December 2006 Archives

Have you ever run into one of those sunsets that just slows every thought in your head like a ladel dragging through a deep bowl of syrup?

OK, maybe not. I'm dysfunctional that way.

This one hit me a few weeks ago. It was like a huge hand was reaching up and drawing down the shades for the day.

The proofed book manuscript is back with the publisher now. I am also sleeping a bit more. We had a lot of 'input' on the layout, so here's hoping against that the spontaneous birthing of any cattle on their part.

There's this little suffix saying in our office that goes like this: "...just in case he/she wins the lottery."

It gets used like so: "Hey Jeremy, could you ask so 'n' so where they keep their Klampet file, you know, for future knowledge, just in case they win the lottery..."

It's a euphemism of course. What they really mean to say is "Hey Jeremy, could you ask so 'n' so where they keep their Klampet file, just in case they get hit by a bus?"

But people are incredibly nervous & superstitious about such things, right? I messed around one day when somebody asked me where I kept a particular set of files that only I had had to mess with so far. And the lottery phrase was used. And I cut it short and said "Nah, I don't play the lottery. But I can see why you'd need to know, I mean, what if I got hit by a train?" And it was like I'd just unveiled a homemade nuke in the middle of the room. People were all crossing themselves and stumbling backwards and fainting and stammering about how that's not what they meant. One or two of them would've probably started rattling their bag of bones & shaman sticks if they had remembered to bring them. Pretty darn funny is what it was.

So I pull that little rabbit out of my hat every once in a while. I guess that's probably pretty mean.

(I do not race trains.)

Here's a little something that maybe I can share with you from the HomeCo parking lot recently:

It makes you crabby just seeing a thing like that, doesn't it? Well OK, maybe I'm the one that's getting set off too easily. I comfort myself with the undeniable truth that human beings in general are simply not built either physically, mentally, or emotionally to pilot large, fast, rolling enclosures and be expected to act intelligently or decently around others. Except for me and maybe five or six other people of course ;)

The page layout proofs arrived on the book mid-week last week, and it's back to no-sleep-time again. Oh man there's a lot to hash out. I can't even begin to describe it.

Allow me a moment to let my voice echo through this empty chamber of a weblog.

:: cough wheeze ::

mmmmm.

dusty.

I've been pretty topical lately and have been pouring all my journaling efforts into my astronomy site. I'm trying to get polished and poofed up with more content for when the book comes out in a couple months. You know, sort of like a grand re-opening.

It's been Mighty cold lately. She got down into the single digits last week, and it's been pretty icy since then. The little wimpy dusting of snow we got 5 days ago is still hanging on in the grassy areas, which is pretty unusual for the microscopic snowfalls.

Oh! Speaking of microscopes...

...nah...

...I'll get to that later when I can post a couple pictures.

Giselle is learning to play the clarinet. She's been at it for a couple months now and she's making a lot of progress with the technique, and really picking up the sheet music notation quickly. I tell her she's WAY better than Squidwerd. And she is. =)

I came home from work one day last week to find Harrison latched onto his sister's torso while she dragged him around the house step-by-slow-and-ponderous-step. Turns out he learned about sloths in school that day and how the babies cling tightly and relentlessly to their mothers for some 40-odd weeks before setting out on their own recognizance. I've gotten a whole lotta laughs out of his bouts of slothdom and Giselle's loud laments as she collapses to the floor, unable to move another inch.

Well, I'm off to go buy some spare reeds. Gotta keep the reeds in stock!