clivemurray.com

I know you. You’re a smart, funny, intelligent, confident young woman making your way in the world-wide-web today, just like me. Therefore you are aware of the excellent webcomic XKCD. It is by turns hilarious, randomist, über-geeky, heart-achingly warm, but always brilliant.

See then comic #240. Read it again, inwardly digest, then come back.

Yes, that string of digits does indeed represent an exact geographical location and an exact time. The twist is this: at the time of writing, that exact time is in the future. It’s 2.38pm on 23rd September, 2007. And the geographical location is a point on a street in North Cambridge, Boston, USA.

My question is – do any of you who read this (women or not) live anywhere in or near Boston? And are you going to be there on 23rd September this year? (It’s a Sunday, by the way.) If so… can I ask you a favour? Could you go to this address at exactly 2.38pm and see what happens?

I’d be much obliged, Kthx.

–c.
[Oh, and a thousand bonus points if you could identify the film from which the title of this post comes, and the actor who said it, without Googling.]

Do you recognise this man?

Originally uploaded by Clive Murray.

That’s me in 1996, aged 22. My hair was in braids – 93 of them, as I recall.

If I hadn’t left Dare last August, today would have been my fourth anniversary in their employ, and I tell you I’m damn glad I left. I’m not about to slag the place off – they do some great work and I still have friends there – but for me it was no longer a tenable situation. The first year was vibrant and interesting, the second was challenging and gratifying, but from that point on it got more and more unfeeling and… well, like I say I’m not going to slag them off. I hope my friends there continue to enjoy their jobs and do good work.

Suffice to say I’m 1000% happier where I am now, at Profero, and getting out of bed in the morning is no longer something to be dreaded. Appreciation goes a very long way.