E-flatulence.

I will likely be away from the blogosphere for a few days starting tomorrow, as I embark on a brief road trip across rural Appalachia. In anticipation of these travels (which will inevitably require me to visit a few gas stations), I offer this classic marquee in front of a station on the outskirts of Baton Rouge:


Surely the irony isn’t lost on the manager of this franchise. Or could it be owned and operated by another immigrant entrepreneur (as is often the case with gas stations), whose limited English allows him or her only to see promotional opportunity and not implied dyspepsia?

Speaking of promotional opportunities, it has recently occurred to me that my blog is ugly. I have experimented briefly in the past with changes in appearance, but I have never been satisfied with them and they usually had a blink-and-you-miss-it life span. Expect that within the next few weeks the page will be getting a more permanent face lift. The spirit and mission of the blog will remain unchanged.

And, as always, thanks so much for your responses. When all goes well, I get comments forwarded to my e-mail address immediately, so don’t think that if you respond to a much older post that I will overlook it. I sure try to catch everything, and will continue to do so as I begin to roll up the sleeves for some refinements on older blog post ideas, coupled with new ones.