Distance: The farther away you are from the radiation the lower your exposure.

Hmm. I could've put together an equally informative piece of information. Only I'd probably mention that dirty bombs kill most people through panic and fear, not through radiation. Hell, 21 people died in Chicago at a club the other night and there were no bombs or radiation at all. Panic is the enemy. Fear is the enemy. And having NYC firefighters deliver the message is all well and good. Except when one wonders where the images featuring Austin, TX came from. Of course, it doesn't take too long to figure out who might have "encouraged" ready.gov to place a picture of Missouri up, now, would it? Because, as we all know, terrorists are going to use biological weapons in the homeland, in Arcola, Dexter and Troy, right? St. Louis, miraculously, isn't a target. Why not use DC and NYC? I guess Homeland Security doesn't fit in inside the beltway.

What does it say about an office that requires you to insert your passkey in the elevator to operate it if you show up before 8:30? Talk about encouraging lateness. And, yes, there's a guard at her station and everyone bustling around. Yet the elevator is a little sleepy. Grr.

I'm currently procrastinating against the two reviews I have due. Well, three, actually. Just too much to do. I've been banging my head about a coding issue here at work, and I still haven't figured it out. Hence, the early arrival. (That and the snow and a helpful drive to work, of course!)

From the kettle-calling department, a strange cry from Republicans: Blame Bill Clinton.

A footnote: Republicans are furious with Clinton's role as a critic of the Bush administration. They complain that Clinton has gone well beyond other former presidents in assailing his successor.

Clinton blaming 43, eh? Hell, he probably did assail 41 a bit, but 43? All W has done has been to evaporate the surplus, plunge the nation into a new era of wage-taxation and tick off all of our allies, including NATO. And for that I think 42 has been fairly reserved.

Conversation this morning with co-worker:

coworker: 13 people.

Edward: Is that how many have died from the snow?

coworker: I was talking about the possible number of Democrats in the presidential race.

Edward: Oh.

coworker: Of course, the snow thing is sad too.

Edward & co-worker: pause...recognition of inappropriate comment awakens...laughter on both sides.

Okay, back to work. There's a nice piece on Dean this morning. If he can just get some money behind him, he's already well ahead in the "we want him to win" contest. He just needs more people in the "he actually CAN win" category. Money would help him. So stop by and help out. America will thank you.

Can't write. In the middle of a blizzard. Perhaps later.

Yes, I know the site's pink. I'm planning to re-work the style sheet system shortly, to give users more control but in the meantime, I may be implementing a style dictatorship. Kind of like our current administration.

So I picked up this new phone a couple days ago. Wednesday afternoon, to be exact. The first thing it tells you to do is to charge the battery, then use it until it's dead, then repeat 2 more times. After this, the battery should be completely ready to accept a full charge. (It's a lithium-ion battery, so it doesn't have any memory effect...so this might be complete hooey, but I'm following the directions, okay?) The problem? Well, the phone is able to run for 14 days (excluding phone calls) in standby mode, even while on. It can keep going for 5 continuous hours of talk time. So in order to do this 3 step process, it could take two-three weeks, assuming I talk at my normal rate.

The evaluation period only lasts 15 days. So if I have a problem with the phone, I have to return it within two weeks. Grr. I won't have even finished step four of the five steps before using the phone by that point. The reception isn't the best (it's a new technology) but this could be due to the battery not being fully charged. Of course, by the time I find out, it'll be too late to return it.

A new Chipotle opened up a block away from me in the MCI Center today. So I visited, got my regular (soft tacos and chips and hot salsa) and am in the middle of a full blown metldown. But it's sooo tasty I can't stop. I'm feeling the burn.

Happy V-Day, all! Yes, it's yet another year of crazy swinging singleness on the special day. So for everyone else who claims never to have met the queen of hearts, live it up. One day you'll look back with longing. With blue skies, newly soled shoes, and the day in front of me, everything's looking rosy.

Okay, I passed my MCSE test, picked up a brand new GSM based cellphone and have only a few hours of work left in the day. And the omnibus passed today, so the office is super-busy. Back to work!