Well, according to this test, I am a chaotic good elven ranger/fighter (see below for more information about that). That works for me. I’m naturally inclined to play that kind of character when I play Dungeons and Dragons anyway. Although I would probably choose a human character rather than an elven character. I just have trouble picturing myself as graceful as

Is this me?

Legolas in Lord of the Rings. I think most of my friends would agree that this just isn’t me.

At any rate, I was supposed to go work at the lab today, but after picking up my car at the service station, I wound up feeling inspired. So I went to Borders Books instead, and spent a good hour or two writing a short story on my Palm Pilot. Stephen King, in his introduction to the audio edition of "LT’s Theory of Pets", explains that he doesn’t always set out to write scary stories; sometimes, they just turn out that way. Likewise, the story that I wrote today, "Ten Foot Tall He Was, with Eyes of Flame", was supposed to be a cheerful little folktale about how people tend to exaggerate the physical traits of people that are important to them. Instead, it wound up being a sort of unholy marriage between Mark Twain and H. P. Lovecraft. Because of copyright concerns and the fact that I’m going to try to get this tale published, I won’t be reproducing it here; but if you want to read it, let me know.

I’ve lamented the fact that I don’t have a laptop computer anymore which is easy to disconnect from our home network and bring with me when I’m out and about. But I think I prefer working on my lowly Palm Pilot, with its spiffy keyboard. My Palm Pilot has no games which are easy to load up and distract me from my work, and it’s a lot easier to carry around. Plus, it’s simplicity itself to download whatever document I’m working on from my Palm Pilot and fix it up on my computer.

Meanwhile, I did some more back road exploration in Yolo Country today. While driving south on Mace Boulevard in Davis, I caught sight of a strange structure in the distance that looked something like a huge golf ball set atop a several-stories-tall wireframe tower. I took a left turn on Road 35, and drove a couple of miles until I was able to get close enough to the structure to see what it was. From up close, it was obvious that it was some sort of huge white sphere set atop a scaffolding tower with a staircase that led from the ground to the base of the sphere. At the base of the structure, there was a barbed wire fence and a small concrete building. On the fence itself was a sign that identified the structure as a weather radar station administered by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This made me happy, though I have no idea why. Actually, I do know why. Mysterious structures and unusual buildings out in the middle of nowhere are prime food for the imagination. The short story I wrote today, I think, definitely shows some "back roads" influence.

And "Ten Foot Tall He Was…" was a good break for me from "Mother Tsan-Chan". Now, maybe, I’ll be able to get back into that one.

Slow news day. Perhaps tomorrow I’ll have something more interesting to say.