Jeff's LiveJournal

In recognition of unending advancement of time, and the passage of one year since the last one, I'd like to welcome all of my local peeps to a celebration!

What is everyone's availability for a dinner at the Melting Pot on either this Friday, Saturday, or Sunday evening? (We'll pick the evening that the most people can accommodate.)

update: Time is Saturday at 5:30pm!

It's my 30th birthday on Tuesday (Jan 15), but I was thinking of having a group dinner on another night instead. How does 7pm at Cheesecake Factory at the Arboretum on Saturday Jan 19 sound? Reply below so we can get a headcount.

JFC is flying into Austin for the week and suggested maybe going for dinner tonight (Sunday evening). Anyone else interested in joining?

Any restaurant picks? Maybe at Buca di Beppo?

We can also celebrate my birthday a day early! :)

Update: Postponed to another night later this week. Too cold and wet!

Yup, so yesterday was my birthday. :)

In other news, I'll be leaving for a 2 week vacation tour to China this coming Saturday with my mom and some aunts. Among other things, we'll get to see Xian (and the great terra cotta army), Guilin (and the Li River), Beijing (and the Forbidden City and the Great Wall), and Hong Kong. One of my cousins is studying abroad in Hong Kong this semester, so we'll get to meet up with her while we're there. Additionally, the trip will overlap with Chinese New Year (this year it'll be on January 29) so there should be lots of interesting events going on too.

Feral cat

So today it was discovered that a neighborhood wild cat had managed to sneak into the United Devices office building somehow. Our CEO noticed the cat cowering in a corner near a window and asked out loud "Did someone bring in their pet cat?" as he bent down to try to pet it. The cat quickly darted away and into an open conference room, where it stayed until animal control came to capture and release it.

It's suspected that the cat originally managed to get into the raised ceiling through a ventilation shaft from the roof. Then about two days ago it probably fell through (knocking two ceiling tiles down in the process), after which it hid among the cubicles. Early this morning before anyone had come in, it must have been responsible for knocking over one of my potted plants that was by a window.

How to tell if your cow is cranky

Here's some excerpts from a little article from CNN about cows:

Baker's system uses electric eyes and an electronic clock to measure the time it takes for each animal to travel six feet after they leave a chute -- restraining devices that hold animals by the neck while they are weighed or examined by a veterinarian. The slower the exit, the calmer the cattle.

Baker believes his "exit velocity" test is more precise than other methods in measuring the cattle temperament. A system developed in Colorado, for example, requires handlers to assign a value from 1 to 5 based on behaviors ranging from completely calm to combative.


When meat from the cattle used in the Georgia tests was checked, the most tender cuts came from cattle with calm dispositions, he said.

Looping cars

Finally, as I was driving home from the office today I noticed a couple of guys using the neighboring parking lot to practice driving techniques on wet surfaces. They almost put dbaker to shame!

Oh, and it's my birthday today too. :)