Please note that all blog posts before 8 April 2007 were automatically imported from LiveJournal. To see the comments and any LiveJournal-specific extras such as polls and user icons, please find the source posting at http://brianenigma.livejournal.com/2004/04/The other day, I got stuck at the register at the Apple store behind someone who wanted to buy a laptop. An expensive laptop. In cash. You would think this to be a simple and painless operation. Party A hands over cash, Party B hands over laptop. If you wanted to be really fancy, you can use the countertop as escrow: Person A puts cash on counter, Person B puts laptop on counter, Person A picks up laptop at the same time Person B picks up cash. In the real world, it does not seem to work like that. A manager and another employee need to be called over to double- and triple-check the count. ID needs to be produced for some odd reason, but the school ID was not enough. The out-of-state driver's license needed to be scrutinized. Isn't one of the bonuses of cash transactions being they can be done fairly anonymously? Somewhere that changed and I was not paying attention.
Anyway, the fruits of my trip to the Apple store is the Navipod. It is a remote control receiver that sits on top of the iPod, which sits in the dock, which connects to the stereo. There is a flimsy little metal stand for those that want to use it without a dock, but I would be a little hesitant to do so. It seems that an accidental bump would put torsion on all the wrong parts when using that stand. The remote control is strangely shaped and tiny. I am a little bit worried that I might accidentally swallow it. It is about the size and shape of a Giant Sweet Tart.
Note to the fitness place: The thing about yesterday was that it was hot. Freakishly hot. The thing about bicycles is that they are great for exercising. They let you get from Point A to Point B, plus the very act of moving through space gives you your own little personal wind to help you cool off. The thing about exercise bikes is that they are great for biking when you want to pay attention to things like the the television or not deal with the weather while sitting comfortably in an air-conditioned room. Taking all this into account, a guy on the corner waving a giant arrow with “Furniture” written on it is kind of lame but excusable; a guy on an exercise bike on an unshaded street corner under the hot noontime sun kind of sucks for everyone. The guy was obviously not having a good time, and I was not having a good time watching this indirect torture. If you are going to be torturing people on street corners, please use a more conventional and accepted method: an iron maiden, a St. Andrew's cross, a rack, or even thumbscrews (although the latter would not be terribly visible to passing motorists).
Note to cat: if the other cat pukes in front of you, they are NOT offering you a free feast to dine upon.
Note to other cat: while it is great, and kind of cute, that you have taken it as your civic duty against crimes of an olfactory nature by burying anything left uncovered in the sandbox–please try to wait until after a cat has finished “doing its doodie” before trying to bury things. I do not appreciate cleaning poo from your ears at 8:30 in the morning after you guys have a little scat fight.
