Doppelgänger in Houston

My credit card company contacted me to ask if I had been making a number of purchases in Houston in the last few days - a bottle of water for $1.50, a microwave for $80, a bunch of groceries at a store named El Mercado etc. Well, I hadn't. I've been too busy lately to drive to Houston for groceries and water.

They canceled my card and are sending me a replacement. In the meantime I have been notifying several online accounts that automatically charge to my old credit card to change accounts. It's quite a hassle. To thank me for alerting them Virgin Mobile cut off my account and told me I needed to fax them copies of my social security card, ID and proof of residence. I told them they were lacking wisdom.

There sure is a lot of credit card fraud these days. I sure would like to wring the neck of a thirsty someone in Houston that has a penchant for chorizo.

15 years ago today

I know exactly where I was 15 years ago today. I was four miles north of the Murrah Federal Building in Oklahoma City. I was talking with a colleague when an enormous shock wave rocked the building. We looked at each other in surprise. Our eyes were wide. "What was that?! we asked to no one in particular. We were next to the Interstate so my first thought was that a semi-trailer had run into a solid object at full speed. It wasn't long before we found out that it was a terrorist bombing that killed 168 people that terrible moment.

Later, we found out that the miserable being that perpetrated the crime drove right by our windows on his way out of the city to try to escape. I'm glad he was at least caught and brought to justice.

Bagels, blooms and black and white

It's a rainy spring day in Peavine. The azaleas are still in bloom. The cherry and pear trees just finished. The lawn, er weeds, are going strong. I had time to stop by the bagel shop this afternoon for an Everything and some vocabulary review. Too bad they close at 2 pm.

My CanoScan 8800 arrived on Friday so I've spent much of the weekend scanning old slide photos into my digital archive of the past. I've also been scanning old family photos from the 1920s on. Here's a reminder to all - just because you know who is in the photo doesn't mean your descendants will. Write the subjects names and the date on the back of your photos. I have a large collection of family photos of people I don't know.