From jlarke@us.itd.umich.eduSat Nov 19 11:44:43 1994 Date: Sat, 19 Nov 1994 10:49:47 -0500 From: Jason Larke To: thari@umich.edu Subject: Ahab's diary, session 59 "The war continues, on every stretch of the board." It would figure that just when things start to get quiet, Brand would start kidding around again. He always did have a knack for really bad timing. Worse yet, I can't believe he'd try anything when Random wasn't distracted. Which means I should be on the lookout for other forms of entertainment as well. The one consolation I may find in all of this is that Brand and Caine might kill each other if things get rough, which would give me new faith in the power of natural selection. My other main worry is that certain of my relatives might get selected against. I hate to say it, but Lyss is not displaying an impressive level of coping skill here. It's hard to respect someone who nearly cries when you criticize her, but doesn't bother to try to conform to your standards. If I was in a position to speak of such things, I might even call it irrational. Since I'm not an expert on rationality, I'll confine myself to saying that she and Bart are probably a good match; neither of them has demonstrated the slightest hint of a logical faculty, or that healthy cynicism that most of the family uses instead. My young nephew, on the other hand, might make me proud some day. His efforts to avoid his father's supervision (and humor) are merely amusing right now, but when he gets older they should serve as the basis for an admirable cunning. Reminds of Henry IV, it does. "See how they come at us with our greener days, without reckoning what use we made of them..." Speaking of which, my own son shows all the usual signs of being mine: he picks fights, loses, and repeats until defunct. His look of confusion at the habitual non-cooperation of the female of the species looks remarkably familiar, even on a five-year-old. Then again, my emotional relations with women have never been far beyond the five-year-old stage. Makes me glad we don't have a daughter. Kimbyl's female offspring would probably be able to cast the "frustrate daddy" spell while still in the womb. I wouldn't put it past her to start teaching them how to kick men in the balls as soon as they were old enough to kick. Just goes to show that we're well-matched. Anyway, I plan to keep an eye on my dear relatives for the foreseeable future. I'm really hoping that with his late change of heart, Random will prove able to look after things. If he can, I intend to do my part, and if not, I intend to do something about it. And while I wait, I have to remember to ask Lyss about her mother. If Spider's still missing, someone should look into it. I may do it myself- not because I want to, but because it may be easier than trying to ask Benedict about something he'd rather not speak of.