I got a new phone a year or two ago and I eventually set my ringtone to be the song Tex Avery’s down-on-his-luck wolf character used to whistle while he was walking… usually into an inevitably painful situation.

It’s a mighty catchy song and often after my phone rings, I hear people around the office whistling it. More than once I’ve reached for my phone only to realize it’s just a spaced-out co-worker.

This morning I tried to answer my phone, but it wasn’t ringing at all. The bird outside of my window was whistling the wolf’s tune!

It’s been a while, but I’m going to be back at Uncommon Ground on my birthday, playing with my good friend Gordon Wright.

Last Friday we had cupcakes from Sweet Mandy B’s brought into the office for the founder of the company’s birthday. Sweet Mandy B’s is the best bakery I’ve ever been to.  So many bakeries try to get all fancy with their fruits and nuts, but Sweet Mandy B’s just make really fresh, tasty treats with hella butter and M&M’s and crap that you actually want to eat.  The cupcakes are ridiculous-good, but, alas, quite leavened, and thus a no-go during Passover.

Passover ends tonight, and last I checked there was one cupcake left. Let’s hope it lasts until tomorrow morning!

[Update: It's gone.]

Everything that can be invented has been invented, right? I’m sure someone’s come up with this idea, but it occurred to me again this week when it was freezing outside after several beautiful days.

Unless you have air conditioning, the most power-hungry appliance in your home is probably your refrigerator. Mostly because the refrigerator needs to be running constantly. Otherwise it would kind of beat the point, right?

But in Chicago, it’s freezing outside for half of the year. What if there were a vent to the outside (like a dryer) that could be opened and closed with a thermostat and a little fan. If it was cold enough outside, that cold air would be used to cool your food. If not, the compressor would run as normal.

If it’s cold enough to use the outside air 4 months of the year (and in Chicago it’s probably more) and your fridge is using 75 watts an hour on average… That’s 216kWH/year… which comes out to about $18 a year. Hmm. That’s not that much. And then there’s the matter of the freezer… and that you might not want outside stink-air in your fridge.

Okay, then. Forget it. It probably makes a lot more sense to just get an efficient fridge.