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Just got an email from the team leader for our little jaunt to Haiti next week. On the “things to pack” list, the first item is “a bible!” What have I gotten myself into? Jen says it’s okay to pack my new copy of the Tibetan Book of the Dead instead.

Snottiness aside, for all the bad press that Christians get, they (and other religious organizations) represent the *vast* majority of the people who are organizing trips to help some of the poorest and most downtrodden people in the world. As we looked for a group with whom we could go to do a weeks worth of international volunteerism, nearly all of the organizations are at the very least “faith based.” Doctors without borders are a notable exception, but those people are *crazy*. Like “running in, unarmed, where guns are being shot” crazy.

It brings to mind an old joke or Onion article, wherein the libertarian / atheist will defend to the death his right to sit on his ass and do nothing.

In other news, the squirrels are still being defeated by the new feeder. They climb the pole, get on top of the feeder, and fall off. Then they do it again. It’s awesome. I’ve decided on a full campaign to get some of these fat little bastards to move on. They dig up and kill my plants. To that end, I spread blood meal around the various beds and the garden. Apparently, small mammals do not like the smell of dried blood on the ground. Go figure. It’s also the most insanely nitrogen rich fertilizer around. Yes, the blood of my slain enemies would probably be slightly better, but there are ancillary problems with that.

My brother is in Lebanon (Beirut) for a month, living with the parents of a friend. Apparently, a large part of the plan includes playing backgammon with old Lebanese men, while sitting in small cafes drinking insanely strong coffee. He attempted to grow a beard before leaving (on being told that he looked “12”), which, for those of you familiar with my limited success at such things, may or may not be amusing. Then, he’ll be off to Berlin for a month to do something of the same. He truly is a rock star. Hey, styroboots, are you anywhere near Berlin?

Spent my morning on support tickets. Got the queue down from 40 to 27 before noon, and then went to karate. Dan is making me re-learn all my techniques left handed. This isn’t so bad for the punch responses. However the “forms” (formal exercises) are a cast iron bitch. Left? Right? Block? Punch? Gah. Back to square one. Well, not quite … I’m two years stronger and more nimble … but I still have to re-learn everything well enough to know it backwards and forwards. “This is what I do to people like you,” he said. I think he meant it as a complement.

Installed a squirrel resistant birdfeeder. It’s got a little ledge that’s spring loaded, so that a one oz bird won’t close the feeder, but a multi pound squirrel will. Everything I’ve heard indicates that the rodents are *way* too smart to be stopped by this, but it’s an effort at least. I have to curtail the burn rate of 25lbs of sunflower seed per week.

The weekend was spent messing around. We had a nice date on Friday, saw “V for Vendetta,” which is remarkably good. Went to the zoo on Sunday to see the baby zebra and golden monkeys.

And now, a poetic interlude:

my ode to coffee

Scott Adams (creator of the Dilbert comic strip) has written a book that he calls a “thought experiment.” It’s a quick read (less than an hour), and it’s a decent mash-up of a whole bunch of good philosophy with a little bit of total BS. It’s free and available for download here: God’s debris

It’s not humor.

New essay is up: Debt. Bit of a downer.

Sitting in South Station, waiting for the 10:25 train to board. The lady announcer crackles over the PA:

Ladies and gentlemen: Before I leave this evening, I must preach to you of safety and love. Do not leave your bags unattended. We will turn them over to the police. Do not leave them with the person sitting next to you, though you may love them as another human being, you do not know them enough to trust them with your luggage. Thank you and goodnight.

I was all like “there’s another human here? Where are you? I’m right here! My name is Chris!”

But to no avail.

Okay, new fascination.

My brother introduced me to Free Running, also known as parkour. This is the since-time-immemorial practice of running through an urban environment, tacking every obstacle you feel like attacking in some moderately gymnastic manner. For reference, please see wikipedia, Parkour and so on.

This evening, Dustin and I went down to providence to run around and be bad. It was pretty sweet, though we learned that we both pretty much are out of shape and suck. We ran around for an hour or so, exploring a couple of rooftops, fire escapes, stairways, and other totally accessible, legal locations. Basically “I want to get up there, but I don’t want to take the stairs.”

Good times.

Safely home. Hooray.

Apparently we left the back door standing open the entire time we were away. Not quite so hooray.

My friend has apparently been passing bad checks, and I had the misfortune to be used as the delivery vehicle for his lies and deception. Certainly not hooray. It’s been a while since I’ve been so angry that my joints ached.

The alarm is set for ungodly:30 tomorrow. Boo.