As usual, I was up early and fed the felines. Then I went back to bed. If I did anything of consequence, the memories have faded

The restaurant was very crowded today; unusual for a Saturday. In fact, everywhere I went was crowded.

I was reading an older issue of "PC Today,: which had a series of fascinating articles on the technology of how touch screens work, including the iPhone; a history and promise of the 1G to 4G cellular networks, (by the way, the first cellular phone was the DynaTAC, which provided 30 minutes of talk time per charge and cost $3,995); a story on WiMAX, which is a line-of-sight provider of web service at theoretical speeds of 70 Mbps, but standards have yet to be established; Ultra Mobile Broadband, a cellular network that offers high speeds but is still undergoing trials; and Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) which has the potential to offer speeds in excess of 100 Mbps, delayed because of another squabble over standards.

My next bump in the road was Best Buy to see if they had the latest version of the Zone Alarm Security package. What was on the shelves was Zone Alarm 2007; however, there were copies of Norton 2008, which make me think ZA 2007 might not be the latest.

You would think the staff of BB would be informed, but they are not. Possibly the Geek Squad geeks are more knowledgable. BUT as the following article indicates the Geek Squad may rival the current administration at generating lies. "Woman sues Best Buy for $54M in alleged lost-laptop coverup". A very scary scenario of sheer incompetence at Best Buy.

No Zone Alarm. No book cases. But they did have sweat pants at $7 each. Croissants, no problem.

A dart into Lowe's for another supply of textured spray paint for the front stoop, steps and nearby gray brick wall. I bought every can they had.

I did another sweep of the front yard for debris when I got home. But the chemical levels in my brain went sloshing out of their wee cells. In five minutes, I was in an absolute, murderous fury about a series of past mistreatments.

I have had episodes like this frequently, and I'm convinced it's a manifestation of something akin to Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome. I mentioned something like this several years ago and received a response that therapy teaches that depression is anger turned inward. But sometimes, that anger explodes outward.

I gathered drop cloths, roller, pan, and paint and proceeded to paint the living room wall. I was surprised to discover that an eggshell sheen is created from a special paint. I may have noticed this yesterday but really did not pay it attention. The paint seems much thicker than flat sheen paint. So I wonder if the thickness increases as the sheen becomes higher.

Also appears to be slower to dry. At present it looks slightly splotchy, so it definitely will require a second coat. I have a booklet on painting that I obviously need to look at. Does the style of painting vary according to the sheen.

I purchased the newest version of Zone Alarm on-line and started the download process. But nothing appeared to happen; the process would start, but it never finished. I tried this several times over a period of several hours.

I Googled for info and discovered that ZA does not want to download or install unless all traces of any previous version have been deleted. And a regular delete will still leave tucked-away files. I did come across a reference to a zipped file that someone had created that was designed to totally eradicate all ZA files. I tried it, and it took all of five minutes. Then re-started the download procedure, and the software was working about 30 minutes later.

It would be neat if the folks at ZA would mention this little problem.

I watched part of encore of last week's "contours provocations journal - 2008-0209-sat - 2115", and I found it even more poignant than before. A shell- shocked soldier is sent back in time to stop a time rift, but once there, he will be sent back into battle, have a relapse and be shot for cowardice. As George Carlin points out the term "shell- shocked" has morphed over the years into "post traumatice stress syndorm." That may be the reason I find it so touching.

This week's show centered on a hugh whale-like sentient being that had come through a rift and was being slaughtered for meat. In the end, Owen has no recourse but euthanasia. Usually, when an alien appears, it's the people who need protecting; in this case, it was the alien who needed succor. The members of "Torchwood" were devestated. As I watched I felt a deep sense of lose at the death of this strange, extraterrestrial being.

"And thou, all-shaking thunder,
Smite flat the thick rotundity o' th' world,
Crack nature's molds, all germens spill at once
That make ingrateful man!"

"King Lear" - "Act III" - "Scene II" (William Shakespeare)

(In Saturday - 2008-0216-2230 / Out - 2008-0217-0100) This entry was written in a single setting.

Pax! Erin go braugh! Je accuse...