this is why working at my other desk isn't always safe...

I took the laptop and am working at the desk in the library (much to Nicholas's delight, as he can sit on the desk and head-butt me), but now I have to stop, get the binocs, and look out the window. There's an assembly of blue jays, probably about a dozen, sitting high up in some trees on the far side of the stream, proclaiming loudly about something and bobbing up and down as they do so. Most curious. Most interesting. Nothing at all to do with religion versus secularism in Pakistan. :-)

EDIT: It appears this is The Hawk Saga, Part II. The hawk is back, cruising around, with the crows following him around and pestering him to leave.

more birds

Stepped back to the bedroom for a minute and found a huge flock of birds at the feeder: about a dozen sparrowy people, some jays, a crow or two, a chickadee, a titmouse, and several mourning doves. They mostly flew off when I got the camera, though, suggesting that they don't mind eating there, but they can clearly see through the window as well as I can and don't care for being observed!

Edit: Add a cardinal. And some of the sparrows are, I think, house sparrows, as they have black masks and grey heads.

Edit Edit: And a woodpecker! Hairy, I think, as it had a longish bill for its size.

OK, back to work...

request for advice from locals

Anyone in the greater DC area (preferably northern Virginia, but beggars can't be choosers) know of an attorney they would recommend for some minor work? The guy I used for the divorce was AWFUL, and the person Chris consulted was a bit expensive, but we need to draw up a simple contract and probably a power of attorney.

Any suggestions gratefully received.

Napoleonics game next Saturday

I'll be hosting another Napoleonic miniatures battle next Saturday (20 January). Anyone interested in joining the fray is welcome to attend. We have plenty of troops (so you don't have to have any) and the rules are pretty easy to learn (plus we'll have experience commanders to show you the ropes).

If you'd like to participate, just reply here, so I know how many people to plan for.

(Sadly, offer does not include airfare from elsewhere in the US or from the UK...)

(no subject)

OK, so this is mildly annoying. I've been working (yes, off and on) all weekend to get my paper finished and turned in tonight.

On reviewing the instructions in the class materials, there seems to be some serious confusion as to when this assignment is due.

The online "assignments" summary says "due date: Penultimate Monday of Course" (this is what I'd been going on).

The detailed description in that area says "post [in such and such a place] by the 7th week of class" (it's an eight-week-long class). "By" to me suggests "no later than" and presumably means "the beginning of".

The syllabus says "post [in such and such a place] by the end of the penultimate week of class"

Weekly essay assignments have been due on Friday, with comments due on classmates' essays on Mondays. Is the end of the week Friday or Monday? The course started on a Monday and ends on a Friday (26 January). Does this mean the end of each week is Friday? or that each week begins with Monday, thus meaning it ends with Sunday? How can the end of a week be a Monday, when the class began on a Monday and the last week of the class ends with a Friday? Our essays have been getting graded very irregularly, sometimes a week or two late, sometimes on Wednesdays or Thursdays...

So, is this paper due

1. at the *beginning* of the 7th (penultimate) week of class (as implied by "by the 7th week")
a. which is Monday 15th (suggested by 'penultimate Monday': the last Monday in the class is the 22nd)
b. which was Sunday the 14th (if weeks begin with Mondays, they must end with Sunday)
c. which was Saturday the 13th (if weeks end with Friday, they must start with Saturday)

2. at the *end* of the 7th week of class (as specified by the syllabus)
a. which is Friday the 19th
b. which is Sunday the 21st
c. which is somehow a Monday, though blow me if I can figure which one

I'm going to finish it and turn it in tonight, so I don't have to bother with it further, but honestly, what a confusion!

(For what it's worth, two of the eighteen students have posted their papers so far, one last Wednesday and one this morning. [And one of those is about half the required length...])