Bored bored bored..........bacon!

At about 10:30 I was sitting in the recliner, very comfortable, almost dozing off, having silly half-dreams which were absurd but I can't remember them. And debating in my mind whether to go down the block to the strip joint, or to Denny's for bacon.

Decided on Denny's. Walked outside, it was a mild warm night, so I walked the two blocks to the other side of the complex to get the mail. Usually I only check on Tues-Thurs-Sat, but there were things I was expecting. In the mailbox was a cardboard box exactly as wide as the mailbox, marked fragile, but the USPS had crunched it significantly. Since they have the bank of doors open when they put the mail inside, the geniuses who deliver the mail never consider whether the customer can remove it with the door frame in the way. I had to damage the box a little to get it out.

Under the box was a thick envelope from the DMV, which I have been waiting for since July 8. Actually, I was waiting for a phone call to pick up my replacement plates, but at this point anything from the DMV was good.

It was my form and my check returned to me because I had forgotten to sign the form. And a note that if I signed and returned the form, I would be issued mundane plates. They won't issue the same plate if both your plates go missing. Also attached was a different form, the one which is for ordering personalized plates, with the bits highlighted which I needed to fill out. This form is the one for ordering personalized plates, with spaces for your first 3 choices of a different set of characters. I punted and asked for HOW3IRD. I hope I get that because the next two replace the O with a Q and I think I read somewhere they won't do that, or replace a letter "eye" with a number one. I would have to get a kids' plate to replace the O with a heart, but I'm not really a fan of the recipients of those dollars. And I want the whale fluke design, which goes towards coastal cleanup.

The inspiration for the 3 predates texting, it is from a Tom Lehrer bit - the introduction to We Will All Go Together When We Go:
I am reminded at this point of a fellow I used to know who's name was Henry, only to give you an idea of what an individualist he was he spelled it Hen3ry. The 3 was silent, you see. Hen3ry was financially independent, having inherited his father's tar-and-feather business and was therefore able to devote his full time to such intellectual pursuits as writing. I particularly remember a heart-warming novel of his about a young necrophiliac who finally achieved his boyhood ambition by becoming coroner.

It is also my Flickr and Yahoo handle. And maybe Skype too. Which reminds me I need to get a camera for this PC and install Skype again. I had a lovely Logitech Orbitz but it was obsoleted before Windows 7.

Inside the FRAGILE box was something not at all fragile, a holder for my Kindle Paperwhite which does not have magnets, so the reader will stay off after it is turned off. The idjits at Amazon Labs somehow thought it was a good idea to build a magnetic sensor into the Paperwhite which put the unit in standby mode forever when the magnet was near, and fired up the unit when the magnet was removed. This meant that a unit which was somewhere vibratory, like a moving car, would switch on to standby if the cover was closed, thus eating battery needlessly. Battery life went from weeks down to hours after I installed a cover with this feature.

Those two mysteries solved, I went to Denny's and fed my bacon craving, along with my sausage link, over-easy eggs and buttermilk pancake craving. There was some eye candy there, but only visible when they got up to pay their bills.

Home, logged onto the DMV site, filled out the form, printed it out, signed it, cut a check for $98, printed an envelope. Then printed an envelope to the printer which had the envelope loaded, then printed an envelope with the flap in the right direction and a lot less ink streaking. Put the check and the form and a copy of the police report number into the envelope, sealed it and stamped it with a Disney The Cars stamp

and put it on the table next to my sister's August birthday card (third one in the series until she turns 60).

It is now 2:25 am, which totally messes up my insulin schedule. And any plans to drive to Gilroy in the morning. Turns out there are no trains, and the bus will get stuck in the same traffic as the car would.

I will sleep in, read, maybe see a movie or two. Hope to catch dprisoner's birthday wind-up at Denny's. Just need to monitor FB to find out which one.