I write too much in emails, I’ve found. Just chopped a probably 600 word email down to in the area of 100. Decided maybe the reason that some of my emails weren’t getting the reactions I wanted was because they were too long. Too long means either not read, or read and dismissed on a technicality buried in the email, or dismissed based on plans divulged that folks didn’t want to sign up to. Get ‘em in with the light one to get ‘em to the table, then get ‘em with another light one to get them another step further.
Terse. Action-oriented. Against my natural email tendencies, but I like it. Draft the email in my usual style, then chop/cut/axe to get to the bare marrow. Save the expositions for here.
Email, haiku-style.
November 20th, 2004
Stat seen in the December/January 2005 issue of Parenting magazine:
“Most Moms say they want to lose 10 pounds - but there are 11 pounds of chocolate per person produced in the U.S. each year.”.
November 19th, 2004
Seems like, lately, an early night is one that has me in bed before 1:00 am. Looks like an early night tonight! Now just crossing my fingers that the kids don’t get up at 6 am again tomorrow. Had to tell Cora tonight that, just because I put her to bed with the statement “see you when the sun comes up” doesn’t mean I actually want to get to see the sun come up with her.
November 17th, 2004
Yes, Matt, there really is a side of Tina that’s not quite sane.
November 12th, 2004
My new favorite Christmas card: Santa running with milk and cookies….
If you’re interested in this Christmas card, or any of the rest in their line, see TriSanta
November 8th, 2004
The Washington Post’s website is currently reporting Bush as having 190 electoral votes and Kerry as having 112. Bush with 51% popular vote, Kerry with 48% of the popular vote. Their map shows blue versus red states. Blue states are basically the Northeast, plus Illinois. Red states have a bingo run from North Dakota down to Texas. Just looking at the map, Kerry looks like he’s gotten swashed with a red paint brush. I keep refreshing the map, though, looking to see when Pennsylvania, Ohio, Colorado, Wisconsin, and Florida turn colors. They’re still holding out.
In full disclosure, I voted for Kerry. Bush’s record on too many things comes up negative, and his tax cut plan just ring true for me. Folks who earn more money should pay more taxes, plain and simple. Kerry’s boundaries for where he’d roll back Bush’s tax plan don’t go far enough, in my opinion. We have a budget deficit. A Social Security morass. A war, for gosh sake. Cutting taxes isn’t stimulating the economy, particularly in a climate where the job outlook is cautious. Jobs are there, but the market isn’t booming, so you don’t have that same sense of self-confidence that you’d find something immediately, that you don’t need as much of a cushion to tide you over. So, a little more money goes into the savings account rather than into my taxes. Locked away, not to be spent by me or anyone else to stimulate the economy. No one benefits (not even me, given the lousy interest rates given our various deficits) from that money. No economic stimulation. And no social programs funded to help someone else bootstrap. Seems wrong all the way around.
Map’s beginning to show a bit more blue. Bush lost California (that’s gotta smart to Ahhh-nold) and Pennsylvania. Count’s 210 to 188. Better than watching the stock ticker scroll. No down numbers - only up, up, and up.
November 2nd, 2004
