~Friday~ This morning a blind rider got on the bus at one stop. I’ve mentioned this guy before, although it’s been quite a while. The last time I mentioned him was when he didn’t take his fare ticket out of the machine after paying, and the bus driver held it out, waving it up and down in the air toward him to get his attention, “Sir? Sir? Sir?” followed by a rolling of the eyes and throwing the stub in the trash can.
She couldn’t see his folded up white cane with the red tip, he couldn’t see her hand waving, and I surmised he couldn’t hear her due to the noise of the bus.
This morning he got on followed by a guy who had been waiting for the bus with him. He put his dollar in the slot that he felt for with his fingers, and then turned to take his seat as his ticket popped up out of the machine.
The bus driver said, “Sir? Sir? Sir?” and the man behind him putting his own fare in now said, “He can’t hear.”
At one of the bigger intersections, the light turned yellow and the bus driver gunned it to get through it. I would really prefer that someone taking peoples’ lives in their hands, and more specifically my life, would interpret the yellow traffic light as “prepare to stop” as opposed to “get through before it turns red.” I’m just saying…
I saw this quite a while ago, but had forgotten about it. Thanks to the exponential “advancement” in technology, it has only become more plausible since I last saw it: Ordering pizza in 2010.
I tried to take two lessons today in creating an animated GIF, and didn’t have a good experience with either one.
At the end of the work day, I got to try something a little creative to possibly include in a website I’m going to be creating to communicate the upcoming (still in contract negotiations) conversion of student mail from NCSU own service to Google Apps for Education.
At lunch time, I walked across the street to the NC State library to turn in my Kindle. I wasn’t going to try and check out another one, as I had already requested a copy of The Audacity of Hope (in LARGE PRINT), and I’ve been notified that it’s available now), but when I was there, I asked the librarian if there happened to be a newer model of the Kindle with The Audacity of Hope on it available, to which she answered practically before I finished my question, “Yes, I’m pretty sure we have a ‘2’ in.”
Since she did, I went ahead and checked it out, only to find out later that it was indeed a Kindle 2, but it did not have The Audacity of Hope on it. I think she zoned out during my request as soon as she heard the Kindle 2, and totally missed “The Audacity of Hope” part.
Oh well. I found A Wrinkle in Time on it, which I thought might be interesting to re-read, since ironically, I just read a reference to that book in something I was reading recently and I thought, “Oh my goodness. I read that as a kid!”
I did start reading it, and though I didn’t spend a lot of time on it, overall I did not like the changes made to this version of the Kindle. I did like the changes on the Next and Previous buttons—they’re much shorter, so it’s easier to hold the book.
However, they completely changed the scrolling and selection button, and the new one totally doesn’t work for me. Like the new On/Off switch, it practically requires the use of a fingernail to use, and I keep my fingernails very, very short, at times with my teeth. Aside: I hardly bite my nails any more, but still do on and off. I never did bite them down to the quick or anything, but I keep them short so as not to be tempted to bite them, and a device that practically requires me to use them to operate really doesn’t work for me.
As much as I like the Kindle, I won’t be buying one until: 1) the price comes way down, and 2) they come up with a user interface that works for me. So, I guess I’m ambivalent about it yet, not unlike this article: 10 Reasons to buy a Kindle… and 10 reasons not to.
Robert got us tickets for Drag Bingo tonight, and we had an absolute hoot of a time! Leslie Jordan was a guest emcee, along with the beautiful John Paul Womble and the inimitable Mary K. Mart. The BVDs (Bingo-verifying Divas) were fabulous.
We met Bill, Robert, Alex, Jeff, Henry, and Susan there, who had reserved a table for all of us, and I brought a pair of cowboy boots to loan to my straight friend Sam who dressed in drag for tonight’s event.
I got a few pictures, but I had to take most of them when people were in motion on a runway set up right by our table. We were really too far away to take stage shots from where we sat.
Leslie Jordan
(Star of Sordid Lives, Emmy-award winning actor on Will & Grace, among other credit)
John Paul Womble and Mary K. Mart
(John Paul is a co-emcee of Drag Bingo, as well as being the
Development Director of the Alliance of AIDS Services – Carolina)
Mary K. Mart is a co-emcee of Drag Bingo, as well as a tireless
entertainer and fundraiser for the LGBT community)
(A professional picture; not mine)
Cotie Collins as Reba
(Cotie once toured with Reba as a female impersonator of her
He did a Reba Medley, and these three shot chronicle a costume
transformation while singing Reba’s signature song, “Fancy”)
(Hover over pics for commentary)
Miss Conception, Alexis Chavelier(?), Cruella
(Three of the BVDs (Bingo-verifying Divas doing some country
song where the glamorous country star and the poor country woman
dream about living the other’s life)
As an aside, I’ve never seen Alexis do drag. He’s my friend Javier, and he did the AIDS Ride with me and my friend Joe back in 2003. Cruella, whose platinum blond wig picked up and reflected light like a mirror, also rode with us, and in fact provided entertainment at night for us along the way.
We didn’t win any games of bingo tonight, but we had a large time, and contributed our share towards the $14,000 raised just tonight for the Alliance of AIDS Services – Carolina.