Archive for January, 2009

Snow Day

Wednesday, January 28th, 2009

I knew it was going to be bad when the predicted snowfall keep creeping up all day yesterday. Getting home took me twice as long as usual yesterday, and considerably longer than that for Spouse.

My suspicions were confirmed this morning, when the traffic report included an incident in which a DoT salt truck was overturned.

Accordingly, I sent a message to my team that started out “Good morning! I expect to be working remotely today…”

So far, replies have included the following:

6:35 AM “it snowed, didn’t it?—and more to come today…It took me over 3 hours to get home last night and I just can’t see wasting all that time again today.”

6:51 AM “the snow is deeper than my car’s ground clearance” 

7:13 AM “the first news report I saw this morning was on location at the intersection outside my apartment complex”

8:20 AM “There’s a foot of snow on my hot tub”

8:32 AM IU Bloomington has closed campus because of weather, or as they put it “hazardous travel conditions”. Last time that happened, I was in graduate school. I remember it well, as I was working overnight at the radio station that day.

$ign of the Times

Tuesday, January 27th, 2009

No matter how much money I put into my 401(k), it never reaches that magic $10,000 milestone. I’ve done the math, and I know that at least that much has gone in—I’ve upped my contributions, transferred old retirement plans into it, and even consulted financial advisors who do not have 1-900 numbers or the word “psychic” in their titles.

This is more of an observation on what the financial markets have been doing than a complaint. Not that I couldn’t complain, mind you, but in this particular instance, I’m not.

Mark your calendars.

From a Lecture on Cervantes’s Don Quixote

Monday, January 26th, 2009

Forgive us our madmen, and we will forgive you your idiots.

Vaclav Czerny

(I have no idea who Vaclav Czerny is, but this does make me want to hear his lecture on Don Quixote.)

And That’s Why I Adore It

Sunday, January 25th, 2009

Chic is the most impossible thing to define. Luxury is a humorless thing, largely, and when humor happens in luxury it happens involuntarily. Chic is all about humor. Which means chic is all about intelligence. And there has to be oddness—most luxury is confirmist, and chic cannot be. Chic must be polite and not incommode others, but within that it can be as weird as it wants.

Luca Turin

Extinction Event

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

Author’s Note: I had to cheat a bit on the word count by using the acronyms, but what the hell.

The scorched remains of California’s last dragon oozed at our feet. Before we could heave a sigh of relief, the spotlights hit us.

“Freeze, murderers!”

The SPCS* freaks were running toward us, cameras blazing, screaming about keystone species.

Jason’s eyes were still rolling when the SPOOCs** came up over the hill behind us, nightsticks out and arrest warrants in hand.

They hated us pissing in their pool. Again.

We teleported the hell out of there as the groups crashed into each other like tectonic plates. Scylla and Charybdis have nothing on the ensuing riot.

Looked damned impressive on CNN, though.

*Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Supernaturals
**Special Police Occult & Oracular Corps

Fun with Spellcheck

Friday, January 23rd, 2009

I typed “halachic” into my word-processing program, and the spell-check spat back “galactic” as a suggested correction.

Holy Host, Batman!

Wednesday, January 21st, 2009

“It’s weird having Jesus stuck to the roof of your mouth every Sunday morning.”

Really Not Work Safe

Monday, January 19th, 2009

But too, too funny. Especially the soundtrack.

Actually, I Prefer “Your Excellency”

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

Me: It would be nice to have a formal process by which we do so
X: And that is the only point I want to make
Me: Maybe even a formal, documented process…but I tend to think that way
X: Now just hold on…you’re getting out there young lady
Me: Am I, or am I not, the Empress of Quality?
X: My apologies…of course Your Majesty
Me: Oh good..I was afraid I was delusional AND having an identity crisis

I’ve Still Got Class

Thursday, January 15th, 2009

And it’s open to the public. Hope to see you there!