Randomly speaking...

I've been thinking.

— I have a Mini Cooper. People in SUVs feel that there's at least a good third of my highway lane that I don't need and, consequently, try to claim it. Know what? I do need it. In fact, I need my entire lane. I also need to take a baseball bat to their stupid cars. Conversely, I almost always get some mighty fine good-citizen behavior from the professionals in tractor trailers. Go figure.

— There's a thin line between empowered female sexuality and a desperate need for attention. A good example of the former is Cyan Banister [great name] the founder of Zivity. As for the latter, I don't think I need to list anything—we've all seen that, and if we're honest or on our second martini and oversharing, we've all been there. Discuss.

— Using the phrase "these kids today" has become an inescapable part of my attitude. Also, the word "entitlement" springs to mind a lot.

— I will never attend a bachelorette party. Bank on that one.

— Accents are my dark secret. I fell for Ilya Kuryakin, Sean Connery, Elvis Costello, Al Pacino circa Scarface, and Clive Owen. That's kind of my arc from teenhood to the present.

— Lately I've been working on three different accounts that involve medical devices. One of the projects is about MRIs. The other two involve endoscopic equipment and needle-free valves for medical device applications. I have to focus very hard on the design work at hand. If I don't, I end up feeling a little woozy and nauseous, like I have a case of the butterflies before a blood test. You know it's not going to hurt, but you anticipate the invasion into your space, and by that, I mean body.

— I've never watched an episode of "Lost". Consequently, I feel sort of... lost. (more fun at waxy)

— A two-and-a-half hour drive down one day and back the next, and Balticon 42 in Hunt Valley, Maryland was still worth attending. Of course I went to see Geo  perform, but I met heaps of incredibly cool people. Among them were the inimitable J.C. Hutchins; Tee Morris [finally]; Mur Lafferty; P.G. Holyfield and Paul Fischer. There were many more and this experience deserves [images! links! kudos!] more attention. I was impressed with the enthusiasm and dedication that so many podcast track participants and attendees exhibited, as well as the support they gave their colleagues. On a tiny note, I was surprised so many people recognized me in the hallway. My mother is right [again]: you have to be on your best behavior all the time; you never know who you're going to run into.

— I'm glad I have an active passport.

— If I had to make a living in social media I'd slit my wrists. Or become anti-social. Whichever comes first.

— And while I'm at it, why do so many viable internet services and internet-related conferences have such cocked-up stupid names? Are we teenagers? Plurk, I'm looking at you. [I'm swiping Evo's list for more examples.] I heard the conference name "Enterprise 2.0" and knew immediately it involved the corporate world. Dry name, though it promises to deliver a lot of coolness on its roster. Isn't there anything in between? I'm sure there must be. As I type this, I realized it would make me sad to see the whimsy gone from the net. That said, I think I probably just violated about three different mandates in the Marketing Person's Code of Behavior.

— Groovy sites come and go but I still love good old solid Flickr. However, like Gwen, I detest the missing E. [She also has an aversion to their habit of... well... this.]

— Black-tie events tend to evince the best or worst behavior. Also, you cannot get a good cup of coffee at one of these things. Don't argue with me. You know it's true.

— Three distinct times in one day, I was the target of a particular individual's casual disrespect. It wasn't personal. This modus operandi seems to be across-the-board behavior for this person. I am completely understanding of this fact. Also- do that again and I'm going to cut you, bitch.

— Tony posted the provocative Reality is in the eye of the beholder. From the post: "do we create what we observe through the act of our observations?" A mind scramble served up on a quantum of toast! Discuss.

— Work is like a blanket. Sometimes suffocating. Sometimes comforting.

— I want one clear answer to why so many of us are compelled to write our thoughts online. It bothers me. Why? No-really. Why? Emily Gould, etcetera. I really dig Meg Fowler. She weighs in with this perspective.

— Why is it that my love life looks like Jersey shore wreckage and despite all my swaggering self-protective bravado, I surprise myself with idealism. I told someone today that ultimately, if you and your other are tight, reciprocal, united, you can weather anything. Am I on drugs?

— Maybe the truth is as simple as: it was, then it wasn't. My particular gift is always to then ask why. Sometimes I actually get an answer.

— Loud car stereos are a reality of urban life. Surprisingly, they're not always annoying. Today a young guy in a beatup car was stopped at the light and clearly rocking to Linkin Park's "No More Sorrow" [which is more political statement than sexual politics, by the way]. I wanted to run outside and yell, "I love you, man!"

— Hitchcock's favorite homicide weapon was the icicle. It melts! Kerry and I decided this is genius, of course, but so is the poison dress in Elizabeth.

— I like to hang back and observe the landscape of a new place. I've noticed that at work in our large communal room, people have a pretty cool code of behavior for music in the office. Unspoken, they take turns playing selections from iTunes at their stations. There's a portion of the room that has a few guitars and amps. Occasionally, one of the guys will get up and play guitar for a few minutes and then return to his desk. It's really interesting. I have not put any music yet on iTunes. I feel I'm too new. I do, however, make requests, both consciously and inadvertently. "Joe- every time I see the word Mats in the insertion date email you send me, I think of the Replacements." Next up on the playlist was something from Sorry Ma, Forgot to Take Out the Trash.

— Nobody makes a Bloody Mary like my brother-in-law. Not even close. And yet, I insist on ordering this drink when I go out.

— If you choose to watch the flick Recount while eating dinner, expect to have an antacid on the dessert menu.

— You could say that my work, including both editorial and commercial projects, is about conveying a message in the clearest, most persuasive way. That's true, but, in the broadest sense, my work is about making order out of chaos.

— If the above is true, then why can't I get control of the dust bunnies who sporadically skitter across my living room floor?

— No matter how many style books I read or how many skilled proofreaders I consult, the correct use of the comma eludes me. My confusion doesn't end with comma use. There's also the eternal question of punctuation: inside the quotes or outside? I'm sure there's a punctuation error somewhere in this sentence. Feel free to mark up this entire entry and PDF me.

— It's good to remember: do not measure yourself by someone's response. Or lack, thereof.