Observations

On the road.

Yesterday, I got an adventurous urge. So when Janice told me in the morning she wanted to go to Ikea after work, I spent the day walking over to meet her there…and I covered about ten miles. My knees are a little stiff this morning, but mostly they feel accomplished. No regrets!

Well, one regret: I did end up using an Uber after that ten-mile mark, just to be sure of getting there in time to meet Janice. But she had to work late, so I could have made it on foot all the way! That would have really been something to brag about. Maybe next time.

Along the way, I saw a few interesting sights I thought were worth sharing…

You don’t see as many “Found Dog” signs as “Lost Dog” signs. This looks like a win-win for the dog: a household that cares enough to put up this sign is a household that cares enough to be a good home if no one comes forward.

I was debating whether or not to stop and refuel at the Seven Eleven when I saw this omen. Pi has been a little extra special to me since Janice and I essentially got together on Pi Day (March 14). And gas at the rate of pi dollars per gallon? That was the universe telling me to stop there.

Due to that Uber and Janice working late, I arrived with a little time to kill, so I popped into the local Books-a-Million. It'd been a while since I'd been in a bookstore, so these “BookTok categories” caught me by surprise. I'd heard that TikTok was leaving footprints on how the book industry marketed itself, but this was some clear evidence of that in the world outside your phone. Perhaps that's not news if you're a more regular bookstore shopper, but it was news to me.

(“#FYP” stands for “For Your (TikTok) Page.” In this context, it means quirky stuff you might use to announce your more individual tastes…although sometimes that’s a bit like the old joke about everyone wearing the same “NONCONFORMIST” t-shirt. I saw Twilight on the #FYP shelf. Then again, in 2024, that’s a more controversial choice than it used to be. So maybe that is where it belongs.)

Here are the books I snapped up, by the way…

Next: Theming “budge,” and the weirdest dictionary of 1971.