Wednesday, September 22, 2004

The morning after we returned from the Great California Trip of 1975, I put Dan Fogelberg's "Wysteria" on the stereo. Just now, almost thirty years later, I finished listening to it on my iPod at work, and it is still the most beautiful, calming song.

How is it that some songs are so tightly tied to a time and place (sometimes a person)? But is that not the wonder of music, the feelings that it evokes and sustains? When I heard the song today, I thought back on the thousands of miles that we drove on that trip, the variety of Americana that we experienced along the way, and the friendships that we have to this day. It was, in three words, very cool indeed.

Saturday, September 18, 2004

Hello, Mother Nature. I love what you're wearing! Oy, veh...so the hurricane passed, the power is being restored all over town, and the place looks gorgeous. The sky was the most beautiful azure today, just picture perfect. It was a day where errands were not an issue!

Today we added a new member to our family -- a tiny pooch named Payday, a two-year-old Boston terrier/dachshund mix. He has an adorable face and has already made himself part of the family, although he's only been with us about six hours as of this writing. Within that time, he's been to Jake's Ice Cream in midtown, the Georgia Tech campus, and round about Alpharetta. At least he'll be well-traveled.


Thursday, September 16, 2004

I am sitting in the tail of Hurricane Ivan. The drive home today was remarkable. At one point, a downed tree caused all traffic to be routed through a BP gas station. At this point, many local schools have been closed for tomorrow. There is standing water in the most unlikely places. Stay tuned...

Sunday, September 5, 2004

Over the Labor Day weekend, we got high-definition TV (HDTV) installed in our downstairs media room, and I am still sitting here staring in childlike awe at the clarity of the pictures. Earlier today, we were watching a show about various kinds of salt-water fish, and it looked as if you were standing with your face pressed to the window at the Shedd Aquarium. Actually, it looked more like you were swimming in the tank with the fish, wearing a very good pair of glasses with an up-to-date prescription.

Two stations, INHD and INHD2, provide HDTV-only programming, and the major networks broadcast many of their prime time programs such as ER, JAG, and NCIS in HDTV as well. If you'd like to find out more about this technology, there is an excellent background article at http://electronics.howstuffworks.com/hdtv.htm/printable.

I'm going to go sit back in front of the TV and resume the position. Have fun!