NYC Police Officers go undercover at protests

I'm not sure what to make of this. My initial reaction is to 1984-out -- so Orwell was off by a couple decades -- but is there some justification for it?

Dear Sǿren --

Do you think, after officially hurting a person's feelings -- and by "officially" I mean destroying a major portion of their life's hopes and dreams, not just, like, kissing a different girl -- it's best to completely break off contact with the wounded person, and do so spitefully, unexpectedly, and especially after there is a considerable investment? Would you recommend a person does this if he or she wants to someday patch things up completely? Won't a break like that make all the parties involved more interested in a make-up?

SO Really Remorsefully Yours
Baltimore, MD

Yes, SORRY, I think it worked for that Prodigal boy, and it could work for you. But are things that bad? You want to find that out first. But who am I to know? I broke it off with that foxy Regina Olsen for much less than hurt feelings.

Merry Christmas

Word to the wise--Don't move over the holidays, it's depressing. Also, don't jump off a building, that's depressing too.

Three cheers for the transit workers in New York City. Seems like you're gonna get screwed whatever you do. But hey, that's the American Way. Merry Christmas.

A Link

Funny stuff. Sub in Jason, Emily and Abby and it's perfect.

What's up Doc?

It has been two years since I visited the doctor's office. Two years. And I even have insurance. The only reason I went today was to renew my physical for work. They didn't do a whole lot. You know the usual weight, blood pressure, take deep breaths until you pass out routine. I was a little fearful I would have to turn my head and cough, and a little more fearful that I would get a finger shoved up my pooper, but no none of that. I did get a little prick in my arm to check for TB (tuberculosis), and the nurse penetrated my skin with a flu vaccine. The little flyer about the vaccine said that one of the possible allergic reactions was anaphylactic shock. So as I was leaving the doctor's office and walking to my car I was imagining that I was short of breath and that I could feel my passages closing.

All in all, I guess I'm pretty healthy. Apart from the 20 pounds I've gained in the last year, the unhealthy food that I eat, and the general lack of exercise in my life, yup, pretty healthy.

The Pickle

Did Adam Robinson delete his blog? I could see him doing this in a state of drunk-on-Nati-Bo frenzy.

Really, though, it's just not there.

Not-Posting

Well well well, it's been a while since I've posted something of substance hasn't it? I know that your expectations are at an all time low now, so I feel confident that this post will be read by all of my readers who are so loyal as to check The Tarantular every afternoon at 3:25 p.m.

The joy of not-posting has been a staple for every blogger I know except for Adam Kotsko. (Oh, he'll "take a break" for a few days, a weekend here and there, and maybe a week if he has a paper due or something; but even then he'll comment on other people's posts. That guy is dedicated let me tell you.) Not-posting was made popular by Adam Robinson over at The Pickle. His days of not-posting were inspired by his inspired idea to have everyone control his life and tell him what to do. He created this website, The Life of Adam, where readers would give him ideas of what he should do with his time. He learned how to crochet, wrote a song, read Paul in the bar, did drunken yoga and lots of other silly stuff. Then all of a sudden The Life of Adam was no longer living. I guess he just couldn't stand to have his life dictated to him by a bunch of idiots like us. So the website became defunct (although I think it still appears as a heading if you google Adam Robinson) and he basically stopped posting on The Pickle. We were all glad when Go Brewers went by the wayside and we witnessed the ascendency of The Pickle once again (although I must admit it's been kinda weird ever since--I guess Baltimore does that to you).

Cap'n Pete has enjoyed long periods of not-posting mainly precipitated by important life events--his wife's pregnancy, the birth of his son, Harper, and now his attending to grad school in Georgia.

My not-posting all started when I first began my blog. As a "chief" in the Eckerd Youth Alternatives organization, I would go on 2-4 week backpack or canoe trips that would have me away from the computer (obviously) for long periods of time. So yes, I was not-posting before it was cool to not-post. I have carried on this long not-posting tradition through job changes, marriage, pregnancy, birth, and all of the periods of laziness in between.

I remember this one time when I first moved to my current house (somewhere around March of this year) when I was posting almost every day, visiting other blogs and "getting my name out" and trying to have a go at creating a "serious blog." It just didn't stick. I wasn't cut out to be a serious blogger. I don't have the dedication nor the stamina.

My most recent bout of not-posting was brought on by a two week vacation, hosting my family for Thanksgiving and of course my usual laziness and lack of interest. During my vacation (with my wife and our 6-week old daughter mind you) we drove from North Carolina to Michigan overnight and stopped in at my ole pal Chief Ryan's place. We drank Busch Light and played rummy and had an all around great time. After that we headed north, over the Mackinac bridge in high winds (apparently they lose a few cars over the bridge each year) and up through the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. We hiked a bit near the Pictured Rocks National Shoreline and then headed over to Mercer, Wisconsing to visit my good buddy, Holmes, and my friends Craig, Mark and Zac. We hiked around a bit, enjoyed some good Wisconsin brewed beer (New Glarus is a damn good brewery!), lit a campfire and had an all around good time.

Next we headed down to Madison to stay with Jeff and Laura. I love Jeff and Laura. They compliment each other so well. They are both a bit crazy in their own way which makes them much more enjoyable to be around. Laura enjoyed holding Abby and practicing her baby talk while Jeff rolled his eyes told her she sounded stupid. On Thursday, Laura and Emily and I found some good bargains at the St. Vincent DePaul's and then met Jeff for lunch at a mediterranean restaurant. They had good tea.

On Friday we drove down to Chicago to visit Benji and Sarah and to take in Russ's bachelor party. On the way we to Chicago, we stopped in New Glarus, Wisconson and toured the New Glarus Brewery. It was just o.k. and I was a little perturbed that a six-pack at the brewery cost more than what I had payed in the grocery store the previous night. I really don't get that. 6 bucks for a six pack seems pretty reasonable and one ought to be rewarded for going to where they brew their beer. In fact one ought to get free beer, but alas they did not offer it as such.

Anyway, I digress. We helped celebrate Russ and Jia at his bachelor party by singing him songs and playing Russajeopardy where you would yell "Fruss!" to answer with a question. Fruss! is derived from "For Russ." Get it?

I would go on and tell you about Russ's wedding and about how we played football beforehand, but I am experiencing blog fatigue and am about to be called for spinach lasagna. So Word to yo motha and all that.

Peace.