"...And what book are you reading right now?"

If there is one type of book that I cannot resist buying (and also oftentimes cannot finish reading), it is the biography. The thicker the better. I like it to be rich in detail and annotation, preferably a product of several decades’ worth of research. (These same traits, of course, make reading it casually almost impossible. For example, I lugged a 985 page tome to the gym this evening. Horrible choice – the workout dragged, the dilligent page-by-page reading stalled.)

If blog entries are bullet-sized chapters of an author’s work in progress, then bloggers’ question-and-answer posts must be the capsule equivalents to biographies. Not surprisingly, once I stumbled tonight onto the normblog's 52 (per year) featured bloggers, I could not tear myself away from the site. Click here and learn how bloggers describe themselves. Fascinating stuff.

A Dell-icious encounter: okay, what are you guys trying to do here? Your stock’s going under? Your company’s in trouble? What?

I used to say that Ocean *tries* to entertain and that it is not, therefore, a place where I want to let off steam. Still, sometimes I’ve been tempted. Yes, alright, I have indeed noted at times the irksome, stormy little episodes and encounters that have caused even Ocean waters to turn turbulent. A good candidate for a fuming-type post would be a recount of any exchange with a Dell service rep.

Just minutes ago, in fact, I ended a long-dreaded conversation with a Dell rep. Think I am now entering into “rant mode?” Think again:

I’m calling because my Latitude has a defective cord that often spontaneously disconnects.
That’s too bad. Wear and tear maybe?

Uh, I don’t know… Oh, and also a handful of those little screws on the bottom fell out.
You mean the thing still hangs together with the little screws missing?

Yeeees… sort of ... I didn't do anything!
We’ll have to send you some replacements right away! And a new power source. And a new cord, just in case. There’ll be no charge of course. Thank you for bringing this to our attention!

I’m leaving for an extended trip within a week…
Oh, Nina, you’ll be getting these tomorrow.

BTW, I’m always curious, which part of the world are you located in?
Alabama. Worried about outsourcing, are you? Nope, right here in the States. Here’s your order number! I so enjoyed talking with you, Nina!

Weird, isn’t it?

The world may be hostile toward our military interventions overseas, but gosh, at least we’re doing a good job with the highway to the South Pole

…And still there are those who are knocking this latest expansionist, U.S.-sponsored project. Sir Edmund Hillary (the first to drive a vehicle to the South Pole) is speaking out against the American ice-highway across Antarctica. Why? After all, according to the New Zealand foreign minister, our efforts are “environmentally acceptable” (I know, I was surprised too). Still, Sir Ed says we’re doing a “terrible job.”

Here at Ocean, I must admit I have not been following the debate very closely. But the idea is in keeping with this blog's philosophy of linking people across vast territories and bodies of water, frozen or otherwise. Thus a 1,020 mile ice highway (allowing year-round access to a research station) seems totally cool to me, undeserving of Sir Ed’s icy reception. So long as we leave the seals and polar bears alone, I’m for it. Go pick on some of our other projects – ones deemed environmentally irresponsible and foolish. I’m sure there are plenty to choose from.