Borrowed Content

A meme that's been making the rounds: "123" meme:

1) grab the book that is physically closest to you at this very moment

2) turn to page 123

3) give the sixth, seventh, and eighth sentences that appear on that page

He cleared his throat. "I am here, as I'm sure you know, because of Albus Dumbledore's will." Harry, Ron, and Hermione looked at one another.

Gee, that's obvious.

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If you're interested in sports or the separation of billionaires and state, take the time to read The Sports Guy's mailbag of emails from Seattle Supersonics fans. If you're not aware of what's going on, the most recent owners of the Sonics have been holding the city hostage over a new stadium that they never really wanted, their true desire being to move the team to Oklahoma City. Not that OKC doesn't deserve a team (the city was a great host to the displaced New Orleans Hornets), but should that be at the expense of a city that has supported their team fiscally and emotionally for 41 years? Sports fans, this could happen to your team. And I think it's a horrible statement on the values of a society that allows billionaires to have their fortunes subsidized by public funds as we find ourselves falling into recession.

Lunar Eclipse

If you missed last night's lunar eclipse, SpaceWeather has an eclipse image gallery, including this lovely image from Iran:

Eighteen

Tonight Greg and I went to 1500 Ocean at the Hotel del Coronado for dinner. Our meal involved shrimp, braised short ribs, kurobuta pork, filet mignon, almond butter cake and warm chocolate chipotle cake. Tasty, fun, and worth the extravagance as we celebrated the eighteenth anniversary of our first date.

Thanks for eighteen years of fun and companionship, Writer Boy.

Commencing

It was a glorious brisk sunny day here, and we could see ocean to the west and snow-capped mountains to the east. I felt well enough today to go to Solana Beach and eat pizza, splash in the Pacific, and experience a donut incident. It was a nice start to a long weekend.

Ants

There are ants in the kitchen. My dear Greg commenced battle against them before I got home from work, but some still linger.

I'm not usually squirmy over bugs, but ants really bother me. I think it goes back to Winter 1986, growing up in Northern California. That year there was a lot of rain. The ground was saturated. Wind-blown rain was actually leaching through the walls of my bedroom. One of my bedroom windows didn't close properly, and sometimes I'd wake up soaked from the rain. Nothing wanted to be outside in that weather, including ants. I can still see them on my walls, on my floorboards, my bookcase... everywhere. The only time a bug ever lasted more than a millisecond in my mother's impeccably clean house were those ants, that winter.

I feel like they're crawling all over me, damn them. Hate ants.

Just super

Sat on the couch and watched the Super Bowl, while my good Greg brought me snacks. Some commentary:

• I didn't know who I was going to root for until the game started, and I automatically starting cheering on the Giants. I love how brains work.
• There's an athletic trainer for the Giants retiring tonight after 60 years with the team?!?
• Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers were enjoyable.
• I wish that there had been a split screen with "Peyton-cam". Did you notice how he was standing all by himself, looking fairly nauseated most of the time? Looking relieved when Eli threw a complete pass? If there's a next time, networks, there must be a Peyton-cam.
• Super Bowl ads are mostly lost on me. My favorite was the Barkley/D-wade T-Mobile commercial, but that's part of an on-going campaign that is in heavy rotation during basketball games, so I at least understand it. I don't even GET most of the rest.
• Best ads - the Fox bumpers where the Terminator was dueling the NFL on Fox robots.
• Do y'all think they should retire the recitation of the Declaration of Independence? It's a little odd.
• Game over. Oh, I'm soooo pleased at this moment. Randy Moss didn't deserve a ring. If I'd remembered that he was on the Patriots, I never would have wavered over whom to root for. And yay for Eli, surviving New York media for these past few years. Soooooo happy.

But now, after such sweet brief elation, the long off-season begins. Sniffle. Must console myself with chocolate.

Decisions

It's Super Bowl Sunday, and I have a decision to make. It's already the saddest day of the year, with it marking the end of football season. I'm prepared for the game - snacks are in place, much of the weekend's work is done. But I haven't decided who I'm rooting for yet. Do I root for the Patriots, to witness history? Do I root for the Giants, to witness another sort of history, one with a twist? Let's face it, the Patriots have been annoying in their smugness and allegations of cheating. But I have no love for the Giants, a playoff nemesis of my 49ers from the 80s/90s. Perhaps I shall merely root for the game to be a good one and start my countdown to next season.

Better than Excel dreams

It's been an exciting week around here, with Greg selling his first novel! I just wanted to note for the record just how proud of him I am. I've watched him progress from sending stories out hoping they'd sell to knowing they'd sell and now this! I'm glad I've been along for the ride. Congrats, Greg!