Boxes are for sleeping

There is still a bit of unpacking and organizing and optimizing to be done in other parts of the house, but in terms of actual stacks of boxes, we are down to just one final stack, in Luther's and my bedroom.



The Simplicity-cat is not, strictly speaking, allowed in our bedroom, so she has to sneak... but in the absence of any other tall stacks of boxes, she just had to get in there, clearly!



And, for perhaps no other reason than to prove (after that last photo) that I can at least sometimes take a photo that is in focus... Here's something that Luther brought home from the beach one morning:



I am reminded that we have yet to find a really good sushi restaurant here. We may have to go all the way to Tampa! That, or... fish more of these fellows out before they make it to an unhealthy beach landing.

Dark Knight and paying for college

I haven't seen The Dark Knight yet. I loved Batman Begins like there was no tomorrow --it rocked. So I've been looking forward to the next installment. As usual, though, I've been avoiding reading too much of the hype.

Today I saw, via Google News, a headline that (for once) suggested not everybody loved The Dark Knight. There is, after all, a LOT of hype, and apparently a critical reception is considered unwelcome by fans. The critic in question is one David Edelstein. So I thought, "Let's see what he said about the first movie, Batman Begins."

I looked it up. Here's one of his reviews: A Dark and Stormy Knight. As much as I really dug the movie, I'd have to say I agree with his critique --and with where he praised the movie. The beauty was in the character. Well, what the hell do you do with a sequal in that case? You can't do the same thing --because then the character isn't growing. But you can't ignore the character altogether, or invent some easy new conflict, because then it's fake. How do you inject the same kind of emotional realism?

I am guessing The Dark Knight failed. And for me, a crazy bad guy doesn't make a movie. (I will note that I understand others will love it. Lots of people are enamored of crazy bad guys. Great.) I look forward to seeing it, nonetheless.

In the meantime, Luther and I are navigating the world of student finances. Wil starts college in August, and we are paying. Heck, we're paying through the NOSE. Florida is quite strict about residency --not surprising, really, given the number of people who could claim to be residents based on a grandparent or real estate investment. You have to be able to prove you've lived here for a full year before you will be allowed to pay the regular in-state tuition. We moved here in the spring, and we're going to have to pay out-of-state tuition. Wil's first year is going to cost about three times what his second year will cost, isn't that nice?

It is an interesting process. We are leaving no stone un-turned. We are recognizing what a boon this would be to somebody who had nothing (we're not eligible for grants and "forgivenesses" and so forth, because despite being broke as hell, we have too much... but others are not so fortunate as we). I am really freaked about how probably most truly poor people never learn of all these opportunities that are available to them, however. I know from experience that the less you have, the less people talk to you. There's money there, for somebody that is willing to really commit to education. But boy oh boy, it's all phrased in language that is inaccessible to those who don't already have that education. Watching Wil stare blankly at some of this crap is only a reminder --he already knows more than most.

What we'll be doing is taking out student loans, which Luther and I will later pay. I get to defer my panic about my own lack of any kind of retirement plan. Well, actually, it's fine: The plan remains the same. I must die first. That is all.

Life. She continues to be amusing.

The curtain came out great!

Wetwork

Here we are in July already, and Luther's son is due to join us in just a few days. This means the pressure is on, now, to get some non-functional things functional. This includes somewhat unfortunate changes to one of the nicest rooms in the house: the main bathroom. This lovely little house has been perfectly set up for a couple whose children are grown up and out, and in Luther's case the "up and out" is only 50% complete at this time. The other 50%... is going to need to take a shower now and then, and the beautiful main bathroom is only set up for baths.

Normally, not a big deal. Who hasn't added a shower head to a bath before?! But in this case, there's also NO TILE. Yup, that's right. Oh yes, and there's the added factor that our old house still hasn't sold... so money is even tighter than usual.


Nice, isn't it?

Because of the window, we had already decided not to tile. We'd thought about covering the whole thing with one of those fiberglass surrounds, as ugly as they are, "for the time being"... but this would be a custom job and even if we did the work ourselves, not cheap. So I ordered a shower curtain ring from a shop in Ohio, with the idea that we'd just run a curtain the whole way around. That'll work!

Except...

Except there's still going to be water hitting the wall behind the tap. We insist on having shower handsets, and everybody who'll be living here is used to being able to use that feature, so it won't just be random spray that hits the wall, but also dripping hands reaching for the shower head. That wall is just going to get wet. Ultimately, I think the right thing will be to tile that wall and corner, in something nice that matches the minimal tile in the rest of the room. Curtains can be draped aside artfully when the room is not regularly being used for showers, and then they'll hang down again for showers, with the tile wall where water is likely to strike. Right now, though, there's no time and no money for a tiling job.

