Current Fascinations

I can't get enough of teuxdeux.com these days. It's exactly the web-based To Do list I've been searching for. As easy as paper and pencil, but with cool common sense features as well. For example, anything not crossed off on your current day is automatically pushed to the next day. You can add items days (perhaps even weeks?) in advance, and there's even a category for "someday." Worth a shot, if you like To Do lists.

I also just started reading The Terror by Dan Simmons. If you're looking for a historically based account of 19th century Arctic exploration that also has some sort of snow monster in it, this is the book for you! I'm really enjoying it, and it's based on the real doomed expedition of two ships (Terror and Erebus) searching for the Northwest Passage in around 1845. (Real, except for the snow monsters, that is. I think.) It makes me cold just reading it!

I've also really started enjoying the "Stuff You Missed in History Class" Podcast. It's short (15-20 minute) conversations between two women discussing some interesting historical topic: William Randolph Hearst, for example, or Robert Dudley--the love of Queen Elizabeth I's life. It reminds me of the best parts of grad school in a lot of ways: smart people talking about something that they're passionate about in a down to earth and interesting manner. Worth a listen if you're historically inclined, I think.