Actual Things That Need Looking Into

As far as that flight in Kentucky is concerned, there are some real questions I have as to what happened. Such as:

Why did a short runway end with a plane crashing and exploding? Why didn't it just run off the runway, become damaged and "crash" to a stop? It exploded in flames "in a grassy field"?

Even considering that it crashed, why did almost everyone die? Obviously because of the explosion, but what is it about the jet that caused such an ending?

As far as aviation disasters go, I'd usually prefer to be in one that involved a plane and a short runway (assuming I had to be in one at all). At least, until now. It seemed like the pilot could jam on the brakes, through the engines in reverse, and even if the plane DOES careen off the tarmac, bumps and bruises would be the worst of the injuries suffered.

But here's what I'm not asking: how could the producers of the Emmys be so insensitive?! I don't mean to say that if you lost a loved one on that flight, you shouldn't be sad. Mourning is a natural and important process. But why are you watching the Emmys? And if you're just offended by proxy, well then I'm offended by proxy at your idiocy.

I'm having a rough day. My head hurts. Thus, my usual patience for incompetent behavior has been dramatically lessened.

Instead of Coffee in the Morning

I wake up and check out CNN, which often provides enough of a jolt to get me through the next few hours caffeine free. Today, it's the headline that some escaped convict is terrorizing my alma mater. No, not San Diego--they have rich kids there, no felons are allowed--but rather Virginia Tech! Luckily nobody I know personally goes there anymore, but it's still rather disturbing to see such news posted on CNN. If it were 1999, I'd be armed with a baseball bat and some TeamFortress and I wouldn't be pretty happy not to go to class today.

As an aside, what's up with Tech always starting so early? It's only August 21st! I guess that's usual for VT, but it always seemed a week or two earlier than everybody else.

Back to deposition editing...

Because I Don't Want to Read Anymore Depos

I got nothing too.

Q: 4TH PERSON ON YOUR MISSED CALLS:
A: My dad. He's #4, not forth from newest. The phone numbers backwards.

Q: DO YOU CHEW ON YOUR STRAWS?
A: Only if left alone with them for an extended period.

Q: WHAT IS THE NEXT CONCERT YOU'RE GOING TO?
A: Jesus I don't know. Talk to me when I have a bit more disposable income.

Q: WHAT WORD DO YOU SAY A LOT?
A: Apparely I've resurrected "awesome". I'm not proud of that at all. I sort of wish it were, say, "jurisprudence" or "objection!" Alas. Awesome.

Q: WHAT IS THE LAST THING YOU ATE:
A: A croissant. In about 8 minutes it will be pizza.

Q: WHAT WAS THE LAST THING YOU SAID TO SOMEONE AND WHO WAS IT?
A: "That dude was like, heroin thin" to my roommate, because I saw a guy my height with the waist of an 8-year-old girl. Frightening.

Q: DO YOU WATCH TV?
A: Not as much as when the shows are new. Summer + no cable = DVD fun only.

Q: EVER BEEN HUNTING?
A: Only in the bargain sense. Haha! I lied, not even that.

Q: IS MARRIAGE IN YOUR FUTURE?
A: Probably, because I end up giving in to society's demands sooner or later. Hopefully it's still later.

Q: WHAT SHOULD YOU BE DOING RIGHT NOW?
A: Getting the pizza I ordered. Or, watching The Shield on DVD.

Q: DO YOU BELIEVE IN LOVE AT FIRST SIGHT?
A: Not especially.

Q: WHO'S THE YOUNGEST ONE IN THE FAMILY?
A: Extended? I have a cousin that's like, 6 months or something. But you probably just mean Emily.

Q: IS DRUG FREE THE WAY TO BE?
A: That's how I roll, but I'm not "with it" like the kids today.

Q: ARE YOU A HEAVY SLEEPER?
A: Not to my knowledge. Every damn thing wakes me up, most nights.

Q: LAST TIME YOU USED A SKATEBOARD?
A: Literally once, maybe 15 years ago. Awkward tall guys with no sense of balance do not belong on thin planks of wood with tiny wheels.

Q: WHERE WAS THE LAST PLACE YOU SLEPT BESIDES YOUR HOUSE?
A: The ol' lady's house, I believe.

