ZoNotes

It was a chilly 12 degrees outside this morning. How I am able to function in this weather is a singular achievement, given that 7 years ago I thought Laredo would give us the day off from school because it dipped below 32 degrees one night.

I think I'm fighting off a fever or some potentially nasty head cold. I'm drinking lots of orange juice in the interim to head off any unsavory microbes invading my person.

Barbarians At the Healy Gate
MSNBC gabfest HARDBALL!! and host Chris Matthews continued its weekly tour of College, USA by visiting our alma mater, Georgetown University. In the stately Gaston Hall of the venerable Healy Building, Georgetown's fine undergraduate community congregated to talk about Iraq, the war on terror, and the prospects for a new draft.

God Bless Gaston Hall.

The show had its predictable moments -- the antiwar crowd was present, as was its hawkish opposite. Sitting behind one of the generals on the Gaston stage was Joe Hoya with an appropriately peppy blue sweatshirt with "GEORGETOWN" embroidered in gray letters. One snarky student in particular made the obligatory tirade against Israel, and the camera caught him in a "word to your mother" pose. And then, another student came up and gave the obligatory pro-Israel answer. I was kind of hoping we'd show a little originality in that regard, but I'm happy with the nice face time the lovely daughter of the currently life-depriving cold swift Potomac got last night.

Wordplay
"The guy who invented the first wheel was an idiot. The guy who invented the other three, he was a genius." -- Sid Caesar

ZoNotes: Definitely fresher than an old rerun movie. Plus, we don't have to verify anything for the inspectors.

Apparently yesterday's ZoNotes did not generate. I have re-posted the data originally sent yesterday morning.

I've got to be at a seminar at 8 this morning so the Buffy recap will have to wait. Other than that, I need some Super Bowl XXXVIII predictions from the congregation so I can post on Pride of the Fall.

Wordplay
"It is easier to get forgiveness than permission," -- Stewart's Law of Retraction

ZoNotes

Money for Nothing and the DVDs For Free
The DVD player onboard my computer has finally failed me, lacking the memory to adequately play my Season 2 Buffy DVDs. My favorite season of the show, mind you.

Needless to say, I am now in the DVD player market. Any suggestions?

Stupid People With Bombs
I hope you all saw the simulated footage over the long weekend detailing what might have happend had shoe-bomber Richard Reid had actually followed through with his attempt to blow up the airliner last December. This proves alot about what we think our enemies are capable of versus what they can actually do.So often, we choose to believe the former based on what the consequences are of believing the latter. The results of those miscalculations were made clear at Kasserine Pass, the Ardennes, the Yalu River, the Tet Offensive, the 1990 invasion of Kuwait, Khobar Towers, the 1998 embassy bombings, and 9.11.

Wordplay
"I was once told I was a boring history teacher. But all I do is teach government!" -- ZoMom, Victoria Vergara