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My company is in the throes of yet another layoff, and my department always seems to get hit disproportionately, so I haven't been much in the mood for blogging lately.
If I survive the week, I'm scheduled to fly to Amsterdam on Friday. After all this upheaval, I'm going to need a good, strong cup of black coffee, if you know what I mean.
TTFN.
UPDATE: I didn't get the axe.
It's Valentine's Day, and what could be more romantic than Star Trek's scientifictional couplings? Kirk, what is this thing you humans call a kiss?
Yeah, I'm a geek. I'm also a sucker for a space chick with a beehive.
Mrs. Bali Hai and I celebrated yesterday. I gifted her with a pair of beautiful turquoise pendant earrings that I picked up in Colorado, and she cooked me a fabulous dinner featuring a raspberry-almond spinach salad, roasted asparagus, Risotto con Funghi Porcini, buttermilk biscuits, and spicy Thai curried scallops. For dessert, we had Tiramisu with chocolate truffles.
To go with the meal, I contributed a magnificent bottle of 2001 Condado de Haza from the Ribero Del Duero region of Spain: a rustic, oakey and very substanstial red wine. Our kids served the meal, but they were crabby and ungracious, so I stiffed them on the tip.
Happy VD, everyone!
Trek links via Gravity Lens and OrangeGuru
This trip has been a tough slog so far. I developed a nasty cold just before I left Wisconsin, and I've been suffering through my teaching assignment in a sinusoidal fog that appears to be totally unresponsive to the usual over-the-counter medications.
Consequently, I've been spending a lot of time in the evening holed up in my hotel room, catching up on my reading. I just finished the final volume of John C. Wright's incredible space opera, The Golden Age, and I highly recommend it to anyone who, like me, grew up on a steady diet of Jack Vance, A.E. Van Vogt, and Cordwainer Smith; it's simply the best new scientifiction that I've read in many, many years. Here's an excellent interview with the erudite Mr. Wright.
When I have managed to get out and about, it's been to satisfy my unholy cravings for Tex-Mex cuisine. I found a great little hole-in-the-wall Mexican cantina near my hotel last night, and tonight I went upscale at the fabulous Zolo Grill where I feasted upon BBQ'ed duck tacos with cotija cheese, and topped with habanero-mango salsa. For dessert, fresh churros with Ancho chocolate and homemade ice-cream, and a snifter of smooth, sweet Aguavera liqueur as an apertif. ˇOlé!
In other news, the Flipsiding of the Internets continues unabated. Over 5,000 visitors to date have gazed upon its grimy, xeroxed glory.
Mas adelante.