Q: EVER RUN OUT OF GAS ON THE ROAD?
A: No. Despite attempts to see how far I can go, I always wuss out.

Q: BEST MOVIE YOU'VE SEEN IN THE PAST TWO WEEKS?
A: Indiana Jones and the Temple of Doom. Because it rocks, that's why.

Q: DO YOU THINK PEOPLE WHO COME UP WITH BRAIN DEAD QUIZZES ARE CRYING FOR HELP IN SOME TWISTED WAY?
A: Nah, gives me something to do. I've never tried to come UP with one, though...

THE LAST PERSON LIST
1. You saw: The aforementioned roomie.
2. Talked to on the phone: The aforementioned special lady friend.
3. Hugged: Geez... probably the same.
4. Text: I'm going to count this as email and say my boss, Steve.
5. Messaged over myspace: Yeah I don't do that. Nobody.

FAVORITES
1. Number: 6 is nice and twice what 3 will ever be.
2. Song: I'll tell you what's bugging me intensely: "You're Beautiful" by that Blunt guy. Blech.
3. Color: Black, like my coffee that I don't drink.
4. Season: Iris got this one, Summer into fall is the bee's knees.

TRUE/FALSE
I am a morning person: Not usually. It comes too soon.
I am a perfectionist: Pretty much, if you don't count being organized as perfection.
I am an only child: Despite my many gambits as a toddler, no. They lived.
I am currently in my pajamas: Nope.
I am currently single: For tax purposes, yes. But otherwise no.
I can be paranoid at times: Not anymore.
I currently regret something that I have done: Some things I haven't, nothing I have.
I enjoy texting on the phone: Was this created by a 12-year-old? "Enjoy" texting? I shudder at what these kids will turn into...

I Know What You Did Last Weekend

or, "I'm not going to spend 20 minutes in a Starbucks bathroom giving you tattoos."*

This update is a week old, but it bears posting if only so I can proudly display the funniest thing I've heard in ages.

Last weekend was a whirlwind of travel down (and up again) the western coast of California. First, we drove down to Monterey and experienced the world-famous^ Monterey Bay Aquarium. It actually IS quite nice, and impressive, what with the kelp and the fish. And the jellyfish because damn they have a lot of those.

Then it was on to San Luis Obispo, hometown of the current yin to my yang, to visit with her fam and take in the Cal Poly sights. It's tough to explain the Cal Poly college town atmosphere without a proper example, so I shall give you a several based on geography. Choose whichever works for you:
- Georgetown on a Friday night with hotter coeds.
- Pacific Beach on a Thursday night with slightly less slutty girls, and more SUVs.
- The USD campus, undergrad area, but with bars.
- Absolutely nowhere in the Bay Area that I know of.

Actually, SLO is a lovely little town, and I saw it from a great vantage point but failed to bring my camera. Also, everyone hates pictures taken from the top of a mountain unless it's like, this one.

But I'm back in SF, safe and sound and slightly sunburned. No more travel for a little while, but I will try and be better about updates. I've got one in the pipe right now that I know you're all excited about because the topic is Google Books and copyright law. It's a scorcher!

*Right, the Starbucks thing. All I'll say is that I still don't have a tattoo, and that's probably for the best.

Overqualified?

Now that I'm once again shooting for that Big Fancy Job, I'm also once again getting a regular diet of rejection letters in the mail. I don't really mind them--it puts a slight damper on what is usually a productive day, but it's the nature of the beast.

What's funny, however, is the lengths some firms go to convince you that you're awesome, but that they just don't have a position right now. I know they're just form letters, but "your academic credentials and experience are impressive" sounds silly coming from a firm that doesn't want you. Think about it: impressive means "striking or vivid" and thus implies that my particular resume stood out from the crowd.

Now, it's just as likely that it stood out for its complete lack of anything resembling useful qualifications (impressively bad) but the end result is still funny to me. "We recognize that you're one of the brightest legal minds in California, and possibly in the western hemisphere, and that by all accounts you should be teaching at Stanford or a justice of the California Supreme Court. However, your experience and interests do not meet our present employment needs."