It's freaky

A pal of mine sent me a link to join a VOIP. I had no clue what it was, but I downloaded it as directed. It was a website that allows you to call people over the internet and talk to them for free. He called me from his computer, I answered, and found out that I can talk into my computer and use it as a phone. It was really quite interesting. He then called a friend of his in London, and the three of us had a conference call for free.

The sheer weirdness of this sort of communication development had my very simple brain reeling. One can only imagine where we will be in 5 years time.

I remember when it was a big deal in 1974 when my parents bought my brother a calculator for his high school graduation present. It was well over $100 I believe, and the only functions it provided were multiplication, subtraction, division, addition and percent. It weighed about 5 pounds and came with a snappy leatherette case. It was a magical contraption, and I, being 6 years old at the time, was enthralled. My brother, being protective of his newest piece of technology always kept it out of reach from my childish butter-fingers. Eventually, I too became the owner of a calculator, except mine had about 30 buttons on it and did practically everything except actually write the answers on my schoolwork. By this time, my $15 scientific calculator that I used at school daily had rendered my brother's 1974 calculator obsolete. It eventually was relegated to sitting in the pen drawer in my parents kitchen, and my mother would use it to balance her checkbook. One thing that can be said for that calculator is that it continues to be a useful tool at my parents house, 30 years later. The Fisher's are old-school when it comes to adding and subtracting...

I.G.S

Early this morning as I walked my temporary canine charge Ivey, I decided to switch up the usual morning walk to Washington Square Park with a walk up to Coit Tower. I figured Ivey could have access to a whole new world of things to smell, and I could check out the view as the sun was just starting to come up.

Ivey and I marched our way up Telegraph Hill. Once we were up there, we took in the view. I should really say I took in the view, and Ivey intently smelled all the things that dogs tend to find fascinating. As we walked the sidewalk we came across a flock of pigeons feasting on leftovers from an Italian restaurant. The pigeons were picking and pecking at old Lasagna in an aluminum take out container. As they pecked at the layers of cheese, the mozzarella would get caught on their beaks and would stretch into a webby, stringy mess, catching on their feathers and wrapping around their necks. One big pigeon seemed to be a bit more adept, actually gulping down it's gullet big chunks of cheese. Seeing it consume that amount of dairy, it made me think of my mother, who tends to lament about lactose intolerance whenever she overindulges in Dairy Queen blizzards. My mother can combat her pain with medication, where this pigeon didn't have access to modern pharmecuticals. I wondered if there would be a bout of IBS for this little guy from his feast. After careful consideration I decided it would be IGS that would haunt him today(irritable gizzard syndrome). I hope it wasn't too horrid - I bet his pigeon buddies steered clear of him till it passed, or perhaps till he "passed".

Bitchin' Beemer

I stood on the corner of Powell and Filbert, waiting for the #15 bus to pick me up so I could spend a beautiful Sunday afternoon in the office preparing for my week of vacation. As I waited, I spent my time people watching as I live in one of the more popular tourist areas of the city.

As I watched some German tourists disrupt traffic while trying to take a photo of St. Peter & Paul's church from the middle of the street, I noticed a very large, sleek BMW ease it's way into the intersection, ensuring it would make the next traffic light. I looked into the car and saw what must have been an aftermarket addition to the car to enhance the beauty of the luxurious leather interior.

What was the addition? Why it was some lovely white lace crocheted headrest covers. Puzzled by the covers I checked out the driver. The dude driving the car seemed like he was in his mid thirties, and the car certainly didn't look like it was his mother or grandmother's car. I imagine that he is married to a woman who was a former corporate bigwig but now is staying home to raise the kids and rule the household. As a means of maintaining her idea of a productive lifestyle, she has taken to doing crafty experiments to become the next Martha Stewart. Unfortunately the fruits of her industrious new hobby has spilled over into her husband's very expensive automobile.

I just wish I would have leaned in closer to see if she had made a parking brake cozy too.....