memories of Amber ...

I wonder if I'll ever look back on this day, and find myself missing Amber?

Amber was the automated voice I'd talk to when I called Virgin Mobile for support. She and I developed a bond over the past 20 months or so, when I began using their prepaid service. I'll miss Topping Up (buying more minutes). I'll miss my ringtong ("Itchycoo Park" by The Small Faces).


When it's closed, the Motorola V325 is a bit smaller than the Kyocera KE433 (Rave 7), but the time is always visible, so that's a plus. Why bother carrying a watch?


However, it's a clamshell design, so when it's open, the Motorola's larger. The connector is the same mini-USB that the Razr uses, so potentially there's a way to backup the V325's Address Book (unlike the Kyocera). It's also color, and yes .. it has a camera and a speakerphone and other toys the Kyocera lacked. I tried to find my former ringtone, but Verizon Wireless never heard of The Small Faces, or even Alpha Blondy for that matter. I guess I'll have to find another obscure ringtone to differentiate my ring from everyone else in the room.

The thing I may miss most about my old friend? The Flashlight:
This was surprisingly handy, when trying to fit my housekey into the door at 3am. Maybe The Glow from my new phone will be sufficient? If not, I'll just buy one of those keys with a built-in flashlight (available at Ace Hardware, among other places).

the Kinkster comes to town ...

I wonder if Kinky will wear green, when he's the Grand Marshal of the St. Patrick's Day parade?

spotted on his website:

still sneezing after all these years

I must be getting used to the allergens quickly. I was driving around Dallas with the sunroof open, and whatever's floating around (looks like the same stuff from earlier in the week) didn't bother me today. Hmmm.

Today's allergy levels for DALLAS, TX: Thursday - 11.1/High
Today's predominant pollen: Cedar/Juniper, Oak and Hackberry

(thanks to pollen.com for the daily update)

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spotted at a building in Santa Clara, California:
What's with the bias against irregular steps, anyway? Is that why they are chained off?

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What's that? Did I update the Sundry on Thursday blog for your web surfing pleasure? You bet! How hard can it be?

ah-choo!

One of the joys of living in Dallas is dealing with allergies.

"I didn't used to have them until I moved here"

is a common overhearance. Yesterday, I woke to a massive headache (pretty rare for me). A couple hours later, I was driving the big, white porcelain bus* and not much of a happy camper. I've never been tested for allergies; I suspect most people are allergic to something.

One of my former co-workers is allergic to everything but water and noodles; go figure. Eventually, the meds (Tylenol) kicked in and I was able to function like a normal Human (more or less) and today's not nearly as bad. I don't normally stock allergy medicine; in the past the OTC stuff I've bought has expired before I used more than one or two tablets. Guess I should see an allergist; I'm curious what they'll tell me.

* vomiting

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Unrelated: I was at a meeting last night at someone's home, and the phone rang 3 times in one hour. Each time it was the Republican Dialing Machine, whose sole purpose in life is to annoy The Living Shi'ite out of us. I stopped counting when I got more than 2 dozen calls in 3 days. The subject swiveled to Rick Perry (a/k/a Governor PrettyHair) and I was shocked to hear the three others agree that he's a mental vacuum. Two of us (at least) are planning to sit out today's primary election, so that we can sign Kinky Friedman's petition. The only word that comes to mind: WOW.

the sound of silence

so far, the phone's rang twice today. the first was yet-another political call, imploring me to vote on Tuesday in the Republican primary. I told them I was "saving myself for Kinky" and the (apparently out of state) caller was perplexed. rather than educate him, I simply hung up.

the 2nd call was from Judy-Bob, reminding me of the Oscars tonight. she called as I was in the midst of doing a cursory sort of my 2005 paperwork; what does my CPA want to see? what other pieces of paper can I not live without? what do I want to throw away - and does it have my social or any current account information (if so, shred it). easily 90% of my 2005 paperwork is now in the recycle bin.

the sheer amount of paper here at home is starting to overwhelm me. it's time for spring cleaning, and I'm hoping the recycler gets the bulk of it. since I made a pact with myself (years ago) to aspire to a minimalist lifestyle, I've grown accustomed to mostly barren walls, and the intentional absence of curios here, there and everywhere. I suspect the scientific word for this is Crap .. I'd prefer it all just go away.