What to do? We thought about waterproof paint, but such a thing doesn't appear to exist, at least not for applying over existing paint on sheetrock (or whatever is under there - I'm ignorant of such things). And we could get a really cheap plastic surround kit and just put up part of it... but the cheaper they get, the uglier they get, and I don't know that we can bring ourselves to do it.

Other projects are underway. This weekend I did a whole "killdisk" thing on our old desktop machine, so that today or tomorrow I can figure out where to take it to sell or donate. We don't need it and frankly don't have anywhere to put it in this new house! And I also somewhat refurbished my old, old laptop so that it can act as our "legacy machine"--because we've had occasions where our work called for older versions of software, or at least being able to build screensnaps for teaching somebody with older software how to do something. The little laptop can stay tucked away, with just a little footprint, only to be pulled out when needed.

It may also be a handy Internet-access station for guests (hint, hint), provided they're patient with the slow machine.

We're also making some changes to what will be Wil's room. It is a really cool room in what used to be a carport or garage, and one whole wall is closets. Right now, the wide center section is set up with a wire clothes-closet system. We're putting a clothes rod in one of the side sections, so that both sides will be the clothes closets and the center section... can become Wil's "entertainment station." We'll run power into it, and he can set up his TV and all of his game systems and games, and then hopefully when he's not using them, he'll actually be able to close the doors and have the room almost instantly in order again. We'll see how that goes...

...but you can see, at least, that we're not getting a lot of help from Simplicity, who has discovered the little study nook in the corner of the room.

Movies Movies Movies

I went to school with some marvelously talented people. This is true of both undergrad and graduate school, but lately it's been the undergrad crowd that I've been catching up with --through Facebook, believe it or not.

So here's a plug for some of the cool things my old buddies have been up to recently. This is by no means a comprehensive list --everybody seems to be doing something extraordinary right now! But these will get you started:

First, Sylvain Lavigne: He has a new short film up on Youtube, and I think it's fabulous - plus I get to see Sylvain in his undies, which is always a treat! Watch it! Crap (subtitled version of Simonac)

Next, we have some features that you should definitely plan on renting from your local Blockbuster (or whatever), or better yet, try to find copies to buy! Yeah!

Jeff Renfroe's Civic Duty. Dylan Macleod did the cinematography!

David Ray's Fetching Cody.

And Julia Kwan's Eve and the Fire Horse.

I tell you what, it is an honor to know these people. Plus I seem to recall --vaguely-- that they're kinda fun to hang out with. Hmm. Is it time for another reunion yet?

A declaration of anonymity?

And now for something just a little different from recent posts about education, eco-friendly technologies, and the aggravation that is Hillary Clinton... This is a little odd, in my mind:

There is apparently an organization called "Anonymous" that protests Scientology. Now, from the little bit I've been learning, it's not in the least bit odd that one would protest Scientology (although as usual I'm left wondering: Couldn't we just cut to the chase and protest religions and cults in general? But I digress...), but I admit I'm finding it odd that Anonymous presents itself in a little bit of a... hhhmm... cultish manner.

I worry that it's awfully easy for some people to want to belong to something, and that when they jump ship from something as apparently icky as Scientology... they're awfully tempted to just sign up for something new, which seems counterproductive to me.

Why can't we raise more people that just want to be themselves? Themselves could be pretty cool, you know.

But there, these last few paragraphs will now have pissed off absolutely everybody, yay! (I just don't understand religion I just don't understand I don't... ~sigh~)

ANYWAY, despite that little ick-factor, I think Anonymous is kinda neat. Cathleen posted a link to a post about their upcoming worldwide protest (June 14), with accompanying video. Will there, I wonder, come a day when homemade videos on the Web used for organizational/advertising purposes have to actually recognize the copyright on things like James Horner's terrific Pirates of the Caribbean soundtrack? Stay tuned, but DO NOT hold your breath.

But the real reason I, of all people, am posting the same link is... CHECK OUT THE VERY NICE FLAG DESIGNS! I mean, it's a great logo to begin with (though I sense it has perhaps had a good upgrade fairly recently), and then it works so well on some of the country flags. Nice design job, I must say.

And for my last "ponder" of the morning... Isn't there something odd about calling oneself Anonymous and then designing a logo that can be recognized everywhere? Hmm...

