Chris turns 21 today. At dinner with the fam tonight, he told me that my double chin is slightly worse than his and that my ears are really tiny. I gave him a CD for his birthday.

I've been in a nasty mood since around 5 PM for various reasons. I'm hoping to shake it by tomorrow morning. I guess I should be looking forward to various gatherings -- today was Day 1 in a period of Being Social that will continue daily until the day after Christmas, cease briefly, then spurt up again the following weekend. But I just want to rest. I want to be alone, get enough sleep, paint my kitchen, and read. I want to respond to all of the emails that I haven't felt able to devote time to.

I learned today from the radio that soon, scannable chips the size of a grain of rice will be implanted in people's bodies to replace the medical bracelet. So if someone has a heart condition, they won't wear a bracelet, but will have a chip that can be scanned by a machine. The interviewer asked the doctor whether he thought this development would lead to things like the human EZ Pass and the ability to pay for groceries by scanning your hand (which would have a chip that stores your payment information) over a sensor. He said, "No doubt about it."

It reminds me of a science fiction story by Ray Bradbury (I think), where a man creates a time machine that brings him to the future. He makes sketches and tells the people in the city of all of the inventions he sees in the future, and sure enough, by the time he claimed to have visited rolls around, the radical new inventions are in place. At the end of the story, the reader learns that he never actually time traveled; he just wanted to give people incentive to make the world better. Something like that.

Okay, the connection between the news story and the Bradbury story is pretty much unexplained and thus nonexistent, and I don't feel like editing to make it cohesive. I guess I'm still in a lousy mood. Anyway, I used to like that story a lot when I was younger.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 AM

This photograph illustrates my loneliness and desolation. The bench is empty, and so is my soul.

Actually, I just wanted to change the scenery for everyone. It is 6:16 AM, and I haven't updated in awhile, and for some reason I am awake. The photo was taken during a rushed photo session at the park while I searched for a subject for my landscape painting (a class assignment). I could have just made something up, I am now realizing. I didn't paint from this photo, by the way. I painted the from easiest one.

I'm finding it difficult to be interesting at 6 AM. I wish Christmas vacation started now. I keep postponing getting a haircut, because other things keep taking precedence. I ate Moo Shu Chicken for dinner last night. Sometimes the waiter builds the Moo Shu for you, and sometimes you have to build it yourself, depending on where you eat. Last night the Moo Shu was built for me, and the man did a very good job. He was skilled in the art of Moo Shu.

The streets are slick from overnight rain. I hope it at least stays cloudy all day, because I think that's romantic.

File under DAILY. Posted at 12:00 AM