Another "madeleine" episode...

While waiting for the Internet to come back yesterday (access using my Droid X's wireless router capability was nice, but too spotty to use for any length of time), I gathered up a bunch of push pins that've been accumulating and stuck them in a little group in an ordinary cork bulletin board.

I don't know what it was that triggered the memory, as colored push pins have been a ubiquitous (if very minor) part of my life for just about ever. And then yesterday, all of a sudden I am yanked back to my days at Plenum Publishing Corporation (which I've mentioned here and here, and featured more prominently - without mentioning names - here).

Perhaps it was the little group, or the colors, or the height above the ground, or some combination of factors, but I recalled the system I put together to keep track of the progress of journal segments as they passed through the various steps in the production process, the main phases of which were proofreading, typing, art, and press-checking.

There was even a color code. Green pins for segments with no issues. Yellow for those that required attention. You can guess what color identified segments that were critical (which typically meant: behind schedule).

What can I say? The system worked.

At a glance, I (or any other member of the department) could tell where things were, and how far individual "books" were from being "complete."

This raises a question: Can this old technique still find a use in the computerized 21st century?

* * *I've just under 1,800 source words left in the current project, with three PowerPoint presentations sitting in the wings. Grandkids are coming in a few minutes, though, so work is officially on hold.

Cheers...

Finding something to do...

So often, the lure of the tube is so strong, it seems almost impossible to secure the participation of young 'uns in anything else, so today, I decided it was the right time to introduce Huntür, her friend Camille, and Mathew to the fine art of making pizza.

From scratch.

I ran across what appeared to be a simple recipe for dough in the Julia Child book I brought from New York, and we managed to make enough dough for three smallish pizzas. I made a "pilot" pie that was half-covered with tomato sauce and entirely covered with cheese (alas, a "Mexican" mixture out of the bag, but yummy nevertheless), while the two young ladies elected to create pies sans tomato but heavy with fresh pineapple.

I have to admit, I've not been a fan of pineapple on pies before this, but between the lack of competition from tomato sauce and the fact that the fruit was fresh, the effect was pretty tasty.

The translation is below 1500 source words now, and I know enough about what's left to know it's not going to take very long tomorrow morning to finish the job. I'm just too knackered right now to sit down and deal with it.

Earlier today, my eyeballs ran over the name of long-time LJ friend brenk. She appears to have dropped off the end of the earth, not only as far as LJ is concerned, but in all other aspects, too. The last information I have is that she was working on a publication for the International Olympic Committee, after which it's as if she's disappeared into a witness protection program, or something. Has anyone heard anything of brenk?

Cheers...

P.S. Trying out a new userpic, just for effect.