Solstice

On this shortest day of the year, when geometry gives us the least sunlight, the weather this year also gives us darkness, with clouds filling the sky here in Milwaukee. It has warmed up a bit, to -10°C this morning. Traces of snow are falling. Icy stuff covers most of the ground. When the world gives you ice, the wise go ice skating. Tonight, after work, I’ll go do some ice skating, circling the rink while hearing friends’ voices singing on the iPod.

What I learned today

Today, I learned that if someone uses an electric pencil sharpener regularly but never, ever empties out the drawer full of shavings (apparently believing that that is something done by the pencil sharpener fairies while she is away on vacation), the sharpener will fill with shavings until they are very tightly packed. So tightly packed that getting the little drawer open to empty them out is hard. But it will still sharpen.

Skating and chocolate

The ice skating was fun. Good music for high-speed ice skating includes the second allegro from Bach’s Concerto No. 2 in Am, BWV 593, which is a Vivaldi concerto for two violins that Bach stole borrowed and reworked for organ, and geBORGt’s “Stausong” and “Alea Iacta Est,” since anything sung reasonably rapidly in German is good go-fast music.

I also now have 1.6 kg of chocolate covered peanuts, chocolate covered hazelnuts, and just plain chocolate. I got the volume discount for buying lots at once!

Creepy Christmas

There is a Creepy Christmas pool on Flickr, for photos of cards and decorations that are just plain creepy. Don’t miss the urinating Santa card.