Having received an email from my son notifying me of the Windows Phone Challenge at Microsoft stores, I drove the 13 miles to Scottsdale Fashion Square Mall where I often go with my daughter, a high school senior, for a burger at 5 Guys.

At the Microsoft Store I told one of the Microsoft shop assistants that I wanted to try the Windows Phone Challenge and I was directed to a short line. There were only two people in front of me.

When my turn came I was asked what phone I had (it had to bear some semblance to a smart phone), and  I said ”a Sony Ericsson.”

My challenger, an attractive, young, blonde woman, leveled her gaze at me and said, ”Okay, what you’ll have to do is find the weather for two cities starting from a locked phone.”

I locked my phone knowing that all I really wanted was an upgrade to my circa 2005 smartphone.

When she said ”go,” I fiddled with the two buttons that would unlock the phone and while I was still fumbling I heard her shout ”got it.”

I was truly smoked. She showed me the features of the Windows phone, and they were impressive. I was ready to move on but she continued to explain the Windows Phone features for another couple of minutes and then had me pose for a photo with an ”I got smoked by a Windows Phone,  photo.  She then said I could take my pick of five phones if I wished and trade in my old one for a free upgrade.

So, for 5 minutes of effort I received a free upgrade from a 7 year old phone to an HTC Titan that boasted 16 gb of memory, an 8 gb camera, a 1.3 gb front camera, and a 4.7 inch screen.  Not bad for a short stand in line.  I will have to unlock it though.

The windows challenge continues at a Microsoft store near you until April 5th.

If you own a Kindle reader, don’t neglect to check for free books in the Kindle best-sellers category. Periodic browsing will reveal the 100 most popular current including a large number of freebies.

Right now you can find ”Still Life with Murder,” by P.B. Ryan; ”Freaks,” by Tess Gerritsen;  ”The Art of the Commonplace — Agrarian Essays of Wendell Berry”; ”The Bible: ESV,” and of course, the attention drawing collection of travel anecdotes, ”A Stingray Bit My Nipple,” by Erik Torkells.

One morning in May, an insurance salesman on his way to work on Wall Street was standing near the open doors of a New York subway car that had stopped at a station, when a short, well-dressed man entered the car, bumped into him, then abruptly left again. The insurance salesman instinctively felt for his wallet and, finding it missing, reached out and grabbed the short man by his jacket collar.

The subway doors closed with their rubber edges around the salesman’s wrists, but he held on even after the car started moving, and managed to drag the other man several feet along the station platform before the ma- terial of the man’s jacket tore, leaving him holding a few inches of tweed in his hands.

Ten minutes after the insurance salesman reached his office, still fuming at the incident, his wife called to tell him that he had left his wallet at home. New York Times (M. Nichols)

True but Odd from the National Lampoon – 1972

From the Oath Ceremony in Phoenix

I first applied for permanent residency in 2003 through my employer and became a permanent resident in 2005 along with my immediate family members.  In January I applied for citizenship and today I was sworn in with 98 others from around the world at an oath ceremony in Phoenix.  It was a moving ceremony in many respects with elements of solemnity, exhortation, and celebration.  Several new Americans spoke including an Iraqi Priest who expressed thanks for religious freedom, a Mexican woman who found speaking at all a challenge because of her strong emotions relating to her joy at being granted US citizenship, and a Romanian woman who expressed profound gratitude in simple words and strong emotions.  As for me, I’m very glad to have been granted full rights of participation in American society and I look forward to making a positive contribution in whatever way or ways that I am able.

My family moved to the Phoenix, Arizona area in July of 1997.  Since then we have become permanent residents with the help of Banner Health, my employer since 2000.  My eldest son, and my wife recently became US citizens and this Friday, June 4th I’ll be appearing at the Phoenix USCIS center for my oath ceremony.

So why did I decide to apply for US citizenship?  I think the decisive factor for me was the fact that having been raised in the USA, most, if not all of children will be making their permanent homes here.  Should I one day return to live in Canada, I’d like to know that I could come back to the USA and both work and live here for as long as I wished.

