CatsPaw

It's a paw, dammit.

What's the deal with pollen counts?

According to our local newspaper, a pollen count over 120 particles per cubic meter is "extremely high". We've had three days this week with pollen counts over 5000. This is an order of magnitude greater than "extremely high" on the scale. There is no way to distinguish any difference between a pollen count of 500 or 1000 or 5000 without resorting to ridiculous nomenclature. Very extremely high? Stupendously amazingly high? Really, really astronomically tremendously very high?

What we need is a non-linear scale for pollen counts. Sort of a pollen count Richter scale, if you like. Because otherwise, every spring day that does not include rain will end up being rated "extremely high" for pollen, and that doesn't tell us anything that a glance at our car wouldn't give away.

More Blue Law Blues

The bill that would allow local jurisdictions in Georgia to vote on whether to allow retail sales of alcohol on Sundays is dead, through legislative inaction. Those 'blue laws' I was bitching about back in January are here to stay. I knew it! In spite of widespread public support, a small minority of religious conservatives has managed (once again) to impose their will on the majority. The future of the bill was uncertain, even if voted on. The governor, who is a teetotaler, had darkly hinted of a veto in the unlikely event the law passed both legislative houses.

It wasn't as if this was a bill that stipulated alcohol *must* be sold on Sundays. It would have allowed local communities to decide for themselves. All those Christians in rural Georgia that were so outraged needn't have worried - no doubt the Sunday sales option would be voted down in their areas. (Or WOULD it? Maybe they were afraid to put it to popular vote?) At any rate, it is a moot point for now. Maybe forever in this backward state.

It's damned inconvenient and arbitrary if you ask me. I'm not an evil, bad person. I'm a regular citizen who works hard and is busy during the week, and I want to enjoy my downtime on the weekends without unreasonable restrictions. This would include buying a six pack or a bottle of wine on Sunday. The blue laws skirt awfully close to government officially sanctioning religion. But since we are stuck with it, I think I'll buy myself a case of three buck Chuck and keep it in the basement for all those times I forget (or it isn't convenient) to plan ahead. But I shouldn't have to.

In Memory of Bookstores

By 'bookstores', I mean real, independent, locally owned bookstores that had their own distinct personality. NOT huge national chain homogenous bookstores that are all basically exactly alike. I do shop at these now, mostly because they are the only ones around so it is B&N or Borders, or nothing at all. And yes, I have certainly bought (and sold) my share of books from online retailers. But for browsing pleasure, there is (or was) nothing like the old kind of bookstore. Three in particular stand out in my mind.

I discovered Atlanta's Oxford Books while I was an undergrad at Georgia Tech. The original location, up the road from Tech in the Peachtree Battle Shopping Center, was always a fun place to visit. Large in the way bookstores seldom were before the Big Box Bookstores showed up and skewed everyone's expectations, it even served coffee and pastries. This was before those items became ubiquitous in bookstores, so it was somewhat of a novelty. Cramped aisles crammed full of every kind of book you can imagine, it was a browser's paradise. It got even better when they relocated to an old car dealership in Buckhead. Miles and miles of books, magazines, cards, posters, music... you name it. They had a better selection of sheet music than most music stores. Huge non-fiction section in tons of categories, loads of fiction, plenty of room for browsing and hanging out, lots of windows, and an open, spacious layout - ahhhh. Best 'new books' bookstore EVER. Unfortunately for all Atlantans, it did not weather the coming of the B&N and Borders megastores well, and went belly up. It is a shame. Those bland megabooksellers don't hold a candle to the Oxford experience, in atmosphere or selection.

Oxford Books had a sister store for used books: Oxford Too. It was located in an old house around the corner from the original Oxford shop. Oxford Too had an excellent selection of used books, and also sold discounted new books (remainders and such). I can still remember the library smell and the creaky hardwood floors. They had a great collection of used science fiction. I spent many happy hours at Oxford Too, browsing and reading. I still have some of the used paperbacks I purchased there.

Years later when I lived in Massachusetts, a friend introduced me to Avenue Victor Hugo on Newbury Street in Boston. What a great place! It was in an old brownstone, and the bookshelves were all crowded into it. Navigating that store was a challenge! The shelves lined every wall floor to ceiling and formed an intricate maze in the rooms. Stepstools and ladders were necessary items, and just added to the clutter. There was an upstairs section that was even more convoluted and cramped, and they had a fantastic selection of rare books. This shop had a lot of quirky character, and even hosted a resident cat. It was always fun to shop there, and you never knew what kind of gems you'd find. AVH closed the Newbury Street store forever in 2004, but survives today as an internet bookseller. Not the same, though. Not at all.

Random Aches Are A Pain.

While I'm not exactly an old person yet, it would be accurate to say that I am also no longer young (at least, not physically). And there is nothing like a completely random ache or pain to remind me of that.

Yesterday, for no particular reason I can think of, I got the backache from hell. It hurt to walk. When I did, it consisted of shuffling around with minimal hip movement wherever possible (which resulted in a very odd gait), bent over at a twenty degree angle, continuously rubbing at the small of my back in a vain attempt to soothe the fire. Sexy, no? It feels like somebody drove a horizontal line of rusty nails in between my sacrum and my L5 vertebra. It was slightly better this morning, but is getting worse by the hour. I can't wait to lift the heavy equipment to the treatment bench this afternoon when I do the monthly tests on the accelerator. That's gonna be swell!

Wouldn't it be great to have a day where nothing at all hurt? I'm sure it happens all the time when you are a kid, but you have no idea that you should savor that feeling and appreciate it. You probably never noticed. I never did.

D.O.A.

My picks for the Final Four were 100% wrong. My bracket is dead on arrival. I guess Colbert was right... nerds suck at sports.

If you come in dead last, you get your $5 back. It'll be just my luck to come in next-to-last.

UPDATE: Yup, I knew it! There is one person with a score worse than mine, and he has zero possible points he can earn. So I managed to suck just enough to lose miserably, but not quite enough to gain any benefit from it. Oh well. At least "Cranky Pants" will not have to be in the basement three years in a row (although his wife is still doing way better than he is in the pool, thus insuring his continued crankiness).

Not just TV, it's HDTV.

WOW! Huge difference.

We got the Big Damn TV two months ago, but just now got HDTV. Holy crap!! Watching 'Galapagos' on the National Geographic Channel right now, and it is just gorgeous. Also caught some NCAA action (not all that good for my bracket, thankyouverymuch, but so crisp and clean), and a movie on HBO. All eye-poppin' good.

We're not early adopters. We wait until the cost is reasonable. But if you are on the fence about it - we say DO IT! Now is a good time.