When I was at the Looniversity, even when the whole place closed (like, for snow), the libraries opened. I guess because they wanted the students to have someplace to go?

That picture is AWESOME!

I remember thinking it was stupid that they closed the library when my undergrad U. closed during an ice storm, because they had to keep the lights/climate control/etc. on, so it wasn't saving energy -- which I now remember was why they closed school. The barge with the fuel for the power plant was frozen in the river! Good times. Anyway, it seemed to me that they could have put together a skeleton staff of people who could make it to the library, given all that.

aw, Stephanie, both your kids are so beautiful!

ION, hey, John Updike died.

And I started re-reading Rabbit Is Rich today.

I was just reading something about the housing market, and decided to check out the prices of 2BR townhouses in my hometown. The last time I checked back in August or so, they were going for $130-150K on up. Now, there are several in the $100K range, and most of them are maxing out at $130K. There are a few 2BR holdouts in the $140s, but I think they're fooling themselves.

Interesting to see what five months of foreclosures and economic woes will do to a market.

Frisco and Ellie are unbelievably gorgeous. They look so alike in the (beautiful) eyes in some shots of Frisco.

Woo! 2p conference call just got postponed to another day. No work for me at all today!

Blagojevich media blitz 'a horrible, horrible idea'

VETERAN LAWYERS SHAKE THEIR HEADS | 'No defense attorney in his right mind would sanction this campaign'

Gov. Blagojevich's media blitz might make him feel better about his case, but all those recent high-profile interviews are likely to come back to bite him in a big way, experienced defense lawyers say.

That's because any statement the governor makes about his case could be used against him by prosecutors at a future trial.

But it isn't a two-way street. Blagojevich's lawyers can't play the governor's proclamations of innocence to jurors, said defense lawyer Joel Levin.

Since last week, Blagojevich has appeared on radio shows and national television programs including "The View," and "Larry King Live." Blagojevich likened his situation to the jailing of peace and civil rights leaders and made references to the charges.

"Given that he doesn't know all the evidence against him, there's tremendous risk in what he's doing," said Levin, who prosecuted ex-Gov. George Ryan. "Some of the statements . . . might fit nicely into the theories [prosecutors] are laying out."

Prosecutors are likely recording every word out of the governor's mouth, Levin said.

"No defense attorney in his right mind would sanction this campaign," defense lawyer Ron Safer said. "It's a horrible, horrible idea."

...

Powerhouse defense lawyer Ed Genson quit the case last week, in part over the media campaign.

TV interviews are likely to turn off future jurors, Safer said, adding: "A majority of jurors . . . would be deeply offended by someone who speaks like that over the telephone and then compares himself to Mahatma Gandhi and Martin Luther King."

I've been watching housing prices in the neighborhood where we bought (July 1) and things are not coming down at all. Things aren't selling, much, either - some things we looked at in May are still for sale - but since it's a college town the market is very heavily seasonal. Since we already bought a house I feel good about this!

Crime makes you really f--- stupid, tommyrot. And *I'm* insulted...Gandhi? Really?

We dropped our sale price by close to 30% over the last year. Utter craziness.