Barely functioning...

At 2:28 AM I was instantly snapped awake by a shriek from Sebastian's room, followed by loud sobs. Teri managed to stay asleep - I wish I could have.

"What's the matter, Sebastian?" I called as clearly as I could, trying not to wake Teri.

"I can't sleep, and I haven't been able to sleep for half the night!" he wailed.

So I went into his room and sang every lullaby I knew. After that I put on the "Golden Slumbers" tape and lay next to him. By the time I got back to my own bed it was 4:27, and I had less than 90 minutes before I had to get up.

I am so fucking tired.

Barely functioning...

At 2:28 AM I was instantly snapped awake by a shriek from Sebastian's room, followed by loud sobs. Teri managed to stay asleep - I wish I could have.

"What's the matter, Sebastian?" I called as clearly as I could, trying not to wake Teri.

"I can't sleep, and I haven't been able to sleep for half the night!" he wailed.

So I went into his room and sang every lullaby I knew. After that I put on the "Golden Slumbers" tape and lay next to him. By the time I got back to my own bed it was 4:27, and I had less than 90 minutes before I had to get up.

I am so fucking tired.

Pain on the train

I got on the train at Forge Park this morning. As it pulled into the next stop - Dean College - there was a sudden, violent jerk. It felt as if there had almost been a crash.

Unfortunately my knee must have been in just the wrong place at the wrong time. There are some blunt corners on each seat-back, and the jerk jammed one of them into the space under the edge of my kneecap. Instantly I was plunged into violent, blinding pain such as I've rarely experienced. It was so severe that I doubled over, and was barely able to keep from vomiting. The pain lasted for several minutes, which was a long time, believe me.

I hate the MBTA.

Pain on the train

I got on the train at Forge Park this morning. As it pulled into the next stop - Dean College - there was a sudden, violent jerk. It felt as if there had almost been a crash.

Unfortunately my knee must have been in just the wrong place at the wrong time. There are some blunt corners on each seat-back, and the jerk jammed one of them into the space under the edge of my kneecap. Instantly I was plunged into violent, blinding pain such as I've rarely experienced. It was so severe that I doubled over, and was barely able to keep from vomiting. The pain lasted for several minutes, which was a long time, believe me.

I hate the MBTA.

Patriots Rant

I don't really care about the Patriots loss much. I mean, I am a geek, after all! It would have been a nice little start to the morning if they'd won, but really, who cares?

What did annoy me, though was a comment by one of the players on the radio this morning. He was saying he was disappointed, because of the sacrifices he'd made. Which instantly inspired a rant from me:

"Sacrifices?!? He gets millions of dollars for a few hours of work every few days for a few months out of the year! They all get millions more for endorsing sneakers made by five-year-old SLAVE children in fucking China! They've got groupies, beautiful women throwing themselves at them night and day! And this asshole is telling me he's made SACRIFICES?!?"

My fuse gets shorter when I'm really tired. :D

Patriots Rant

I don't really care about the Patriots loss much. I mean, I am a geek, after all! It would have been a nice little start to the morning if they'd won, but really, who cares?

What did annoy me, though was a comment by one of the players on the radio this morning. He was saying he was disappointed, because of the sacrifices he'd made. Which instantly inspired a rant from me:

"Sacrifices?!? He gets millions of dollars for a few hours of work every few days for a few months out of the year! They all get millions more for endorsing sneakers made by five-year-old SLAVE children in fucking China! They've got groupies, beautiful women throwing themselves at them night and day! And this asshole is telling me he's made SACRIFICES?!?"

My fuse gets shorter when I'm really tired. :D

A thought: advice

Something occurred to me recently.

I'm pretty good at writing advice. It seems to be one of my talents, bolstered by all the reading I do and my trick memory. Currently over on Askville 46% of my 243 answers have won the "best answer" ribbon, and over 90% have been rated between 3.5 and 5 stars. Both of those statistics are well above the average.

So it occurred to me that I might as well put up a post here, just in case anyone would like to get some advice from me. I'll screen all comments. If anyone asks a question, I'll either answer in email (assuming you want it kept private), or if you prefer I'll unscreen it, along with my answer.

Obviously if I don't have your email address I can't answer privately! But I will not unscreen any comment without specific written permission by the author.

This might be kind of interesting, if anyone takes me up on it. I have to admit that once in a while I've sort of "asked" myself a question as if I were looking for advice, and I often end up surprised at the answer.

