Cellphone Lunacy

I'm obsessive about not being "that guy" when it comes to cellphone etiquette. I always put my ringer on silent when I'm in public. I don't take calls at the table in a restaurant, and if I absolutely have to answer I leave the room or the establishment. On my weekly trips to the allergist I witness all sorts of annoying cellphone behavior in the waiting room. My two favorites? Pulling a loudly ringing phone out of your purse and staring at the display while you decide whether to answer. In the mean time the rest of us are left to contemplate why some middle-aged JoCo house frau has Rick James' 'Superfreak' as her ringtone. And to think when I was a teenager I thought my parents were embarrassing. My other favorite is of course the elevated volume conversation letting the rest of us know that Amber has mono and Josh won't be home for dinner because he has soccer practice. I've heard some disturbing information about peoples' private lives just because I had the misfortune of being in the same room with them when their cellphone rang. There's just some things I can get through my day without having to hear. Today I laughed out loud when I read that some judge in New York snapped over a ringing cell phone and threw everybody in jail. Not funny to the poor people in his courtroom, but it was only a matter of time. Maybe this judge can come wrangle the waiting room at my allergist.

You know you're a nerd when...

You're scrolling through your news and click through on an article with this title: Penn State Researchers Develop Efficient Microbial Electrolysis Cell for Hydrogen Production from a Range of Organic Substances I really need to get out more...

File this one under "Holy Crap!"

I'll stick with good ol' lead paint thank you very much. NEW YORK (CNN) -- U.S. safety officials have recalled about 4.2 million Chinese-made Aqua Dots bead toys that contain a chemical that has caused some children to vomit and become comatose after swallowing them. Scientists have found the popular toy's coating contains a chemical that, once metabolized, converts into the toxic "date rape" drug GHB, or gamma-hydroxy butyrate, U.S. Consumer Product Safety Commission spokesman Scott Wolfson told CNN. Also recalled were the slightly less popular "Kiddie Good-Time Rave Kit" and the "That's My Smack!" board game. Full story here.

More Electronic Voting Troubles

I thought today's vote would be a slam dunk for using the electronic voting machine. Two issues, only one other voter in the precinct, this should be easy right? So I ask for an electronic ballot while my neighbor went the "old-fashioned" route. She went to the table, marked two circles and left. I stood at the machine while the election worker fumbled with the key card. Insert card... Punch punch punch. Look perplexed. Realize the card is in upside down. Reinsert card... Punch punch punch. Look more perplexed. Tentatively insert the card into the voting machine. Wait for screen to change. Receive bright red message, "Card not accepted." So much for technology.

Ladybug Lore

Ladybugs have been swarming in my back yard the last few days. I'm not talking a few. I mean hundreds! I've never seen this happen before so it made me wonder if something strange was going on. This left me wishing I could quickly find out something about ladybugs. If only I had an easy way to look up information. Some sort of a portal to etymological data. Maybe if my computer could talk to someone else's computer? Or a bunch of computers? They could all be connected around the world in an electronic web. A world wide web if you will... So I looked up "ladybugs swarming" and learned some things. Ladybugs are not indigenous to North America. They're actually called the Asian Lady Beetle among other things. I already knew they are a desirable bug that feeds on garden pests. I also knew they were harmless to humans. And the swarming? Apparently they're just looking for a place to hang out over the winter. They like cliffs back home, but since there aren't that many cliffs around here, they choose the southern side of your house. So I spent my Sunday afternoon weatherproofing our back door, covered in orange bugs. My arms, my neck, my face. I probably looked like some character from a B-movie horror flick. It's crazy ladybug man! He's come for your aphids...

You're killin' me Star 102

I've been in a dark mood this week. I guess I got off on the wrong foot Monday morning and haven't recovered since. I heard a couple of days ago that Star 102 has started playing Christmas music. Just for an experiment I decided to flip on the radio and see what a little Christmas music would do for me... Bad idea.

To comment, or not to comment...

I've had some inquiries as to why I turned moderation on both here and TheKansasCityPost.com. Very simple. Stress relief! It seems there's one or two "coward behind the keyboard" types out there who revel in making anonymous personal attacks. Rather than wake in the morning to find abusive and nonsensical comments and debate with myself whether to delete them, I decided to shut down any anonymous coward who would use my bandwidth to vent their obsessive opinions. I've also stopped reading comments on other blogs. I still make Tony's Kansas City a daily read, but since I stopped reading the comments about a month ago I've found myself much more at peace. People can be as hateful as they want, I'm just not going to read about it! I marvel at how Tony can deal with the things people write, and even threaten. So thank you (all two of you) who have emailed expressing concern and wondering what's going on. Feel free to comment, or not... I have found it much more gratifying to meet someone in real life who says "I read your blog" anyway! In the end, a blog is for the author and anything you choose to do in life should be a positive.