Had an idea today. You see, I get a lot of junk mail. I think junk mail that goes to an actual person, e.g. the money laundering scams, should be sent to each other. So when I get one from a guy in, say, Togo or Zambia, I'll forward it to that unhappy widow in Nigeria who lost her husband due to "the situation" in her country, or to the poor (well, "rich") unfortunate in Kuwait with cancer, along with the suggestion that I can't help them, but I bet they could help each other. I may also offer my services as an English language consultant...only 2.8 million dollars. I hate stupid people.

New laptop on the way! Very spiffy, am pleased with it, as has been 4+ years since I've bought a new computer. Have upgraded the existing ones, but not quite the same. Now a brief musing on the miracles of electrical tape. I fixed my old laptop's power supply to get me through the next week until the new one arrives. Jury rigged, but it works! Amazing how dependent one is on electricity and how one forgets until one's laptop power supply dies right before one's civil procedure class. But now it is charging, and no raging inferno that I've noticed so far. Scissors and electical tape solved the problem, as they always do. For bigger jobs, it is duct tape and scissors, but really, the same principle. Name me a problem that duct or electrical tape can't solve (although perhaps it'd require a creative application), and it's probably not a problem worth considering.

Had my first strawberry crop yesterday, crop being defined loosely as a single strawberry. An alpine strawberry, close to wild type strawberries, bought at cousin Michal's recommendation. They're yummy. I saw that Djali was licking the leaves of the strawberry plants lovingly, perhaps he's already partaken of their bounty. I wonder if I qualify for farm subsidies now, as I've 14 strawberry plants and a whole bunch of culinary herbs.

Now an amusing quote from http://www.cnn.com/2004/US/02/27/un.britain/index.html on weapons inspectors being spied upon. "Butler told Australian radio he believed he was being bugged by at least four of the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council, adding, 'I don't know what the Chinese were doing.'" My first thought was, only four?! Does that mean I have a jaundiced view of world politics?

Found a wonderful, fabulous item today. Italian inlaid wood pedestal chess table. It matches my Italian inlaid wood music box tables. 40% off, too! Here are two pictures, top and side view. Man, I really need to vacuum, cat fur builds up after a week out of town!

Well, this past week has been positively exhausting. My grandfather and my uncle died within twelve hours of each other, my grandfather of pneumonia and my uncle from complications after heart surgery. I flew to Arkansas for my grandfather's funeral and drove to LA for my uncle's. I just got back a few hours ago. I was so tired I fell asleep on the couch for an hour because I literally could not make it to the bedroom. Although I did manage to check e-mail before passing out. ;) Things were as pleasant as could be expected. Got to see many people I hadn't seen in ages - cousins, family friends, etc. - and met a few new ones. I'd never met my step-uncles (my grandfather's second wife's children) and am glad I got a chance to do that. They were all nice, and one of them was an attorney with lots of interesting stories. Always nice to have someone with a somewhat similar background around, and he seemed to feel the same. I also got to spend time in Memphis, although I'm neutral about having had a chance to do it. Had I had more time, I would have seriously considered visiting Graceland just for the tacky bragging rights and to get lots of Elvis-themed postcards for friends and family. As it was, all I brought back are some photos. Here is one of our land in Arkansas:

Welp, just finished my "updates" for my Public Interest Law class. Then I got to cleaning out some old e-mail when I noticed my Inbox is 225 megs and dates back to 2000. No wonder it gets corrupted on occasion... Sort of creepy, found e-mail from two deceased relatives lurking about in there. Classes start tomorrow.

http://tlc.discovery.com/news/afp/20031229/magazine.html?ct=3498.72619452984 When books attack...Be careful, it could happen to you!

http://tlc.discovery.com/news/afp/20031215/bullet.html?ct=6788.92970857309 Doctor killed while testing his anti-bullet charm. Surprise, suprise, it didn't work.

My new Xmas ornaments - after Christmas sales rule! Note the Sharpie for size comparison.

Took a few cute photos today of my cats "kissing" under the Christmas tree.

