Geh. Crumbs everywhere. How long is it gonna be until we see a patent on cookies that don't crumble? I would like to see that.

Or simply: "a little" vs "a lot". It's amazing how the perception of magnitude changes from one instance to another. Half a cup of coffee is not a lot of coffee. To drink. But it's a lot of coffee to spill on your desk and speaker and computer. Good thing the case is metal and doesn't leak. Ugh, now I have a sticky desk. :lazy:

I've discovered an alarming trend, there are more and more places now that won't let you in with a backpack. Since they're complete nazis about it, I think they deserve the appropriately chosen Backpack Nazi tag. If you walk into a store, there's a chance they have a security guard guarding the entrance (from god knows whom) who will insist on you leaving your backpack at the counter at the entrance of the store. And it's impossible to reason with them "look man, I have valuables in here that I won't trust just anyone to keep for me" "please leave your bag at the counter, sir". Nazis. So what do people do? They stuff their pockets with everything in the bag that they consider valuable, WHICH IS THE FUCKING REASON THEY NEED THE BAG IN THE FIRST PLACE, and then leave a sweater in the bag and go in the store. Then after you come out, it always takes a few minutes for them to find your bag, verify that it's yours and you can leave. So add 5-10 minutes for every store with a Backpack Nazi policy and it slows you down considerably.

Just a few days ago I was in a museum in Warsaw where I witnessed a 20 minute discussion a visitor had with the staff about taking his bag into the museum. He actually had tons of stuff in there that wouldn't fit in his pockets no matter what and the bag was a small backpack that couldn't possibly do any damage. Finally, the security guard went over to the gift shop, got a plastic bag for the guy to keep his stuff in, and the backpack of course had to stay in the coat room. Before you ask why a plastic bag is incomparably safer to carry and is worth a 20 minute discussion I'll go ahead and tell you that I don't know.

Isn't this an infringement on our civil rights or something? I know I barely walk into Backpack Nazi stores anymore, when they tell me to leave the bag I just walk out.

That's right, I said it. Every year I remember it either way too early to too late. I hate trying to remember from mid November to send out cards in early December. Even more I hate remembering around December 15, when it's conceivably too late because the mail is dead slow.

That is all.

As a token of the quality of Norwegian television, you may be watching the Nobel Peace Prize Concert right about now. I saw it last year cause they had Andrea Bocelli and on the whole it was a good showing, apart from an embrassing performance from Oprah Winfrey. Anyhow, on the way back from the kitchen I happened to pass the tv set on the way back to my room, when I caught one of Mohamed El Baradei (this year's Nobelist) co-workers overexcitedly remark that "he has a great sense of humor". Of all things monumentally irrelevant. I'm sorry but who the hell cares? In fact, I would like the presenter to introduce him that way. "Here is your prize and btw I've heard wonderful things about your sense of humor." "Yeah.. uhm... thanks. If you don't mind, I actually came here to talk about the regulation of nuclear weapons, you know stuff that affects mankind. If you'd let me turn the attention away from my sense of humor for a little bit, I'd like to schedule my standup act for the after party instead."