It was a good, but low key weekend. My parents took the girls Saturday night, the most special thing we did was watch the Notorious Bettie Page, which was surprisingly mediocre for a flick about a pinup girl known for S&M. Part of the problem was Gretchen Mol as Bettie, she's not bodacious enough, though when compared to the real Bettie Page (with a helpfully included segment on the DVD), her breasts work, but she's missing it in the hips. The switching between black and white and color confused me too.

We also went to a different Indian place on Sunday, and with last night's chili, I'm suprised I'm not afflicted with that old burning ring of fire. OTOH, my excretions smell of sulfur.

Another find at the local IP depository (yeah, we have DVD's with nekkid chicks!) was Ivan's War, a lengthy tome about a Russian soldier's lives on the Eastern front. It was pretty depressing, I understand better why Klink and Schultz feared the Eastern Front.

Speaking of TV, I just reread Vineland, it only took at few days, which just shows how accessible it is. Pynchon lite, but with it's charms.

Mrs. Ha feels bad about quitting, but it's mostly about the money. She is looking for other work,  but creative work with children doesn't pay very well.

In related news, I stopped my 401k contributions. I'm hoping the difference will be enough to balance my budget until things get better, and I can resume contributing within the year (I hate losing the matching contribution). Let's be honest, retirement planning is still a big gamble, who knows if my company pension will be worth anything in 20 years, ditto social security, or even the US dollar. What's your retirement strategy?