The Chicago Sun-Times has a great online photo gallery. I particularly liked Richard Chapman’s series of pictures of primary colors he found in the Loop.

I just fixed a tiny bug in my “Roll Your Own” PHP comment system. Basically I had a random “)” on line 45 of comments.php. If you’re trying to implement the code and that line’s giving you errors, that’s probably the culprit.

I finally managed to track down the text to a very elusive and rare Roald Dahl short story entitled “In the Ruins”. I am absurdly proud of this. I like being an expert at something. Granted, it’s not in a very lucrative field, but I take some pride in the notion that (other than his relatives and biographers), I probably know more about Roald Dahl than anybody else on the planet. Isn’t that nuts? The thing is, it’s gotten to the point where I don’t actually enjoy his books anymore. He’s an academic challenge for me. I started the site as an exercise to learn HTML and produce some content, but somehow along the way it turned into something else. It’s like a job now. I do it because nobody else does and I think somebody ought to. There’s an odd feeling of possessiveness involved. Dahl is mine.

Which reminds me, I recently read A.S. Byatt’s Possession, which (among other things) is about the “cult of the author” and the way fans/critics/scholars deconstruct and construct writers’ lives. I identified with a lot of it. There’s quite a thrill associated with discovering something the “average” fan doesn’t know. I surf eBay and I have to restrain myself from the impulse to buy every crap piece of Dahl-iana that’s on offer. I don’t need the stuff, but the urge to possess everything is powerful. I found the character of Mortimer Cropper distasteful yet sympathetic. There but for the grace of God (and lack of a lot of money) go I.

To bring it back to “In the Ruins”, this story has only been reprinted a few times. It’s obviously not one that Dahl or his family felt would contribute to his legacy. So should I have bothered tracking it down? Do literary scholars have any responsibility to respect their (dead) subjects’ privacy? Is it wrong to make museum pieces out of someone’s personal items? I’m rambling. I think about these things though.

(Oh, and if you decide to read the story, be forewarned that it’s pretty gruesome. Best not read it right after lunch.)

The Snook and I had a visit from the Office Supply Fairy this morning. The new desk chairs we ordered last weekend have finally arrived! This is a view of my office work area right now. See the black chair over on the far right? That’s the crappy IKEA one we bought months ago. It’s still brand new. You know why? BECAUSE IT HURTS YOUR ASS. Seriously. It’s the most uncomfortable thing I’ve ever sat on (including picnic tables and the stationary bikes at my gym). Recently we’d been using the wooden chairs that came with my desk (technically a table), which can be seen sitting on either side against the wall. They’re pretty uncomfortable too. I made some stylin’ little red foam cushions for them, but it didn’t help a lot. Now we’ve each got our own Cogra Task Chair, which are comfy and rolly and supportive and everything else you want a work chair to be. Plus I think they look kinda tomorrow with that aluminum base.

Slashdot recently linked to this Slate article that predicts the imminent demise of TiVo. As many folks pointed out in the comments, Slate is owned by Microsoft, who of course want to promote their own DVR technologies (assumed to be some sort of an X-Box add-on). So it’s the usual FUD. Personally, the comments from all the happy TiVo owners have made me even more eager to buy my own. One problem – they’re not available in Australia! So I sent off yet another e-mail to TiVo headquarters begging them to offer them here. It seems like a perfect opportunity – they’ve already got the PAL unit working (that’s what the UK uses), they don’t have to translate anything, and there are several large cable companies here (i.e. Optus and Foxtel) who would probably love to do a combination-box. So what’s the hold-up, TiVo? They better put me out of my misery soon. The leaners are makin’ me crazy!

Wow. It hasn’t been getting a lot of press – I assume that it’s getting lost among all the sniper and Iraq news – but apparently Australian police are close to arresting someone for the murder of Peter Falconio, the British backpacker that was ambushed with his girlfriend in the Outback over a year ago. I wonder if we’ll finally find out what really happened out there.

Apparently Russell Crowe’s Aussie girlfriend Danielle Spencer is just starting a month-long singing engagement at the Sandringham Hotel, which is about a block away from our house. Hmmm, maybe we’ll have to try to see her perform. Russ might show up!

The Tiroler Hutte has a website. For some of you, that fact will blow your mind. I’m just pissed I never saw the “Cow Bell Cabaret”.

Wow. Moire found a review of a film about Amish teenagers. It sounds fascinating. I can’t believe there’s so much I don’t know about them, despite the fact that they’re everywhere in Lagrange County. Apparently they don’t baptize any kids, because you’re supposed to consciously choose to be in the religion. Thus teenagers go through a period where they can “try out” all the pleasures of mainstream society (“the Devil’s Playground”) before committing themselves fully to the Amish life. Some of them don’t make it back though.

The Snook and I need to go on the Shake Ya Ass Dance Cruise of Sydney Harbour. Seriously. Don’t you think?