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Family anecdote from, oh, 1995 or thereabouts: the kitchen of my Aunt and Uncle's brownstone has a great view of their cobblestone backyard. One summer day my Uncle was doing some maintenence back there, using a broom to push some water towards the drain. My Aunt came over to see what I was looking at, and I said "Poor old guy, look at 'im down there, sweepin' the water." The joking premature senility reference is funny, at least to us (maybe because my Uncle is a decade older than my Aunt...though still a far far way from the old folk's home!) but of course, it was not an unreasonable way of moving water, preventing stagnant puddles from forming. (Letting the sun take care of the rest, like my buddy Dylan said "Evaporation is God's Paper Towel.")

And now, I wonder if that might be a half-decent metaphor for how I need to live my life. One of the reasons we laugh at sweepin' the water is that you're not going to get it all, but you might get enough to matter. Even if the water keeps coming back, you're better off sweeping than not. I think I need to start sweeping: sweeping the laziness, sweeping the clutter in the house and car (I guess that can be taken literally as well), sweeping the so-so spending habits during uncertain economic times. Maybe it's even what you have to do with relationships, keeping things moving and heading off the stagnation of just going through the motions.

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Advice of the Moment
If you're on an airplane, don't drop dry ice in the toilet. Trust me on this one.

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News of the Moment
Heh. An official from Iraq suggested a duel between the leaders of the two nations. You know, I bet Bush could win in a footrace, pretty easily, they say he's one heckuva runner.

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Quote of the Moment

Nature is trying very hard to make us succeed, but nature does not depend on us. We are not the only experiment.