It's the little things...

I did something today that wound up making a huge difference with respect to my ability to enjoy our house.

Since we moved in (about 2 1/2 years ago), there has been 1 window in our bedroom that just didn't quite shut correctly. I never spent a lot of time looking into it and just figured that it was one of the quirks of having an older house.

But this morning, as I was working from home, it started bugging me. Mainly because I could hear the kids at the nursery a few houses down and I couldn't concentrate...but also because I just knew that I hadn't figured out the mystery window yet. And solving that mystery could result in lowering the noise level...

So I went over to the window and started poking around. The bottom pane was all the way down, but wouldn't line up with the top pane which meant that it wouldn't close and lock. Why wouldn't this shut!? I opened the bottom pane to see if there was anything obstructing it....nope.

I kept looking around the casing of the window and then voila - perhaps the easiest home fix that I've ever done: I realized that the top pane of the window was open about an inch. What!?!?!

To be completely honest, I didn't even know that the top panes of the windows opened in that room. So I pushed up on the top pane and was able to finally close the window.

That freakin' window has been open an inch for the past 2 1/2 years. Letting in noise and air and who knows what.

But the moment I closed that window - immediate relief. No more noise. No more drafts. Amazing.

Yes, I am bragging about my own stupidity. It's great.

Insight into Iraq

There are a lot of stories from the war in Iraq that get glossed over, since mainstream media tends to focus on what goes wrong vs. what goes right.

I saw this article on Slate today, a 5 part series on "Searching for Saddam". After reading the first installment today, I'll be tuning in to see what comes next.

Some interesting "behind the scenes" type info on how out military gathered intelligence, sorted through tribal social networks, and eventually came to find one of the most-wanted men in the world at the time.

Searching for Saddam: A five-part series on how the U.S. military used social networking to capture the Iraqi dictator

Enjoy!

Go Scotties!

We have 2 Scottish Terriers, so you can imagine how they were each beaming with pride as I told them today that their long lost relative Sadie just won Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club. They were overjoyed...and slightly envious of Sadie's dashing haircut.

The details, provdied by Good Morning America: Sadie Scores! Scottish Terrier Takes Best in Show at Westminster

Out of hibernation

I know it's been forever since I've posted anything, but I saw this on the news today and thought it was worth getting the word out:

Courtesy of USA Today:

Snowboarders have a reputation of being a bit flaky, so when U.S. snowboard cross racer Graham Watanabe told reporters Wednesday that his second Olympic appearance was like "Pegasus mating with a unicorn and the creature that they birth I somehow tame it and ride it to the sky and clouds and sunshine and rainbows," the quote seemed almost too good to be spontaneous.

Not so, Watanabe said later, "It came from my heart." -- Sal Ruibal

That is one excited snowboarder.