The End?

What do you do when they tell you it's ending? What do you do when they say the flair is gone? What do you do when they say you're still great friends, but not lovers? What do you do when they tell you it's boring; you're no longer interesting? What do you do when they say we've grown apart?

I realize things I have taken for granted. The friendship, companionship, the love - I thought it would all be there forever. I thought it was a standard around which I could build the rest of my life. While nothing is certain, I have been forced to think about what it may be like without these constants in my life. I can see some good, some bad, but it is impossible to weigh either group. After nearly a decade, it becomes difficult to differentiate good from comfortable.

Maybe it is true that we've grown apart. Perhaps this was inevitable. However, I can't stop thinking that it's because I've grown too complacent, that if I could just rediscover that zeal, the feeling of growing apart would dissapate. Questions without solid answers are so frustrating....

Peace,

Alphadork

Email Scams

I just want to give a really quick note to all those email scammers out there - give it up and leave me alone. Seriously, I know that I have not been entered in any valid lotteries in the Netherlands, or wherever else you dream up. I know that I have not won a million-billion Euros, or whatever. Most importantly, I know that the word "below" is not spelled "belluw" and "sorted" is not "soughted".

I understand, though...I've never been able to figure out spellcheck either...

Peace,

Alphadork

The Federal Budget

OK, not really much to say (or time to say it), just sharing a must-read item:

Read Maybe We Deserve to be Ripped Off by Bush's Billionaires, by Matt Taibbi.

Peace,

Alphadork

Winter Weather

Is winter weather about as close to armageddon as we get? I wouldn't think so, but the weather people on the news seem to think that way. They are going to stay up all night; they'll update us every 5 seconds; they are keeping a close eye on the doppler radar; they're watching the future caster thingy for potential changes, etc...

People, it is one, two, maybe even four inches of snow, perhaps even a touch of ice. That means it will be white outside; everyone should drive slower, and brake sooner; schools could be canceled - check in the morning; it will be cold; it may take a little longer to get to work, etc... That really isn't all that bad, but everyone seems to act more concerned about it than if we had tornados rolling in like they did in the South last night.

They talked about this end of the world winter weather for the last few days, but because it rained until sometime really early this morning before changing over to snow, the road crews in town were still "caught off-guard." As much as this was talked up, I would figure they would have all stayed home yesterday to get in extra sleep and had the snowplows warming up at 2:00 this morning ready to clear the roads as accumulation started. Instead, I drive to work through four inches of snow (with little, if any, difficulty). On top of that (literally) was a dusting of cinder, or whatever they were putting down...why they don't clear the snow, then put down the traction materials rather than putting down the traction, then clearing it off with most of the snow, I will never know.

Enjoy the last of winter; spring is almost here, and though I enjoy a good winter (and this one has been), I can't wait to get out an play some frisbee.

Peace,

Alphadork

Cingular or AT&T?

So, Cingular is now the new AT&T, or so they say. As I understand it, thanks to The Daily Show - where I get *almost* all my news - this means that Cingular is changing its name to AT&T.

Why?

Cingular seems so much better to me. The name is unique, the color is unique, the name is known nation-wide, and they have that fun little orange guy. AT&T is old-school (but not classic, fun old-school like the original NES). It conjures up images of anti-trust lawsuits and land line phones (all the kids out there say "land-what? You mean there's another kind of phone? Does it text too?"). Cingular is modern and forward thinking (can anyone say "rollover minutes"?). AT&T is "you're too big for your britches."

I really hope they aren't changing their name. In my opinion, it's a bad move, but I'm no millionaire board member.

Peace,

Alphadork