case in point

Five phone calls and another hour later I'm finally consigning myself to the fact that I am not going to get the $30 rebate from the cell phone I bought solely because it would be free after the $30 rebate. I saved every scrap of plastic, bubble wrap, and brochure EXCEPT, it would seem, the box containing the original SKU number. I'm just what T-mobile is counting on when they offer those rebates. I'd love to say I've really given up. But the fact is there's a nagging feeling that I didn't throw it away and its somewhere.

And, FYI, the iHome (iH4) does NOT have an adaptor for an iPod shuffle. You can buy an adaptor that might seem to fix the problem on eBay for around $10. You can try unscrewing the top piece to see if there's a way to reconfigure the setup but its impossible. Go ahead...google all you want...it can't be solved!

Chalk one up to solved...even without a message board reply I figured out that the Sidekick does not play M4Ps ... only MP4s or Mp3s. That was the reason it wasn't playing music...wrong format. Some hacker on YouTube showed me how to find free mp3s on the web. Maybe he could show me where that phone box is...

answers and solutions

Have you ever noticed people take on the disease OCD as some kind of badge of honor. As if having OCD means you are in control of something completely when in reality there is no control for those who suffer from it. They'll say something like, "I'm so OCD about it".

No...I don't have obsessive compulsive disorder...but there are a few things that make me a little crazy, obsessive. One is unsolved problems or unfound items. If you ask me to find the super glue or that picture of the flower gardens you took in 1986 I'm going to find it. I will tear apart every drawer, climb to the top of the closet, and dig through every box in that room (another day...another blog) and I'm not going to do anything else until I find it.

Sometimes, especially at night, frequently first thing in the morning, my brain starts to work on problems, often problems I didn't even know I had. I feel a little out of control sometimes when this happens; I'm looking for the off switch to my brain and wishing I could move on to more important issues in my life. Funny thing, though, sometimes I solve the problem, or find the item, subconsciously. When that happens, it's sublime; there's nothing quite like the euphoria of finding a difficult answer. But most of the time it just makes for a tumultuous night...not quite as beautiful as Van Gogh's...but certainly filled with the same kind of tossing and turning.

the concept

It worked...so now I'm thinking about what kind of blog I want to set up here on day two. I don't think it will be a family blog. I'll keep sending out email if I ever write one of those. And yes, it's been a long time. I think it will be more about just little old me; my thoughts, feelings, ideas, and views. I like the idea of self dicovery and defining myself not by the things that I do (the world does this for me) but by the things that I am. The things I do require me to think about the thoughts, feelings, ideas, and views of everyone else, all the time. So this one's for me.... and you if you want to read it...

in the beginning

My sister says I'm the only one in the family who is not on facebook. I'm not ready for that yet. But maybe I could figure out this blog thing. Come to think of it, I was blogging in 1996; I'd copy those lengthy emails and post them on the web. I put a link for each entry on the side and covered the page with pictures and cute wallpaper, starfish I think. Where was my patent attorney? I don't think anyone ever actually followed the links I emailed out. It was time consuming; and expensive to maintain the site; and I lost interest in publishing something that noone ever read...

Let's see what happens when I push the "publish post" button...