Back from the coast...

And wow, what a time.

Here's some photos. The view from the Inn:



The famous Cape Hatteras Lighthouse:




Sunset on Pamlico Sound:



And that's all for now.

relativity

okay fine, 2:42pm...ish!

It GLOOOOOWS!!!

Wow, lots of stuff. Week's end, sort of, emailing people, catching up, grading...good stuff. Fortunately, I can post random, meaningless thoughts whenever I want...mostly for my own edification, thanks to the flickering, enthralling power of the internet! Wheeee!

I need more coffee (he said at 2:42pm EST).

Public Service Announcement

Okay, this week I am catching up on grading and emailing, so all of you who haven't heard from me in a while should hear from me in the next couple days!

See, I've said it, now I HAVE to do it!

fine tuning

It has been brought to my attention that my comments page thing is only available to registered users. This has been corrected. Anyone may now post comments. The only rule is that, while you are encouraged and now enabled to talk shit, anyone talking shit totally has to claim it.

Not that I'll ever be able to put together a convincing rebuttal or anything.

But seriously, I do like to know who's commenting!

Rock on.

Minutiae

A number of things occurred to me today.

1) Led Zeppelin, by far my favorite band, induces a powerful emotional response that I often find myself incapable of enduring for extended periods of time. While some may use this as ammunition to attack my masculinity (I don’t, but that may be because I am not really in the habit of attacking my own masculinity), I feel that “induces a powerful emotional response that I often find myself incapable of enduring for extended periods of time” sounds much more manly than, say, “causes me to cry like a little girl.” This is not the onset of sadness, so much, as overwhelming metaphysical assault launched upon my spirit, inducing an overpowering sense of bliss.

Actually, it brings to mind a Venture Bros. quote, as most things do, recited in my very best Patrick Warburton voice:

“Come on! It’s about love and loss…yeah…and Hobbits…IT’S A METAPHOR!”

2) I find myself amused by the question “Why can’t you use your evil powers for good?” There are a number of reasons for this. First, if someone has an “evil” power, I imagine it would be difficult to use it for good, if we are to take the classification of “evil” as absolute. Second, this question occasionally pops into my head when my colleagues refer to me as the “Grammar Nazi,” and then I quickly use said “evil” power to 1) make my previous point, and 2) think to myself that I am actually more concerned with mechanics than grammar, which would, of course, lead others to then brand me the “Semantics Nazi.”

Actually, I think if I DID have “evil” powers, I think I would want to be an invincible, if hideous, time monster whose sole purpose to punish those that dare to disrupt the timeline======>


I just kind of like the idea of kicking ass and taking names in the whole “ground trembles and walls, earth, and unsuspecting bystanders are forever pulled into a gaping emptiness, never to return” thing. Though the weakness against water thing would probably be pretty annoying, as would being defeated by something called the “Water Sword.”

3) Speaking of relative “evil” and the definition thereof…Jeff, I’m thinking of teaching the “Miner Method” or the “Miner Evasion,” or whatever you choose to label it, in my argument class. Basically, this will consist of taking the most difficult to define or relative term in the conversation and posing the following question:

“But what IS ________ really???”

You will, of course, receive mad royalties should they ever materialize.

4) Causal analysis?
-Odd impulse: desire to watch more anime.
-Action: order anime on Netflix.
-Result: bizarre addiction and overload of hackneyed plot elements.
-Prime hackneyed plot element: 15 year old Japanese school girl transported to mythical feudal Japan/China/Korea-like world, meets and falls in hopeless, tragic love with stoic, dashingly handsome warrior/celestial guardian/half-demon with purple hair.

(no photo found at risk of embarrassment)

So, aside from all that time filling stuff, I plan on cleaning the place up (my apartment) and maybe taking some pictures. Now that I know how to post pictures, I’m ruined. Seriously. As if you hadn't noticed. Until then, I’m off to Chapel Hill for the weekend.


More Germany pics (only a few, they’re, like, 20 megs each. That’s how kick ass my camera is):

Heidlelberg, in town looking up at the castle:

Okay, in town, same Berg, and then up at the castle. It was starting to rain, so the rest of the gardens and retaining wall didn't turn out too well, though the one on the right is okay:

status report 1

okay. alive, and still kicking. just getting over a cold, still feeling stuffed up, which means I sound all nasal and ridiculous while feeling pretty healthy. sheesh.

As far as the rest of my life, I've actually made some effort to move in to my apartment which i have lived in for nearly six months. i bought a couple bookshelves, unpacked some books, hung a picture, and bought a floor lamp. Finally, I get to upgrade from 85% moved in to about, oh, 88%. This is a big day. I've also started cooking more. Hooray for me!

On the down side, the dryers in my building have gone from $1 per load to $1.25. This means an additional quarter per, of course, thus necessitating a trip to the friggin bank to actually withdraw money in quarters. Nice. While doing so, and kind of feeling like an idiot, I was chatting with the friendly teller lady, and mentioned the reason for the $20 in quarters, which led to this sort of odd discussion of how she had a washer and dryer "right down the road"...but they weren't worth the trouble to use...or something, followed by a knowing sigh and nod from her older co-worker teller lady. So, my laundry has gotten me into yet another awkward conversation about someone's domestic issues, which is one of the reasons I stopped talking to people in the laundry room years ago (at my old place in Hyde Park I was often asked to open detergent bottles for old ladies, got to hear about dead husbands...etc.).

Good times.

Hey! Pictures from Germany!

Castle Colmburg, Dec. 26th















Nuremburg Christmas Market, Dec. 22nd














Rothenburg, Dec. 26th



More later!

It has...RETURNED!