Arrrgh!

Teaching Eco-Friendliness

Today I am working on some supplements for a textbook on Philosophy of Education. As usual, my brain is "cooking" the little tidbits I pick up as I work through the supplements. In the background, I have a television turned on. The show is a wandering feature that seems to have gone from eco-friendly architecture to elementary-level education on global warming (or climate change, if you prefer) and new eco-friendly technologies. The kids in the probably-Californian classroom seem very engaged.

I find myself remembering corresponding lessons from when I was a small child. The big topic then was, believe it or not, littering. We did talk about energy efficiency (turn off the lights when you're not using them), and we did talk about recycle-reuse (although that might have hit its stride later, when I was in high school), but littering stands out for me because in my mind, littering is what we've been doing all along, on a grand scale. The lessons on energy efficiency and the lessons on recycling and reusing, and now the lessons on global warming and all the new "green" technologies are just about finally cutting back on all the littering we've been doing.

In the Philosophy of Education supplements, I've been going through U.S. education history. Normal schools, common schools. The shift toward female teachers. Assimilation. Nationalism. Democracy. States rights.

And here's where I believe we're really running into problems with solving our littering problem:

We now see that we need to address the littering we've been doing as a society, versus just the littering of individuals. We now see that "littering" isn't just about the empty soda can thrown from the car window, but also about the exhaust fumes coming from the tailpipe. We are now beginning to see that our whole way of life rests on littering, from the waste and pollution generated by the vehicles so that we can live at great distances from where we work, to the waste and pollution generated on our farms so that we can get steak and potatoes even when we live nowhere near cows and potato fields.

But when I say "we" see this, I mean, "we, the educated." We, who understood that littering was bad 35 years ago, and are now able to extend that understanding to a wider, more far-reaching sensibility. And the trouble is... I just recently moved from an area where, it seems clear, the idea that throwing your empty soda-can out the window is bad... isn't being taught.

In middle Georgia, I'd have to say that most people haven't got that message that is now decades old. I've seen so many things thrown from car windows, I lost track in sheer amazement. Cigarette butts to cigarette packages to banana peels to partially-empty fried chicken buckets; tissues, newspapers, ashes, and peanut shells; fast-food wrappers; fast food. And this doesn't even count the stuff that comes flying out of the beds of pickup trucks, whose owners apparently use their trucks as refuse containers until a handy wind comes along at 70 mph to clean it all up for them.

So when I watch some keen, bright students enthusiastically exploring global warming concepts, and enthusiastically embracing eco-friendly technologies, with wide eyes and practiced mouse-clicking fingers, I can't help but think that it's all going to just remain some kind of "fad" until the less-than-enthusiastic kids of places like middle Georgia, with access to far older technologies and far poorer infrastructures, are at least taught that littering JUST CAN'T HAPPEN ANYMORE.

My Philosophy of Education, unfortunately, cannot reconcile itself with this states' rights thing, because the values I think a public education should instill are values that deal with long-term issues like climate change. And frankly, I can understand that a population that doesn't get that throwing shit out their car windows is bad... probably isn't going to wholeheartedly embrace the idea that they should stop driving cars because they're part of a lifestyle that's destroying our planet.

Not gonna happen. Not unless we develop a curriculum that applies equally to the students in northern and southern California and the students in middle Georgia and Alabama. Because it takes the whole society to adequately support long-term changes.

(In the meantime, while people continue to stick with habits and values that only recognize the short-term and the known and familiar, we have judicial systems that consider the larger context based on things like constitutions, and make decisions for us that appear to be against the popular consensus. And there you go, that's my comment about gay marriage -bravo!- in California, just as much as it is about efforts to mitigate the effects of climate change.)

Hillary continues to run in the wrong party

Soon enough, I'll get back to the important matter of kitty cats and the fact that I can now walk to the water (and will be doing that in a few minutes if I know what's good for me). But I keep getting distracted by the ongoing soap opera that is the current Democratic nomination race. I say race, but it's been somewhat stalled lately.

