a night of good music and dancing truly soothes the soul ...

well ........ my soul, at least.

Thanks for a great evening, boys. I needed that !

Happy 35th Anniversary to the Barcode

This week marked the 35th Anniversary of the UPC - or Universal Product Code. Originally developed to help supermarkets speed up the checkout process, the first live use of a UPC took place in a Marsh Supermarkets store in Troy, Ohio, on June 26, 1974, when a cashier scanned a package of Wrigley’s Juicy Fruit gum. One of the world’s best-known symbols, the UPC comprises a row of 59 machine-readable black and white bars and 12 human-readable digits. Every UPC incorporates three elements -- the brand owner’s GS1 company prefix, the specific item’s reference number, and a check digit - which is calculated by the combination of the preceding numbers to ensure data accuracy.

I remember the first time I saw a check-out person at the grocery store use the scanner instead of manually entering the price. And hearing that "beep" for the first time. Now that beep seems to be everywhere.

CUBBIES !

The Cubs were in town this week for some interleague games. It was a close sweep by the Mariners, but the Cubs hung on and won yesterday's game in extra innings. Our friend Kristin came out from Chicago. The amount of Cubs fans here was unreal - a sea of Cubs logos and pinstripe jerseys as far as you could see. GO CUBS GO !

nothing like a fresh berry ...

We picked our first strawberries the other day. They were pretty tasty and larger than usual, but not as sweet as they've been in previous years. I believe these were the Rainier variety. Keep 'em coming !

I also thought this photo would be fun to fool with in my iPhone's Color Splash app. I like how it turned out.

first day of summer ??

I think not. Hopefully, like the song says, the sun'll come out tomorrow.

one of the best books I've ever read ...

I'll be the first to admit that I don't read that much. When I do read, I tend to stick to non-fiction. My mom gave me this book in my Christmas stocking last year. A couple months ago, I picked it off the bookshelf, started reading and couldn't put it down. It was a fantastic story, mostly told from a dog's perspective. I loved it so much, I bought all the books this author has written. I highly recommend.

Happy Father's Day !

Congratulations Blackhawks !

The Chicago Blackhawks won the Stanley Cup last night, defeating the Philly Flyers 4-3 in overtime. The Hawks took home the trophy last in 1961. This championship has been 49 years in the making. Way to go !!

the Goonies are 25 ...

This weekend celebrates the 25 year anniversary of the debut of one of my all-time favorite movies, "The Goonies". It is a staple from my formative years. Festivities are happening all weekend in the town of Astoria, OR - where the movie was filmed. Long live the Goon Docks !

mmmmmmmm donuts !

Since today is the first Friday of June, Happy Donut Day !! National Donut Day started in 1938 as a fund raiser for the Chicago Salvation Army. Their goal was to help the needy during the Great Depression, and to honor the Salvation Army "Lassies" of World War I, who served donuts to soldiers.

Dunkin Donuts is offering a free donut with a coffee purchase. Krispy Kreme is giving a donut to each customer, no purchase required. Locally, Mighty-O Donuts is giving away mini donuts all day.

Happy Friday !