Gauri Nanda, an MIT graduate student, has invented an alarm clock that requires getting out of bed to find it. After one push — or in my case it would be slap — of the snooze alarm, Clocky falls to the floor and rolls away. To turn the thing off, one must get up and find it.

Nanda is currently developing a prototype and hopes to begin testing it soon with future world marketing in mind. Judging from the amount of interest Clocky has generated, it will probably be a hit.

Clocky features a built-in computer chip that causes it to roll a random distance, guaranteeing that it will end up in a different place each time. It has rubber wheels and is covered in carpet to help cushion its fall to the floor.

“My parents had amplifiers that looked like they were covered in carpet,” she [Nanda] said. “I went with it because it’s unconventional looking and gives the clock a playful personality. Maybe it’ll even make the user laugh.”

In my checkered youth, I possessed stereo speakers covered with shag, so I would feel right at home with Clocky.

But the real question, of course, is…

Would it get #1 Son out of bed?

It’s Monday. It’s the Monday after the switch to Daylight Savings Time.

I hate the Monday after “springing ahead.” I just get used to waking up in the light, and I have to get up in the dark again. My body doesn’t want to.

This morning when told #1 Son “time to get up now,” he said, still mostly asleep:

What are you talking about!

That’s about the way that I feel, too.

But, on a good note, the strawberries and roses I planted yesterday are still there. I’m a competent gardner, but for some reason I’m always pleasantly surprised when the things I stick in the ground don’t immediately curl up and die.

So now the roof is leaking. If it ain’t one thing, it’s another…

They tell me that things always comes in threes. This is three. That’s enough now.

It’s been cold in my cube at work. Really cold. I’ve asked the building services people several times to see if they can warm me up a bit, but so far no go.

Friday I was freezing. When I found myself pouring a cup of tea for the sole purpose of warming up my hands so I could type, I realized I needed to do something! And, being a knitter, I knew the perfect thing to do.

Friday lunch break was spent at the Yarn Garden, picking up a skein of Regia 4-ply mini ringel color # 5220. And this weekend I made fingerless gloves. You can see the results at right. Click on the picture for the bigger version.

Yes, I made two. And yes, I matched the stripes. And, yes, my cube is plenty warm today, so I don’t really need these. 😆 But I think they make quite a fashion statement!

I also had a big, big jones for 90-minute Beer Bread. It’s a yeast-bread recipe that really does take only 90 minutes and results in a yummy, hearty bread that’s perfect with soups, stews and chilis. It also takes a bottle of beer — or, rather, it takes a partial bottle of beer (the rest goes in the cook!). I usually use ale, but all that was in the fridge was a bottle of MacTarnahan’s Blackwatch Cream Porter. It was the best batch of Beer Bread I’ve ever made! From now on, Porter it is!

Click on the link below for the recipe. I served mine this weekend with a vegetarian chili. The recipe makes 1 loaf, but I always double it and make two loaves so I can freeze one to have on hand.

When at work, I park in a big, multi-story lot — the kind where you drive up an endless oval ramp in search of a place to slot your vehicle. Some of the turns are tight.

Yesterday I followed a guy in a brand new Audi A6 up the ramp. The whole way he had a cell phone stuck in his ear. Since he was holding the phone with one hand and steering with the other hand, he had a bit of trouble making some of those turns. He kept slowing to a stop. He was laughing as he finally parked. I wasn’t amused.

Now, maybe it’s just me… but shouldn’t a car that costs somewhere around $45K have a hands-free option?

Two days of massive spring cleaning! The house feels so much lighter, now. The big news is that #1 Son’s room no longer resembles a toxic waste dump. I can actually venture inside without fearing for my life! The transition is truly amazing. Monday we cleaned from stem to stern. Tuesday we cleaned and sorted, and took junk to the landfill, recycling to the transfer station, and donations to the appropriate places. There are still things that need to be delivered, but I can get a car in the garage again.

And the best thing about this venture? It was #1 Son’s idea! After the initial shock wore off (who are you, and what have you done with my son?), I decided to go with the flow. And I’m glad I did.

I have today as a vacation day, also, as I wasn’t sure how long the cleaning would take. Today I’m knitting. Maybe I’ll finally get somewhere on those socks!