I have started doing something in the morning before work, whether it's DDR or kayaking, in place of my non-existent commute. It makes a noticable difference. That was the plan all along, of course, but sloth intervened. Causality is vague here; whether the activity is a cause or a symptom of organization. _
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10:30:54 AM, Friday 28 September 2007

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This 9/11 fabulist story is wild and depressing. I mean I suppose you expect things like 9/11 to attract people with that sort of problem. Unrelated but horrifying in a similar way, but I listened to a bit of the Dan Savage show last night. I suppose the connection is that both remind me that how people understand the world, and what actually happens, can get rather disconnected, and almost all our information comes through other people, some of whom just lie to make themselves seem important. _
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10:23:57 AM, Friday 28 September 2007

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I had a strange fastnacht making impulse. They weren't quite as good as the ones I remember eating, but such is life. Recipe here. I used butter instead of margarine, which made them oddly crossaintish, and used corn oil instead of crisco. The maple syup glaze (center) worked out well. _
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09:07:06 PM, Thursday 27 September 2007

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There was a small grebe on the pond this morning, diving in among the reeds. The thing with grebes is that they never come up where you expect them to, and they never stay up for any length of time. Uncooperative subjects are photoshopped without remorse. _
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08:58:51 PM, Thursday 27 September 2007

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A migratory swan, having a bad morning, and being chased all around the pond. The residents took turns chasing the migrants, who never showed any sign of standing up for themselves. _
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08:57:57 PM, Thursday 27 September 2007

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A resident swan, chasing a migrating swan around the pond. It is much more ominous in person. Notice the bow wave. _
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08:56:47 PM, Thursday 27 September 2007

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A migrating swan being chased by a resident, at speed. _
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08:55:29 PM, Thursday 27 September 2007

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the new american passport is stunningly tacky. Where the picture used to go, there's a quote from that damnable fellow alum Mr. Key in his own handwriting. I just can't escape the twerp. It also features longhorned cattle, oxen, a grizzly bear eating salmon, a seagull, cacti, palm trees, two bald eagles looking brain damaged, and all the major artifacts of patriotic hokum. Quotes by partisanly balanced dead presidents (LBJ?). The token black woman and indian chief are near the back. A couple sneaky quotes about God, including the text of the golden spike, which was presumably written by a similar committee. Also this:

This document contains sensitive electronics. For best performance, do not bend, perforate or expose to extreme temperatures.

I've always been concerned about getting the best performance from my passport. There's also a local D.C. number to call if your child has been abducted. Maybe they remotely activate your passport and it transforms.

Ooh, I found a holographic pumpkin! _
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06:03:02 PM, Wednesday 26 September 2007

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Shonen Knife is planning a US tour this winter. _
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01:45:55 PM, Saturday 22 September 2007

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No more hot glowing metal:

Thanks to these new mini 13W florescents, half off today at Shaws (until I bought them out), that are only slightly longer than a 60W bulb, and have a narrow base, we are now entirely rid of incandescent light bulbs, unless you count the refrigerator and freezer. I'd been frustrated in my quest for noble gasses before, because our ancient light fixtures have barely any clearance at all around a typical bulb. _
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12:55:48 PM, Saturday 22 September 2007

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Been listening to The Rising by Bruce Springsteen. He's rather like Dickens. It's easy to write off, to block out. They both cheat, both exploit corpses liberally and so forth. But the thing is, they're effecting, if you let them. And children do die, and 9/11 did happen. And sincerity is actually a much better thing all around than safe, useless ironic detachment. I was temperamentally unsuited to both Dickens and Springsteen when I first encountered them. Not sure if I have a point, other than that I seem to have developed a taste for high-quality sappiness. It's rather wrenching to go back to the cheap bravado of say, the Stone Roses, after listening to Springsteen. _
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05:17:31 PM, Friday 21 September 2007

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02:43:50 PM, Friday 21 September 2007

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