Huh. If I’m not mistaken, Adam Curry left a comment here today. I have good memories of watching MTV when I stayed home from school because I was sick (which was often). Adam Curry and Martha Quinn were my favorite VJs. This was back when MTV played videos and not much else.
I may have a couple people over for the Super Bowl tomorrow. I bought way too much food. Perhaps I should invite the lovely woman who lives across the hall and woo her with my vast array of snack items and dipping condiments. Women like that kind of stuff, don’t they?

I just did my taxes and it looks like Uncle Sam will be sending me a generous refund this year. So now I have the pleasant dilemma of figuring out what to do with this sudden windfall. I suppose I could go to Vegas and blow it all on drugs and women, but that just doesn’t feel very original. I have a feeling that some of it will go towards my upcoming vacation. Speaking of, Hobbit Travel just lost me as a potential customer. I spent a half hour on hold waiting to speak to an agent. When I finally get someone on the other end, I start explaining my vacation plans. I get maybe one sentence out when click! The guy hung up on me. Now I realize my voice can sound a bit odd on the phone, especially to someone who doesn’t know me. But how about a little patience here? I gots the cash money to spend and this is how I get treated? The sad thing is that this sort of thing happens regularly. Oh, the injustice! By the way, I’m thinking about this resort in Puerto Rico. Who wants to come with?
I’m trying to figure out if I can scan the magazine article for all of you to see. It’s actually kinda long–six pages. And I should make sure it’s cool with the people at the magazine.

A few days ago, I mentioned I had an announcement to make. And I know the suspense is killing you. Is it a new girlfriend? Alas, no. A book deal? Not yet. Maybe this picture will offer a clue:

Law & Politics is a Minnesota magazine that’s widely read by the legal community and other assorted professionals. One of the editors lives in my building and we met when I first moved here. For some reason I still don’t quite understand, he decided that I might make an interesting article for the magazine. His name is Adam Wahlberg and he did a great job writing the piece. It’s not sappy or pithy, which is a lot more than I can say about some other things that have been written about me. He quotes some stuff from my blog, which is cool. When I opened to the article, this was staring back at me on the opposite page:

Man, somebody needs a haircut! Seriously though, it felt really strange to be staring at a full-page photo of myself. All of my nurses will probably show it to their friends and family as proof that they really do work with a freak.
Anyway, that’s my big announcement. The magazine has a readership of about 50,000 and it will be interesting to see what kind of feedback I get or if the blog will get any additional hits. Hell, the only reason I agreed to do the article was a last-ditch effort to get a date. Not that I’m holding my breath.
If anyone wants copies of the article, e-mail me and I’ll see what I can do. If you’re in Minnesota, you might be able to find the magazine at your local Borders or B&N.

Congratulations to everyone at NASA and JPL for successfully landing the Opportunity rover on Mars. And it looks like Spirit may also be on the way back to good health after being in critical condition for the last few days. I heard on the NASA channel last night that their website has received over 4 billion hits in the last few weeks. I like to think that this mission might improve the science literacy of Americans. I’m surprised by the number of people who think that driving the rover is a simple matter, like playing a video game. They don’t get the concept of the time lag created by the distance a radio signal has to travel between Earth and Mars. Then again, wouldn’t it be cool if we actually did have something like LeGuin’s ansible at our disposal? I wonder if any serious research has been done in this area.

Last week, I mentioned I spoke to a class at Hamline. I had one other duty to fulfill as part of that commitment, which was to have one of the students job-shadow me. I did that today. I was a little concerned because there just isn’t much to see at my work. After all, I’m not performing surgery or or fighting fires. And I didn’t think it would be very exciting for my student to watch me write e-mail and answer the telephone. So I decided to talk to her and simply let her ask me whatever questions she had. My student was a sweet and charming young woman and it was fun to listen to her talk and remember my own college experiences (which are nearly ten years ago now). College was a mixed bag for me. I went to a small liberal arts college in Wisconsin where there weren’t too many students with disabilities and the student body was surprisingly conservative. In more ways than one, I felt like I really didn’t fit in there. At the same time, I had some truly awesome friends and some first-rate professors who taught me how to write well.
I’ve been on an iTunes spree lately, with a particular emphasis on The Cure. I dig Robert Smith’s voice and his melancholy verses resonate with me. I can’t stop listening to “Pictures of You.”
Watch this space next week for a really cool announcement.