It’s 2 o’clock, and so I’m trying to will it to be 5 o’clock, but apparently time doesn’t work like that or I haven’t got the superpowers to pull it off. Sometimes life is so unfair.

Somebody recently found my site by searching for “robotic ducks”. Somebody else was looking for “underwater sex gallery”. Why are you here?

On Friday, I phoned AT&T to ask if I should expect some disruption in my cable modem service, given that Excite@Home had recently filed for bankruptcy and I had heard rumors that this might affect AT&T customers. When I finally got through to someone (and after the online help page to which I was initially referred refused to load), I was told no, of course not, don’t be silly. Excite’s just the homepage; AT&T provides the actual service. So I said thank you, sighed relief, and hung up. And Saturday morning (I think you can see where I’m going with this), I was suddenly without a cable modem connection. Complete disruption of service. Now AT&T was saying that of course there would be some trouble. Hadn’t we heard? Excite@Home had recently filed for bankruptcy. So it looks like I could be without an internet connection at home until maybe Thursday or later, while AT&T transitions its customers to the new network. I’m okay with that, and I’ve been assured that I’ll be credited two full days for each one that I am without service, but it’s a little annoying that I was given such patently false information when I first called. Ah well, life goes on.

Sunrise doesn’t last all morning

A cloudburst doesn’t last all day

Seems my love is up and has left you with no warning

It’s not always going to be this grey

All things must pass

All things must pass away

All things must pass

All things must pass away

— All Things Must Pass, George Harrison (1943-2001)

Over at words mean things, Adam shares this exchange from A Man For All Seasons. He’s right, it is eerily appropriate for the times we now live in.

More: And go he should, if he were the devil himself, until he broke the law.

Roper: So now you’d give the devil benefit of law!

More: Yes. What would you do? Cut a great road through the law to get to the devil?

Roper: Yes! I’d cut down every law in England to do that.

More: Oh? And when the last law was down and the devil turned round on you – where would you hide, Roper, the laws all being flat? This country is planted thick with laws, from coast to coast, man’s laws, not God’s, and if you cut them down – and you’re just the man to do it – do you really think you could stand upright in the winds that would blow then? Yes, I’d give the devil benefit of law — for my own safety’s sake.

Well, even though we have some three more years to contend with Bush’s increasingly awful presidency, it’s nice to know that elections are already underway in ancient Rome. I suddenly wish I knew more about Roman history than what I happened to see in I, Claudius.