Two down, two exams to go

Sometimes the best satire is the genuine, removed from context.  A user review of a Brooks Brothers cashmere cable-knit dog sweater:

Disappointed -- Date: April 12, 2010

Pros: fashionable

Cons: not flattering on my dog's body

My dog, Mingus, was irritated by the coarse texture of the cashmere, and the deep red did not offset her chocolate colored fur in the manner I had hoped. Additionally, the fit was too loose and made her appear heavier, despite weighing only the 13 pounds recommended by our veterinarian.

Poor little Mingus.

Why I happen to be looking at Brooks Bros dog sweaters is another question entirely...

Surreal

Two (semi-)surreal things I'd like to mention.

First, the weather in Budapest this weekend was wretched.  From Friday until yesterday (Tuesday), we had highs in the mid- and low-50s paired with near constant rain and howling wind.  Wind substantial enough to litter the sidewalks with small branches and clumps of leaves.  To go from improving weather, with some sunny days and temps in the 70s to four days of endless cold, gray, rainy, and windy is bizarre.  At some times I felt transported to a different time and place; at others like the weather was mimicking that impending-doom atmosphere that blows in right before a big storm, despite the absence of any big storm here.

Second, the favorites in the Giro d'Italia (Vinokourov, Evans, Basso, Nibali) today gave up nearly 13 minutes to a 50+ man breakaway group.  Now, with 10 days of racing left, a handful of riders from those 50 gained a substantial enough lead to stand a real chance of holding off the (former?) favorites for overall victory.  Wild.  Enormous slip-up on the part of teams BMC (Evans), Liquigas (Bass & Nibali), and Astana (Vinokourov).

Problems

Some problems are easy.  Some problems are hard until they explode in great white balls of heat.  Still other problems fight for what seems like ages, but one day they lie down and let you solve them.

Eventually, there's the antelope collapsed on the ground, and there's your spear pressed against its neck, but by this point the antelope has been your adversary for so long he seems more like an old friend.  Gotta eat.