Some of you talk.bizarre types might remember Laurence Simon; i do believe it was hwrnmnbsol who brought him along.  He runs is_full_of_crap, a 100-word story Weblog and podcast from various contributors, including t.b's Alan Scott.  The quality varies, but i found this one especially enjoyable.

In Foster City, we have an automated espresso machine, and one of those near-boiling taps.  Here, the office has a guy fetch coffee and tea with milk and sugar, once in the morning, once in the afternoon.  I wonder how much it would cost us to get a coffee service going in the US; god knows it's much nicer than having to get up, walk a few steps to the kitchen, and make my own drink.

I haven't had a carbonated beverage since i left the US.  It's very weird.  I almost opened one from my room's minibar the other night, but i stuck with water.

I've been reading my boss's grilf's short fiction.  It would've easily fit in talk.bizarre's heyday.

If George Bernard Shaw thought that England and America were two countries separated by a common language, i wonder what he'd've said about India.  Because cultural borders here happen every time you walk over a hill or cross a river, English is the lingua franca de facto, but i'm having a hell of a time understanding most people, and i wonder if someone from Chandigarh has as much trouble understanding someone from Chennai if they're nominally speaking English.  I find myself asking people to repeat themselves almost every time, and i've had to just give up and nod like an idiot a few times.  It doesn't help when people make poor assumptions; i asked my driver how much his car cost, and he replied, "5 lack."  Leg?  "Lack."  Turns out a lakh is 100000 rupees.  How am i to know that?  And spelling here is an almost Elizabethan adventure; two examples are Lakshmi/Laxmi and sari/saree.

I've just about wrapped up work here, which guarantees i'll have Friday free for, i dunno, something.

This was commisioned by mrbalihai (AKA mm_rss).

"Blessings upon you, traveler."

"Your civility is a credit to you, monk, but i am not here for a civil meeting. Cede me stewardship of the temple and the Horn of Ee, or i shall wrest it from you."

"Huh. Unarmed you think you find me, hmm?"

"Your yaasast fu is weak, old man. Your time has passed. I will not repeat myself."

"Curt is your behavior, Yar Vin. But foolish as well."

"How do you know my name? Who—"

"A whip you would call weak because it droops in your hand. But a whip can sting—"

"AIYEE!"

"— it can strangle—"

"KKKKHHHH"

"— and there is a very advanced technique called the Maypole Thorpe. Show it to you i will, hmm?"

Today was Fail To Suck Day. This probably will mean nothing to you, especially if you just spent the last 48 hours trying to catch up on your novel. In any case, consider this now, so that when Dec 1 rolls around next year, you might want to make your own offering.

Kim and i (and Kim's friend Harry) went to Oregon to visit her friend Judy (in Eugene), and we took the opportunity to visit her and Harry's friends Carmen and Dorie (in Vancouver, WA), and i took the opportunity to meet Alan Scott, a t.b acquaintance, for the first time (in Portland). I was actually the first Cabal member he'd met. We ate at Ya Hala, a Lebanese restaurant (which meal included a bottle of Lebanese wine, which was quite nice), and after that we dropped by his house. We met his lovely wife and two cute and studious children.

We also took a trip east of Portland to the Full Sail Brewery, in Hood River. Good beer, but the selection of food offered was pathetic, and the food itself was not good. The chili was easily the weakest i've ever tasted. On the way there, we checked out Multnomah Falls, and on the way back to Portland we saw Beacon Rock.

We decided to head home via the scenic coastal route. Nice idea, but it took us WAY too long to get home... not until 04:00 on Thursday. Ugh. On the way, we drove through Coos Bay, a small logging town. There we found the Blue Heron Bistro, an island of civilization where local microbrews and Belgian ales were offered along with some very tasty food, amidst WW2 and East German propaganda. There i sampled Liefman's Framboise, an incredible raspberry beer which i must find (i hear Beverages & More carries it).

And, remember, kids: in Oregon, "lottery games should not be played for investment purposes."