Every normal man must be tempted, at times, to spit on his hands, hoist the black flag, and begin slitting throats. - H.L. Mencken

Luckily, it didn't come to that, but it felt close when I was trying to schedule my pre-defense. Getting my advisor to agree that I was ready and then to get all of my committee members to agree on a date is harder than herding cats. It is scheduled for Halloween which is better than having it on April Fool's Day. Now to practice this sucker till I can recite it in my sleep. I've already recorded my presenting it so that I can listen to myself on the way to and from work as well as on the way to school.