Random

• AAC (autoclaved aerated concrete) a masonry material that can withstand a 2,000° fire for four hours, deadens sound, is energy efficient, is impervious to termites, is bulletproof and waterproof, is resistant to seismic activity, generates no waste in its creation, and is used throughout the world but for some reason is unacceptable in California. ~ link

• Former Mormon missionaries are finding a new mission in door-to-door sales. Apparently they're pretty good at it. ~ link

• A rare wild whooping crane has been sentence to life in the zoo after he became too dependent on humans for food. ~ link

• Last August we couldn't find a mixed berry pie on Guam for Cheryl's birthday (our tradition). Each week we kept looking at the grocery store. However, today we found what we needed at Marie Callender's -- so finally her birthday is complete. It was worth the wait.

• I managed to find my old Safeway Club card so could get the Breyers ice cream to go with the pie (2 for $5 w/ the magic card). Ah yes, it's all coming back to me. I'm starting to remember how the game is played. Reverse culture shock.

• Facebook finally figured out that users shouldn't just be numbers in their system. I'm now www.facebook.com/BradBoydston. Surprise. (Does anyone remember CompuServe -- which throughout the 80's insisted that everyone really wanted an email number rather than an email address with letters and words?)

• I'm getting a "Blogger is unavailable right now. We apologize for this interruption in service" message -- something which I haven't seen much lately. Since we're being nostalgic about the good old days on the internet, does anyone remember when those Blogger error messages were nearly a daily occurrence? I can't complain about an occasional hiccup in the current system. I've been around too long. Forget the good old days!