E.T.'s L.J. U.R.L.

I'm sure it's a trick, but... anyone have any idea how this works? I've tried several different combinations and it keeps giving the right answer. Hm.

I don't usually take an interest in such things, but I thought some of you might be intrigued and/or amused to learn that Neil Gaiman is dating Amanda Palmer. Huh. Links of various sorts on chanaleh's post... (Assuming you don't mind my linking rather than splicing...)

Got a note from our friend M., who recently had a job interview locally that seems to hold promise:
I'll be in North Andover for at least a week, starting November 11.... I was wondering if you knew someone I could rent a room from, initially on a short-, subsequently perhaps a longer-term basis. Somewhere quiet, mammal-free, and within feasible (ideally reverse) commute to North Andover.

Anyone have and/or know of an available room? M. is a nice guy, and good company. (Also vegetarian, and allergic to furred beings.) Any leads would be appreciated... Thanks!

(Still behind on mail/LJ/you-name-it due to the surfeit of holidays, hope to catch up someday soon...)

I've been having trouble getting up - and subsequently been running late - all summer, but since we changed the clocks back, I've noticed that I'm feeling much more alert. Apparently my inner circadian doesn't like Daylight Savings. So that made me wonder whether anyone else has been similarly affected...

[Poll #1083889]

Recently someone posted to a local list I'm on with a number of items he wanted to give away. One of them was an encyclopedia. I mentioned it to sdavido, and we agreed that an encyclopedia is always good to have, so I wrote back to the gentleman in question to claim it. He responded that it was still available, so I asked when and where it would be convenient for me to pick it up. Tonight I got a note back from him saying which street he lives on, with his phone number. Intrigued, I called him, and quickly confirmed that he lives around the corner from us. Literally, around the corner and about 4 buildings away. We agreed to meet shortly on the street corner. So I went outside and walked down to the corner. A moment later I saw someone walking down the opposite side toward me, carrying a large book. But when he got to the corner on his side, the light was against him. So we waved to each other, and waited for the light to change, at which point he crossed the street, smiled, and handed me the book. I don't think we had exchanged any words at that point (though we did chat for a few minutes afterward). The scenario of meeting a stranger on a street corner in the dark, and being silently handed a large object, made me think briefly that I should have identified myself with "the raven crows at dawn," or something similar...

We received 19 catalogs in the mail today. And it's only October... oy.

(Oh yeah, and I seem to have come down with a cold... [sigh])

I recently realized that I hadn't received my favorite book catalog in a while. I've been getting it for probably over 15 years, and always found something to buy (and a lot more to drool over). An attempt to go to their website to make sure I was still on the mailing list resulted in "not found," so I did a little searching... and discovered that they've gone out of business. I'm so upset... I really enjoyed their catalog, and there were always so many books that looked interesting. Fortunately I do still have one of their last catalogs (I always kept one around, in case I needed to look for a book), but it's sad to think that there won't be any more of them... nothing else is quite the same.

As they say, that ice is really slippery... three of the top six ice-dancing couples fell tonight. I hope none of them are hurt too badly - one skater in particular went down pretty hard. On the postive side, Americans Belbin & Agosto are in second place, so if all goes well they might have a shot at a medal after tomorrow night's final ice-dance segment. I'm pleased about this not so much because they're American as because they look like they're really having fun - it's nice to see a pair who seems to be actually enjoying themselves, and not just going through the motions. Hopefully there won't be any more mishaps!

Has anyone else noticed that the ice-skating commentators at the Olympics are being particularly nasty and snarky this year? (Scott Hamilton is being a gentleman, as usual - I'm referring to the other two, who do most of the talking.) It's one thing to say, e.g., "oh, he did a double instead of a triple, that's going to cost him points." It's quite another to say someone's costume reminds you of your dining-room drapes (yes, they really said that), or to say a competitor's choreography is "trite," or to make sweeping less-than-complimentary comments about the competitors from a particular nation. These are the best skaters in the world, trying their hardest to perform extremely difficult moves under intense pressure; the least they deserve is a little respect. There were points both last night and tonight when I was so disgusted by their insults that I was seriously tempted to hit the mute button, but it's hard to fully appreciate the beauty of a skating routine when you can't hear the music. Is this making anyone else's Olympic-watching experience unpleasant, or is it just me?

Today was the first Sunday in a very long time that I've been home. I was able to catch up on a lot of little things - sweeping, vacuuming, folding laundry, scrubbing the kitchen sink and stovetop, etc. It was really nice to have a large enough block of time that I could make some real progress. (Most evenings lately, by the time I leave the store, pick up sdavido from work, come home, make/eat/clean up from dinner, go through mail, etc. it's already after 10, and I don't feel like starting many projects at that point.) I felt like doing something a little different for dinner, so I made omelettes, which I haven't done in a while. Then we went and dug out the car. The center of the driveway had been shovelled, but not our space - the snow was about up to mid-thigh on me. Fortunately it was light, fluffy snow, so it didn't take too long. Tomorrow we go back to normal, but it was nice while it lasted...