gnats

today was actually a lot of fun, in spite of the hangover:

the first thing through my mind after leaving the apartment: gnats. hundreds of 'em swarming outside, just above head-height.

then chief tecumseh popped into my head. specifically the famous quote:

so live your life that the fear of death can never enter your heart.
trouble no one about their religion; respect others in their view, and demand that they respect yours. love your life, perfect your life, beautify all things in your life. seek to make your life long and its purpose in the service of your people.

prepare a noble death song for the day when you go over the great divide.
always give a word or a sign of salute when meeting or passing a friend, even a stranger, when in a lonely place. show respect to all people and bow to none. when you arise in the morning, give thanks for the food and for the joy of living. If you see no reason for giving thanks, the fault lies only in yourself. abuse no one and nothing, for abuse turns the wise ones to fools and robs the spirit of its vision.

when it comes your time to die, be not like those whose hearts are filled with fear of death, so that when their time comes they weep and pray for a little more time to live their lives over again in a different way. sing your death song and die like a hero going home.

i had a great idea for the next time dressing up is appropriate: complete blackout with a giant, floaty cardboard smile.

the ride to base afforded me some nap time, and i got in to my office and immediately fired off a mail referring to our enlisted kids as "peons" - this is a completely untranslatable word, apparently.

the kinder had a couple of moments today:

1) we told him he needs a dunce cap with his name on it, and he asked how to spell it.
nystire: "D-U-N-C-E"
"dunkey?!"

2) the two of them were discussing something weird, after which he exclaimed: "that's a great idea for sexual harrassment!"
the two of us laughed hysterically, after which he urgently corrected himself: "that's a great idea for A LECTURE on sexual harrassment!"

i learned some stuff in c today: const pointers point to constants. not to one single place in memory.

-Wconversion

Warn if a prototype causes a type conversion that
is different from what would happen to the same ar-
gument in the absence of a prototype

what a completely useless warning. just my opinion.

the creationist's contributions to my responsibilities: it's my duty to clear out the recycling bins this week, and i did so yesterday. usually this is needed once a week, but today it was totally filled already. it turns out the creationist had decided that it was time to let go of his plastic bottle collection, and instead of removing it to the cages he dumped it for me to take out.

let's just say i put the fear of god into him, and this time it was of mine ;)

rent payment this evening: painful as usual. it was pleasant chatting with the landlord, though - and also a little uncomfortable at the end because i'm not (for obvious reasons) telling him that i'm involved in the purchase of the apartment. "my mommy's forcing me (poor me!) to move in" :P

the cool flatmate doesn't believe that capitalism is better than socialism. i really can't argue with that.

at least i know who i'm voting for: i just wish that israelis would "get" democracy. a lot aren't voting, and most are going to put in a ballot for parties that don't even claim to give a damn about internal policy.

"in a democracy, the country gets the government it deserves"