new technology...

so....my honey bought me a kindle.

 

that's what it looks like. i can't believe how tiny and thin it is. the fact that this little device can hold all my geek joy amazes me. truly. like, i can't believe how much it amazes me. you can debate the pros and cons of these sorts of reader devices, but in the end, they are all pretty much the same. kindle is somewhat proprietary, but there are ways around that. they require a small investment of time to convert files and figure out, but for an enterprising geek family like me and mine, it doesn't seem too bad.

there's some stuff i need to play with and learn about this kindle thingie, but i am excited, in general.

i've been saying for at least ten years that print books are a thing of the past. the joy and knowledge that comes from people WRITING books is something tangible that will arguably always exist, but the resources used in printing them, printing a specific run with no thought of how many will sell, and then reading the book once and then having to do something with it seems like an awful waste. this seems so much more efficient. now i wish textbook technology would catch up! purchase your kindle-education! and get all your books through that. huh....interesting thought =)

in other news, we have a new baby. dan can't conceive of having a bird not named fred, so this bird has been dubbed fred 2.0. here he is:



he is an amazingly sweet little baby. he's about four months old, and it's obviously a he. fred 1.0, we discovered posthumously, we believe might have been female. this guy has a really deep voice, and he's super smart. he seems to have picked up the sounds of many of the other birds he was with at the pet store. he doesn't make a lot of sounds yet, i think he's still figuring things out, but he makes me very happy. he's a total cuddler.

thanksgiving was last week, and the holidays still suck. i approach them now with a tinge of sadness, but no lingering ire. i cannot believe my mom's been gone almost four years. we fondly remembered her last thanksgiving while eating this year. "leg? what leg, i want some pie!"....sad, and yet, good memories.

i am going to post thanksgiving pics in their own entry.

peace out, yo.

morbid anniversary...

today is the 47th anniversary of the assassination of john f kennedy, the thirty-fifth president of the united states. prior to the lives lost on 9/11/2001, my generation had nothing of comparison that defined that generation, who all used to utter "i remember what i was doing the day kennedy was shot..."

my mom was of that generation, and as the anniversary of her death approaches, i find the need to relay stories about her that seem significant. sort of as tribute, or perhaps just to remember her...

as i went back into my little brain to search for that memory, i remember her saying, i think, that she had just gotten her hair done that morning. i think she worked at the time at the riverside, an old-school casino famous in reno when "the rat pack" was around. based on other pictures from even later than the time the assassination occurred, which was about six years before my time, the hair was probably some variation of bouffant...

she mentioned walking old-school downtown reno. on the corner of 1st and virginia streets, there used to be this woolworth's that had a lunch counter like the old style one's did. up until past the time that i was a teenager, that woolworth's and lunch counter remained there. she heard people screaming out in the street, and started to walk down the street. she passed a store front with tv's in the window and listened/watched the news of kennedy being shot:

 

i visited the area where he was shot quite by accident a couple of years ago, while attending a wedding in dallas. i didn't realize where we were until we were driving through the area. then i saw the x on the street, and the book repository. it was creepy, to stumble through a place of historical significance and not realize it until you are there. there is no preparation, it just sort of hits you.

wow. i seem to remember her mentioning walter cronkite. he passed away in 2009. guess i am feeling a tad somber today...but i did want to get my mom's story down.

peace.