As a follow-up to my previous post, Hillary apparently does, in fact, think the GOP is the better party for her. Yup! Mr. Boudreaux of George Mason University breaks it down for us in a delightful way in the Wall Street Journal:

'Nothing but Misogynists'

My problem is this: If she doesn't pull out now and start rooting heavily for Obama, there won't be enough time for her to drag her faithful followers to his side before November. I am, of course, assuming that she'll even be willing to do so. Many of the faithful on both sides in this race are getting quite venomous toward the other candidate, and because of all people the GOP chose McCain... these Democrats think they have a moderate alternate choice! Yikes! Talk about a bad idea! So ONE of the Democrats has to pull out and throw his/her full support behind the other, telling his/her followers, "okay, cut the crap, you know you can't vote for McCain, you just can't." Otherwise, as my own dearest and bestest friend pointed out in his myspace blog, we're looking at a long, hard future with a very conservative Supreme Court, given the people McCain would nominate. That's much more dangerous, long-term, than just the bunch of other horrible things that McCain could do in the next four years.

Hillary apparently NOW thinks that she is being expected to be the one to pull out because she's a woman. It's sexism. WRONG. It's far more likely a reflection of the fact that she's RUNNING AS A REPUBLICAN. Pfffft.

Hillary Rodham Bush

I quite liked Hillary when all this started. Well, perhaps "liked" isn't correct, but I admired her, and I thought she seemed strong and capable. On Obama's worst days (not recent days at all, frankly), I was tempted to see Hillary as the better candidate. And the way she keeps on fighting has some appeal.

But all of a sudden, I now see that she's just another Bush. Not in that "all politicians suck" kind of way. No, I mean, really: The same deal. Rules don't count unless they support my decisions, and truth is what I say it is.

We had hints of this with the issue of Florida and Michigan. I'm sorry their respective Democratic leadership were too stupid and put their voters' numbers on the line, and obviously a compromise should be reached. But Hillary has all along insisted that the delegates be seated based on the states' results - and Obama wasn't even on the ballot in Michigan because *gasp* he was following the rules...

Now, she's insisting that the entire nominating process should be thrown out the window, and why? Because she's losing, according to the rules. So let's ditch them.

Clinton: 'This Is Nowhere Near Over'

I'm guessing she has some supporters who just adore this approach. They're probably prepared to argue that a president like this will get things done, and damn anybody who gets in her way. But the problem is, this is what we've had for the past two terms; somebody who thinks he is above the laws. The rules don't apply, and if the rules do get in the way, we can just destroy the rules and who the hell cares what happens to the country in the process.

Charmingly, she has almost come right out and promised everybody that she will be another Bush: "If we had the same rules as the Republicans, I would be the nominee right now." And oh yes, she's the stronger candidate, offering this proof: Karl Rove says so.

A lot of people are afraid of a Clinton presidency because they think she'll be another Bill Clinton. We should all be so lucky. She's another Bush.

All tied up and everywhere to go

Yesterday, Luther and I went out to Clearwater Beach in the afternoon, to play in a bit of storm surf and get the Honda's seats wet. The sky was blue, the sand was soft, the water was warm, and the Honda with its roof stowed in the trunk is a sweet ride.

When we got home to the Clearwater house, that poor Simplicity cat was in her spot at the front window, on the sagging futon, in quite a bad state. She had somehow managed to get her squirrel-on-a-string-on-a-stick toy wrapped around her neck, something that can only have gotten worse as she tried to escape the heavy stick, dragging it and squirrel from the back of the house to that spot in the front, where she waited for rescue. We have since taken the squirrel off the stick. Imagine if she'd had this accident occur while we were away on a longer trip!



Afterward, she hid. I think she had hurt a toe or something, but there is also her pride to consider. This morning she is in better spirits, and it is the bekbek that is a little blue. Luther has left once again for Georgia. ~sigh~

So on that note, the update: I now live in Florida. It is lovely. A good deal of our household things are still in Georgia. Luther graduated from college last week, but his son will not be finished high school until the very end of the month. So as a household, we are living in two places at once --me on a futon on the floor in Florida, but with an almost-complete (and looking lovely) office; Luther with the bed and the wireless network in Georgia. Another three weeks or so and we should be able to do the rest of the move, but of course the really big day, when we have well and truly finished with Georgia and live completely in Florida... will not happen until we have sold the house.

Want it? It's looking awfully nice these days... come on, you know you want to!

I like screen doors

I
Like
Screen doors
And I cannot lie
Those other brothers can't deny

Er...

So here I am in Florida. I arrived Thursday, was shocked on Friday to realize I'd only been here for a day, got paid in the mail at my new house (and did the corresponding happy dance with bad singing accompaniment), got more work via Fedex, locked myself out, paid somebody to break the lock, replaced the lock, went for walks, discovered my bike is all but broken, and made a surprisingly nice chicken tikka masala, albeit with too much onion. And I sweated. I sweated lots. It was hot.

