So, here we are again. I tried to start a book called the Middle East by Bernard Lewis. I just couldn't get through it. He tried to show the middle east, or rather a history of the Middle East, not from a power perspective but from an individual perspective, the perspective of the individual citizen. He tried to do this by anchoring what he had to say with a hypothetical Café patron in the Middle East. He peppered his narrative with details of the scene, and tried to show how history had dictated each detail. This made it very difficult to follow because he jumped around in time and place way too much. I finally gave up and went on to something else.

I started a book called the borderlands of science by Michael Shermer. It promises to be entertaining but not very informative.

On another note, my wife and me went shopping at Costco. I couldn't help but watch the other patrons as we shopped. If one were to judge the economic situation in this country using only the parking lot of this store as a reference, one would not be able to discern an economic recession. The parking lot at this Costco is always jam packed with cars. Even before crossing the threshold of the store we witnessed a lady jump out of the passenger seat of the SUV she was in and rush to the door in a frenzy. It prompted me to watch the other patrons as we shopped. Many of the faces displayed a wide eyed hysteria, as if their shopping were a matter of life and death. It is amazing to see, and to wonder at the mindset of the average American. Granted, the average American probably does not shop at Costco, and Costco, it could be argued, is a haven for frenzied shoppers. As we were leaving the store, my wife mentioned that her employees seemed more normal when compared to the employees at Wal-Mart.

On still another note, we are one month into the semester, with only three to go. Then, assuming I pass the course and the registry, I will be a licensed technologist without a job. The hospital that employs me now has recently instituted a hiring freeze, and there are few jobs in the city to be had for a licensed tech. The prospects are not promising.