Notes on Misc.

That's Buddy with the Abominable Snowman, Rudolph, and... ...ahem... an anonymous lumberjack?

Merry Christmas.

I don't remember when or where I heard the following story, or whether it's true, but I'm reminded of it today: Once upon a time, a man wanted to convert to Judaism. He went to the synagogue and asked the rabbi to give him instructions on how to convert. The rabbi refused him and told him that conversion was too hard, that he would never really do it, and that he should go home. The man stayed outside the synagogue gate for three or four days in the elements. Finally, the rabbi let him in, saying that the first step in conversion is to prove your seriousness/sincerity. Most people give up and go home. They don't really want to convert.

It's silly of me to think of this story because a very simple web form that I should be able to fill in quickly as I court a certain potential employer WILL NOT let me finish. It freezes, therefore disabling my whole machine. Like the successful convert, though, I will prevail. After all, in exactly a week, the year that is supposed to end the world will begin.

Now is no time to be a wuss.

Santa brought me lots of tools to use to prepare myself for impending doom, but that's another story for a different blog.

Patience, perseverance, and the Panama Canal.

Those are the lessons that 2011 has delivered to me, mostly via ABC-CLIO.

I will be back to expound on other lessons as the week unfolds. Perhaps after I have finished some more fruitcake.