I can always tell when I’m not eating right. I need about nine hours of sleep per day, sometimes more. I’ll sleep all night, and then nap once, or even twice during the day. It’s a good thing my job lets me set my own schedule.

I started low-carbing on Monday, and plowed through the day on overdrive, no need for naps, no midday exhaustion, just VROOOM. Of course I overdid it. I worked late into the evening, and then couldn’t fall asleep until about 2am. Then BAM! I was awake at 6:30, and working again by 8:00am. I’m pretty sure NO amount of good dieting can get me by on four-point-five hours of sleep per night.

I plan to crash on a couch at Dragon’s Keep for a while. I don’t have time today for a bed-nap. Too much to do.

jmaynard has entered the nomination for LiveJournal Advisory Board.

I can’t think of a better candidate for this position than Jay Maynard. He toots his own horn a bit in his nomination message (LINK), but that’s politics for you. I’m here to tell you that all of it is true, and if Jay had asked me beforehand to blow the horn for him, I would have done so without hesitation.

This is being handled democratically. Read Jay’s post, and if you agree with him (and with me) on this matter, please post a short comment (there, not here) saying you support his nomination. If you don’t agree, go find another nominee, or nominate yourself. Democranarchacy Lives!

I really enjoyed Iron Man. Yes, there is something to reward those who hang around for the end of the credits.

Plotwise, it was fairly predictable, but that’s due in part to the fact that I know the form the writers are working within. EVERYTHING is fairly predictable for me these days, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. It didn’t hurt the Iron Man film at all, because the character interactions, the fight scenes, the SFX, and all the rest of the details were so much fun.

Plot holes? Sure. It’s a superhero film, after all.

So… in Sunday’s Schlock Mercenary we see Captain Tagon playing to win. He knows how important it is that he thoroughly trounce the current Pugil Stick Champion, even if he has to cheat. So he cheats, wins, and makes his point.

Also on Sunday, Sandra and I taught a class of nine- and ten-year-olds. It’s our new job in the local congregation. The lesson went well, and at the end the kids wanted to play a game. They suggested a full-body pantomime version of rock-paper-scissors (Bear-Cowboy-Ninja, I think) and I vetoed that because the last thing I want them doing is jumping around to let off steam this early in my tenure as their teacher (once I’ve established that Sandra and I control the classroom those sorts of activities may be permitted.)

But they did need recreation, so I let them play regular rock-paper-scissors. Of course they wanted to play me. And of course I realized that it would be very useful to my authority as a teacher if I won.

As Sandra records:

Howard systematically trounced all of them. They were playing two out of three, and only one time did a child win a round. When Howard was done, he stood back and said:
“So how did I do that?”
The kids all stared up at him, then one ventured “Because you can read our minds?”
Howard smiled. “Exactly.”

Yeah, that’s pretty much how it went. Only today, after reading Sandra’s blog entry on the subject did I realize that Tagon was channeling ME when he poked Chisulo in the eye. It’s not the other way ’round, I assure you…