= Such Stupid Things =

We're quite paranoid, Marie and I, so we've already bought out plane tickets home for Christmas. The newly-launched Virgin America had some hard-to-beat introductory fares, so we pounced. They're based out of SFO, and Richard Branson seemed like a stand-up guy in a New Yorker bio I read a few months ago. So... we're going to give it a try.

Just after making the purchase, a co-worker told me (in a disparaging tone of voice) that I had no brand loyalty, and that this was part of why the airline industry was in such trouble. I would have given his accusations more credence if, not two days prior I hadn't gotten a certain email from Northwest Airlines. I was trying to credit the miles from my trip to the Philippines to my WorldPerks account, but as you can clearly see, miles are NOT earned from tickets purchased in Coach Class Q. So... tough noogies, Jeff.

Well eff you, airline industry. Eff you and your stupid mileage programs and your stupid coach classes. I just hope Virgin's ridiculous purple lights and free open-source Doom win my affections. Because if they don't, I'll be back on jetBlue in a heartbeat.

Posted by Jeff at 11:34 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I won't get into how it came up, but I had a hell of a time the other day trying to remember the lyrics to the TV commercial for the 1980's-era boy doll, "My Buddy". I've never posted a YouTube clip on my blog, so I figured this was a worthy way to start:

I know it goes without saying at this point, but man.. how about that internet? However did people survive without having complete and instantaneous access to everything ever?

Posted by Jeff at 03:40 PM | Permalink | Comments (1)

Well, now that I'm done with books forever, I can come out of my internet silence to comment on that last blog post. I had no spoiler-related intentions, but I realize now that it might not have been obvious. So please, don't put any stock in my baseless guesses.

Though I should mention that I did win a bet with Marie regarding some key Deathly Hallows plot elements. I won't say what about. But if anyone wants to discuss, I'm ready.

Posted by Jeff at 10:03 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

In chronological order:

Mad-Eye Mooney
Percy Weasly
Dementors, Dementors, Dementors!
Crookshanks
An army of zombies
Fenrir Grayback
Neville's Grandmother
Bellatrix LaStrange / Neville (simultaneously)
Grawp
Lucious Malfoy
Hagrid
Sirius (again)
Snape
Lord Voldemort

Also, that earthquake this morning? Probably trouble brewing in the wizarding world...

Posted by Jeff at 11:33 AM | Permalink | Comments (3)

This week's issue of C&E News had an eye-catching article** which opened with,

A VISITING SCHOLAR from a Chinese university takes notice of your research. He invites you to visit his home country, all expenses paid. You accept and find yourself feted at a large, lavish banquet. At the end of a long evening, weary from jet lag, you're still being peppered with questions about your work. . . . Welcome to 21st-century espionage. Spying is no longer good guy versus bad guy, classified versus unclassified, Soviet versus American. It's as much about economic impact as it is about weapons. And it's often aimed at academic scientists.

Attention Chinese intelligence agents: I know things. All sorts of things. And as history has proven time and time again, after a few drinks I'd love to tell you about them. So if you're planning any of these "lavish banquet[s]" anytime soon, I'm your man.

** Can people without an academic site license actually access this? If not, sorry.

Posted by Jeff at 11:57 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

We were out at Kilowatt last night when a stranger struck up a conversation. After five-or-so minutes of your standard drunk boilerplate, he leans in close to me and says, "Listen: I have a feeling you're really smart. When the time comes, and the world is mine, there will be a place for you."

Umm... thanks?

Posted by Jeff at 11:00 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

I'm back home in Arlington for a few days. Things have changed everytime I come back here - new buildings, new traffic lights, etc. etc. - but I realized today just how foreign the county of my birth had become. My dad is in Canada (as is the family's bizarre Fourth of July tradition), but today being the fifth of July, I was given the responsibility of buying some cheap, on-sale fireworks. So I went to the place where I used to buy fireworks... only it wasn't there. So I went to that other place down the street... nothing there either. After thirty wasted minutes of driving around to grocery stores, convenience stores, churches, schools I still came up with diddly squat.

So there will be no half-price bottle rockets this year, children. I'm sorry to let you down. Where the heck to do you buy fireworks in Arlington anymore?

Posted by Jeff at 10:45 AM | Permalink | Comments (0)

Joe has more and better pictures, but I have a couple shots from our Arrested Development part last weekend. It was a good time, indeed.

George Senior and Lucille. You can't see my yarmulke.

Graft vs. Host Tobias, Gene Parmesan and Rita Leeds, enjoying their frozen bananas.

Lucille and the mole. Paul and Nisita definitely won best costume. They staged a Mole vs. Rocketman battle a few hours into the evening. But Greg got bonus points as GOB for his lighter fluid-squirting arm contraption.

Posted by Jeff at 10:22 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)

TV just told me that "nothing says summer like music and smores".

I have no bon mot or clever turn of phrase to add here. I just thought that was the single dumbest thing I've ever heard.

Posted by Jeff at 09:48 PM | Permalink | Comments (0)