Free-Floating Hostility

Sunday, October 02, 2005

Posted by Anonymous at 2:43 PM | Permanent Link to this Post


A Brief History of Wasted Time

I have spent the better part of the day cruising satellite pictures of Sioux Falls, S.D. on Google Earth, lamenting how lame the city looks from 1,000 feet up. I have to go there next week for a football game, and, because of the vagaries of airline scheduling, I'm going to have to stay over the Saturday night after game, even though it starts at 1 p.m. local time and I'll be done with all my writing by 6:30 (CT) or so. I'll report back as to whether there's anything to do on a Saturday in swinging Sioux Falls.

Anticipating my absence, Anna decided to do a city search for stuff to do in the Bay Area next weekend. Her search led her to a show with "Dr. Stephen W. Hawking."

"Are they serious?" she asked.
"Yeah," I said. "Isn't it Stephen F. Hawking?"
"Are you serious?" she asked.

Google searches yielded a similar biography for both Stephen W. and Stephen J. Anna slowly backed away from the computer. Her biggest fears are "confusion and infinity" and this particular episode happened to incorporate elements of both.

As it turns out Google takes you to the same biography of the noted scientist with just about any middle initial. My favorite was the full-throated defense of gun ownership alluded to by Stephen E. Hawking.

7 Comment(s):

  •   Posted by Blogger Jeff'y at October 02, 2005 3:06 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • Are Anna's two biggest fears really confusion and infinity? I'm asking as a fan of both.

  •   Posted by Blogger Anna at October 02, 2005 4:26 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • Really. I'm suprised you didn't know that already.

  •   Posted by Blogger Jeff'y at October 02, 2005 5:16 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • And this is why you won't read Infinite Jest? (Which, I'll admit, is a pretty damn confusing book.)

  •   Posted by Blogger Rich at October 03, 2005 10:18 AM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • I am kind of scared of the dark. Come to think of it, that fear is kind of like confusion and infinity wrapped up into a ball. I don't know if that is my greatest fear though. Clowns are pretty high up there.

  •   Posted by Blogger Anna at October 03, 2005 6:04 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • I won't read Infinite Jest because whoever borrowed your copy never gave it back. That sounds like it has a clown in it, too, though.

  •   Posted by Anonymous Anonymous at October 03, 2005 7:34 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • It's arguable whether it has clowns, but as it doesn't have much makeup I feel they're not so scary.
    - sol

  •   Posted by Blogger Jeff'y at October 04, 2005 7:12 PM | Permanent Link to this Comment

    • Infinite Jest does not have clowns. Ummm, I'm pretty sure that it doesn't. Scotter is the only one who would really know.

    I bought a new copy because with the White People in Boston, I didn't think I had much chance of getting it back from Ryan's friend. And I obviously couldn't be without a copy, as situations arise in which I need to skim it looking for clowns.

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