainbow that had all the colors in it. And you could also see the other end of the rainbow, though it was much dimmer. Which made me wonder… does the brightness of the rainbow indicate something about the pot of gold at the end of it? Is it bigger? Fuller? Does the leprechaun at the dimmer end suffer from “pot of gold envy”?
Steak. It’s what’s for tonight’s dinner.
Naps. When you’re tired, they’re a great way to recuperate. I enjoyed one this weekend; I could have used one today.
Podcasts. I need to find more good ones because they’re really good at helping the time pass during the day. I like audiobooks, but I can’t follow the plot and do my work effectively at the same time.
Audiobooks. Much better for listening while doing chores or taking long roads trips.
1.5x speed. Sure, it makes people’s voices higher-pitched, but I like being able to finish an hour-long podcast or audiobook in just 40 minutes.

Can I use “Sunshine” again? No? Hmmm…

Beautiful summer weather. I went back to the park today with Teresa and the pups and it was gorgeous outside. Upper 70s, a light breeze, almost no bugs and plenty of sunshine. (See what I did there?)
Taco salad. It’s what’s for lunch.
Nachos. It’s what’s for dinner.
Sandals. Good footwear for summer and you can wear them in the lake when there’s lots of rocks.
Skipping rocks. A fun activity when standing in the lake with your sandals. Sure, sometimes you get one skip and ker-PLUNK, but sometimes you can get a rock that skips a bunch of times, then almost skids along the surface of the water for a bit before dropping out of sight. (Not surprisingly, those are my favorite.)

Can I say “Sunshine” again? Well, I’m going to anyway. #1 is Sunshine.
Serenity Shore/Good Templar Park. (The latter is what I grew up with, the former is its current name.) I got to spend a good chunk of my day up there today, cool and peaceful with plenty of sunshine. (See: #1.)
“Worms in dirt”. A yummy dessert made with chocolate pudding, crumbled Oreos and gummi worms. Or in today’s case, pudding cups with two whole Oreos. And gummi worms.
Monarch butterflies. One of the recent developments at the park is a monarch waystation, a small garden area with a bunch of flowers, cattails… it’s a place for monarchs to stop and rest while they’re migrating. No butterflies there today, but I did see two bumblebees visiting the flowers over and over again.
Bumblebees. Yay for spreading nectar! And for giving your name to the VW bug from Transformers!

Sunshine. Sitting outside during work breaks, absorbing the warmth and increasing my body’s production of Vitamin D.
Dog Day Getaway. The formal name for “doggie daycare”, where we drop off Berkley and Sophie some days instead of leaving them in the kennel while we’re at work.
Waking up without an alarm. Waking up naturally, then realizing that the alarm didn’t make any noise 45 minutes ago… still got out of the house on time this morning.
Spinach artichoke dip. The manager at work made a great batch and brought it to a potluck… I got some of what was left with chips and it was really yummy.
Smashburger. Burgers, crispy chicken sandwiches, cobb salad with a burger in it, Smashfries, Smash tots… also really yummy.

My cell phone. I can use it to find places with a GPS, play games, surf the Internet, check out Facebook and YouTube… oh, and it makes phone calls, too.
The WordPress app. I used to need to be at home, boot up my laptop, open up a web browser… an extensive process that now simply requires using my phone for non-calling purposes.
Mountain Dew. It’s yummy and helps me get through the workday.
Caffeine. The reason Mountain Dew helps me get through the workday.
Water. Because it’s important to drink more than just Mountain Dew. (Many years ago, I was hiking through the mountains of Philmont Scout Reservation in New Mexico with my Scout troop and I kept a journal. At one point, I wrote at the top of the page “Hydrate or die!” An important public service announcement from your local Assistant Scoutmaster.)