I ran out into the street to take a picture of the passing car.

"Hey man, no evidence, alright?" shouted the driver when he saw my camera.

"Nice car!" I replied, not fully understanding him.

"No man, I said no fucking evidence, alright?" he replied, covering his face with a hat while I took the picture. His passenger crouched down below the dashboard.

"Umm, yeah. Sure."

"What is Acela? It's the room under the first floor."

There are a few things about my Nikon N80 that I don't like. A couple of those problems manifested themselves today. It would seem that the simple solution is to trade up to an F100. But, incredibly, the top-of-the-line Nikon F5 can be had for the same price these days. Unfortunately the F5 is also twice as heavy as the F100, since it essentially hewn from a solid block of magnesium. Not a great vacation camera, unless you need it to double as a weapon.

What if I got a Leica M6 instead? It's light, it's silent, it has zero shutter lag, and it doesn't even need batteries. Those wily Germans.

Or I could get my own Widelux, and take pictures that digital cameras will never be able to make. The Tech has one, but it is presently broken (Thanks kids!). It's not a great general-purpose camera, of course. It doesn't even have a light meter.

Or I could turn my life around and buy a Sinar, a heavier tripod, and a big sturdy case. Then I could take pictures the way God intended for them to be taken.

Or I could get back to work.

I subscribe to NASA's press-release LISTSERV. This was the only thing in my inbox this morning, so I had to read it twice to make sure I wasn't dreaming. It highlights the real, dangerous problem with the American space program: it is headquartered in Texas.

Date: Wed, 20 Apr 2005 15:39:19 -0500
From: info@JSC.NASA.GOV
Subject: ATTWATERS PRAIRIE CHICKENS MOVE TO NASA JSC
 
April 20, 2005
 
Linda Matthews-Schmidt
Johnson Space Center, Houston
281/483-5111
 
Brian Hill
Houston Zoo
713/801-8040
 
Report #J05-017
 
ATTWATER'S PRAIRIE CHICKENS MOVE TO NASA JSC
 
Once there were about a million of them, but now fewer than 50 are left in the wild. Before long, some of the endangered Attwater's Prairie Chickens in the Houston Zoo's breeding program will move to NASA's Johnson Space Center.
 
Establishment of a breeding facility on about two acres of JSC land is part of a new agreement between the zoo and the space center. That agreement also sets aside about 10 acres of JSC land to grow eucalyptus trees and other plants as food for zoo animals.
 
"The JSC Team is excited about this partnership," said JSC Director Jefferson D. Howell, Jr. "Part of NASA's mission is to understand and protect our home planet, and we are happy to play a small part in preserving the Attwater's Prairie Chicken population. . . ."

I cycled the Boston Marathon course backwards this afternoon, though I turned around in Framhingham so as not to waste the whole afternoon. I realized later that, had I continued into Ashland, I would have been able to get some Dairy Queen. DAIRY QUEEN!!! Next time.

Cats do not dance. So much for that idea.

"You're a student, right?"

"Yeah."

"Then you must go to MIT."

"Yep. Wait, is it really that obvious?"

"Yes."

...that someone in a rumpled suit would speed-park his Jaguar at D'Angelo's, then actually go inside.

...that the "large" sandwiches at the new Quizno's are inadequately large for a meal, yet they also offer a "regular" and a "small." (I asked to see these other sizes for comparison, but they could not do it.)

...that Quizno's displays their ordinary-looking sandwich breads in a wood-grained case labelled "ARTISAN BREADS." On closer inspection, the "artisan case" is clearly made of plastic with a painted-on wood grain.

...that one would ever consider taking a fast-food chain's claims seriously.

This morning I found myself at Bruegger's, as I have nearly every Monday morning this term. While I waited at the counter, the next guy in line stepped up, with his back to me. He was wearing a construction-site yellow rain slicker, a hard hat, and an orange Type II PFD. Yes, a freakin' life vest. Ordering a bagel.

"Lost at sea?" I asked, for lack of any bagel-related wit.

He turned around. The PFD was stencilled clearly with the words "BIG DIG LIFE VEST." I told him it was, uh, quite a life vest.

"Oh! I'm just having a little fun. I was just up at Fenway. The media love this. I've already been in the Boston Globe three times, and now they want me on TV next week!"

This page is obviously not being updated very frequently. Normally when I get this busy I start looking for other little tasks -- like updating web pages -- but for whatever reason that is not the case here.

As I write this, the last day of classes is 798 hours, 45 minutes away. It seems that I have 800 hours of work to accomplish by then.

I'm going to start dressing like this now.

I picked up the Hyperion album of Leslie Howard playing Liszt's Paganini Etudes. Conclusion: Pretty good, but not quite perfect.

Franz Liszt was a hyperactive, chain-smoking piano virtuoso with a penchant for alcohol and women. (Supposedly he hooked up with pianist Marie Pleyel on a borrowed couch in Chopin's apartment.) It is evident from his playing, I think, that Leslie Howard has few of these noble traits, which is slightly disappointing.

I'm looking for the very best recording of Liszt's piano version of Paganini's Etude No. 3. Preferably on an album with his other etudes. I'm pretty successful at selecting orchestral recordings but I know nothing about pianists, so I'm appealing for your help. I'm not interested in the original Paganini versions because I have an irrational hatred of violins. Anyone?