Technology

This was the quote of the day in today's New York Times:

"If anything characterizes the 21st century, it's our inability to restrain ourselves for the benefit of other people. The cellphone talker thinks his rights go above that of people around him, and the jammer thinks his are the more important rights."
- JAMES KATZ, director of the Center for Mobile Communication Studies at
Rutgers University.

Here's my question-- would someone invent a device to jam the noise of yapping kids?

***

I think it's funny, cute, when Gracie chases her own tail, or runs in circles after a laser point. Last night, I chased my own tail.

I was expecting a few phone calls because we hadn't quite coordinated who was meeting whom where at what time for girls' night, but I still had a little bit of time so I decided to call AT&T and once again request that they not text message me at odd hours. I only use my home phone for 1-800 numbers, and I don't call those often, so I thought the last number I had called must have been AT&T's. So I hit redial on my home phone, and all of the sudden my cell rings. I get flustered, panic, run to my cell phone. By the time I get there, I've missed the call. I go back to my home phone and hit redial again. Once again, my cell rings. I think, okay, it must be Beth, calling to say whether we're meeting at my house or at Bilbo Baggins. I get to my cell only to see another missed call. This time I check the number. I don't immediately recognize the number, I have to think about it. I think about it and realize, that's my home phone number. I had called myself earlier in the week because I couldn't find my cell phone. So I'd just spent a few minutes calling my cell phone from my home phone, and getting frustrated when the call I was placing was interrupted by the ringing of my cell phone. I guess I can take comfort in having caught myself after only two iterations; Gracie chases her tail for much longer.