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An impassioned commander with more respect for individuals than for authority, you have a no-holds-barred approach to life and its obstacles.
“I don’t believe in the no-win scenario.”
Via Isabella.

The NHL – that’s the National Hockey League – is involved in some bruhaha over the usual bags of money, and the players are currently locked out. As a result, the hockey season will definitely not start as scheduled, and may not happen at all.
One fan in Toronto had this to say:
“It’s like there’s a cloud over Toronto. It’s just one disaster after another.”

I started writing this post yesterday afternoon.
My fantabulous laptop is pooping out on me. Since it’s a refurbished machine, it’s no longer under warranty. E-machines tech support were able to tell me immediately that the problem is the CPU fan – I suspect this is not an unprecedented case.
The symptoms: the computer gets very hot very quickly, then shuts itself off as a safety precaution. Which would be acceptable were there any warning involved, such as “the system has detected a problem and needs to shut down. Please close all applications.”
This message, however, does not appear. The machine simply stops altogether. On a good day, presumably when there’s good air circulation and low humidity or something, I can work for a couple of hours before this becomes a problem. Unfortunately, the AC here at work is automatically shut off at the beginning of September, so even with my office window open all the time, the air gets warm in here.
I’ve spoken to a recommended techie out in Sherbrooke, who has since reported that he thinks he can get the required part(s), and that he thinks he can take a look at the machine and give me an estimate next week.
Sigh.
Suffice it to say that posting will be sporadic, given that I have to make hay while the sun shines (in other words, make essay questions and grammar quizzes while the computer is up).

In case you were wondering “whatever happened to Bea Arthur” (of course you were. Just be a (wo)man and admit it.), it turns out she’s dating Zach Braff.
You know, the guy from Scrubs.
His Garden State marketing people have convinced him to get blogging, and he’s funny (that’s haha, not strange). He claims to read all comments, but every post generates hundreds – some of the commenters are just as funny and twisted as Braff – but it’s like shopping at Winners. You have to be prepared to wade through a lot of mundane stuff to find the perfect pair of pants. There are usually several comments rejoicing the fact that the commenter is first! second! top ten! – on the other hand, the prevailing sentiment is one of happiness, appreciation and humour, so it’s a good thing.

Two more medals to start your day.

Six gmail invites up for grabs, if anyone’s interested.

Please get the following out of my head:
I think I love you
So what am I so afraid of?
I’m afraid that I’m not sure of
A love there is no cure for
I think I love you
Isn’t that what life is made of?
Though it worries me to say
I’ve never felt this way
It’s been several days now, and I’m thisclose to getting on ebay to find a David Cassidy poster. Help!

Athens is not going to be a landmark Olympics for us, but we’re chugging along, with seven medals so far, and more to come.
Perdita Felicien, after running so well in the preliminary and semi-finals, fell in the final of the women’s 100m hurdles. Felicien was expected to win, so the miss is heartbreaking – but the outpouring of support for Perdita is beautiful, and makes me a thousand times more proud than the medal would have.

First day of school. Three classes, each the usual first-day abbreviated version. I know, I know, it’s a rough life, but some one has to shape the leaders of tomorrow – or at least their speechwriters.
Highlight of the day: I made everyone in my second-year course explain why they chose this course (Canadian Women Writers). One student said “because everyone said you’re an awesome teacher.”
And everyone must be right – there are 10 students in that class who are with me for the second or third time. So either there is an interestingly high number of masochists in our student body, or they like me, they really like me.
😀

Kyle Shewfelt has just won Canada’s first ever medal in men’s gymnastics.
Update: Montrealer Chantal Petitclerc has also won gold, setting an Olympic record in the 800-metre wheelchair race. The medal doesn’t count toward the Canadian tally, because the race is a demonstration event. But woohoo!! nonetheless!