Wherein a Prolonged Absence Is Explained, at least Partially, with a Further Promise of Better Behaviour

..... and I woke up in a bathtub full of ice, and all my hair was missing!

Eh, okay not really. I fell into a space-time vortex and only recently returned from an alternate reality where George H.W. Bush's son was the President of the U.S.A.

Okay, not really either, though I wish..... Actually it was the confluence of being really busy at work and re-reading the Wheel of Time series by Robert Jordan. That's been discussed so much on the Internet already that its not really worth saying anything here. Except, damn -- cutting out that whole Faile-Shaido thing and the Bowl of the Winds could have saved three whole books, and perhaps enough trees to cover the entire state of New Jersey.

Next up, a review of The Last Colony, by John Scalzi.

Sidereal

WWJB (Who Would Jesus Bill?)

For all my fellow citizens (notice how I didn't refer to you as my fellow taxpayers?) who are of right leaning political persuasions and who claim to follow the teachings of Jesus Christ, I have the following questions:

When Jesus healed the sick, did he check first for proof of insurance? To whom did He send His bill?

Sidereal

A Failure of Truth in Advertising.

I have a hard time taking anyone with this license plate on their car seriously, as the residents of the state of New Hampshire failed to collectively off themselves at any time between 2001 and 2009.

Sidereal

Sir Topham Hatt and Uncle Moneybags

Did you ever notice how the Evil overlord of the Sodor Railway, Sir Topham Hatt, looks just like the Evil monopolist from the game Monopoly, Uncle Moneybags?

Sir Topham Hatt

Uncle Moneybags

Perhaps our avuncular landlord from Atlantic City is merely the British rail baron with a clever mustachioed disguise? Maybe the casinos on Boardwalk are being used to launder monies embezzled from the Sodor Railway? Are the bizarre, anthopomorphic talking trains really part of Hatt's secret police, who quietly disappear Sodorian dissidents to underground cells along Tennessee Avenue. Maybe there's a reason why the railroads are considered some of the most valuable properties in Monopoly, even though the Golden Age of Rail is long past

Maybe Sidereal Jr. and Siderealette spend too much time watching Thomas and His Friends?

Sidereal

Shoulder Spreader, Arm Rest Stealer Guy

You know who these guys are. They do not weigh 400 pounds and have no choice due to their natural body configuration. They sit next to you on the airplane. They probably got to their seat before you specifically so they can stake out as much space as possible. They view the flight as a game of Risk, only they're staking out the territory with elbows, shoulders, knees and feet. The space they paid for ends at the mid-line of the arm rest, not two inches into my seat.

And short of physical violence, there is nothing you can do to get them back north of the 38th parallel. And no, shoulder spreader, arm rest stealer dude, I was not trying to pull a Larry Craig on the airplane, I just wanted to be able to sit in my seat without having the right hand side of my body jacked.

Sidereal

A Rant (but just a little one!)

In these dangerous times we all know the internet is not a safe place to be, what with phishing, viruses, spy ware, and hardware that will allow bloggers to remotely waterboard you via any of your computer's USB ports. So I view my bank's efforts at on-line security with approval, and I don't mind it when they periodically ask me to verify my identity using various security questions.

It does get a little problematic when I want to log in to my account and see if my paycheck has been deposited into my account, and the first question they ask me is to verify my account balance!!!

No wonder the financial system is floating belly-up like a dead guppy in that creepy aquarium at your dentist's office.

Sidereal