It’s definately ringing in the public’s ears: A fellow who usually sinks his money into commodities trading is starting to put his money on VoIP providers.

Phone companies are running scared, and they don’t know whether to jump into Internet Service in a big way, try to stifle competition, or embrace IP telephony with open arms. So they do all three, and none of it very well. Except stifling what they can. They’ve always been good at that.

I think we will see convergence coming soon, even here, in the rural West. I can see fibre optics replacing parts of the in-town network. I can see HDSL and other ways of pushing more bits over otherwise empty copper being rolled out in short order.

And I can see phone service becoming completely virtual. You just buy a number in the cities of your choice, and pay a small fee (probably flat) to get it to where you are.

Life is good.

1. I die, struck by lightning while pulling weeds in the garden during a rainstorm.

2. I run off and live, solitary in some place truly rural, coming out only each saturday for coffee at the local diner.

3. Success (and technical support) make me cynical; I hate the world, and slowly become an evil business person.

4. I finally experiment with a few drugs, decide I like them and live in a fantasty world only I can see, and I eat mostly junk food.

5. I fall down the stairs; paralysed, I spend my time studying physics and higher math. I make bets with Stephen Hawking, but he writes the proofs even for the ones he loses.

6. I move to a small farm just outside of Portland. I spend most of my time trying to fit more food in a small space, and the remainder fighting slugs.

7. I give up on rural living entirely, but I can’t find good chilis, so I spend time growing peppers in pots on my rooftop. I spend lots of time floating from hotspot to hotspot, and being cynical and hip.

8. I decide to hike the Appalachian trail. I like it so much, I hike the Pacific Crest trail. That goes well, I decide to make a life of it, and make a life of raising money by walking places.

9. I start a political career, and eventually become a state legislator, after suitable time in law school. I become disenchanted with the system, and begin anew, thirty years later.

I’m making granola at the moment. As I was stirring it, I started thinking about hypershapes, shapes in more than three dimensions.

Imagine for a moment that the granola in your nine-inch by thirteen inch pan is a solid blob. Now, the goal is to turn it so that the part that’s in the center gets to the outside, so it cooks evenly, and the outer part goes somewhat inside, so it doesn’t burn.

Now, since it’s granola, that’s pretty possible. The optimum way of stirring that I’ve found is to push the edge in, then roll the top layer into the gap, and repeat all the way around, paying attention that nothing gets left behind.

Now imagine doing that without disturbing the surface. That’s what doing it in four dimensions might be like.

Salvador Dali Melting clocks are not a problem in my reality. I am an unschooler. I will tolerate a textbook, but only as a last resort. Mud is my friend. I prefer hands-on everything. If I had an anthem, it might be Don’t Worry, Be Happy.

What Type of Homeschooler Are You? brought to you by Quizilla

I was angry when I wrote what was here.

I just spent an hour on the phone with Jessica. It was good. I wish cell phones didn’t suck so much though.

She should totally move to Portland.

I am a kitchen goddess. In addition to cleaning the cupboards, I have made the perfect quesadilla, made of goat gouda, roasted red pimento, roasted Anaheim chile., and sharp white cheddar cheese, all on vegetillas, cooked until perfectly browned. On top is home-made mango salsa, made from mangoes with the skin on, some rice vinegar, and a couple jalapeños and hungarian wax peppers.

Or she’ll stay another day. I miss her, but she’s having so much fun!

Aside from the fun of the fourth of July, it’s stressful. Ouray feels like downtown Victoria tonight: all sorts of young people I don’t know out late. I want to know them all, but instead I feel faceless, so small. There are so many people. So, so many. I’m not used to crowds.

It doesn’t help that my blood sugar is all wonky right now.

I spent a good portion of the day in Ouray today. I skipped the parade, instead opting for Coffee as usual on Sunday, then to the farmer’s market. I bought a pound of cherries and a pound of apricots. Neither made it past noon.

The waterfights were great. There’s something to be said for the brutal, gladiator-style two-teams-in-a-ring, nobody-leaves-until-it’s-over action. The crowd was eight deep on all four sides of the interesection. One team managed at least six change-offs, only to lose to the absolutely solid stance of the others. I’d love to try my hand at the 1½ inch hose with someone. Ruth talks about trying to get an inter-departmental waterfight challenge going. I think that’s a great idea.

Tonight, the fireworks were fantastic. They managed not to start any major fires, and the boom of the fireworks echoed like the most fantastic thunder down the valley. I think we were right in the sweet spot this time, too. The echoes seemed tuned for us.

In other news, Carrie comes home Tuesday morning. I can’t wait.

I do not feel like working in the slightest.

The phone is silent. My brain feels like a truck with a dead cylinder.

And now I’m up, but it’s late. Grrrgh. Stupid server crash throwing my sleep just a little too far off.

Awoken by a customer, and still tired. Going back to bed now.

Server’s up, but the moon is not supposed to be over there in the sky. I am up way too late.

Rargh. My main server went down at almost exactly 2am, and I have no idea why yet. What a time of day to have to call and have it restarted.