So I've finally caved. Today I went to a large clothing store in the mall to buy some new underroos. That's all. Two unintentional pairs of shorts and three unforeseen, unplanned polo shirts later, I came down from my shopping high. I was buzzing like a bee on drugs. Popular culture has sucked me in and influenced my buying new and fashionable stuff. In my defense it's been years since I've bought clothes for myself, and I've lost twenty-five pounds in six months, so almost none of my clothes fit properly. And those shirts just looked so fine. Now on to more meaningful yet less relavant stuff...
Have you noticed how snowfall melts? At first the process is very slow and gradual. The texture of the snow changes. If it's warm enough, ice melts into water and the fluid follows gravity's call. As water runs off, the structure holding up the layers of accumulated snow gets weaker. A collapse happens eventually because weakened older snow that was supporting the upper layers gives in under the weight of newer snow. The collapse can be seen as the avalanche from a glacier, icebergs from an iceshelf, or on a less violent scale, the edge of a shoveled driveway. Walking home to my dorm one day I saw the effects of snow melt and it reminded me of "punctuated equilibrium" in the theory of evolution. Constant pressure can cause both subtle and violent change, depending on what and when you're watching.
I have some other thoughts a-brewing right now, but they'll carry new post because they're mildly controversial.