Tasked with developing a possible essay outline for the question:
Does the Internet have a positive or negative impact on your society?

Warped my brain around the question enough already. Still not all that satisfied with my response because 1) I'm dealing with the Internet like it worked in its ideal form; 2) the examples are a bit naff; and 3) the conclusion looks a bit like a cop-out. Thankfully, I'm not demanding perfection from myself, so I'll upload it as is.

If interested, click.

For most subjects, they're about what you know.
For GP it's about what you think about what you know.
For KI it's about what you know about what you know, AND what you think about what you think.
What a headache.

June's off and running again, living the jet-set life and leaving me to tend the home fires till she gets back on the weekend. This will be the first of a scheduled series of "out-station" trips, though not all for work-related issues.

Gonna have to get used to the quiet around the house for a few days on end. At one time in my life I would have thought such days would have been days of luxury, days to dream of and die for; but these days I prefer my isolation in moderation. Never mind, I get enough chaos at work to keep my adrenaline levels pumped so I'm ready to enjoy a quiet evening at home with the animals after hours.

In a strange, but not altogether unexpected turn of events, I facilitated lunch with the newbies. We made a return to Gardens Market after a collective absence of, who knows how long? But because there were so many of us today, we had to split tables. Since I drove the newbies down, I felt it would be better form to sit with them and not ditch them at the first opportunity.

As in any social grouping of relative strangers, conversation was careful, tending to remain within the boundaries of our so-called areas of expertise, not exactly the bimbo talk I'm more used to. Wish I could have been a better host and got everybody to lighten up immediately, but my social skills aren't quite up to that standard yet. Still, the conversation didn't run dry and we had things to say till it was time to leave, so for stepping out of my comfort zone, I think I did pretty ok.

Had company of a different sort species at dinner. Took Q-tip to the Colbar where I wolfed down a sirloin steak with egg, chips and beans. Excellent stuff -- homestyle cooking, just the way grandma made it way back then. In the quiet of my table I pondered KI (of all things!) while Q-tip kept a wary eye on a roving chihuahua who was making eyes at her.

Yahoo! News reports that memory and sleep are closely tied together. I'm not surprised. Maybe I should try sleep more? Click.

Just a quick reminder: Happy birthday, Dee!

Also got our staff photos done for college annual. No department-level photo this time, but individual pix for everyone. Had a big goofy grin on my face at the director's behest. Hopefully I won't be the only one looking like that.

Restarted 'blading with JY, but only got 2 rounds in before the sky opened up and washed us out of the park. So we made our way back to Tomoko for lunch joined by Chewy and her mom as well. No set lunch on weekends, but they offer a bento that's bursting at the seams with a variety of good stuff. Apart from what usually comes in the set, we also get an additional couple of gyoza and a side of egg salad (huh?) too.

After lunch, we followed Vince's footsteps of last Friday and drove up to Upper Peirce Reservoir to feed watch the monkeys.

Getting some sleep... World Cup Final night...!

Superman Returns! Returns from what? It took me by surprise that this installment of the Supes movie saga sort of continues from where the old Chris Reeves version left off. I thought we'd have to sit through the entire re-telling of the modern myth we all know so well already.

Instead, Supes makes his return from a 5-year sabbatical and finds that though the world is still pretty much the same as he had left it, his personal life has a few new wrinkles he has to get used to. And that's just it, isn't it? It's not so much the duty of saving the world every 5 minutes that matters, but fighting the monsters of ostracism and loneliness that plague him throughout his whole existence.

This installment isn't about him saving the world yet again -- although there is some of that against his arch-rival, Luthor -- but about his friends and family saving him when he's in trouble, and continuing to assure him that he isn't alone in the universe.

Director, Singer, keeps reminding us how "iconic" a figure Supes is in depicting him in visuals that parallel Atlas bearing the world on his shoulders, Christ at his crucifixion and resurrection, and Superman himself as he appeared holding a car over his head in his very first comic book. Yet the man is always either on a solo mission to find the remains of his home, taking refuge in his Fortress of Solitude, or hiding behind a "secret identity," both making and not making an effort to blend in with the crowd. That is a guy in conflict with himself.

Sadly, Luthor, his nemesis has no such conflict. The Luthor in "Smallville" is a much more interesting character seeing how divided his loyalties are, but in the movies he's just another loony tune with big ambitions but severely lacking in follow-through.

The version of Supes on TV's "Justice League" is my favourite of the non-print portrayals of the man-of-steel, though. This guy's a slightly edgy fascist, violent when riled with a dangerous dark side to boot. He doesn't always smile and wave at the crowd, not the boy-scout he's usually seen as.

As Lois Lane writes, "... the world doesn't need Superman," as our world seems to get along peachy without him. It's Superman who needs the world more. The wackos give him a sense of purpose, his friends and family make it worthwhile.