iPhone Day

I have been somewhat undecided about buying an iPhone. Although I have been following its progress closely since it was announced earlier this year, I was hesitant to commit to the purchase since it used EDGE instead of 3G when not using a friendly WiFi connection. However, recent reports that AT&T improved their EDGE speeds was all the help I needed to push me into the line. So, head to the line is exactly what I did after work.

I arrived at the store shortly after 4:00 PM. There were perhaps 30 to 40 people in line in front of me. From what I had read online, it was rumored that the AT&T stores would receive around 100 iPhones. Also, each person would only be allowed to purchase 1 phone. Based on this information I felt good about my chances. There were a couple of rather scantily clad, attractive young women in line near me (one is seen in the yellow shirt above). This worked to my advantage as an AT&T guy from the store decided to speak with them frequently and leak information. He confirmed that there were, in fact, 100 phones available. It was brutally hot in the sun. I was lucky enough to have a shady tree to sit under, but most were not so fortunate. I was annoyed with the store because after the line exceeded 100 people, they didn't bother to let the folks at the end of the line know that they had essentially no chance of getting a phone that day. My annoyance didn't dissuade me from buying a phone from them, however. I am now the happy owner of an 8GB iPhone. It slices, it dices, it keeps me connected to the 'Net everywhere I go. It's all that I hoped it would be.

UPDATE: I verified that EDGE is a bit slow, but it is perfectly useable. I've generally found that the speeds in the Atlanta area hover around 160 kbps.

The Answer Is At Callaway Gardens

My friend's Towel Day post makes mention of the fact Hitchhiker's Guide may not be "quite as fictitious as once thought." I was reminded of this today. I decided to take my parents to Callaway Gardens as neither of them had ever been and they rarely get to go out and do fun things. While I was checking out the web site to get the directions, I noticed that you take exit 42 to get there (I tend to notice that number thanks to Hitchhiker's Guide). Then, when I pulled up to the gate to pay for entry, the fee was $42. While at the gift store, I noticed some of those hanging bead curtains (Grant and I are considering getting beads to put in our office doorway). The ones in the gift shop were $42. Finally, after leaving the gardens, I stopped at the gas station so I could fill up my parent's car with gas. It cost exactly $42.74 (42 and the year of my birth). Maybe it's just because I look for signs in the everyday business of the mundane, but I couldn't ignore that obviously I was being presented with the answer. The problem is that I don't know what the question is.

Here's a picture of Mom and Dad sitting outside of the butterfly house.

This butterfly decided to take a ride on my hat. I don't blame it; it's a nice hat.

Braves Game Day

Our team from work went on its annual Braves game adventure today. As per tradition, Grant and I posed for our drunken mugshot. I'm not exactly sure how this became a tradition, but it's one I'm willing to go along with. I don't think we won, but I don't really go to watch the game.