I don’t know if you’ll get my subject line but, man, I loved that joke back in grade school. It was go-to gold for pre-pubescents who had a nominal grip on the process (no pun intended).

“Things in Australia that can kill you.”

In close second is “Things in Austalia that will kill you.”

This section is literally a hidden space in Philly. Its a tunnel under the Reading Viaduct, a rail line that used to feed into Reading terminal but now is a truncated and abandoned platform. I think a victorian-era train platform still exists on Spring Garden street. Its corpse winds through a 15 or so block of the city between Vine Street and Fairmount Avenue. Inevitably it’ll be torn down, but right now it is something of a beautiful ruin.

Speaking of which, I registered for the opportunity of a sliver of hope for the drawing of a chance to purchase tickets to see the final launch of the Space Shuttle Discovery on Nov. 1. That might be worth taking a week off to see.

I can draw a direct line between this interest and the fact that both times my parents took me to Walt Disney World as a kid (at age 5 and again at 10), we stayed at the Polynesian Resort. Something about the combination of indoor fountains and air conditioning still gets to me. (I can draw a similar line to my love of monorails.)

That’s why I loved this quick review of the “Boutiki” shop at the resort. I won’t steal any of Shawn Slater’s images, so you’ll have to click the link yourself.

WikiAnswers: What are the advantages of a saltwater swimming pool? I had my first saltwater pool swim this weekend. My god, it is a thing of beauty.

Kayak.com’s Explore feature: One good reason to have tactical pants is traveling. I mean, really, why look like a chump when traveling? This is a nice feature for midafternoon daydreaming.

They want to lick your face more than anything in the world. Your face is like candy to them.

Still, Maggie managed to hold still for a good 30 seconds, which I believe broke they all-time yellow lab “sit” record once held by Prince Bob of Des Moines, Iowa who, upon later examination may have been part basset or was, quite possibly, dead.

Nice shot Julia.

I’ve been thinking about doing this for some time now, ever since I first heard that Donald Rumsfeld used one, not that I plan to model myself off of Rumsfeld. The truth is, my job involves a lot of staring at the computer, which is a lot like most jobs nowadays. Unless I’m off to meetings, where I then sit, I’m not moving around much at all during the workday. Add the fact that I’m no longer biking into the office, and this means more expandable-waist khakis in the near future.

Of course, the danger here is that, as the new guy, everyone will think I’m nuts, no matter how many times I send around links to stories about the benefits of standing desks. But people have questioned my sanity in the past. I’m not terribly worried.

I explain it to folks this way, not only is standing healthier for you, people tend to think better on their feet. I have always stood while making phone calls, it is just easier for me to think that way…and yes, I tend to wave my arms a bit. After a few hours in a chair, I begin to feel tired, dull and stupid. That’s just how it is. For me at least.

Already I have found that typing is just as comfortable while standing. I’ve also taken off my shoes so that I can bounce on the balls of my feet when I feel the need to stretch a bit. Of course, this means I’ll have to be more attentive to the holes in my socks…and I probably should buy an air freshener…

The desk in question is by Safco (here), and it was entirely up to the facilities people. There was discussion of building a shelf or an adjustable arm, but a new desk was likely the best solution.

Truth be told, it wobbles a bit when I start typing, which is due, in part, to the inherent bounciness of keyboard trays. They facilities folks will be screwing it to a cleat in the wall for more stability, but I have a feeling I’ll need to take the keyboard off the tray and a put it in front of the iMac for comfort as well.

Here’s a picture of the setup from earlier this morning:

I think I’m going to need to put together a little arm or shelf to hold my phone.

Next, of course, is installing a treadmill.

This is the sort of thing that replenishes my faith in humanity.

From right to left: Bella (sans head), Greta and Karch (judging your soul).

“You know, Karch, like the volleyball player,” the owner said. Um, sure. Let’s go with that.