Spllissshh....

It's a sullen, overcast Friday here in what they like to call 'Central PA' on the local radio stations. I wonder if other states routinely refer to themselves by their initials. Seems as if there should be a 'road game' in there somewhere == spot the licence plate and make a rhyme with the state's abbreviation. I was looking at the Google news scoop once and saw a headline which said that peace accords were being pursued with PA officials; I was startled until I realized that was the Palestinian Authority, not Pennsylvania. Though given how contentious our state senate can be, that might be appropriate anyway.

The rain might be the finishing touch on the road trip that my daughter's taking today -- its a field trip, going over to the science museum in Harrisburg, which is just over the river. The museum's pretty nice, but the parking around there is on the grim side -- no pull-offs for the hordes of school and tour buses to drop off their cargo, let alone anyplace easy for the buses to go to when they're done. One of the state office complexes is near there, so for a while I would get to navigate through those streets. You learned pretty quickly to dodge the side street -- something about a big orange bus with flashing lights suggesting that perhaps taking the long way around would be a good idea. I'm not sure what the content of the trip is, but I hope she enjoys it.

Only two weeks until the end of color guard for this season. I'm looking forward to that. She does enjoy it, but its a great strain on all of us. Her friend told me the other day that the woman who's the director of the CG keeps the older girls practicing until ten, or later, some nights -- and then chews them out if their grades aren't acceptable. I've told my wife that there is no way I'm letting my daughter do that next year. Even now, its too much of a commitment; that level would be absurd. Of course, these confident statements have a way of eroding, once the actual date arrives. And I did get one benefit from it, though I could probably have done without it: last night, after I dropped her off, a guy told me that it looked as if one of the wheels on the Prius was wobbling. My wife drove it around the neighborhood while I came behind in the van, and yeah, it does look that way. What's strange is that the wheel itself appears okay, but its as if the side of the wheel is moving. I thought that it might just be a loose hub cap, but this car doesn't have hubcaps. So, I get to go to the dealer and have them check it out.

I hear my mother moving around downstairs. Sounds like she's using the walker, still. That isn't good. Nothing can make me feel like an ungrateful child more than hearing that sound and immediately wondering if a nursing home is in our future.

Took the dough out this morning; not at all bad. Perhaps I'll take a picture -- want to see some unbaked dough? Looks like the Pillsbury Doughboy after a bad night on the town. Wonder why soldiers in WW1 were called Doughboys, anyway?

And lastly -- if you like reading about technology, but aren't a geek head, I recommend the David Pogue articles. They're available via email, or you can look at them on the New York Times web site here. (It requires a sign-in, but there's no cost, and it doesn't put you on an email spam list.) He's got a clear, clean style that usually stays on track and avoids buzzwords. I almost said busswords, which I guess is what you say when you want a kiss. Sorry, Dave, I don't like you that much!