The times we’re living in
December 27, 2008The economy is so bad right now that, after spending one night in the Holiday Inn Express of Spokane Valley to attend the USATF club cross country championships, we received a handwritten, personalized card from the hotel thanking us for our patronage. I suppose it’s possible that they’ve always sent out thank-you notes, but I doubt it.
Then at a family gathering on Christmas Eve, my brother-in-law jokingly advised us to get ready for the coming of the End Times. Since my ears are perpetually tuned to science rather than religion, what I thought I heard him say was that we need to prepare for the “Coming of the Enzymes.” Now there’s a scary thought . . . especially considering that the enzymes may already be upon us. In fact, the more you look around (using spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography and so forth), the more you realize that they’re everywhere. Aaaaaah!
Happy New Year, fellow doomed earthlings!
My Track Record 
Coming of the Enzymes…LOL…Reminds me of a Simpsons episode where Mr. Burns sees germs everywhere (like the old millionaire Howard Hughes) and sees a bunch of germs that say "Free Masons Rule the Country!"
The Silver Legacy in Reno, where Carole and I stayed for the USATF Annual Meeting in early December also thanked us and e-mailed us an offer of $39 per night rate over the Christmas Holiday period. Greg is right (as usual) that the hotels are hurting.