Shelby's Life and Whatnot

Greetings, Tuesday

I finished Oryx and Crake by Margaret Atwood. Many are proclaiming this to be her finest work. I disagree. It's basically the story of how the world's population was wiped out by a bioengineered virus, and what led up to that. The thing that disappointed me most is that Atwood didn't have anything new to say (or as my literary criticism friends would say, she didn't add anything to the discourse). This story has been done several times, and I didn't feel that Atwood's telling was particularly unique or enlightening. The writing itself was excellent, as to be expected--I can't fault that. But the ending was vague and didn't leave you with a sense of hope. Overall it was just rather depressing. If you want to read Atwood at her best, check out The Blind Assassin.

I got into a little bit of a car accident the other day. It was really a fender bender. And it was totally my fault. I was trying to change lanes in heavy traffic and while I was looking over my shoulder at the lane I was aiming for, the car in front of me stopped and I rolled into it. Literally rolled. I wasn't even pressing the gas. Anyway, there was very minor damage (paint chips and a slight dent to her car, and an inexplicable quarter-sized hole in my bumper). I exchanged information with the other driver who was totally freaking out (I was very calm) but I hoped that she would not call the insurance companies. Unfortunately I got a call from Geico today about it. They determined that it was my fault (hard to deny that), so they are paying out the claim. I of course have a $500 deductible so I'm sure whatever repair I require will be paid for entirely by me. I have an appointment to get the car looked at tomorrow. Anyway, that kind of sucks. I hope my insurance rate doesn't go up too much.

Tonight we are going to the Adobe Patent Banquet. This is a banquet for all of the Adobe employees who have applied for or earned a patent this year. I'm very proud of Kevin for being in that group. Last year the food and entertainment were good. Hopefully they will be this year as well.