and then ...

but i forgot to tell you about an additional detail at my nexus appointment. along with getting your fingerprints, they take your picture. not a big deal, right? after all, any picture which is taken by a regulatory agency is probably going to be crap, so no worries.

hahaha. this guy said he was going to take my picture, reached over and picked up a small white ball with a long cord on it, and held it up. my automatic reaction, i swear to god, was to move out of the way. which i did. i flinched and moved slightly to the side. then i caught myself and tried to just chill, but found myself starting to turn my back. honestly, what was wrong with me???

but it was sooooooo weird and i couldn't keep from trying to avoid the thing and it was so ridiculous and i started to laugh and he said 'got it'.

thank god.

i tried and tried later to figure out what that was all about and could only figure that, since i am totally not used to little white round cyclops cameras, i must have instinctively thought it was like a squirt gun and i was trying to avoid it.

whatever. it was hilarious in a really stupid-feeling sort of way.

dum, duhdum, dum, daaaaaaaahhhh....

i went in to my Nexus appointment the other day. getting a nexus card is a lot like getting a passport -- you fill out paperwork, they check you out, you talk to them at the appointment and give them your fingerprints, they give you advice, you get your card in the mail.

i like the idea of having a nexus card because there's a special nexus lane at the border which is usually quite a bit faster than the regular lanes.

BUT.

when you have a nexus card, EVERYONE in the car must have the card. i knew that when i went to the appointment. what i didn't know was that you must have nothing in the car which is not yours or your traveling companion's!

now that scared me. if i run up to canada and get something from costco, then come back in the nexus lane and they see the husband's boots in the car which are obviously not mine, they can take away my card. and man, that's a permanent condition. you NEVER get your nexus card back. they are so hard-nosed about that it's not funny.

well. when they explained all that to me i got so nervous. i mean, cripes. am i going to remember to search my car before i run up to canada? shit. i'm going to have to. honestly -- well-intentioned, decent people aren't used to not getting a second chance.

damn those terrorists!

finally!

okay, here it comes. all my life i've thought how cool it would be to have a small helicopter or jet-pack or something tiny which a person could get on, strap on, step into which would be extremely versatile and maneuverable and get them someplace quickly.

it looks like we may actually be starting to focus in on that type of technology. read this and be excited.

the only drawback i can see at this point is that some yo-yo is going to get himself killed in one of these because he was too arrogant to actually study the art and physics of flying, and then there's going to be a law-suit.

tsk, tsk. we're just cleaning up the gene pool.

complications upon complicated

oh, to be young again. i'd study computers, code, gaming, and hacking like crazy. strictly as a matter of self-defense, you understand. usually, the more you know about something, the more you can counter it.

i read an article a couple of weeks ago warning people about facebook and to be careful about putting too much self-info out there. now comes the story about the 18-yr old who hacked into twitter.

for us oldsters, it's pretty easy to be conscious about telling too much about ourselves -- we grew up with a strong sense of privacy and confidentiality. today's users (mostly younger than i) don't necessarily have that same sense of watching out and being careful.

i suppose part of it was the cold war and the potential threat of danger, although youth in any age declares invincibility and fearlessness. regardless, thinking about ramifications before laying yourself out there might not be bad advice.

good grief!

man, there just are not enough hours in the day. i came home, ironed a number of blouses and skirts, ate a yummy supper thanks to the husband, took care of some pesky details on the computer, and bam! it's time for bed! well, crap. i need to READ for a little while. i already skimp on my sleep during the week -- i slept 11 1/2 hours last saturday to make up for lost sleep. i'll just have to trudge onward, squeezing in my delights when and where i can. life is rough, you know?

i want one

i had a lovely moment today --

i was walking back to work after lunch and saw one of the k-9 guys with his detector dog. it's a beautiful dog, a malinois i think, with lots of self-confidence and energy and a wonderful high-step to its walk.

anyhow, i said hi to carl and remarked that he had such a pretty dog. he brought the dog prancing over and gave it some command i wasn't aware of whereupon the dog sat snugged right up next to my thigh, looked up and let me rub his ears while i told him how wonderful he was. it only lasted a few seconds, but it was so fun.

what a beautiful dog.

i want to... i've got this... how about....

have you ever had a really great idea but no way to implement it? well, here's your venue. this article talks about the ordinary inventor getting his/her idea in production and into the market place.

need more information before you get started? go here. this new zealand company has a really great idea and, just skimming everything, it seems to be a fully-fleshed out concept. you take your idea from light-bulb to sales and have fun along the way.

have at it, you guys, and good luck!

eagle

i love this country! it is special like no other country and here's a good example of why. we have wonderful people, fun things to do, interesting things to get involved with. and we have compassion beyond belief.

i just wish people who didn't have our values could be magically kept out.