PhoneBoy Says

How many pets have you owned in your lifetime? Tell us about them.
Submitted by jennajellopy.vox.com">class="enclosure-inline-user">jennajellopy.vox.com.

Over the years, mostly cats. We currently have two cats: Toby and Zoe. My wife had the cats before she had me. :) I had several cats growing up at different times of my life. But only one dog--Steemer.

I seem to recall a second dog, but I don't remember much about him. Steemer was a dalmatian that my dad had for a few years before he had to give him to Auntie May to take care of because the living situation just wasn't conducive to dogs. But when we had him, he was the most loyal dog. He wouldn't fetch, but he was always there and almost always nearby, watching over me. It's more than I could say for my dad, who frequently was off working when I got home from school.

I'm sure Steemer's long since dead. It's been far too long. I hope he had a good life.

Maybe I should submit this as a Question of the Day: Pick a random song lyric from the next 10 non-instrumental songs in your musical playlist.

1. "Why must we grow up so fast?" -- The Eagles, "Pretty Maids All In A Row"
2. "I don't want to walk around with you." -- The Ramones
3. "I've got a mouse and he hasn't got a house, I don't know why I call him Gerill" -- Pink Floyd, "Bike"
4. "Sometimes it seems like magic when two people come together." -- Pablo Cruise, "Don't Want to Live Without It"
5. "This is a warning. Step away from the car. This car is protected by Viper." -- They Might Be Giants, "I Can Hear You"
6. "This is a song that Charles Manson stole from The Beatles. We're stealing it back." -- U2, Helter Skelter
7. "You'd better make your face up in your favorite disguise." -- Pink Floyd, "Run Like Hell"
8. "She needed so much more than I could give." -- Journey, "Send Her My Love"
9. "Mile after mile, stone after stone, you turn to speak, but you're alone. A million miles from home, you're on your own." -- Pink Floyd, "Wot's…Uh The Deal"
10. "I only like dreaming all the day long." -- Men At Work, "Be Good Johnny"

What TV show(s) will you be watching this season? Why?
Submitted by ducnly.vox.com">class="enclosure-inline-user">ducnly.vox.com.

Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives. They are both well-writen comedy/dramas that, at least for the moment, haven't gotten old. I'm tired of every iteration of Law and Order, CSI, Survivor, etc. I might watch Invasion if it shows up on the air again. But that's about it, folks. I basically don't have the time to invest in watching TV. Most of it is crap. And I have to schedule my life around it. No thanks.

But riddle me this. How come bittorrents of both Grey's Anatomy and Desperate Housewives appear online between the East Coast and West Coast airings of both shows on ABC, yet I have to wait a day for the "official" version to appear either on the iTunes Store or streaming on abc.com?

This evening I am taking a red-eye to the Washington DC area. I'm only going to be there a day or so, which is good. I can get by with a single carry-on. However, because it's a long flight, I have a lot of videos to catch up on, and my MacBook won't last the entire flight, I am bringing my freshly-reimaged work PC running Windows XP. At least I have an airplane adapater for it, in case I get lucky. I also have a second battery for it, so it should last longer.

Meanwhile, for the flight there this evening, I am not going to use my laptop. I am going to try and sleep. However, I will want some music to listen to. I spent way too long going through my music collection in iTunes to copy over onto an MMC for my Nokia 9500. I could have copied it to the MiniSD for my Nokia E70 instead, but I think the 9500 will be a better companion in terms of battery life. Hopefully, it will last the whole trip playing the roughly 150 songs I copied over to the 1gb MMC.

For the non-electronic parts of my trip, preparing is pretty straightforward. I have a travel bag that is already pre-stocked with the things I will need away from home (toiletries, etc). I have removed all liquids from this bag, so I can carry it on. That means leaving hair styling products at home. Toothpaste, assuming I can't get it at the hotel, is accomodated by the bar of Dr. Bronner's soap I have added to my bag. Yes, it seems weird to brush your teeth with soap, but some people swear by it. It does leave your teeth clean, though the taste is a little funny. And Dr. Bronner's soap rocks for getting the rest of you clean, too. :)

Anyway, time to spend the last couple of hours with my kids before I take off…

I plan on blogging lightly for the next few days. However, Gracie is currently amusing herself by jumping between mats at the gym…

09232006(002).mp4

Gracie and her bubbles…

09212006

What's your musical horoscope? (Put your music player on shuffle and write down the first 10 songs that come up.) Inspired by Stephanie.

Party Shuffle on iTunes says:

1. Theme from S.W.A.T. -- Rhythm Heritage
2. Polka Your Eyes Out -- Weird Al Yankovic
3. Twister -- Weird Al Yankovic
4. The Night Is Still Young -- Billy Joel
5. Yer Blues -- The Beatles
6. I Got The News -- Steely Dan
7. Your Sister Can't Twist (But She Can Rock n Roll) -- Elton John
8. That's It -- The Cars
9. Keep Talking -- Pink Floyd
10. My Name Is Mud -- Primus

Yesterday I noticed a speed limit sign outside my kitchen window. It wasn't there before. It's for the road they've spent months putting alongside my house. They finished paving it a couple days ago. They've also put down guide dots for the road markings that are sure to follow.

Meanwhile, we are still in discussions with the powers that be about our fence we want to put up to keep our children from running into the road. Some improvements on that front, but the discussion is ongoing. It needs to hurry up and get resolved before the road is open for business, which I can't imagine will be much longer.

My dad, who goes by the name TechZilla, decided to accept my invitation to blog on Vox. All he's got up there so far is a picture. Anyone can do that just by filling out the profile. The question is: will he blog? Time will tell.

This is an email I received from a co-worker in Boston who is leaving the company and going back to his hometown. I thought it was amusing anyway.

Hey all,

I'll be leaving [company name withheld] soon and it is sad for me because I have really enjoyed my time here. I will miss a lot of people here that have become good friends. I could mention names but I think (hope) you know who you are.

I'm writing this email from the window sill outside of my cubical because someone liked me so much that they felt it necessary to grab my chair before it got cold (It's probably an "in memory of" type of thing). But I know they will miss me as much as I will miss them. (there goes my monitor now) I know it's tough to keep in touch (well, my favorite pen is gone now) but (oops, now my power strip is making it's way to another cube) I hope we cross paths again in the future. (I really didn't need that calendar anymore). I'm leaving because it's time to go back home. (Pardon me, If I drop off before I finish this email, it's because someone took my laptop power supply yesterday and my battery is getting low) Thank you all, for the times you have helped me out when I needed it. (There goes my coffee cup, and stapler). And I sure hope I help each of you in some small way while I was here. (I don't understand why nobody is taking any of my Steeler stuff)

I sincerely wish everyone at [company name withheld] the best and may we meet again

I hate good bye messa