Remember all the top-flight commentary I churned out over the last few days? Me neither, but I have an excuse: I’ve been sick with Middle-East respiratory syndrome (self-diagnosed.) Aside from entertaining my mother, it’s been bed rest for me since Monday. My hard work has paid off, though, and now I’m starting to feel better. For example, I am finally coherent enough to peer at Excel spreadsheets and generate invoices, which is what I need to do today instead of writing a blog. Sorry, you guys: this Arab flu has my whole schedule bolloxed up. While I expectorate tan foam that adheres to the sink, how about you read this excellent examination of Liberalism and Gentrification from Jacobin Magazine? Sure it’s about real estate and urban living, but it’s also about the tectonic-force division of America into two classes. We’ll be back tomorrow with right accounts receivable and Friday links.

A derivatives analyst accidentally wastes cocaine.

There is no Combat! blog to speak of today, because I am sick. Possible vectors include the toddler who stuck his finger in the spigot of the water cooler at brunch yesterday, or the lady buying cold medicine who sneezed on the PIN pad at the grocery store. Other people: they exist only to create lines and get you sick. While I imagine a hot X-Acto blade in the seam of my throat, how about you read this review of a usage dictionary by David Foster Wallace? It’s the first work of his I ever read, and it might still be the best. For a man whose prose muddles the line between mandarin and colloquial, it amounts to a statement of purpose. We’ll be back tomorrow with real opinions, or maybe a close reading of a car commercial.