There's a conflict ongoing in a segment of the journal community which affects me in a mild way. A notorious site called Cut While Shaving is making waves; its "author", annoyed at Zach's rejection of his application for inclusion in the web-ring "In His Own Words", hacked into that ring and edited site info. (My site description, borrowed from Ernest Hemingway, is "Living it up, and writing it down" - it became "Lubing it up and slapping it down," but he didn't change my address to his own, as happened to some sites.) Zach changed the passwords, yet he got in again, this time putting his picture on all the pages associated with the ring. Zach doesn't care for the struggle, so he dissolved the ring today; can't say that I blame him.

Attended a company picnic at lunchtime, nothing positive. The wind was blowing so we were cold, the chicken had been grilled to dry, shoe-leather toughness, no conversation worthy of note, I won none of the raffle prizes, and later I felt slightly queasy from eating too much chocolate cake frosting.

When I got home, just as I expected, the box containing the Sangean short-wave radio I ordered from Universal Radio, Inc. was resting by my door. Seems UPS has relaxed their annoying requirements concerning a signature for delivery. (Policy change post-strike?) This one works great, unlike the Grundig I had to take back.

This evening, after a quick visit <1> to the mega-Fry's in Sunnyvale, I had a chicken bowl at the Fuckin' Noodle. Tasty, but I'd forgotten my book (Slow Days, Fast Company - The World, The Flesh, and L.A. by Eve Babitz) - had to use a backup from my car's trunk. Just in case I've an extended breakdown somewhere isolated, or (worst case) I'm busted, I keep a small reservoir of used books there:

Dune by Frank Herbert

Battlefield Earth by L. Ron Hubbard

(excellent, hard science fiction, non-Scientological)

Atlas Shrugged by Ayn Rand

(in case someone with potential inquires about my "Who Is John Galt?" bumper sticker, I keep this ready to put into their hands)

A Distant Mirror by Barbara Tuchman I've haven't read the last one, which I find dense and impenetrable (despite Z's enthusiastic testimonial), but it's interesting, taken a few random pages at a time. So I chose that one and read about a disastrous French Crusade of 1397 - new word of the day: Lollardy.