Vonage, Allergies and Crazy Weather

So, yesterday was around 70 degrees in the Chicago metropolitan area. This morning I woke up hoping for an outside run when I checked the weather. Mid 30's and likely rain. Ug. So I headed to the gym and spent a bit of time with the treadmill. On the drive in to work, it went from rain to frozen rain to snow flakes in as I crawled through the morning commute. Wacky. So far, I'm really liking Vonage. The fact that it emails me when I have messages and I can listen to those message from anywhere I have net access is just sweet. It transferred my old number over just fine and so far the service has ben more than I'd hoped for. I think I can give it a probationary two thumbs up. Last week was misreable. If you don't have allergies, I don't know if you can quite understand. We allergic folk approach spring with mixed emotions. There is usually about at one or two week window whem lots of trees and flowers are filling the air with their watery-eyes, nose running, violent sneeze inducing pollen. Every year I think I'm over them, but every year they come back and hit me like a mack truck. I'm going to the doc tomorrow to get some meds. Thankfully, it looks like the botanical air party is about over and I can get back outdoors. Work has been a bit busy as of late with the march up to E3, but nothing too crazy. Other than that, Life is good. Very good:)

Of Jackalopes and Apple's Brilliance

I had the great pleasure this week of enlighting a friend to the amazing world of the Jackalope. Growing up in the midwest, I am, of course, aware of one of the great treasures of fly-over-country-America. Drive I-40 or I-35, and you're sure to find countless novelty shops and gas stations selling stuffed Jackalopes. Though I'm sad to see the little critters there and not bounding across the fruited plains like some miniature balls of antlered energy. They must be plentiful for them to be so readily available for purchase. Some people might claim that it's just a rabbit with antelope horns glued to it's head, but those folk just don't have a clue...I've not seen any zoological studies on the natural habitat of this imaginative little critter, but I'm sure it'll be published soon. Next time you're driving across the great plains, sure you might see some buffalo, antelope, prairie dogs and other such average creatures, but you make sure you keep an eye out for our beloved little Jackalopes... ...seriously, you'll puncture a tire on those horns if you're not paying attention. So it's been another week of fun at work and I've been spending a good deal of time on the phone talking to the great state of Pennsylvania. So much so that I picked up a Vonage this weekend. I'll post some thoughts when I've used it a bit. One of the coolest bits of news from the week is that Apple is making it so the new intel macs can dual boot to Apple's OS (a thing of simple elegance that I am coming more and more around to) and Windows XP (brute force that works...most of the time). My next computer purchase may just have to be....*gasp*....a mac workstation. My brother will be proud - he's a machead.