An open letter to Apple Computer

Dear Apple:

Won't you please make me the ultimate mp3 player for my stereo? It should have:

- a 100 gig drive (at least)
- 802.11 and Rendezvous technology, so it can store tunes and photos that everyone in the house can access
- a cd-r for importing and burning

How will I control it? Oh, Apple, you have already figured out all the interface issues. The remote can just use the ipod interface to access the tunes! To make it even easier, you can just put a little syncing plug on the front of the device, and put 64 MB of flash ram in the remote. The entire menu contents can be stored in the remote!

It would also be nice to be able to make playlists from the device, so some kind of full-color iTunes interface screen would be nice, too. Or you could just give us a program to make playlists on our computers, and tranfer them to this device.

I will name it Sparky. But you can call it PowerPod, since I know how you love the i/power system.

Cheers
Helen

P.S. If you could release it before Christmas, I would really appreciate it.

Dean, the Media and You

Many months ago, I thought to myself, Dean really has it figured out. He's taking his message straight to the people, insulating himself from the shifts in media opinion. Looking back now, I don't think I was wrong -- his core supporters were with him until the end, and they understood his message. Instead, I overestimated the number of people he was reaching with that strategy.

Obviously, the vast majority of primary voters to date were not devotees of blogforamerica.com. You can argue back and forth about whether the media took Dean down, but the huge upticks for John Edwards in states where he gets multiple major paper endorsements says pretty clearly that people still overwhelmingly look to the media for their opinions of political candidates.

Is it possible for a political candidate to do what I hoped Dean would do -- take his or her message straight to the people? Or are people just too lazy/apathetic/anti-politics to be bothered?

The changes never stop around here.

In honor of our refocus on text, we have changed the font of our blog. Hopefully, you will find it much easier on your eyes when Mary begins posting the thoughtful, dialogue generating posts she has promised me. And perhaps, you will be inspired by said posts to comment. She cries nightly over the lack of comments.

Local candidate or huge nerd? You decide.

My Democratic Candidate for State Legislature sent me a postcard. It read:

Dear Ms. Horstmann,
I hope you have a great birthday and a wonderful year ahead!
With all my best,
(name omitted to protect the sender)

Somehow, I suspect that my birthday is one of those pieces of information that most anyone can get their hands on.

retreat into the world of music.

I was talking to Sweeney the other day, and I told him coldplay (circa rush of blood to the head) reminded me of the postal service. I then played him some postal service, and he was a bit confused. What reminds me? The driving pace. See politik, clocks, god put a smile vs. such great heights, nothing better, clark gable, natural anthem. Sound is not really the same. Voices, no comparison. It's just the beat that reminds me of one another.

Also, god put a smile on your face -> cowboy junkies, common disaster.

Also, sondre lerche's human nature was in an AMC commercial. Good for sondre! Love that song.

For news on the trip to New Orleans, see Jane's blog for a far funnier entry than I could write.

bad things in threes

1. Crispy Pizza has closed.
2. Angel has been canceled.
3. Howard Dean has left the race.

The power to take this country back is in your hands now.

Janevasion 2004!

The advance team is already on the way for our storming of the French Quarter. Provisions have been laid in, our underground supporters are preparing rooms for us, and most of New Orleans is totally unaware of our secret plans. Next week on FOX, the new reality series....

WHEN GEEKS UNITE!

In case you didn't already know...

- Steven and I are going to Hawaii at the end of the month.
- I've set a closing date for my condo. It will be ready in mid-March.
- Mary is home, and is looking for people to hang out with on Thursday.

oh, and my favorite:
- Mommy and Daddy still watch Gilmore Girls, even when Jane is not home.

Thank YOU, Wesley Clark!

Wesley Clark has dropped out of the race! Thank goodness for Chef Boy-R-dee! Are there any more debates coming up? Now that we've narrowed the field, they might actually get interesting.

P.S. Taking your country back = making a blog entry.
Eating cookies and watching the Gilmore Girls = taking one away.

Quality of Life is on the rise.

I know many of you may be thinking, there is a major advancement in the marketplace. When will Helen notice?

Fear not, gentle readers. As a loyal Diet Coke drinker, the Coca-Cola Corporation does its best to notify me of innovations in a timely manner. And let me be the first to say, they have a real winner on their hands. What is it? Diet Coke WITH LIME!

You may say, didn't they already come out with that? Lemons are very different from limes, and I will be the first to admit that Diet Coke with Lemon left me feeling a little flat. Diet Coke with Lime, on the other hand...

My preference for fountain DC has been frequently noted. But With Lime is a bottle revolution! DC in a bottle, yet I still want to drink it! (I will admit, though, I am dying to know what it will taste like in fountain.)

So, you may be asking yourself Coke's second most frequently asked question:
2. Where can I find this delicious new product?

Diet Coke with Lime launched nationally on January 19th and you'll be able to find it across the country in grocery stores, supermarkets, mass retailers, drug stores, convenience stores, and in vending machines.

Happy Hunting!

To the world traveler.

O Jane, we seek your wisdom. What kind of coats should we bring with us to New Orleans? It is supposed to rain. The forecast says it will be 60 degrees, but I have forgotten what that temperature feels like, as I stand shivering in the wind.

Assigned treats for everyone:

Helen: Amish whoopee pies (4)
Units: Hope's cookies (2 dozen -- the rest of us want some, too! 12 chocolate chip, 12 hope's royale.)
Anne: Bake us a treat!

I will also see what I can do about the bakery shoppe. Does anyone have one of those insulated lunchboxes?

P.S. Shout out to the February babies! We partied for Pierre on Friday, and we're partying for Marlon tonight!

Taking our country back

Someone (Jane) likes to send me daily stats about whether or not this blog has been updated. Well, we are busy, people. Busy taking our country back! (Obvoiusly, Mary far more so than me. 2 posts in a month? That's crazy talk!) And we are not the only ones. Check the cool picture in the link!

Anyway, Dean is still #2 to Kerry in the delegate count, with Edwards trailing by 60 delegates. So, don't believe the hype! Dean's not dead, and Edwards is not the only one who can take Kerry down.

Today, Mary wraps up her stint in this nation's greatest state, MAINE. Let's hope she goes out with a Dean win filling her sails. And some welcome home fudge for the sister (and tagalong, Steven's new title -- "This is my tagalong, Steven.") who spent an hour doing visibility in the freezing cold yesterday.

Today, I will be in New York to see Wicked with Steven. If any of my New York peeps will be available in Manhattan today in the 5:30 range, call me! Pick up the phone and just... call me.

savour these precious moments before they pass us by

Ah, the wisdom of Jane.

Mommy started her blog over the weekend. Caroline, hop on the bandwagon before it pulls away!

I went with Mommy to see my apt today. Well, not my apt, but they've opened up model apartments in my building. It was kind of weird. But I'm excited about it. They said my unit will be ready in March.

Three cheers for Mar! No, three cheers for ME! (Sorry, just channeling her last post.) Glad to see she's come up for a breath of air. Steven and I went out to Delaware this weekend, to take back the first state for Dean. I second Mary's call for you to all go out and Meet Up on Wednesday. For all our Philly readers, it's going to be a party at Egypt, to get together all the Philly Dean supporters for one big gathering.

P.S. For anyone who was thinking, should I send Jane a care package? Her address is, uh, confidential, but email me, and I will send it to you. She was crying last night because no one had sent her sweet treats to eat!

OK, got to go avoid Jane some more!