A random picture update

In case you were wondering about the allergen status of this month,

This month has also been the Month Of Getting Many Chores Done. For example, I finally bought some replacement fuses for the car radio. For about six months it's been using a mangled twist-tie and a knot of crappy headphone wire as a substitute fuse. Clearly I have the utmost respect for my equipment.

Also we finally got new phones. It was time, since my old phone was acting strangely - not reporting calls, suddenly dropping signal, and apparently losing my voicemails. The last straw was when it told me I had almost half a million text messages in my inbox:

So after going through a collection of phones with various problems, I finally found exactly what I want. The Samsung SGH-D357. A clamshell phone with a wired earpiece.

• I can make a call, close it, put it in my back pocket, and talk on the earpiece.
• I can wear headphones and listen to music while I talk, if I'm having a long slow conversation like during a walk home from work, and the other person can still hear me because the microphone is further down the wire (unlike a bluetooth headset).
• It's less wide and easier to hold than the over-rated RAZR,
• the buttons are easy to find by hand and have a good feel to them,
• it works as a Bluetooth modem for internet access (shut off for now),
• the theme can be customized and simplified via bluetooth file exchange,
• it doesn't have a stupid little camera,
• you can customize the main buttons,
• it displays the caller before you fold-open the phone,
• and YOU CAN DISABLE the DAMN BUTTON that connects to the ONLINE MINI-MALL CRAP store.

I WIN !!!!

The only drawback is that there's no iSync profile for it yet, so I had to upload my numbers "by hand" over Bluetooth using "Send vcards" in Address Book. Took about 15 minutes.

La's Birthday Celebration 2006

When La got home from class, she found this tacked to the front door:

When she stuck her hand into my jeans pocket, she found a small folded card, containing the first of eight clues:

We all watched her zip around the house, looking in drawers and under plants, gathering additional clues. For a while she was stumped by a clue that was hidden in the car she drove home in. Eventually she stood on a chair in the bedroom and poked her hand under the blankets on the kitty's bed, and found a birthday card:

Later on, she arranged the clues on the bedspread and unscrambled the final word, which sent her to the living room, where she found four wrapped presents.

Hooray for the Birthday La!