Today’s blog silence was the result of travel down to and back from New Haven, where I gave a talk at Southern Connecticut State University. Weirdly, this was also a day full of reminders of my own advancing age:
— After the talk, I wandered around New Haven a bit, visiting places I used to go when I was a post-doc at Yale. It’s been long enough since I lived there that they are now re-renovating buildings that were extensively renovated while I was there.
— The wandering was to kill time before getting dinner with a friend from college, who is a doctor in the area. We went to a bar near his office, where I had one beer, he had none, and we mostly talked about our kids.
— There was apparently some sort of wedding across the Atlantic, which has people all abuzz for some reason. The whole thing was kind of weird to me, as my primary association with Prince William is and forever will be: “The lord of the crumpets is feeling grumpy.” “Shall we be lopping off ‘eads today, suh?”
That by itself doesn’t make me feel old so much as the fact that Google doesn’t recognize that reference. If I were less lazy, I’d scan in the relevant comic strip and post it to rectify the situation, but it’s late, and I did a lot of driving today, so we’ll just leave that line as a teaser to see if any of the other geezers around here recognize it. If not, I’ll feel really old…
On the bright side, the Yale bookstore had How to Teach Physics to Your Dog in stock, and face-out, even. Yes, I’m enough of a dork that I check for it when I’m killing time in bookstores. Don’t pretend that you wouldn’t…
I don’t recognize the reference either, but just from knowing the comics that old people like, I bet it’s Bloom County.
http://xkcd.com/891/
This just came out, timely.
Also, I love that as soon as I hit that quote and didn’t recognize it I instantly googled it. Finding nothing, I returned here to finish reading that google does not recognize it. Could have saved myself a trip.
Also also, don’t get down, being young is pretty over-rated.
I’m guessing Bloom County, am I right?
Signed,
A young whippersnapper
I’ll date myself right with you, as I was reading it in my Bloom County compilation a few months ago.
Though I have to admit, I’d forgotten the Prince William bits in the strip until I started the reread.
I’m way far older than you are, and I can thus assure you that the quote is not from Walt Kelley’s Pogo.
Old? Just wait until you blink twice, and that incredibly cute toddler is 16, rolling her eyes at you, and saying ‘Oh, Dad.’
I was thinking Doonesbury, but Bloom County sounds more likely, yes.
Sometimes the generation odometer rolls over conveniently. When my youngest was starting as a freshman at the University of Arizona, they were in the process of tearing down (for replacement) the student union building that was under construction when I was a freshman there.
However, contrary to the Stones, I’m finding that growing old is, on balance, a hoot.
Google now does recognize that phrase.
It points here.
“After the talk, I wandered around New Haven a bit, visiting places I used to go when I was a post-doc at Yale. It’s been long enough since I lived there that they are now re-renovating buildings that were extensively renovated while I was there.”
Okay, I’m a little curious what buildings you’re talking about now. Are you talking about physics buildings? Sloane is right outside my window and I haven’t noticed any major renovations on it. Gibbs is well… Gibbs. I assume it was built just to make the Kline tower look less ugly by comparison.
Although I suppose maybe you were talking more about the bars around? I guess a number of old places have moved around or been renovated recently, although the important ones in the grad ghetto, East Rock remain unchanged.
Some of my college classmates have kids who are now in college.
IIRC Prince William’s reaction in those strips to his designation as Lord of Crumpets was something like, “Forget it. Gonna be a punk rocker.”