Am back from finals! Seemed to go well, etc. Although I have a cold and have been otherwise mostly nonproductive over the last two weeks, I did feel adequately prepared. Now I need to do laundry, clean, etc. During the last week of classes a classmate and friend noted that I was dressed nicely (at least, more nicely than usual, although she didn't say that), and was I going out after class. You see, I explained, all my casual clothes were too dirty to wear and I'd probably be wearing formalwear to my finals. Not that I did, I raided my store of animal-themed t-shirts and sweatpants and have worn variants of that style for the last two weeks. Mostly because it was better than paying for the dry cleaning for the formalwear. ;)

Put up my Christmas tree. A large number of soft toy ornaments and sturdy metal and wood ones - cat-proof, you know. A few glass balls - very small, and thus resistant to breakage despite their delicate nature (none lost yet, despite several spills). Colorful and animal-themed. The tree has the requisite mushrooms - mom claims it is a German tradition that having a mushroom on your tree brings good luck; I have several, including a few semi-antique ones given me by my parents.

Djali is lurking in the lower left-hand corner. They cats have taken to sleeping under the tree.

Several new, cool ornaments this year. First is the angel top of the tree, a gift from cousins Michal and Georgina, they know I like blue (and especially gold-trimmed blue, I'll add); most beautiful, and I needed something to put on the top of the tree, last year it went untopped. Second is the lampshade thing in the middle, above the giraffe, which I adore for its unusual shape and the fact that it has appliqued flowers. Got it at the Knorr Candle Factory, where I also acquired the little handbag ornament, directly below the angel. The two standing Santas are new, too - one from Michal, one from Costco. The candle holders are also new. I ordered more and will put them up next year, along with a bunch of glass icicles, when I get a better fake tree, one that actually resembles a _tree_. This one was a $20 Walmart special. *laugh*

A bit of Yahoo fun tonight. Got hit on by some "attorney" (yeah, right) who happened to have hit on me about a year back. He used the _same_ trite lines he used a year back (charming the first time = pathetic the second time. get some new material, already.) I also recalled how easily he got enraged when he was questioned or challenged in any way (and he's hitting on law students WHY?). So, being me, I decided to have a bit of fun. Edited transcript follows (full transcript available upon request), name changed to protect the loser:

ImaLoser: do you need a new penpal.... do you like poets.... are you allergic to lawyers
imbrium44: hello
ImaLoser: hi
ImaLoser: so you wanna be a lawyer..... should i warn you, or should i encourage you to finish
imbrium44: oh doesn't matter much each way
ImaLoser: so would you rather tell me about yourself, or read one of my poems about law school
[…] imbrium44: sorry to disappoint, I know everyone expects horror stories about law school, but I have none
ImaLoser: well, law school is fun
ImaLoser: it is being a lawyer that sucks
[…] ImaLoser: my motto is this... if anyone tells you they love being a lawyer, they are either psychotic, or a liar
imbrium44: perhaps it is just the field in which you work?
ImaLoser: nope
ImaLoser: i know lots of lawyers
ImaLoser: i know a heck of a lot abou a heck of a lot
imbrium44: do you now?
ImaLoser: did i tell you i am humble????
ImaLoser: it is my best quality, my humility
ImaLoser: lots of people go around pretending to be humble, but they got nothing to brag about
[...] ImaLoser: but me, i got lots to brag about, so in comparison, i am overly humble
ImaLoser: hey, what is yoru second grad degree going to be in
imbrium44: international relations
ImaLoser: so you want to deal in international trade, where there really is no law
imbrium44: no, I don't particularily want to deal in international trade
[…] imbrium44: so if you hate your job so much, why do you continue to do it?
ImaLoser: i said i did not love it
ImaLoser: i said it sucks
ImaLoser: i never said i hated it
imbrium44: then why continue to do it? why not chuck it all and buy a farm in montana?
ImaLoser: most jobs suck, that is why they call it a job
ImaLoser: you need money for a farm, even in montana
[…] imbrium44: yes, but you could do that on a gas station attendant's salary...in montana
[…] ImaLoser: you are sounding a little like ronald reagan, when he held up the newspaper back in the 80's, and said, "you want a job, check out the wantads in the newspaper"
imbrium44: but certainly better than much of the coasts, where even attorneys can't afford 1 acre
imbrium44: so perhaps you're tied to the status and prestige as well?
[...] ImaLoser: so you really think a bank is going to loan a gas station attendant enough money to buy a farm..... and then the bank is going to loan the start-up capital so that the new farmer can work the farm...... and then the bank is going to wait around until the crops come in to collect its money..... ??????
[…] ImaLoser: you are republican, huh?????
ImaLoser: you probably call yourself conservative, huh
imbrium44: not a bit
ImaLoser: i bet you do not last fives years practicing law...... nope, not five years....... no offense, but you have no idea how hard it is........
[…] imbrium44: yes, my poor fellow. but if you hate it so much, quit
ImaLoser: you are so wrong....... about the bank...... why do you think john mellencamp had to put on a concert called farm aid..... why do you think the government gives out billions of dollars a year in welfare to farmers.... and, what crop is the farmer going to grow in montana???????
imbrium44: I don't care for people who complain but do nothing to solve their situation. It's like the woman who stays with the rich abusive man because she otherwise couldn't afford designer clothes
imbrium44: it isn't an argument I find appealing or swaying, sorry
[…] imbrium44: ahhh farm subsidies!
imbrium44: so do you know much about the CAP? How do you feel the entry of the ten new states will affect it?
ImaLoser: good luck........ you are going to need it when you get out in the real world.... goodbye.....
imbrium44: laugh bye bye mike esq
imbrium44: you'd already talked to me about a year before, I recalled your amusingly patronizing attitude quite quickly
imbrium44: next time, do remember on whom you've tried your trite, tired out hit-ons. good BYE

