• Looks like we’ve wasted another perfectly good week off

    I had big plans for this week. I think I may have shared my plans with all of you. Come on, you remember… I had planned to do nothing this week.

    “So John, is there any thing you need at Home Depot?” Cheryl asks me last Friday night.

    “Ah, no. Should I need something at Home Depot?” I reply.

    “Silly, silly boy; weren’t you going to do Beth’s floor this week?”

    Curses! Foiled again.

  • Off balance: a belated review

    Presumption number one: you pay attention to the books I read.
    Presumption number two: anyone is paying attention at all.

    My first impression of Harry Turtledove follows his naming strategy… he’s awfully repetitive. Have you ever read a book where the author continuously reminds you what the character’s motivations are?

    Chapter 1: “… Jack was uneasy, his acne proof of his poor hygiene.”
    Chapter 2: “… of course, Jack didn’t go with them, his acne making him too self conscious to be seen in public.”
    Chapter 2, paragraph 12: “His acne was beginning to put a crimp on his success with the ladies.”
    Chapter 3: ” ‘Sorry, but I’ve got to stay home and wash my face tonight.’ ”

    You get the idea? The character’s actual concerns were a little deeper than my example, but I still thought every chapter was written like the first chapter in a sequel… the author assuming that everyone had forgotten the nuances of the characters in the year that has past since the last book came out.

    The book would have been great if I hadn’t wanted to scream, “Dude, it’s only been one chapter. I GET IT ALREADY.” Besides, no one around would have known what the heck I was talking about.

  • Leaving work at work

    The only time I think about work at home is when someone asks, “So how’s work?”

    Tonight was the exception. The Gators advanced to the basketball championship game, and the first thing I thought of was my buddy at work. “THE GATORS??” he asked belligerently at the start of the tournament. “They haven’t played anyone.”

    That may be true, but they’ll be playing someone for the championship in a couple of days.

    Damn it, I knew we should have bought real wood furniture.