5:34 is way to early for the sun to go down

I think the biggest thing that I dislike about winter is the whole "getting dark early" thing. Sunlight truly is a driving force in motivating me to be productive, and the early gray darkness that surrounds most winter evenings encourages me to do one thing: sit. Which usually leads to production killer number two: watching tv. I'm so bad at telling myself, "Okay, one half-hour program, and then I'll go do [fill in the blank]. So I sit, I watch, the half-hour ends...and, oh, cool--what's this? The Most Awesomely Bad Number 1 Songs of all time? I must watch it! I have to see every Awesomely Bad song and revel in its badness as a jury of comedians and entertainers make fun of it. Four hours later, my night is over and all I have to show for it is my badly sung rendition of Ace of Base's "The Sign." No good.

My brother and I went to Barnes and Noble today to have coffee with my friends Andy and Jay. After the initial silly greetings and buying of chai's and IBC root beer, the four of us sat in the cafe, spurts of conversation mixed with magazine browsing. Looking around at the two or three magazines each person had grabbed, I realized that our magazine choices were clear indicators that we've gotten older. Jay perused Digital Photography and Shutterbug, his thousand dollar camera equipment neatly tucked under his chair. Andy enjoyed PC Magazine and US News as he talked about his possible internship with the Sterling Heights Crime Lab, and Philip examined the latest Microphone/Sound periodicals. I had my trusty HOW magazine, which made me drool over fonts I can't afford, design offices I'd kill to work in, and designers I'd love to have lunch with. I'm glad that my friends and I have dreams and goals that involve more than just Entertainment Weekly and Seventeen, yet we still manage to find "How to Be a Superhero" (one of those little books on the table near the cafe counter) immensely amusing.

Did you know that "using telekinesis to fiddle around with the inside of a lock is a trick. Not only do you need to learn fine telekinetic manipulation, you must also learn lockpicking skills"?