The Reunion Haiku

I should have mentioned that somebody developed a playlist of songs from our undergrad days to play at our class dinners at the reunion. The only song on that playlist I remember hearing multiple times is "We Will Rock You." I probably noticed it because it is my least favorite song of all time.

Anyway, I did promise to post my haiku entries from the Tech Challenge Games. Two of the topics (the MIT Energy Initiative and Ray Stata / The Stata Center) did nothing for me. My try at the Large Hadron Collider was pretty feeble:

Will it create a
black hole and destroy the earth?
First, get it running.

On the topic of Obama at MIT, I came up with:

Hope and change? Now the
President knows which Cambridge
school he should go to!

But the really inspiring topic was the iPad. The first of these is weak, but I'm pleased with the other two:

The main thing Apple
padded is not the features
or apps. It's the price.

The Mafia is
using ipads to plan hits
The real killer app.

Apple is going
to make a larger version -
the i-maxipad

I was able to get back to my more normal haiku topic during the week, alas:

Reported smoke at
Federal Center Southwest
No trains are stopping

And Amtrak offered up a surprise, too:

The quiet car is
actually quiet on
Thursday afternoon

Roam Home to a Dome

I flew back to D.C. early Monday morning and tried to be productive, despite exhaustion. My productivity was also limited on Tuesday, due to the 50th anniversary party at my company's offices. (Actually, we had the party outside on the plaza.) The food was good and the speeches were reasonably brief. There was also a raffle and I won the grand prize - a stadium blanket. That's actually useful since my government office is often freezing.

The major news item of the week is that Politics and Prose, an excellent independent bookstore, is for sale. Both of the owners are in their 70's and one of them is in poor health, so that isn't surprising. I hope whoever buys it will keep bringing in the wide range of author events they're known for.

My major event of the work week was going to see R. Buckminster Fuller: The History (and Mystery) of the Universe at Arena Stage on Wednesday night. I used the time between work and the show to do a bit of retail therapy at the Pentagon City mall. SInce the weather was decent, I walked to and from the mall. There were pickets outside the Sheraton, but I couldn't understand a word of what they were chanting. And there was a huge security detail at the Ritz Carlton, presumably for some dignitary.

Anyway, the one man play was written and directed by D. W. Jacobs, but is performed by Rick Foucheux. Never having seen Buckminster Fuller speak, it is hard for me to tell how accurate his mannerisms are, but the performance is impressive, with a lot of energy and humor. There are a lot of multimedia tricks and a bit of audience participation, including a sing-along about the geodesic dome ("Roam home to a dome" to the tune of "Home on the Range.") Unfortunately, all of the trickery and the excellent acting don't make up for a script that needs editing. I was hoping to learn more about Bucky, the man. Instead, I felt preached at for much of the show. There was enough interesting material that I didn't feel like my time was wasted, but this could have been a lot tighter.