heh… one of my new duties at work is caring for the plants by the entrances… I need another shower… dug up and around the base of the big pots to get all the cigarette butts out.

be back after with my nightly report, dear journal.

Closed out the old year
And held a dream of spring behind
My shut eyes ’til now
This morning I opened them to see
It’s really come into the world.

– Saigyo (1118 – 1190)

It’s a beautiful day outside… I can smell orange blossoms on the air, and I suspect it may rain a bit later in the day. A very dreamy elemet to walk around in, certainly. I’m imagining my sweetheart in her burgudy / maroon jammies / lounge clothes… thinking of her smile and the way she laughs. It’s a good touchstone to hold her in my heart over the course of the day.

It’s Peanut butter Jelly Time!… this just cracks me up. I was singing it to the Orange Furball just a moment ago, chasing around the house…. Waayeee at? Waaayee at? dey he go! dey he go! It injected just the right amount of goofy stupidity into my morning I was wanting.

Missed my free ice cream last night, but no worries there.

This start page is just about right; it sets things up perfectly with fun and clever navigation that still manages to be clear and intuitive. (He used to do cartoons for bitmagic, may they rest in peace) A variation on that theme is how I want the grotto to work, eventually.

Phew… Dexter Thursday today…and Dale may be leaving early. I’m hoping for a quiet passage.

Oh, before I head out – Kee-riminy. This has me interested and sad at the same time.

Scientists have successfully demonstrated what the media is calling “remote control” of rats’ movement. This is not literal control of the rats’ muscles; the rats’ pleasure centers are remotely stimulated, and this makes it possible to train the rats to respond to other remote instructions. So it’s really remote command rather than control . . . but with the rat carrying a small wireless camera, it still offers some very interesting potential applications for exploration, rescue in collapsed buildings, and candid photographs of Hollywood personalities.

Though, they are cute with the little backpacks, wouldn’t it be simpler to have a little lego tank or robot or something? A remote-controlled mini-copter, maybe?