O-Dark-Thirty

"Siri, call my wife" I'm talking to my new iPhone 4S with the much-discussed Apple™ SIRI, personal assistant. SIRI: I don't know who that is. Of course. I'm supposed to define who my wife is. "Siri, my wife is Darling." There's a long pause on that one, so I know SIRI was listening intently and ruminating over a response that will make me deliriously happy. That's what Steve Jobs promised me. SIRI: I don't know who you are. I'm crushed. I don't even listen to the detailed instructions on how to define relationships by hand . The other night I was half-asleep and it occurred to me that I needed to send a text to my youngest son. I don't need my glasses. I can get Siri to help me. Hold the button. Little chimes. "Send memo." "I have found four memos in your immediate area." Wow. Are they running loose? Do the owners know they got away? Is there a store for buying memos? "Siri, who are you?" SIRI: I am...

My brother sent me a link the other day to a YouTube video of a poem titled Why I Hate Religion But Love Jesus . In order to discuss this issue with any clarity, we need to set some definitions, create some boundary conditions, as we used to say in Math class. These are topics which often cause a lot of irrational, hostile and belligerent discussions. At first glance at the topic of this video I was offended. First of all I don't want anyone attacking my church. Then I watched it. I watched it twice. A lot of people won't even listen to this video because of the title. They are instantly offended and think it is anti-Christian. So let's get some definitions out of the way. I'll start with the easy one: Jesus. Jesus, often given His title of Christ as a surname, refers to the Messiah Jesus Christ of the Bible's New Testament. According to Wikipedia ( go donate now! ) "Josephus' Antiquities of the Jews , written around 93-94 AD, includes two references to ...

I copied this directly from The Dreamland Chronicles , where Scott Sava sums it all up better than I've read anywhere. (By the way, his comic rocks.) What Is SOPA? If you hadn’t heard of SOPA before, you probably have by now: Some of the internet’s most influential sites—Reddit and Wikipedia among them—are going dark to protest the much-maligned anti-piracy bill. But other than being a very bad thing , what is SOPA? And what will it mean for you if it passes? SOPA is an anti-piracy bill working its way through Congress… House Judiciary Committee Chair and Texas Republican Lamar Smith, along with 12 co-sponsors, introduced the Stop Online Piracy Act on October 26th of last year. Debate on H.R. 3261, as it’s formally known, has consisted of one hearing on November 16th and a “mark-up period” on December 15th, which was designed to make the bill more agreeable to both parties. Its counterpart in the Senate is the Protect IP Act (S. 968). Also known by it’s cuter-but-still-deadly nam...

One of two non-Presidents on our US money Today is Benjamin Franklin's birthday. That's significant on a couple levels. Now that I'm in my fifties I'm thinking of wearing bifocals, and he invented them. Thanks for that, Ben. He invented the potbelly stove, which kept me warm on many a cold morning during different periods of my childhood. We had a potbelly stove on the enclosed back porch of our house in Rockford, and when people ask me about my favorite Christmas, that's the one I remember. My Mom and Dad, my brothers, our dog Smokey and that potbelly stove keeping us warm and toasty as we opened sweaters and socks and books. That was my last Christmas with my childhood family, and one of my fondest memories. Smokey died the next year, so it was his last Christmas, too. Of COURSE Wikipedia has a picture! Mostly I'd like to thank Ben Franklin for the Ben Franklin Five and Dime stores that cropped up all over the country when we were kids. I know he didn...

She started with four drain tubes, two for each side. During her second post-operative visit to the Reconstruction surgeon they pulled one from each side. Her oldest daughter was there with her. Less than a week later, I’m coming home on the 23 rd , ready for my time off for Christmas. As I walk in the door, Darling looks at me and says “I need your help.” “What?” I say, a little confused. She rarely needs my help for anything. “Come with me.” Darling heads for our bathroom. “What?” I say, a bit concerned now. “The nurse said if the fluid levels were low enough I could take my own tubes out.” Darling is very matter-of-fact about this. “What?” my voice rises on the end of that, like the voice of a ten year old girl. “You need to take the stitches out so I can remove the tubes.” Darling hands me a small pair of scissors and one of those surgical clamps to grab the stitches. I don’t even wonder where these came from; her stash of such items astounds mere mortals like me. “Are you sure ab...

People ask how Darling is doing after the surgery to remove the breast cancer. Now, almost six weeks later, the pain is under control and she’s doing well. Those who know her also know more of the story. The double mastectomy was November 30, 2011. Darling made the decision for a double mastectomy because she was afraid the cancer would attack her again. There wasn’t enough family medical history for her to make a genealogical decision. Turns out her older brother knew that their maternal grandmother died of breast cancer when Darling was very young, so at least that’s some information. Darling’s decision was probably a good one. Before I go any further, let me say that MD Anderson is a fantastic hospital, with incredible professionals who really know about cancer. From October to the surgery in November, each department was thorough in examination, analysis and execution. We had, and have, utter confidence in their abilities. The Story It’s November 30, 2011. Thanksgiving is over. ...