Day after tomorrow I (finally) start computer billing for the instrument rentals. Hand-written invoices don't scale. Been working on it a long time now. So much for information technology making life easier. I can do a lot more rentals without getting writer's cramp on the first of every month. Instead I'll probably end up with carpal tunnel again.

Kerry came off real good at the convention. Now the dogfight begins. We already know that George W. is a dogfighter. All he has to do is pull off a 3-4 point boost within a month of the election and then sail right through before it has a chance to slide away.

Sometimes you just haveta' wonder. I could've asked I suppose. But it's more fun letting your imagination run wild. The FedEx guy pulls up, like he normally does. But he's driving a Budget rental truck. It's obvious his normal truck broke down and they were in a pinch. But just maybe it's a cross-promotional advertising deal. Or maybe FedEx is in such financial straights they can't afford to buy trucks anymore. Or the dude quit his job and is now running his own private delivery firm.

A few wires every day or two and the studio slowly comes back to life. You may not remember but it took me a couple of years to get it all wired up the first time. This time I've got to move all the wires throughout the house. And everything is different. The world is different.

Happy Birthday Isabella!

Finally got rid of my new coffee maker after only a month. Boy am I glad to see it go. How could you go wrong with Mr. Coffee? I'll tell you. It's the perfect example of 'designed by committee'. First there's a hole in the water tank. The reservoir is designed to flood your countertop if you dare fill the pot all the way to the top. Folks, isn't this how you make coffee? Do you look at the line? No, you haven't had your first cup yet. You just fill the pot and dump it in. Oh, and the reservoir is very narrow. You can't just tip the pot up. You have to dribble it slowly, or else you get water all over the countertop. What do these 'coffee maker designers' have against my countertop? Now you put some coffee in the filter basket. Oh, and you have to make sure the filter tray is sitting precisely where it's supposed to be, and there's no obvious 'click' or anything to let you know where that is. You just kinda' haveta' eyeball it. Before your first cup. Else the filter basket overflows and you mess up everything on your countertop. Fine. Now just set the pot in place. Oh and make sure the handle is in between the two arrows. There's no click or anything. Before your first cup. Else the filter basket overflows and it messes up everything on your countertop. But that's not good enough. They didn't size the spring very well that activates the valve so you can pour while you're brewing. You also have to remember to wedge the can of coffee against the handle and push it in a little bit. Before your first cup. Else the valve that lets you sneak a cup doesn't quite open. And then the basket overflows and it messes up everything on your countertop. And then to add insult to injury, the thing beeps at you. It beeps when you turn it on, it beeps when the water empties (all over your countertop), it beeps two hours later when it shuts off. If you look back a year or three I think I ranted already about designers who make things go beep when they are working correctly. No, no, no... you're only supposed to make noises if something's wrong. Sigh. But it's gone. Replaced with a $14.95 Black & Decker. Poured a (full) pot of water in quickly, dumped some coffee in and turned it on. No mess. Somebody at the Mr. Coffee factory better wake up and smell the uhm coffee.

It seems like it has taken forever. It has. Last night I finally got real live builtin power in my 'new' home studio that I started building oh about a year ago. I've had power in it before this, but it was just an extension cord from somewhere else. Now I can actually start plugging things in.

Meanwhile, the DSL installers are coming tomorrow to upgrade the data line at the store. Wouldn't you know it... this morning when I turned on the monitor it made a little popping sound. Thought nothing of it while I was busy entering the day's business receipts. But something wasn't quite right. Something in my nose. It smells like uhm, burning electrical components. I know that smell. I look up. Guess I had been oblivious to the clouds of grey-white smoke billowing out the top of the computer monitor. Sigh. Have to get a new one in sometime tomorrow between 9AM when I arrive at work and 8AM when the DSL installers are supposed to arrive. The scheduler let me in on a little secret. My installation 'window' is 8AM until noon. I told him I wouldn't be there before nine. He said not to worry, the installers wouldn't get there before nine either. No way in heck. They're lucky to be working on their first cup before nine-thirty. Next time you are given an installation window, take heed.

Patience pays off. Sonica-music.com came up for grabs. That's a no-brainer - I grabbed. There's one more I'm waiting for; but I might just have to wait.