I'm used to having my mail ripped open at the edges. It's Chicago, and in some ways... it's the price you pay for living here.

Over the holiday season (or with birthday cards), oftentimes you'll see a little rip in the corner. It's typically something small where someone could stick a finger in and open up the card within the envelope... and to see if there's any money inside.

Usually when I see something done to my envelopes I shrug, I think "What can you do?" and move on. I get a little angry, but that's about it. On average, I'd say I see a ripped envelope maybe once every three or four weeks.

This was in my mailbox yesterday.

It's not a huge deal, as the letter was a bill from Blue Cross, Blue Shield. Thankfully it wasn't a bank or credit card statement. But still - regardless of the contents, I think I have a right to expect my mail will arrive clean and untampered with. Seeing this blatant rip (more blatant than usual, I guess) got me pretty upset.

What makes it worse is that, most times, my visits to the post office have been highly unpleasant. They typically involve encounters with rude or bored employees, who have little to no patience/empathy for the folks on the other side of the counter.

Don't get me wrong - I've had a few great experiences. But on the whole, I'd say those good moments were rarities. Most folks I know HATE going to the post office.

My guess is companies like UPS and FedEx started because they staffed folks who weren't gigantic jerks. Or maybe those companies took off because they didn't root through everyone's mail.

Wow, I'm finding myself getting more worked up writing this, than I was last night seeing that letter. I ended up calling the USPS and lodging a formal complaint. They took my info down, and at best... I'll just keep calling everytime I see a letter that's ripped.

Due to how many stops a letter makes, and all the waystations and different people in between... I'm sure it's pretty difficult to pin the blame on, or catch, an individual. Still though - I'd love to hear how they go about dealing with this sort of thing, or if there's just some large list somewhere that just keeps getting added to.

My grandma, whenever she sends a birthday or Christmas card, literally covers the back flap with stickers to prevent folks from peeking inside. At first I used to laugh when I received her letters, but now... it's not so crazy a notion.

And sometimes, even those extra stickers don't prevent someone from just ripping them off.

After seeing this post, I was reminded that today marks a full seven years that I've been running and updating this blog.

Good lord, that's a long time. I would have done something a little more, had I remembered.

Now seems like a pretty good time to mention the Ten Best Days section, if you haven't seen it. The section lists my favorite ten days of each year, and includes some of my favorite people/events that have made their way onto this blog.

Happy Birthday, blog! Seven years is a long time, particularly when you're talking about the Internet.

On the train yesterday morning, the woman sitting in front of me was reading a book using an Amazon Kindle.

I was peeking over her shoulder a bit, and finally decided to be rude and interrupt her reading. I apologized for the interruption, and proceeded to pepper her with a bunch of questions. Based on her demeanor, it seemed like this sort of thing happens to her all the time.

How do you like reading books on the Kindle: I absolutely love it.

How much did the Kindle cost: Around $350.

Did you buy it yourself, or was it a gift: It was a gift.

Looking back, would you buy one yourself: Definitely.

What are you reading: Weapons of Choice (Science Fiction).

I wanted to ask more, but felt like I already had disturbed the woman enough... and thanked her for her time. One of the biggest questions that I should have asked (but didn't think to until it was too late) was whether or not she missed the sensation of books.

Did she miss the feel of the spine, the texture of the pages? Did she miss the actual satisfaction of turning a page? Or was that replaced by a different satisfaction in the clicking of the button, and the visual "flip" of the page?

While this entry isn't an actual ad, I'm sorta breaking my own rules here by using an Amazon link for an item I don't own. Still though, it seemed like an apprporpiate time to link to the Kindle, in the off chance that someone reading this decides to have a $350 impulse purchase.

I really love reading, and find myself going through phases: some droughts, and sometimes I've got more books than I know what to do with. I like the physical accrual of books, and I like the fact that I have bookshelves.

I like music too, and I can't tell you the last time I handled a CD. I digitized my collection ages ago, and it felt like a right, a natural thing to do. My enjoyment of music hasn't lessened, and the transition from CD to MP3 seemed organic. Who cares what the physical format is, so long as the thing itself is the same?

I'm definitely intrigued by the Kindle, but for now I'm someone who's looking in from a distance. I would love to try one out, but $350 is a pretty big leap of faith. I can see loving how light and sleek the thing is... but I can also see missing the heft and weight of a real book. Tough call.

