It takes so little...

So I get to a section break - maybe the last one - in this monster document (nearly 20,000 words) and do a count of words left to translate.

449.

And for some inexplicable reason - I mean, c'mon, it's not like I've never done this before! - my heart skips a beat and a little thrill races through my mind!

A journey of a thousand miles also ends with one step.

(Of course, I still have to check my work and deal with a pile of figures, but I'll take my fun where I can get it.)

Cheers...

The figures are unbelievable...

Fortunately, I managed to get a 2-hour extension on the job, because the figures (something like, um, 40 of them?!) are hard to read and incorporate a load of abbreviations that are neither used elsewhere in the text nor (surprise!) listed among the abbreviations used in the document.

I'm concentrating on words right now. If the author of the text didn't care to document his/her/its abbreviations, I'm not going to sweat it.

Now, back to the remaining dozen figures or so.

Cheers...

Breaking news in my back yard...

The local news is focusing on a gunman inside of Building 44 at JSC. The commentary so far has been the usual ignorant prattle, as folks wait for something to happen.

I'm trying to understand why a nearby intermediate school is in "lockdown" (nobody comes in, nobody goes out). It seems a somewhat extreme precaution. According to the news report, the rest of JSC appears to be going about "business as usual."

Cheers...

UPDATE: In listening to the talking heads on the tube, be aware of the following:

(1) Anyone who says the building is in a frequently traveled area is mistaken.
(2) Anyone who says that a decal or tag is required on automobiles entering JSC is mistaken.

You can judge the rest of what such people say on the basis of such, er, goofs.

UPDATE 3:17pm: Question: How difficult would it be to get a gun into JSC?

I'm tempted to provide sarcastically respond as follows: Since possessing a gun within JSC is categorically forbidden by Federal law, why would you want to ask? I mean, isn't that the point of a gun control law?

Sarcasm aside, I'll note that in the immediate post-9/11 paranoia, just stopping to have your badge checked and have a security guard look (not search) inside of vehicles was enough to bring the place to a virtual standstill in the mornings. If you had to do an airline-quality search of people, and packages, and vehicles entering JSC,... brrr... my blood runs cold.

The intermediate school is no longer under lockdown, apparently.

Marvy...

When I went to sleep at 5 pm in preparation for tonight's night shift, I forgot to turn off my cell phone, which turned out to be a fairly serious omission, because about 20 minutes into what turned out to be a nap, I get a call from Natalie, and while I'm talking to her, another call from Drew, both inquiring about my status. After a few minutes of talk, where I assured them I was nowhere near JSC, I turned off my cell phone and tried to go to sleep.

No dice.

I tossed and turned for a quite a while, then got up to see the second half of something called Bones, and then tried to go to sleep again.

No dice.

Apparently, those 20 minutes or so did a pretty good job of rejuvenating me. And here I am, showered, shaved, and dressed, with still a half hour left before I should leave for work.

And of course, now I feel like I could go to sleep.

I'm going to try for another 20-minute nap, but I get a feeling it's going to be one of those nights.

Cheers...