Here is a piece by Finnish Poet Risto Rasa

For more of his work visit his Finnish Poets page

You may also find contemporary Finnish poetry with translations into multiple languages at Electric Verses

Koira tulee illalla kotiin. Kun se kiertyy paikalleen ja nukahtaa, alkaa sen sydänlämpö levitä huoneisiin - Risto Rasa -

In the evening, the dog comes Home. When he curls up in his spot And falls asleep, His heart’s-warmth starts spreading Into the rooms. - Risto Rasa -

Today marks the 200th birthday of Charles Darwin.  There is even a website devoted to the 200th anniversary marking the birth of this distinguished naturalist: Darwin Day.org

Fox News mentions Gallup and Pew polls which show that fewer than 4 in 10 Americans believe that evolution is factual (Fox News article). The Gallup poll found a significant link between understanding of evolution and education, ”Just 21 percent of respondents who had up to a high school level of education believe in evolution, compared with 74 percent of those with postgraduate degrees.” It is a little surprisingly that only 74% of those holding post grad degrees accept evolution as fact. ”Among weekly churchgoers, only 24 percent said they believe in evolution, while 41 percent do not and 35 percent have no opinion.” Fox News also offers several links to evolutionary articles and hosts it’s own online center.

Missing Links

Fox News Evolutionary and Paleontology Center

Celebrations today in Britain include exhibitions of artifacts, tours, and, at the Bristol Zoo if you visit wearing a real or fake beard (certainly non sexist), you get in for free (Bristol Zoo). Quoted from an article on the Bristol Zoo site, ”Simon Garrett, Head of Learning at Bristol Zoo Gardens, said: “Darwin is now a household name and, over the last 150 years, his ideas have revolutionised our understanding of nature and our place within it. Bristol Zoo’s ‘beard day’ is a fun way of commemorating Darwin’s life and work while allowing visitors to find out more about his theories.” ” ”Among the biggest celebrations is at the Natural History Museum in London which is putting on films, talks and pea soup, cooked to the recipe of Darwin’s wife, Emma.” And, at 5:45 pm today there will be a wreath-laying ceremony at Darwin’s grave in Westminster Abbey.

I came across this enews snippet announcing a new medieval manuscripts network.

”Researchers create vast virtual library of medieval manuscripts”

”Somewhere between 5,000 and 10,000 rare and precious medieval manuscripts have been scanned over the past decade into formats that could be studied over the Internet.”

Definitely interesting for even casual readers.  Perusing the English manuscripts for example I came across 15th century recipes for wild game as well as cures and treatments for the plague.  In times like these one can never be sure when she might need both!

The network is the creation of researchers at UCLA!

Gail Renard was 16 when she heard that John Lennon was going to be staying over in Montreal.  She crashed his party with a friend via a fire escape at Montreal’s Queen Elizabeth Hotel.  Ringing the doorbell during a change of security, Yoko answered the door and let her in for an interview.

Gail stayed for the week of the famous bed in and the recording of ”Give Peace a Chance.” Lennon is recalled as speaking with Gail’s mother on the telephone and gaining her approval; every night Gail went to her own home and bed to sleep.  During the day she acted as Lennon’s liaison to the press, played with Kyoko Lennon in the nearby park, made arrangements for tambourines for the recording session, and hobnobbed with the celebs including Tommy Smothers, Timothy Leary, and Allan Ginsberg.

She felt secure in her surroundings and recalls how when an amorous member of the press attempted to kiss her, John intervened and chased him off.  Among the several mementos that he gave her was the song board to Give Peace a Chance which was recently, almost 40 years later, auctioned off at Christies for almost $850,000.  He’d told her, ”hang on to it, it will be worth something one day.”  They had originally guessed that the piece would fetch between 200 and 300,00 pounds.  Renard, an award winning radio and TV writer, commented, saying, ”It’s all monopoly money to me.”

Read an interview with Gail Renard here.Â