Whew! Liz and I have been in California since Friday, and we just got back into town last night. Our friends Kevin and Molly got married, and I've got tons of photos from the weekend.

I've had limited access to the web since we left, and it's been ages since I've left the blog unattended for so many days. I'll get back into updating from the trip soon. For now, I've just been catching up on sleep as yesterday was a full travel day, just to get back to Chicago.

Why is travelling (ie sitting in a chair) so tiring? I didn't really do anything, except sit.

Anyhow - more updates later on in the week. I hate sounding like every other blogger out there, but I'm still feeling too much like a zombie to get much of anything done this AM.

Back in Chicago, and trying to get back into the swing of things. I've got Inboxes and RSS feeds with numbers that look like odometers. Thankfully... it's a short week.

Like everyone else, we were caught by surprise when hearing about Michael Jackson's death.

Today, Derry brought in a bunch of DVDs of MJ - tons and tons of videos. He set up things in the kitchen flatscreen, looping a lot of Jackson's videos throughout the day.

At first, I figured it would be a silly thing, something that would cause people to stop and laugh, looking back at things like Captain EO.

But as it turns out, people paused from the hustle and bustle of their day. And small groups of two or three would linger a little while, trading stories and memories. It was quite nice, actually, and seemed a nice memorial to the man.

In Thriller, I had forgotten than Jackson ended up appearing as both a werewolf and a zombie. It took a lot of discussion with folks (and re-watching the video) to figure out exactly how all that worked itself out.

In particular, it was interesting to find out how many other people were (like me) genuinely scared of the zombies. Watching this on TV, we all remarked how well the makeup held up, over the years.

There were several moments where someone would say "Oh THAT guy, he was so scary" or "That zombie really creeped me out as a kid." It was interesting to see how influential this one video was. And how familiar some of the dance moves looked, even after all these years.

I was also reminded of a fantastic project called The White Glove Tracking Project - an open source project that offers up data from Jackson's famous performance of "Billie Jean."

One of my favorite videos from that project is here.

Hard to believe but I posted about Zubbles over four years ago, way back in 2005. Imagine my delight and surprise when I saw an email come in this morning - announcing that their bubbles were officially available for pre-order!

I'm happy to say that within 10 minutes of getting the email, I ordered me up some. Bubbles with color! How cool is that? Seriously!

Deep down, I'm a five year old. Totally excited, and can't wait to get these in the mail. I've been waiting for this stuff since 2005, after all.

But then again the creator, Tim Kehoe, has been waiting far longer than me.

Fighting the impulse to go check the mail, to see if it's arrived yet...

Check out zubbles.com for more info (and to order your own).

My ass had a very important meeting with the couch this past weekend. I'm happy to report that meeting went very well.

This is Baxter, hanging out under the table. Me? I'm taking a nap working out camera angles for that screenplay I'm writing, in my head.

One of the problems with having a camera around at all times is that sometimes, it gets turned on you.

See also:
Wherein I am Photographed, Unawares
Wherein I am Videotaped, Unawares

Yesterday, Liz and I went out for a lunch near the fountain by the Art Institute. We were able to sit in the same area where I proposed marriage, which is always nice.

I like these lunches, as I always tend to follow the same pattern. I get nervous and worried about time, when we first set off. I normally eat lunch at my desk, and taking an actual full lunch feels a little odd to me.

But when we arrive at the fountain and we settle in, I forget about the workday and all its demands. I relax a bit, and the trees and the water take over.

I've said it before: this is a great little spot, and I'm always surprised there aren't more people here during lunch hours. Come by and have a sandwich, read a book, or just people watch for a bit.

Between you and me, I figured we were already done figuring out all the stuff we can do with vegetable oil. But apparently, we're not.

Spotted this on the walk to work yesterday, and it gave me a chuckle. It seemed like such a strange tagline to promote. I imagine it would be akin to a propane company sporting a tagline of "New Ways to Burn Stuff with Fire." Just seemed odd.

To their defense, I had no idea vegetable oils were used in things like cosmetics or inks or soaps. So I guess I learned a little something, thanks to their truck.

But then checking out the Columbus Foods website... the "new" in "new discoveries" feels like they're pushing it. Copyright in the footer is from 2000. Yeouch.