down to the wire, of course

Yesterday afternoon I brought my computer to bed, so I could listen to WFSU while I fell asleep. It was still playing when I woke up a little before 3 AM. The BBC World Service was on, and I was learning about world news in my sleep.

When I was working at General Dynamics in Tallahassee, I had a JVC stereo system that could be programmed to turn on like an alarm clock. It would play a CD, a tape or the radio, and the volume came up slowly so it didn't shock you awake. I had it set to play WFSU and it would come on at 5 AM or so. I would wake up to the BBC, with current events entangled with my final dream of the night. It was so very cool, at least for a news junkie.

Last night I heard about the Senate's slightly-past-the-deadline deal as soon as the BBC reported it. I was half awake, but the reports were repeated and updated later. When I finally got up and out to the living room, it was 3 AM and I kept the news a-goin'.

At 6 AM, NPR's morning lineup starts and the BBC broadcast ends. As I heard NPR's version of the story, I was suddenly came up with a mental picture of John Boehner, frustrated with his rampant and unruly herd, shouting "What the hell is wrong with you people?" - far from the media's cameras, to be sure.

Hang on a second, I think I just heard the NPR host refer to the minimum wage as "minimum rage". A Freudian slip, perhaps.