I picked up a copy of Gonzo at the library on Saturday. He was a fascinating guy. I didn't read that much of Hunter S. Thompson's writings, but I can still remember how much of an impact Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas made on me when I read it in college. There's a scene where Raoul Duke is feeling like a bad person, but then he watches the news, which is filled with reports about secret bombings in Cambodia and the lies of Nixon administration and he feels better -- he's no where near as bad a person as those people obviously are. I think that still holds as true today as it did then. The biography fills in a lot of aspects of his life's story I knew nothing about: a complex and conflicted character, but with a magnetic personality that was compelling to those around him.

I sometimes lament that I am so short on "animal magnetism". Some people seem destined to have these intense connections with other people and others, well, don't. At the same time, my personality seems well suited to what I actually have: I'm married to my best friend, I have two wonderful children, and my mom lives with my family; I have an office that is a kind of center for technology and pedagogy in the department where a steady stream of students and faculty drop in to chat about teaching, learning and technology; and I have a great boxer dog. I don't think I'd be happy being famous anyway -- if more people were trying to get to me, I'd have to spend even more time hiding.

I did something around the house today -- a major victory. Lucy has been wanting a clothesline for years, so I went ahead and put one up for her today. Mainly, I just dug a hole and filled it with cement to hold the post in place. It may not sound like much, but it was a victory for me. Now if I could just make myself grade those papers...