Then yesterday the temperature dropped, so much so that I left all the windows open last night, which led to my waking and prowling like a bad security guard several times during the night, but ultimately was a good choice because the house is nice and cool and I didn't run the A/C the whole time.

Today is gorgeous. In the 80s outside, but still getting there inside, all the windows open again. And yet I feel shut in.

I like screen doors. I want a lockable screen door at the very least on the back bedroom door (there is a door to the outside in the walk-in closet of the master bedroom at the very back of the house) and on the front door. It just seems like that'd make it feel more like I were enjoying the outdoors while I'm inside, working.

That is all.

Facing my mortality

A strange thought today:

Simplicity is finally starting to relax after the move. There she is, sleeping in the early evening, purring when she's petted, yawning and stretching. I said to her, "I'm not moving you again. You'll grow old and die in this house."

And then I felt tears come to my eyes. And in a few moments I realized that I was sad not for the cat, but for me. I fully expect to move again, so it's not that. But I am on that side of my life, now, where the plans are at least in part about where I'll be when I stop making plans.

How odd, how beautiful, how sad.

Of course, it is worth noting that I am melancholy to begin with. My Luther is more than six hours away! Yuck. Got to fix that.

The house is marvelous, yadda yadda. More later.

Moving Day 1.0

Moving Day 1.0 is complete. Luther and I spent several hours loading the U-haul truck on Friday, spent the evening in utter amazement at how tired a person can be, and got up the next morning to spend a day driving and then unpacking the same truck. Needless to say, I am sporting several new bruises - and am happy as a clam in a garlic cream sauce! Er... well, happier, really.

The house is so perfect for us that I am actually feeling homesick now. We returned to Georgia on Sunday, since there is work to be done on the house here, and I didn't feel good about leaving all of that to Luther and Wil. I will spend the next few days working (yay, I have work!) and working (boo, I need to finish painting the bathroom), and then we'll have Moving Day 1.1: I will pack up my little del Sol with my work stuff and Simplicity and head on back home to the boxes and the futons and the gorgeous lawn that needs mowing.

Today, I am leaving a comment on the blog kept by Cathy, one of the previous owners. Honestly, it tickled me pink to find her blog in the first place, and I am actually envious of hers and Kimball's new adventure even while I am in the midst of enjoying mine and Luther's. I remember once I was standing in a line in a CIBC bank in Toronto on pay day, and I was planning to deposit my check, and the fellow in front of me was planning to make a withdrawal, and I wondered why we couldn't just cut out the middle man and exchange our moneys right there on the spot. Sometimes we all find ourselves trading places with strangers and feel a little connection that is so quickly lost to the realities of daily life. Wouldn't it be nice to stop and have a drink together?

Moving Day 2.0 is TBA. Luther and Wil both have to finish school first! I hope we can find a buyer. And I admit, despite all my complaints about middle Georgia, I will miss this house - even while I am happily enjoying the new one.

Pictures later. I left my photo upload cable in Florida!

Utter foolishness, and a new home

Today I spent an inordinate amount of time on Google Maps, using the "Street View" feature to travel virtually along some streets in our new neighborhood. I am eager to see the house and the water and the local stores.

Then I suddenly realized what I was doing and how utterly foolish I was being. I mean, we're moving there. We now own the house (and accompanying debt). We'll actually be there in person this weekend, and in another week I will be living there full time. I will be able to actually WALK on those streets.

Yes, we bought the house. We are moving to Clearwater-Dunedin, Florida. Woo hoo!

A classic case of conflict of interest

Well, we are coming down to the wire, now. We close on the new home in just 11 days.

One of the things that excites me about the Tampa Bay area is all the wildlife. In particular, I love the little lizards!

I saw them for the first time on the other coast of Florida, near Patrick Air Force Base, south of Cape Canaveral, accompanying Luther on a "TDY" where I got to hang out by the pool while he and others in uniform talked about Things Somehow Important inside. Around the pool, there were pests - little lizards, darting here and there. I instantly fell in love, no doubt partly inspired by the sense of romance that went with the two of us everywhere we traveled, but in no small part also tinged with the exotic. Pests that aren't mice, rats, or bugs?! Pests that EAT BUGS?! What could be more magical?

In some parts of the Tampa Bay area, these lizards are so common that when one walks along a sidewalk, one must get used to the fact that little creatures will be darting across your path from the edge of the road to the bushes in the yard, startled by your presence. You just have to accept them and have faith that you are unlikely to step on them, as they move very fast.

Well.

