02:44 - 27.05.07
Ah Hah
It appears that what caused my computer indigestion yesterday was a download from one of the Harry Potter fan sites. Even pages mostly for children don't seem to be missed by hackers, do they? I guess all the malware malcontents care about is high traffic and the opportunity to damage someone else's property or reputation.
One of the bits in the Half Blood Prince - story six - that had me puzzling a bit, was when Dumbledore arrived to pick Harry up from the Dursleys at the beginning of the book. He made a very big fuss over Mr Dursley's agapanthuses. I had to look that up. I knew they were flowers, but why was it so important to take up precious story space with that vignette. Well apparently the common name of that perennial is Lily of the Nile - the Egyptian theme again. Not only that, the Latin name is presented as agape - love - and anthus - flower. Maybe this is where Neville's expertise in herbology saves the day - either as an antidote or as a protection for Harry. Or maybe those flowers were planted by Dumbledore when he left Harry at the Dursleys when he was a baby and that is part of the protection in that place that Tom Riddle can't pass, being allergic to love as he is. Just musings.
The strange job interview I attended on Thursday may have it's explanation in public facts that I hadn't taken into consideration. Over the past decade I have had to go through a lot of interviews with potential clients in the industry I serve here - often several a year. The interview at this client's offices did not fall within the normal range of give and take questions. What was unusual, as you may recall from my complaining a couple of posts age, was the theme of the questions, most of which seemed to revolve around "what do you want.." with various scenarios appended to the end of the question.
There was an article in the newspaper this weekend that may hold the key to understanding what might have been driving the questions in that interview. The company is being sued in an international court. The allegations are very serious. The company appealed against being sued in such a venue. The appeal was denied this week. If one examines my resume under one of the three key sections, it may be that the question "what do you want.." was being applied to see if I had any intention of interfering in the corporation's defence strategy for the pending trial based on previous experiences that would give me knowledge that would been seen as not in the company's best interest. Uh huh. Risk management is a key responsibility of senior staff, so I guess they are just doing their job.
Today was much happier. Numbers three and five sons had their first day off since Mother's Day, so they took me out for dinner. I even got to meet one of the new girlfriends. She was very nice and I liked her personality a great deal. Good sense of humour too. I have to work hard at not getting too attached to any one of their young ladies in case the relationship doesn't last, but I am always pleased when good taste and good judgement are shown by any of my guys. That said it would be nice if this was "the one" for the son in question. The hostess however was the polar opposite. The male sitting in the booth directly behind me was holding forth very loudly and en francais aussi, when she was describing the special of the day. I asked her to repeat it, explaining why I hadn't been able to hear her. One son cracked a joke about ageing parents, while the other counselled me to start using the appropriate blasphemes (swears en francais)to get the male offender to pipe down. The young woman did repeat her spiel, but was apparently miffed that I asked for it again. The coffee she served up immediately after was cold and bitter. She brought my order seriously undercooked based on the request I gave originally and ignored me as best she could otherwise while "twinkling" at my two sons. As it turned out even undercooked the food was still very tasty, so I decided I wouldn't give her the satisfaction bringing me down to her level. Pretty as a picture, but nasty to the core, she was. The conversation among the four of us was light and entertaining. Time passed very quickly as a result.
The cats were in serious pout mode when I got home, but a constant supply of quack grass the past few days has become the peace offering of choice. It's nice to have roomies who are so easy to please. Could be too, that they find my attempts at yoga asana downward facing dog so funny that they are prepared to forgive my other weaknesses in the servant category. Or maybe they think I perform for their entertainment. N'est-ce pas? Good night dear diary.
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