1. I am deeply annoyed at the world right now because – for reasons I am not about to get into in this forum – it has decided to be exceedingly unkind to a number of people I know and love. It would be nice if we could rewind things back a bit and get a do-over, but the world does not work that way and so I am left to be annoyed at it. Deeply, deeply annoyed.
2. It is a strange feeling when a reporter from another city calls you out of the blue to ask you questions about a political matter. But there it is, published and out in the world. I’m nearly famous.
3. I may have made a tactical error in having all of my classes take exams last week. The stack of ungraded exams has haunted me ever since, and eventually I will either finish them off of they will do the same to me. In either case, I am hoping that there will be refreshments.
4. The weather is now consistently cool enough for me to enjoy my tea without feeling uncomfortably warm. The fall is the best season of the year.
5. Apparently it is coming on time for me to renew my driver’s license, and if I wish to provide a small stack of supporting documentation – one that appears to be only a quarter the size of my ungraded exam stack, or thereabouts – I can get something called a REAL ID instead. I am not sure what this says about my other options, as I am far too old to need a fake ID to get into bars.
6. We’re coming up on the election here in Baja Canada, and it seems to me that Governor Teabagger (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries) is feeling a wee bit defensive, if the sheer volume of his signs is any indication. On my commute to Mid-Range Campus I am finding it harder and harder to see any of the rolling countryside of Wisconsin, hidden as it is behind signs lying to me about how wonderful a leader Governor Teabagger (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries) has been and will be in the future. I find this hopeful, actually, as I had not seriously considered the possibility that he might be defeated.
7. My students ask lots of questions. I like it when they ask lots of questions, because it means they are listening and want to learn about things that interest them. But it does make it hard to get through the material. It’s a nice problem to have.
8. One of the joys of having an older child who still likes it when you read bedtime stories to them is that you get to read much more interesting stories. Lauren and I are now on the second of Jasper Fforde’s Nursery Crime series, and we’re having a very good time with it. It’s our time together, just the two of us, and we like it. Fforde’s mind must be a fascinating place to live.
9. The NHL season has started. The EPL is in full swing. There’s a new season of Doctor Who in progress, and the new Doctor has gotten some good writing to back up his acting skills. I have a stack of books in the to-read pile, waiting for me. It is good to remember things like that, when I am annoyed at the world.
Governor Teabagger (a wholly-owned subsidiary of Koch Industries) is feeling a wee bit more defensive since the Supreme Court on Thursday night barred Wisconsin from enforcing a requirement that voters must produce a photo identification before voting, by absentee ballot or in person. Three of the Justices whined about this, but it is done.
ReplyDeleteAlso, avoid the RealID, for it is of the Antichrist and signal the coming apocalypse. I suspect, however, that it will eventually be required, because it will help stop the evil terrorists and illegal aliens. Thus spake Congress.
I hate to disagree with Vince, but jump through the hoops and get a Real ID. I did it when I renewed this year. In late 2015 or early 2016 it is likely that the TSA is going to throw a whole lot more hoops in front of those who want to fly without a real ID, and my state told me that it's likely when that happens that the fees for a Real ID will go up.
ReplyDeleteVince - the SCOTUS decision frankly surprised me, though I was happy about it.
ReplyDeleteI will likely get one of the RealIDs because it seems they are soon to be mandatory here in the Land of the Free and they cost no more than a regular license here in Wisconsin.
As for them being of the Antichrist, I have learned from listening to some of the people who most loudly proclaim their Christianity these days that if such people are indeed model Christians then the distinction between Christ and Antichrist may not be as vast as I had been led to believe.