And, with my closing line, I blocked him.

http://www.reuters.co.uk/newsPackageArticle.jhtml?type=topNews&storyID=405949§ion=news Yes, Michael Jackson, go ahead and antagonize the DA.... Cutest quote: "Indeed, a profile of Sneddon on the official Web site of the National District Attorneys Association mentions that 'he's the only DA in the nation to have an angry song written about him by pop megastar Michael Jackson.'"

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusgen/ap11-15-163124.asp?t=apnew&vts=111520031650 "Milwaukee postal workers find live alligator chewing through shipping carton." What intrigues me most is the explanation that "alligators longer than 20 inches are not allowed to be sent through the mail." So seems you can still buy a 20 inch alligator off ebay and have it shipped via regular mail.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/US/Northeast/11/13/lawyer.kidnap.ap/index.html You knew working at law firms was a tough job, but did you think it'd be this tough? "An attorney accused of burying an associate alive under the floor of his Manhattan apartment..."

Thought of the day: Luxembourg: A buffer zone in which to park your tanks.

http://www.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/europe/11/06/putin.ap/index.html While doubtless Khodorkovsky didn't pay his taxes, he's hardly an exception. No one pays taxes in Russia. Selective enforcement for political ends. The Russian government doesn't seem to have adapted to operating with the light of international scrutiny shining in. Will be interesting to see how it plays out.

http://www.msn.match.com/msn/article.aspx?articleid=89&TrackingID=516311&BannerID=544658 Horrid, historically inaccurate article. No idea where he got his information about Elizabeth I of England , but he's obviously gotten her confused with Catherine II "The Great" of Russia. While some fringey group claims Elizabeth had scads of lovers, that is a highly controversial minority opinion. Catherine is a much safer target and the one I'd choose myself for making stupid assertions of the kind he makes. I hate idiots. Would e-mail the author if he didn't hide his e-mail address (obviously out of fear someone would correct his shoddy research).

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/ap11-09-174712.asp?reg=mideast&vts=11920031753 Yick. Bad baby formula. Can’t you see some execs saying, whoops, forgot the Thiamin, gee, do babies really need that? Nah….

http://famulus.msnbc.com/famulusintl/reuters11-09-180601.asp?reg=europe&vts=11920031810 The Romanian film industry. Is good that they’ve been able to expand to sorts of movies other than just gothic horror. As I commented earlier regarding Vampire wineries, vampires are Romania’s biggest claim to fame, and certainly the one with the most mass appeal. They need to beat that horse till its good and dead and then keep beating. If the Dracula theme park gets built, I'd go visit. Am still trying to find more Vampire wine...

http://www.cnn.com/2003/TECH/science/11/08/peru.inca.reut/index.html A lost city found near a lost city. Why is anyone surprised? Lost things cluster together, it's the law.