Ordinarily, I like full-electric cars in theory, but I feel they have one practical limitation. With a fuel-driven car, when you're running low on fuel, or even if you run completely out of fuel, you put more fuel in the car and continue driving. With an electric car, if you run out of battery charge, you plug in the car and you're stuck for hours while the car recharges.

There's a fellow in Spokane, Washington who may be close to making a practrical electric car. It's called the Tango. It makes the Smart look big (and you know I love small cars). At present, it has a top range of 80 miles, a top speed of 130 mph (!), and can charge to 80% capacity in just 10 minutes - still a long time, compared to a fill up. I think this may be a huge step in the right direction.

Looking at the world map next to my desk, I decided that, political unrest aside, it would be fun to visit Côte d'Ivoire. I think it would be interesting to stand on a beach and look south to see the Atlantic Ocean.

I admit that I don't "get" The Birds. Or, maybe I do. It's a great film - no doubt in my mind about that. It's a masterpiece of cinematography. (Imagine thinking you could actually film scenes inside a phone booth.) But what is this film about? Is it merely about non-predatory birds attacking a small town for no reason? I find it hard to believe that Alfred Hitchcock, the master of exploring themes disguised as films, would make something that simple. What else is going on here? Is the relationship between Melanie, Mitch, and Mitch's mother merely filler between attacks, or is there something bigger I'm missing? What about the diner discussion between the ornithologist and the bible-quoting drunk?

My bad mood continues.

I woke up in a grumpy mood, and then I got to work and found my desk trashed. I mean, books were pulled off the shelf, papers scattered around, and the dinosaur collection left by the person I replaced when she moved to California had been mostly knocked off the top of my monitor. This has happened before (the strongest suspect is the night cleaning staff), but that wasn't the bad part. My coffee mug had been knocked over and a small puddle of leftover coffee had formed on my desk and was dripping onto the carpet. But that wasn't the bad part. The bad part was that I know for a fact that two of my own coworkers had seen the spill and had done nothing about it. (One had left a note about something unrelated, and another was there, working three feet away from my desk.) It wasn't that these coworkers hate me - they just were just too lazy and stupid to clean a spill when they see it.

Then, this afternoon, I posted a very good anagram at Blogstop. The word was youthfulness and I posted Your other uncle, thinking his favorite umbrella lost, needlessly endured Spring showers. I posted it against the post before an incorrect one that included the work oughtta which wasn't in the online dictionary linked on Blogstop. (Which, to me, says that that's the official ruling dictionary.) Blogstop rules say that you should post against the last correct posting, which is what I did. My post was removed, and I complained to the administrator who told me, via email, that while oughtta isn't in the dictionary, it should be, and that other people have used the word before, so it's allowed on the basis of "regular usage." I wrote him a long, angry email in return. I'm playing the game for the fun of it - there are no prizes involved - so why should I continue playing if it's making me angry?

So far, I have found one online dictionary that included the word oughta, defined as a archaic slang form of "ought to" - but I have yet to find a single online dictionary that lists oughtta as an actual word.

So, here's the point of this blog: I was in a bad mood on my way home from work today, just because I was tired. It was windy and chilly and dark. My bus was late, and it was crowded. I sat in the bus and zoned out all the way to the grocery store. I didn't want to stop off at the grocery store, but I had to. The line at the checkout was long. But I still got home hours before The Gilmore Girls started.

However, if I had driven my car, I still would have been tired, and I still would have been in a bad mood. It still would have been dark and rainy and chilly. I wouldn't have been able to zone out, because I'd have to devote my full attention to the traffic around me all the way to the grocery store. I would have no time to rest. I'd still have to stop off at the grocery store, even though I didn't want to, and I'd still have to wait in a long checkout line, but I would have also had to wait in line for a parking spot before I even got there. And I still would have gotten home hours before The Gilmore Girls started.

The latest issue of Utne Magazine arrived today. In it, I read that, according to Transportation Alternatives Magazine, Tom Magliozzi, co-host of the public radio show Car Talk, doesn't own a car. He says he prefers bicycles or public transportation. That made me happy.

As of today, there are only two television shows that I make a point of watching every week, that I actually schedule my time around: The Gilmore Girls and 24. They're both on Tuesday nights, one right after the other. When Queer Eye For The Straight Guy gets out of reruns, and starts showing new episodes, I'll make a point of watching it every week, too. It's also on Tuesday nights, right after The Gilmore Girls and 24. What could be better than that?

My next session of Spanish classes starts on the 18th of November. The classes are on Tuesday nights. I know how to program a VCR.

I had a dream this morning: A voice called out "OK, everyone! Check your trophies!" There was a huge field with bits of trophies sticking out of the grass. People showed up with Geiger counters, scanning the field. A loud, repetitive buzzer sounded over and over. The voice called out: "That's the award, everyone!" and I woke up to the sound of our loud, repetitive alarm clock.

There was more to the dream - something about changing classes at a high school and a commuter train - but I don't remember much else.

Here's one point where Phillip I differ. He loves Halloween. It's my least favorite holiday. I look at Halloween and see a mass purchasing of stuff, and it all seems to have lost whatever meaning it ever had. Christmas, even at its commercialized worst, is about something. The 4th of July, even when I don't feel like celebrating my country's actions, at least celebrates something. The only people who seem to find any meaning in Halloween are the Christian groups who protest against it. I don't think that every celebration has to have a meaning - I love the Flash Mob fad. Mardi Gras has pretty much lost its meaning on the general public, but it at least has parades. Halloween just seems to be about buying silly/scary junk because you're supposed to. Bah, humbug.