As everyone in Florida knows, this has been a brutal season for allergies. The oak trees have been dropping their flowers, and everything in town is covered in a yellow-green dust. Perhaps because of this–or perhaps because of exposure to infected classmates–I am miserably congested and uncomfortable. I have to keep my mouth open to breathe, but this creates a pathetic wheezing sound sure to disturb a sleeping spouse. I did my best to disguise my tubercular timbre at work this afternoon, but my tens of listeners probably thought I had a clothespin on my nose. My colleagues at the station offered me all manner of medications to combat my symptoms. I am actually considering missing class tomorrow morning. Not that it feels any better to stay home, but it’s embarrassing to have nasal faucet at school.
Don’t read the following if you’re easily disgusted:
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Filed under: Health, School, Work on March 23rd, 2009 | 2 Comments »
I am attempting to resolve my problem of frequent website outages. As you have probably noticed if you visit this site with any frequency, about half the time it isn’t working. Ten minutes later it will work fine. But when it’s down, I not only cannot access my site, or write new posts, but I cannot receive my email either. It’s a serious problem, and I don’t know who or what is responsible. In the past I have tried to move the site to a new host, but I am not especially skilled in the science of the internet, and I got frustrated by the logistics of moving all my files. But if my host cannot tell me why I am having this problem, I will find a better one.
Filed under: Website on March 18th, 2009 | No Comments »
When we bought our house four years ago, we used the back rooms as a staging area, bringing all our furniture and boxes there to be sorted before moving it to more appropriate rooms. Unfortunately, it took us a long time before we got around to clearing out those boxes, and two rooms in our house were a mess for quite a while. Eventually, we got organized, and we put in new floors and painted the walls and ceiling, and that was pretty good. Then Miriam found some wallpaper she really liked and she asked me to put it in. I spent my Christmas break last December putting that up. Knowing that I’d later be installing paneling to the bottom of the walls, I left the wallpaper covering only the top two thirds. It looked silly for a couple months.
My spring break began a week ago, and I spent it installing paneling and a chair rail. It involved dozens of precise measurements and intricate cuts, but by last Saturday I was putting the finishing touch on the paint. It looks pretty good, if I do say so myself, and is by far the most cheerful room in the house. During all my labors I regreted not being able to relax on the sofa–and I missed a couple chances to go to the beach–but, having now finished, I feel satisified.
Filed under: House on March 16th, 2009 | No Comments »
A picture of Shakespeare believed to the the only painted in his life has been discovered. The painting wasn’t hidden away somewhere, but was simply overlooked. The fellow in the painting looks so much like everybody imagines Shakespeare to have looked that it is difficult for me to believe nobody noticed it before. If I had seen it hanging in a gallery next to a tag that read, “Unidentified Man”, I would have turned to whomever was next to me and said, “‘Tis not a myst’ry whose this visage is; / I knoweth William Shakespeare, and ’tis his”. In iambic pentameter, just like that. Then I would have high-fived anyone who may have been standing within earshot, and strutted out with a very satisfied expression on my face.
Filed under: Current Events, Literature and Books on March 9th, 2009 | No Comments »
It’s nearing seven o’clock in the evening, and the sky is still bright and blue, and the tops of the oak trees that line my street are glowing gold. Daylight saving time began today, and it makes me happy. Since Florida has only two seasons anyway, I see the beginning of daylight saving time as the first day of summer. It was in the 80s this afternoon, and it felt wonderful. Yesterday felt the same, and I rode my motorized bicycle to work and back. After some modifications to the carburetor and chain, the bike is running well. It will go much faster than I am willing to go, but it has also shaved ten minutes off my commute. Miriam doesn’t like it at all, but I am very careful.
Filed under: Meteorology, Transportation on March 8th, 2009 | No Comments »