Almost the Last Post of The Year

Wow, haven't updated anything here in a while.

Obviously, there has been plenty of preoccupation with the Hurricane Sandy. What can I possibly add to that that has not already been covered by the media? Irene seemed like such an unexpected blow last year, and Sandy has completely, well, blown that out of the water with its unbelievable size (truly, a superstorm) and all the incredible damage it wrought in New York and New Jersey. As one of our neighbors noted, it was good karma for the flooding we got last year that we did not get as much damage this time, not even close as much as the coastal areas did. Mostly wind-related losses - tons of trees and downed electrical wires. The subsequent situation with the state transportation, lack of electricity and shortage of gas were very unpleasant and unsettling but the situation has improved considerably over the past two months. Of course, it will likely take years for the coast to recover.

What else? Well, the end of the world hoopla is certainly ridiculous. For those who were nervous about the end of the Mayan calendar (goodness, I literaly have to force myself not to facepalm at this), it is, as of this writing, already 12.21.12 over the Pacific, in Australia and the entire Eurasia. The world is still here, release your breath, and a happy start of the 14 b'ak'tun to you!

Went to another TNG Theatrical Event dedicated to the 2nd Season Blu-Ray release in November. Another great experience! I hope they keep arranging this for the rest of the seasons, and then do the same for other series (I am sure all of them will get remastered at some point).

 

Any holiday plans? As of tomorrow, I am on a small vacation, took off a week from work between the holidays. Mostly planning family time, a few trips to New York City (the previously mentioned Harry Potter Exhibition, possibly an AMNH visit), and the traditional secret Santa gift exchange with the family members. As for the next year, I am making another attempt to take a class at NYU (the Fall semester fell through, they could not get enough students for the section that worked for me), and going to see Eddie Izzard in one show from a Work In Progress series he is performing at the Culture Project. This is a preparatory mini-tour (New York and San Francisco) in anticipation of an actual USA tour of his new show "Force Majeure". Got the tickets, cannot wait! Oh, and, of course, there is the next Rutgers Geology Museum Open House to attend!