Eighth Day Report

Thank GOD!!! the semester is over. The grading is done, the grades are turned in, and the slacker may be feeling a hint of burn-out :-)

Good things... my video game junkie son has put the DS down long enough to begin reading the Series of Unfortunate Events books. He's up to book eleven, which means we need to quickly lay hands on books 12 and 13. He likes puns and wordplay and is laughing out loud while he reads. It does an aged bookworm's heart good to see the old ways still being practiced by the young. (My kindergarten-age daughter reads a little, but mostly she demands stories be read to her. And since she likes fairy tales, I'm happy to oblige!)

Geek news: Bill Gates recently said DRM is too complicated. Just buy the CD and rip it. Bravo, Bill! I'd love to hear more like this from Mr. Gates in the coming months. Also, Linus Torvalds spoke out against making the Linux kernel not support binary-only drivers. He called such a move stupid and pointed out that it was motivated more by political than by technical considerations. You go, Linus!

Speaking of technical considerations, has anyone played with a Wii yet? My son thinks the motion sensitive controller sounds like an awesome idea. I'm a bit more skeptical. Without force feedback it seems more like an exercise in tai chi (not the worst thing that could happen to videogame junkies).

Well, Christmas is rapidly approaching. The season of gift-buying and giving, of wrapping paper and ribbons and cards and other paper products that will end up in the trash (or, in the case of many cards, in storage for a year). Of greed and gluttony and envy and more than a bit of pride and sloth. A season, in short, in need of redemption. Oh, for a savior to come into the world and deliver us from our worst selves into our better selves!

Quickly Through the Sticky Wicket

* Walking down the sidewalk to my office this evening I heard music blaring from The Hole: Quiet Riot's "Bang Your Head." It's nice to know the children are still listening to classical music.

* Finally saw V for Vendetta. I liked it, even if Alan Moore didn't (and I read the stuff on the Internet, and I understand why Mr. Moore didn't like it, and I agree with his points, but I still managed to enjoy it!)

* My ex-wife gave me all of our Harry Potter books and videos this weekend. My liberal influence is wearing off, apparently... (but she assured me she wasn't passing any judgment on me if I choose to keep the stuff!)

* I've been trying to convince the science professor here that we all evolved from a common ancestor via natural selection. He's not buying it, but it's great fun!

* Life is weird. Just when you think that, maybe, you know, just maybe you're close to something called Normal, a change of perception and BAM! you're sitting on the edge again, spitting into the Abyss and waiting for something other than the echo of your own bloody heartbeat...

Gum-on-My-Shoe During a Dark and Stormy Night

The Laffing Dragon was more or less empty. A couple of regulars bickering about politics and sports. One of Larry's girls working a couple of school boys who had wandered into the armpit of town. A local artist sitting at a corner table with his face in a plate of Al-Kazak's teriyaki potatoes (whether he was passed out again or just practicing his "performance art" was beyond my ken.) I was thirsty, like a dying lizard on the not-so-dark side of the moon, and so I made my way to where that rat-faced ex-mage Kaz poured the best Irish coffee this side of Amber. That's when I first saw her.

She was sitting at the bar, slightly slouched over an untouched drink, an angel meditating on the holy grail. As I slipped onto the stool next to her, I smelled the cheap vodka in the glass and more than a hint of ammonia (whether from the angel or the bar, I couldn't tell, and at that point, I didn't really care.) I noticed that she was picking her teeth with a straightened-out paper clip. She was a looker alright, from her shoulder-length greasy pink hair (with that wild, beckoning stripe of purple over her left ear) to her mud-caked Army boots (artificial dirt on designer-label ankle huggers, I have an eye for exotic footwear.) The smeared theatrical blood that framed her own deep brown cave-like eyes complimented the red fur-lined tank top she wore over her slight torso. Her spindly legs were covered in cream-colored thermal underwear, at least two sizes too big, and artfully ripped at the knees and calves. Over these she wore a red and white checkered tablecloth (Pizza Hut, unless I was mistaken), tied at her waist with a severed length of orange extension cord (the grounded plug hanging tantalizingly over her left knee.) Oh yeah, she was all that and more. Everything I had never realized I was looking for in a woman. The instant she turned toward me and our eyes met, I knew my heart was destined to be broken, even before she opened her mouth and began screaming.

Snow Day, the Conclusion

Long story made only slightly shorter: power came back Saturday night. Saturday morning the apartment was freezing (slacker did not want to crawl out from under all of his covers...) Put the car off the road in the driveway to my apartment. It took three of us to get it back on the pavement and I dug a nice trench with my passenger side wheels (Winter, Professor Scott Jones was one of the three... fun!)

Despite the ice and the freezing and the off-road adventures, I managed to spend a good weekend with the kids (who slept at their mom's Friday, so they didn't freeze!)

Snow Day

Thick ice, lots of snow and wind, and I've been without power since sometime in the middle of the night. Classes were canceled, the offices closed, so of course after a hike to Hardee's for breakfast, I chiseled out my car and drove in to read blogs :-)

Actually, my boss called this morning and said that we'd be working this afternoon (grading papers and getting ready for class next week), so my play time is limited.

Still, I love this weather. I had to use a hammer on my car to break the ice and pry open a door. Driving is treacherous, and if I don't get power soon I'll be less than happy, but right now I'm enjoying being a manic disciple of Jack Frost. Enjoy your weekends!