Three Panes of Light

Three small shapes have formed in the light that touches our sheer white curtains. Three tombstone shapes, but tombstones are too dark and morbid and solid a metaphor, of clodded graves and crypts and death. So perhaps they are three ghosts. But ghosts are vague, shimmery, quavering things, curvy and mystical; indecisive; wavering, as it were, between comedy and terror. Not at all, these sharp-edged, curved-top, near-rectangle shapes that grace my window this morning. The soft folds of our drapes give thin, wispy legs to the shapes, ready for silly cartoon men to take to their spindly legs and dance about. But cartoon men are all wrong on this quiet, peaceful day. The shapes of light lie too still to inspire the energetic dancing and chattering of whimsical little men. It breaks the spell. It ruins the mood. In the end, they are just three still panes of light on a pale curtain in a silent room, that captivate and cheer me... then quietly disappear.

Google Image Labeller

I am addicted to Google Image Labeler. The game has changed my thought patterns. Now as I drive by a building, I think, "Building! Brick! Brick house! Pink!" I practically salivate with excitement before I realize: no points... It's Pavlov's dog all over again. In that respect, Google's image labeling experiment is like any other game. Back in the day, I remember stacking Dr. Mario's colored capsules in my sleep--or at least as I was dropping off to sleep (just like counting sheep). I moved my toes to the music. Tetris had a similar effect.

If you have never heard of the Google Image Labeler, it's a game that helps Google identify images to improve image search results. Players are paired anonymously and have about two minutes to toss descriptive words at each other in an attempt to get an exact match and earn points. It's fun for gamesters, word buffs, and brainiacs. It helps to be a fast typist and a good speller, but be forewarned: it is addictive. Also, on occasion, the images are unsavory and even explicit. Whether this is normal random display or a case of hacking is anybody's guess.