At lunchtime today, I went out to the local computer wholesaler to pick up a KVM switch. I opened the door to discover a dark room full of people just standing around; their power had just been knocked out by one of the omnipresent summer storms. (Florida! The Sunshine State!) Well, dark except for the back row of Web terminals for the customers, which were apparently on uninterruptible power supplies (why the service reps' terminals weren't on UPS, so they could continue to pull up customers' orders, is a mystery to me).

As I entered, I heard a voice say something about letting in Laurels and Pelicans. I ignored it, because I'd glimpsed the hulking figure out of the corner of my eye when I entered. He spoke again: "What is this world coming to when they let Laurels and Pelicans in here?" I ignored him again.

I'm not normally a rude person, but this guy is a special case. A few years ago, he went around the local group in the SCA telling everyone he was dying of AIDS, and couldn't afford to buy medicine. A lot of people contributed money to help him buy medicine; where the money actually went, I have no idea. I never gave him a dime, because he was just a little too robust for a dying AIDS victim, and had an extraordinarily slimy manner, to boot. Sure enough, he's still around, more robust than ever; if anyone happens to mention his past infirmity, he claims he was "miraculously cured". (Why he's not world-famous as the only person ever to have been cured of AIDS is a mystery to me.)

There are very few people I truly despise, and I think he tops the list. He's an ass-kisser, palpably insincere, and (quite obviously) a liar. And he doesn't take a hint; he kept trying to talk to me, even though I went out of my way to make it obvious that I wasn't interested in conversation.

So I left. Normally, I would simply have waited; I've plenty of entertaining games and books on my PDA. But standing in line next to him? No thanks. I'd rather have more teeth extracted.