It's about damn time!

Andy Dehnart, in reality blurred/the reality TV weblog, that the next season of MTV's venerable pseudo-reality show The Real World may be set in Austin.

The Jetty

Bill Chance's Daily Epiphany is a reliable pleasure. Here he covers familiar ground: I spent a lot of time on the south jetty when I was a kid.

My mom has read extensively about the 1900 storm, which her dad lived through, but I'm sure she hasn't read Isaac's Storm. I'll have to get it for her for Christmas.

Fellowship of the Ring: Customized Cell Tones

From washingtonpost.com:

In a short time, in a public way -- while on Metro, or in line at Starbucks, or inside a movie theater -- ring tones signal who you are. Or who you want people to think you are. It's a special stamp, a personal touch. Are you a Maroon 5 kind of guy? Are you a Shakira kind of gal?

I'm puzzled by this. I'd be hard pressed to think of any piece of music I'd care to hear every time my phone rings. I try to stick to simple tones that sound more or less like a ringing telephone. Unfortunately, I don't really like any of the tones available for my current phone. Doesn't anyone else just want the damned thing to ring? The fanciest I'd want to get is the tone the hotline makes in "Our Man Flint." Now there's a cool ringtone.

Residents of historic district on alert after robberies

The Arizona Republic reports:

Two recent armed robberies in one of central Phoenix's oldest neighborhoods have put its residents on alert.

Willo Historic District residents are being told to walk in groups at night and to be more aware of their surroundings in the aftermath of two muggings that targeted three residents.

Holy crap. I lived in that neighborhood until 5 months ago. I know two of the people quoted in the story.

The house we used to own there is on the market again. Some improvements have been made, notably with the flooring, but essentially the house is pretty much the same as it was when we owned it. Ron and I installed the kitchen/dining area light fixture ourselves, and it was that experience which led me to install the sconces in the hall in our current house by myself.