how hotrod got his groove back

long-time readers will have noticed a sharp decline in productivity 'round these parts the past couple of weeks.  i'd like to chalk it up to being out of town, but the truth is i was only gone for four days and have been comfortably back in my northern virginia hovel for over a week.  and it's not like nothing interesting to write about has happened since my return:  i spent last thursday riding roller coasters; i just finished michael chabon's excellent new novel on my way home from work; "the sopranos" finale was last sunday (which i didn't see, but since when have i let ignorance get in the way of a good opinion?); and there's the small matter of a hundred mile bike ride nine days ago.  not to mention those thousand daily tribulations that arise from having to deal with so many people so much, much more stupid than me.  i just don't feel like writing about any of that, however, except in passing like i just did.  and yet that monthly counter to the left taunts me like a scarlet number.  the more i think i should write something - anything - the less i want to do so.  it's a conundrum.

it occurred to me a while ago that in the formative days of hotrod.vox.com i simply answered the "question of the day" when i couldn't think of anything else to say.  but my recent stance of active avoidance kind of puts a damper on that particular crutch.  unless....  the only way i  can think of to justify breaking a preposterously principled tenet is to replace it with one equally preposterous and diametrically opposite.  for a time, at least.  so i'm (sort of but not really) pleased to announce "question of the day" week.  for the next seven days starting tomorrow, i intend to answer all questions of the day; no matter how inane; no matter how much they smack of focus group data farming; no matter how many times they've been asked before.  and what's more, i will endeavor to undertake this challenge without resorting - with the exception of this introductory post - to insulting the help.  so this is what we're reduced to: a solid week of nothing but the "question of the day."  god help us all.