"I find your lack of pivot tables...disturbing."

Another workplace Christmas potluck has come and gone, and once again, my Secret Santa has chosen to go rogue and ignore the suggestions from this year's Geekmas posting.  However, full points for staying within my area of interest, and I always like an unexpected gift - not to mention that I actually now have a collection of head-shaped mugs to which I can add this sterling example of Art Vader.

The down side is that, realistically, head-shaped mugs aren't terribly practical for actual daily use, due to the challenges of keeping their convoluted interiors clean.  (Note to mug manufacturers - I know it would involve more clay, but maybe if the inside was cylindrical?)

Regardless of practicality, let's take a step back and look at the workplace potential for a mug like this.  After all, as graphically demonstrated in A New Hope, Anakin Skywalker sets a high standard for staff etiquette - not that I'm suggested Force choking anyone during the annual budget meeting*, but maybe having Darth Vader glowering at the person across the table would have a salutary effect on their delivery.

- Sid

* Come on, admit it, you've thought about it.

UPDATE: my wife has cheerfully suggested that as different people speak during the meeting, you just rotate the mug so that Darth is looking directly at them. As previously, this is how you know you've found the right person.

Apparently the answer is 24.

Pulp Fiction, Main Street, Saturday afternoon.  Okay:  no question, Dune is certainly one of the great science fiction novels, but really, how many copies do you need to have in active inventory?

- Sid

"No! Try not!"

My wife Karli and I have a long-standing weekday habit: my alarm goes off half an hour earlier than hers, at which point I get up, make tea, and feed Jaq the Cat. When her alarm does go off, I come back to bed and we cuddle for fifteen minutes, she takes a couple of sips of my morning tea, we talk about how we slept, and she tells me about noteworthy dreams from her night of slumber.  Apparently people find this to be cute and charming - be that as it may, it's what we do.  Sometimes Jaq the Cat joins us to say good morning, or not, up to him.

This morning was no exception - 6:30 arrived, I trotted down the hall to the bedroom, and climbed back into bed.  As a groggy Karli struggled with the covers, she muttered, "There is no try, just varying degrees of 'do' - that's how that line should have been written."

And so, without further ado, I would like to introduce Jedi Master Karli.  When nine hundred years old you reach, look as good you will not.

- Sid