Finding Schindler

Okay, so I'm probably the only person left in the country who hasn't seen Schindler's List. Its not that I had anything against it, but I was bringing up a pair of babies at the time it was released and haven't had a moment to breathe since. However, I came across this magnificent story - a story good enough by itself to be a movie - of how the writer of Schindler's List came across Schindler's story. Its quite worth the effort...

http://www.granta.com/extracts/2135

Debasing debates

Came across this bit of fun fluff today:

http://www.newyorker.com/shouts/content/?041004sh_shouts

The background - there is a group that puts on these presidential debates and that defines what the ground rules are. It tends to keep the little players out of the game and keep folks from saying things like, "Your mother!"

On our elevator at work, we have this little screen that shows news blurbs and advertisments as you ride up and down...and today, they had a question that you could go to their web site and vote on. The question was, "Who do you think will win the debate?" Now, as far as I know, there is never any "winner" of a presidential debate...yes, the press debates over who the winner might have been, but since there's no scoring done, there's no winner. So, as Jesse Jackson once said on Saturday Night Live, "The question is moot!"

And what the heck is up with educated people saying "mute question?" I eventually stopped correcting them and chose to consider them just plain ignorant. Its much easier that way and makes me feel that much more smug. Woo hoo.

Thought of the day

There's an apartment complex just down the street from my house that has a BIG sign out front that says,

"We have everything, and much more!"

I can't imagine the complete idiocy required to create a sign that says that...

Careers are annoying

So I was working on one of the applications I maintain the other day - the company job bank - and I noticed a job in the company that I'd love to have. I'm not completely overjoyed at the moment with my own career situation, so I decided that I'd give it a go and apply for the position. Now, in order to do so, I have to let my supervisor know that I'm looking to get hired into another department. They took it fabulously...but I keep getting this sinking feeling that my department is putting the strong arm on the other department not to hire me since I've done a pretty good job of making myself pretty darn important in my current position. Its not that things will completely fall apart if I leave, but there will be these large holes in the group's knowledge when it comes to how certain things work. And of course, they'll have to find someone else to deal with my insufferable clients.

So at the moment, I'm hoping for the best - that I can move on to something that I find more fun and attractive, while also hoping there's no collusion behind the scenes to keep me chained to the grindstone of my current position. That wouldn't happen, now, would it?

Maybe its time to just quit everything and open that bar...

Dynamite!

Back when I was a kid, there was a Scholastic book club magazine called Dynamite! that I used to get every month. In it was a most astounding piece that would likely be considered horribly anti-american nowadays, but I went looking for it on the Internet today and, horror of horrors, it doesn't appear to be anywhere out there! What I'm talking about is the Star Spangled Banner done with people's names. It started like this:

Jose Canyusi
Bridey Dawn
Shirley Light
Walt Soproud
Louis Hailt

...and went on like that for the whole song. I'm astounded that it isn't anywhere on the net - at least one would think a Google search would bring it up when you tossed a couple of those names at it. Of course, I can only remember the names above...anyone else want to try a few to fill the rest of the song out?

Lazy bones

Okay - so I haven't been very interested in writing lately. Guess I've been lacking in motivation as of late more than anything else. But, rather than going off on another emotionally charged issue, I'm going to regale you about love bugs since I spent this weekend standing in the biggest swarm of them that I've ever seen. Have you ever watched those shows where the beekepers stand in the middle of the bees with those suits on and the bees crawl all over them? That's what this was like, but with lovable little love bugs.

If you're wondering what I'm talking about, its these critters. Since almost their entire adult life is spent mating, with the female flying or walking around, dragging the smaller male by his sexual organs, they have been given this rather innocuous name...

And so, since I was working this race and standing amongst love bugs having a massive orgy all around me...and on me, for heaven's sake...I did some research...

They are not, as widely reported this weekend by many a pundit, an experiment gone wrong at some Florida university. They're natural South American insects that have found their way up our direction. They were first noticed in the US in 1940, so they've been around awhile.

The critters have an egg, larval, and adult stage - with the larval stage being beneficial to help break down dead plants. In fact, since that's what they eat, and that's where they have their eggs laid, where I was (Texas World Speedway) is a perfect place for love bug swarms to exist since they just cut the tall grasses and let them lay there as love bug heaven.

Most birds won't eat 'em, though the reports I found said that "some" would, but it was plain that there were none in the area I happened to be in that were interested. Birds do, apparently, like to eat the larva, so that's where they benefit the food chain. I'm thinking the birds have been lying down on the job lately considering all the bugs I waded through.

According to the researchers, the bugs are attracted to chemicals found in diesel fumes, and the heat on the highways. I dunno about this...I'm somewhat skeptical of there being any link with the bugs splatting on cars and the bugs liking highways - they're just everywhere, so they're also going to be over highways, but apparently, the studies say differently.

Killing them? Cars are the best enemy! Any attempt to control them in the wild would also kill off lots of other insects as well - not good for the system. As they are only considered a nuisance that lasts about 4 weeks a couple times a year, the general suggestion is that one just live with them.

Oh, and insect repellent has no effect on 'em as they're not looking for carbon dioxide like the blood-sucking critters repellent is designed for.

They do eat car paint due to their rather acidic nature that gets more acidic as the bodies decompose, thereby etching the paint. So don't leave dead love bugs all over your car...

Unanswered in anything I read was the insects penchant for the dead - they swarm like crazy over dead compadres, although the reseach has never found any kind of pheremonal activity in the insects. Also, all the reports noted the bugs are attracted to the "heat of motors and the highway" but it was quite obvious that they do not like heat and will congregate on the coolest things in the area...they were always on the shady parts of the corner station and you would never see them on the hot brown body of my car, while they were en-masse on the windshield which was significantly cooler. And if you wanted your cup for water to be covered in bugs - you'd put it in the shade...so I always put mine in the sun, and never had another bug in my cup when I picked it up. And don't even get me started about how many hung
out around the very cool water cooler spigot. Bleah.

So now you know all about love bugs!!