Today at work I stumbled across this convenient rule of interpretation in the Texas Tax Code:

§ 101.005. GRAMMATICAL ERRORS: PUNCTUATION.
  (a) A grammatical error does not vitiate a law, and when a sentence or clause is without meaning, words and clauses may be transposed to determine the intended meaning.
  (b) The punctuation of a sentence does not control or affect the intention of the legislature in the enactment of this title.

No need to bother learning to write clearly, dear legislators. Just throw in whatever punctuation tickles your fancy, and we’ll divine your true intent. Swirl some tea leaves around or something.

Snowboarders. They remind me of hipsters, but without the irony. They also seem to enjoy a general camaraderie, instead of the special uniqueness that hipsters cultivate.

This afternoon I shared a gondola cab with a trio of snowboarders. (Boarders? Riders? As as skier, I’m too square to keep up with the terminology.) One of them, my hand to god, used the word “gnarly” without a hint of irony. As in, “They went out to [some cool place], but they couldn’t do anything gnarly because there wasn’t enough snow [or something, I forget exactly what she said].”

Earlier in the day I overheard another boarder use “gondy” for “gondola” and “pow” for “powder,” again, completely seriously. This must be what it’s like for people who come to the South and hear us say “y’all” like it’s no big deal.

In related news, I skied today for the first time in almost four years. Good snow, decent weather, and I didn’t fall down: a good day.