honestly, most people wouldn't even notice this. I've seen the inside of others' homes, and mine looks like the Sahara Desert in comparison. but, it's annoying me so it has to be pared down. quickly.

now, i sat down in front of the LCD and read some more of Nathalie's blog. in one entry, she simply noted the sounds heard on the train platform. this led me to sit back and think of the sounds I'm hearing on a Sunday afternoon-evening:

1- a clock ticking
2- my flip-flap
3- the fans inside the computers
4- Maxtor Shared Storage - it makes a unique sound prior to the hard disc spinning up
5- an occasional car on the street
6- the ceiling fan (if I listen carefully)
7- my fingers pressing the keys to create this blog entry

yes, it's quiet here. there's no sound of weather, or birds .. their chirps aren't enough to penetrate the house exterior (although the cars with their basslike exhausts sometimes do). the cats are asleep. and that's about it. the sounds of silence.

fine dining at 32,000 feet

The training didn't end at 4pm as planned; it was still going when I left at 5:15 (to ensure I was on the last flight of the day - 6:45pm, arriving at midnight). Not only did I not have time to refuel the car (opting for $5/gallon Budget Rent-a-car gas) but there wasn't time to grab a bite, either. The only food I'd had all day was a rushed sandwich with Scott .. just off the Santa Clara campus.

So, I found myself high above Las Vegas (about 10pm), looking at my $4 "snack box" contents (distributed by Oakfield Farms*):

1. Ocean Spray's strawberry-flavored craisins (0.9 oz - 90 calories)
2. Pepperidge Farm's Goldfish (0.75 oz - 100 cals)
3. O'Briens beef summer sausage (1.125 oz - ? cals)
4. Jacob's Cream Crackers (0.56 oz - ? cals)
5. Oakfield Farms' Le Petit Fromage (faux cheese) (0.75 oz - ? cals)
6. Emerald mixed nuts (1 oz - 170 cals)
7. Nabisco Lorna Doone cookies (1 oz - 140 cals)

It's interesting (?) to see how the snAack pAack has evolved (see yesterday's blog) compared with Nathalie Bouffe's blog in January .. she only paid $3 for her DelicAacy In The Aair.

* Harvey Alpert & Company (d/b/a Oakfield Farms) isn't much of a farm; their HQ appears to be either near DFW Airport in Grapevine, TX or about a mile south of the UCLA campus .. not exactly rural.

Unrelated: Mary (looking rested, as she starts her new job) and I feasted on Free Range Salmon at California Café (Los Gatos) Tuesday night. Sadly, Tiki wasn't allowed inside.

BTW, yes .. I updated Sundry on Thursday .. have a crack at it?

The Scopes Monkey Trial

During Monday night's DFW-SJC flight, I watched the DVD of Inherit the Wind (1960) on my PowerBook, and couldn't stop thinking about the parallels with the IDiots who think Intelligent Design is rational. If it was up to these morons, they'd have all copies of this DVD burned, ala Fahrenheit 451.

There's a bio of William Jennings Bryan (represented in the movie as "Matthew Brady") which says

In 1925, Bryan led the prosecution of John T. Scopes, a young biology teacher charged with breaking Tennessee law by teaching Darwin's theory of evolution. Squaring off against noted defense attorney Clarence Darrow, Bryan attempted in vain to defend his literal interpretation of the bible under Darrow's wilting cross examination. Humiliated and weakened by the stress of the trial, Bryan died one week after its conclusion.

... while in the movie, "Matthew Brady" (portrayed as a bombastic oaf who'd be quite comfortable articulating Intelligent Design in 2005) dies in the courtroom immediately after the trial is concluded .. chalk it up to poetic license (or The Radical Right's perceived Hollywood Agenda).

Here are the major characters in the film, and the real people they represented:

Henry Drummond (Spencer Tracy) .. portraying Clarence Darrow
Matthew Brady (Fredric March) .. portraying William Jennings Bryan
Bertram T. Cates (Dick York) .. portraying John Thomas Scopes

It was hard to watch:

1. the judge (Harry Morgan) and not think of Colonel Sherman Potter of M*A*S*H (TV series);
2. the defendant (Dick York) and not think of Darrin Stevens of Bewitched;
3. the reporter (Gene Kelley) and not think of Singing In the Rain.