I've got a new cell phone. My old one was very simple, had monochrome screen, no polyphonic ringtones, etc..

Now I have a flip phone with camera.

This thing makes me feel absurdly happy.

Between the new tricorderphone and tweaking FireFox (new theme is really cool looking) I have definitely been getting my geek on the past couple of days.

My father, the engineer, just got his first cell phone. His is also a flip phone. The silly man has yet to change the ringtone or wallpaper. He clearly needs to brush up on his knowledge of how to deal with a new gadget.

We had fun looking at the things at dinner tonight (how dorky can you get? :P) and going through the manual that came with mine. There was a purpose to this - I am not sure how many pics I can send per month without making inclusion in the family plan a burden on Dad and Phyllis (I told him I would need to see the paperwork on the account, but he thought it would be in the manual).

It was a lesson on how much things have changed since I was a kid. I can't imagine having a 128 page manual with the rotary phone we had when I was small. If we had asked for one from the phone company (Ma Bell, I remember the days) we would have been justifiably laughed at. Everyone knew how to use a phone, for crying out loud.

So much progress, but now we have studying to do before we can even call someone. Even before we get the phone, we have to decide on the phone company, the phone plan, and the phone model. All before we can even call someone. I, for one, would not want to go back to the days of the monopoly, and for about a thousand reasons.

I have emailed several people already to tell them what my new number is. If you did not get the message but would like to know it, just reply here. I'll be screening the comments.

Mom came downstairs (quite a feat at the moment) to see what was up in the world just as my computer told me I had an email.

"So what are you up to?"

I looked down at the screen and gasped. "Getting an email from Dad!"

It's official. He's fine. He ended up in Yekaterinberg instead of Siberia this time (that's what I get for forgetting which trip to Russia was which), so he was far from the crash. He even apologized for not sending me an email or calling about it.

Thank you all for your concern. It has been a long week.

There were no Americans on board the plane.

I can relax now.

But Russia has declared a national day of mourning for the 122 who were lost despite the heroic efforts of the flight crew and rescue personel.

Let us all keep them in our hearts today.

Dad's in Russia. He was going to spend some time in Moscow and the rest of his time someplace else and I can't remember the name of the other place.

There has been a plane crash in Irkutsk and the name sounds familiar to me. I know that Dad was going to go to Siberia and that is where Irkutsk is. I have been trying to find more information but it is coming out so slowly.

He left Charlottesville today, so he would have had to leave really early to be on that flight; in fact it may be impossible for him to have gotten there so soon (the crash was at 6:50 pm Eastern).

But I can't relax until I am sure.

*glares furiously at news websites* Come on and tell me! NOW!

I've already posted this to customers_suck but I wanted to share with you guys too.

This was a second-hand story, but worth sharing.

My Dad and I had some family business to catch up on, so we decided to go to an Ethiopian restaurant that neither one of us had tried. In fact, this was the first time I had ever eaten Ethiopian food at all and I was looking forward to it.

In case, like me, you are unfamiliar with the cuisine, you should know that the traditional method of eating this food is to tear off a piece of flat bread and use that to pick up a mouthful. You don't use forks or knives at all. It's a bit messy and takes some practice, but is easy enough when you get the hang of it.

Not having a clue what we wanted, we shared a combination platter made for two. The food was several kinds of delicious - a bit spicy and very tasty. Our town has a number of wonderful restaurants, but I think we have a new favorite.

Our table was one of only two, but the other was a large birthday party. They had brought their own cake for desert, and the waiter joked that they would have to eat it Ethiopian style before he cheerfully fetched some silverware. Trust me, this really is important.

We didn't hear the sucky part until we checked out from the parking garage.

The parking attendant was a friendly woman who asked us where we ate, and we gave her an enthusiastic description of the restaurant. She hadn't been there but had heard all about it.

She told us about one man who had recently gone there. He had returned to his car in a foul mood and told the attendant why.

"They force you to eat with your hands! It's disgusting! I can't imagine ever eating with my hands! It's completely disgusting!" He kept going in about how foul the idea was until he finally pulled away and, I assume, went to an American style restaurant. With no finger food.

After he drove off, she looked at his ticket. He had only parked for ten minutes.

I don't know which is worse. The fact that he refused to try something a little bit different (although I have to wonder how the man eats a hamburger, if he would ever lower himself so far) or the fact that he hadn't even asked if there were forks and knives. The silverware was, after all, behind the counter and within easy reach if requested.

He sure missed out on a great meal.

In other news, it is really cold here tonight! Cold! I am so happy about that. It's a little hint of the autumn that will eventually get here. I wish it would stay like this for longer. At least I will get a good night's sleep tonight.

Mom is home, much to my relief. She was actually released from the hospital yesterday, but I was too drained to post.

Today, we did not go to the DMV as we had planned. It can wait until she wants to be able to go somewhere.

Instead, I called Dad and dragged him with me as I bought Mom's birthday present: a laptop computer. It's a little bit early but I think she deserves it.