The most wonderful time of the year

Ah, the week between the Winter Solstice holiday and the New Year holiday. Most UW students are out of school and many UW workers are on vacation. (Kudos to those who aren't -- the university is really a year-round, 24-hour knowledge-production factory as far as I'm concerned.) I've claimed my regular spot at the Fair Trade Coffee House and I'm one of a grand total of half a dozen people here on this warmish midwestern December Thursday morning. The striking thing is that, unlike a normal morning in the cafe, I'm the only patron to be typing away on a laptop computer. Other folks are actually perusing newspapers, reading books, and talking to each other. It's like being in transported back in time to 1987 or something. I really should be finishing revisions on three articles, entering grades for last semester, and finalizing the readings for my classes next semester. But somehow it seemed more important right at this moment to start yet another weblog. Oh, the freedom and power that new media affords us!