Update: computer not dead, dead metaphors, ill-fated date

First and foremost, my beloved laptop is back. Turns out the A/C adapter needed replacing, but the laptop proper was fine. *content sigh of relief*

Met with my supervisor on Friday and we discussed possible dates for my oral defense of my exams. I write the last of three exams on Fri., Sept. 1, and we were thinking either the Friday after that or the Monday following for the defense. Friday would bring us to Sept. 8, and Monday would be... Sept. 11. It's not that I'm superstitious on any account, but scheduling my oral defense for the five year anniversary of Sept. 11 is just too weird. We're now thinking Tues., Sept. 12 instead. (Incidentally, I defended my MA thesis on Sept. 10, 2002. Hm.)

And finally, a last little bit of trivia from my house/architecture readings. When King Charles II of England returned from his exile in France to a restored monarchy in 1660, he brought with him the French mode of arranging sets of their private rooms into a straight, sequential line called the Formal Plan, which usually consisted of an antechambre, chambre and a cabinet, a small room leading off from the bedroom. People wanting to meet with the king would do so either in the antechamber or the bedroom, and consequently the cabinet became most private place where people could actually be alone. However, the King would also hold meetings of his innermost circle of advisers in his cabinet, giving rise to our current term, "cabinet meeting". Isn't it fun when dead metaphors come back to life?