I have a bunch of old Wordperfect files on my computer that I haven’t been able to open in a long while because Microsoft Word was all like “Wordperfect?  What the hell is Wordperfect?”  I also have no idea what I did with my ancient copy of WP.  I don’t know why I didn’t think of this sooner, but I downloaded OpenOffice yesterday, which had no problems converting my old files. 

 

I was just going through some of these files, many of which go back to my junior and senior years in college.  There are a few term papers, letters to friends (not e-mails, but actual letters that had to be inserted into stamped envelopes), and some excruciatingly bad poetry.  I was such an angsty, earnest kid and more than a little self-absorbed.  Like most kids in college, I had a lot of emotional peaks and valleys and those were the times when I seemed to be compelled to write. 

 

I really should delete some of this stuff, especially the poetry.  But if I ever do have any success with writing, I might want someone to shove it in my face once in a while, just to keep me humble. 

I just read an interesting article Psychology Today about sleep cycles and insomnia.  It suggests that it’s usually best to do nothing when dealing with insomnia; it usually resolves itself.  I’m fortunate to never have experienced any major sleep problems.  I’ve become somewhat inured to things like being turned over or being given a nebulizer treatment during the night.  Things like that do wake me up, at least partially, but I’ve trained myself to fall back asleep without much trouble.  I do tend to get my deepest sleep between 5 and 8 a.m., but the whole getting-up-for-work thing gets in the way of that.  Weekends are for catching up and I get crap from some of my nurses for sleeping in until 9 or 10.  I’m actually doing them a favor, though.  My disposition becomes much less agreeable if I have to get up early on a weekend. 

I love this picture:

 

 

These law students at Georgetown turned their backs on Attorney General Alberto Gonzales as he delivered a speech defending the illegal wiretapping of U.S. citizens.  The quote, in case you can’t read the attribution, is from Benjamin Franklin.  Read the full story here. 

 

I know lots of people want the government to do whatever it takes to keep us safe.  But the practice of conducting unconstitutional surveillance of Americans is neither efficient nor effective.  It might make us feel safer, but the idea that such actions are actually protecting us is laughable.