24 Years of HUI-VUI!

Sun, 16 Feb 2025 00:08:30 GMT

The time has come – the Walrus said – to talk of many things… Specifically, my underwear.

I am, of course, referring to Ornoth’s well-documented Hexannual Universal Internal Vernal Underwear Interval (abbr. HUI-VUI, not VUI-HUI), wherein our protagonist spontaneously does an in toto purge of his undergarment inventory every six years, around the end of February.

Although this cyclical behavior is known to go back at least as far as 2001, it wasn’t discovered and documented until 2013, when it received its official nomenclature. Six years hence, science confirmed this theory when the subsequent purge took place in March 2019.

In that illuminating initial 2013 research paper, a prediction was made that reprises of the HUI-VUI phenomenon would transpire again in early 2019, 2025, and beyond. With the 24th anniversary of its first documented observation fast approaching, this had obvious implications for expectant pantspotters everywhere.

Happily, our on-location Brief Patrol has verified today’s arrival of our long-expected bundle of joy. And there was – as they say – much rejoicing.

The HUI-VUI’s next predicted episode will occur at the end of February, 2031. Be there, or be squarepants! 🙋‍♂️

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Memorabilia: T2SP Chucks

Fri, 22 Nov 2024 18:38:09 GMT

Here I was, all set to post my first of these new “Memorabilia” blogpos, when this happened:

See that big black gaping hole in the toecap of my pine green Chuck Taylor sneakers? Yep, they bit it. Now let’s talk about why I care about a dirty old pair of Chucks…

Out of all the pairs of Chucks I’ve had, this was my only real custom order. Back in 2011, I used Converse’s custom sneaker configurator to build this pair up from scratch, with gunmetal grey stitching and eyelets, green highlight stripes, and a gingham patterned inner lining. But the topper was the silver embroidered “T2SP” on both outer heel panels.

The significance? It’s a reference to an old fable about a monarch who commissions a ring to make him happy in times of sadness. The ring is inscribed with the phrase “This too shall pass”… hence “T2SP”.

Although the story is Persian in origin, it echoes the central Buddhist doctrine of impermanence, anicca, one of Three Characteristics of Existence. Something well worth keeping in mind at all times!

While they were my favorite pair of sneakers for most of the past fourteen years, impermanence finally caught up with my Chucks this past week. Into the bin you go!

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