Good Times, Good Tunes, Good Buds

Cool things are happening.

I got a Nextel cell phone a few weeks ago (the i95cl), at a super discount because my company has a contract with Nextel. The phone is awesome. But the coolest thing is the direct-connect feature (aka "walkie-talkie"). This always seemed cool to me, but I never fully comprehended the power of its awesomeness until I actually used it. It’s easily the most fun thing of all time. It’s like their advertisements say... life is better when you’ve got the phone with a built-in walkie-talkie. So if you don’t have a cell phone, or if you do have a cell phone, you should get a Nextel phone ASAP.

Cool thing #2: people are sending me photos. Photos of themselves, which is awesome... it’s nice to actually be able to see the people you correspond with online. And photos of helicopters that they work on at crazy army-base Avionics labs. That is unstoppable. So, if you ever have the inclination to contact me, and I reply and say "hey, thanks for writing, what’s up?", feel free to send a photo, of yourself or something else that’s neato.

I am in love with The Postal Service. You will be too, once you listen to them. It was really hard to pick a song of the week from the album "Give Up" which I just bought, because there isn’t a sub-fantastic song on it. But I settled on "The District Sleeps Alone Tonight." So go listen to it.

Which brings me to cool thing #more: one of my neighbors/friends just opened a record store below my brother’s skate shop in my town. How these kids are able to just open their own businesses like this is quite mind-boggling to me. I am so impressed. But anyway, that’s where I got "Give Up," just last night, on their first day of business.

And finally cool thing #awesome: a friend sent me a link last night to a webpage about state mottos, and it’s hilarious. Here are a few:

Alabama
It Is: We Dare Defend Our Rights
It Should Be: At Least We’re Not Mississippi

Colorado
It Is: Nothing Without Providence
It Should Be: Too Wimpy to Cross the Mountains So We Stopped Here

Illinois
It Is: State Sovereignty, National Union
It Should Be: Please Don’t Pronounce the "S"

Kentucky
It Is: United We stand, Divided We Fall
It Should Be: Five Million People; Fifteen Last Names

Maine
It Is: I Direct
It Should Be: We’re Really Cold, But We Have Cheap Lobster

Mississippi
It Is: By Valor and Arms
It Should Be: Come and Feel Better About Your Own State

South Dakota
It Is: Under God the People Rule
It Should Be: Closer Than North Dakota