In any case, I promise to do my best to answer any questions and to keep anything private strictly confidential. Although of course I have to note that the odds are that both the US and Russian governments can easily access anything written here.

Okay. I'm going to bed. I wonder if I'll see any responses in the morning?

A thought: advice

Something occurred to me recently.

I'm pretty good at writing advice. It seems to be one of my talents, bolstered by all the reading I do and my trick memory. Currently over on Askville 46% of my 243 answers have won the "best answer" ribbon, and over 90% have been rated between 3.5 and 5 stars. Both of those statistics are well above the average.

So it occurred to me that I might as well put up a post here, just in case anyone would like to get some advice from me. I'll screen all comments. If anyone asks a question, I'll either answer in email (assuming you want it kept private), or if you prefer I'll unscreen it, along with my answer.

Obviously if I don't have your email address I can't answer privately! But I will not unscreen any comment without specific written permission by the author.

This might be kind of interesting, if anyone takes me up on it. I have to admit that once in a while I've sort of "asked" myself a question as if I were looking for advice, and I often end up surprised at the answer.

In any case, I promise to do my best to answer any questions and to keep anything private strictly confidential. Although of course I have to note that the odds are that both the US and Russian governments can easily access anything written here.

Okay. I'm going to bed. I wonder if I'll see any responses in the morning?

An Obama thing

I really will go to bed in five minutes. But I wanted to note this:

I don't trust Obama. I think he's too willing to tell people whatever they want to hear. His campaign has done some sleazy things that I don't like. And I fear that if he were to get the Presidency, there's a good chance that he'd be another Jimmy Carter - as in President Carter, the hapless and ineffectual victim, not former President Carter, the near-saint.

But I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton would be our George W. Bush. I think that she will maintain Bush's secrecy, violations of civil liberties, and grotesquely swollen executive power.

I've said it before: I'll vote for Obama if he gets the nomination, but I won't vote for Hillary if she does. I won't be a party to the suicide of the Democratic Party and American democracy. I'll write in a protest vote instead.

I'd like to have more confidence in Obama. And that's why I was interested to see this quote from Bill Richardson:

"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.'"

Perhaps that was just a matter of calculation on Obama's part. But that seems like a stretch. It seems more likely that he simply had a decent impulse to help someone out. It's sad to say, but the thought that a candidate for the Presidency might have a decent impulse and follow through on it actually surprises me - and gives me a little hope.

And with that, I'm off to bed.

An Obama thing

I really will go to bed in five minutes. But I wanted to note this:

I don't trust Obama. I think he's too willing to tell people whatever they want to hear. His campaign has done some sleazy things that I don't like. And I fear that if he were to get the Presidency, there's a good chance that he'd be another Jimmy Carter - as in President Carter, the hapless and ineffectual victim, not former President Carter, the near-saint.

But I have no doubt that Hillary Clinton would be our George W. Bush. I think that she will maintain Bush's secrecy, violations of civil liberties, and grotesquely swollen executive power.

I've said it before: I'll vote for Obama if he gets the nomination, but I won't vote for Hillary if she does. I won't be a party to the suicide of the Democratic Party and American democracy. I'll write in a protest vote instead.

I'd like to have more confidence in Obama. And that's why I was interested to see this quote from Bill Richardson:

"I had just been asked a question -- I don't remember which one -- and Obama was sitting right next to me. Then the moderator went across the room, I think to Chris Dodd, so I thought I was home free for a while. I wasn't going to listen to the next question. I was about to say something to Obama when the moderator turned to me and said, 'So, Gov. Richardson, what do you think of that?' But I wasn't paying any attention! I was about to say, 'Could you repeat the question? I wasn't listening.' But I wasn't about to say I wasn't listening. I looked at Obama. I was just horrified. And Obama whispered, 'Katrina. Katrina.' The question was on Katrina! So I said, 'On Katrina, my policy . . .' Obama could have just thrown me under the bus. So I said, 'Obama, that was good of you to do that.'"

Perhaps that was just a matter of calculation on Obama's part. But that seems like a stretch. It seems more likely that he simply had a decent impulse to help someone out. It's sad to say, but the thought that a candidate for the Presidency might have a decent impulse and follow through on it actually surprises me - and gives me a little hope.

And with that, I'm off to bed.