An Opinion Formed in Twenty-Four Seconds:

Scene: Our Living Room, Friday night. TV is showing the Celtics playing in Cleveland. Husband watching with great interest. I'm doing needlework and checking in to the background noise periodically (i.e., was that a fan in the crowd screaming, or do I need to check on the kids?)

In between stitches...

Me: Honey, is LeBron James the next Shaq?

Him: [starting to decipher my question...]

Me: As in, am I going to hate his guts on principle, regardless of his skill set, because the commentators all sound like they want to fellate him?

Him: Yes.

Me: Okay, thanks Honey.

Well that was easy.

I have already decided on a few Resolutions for 2009:

* Post to blog more than once a month.

* Do not commence each blog post with a pathetic excuse about why it's been so long since last blog post.

* Hone my skills of selectively ignoring my boss

* Get some exercise

* Find an off-ramp from present career track

* Keep all creatures in my care, four- and two-legged, alive.

* Keep a houseplant alive for at least three months. Cactus does not count.

(No, seriously, I have a black thumb. I once killed an aloe plant.)

Not a bad start: the secret to realistic goals is measurable standards - and low ones.

Stupid Customer Tricks: My colleagues were discussing the frustrations we sometimes encounter dealing with people, over the phone or in person, who really should not be let out of the house, much less anywhere within a mile of an airport.
Today's example: Customer didn't get the service she wanted. She had not followed the instructions on the website. Therefore, she declared, we were racist.
There is a leap in logic there that escapes me.
Am I stupid, or is she racist?

Just because I'm planning a few days off, the kids have been nurturing some really juicy coughs over the last 72 hours.

Now that we're not allowed to give little children cold medicines anymore, I suppose the most certain way to chase off their illnesses is to cancel my vacation days. Sorry kid, tough it out.

Oyez, oyez, oyez: Take note of lawyers in Washington DC collectively doing something decent.

I'll let someone else remark on the ABA President's statement that "President Musharraf sought to justify his actions by citing the threat of terrorism. But shutting down a nation’s lawful institutions of justice will hurt, not help, the fight against terrorism."

Ahem, FISA, cough, cough. Patriot Act, herm, ahem, cough.

How did I spend July 4th? Eating red meat and watching a Spielberg flick about robots beating the crap out of each other. Sounds appropriate enough...