WWW
I like to listen to radio broadcasts when I can. It's become very convenient with this Internet thingy, because you can choose what and when. One funny little thing that I've noticed, on all of the programs they always mention a web site. They almost always have to say something like, "...or, visit our website at www.salespitch.com." It looks good in text, and usually sounds OK when read by an announcer, but I always think of all the letters of the alphabet, they chose the one with three syllables. I'm pretty sure there was one guy responsible for it (I've read him talking about it) who chose www for World Wide Web. Tap tap tap on the keyboard, but when spoken it's "dubble yew dubble yew dubble yew dot salespitch dot com." Just about any other letter would have been easier, with only K and X having particularly unfortunate associations. Y has a certain pleading quality to it that wouldn't be too good, and A was already taken by the car people, otherwise the sky's the limit. In reality these days, the www isn't even necessary to say or even type, but don't tell anyone -- I would miss the quaint charm of voices wrestling with it.

Up, Up and Away
Balloons are big in ABQ these days. The Balloon Fiesta is going on which provides lots of family fun and plenty of gorgeous photos which all look about the same.

Speaking of balloons, a couple of weeks ago I decided to treat myself to some KFC. I sat facing the window with a nice view of the afternoon clouds while I pulled apart a chicken breast. There were planes making their chem-trails and I noticed a very bright point of light that seemed to be high in the sky. I thought it was a teeny little trail from a jet, but it just stayed there all the way through my last bite of cole slaw. Then as I drove home I could still see it, and I thought it must be a planet. As the sky grew dark it was obviously brighter than any planet I had ever seen. I finally fished a pair of binoculars out of the closet and checked it out. It was shaped like a guitar pick -- obviously not a natural shape, and seemed to be brightly lit from within. What was it? The news informed all of us that it was a weather balloon of course. They had been getting calls all evening about it, and they got to strike that usual news reader pose with the hint of a smile and a slightly raised eyebrow that they always use with UFO-type reports. Now I can't find any mention of the incident... do I smell a cover-up? Do I smell Kentucky Fried Chicken?