The Phone Conversation I Had at 8 AM This Morning

Me: Hello?
My Girlfriend: Hey.
Me: Oh, hi. What's up?
My Girlfriend: You know how yesterday you told me about that dream you had about me being pregnant?
Me: . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . Uh . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . yeah?
My Girlfriend: Well I dreamed the same thing last night.
Me: Phew! You had me worried for a second.
My Girlfriend: Yeah, sorry about that.
Me: So in your dream, did you give birth to a litter of kittens?
My Girlfriend: No, it was weirder than that. I was a surrogate, and the baby was a clone of Hitler.

Thanks, but I'd rather have the kittens.

Silly Security

Yesterday, I got to work a little earlier than usual. Upon arriving, I left the door to my office open. What I forgot was that if a door is left open outside the normal 9-5 workday, security is notified. So a few minutes later I had a guard show up and ask for my ID. No big deal. It's good that we have security to prevent people from stealing lab equipment or people's laptops.

But it occurred to me that the policy is stupid. If I were breaking into a lab to do something nefarious, even if I didn't know how the security system worked, the first thing I'd do is close the door so no one could see what I'm doing. Checking on offices that have the door open is checking offices were something bad is particularly unlikely to be happening. It's the doors that open for a second and then close that might indicate something is going down--but of course, there would be so many of them that you couldn't actually send someone to check out every one.

What's the solution? I don't know. Cameras maybe? I didn't think I'd ever be calling for more security cameras, but here I am, doing it.

Pets

In Ontario, the law is that a landlord cannot prevent his tennants from having pets. I always wondered why this would be; it seems like if a landlord doesn't want pets in his building, he should have the right to prevent his tennants, by enforceable contract, to not have them. If the tennant doesn't like that, the tennant can find another place. The market will sort it out.

I now understand why that law exists. Quebec has no such law. Saturday was moving day in Montreal, and now the animal shelters are flooded with dogs and cats who were abandoned by owners moving to apartments that don't allow animals. So it turns out that the law exists not as a protection for pet owners but as a protection for the pets themselves. It all makes sense now.

Oh, did I mention that I have a cat now? Well, sort of. My girlfriend and I got a cat "together," but he lives with her. I have visitation rights though. :) This is actually pretty old news. Cute pictures will be forthcoming.