Friday - 20080222-2130 - Rain - Eiffel Tower through Window; Wednesday - No feel good; Thursday - WalMart; Lunch; "The New Yorker" and "Eustace Tillarobama"; Friday - No Go Out; Rain, rain, rain, rain and more rain; Rain and Groucho's Cigar; Computer - Degradation of Response Time

Rain - Eiffel Tower through Window Larger Image

A rainy day image across the roof tops of Paris of the Eiffel Tower from NYCLondon Black and White Photography by Rob Gardiner. It's easy to forgot that at the time of the construction of the Eiffel Tower,"[it] was met with resistance from the public when it was built, with many calling it an eyesore." Now it one of the world's more recognized structures and one of the romantic.

Rob's site is a photocopia of evocative images, well worth a virtual stroll.

I still do not feel totally well. Wednesday I did not leave the house.

Yesterday, I was forced to pay a visit to WalMart in the rain. The refrigerator looked as barren as the dark side of the moon. Then had lunch at Golden Corral, where I was able to site in the corner and read the latest copy of "The New Yorker"

February 17 was the anniversary of the first issue of the magazine in 1925. Traditionally,the cover is a variation of the original which is a stylized drawing of Eustace Tilley, the personification of the quintessential Knickerbocker. This year's bore a symmetrical image of two figures: one at the top, another reversed at the bottom. The title, date, and price were also duplicated in a similar fashion, so that if viewed from either perspective, the cover would appear to be position correctly.

My initial glance noted that one figure was white; the other, black. A second look proved that: one was a woman;, the other, a man. As I flopped the magazine on the table, a couple of electrons fired in my cerebral cortex, and I recognized Hillary and Obama. The table of contents lists the title of the cover as being "Eustace Tillarobama."

Today was a repeat of Wednesday, I just did not have the energy and inclination to trek outside for lunch.

I don't think I can recall a period like the last few days. It has rain almost constantly. Not the soft gentle rain of summer's eve, but a thundering splash. Last night, for the first time, I heard water dripping from the furnace vent on the roof down to the bottom of the unit.

I walked out once during a non-wet moment and the drainage area along the south property line was covered in swirls and swirls of oak leaves that had gotten caught in the deluge and were forced to spin and spin.

The few times I went out, I noticed that the wind had that peculiar feel to it that you find at the shore of a lake. As though, the surface of the water had formed an airborne eddy that seeps under hat or coat.

Even as much as I love rain, a dry spell would be nice. I reminded of the possibly apocryphal quoted attributed to Groucho Mark from his TV quiz program, "You Bet Your Life." Groucho in a conversation with a woman with many children, quipped:

GROUCHO: "Why do you have so many children? That's a big responsibility and a big burden."

MRS. STORY: "Well because I love children, and I think that's our purpose here on earth, and I love my husband."

GROUCHO: "I love my cigar too, I but I take it out of my mouth once in a while."

Before I leave Groucho, Snopes.com indicates that his comment is an urban legend.

Computers, and especially web responses never seem to go fast enough. My web response is dismal. Of course, it go be dozens of factors, but I have a sneaky feeling, it has something to do with the new ZoneAlarm I'm using. There must be an incredible amount of scanning happening at some level.

(In Friday - 2008-0222-2130 / Out - 2008-0222-2345) This entry was written in a single setting.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...