I read someone’s online profile today, which started with their physical description, and then contained, among other things, one of those lists where you say what you like and dislike, or what you’ve done or haven’t done. In the physical description part, they said for weight: Between 375 and 425 pounds. In the like/dislike section, … Read more
Today I did something I’ve never done before — I took the Wolfline bus to class. My townhouse is “on the busline,” so it was a five-minute walk to the nearest stop, where I caught the Route #9 Fraternity Court bus. On this bus, I rode around in areas very close to where I live … Read more
I went into the office today, and spent the entire day today finishing up Qiana’s edit by running the TermExt tool, and analysing the results. Book club lunch was canceled. I spent some time this evening dealing with the staffing of the STC presentation, “675 Survivors,” which is next Tuesday (09/05) at 7:30 PM. The … Read more
I am amazed that such a thing happens/happened enough to devise a word for it, but here you go: palinode (PAL-uh-noad) noun A poem in which the author retracts something said in an earlier poem. [From Greek palinoidia, from palin (again) + oide (song).] The illustrator and humorist Gelett Burgess (1866-1951) once wrote a … Read more
I got to Helios at about 1:00 today, where I ran into Steve N. enjoying his (fairly new) wireless laptop. I helped him with a computer question, and he kindly returned thanks with a refill of my coffee cup. Unnecessary, but much appreciated. I did some edit work on Qiana’s document, running the screen capture … Read more
I finished Memoirs of a Geisha at 1:30. If you haven’t read this book because you think it’s “not your kind of book,” you should rethink that. It is such a “tight” story — well-written and compelling. Great re-read for me. These things, to me, are what contribute to the greatness of this book: Conflict … Read more
I love this word from A.Word.A.Day tarantism (TAR-uhn-tiz-uhm) noun An uncontrollable urge to dance. [After Taranto, a town in southern Italy where this phenomenon was experienced during the 15-17th centuries. It’s not clear whether tarantism was the symptom of a spider’s bite or its cure, or it may have been just a pretext to dodge … Read more
Bad luck comes in threes… or is it fours or fives… or is that bad news that comes in threes? One When I got to my office today, my voice mail light was on. I put in my access code, and while doing so, thought, “Oh boy. I changed the password a week or so … Read more
I hate it when this happens. Don’t let it happen to you. Pay attention to what you’re doing! I got a lot of stuff straightened out around the house today. It’s about damn time. I read another 50 pages or so of Memoirs of a Geisha. I am thoroughly enjoying this re-read. I made a … Read more