Best wishes for your family, ita.

I packed my lunch and forgot to bring it. Am flake.

I've done that. Occasionally I've left my lunch on the counter at home, which meant I had to throw it away when I got home after work.

We were supposed to be sent home at noon (accorsing to my boss and a cow-orker), but there is no email yet. It is 12:22.

I hate that shit. The rumor here was that we were going to find out earlier in the week, but at least they told us first thing this morning. It was always like that at my old job: "OK, you can leave.... now!" Sucks for plan-making.

I am unreasonably proud of myself for bringing my lunch.

Every time this software does anything - anything at all - it sends me an email. The email is completely uninformative. "Started workitem", "Delegated workitem", "Generated PDF", useless because it doesn't tell me WHICH ONE. I have 108 articles in various stages of editing/production right now, and no way to tell which one these emails correspond to. I have 92 emails right now, that came in within the last ten hours, none of which are useful in the least. Even better, all of these little notices are also sent to my workflow management "inbox", with not much more info. Each one is marked with red flag as if it were urgent. What kind of demented software developer marks things that can be deleted without even being read with a red flag?

I'm tired. If anyone here thinks I'm working for one minute during this 3-day weekend, they're bananas.

A political analysis of Iran... using Smurfs and Cylons!

Smurfs vs. Cylons

In figure one, we see a classic Battlestar Galactica cylon. It represents the classic leadership of Iran, combining the clerical leadership governed by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and the political power base, led by President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad. It is an artificial construct built on a false premise of freedom and democracy, and as such is slow witted and near impossible to reason with.

The smurfs represent the Iranian people, shown here attacking the cylon. When the smurfs believe that they live in a representative democracy, and it is then shown to be false, they do not take it well. They will climb around and dance and make all sorts of noises. Unfortunately the cylons have been allowed to control them for so long, that they are much more powerful than the smurfs. While it is inspirational to see the smurfs organized, and with one voice denouncing the brutal dictatorship that they now realize they live under, it is also ultimately futile. The cylons are much more powerful, and have blasters and laser cannons.

Original on flickr: [link]

Timelies. A big ball of stress just got released. I finished work on an issue that's been eating my brain for two weeks (in various degrees of eating - last week it was nibbling at it like ducks; the last three days it's been a ravenous female anglerfish). Done, demoed and going into production tonight. Yay!!!

And a three day weekend! Just. In. Time.

I have 108 articles in various stages of editing/production right now

That seriously made me physically recoil. (So sayeth the woman who re-paginated the fucking journal TWICE yesterday because people kept deciding to pull stuff. You know, there's a REASON we have galleys, people!)

I hate everyone.

That seriously made me physically recoil.

Ha! Sorry. Should I tell you that's about 50 less than I usually have?

Happy birthday, Sean!