As I look forward to the little lizards, I must face a certain conflict. Simplicity, also, quite enjoys little creatures that move quickly and enticingly. To prove the point, and warn us of things to come, this spring we are already seeing a far greater number of the little lizards in Warner Robins than we ever have in the past. Some of them are GORGEOUS - bright green, with bright orange neck pouches they thrust out in a flirtatious manner. But Simplicity has already taught me that they turn a rather sad, dark brown after they've been captured and punctured. Right now, she appears to be playing hockey on the back patio - and her puck is a very slick little baby lizard that skids quite excelently across the smooth pavement when struck with a skilled paw.

My poor, poor little lizards. ~sigh~

Simplicity has found her voice

She only knows one word: MILK.

But who can resist a silent black shadow of a cat when she sees a white plate come out of the cupboard and suddenly brings music into the world? MEOW? MEOW!

Playing house

Luther and I are back from Florida with a little tale to tell. One day, were looking at some houses. The next day, we were buying one.

We have a contract. Having been through this only once before, I am still hesitant to say that the house is ours, but presumably it will be so, and fairly soon. Now my life is supposed to be all about selling the house I am in right now, but it is difficult. A million times a day, my mind goes to the gorgeous little home near the water, a good six hours or so away from here.

Another thing about not feeling the house is "ours" has to do with the sellers. We met them at the house, and they were fairly marvelous. Not only was their pride and care showing in every corner of the house itself, but they also showed it in the sparkle of their eyes, and the willingness to laugh with a couple of strangers in their kitchen.

It is really nice knowing that, unlike all the other houses we saw, knowing more about the previous owners in this case only makes the house seem cooler.

Oh Daddy I'm so glad to see you but the Moustache Man is gone!

Just poking my head in here to say hi to anybody who may be lurking. I will likely be resurfacing more properly in the coming weeks as I get used to the fact that I'M FINISHED SCHOOL YIPPEE!, but that resurfacing will likely involve ending this blog and starting something new. If you're a "regular," I will definitely let you know where to find the new digs.

Speaking of new digs, we are moving. T minus 5 months or so. Specific address yet to be determined, but it's looking pretty SWEET!

And I graduated.

That is all.

Is it to be believed?!

I just caught a snippet of one of those "news" shows designed to outrage, and it worked. I was outraged at the guests who were expressing their outrage. The topic? A movie coming out, entitled The Golden Compass (I had to edit my post, because I'd called it the Golden Needle. Needle, compass, whatever...)

According to the guests, the movie -and moreso the books upon which it is based- is "dangerous" because it promotes atheism. One of the guests went so far as to pretend to care about freedom of speech by saying that of course everyone has the right to promote his ideas, BUT the author/publisher/producer should have to be up-front about what they're trying to do - in this case, to promote atheism to children.

Did I miss something? I haven't been in a bookstore for a while. Have "This is Christian propaganda" stickers been placed on the covers of the Narnia books?

I feel ill.

As time goes by

For the past few days, I've been working on a test bank for a book entitled "Nation of Nations," an American history text. Some pretty interesting stuff. I have to say that the chapters pre- during- and post-Civil War, when talking about the South... describe attitudes and customs that are now FREAKISHLY familiar. Nothing has changed in the South except the costumes. Don't be fooled. This is just another remake, and not even a good one, at that.

But it's interesting. We talk about getting sick of the same old histories over and over again, but the truth is, Luther and I tend to be fascinated. If the boy is driven nuts by it all, well, that's all to the good. He needs to push himself onward and outward, and the best strategy I can come up is to do as we damn well please and see how that goes.

Take, for instance, the whole clock thing. The whole preoccupation with regimented time that took over the nation. People started to think in terms of time and work and play broken up into increments, and deadlines to be met at every turn. Interesting turning point in history.

Right now, I am downloading "2nd pass" (pre-production with artwork and page numbers) textbook chapters via FTP. I can't download the whole folder, so I have to do the chapters one-by-one. Each one takes long enough that I think about how I'm wasting my time, but each one is fast enough that I can't really get something else started in the time alotted. So in fact, at this moment I'm NOT downloading, because I've paused in order to blog.

The thing is... When did we start being frustrated that we couldn't do two things at once? I mean, when did it become such a habit that NOT being able to do two things at once - talk to a friend while driving, look at porn on the Internet while enjoying TV with the family in the livingroom (to give a few not-particularly-wholesome examples) - was such a damned PROBLEM?

Doing one thing at a time takes too long. I get bored. I want a snack and a backrub.

b