8 March 2000 - Ash Wednesday 
 
So I've been a bad girl - I had some Turkey Franks (on stale buns no 
less) and Garlic Bread for breakfast... does smoothie count as a snack on 
a fasting day?  I dunno, I think Stu has an unfair advantage on these "no 
meat" days (which actually now are only officially on Ash Wednesday and 
Good Friday).  But then, I'm not sure if Turkey Franks can strictly 
qualify as meat.  It's like calling Fruit Roll-ups one of one's fruit 
servings for the day. 
 
Again, every time I pass NYU's grand hole in the ground that is to be the 
next student center, there is at least one person silently gazing at the 
work below.  I'm not sure what they're thinking, but I always wonder how 
they're gonna get some of those machines out of there.  I suppose when 
they get cranes in for the building part of the work they'll use them to 
get the big ole hole-diggers out. 
 
Amy's here this week (well, she's at Aunt Patti's right now) and I'm 
revving up for a grand tour starting tomorrow - NYSE, Natural History 
Museum, the Met Museum, Central Park, Brooklyn Bridge, Battery Park, Times 
Square... what else do I usually force people to see? 
 
I still haven't ridden on the Staten Island Ferry.  I wouldn't be 
surprised if when I left this burg I had never ridden on it.  It's just 
one of those things I can never get up the energy for. 
 
Ow, my brain.  I've been a good girl of late, reducing my magazine back 
pile by reading all my old Natural History's on the subway and recycling 
them when I get to the office.  Easier to handle on the train than the 
paper. 
 
So, not really much to tell, other than I've swiped alot of pics from my 
cousin Nick's web page (he just got a scanner and has gone crazy with 
it).  My only edits are some cropping, so don't blame me on the 
quality.  As one can tell from the variety of jpg qualities, the problem 
was with the original photos, not the scanner. 
 
Man, I want a digital camera. 
 
 
P.S.  I thought up a silly basis for Michael Crichton's next pseudo-sci-fi 
novel - cloning technology is used on human DNA (i mean, if you want me to 
believe that one can extract useful, clonable dinosaur DNA from a 
prehistoric mosquito bite, I assume one can do it to preserved human 
DNA) - but specifically it's an apocalyptic wacko who thinks he can bring 
on the 2nd coming by cloning Jesus's DNA - (forgetting that almost all 
religious don't think that identical twins share souls...).  How to get 
Jesus's DNA? Well, there's plenty of reliquaries (sp) around with, say "a 
hair from John the Baptist's head" or "St. Magdalen's tooth" - and some of 
them claim to be associated with Jesus.  The guy steals one of them, does 
his cloning expt. and... well, I don't know, other than the person he 
really cloned was a pardoner from medieval times (like the pardoner in the 
Canterbury Tales...).  That's the premise.  Alot more interesting than 
a dinosaur theme park, don't you think?   
 
Feh.