By way of UtterlyBoring.com:

Because we have a moral duty to protect the ignorant people, please let your friends and family know about this important product recall:

Name of product: Martha Stewart Everyday® Safety Matches
Units: 588 boxes
Distributor: Kmart Corp., of Troy, Mich.
Hazard: These matches may ignite upon impact, posing a fire hazard to consumers.

Uhhhhhh - yeah??? And the problem is??? I thought everyone knew if you dropped a box of matches enough times, it will eventually catch on fire... I'm sure there's some clever Martha Stewart joke in this somewhere, too, but I'll just let you think of it.

Over a week ago my (new) cat escaped out of the house when a door blew open. She disappeared. For a couple of days, I could hear her off in the woods meowing and stuff, and a couple of times when I called she came sort of close, but never stuck around.

She's definitely a 'fraidy-cat.

Anyhow, after a week of not seeing or hearing the cat, I had to assume she was coyote dinner. I mean, she was pretty small and young, so death by dinner seemed the only option.

Wrong. Kat's still out there, still meowing.

And apparently eating well, from the looks of her. I have no idea what she's eating (mice and/or rats I hope), but it's keeping her healthy.

I tried to catch her and bring her in, but she jumped and ran when I tried. Hey, fine with me.

Anyhow, Kat Lives. Kind of reminds me of those Darth Vader Lives pins when I was in grade school (yeah, yeah, no old people jokes), only different.

I can hardly believe the email I got today. This just doesn't happen...

You may recall I just signed up for Vonage's Internet telephone service. It's cool.

And this email just arrived:

Hello Greg,

We are very excited to inform you that your monthly phone bill is going DOWN! Our price on the Residential Premium Unlimited Plan has been dropped AGAIN!

The base price of the Residential Premium Unlimited Plan will drop from $34.99 to $29.99 as of your first billing cycle on or after May 17, 2004.

There is no need to contact customer care - you will automatically receive the 14% monthly savings. The new, lower price plan will be reflected in your next billing cycle.

By adding 150,000 customers to our network, Vonage has cemented its lead in the industry. As a reflection of our commitment to our customers, we would like to reward you by passing the operational efficiency and cost-savings we've achieved through our success directly back to you.

Again, thank you for your continued support and loyalty. Without you, we would not have been able to pass this significant savings along. If you have any questions, please email us at customerresponse@vonage.com with the words "Price Change" in the subject line.

Sincerely,
Rich Gale
Manager, Vonage Customer Care

Uhhhhh...

Uhhhhhhhh.....

Wow. You just don't ever see anything like that anymore. A price reduction?? I don't know what to say.

So far I've enjoyed using the soft-phone so far on my laptop (talk about nifty), and am waiting for the IP phone broadband connector device bridge thingie device to show up on my doorstep still, so have not been able to use a real phone on it, but will be sure to post a review once I get a chance to use it for a while.

Anyhow... Wow.

UPDATE/SHAMELESS-PLUG:

I just noticed - if you want to sign up for Vonage service, they have a referral program where I can send you an invitation and you'll get the first month free, and I'll get an equal service credit - good for everyone! Just email me here:  and I will send you the invite - be sure to send your name and the email address you want the invite to go to.

New addition to the household that can't stand being away from people for more than ten seconds. Loud, funny, and - dare I use the word - cute. But hey, it's a puppy, so cute's ok. For now.

Buddy (my dog I've had for years) and he get along great. No, he does not have a name yet. Maybe I'll take suggestions at some point. Pics to be posted later.

(OT comment fodder: What's the main difference between Superman and every other good-guy super hero?)

On TV you only get 30 or 60 seconds. On the web you get as much time as you can get people to give you - they call then “webisodes.”

American Express teamed up Jerry Seinfeld and Superman. If you have a few minutes, it's pretty amusing and fun. Seinfeld's not Batman, or The Flash, and he's not going to team up with The Man of Steel to save the world. But they might sell some credit cards, and I laughed.

NOTE: American Express has removed the content from their servers, but you can still see the webisodes over at Unplugged Studios, the creators of the Jerry and Superman films. It's a little tricky now because their site is Flash-based, so here are my convoluted navigation directions:

• Go to http://www.unpluggedstudio.com/
• Enter their flash site
• Look at the bottom for the American Express link.
• Click on that link and use the menu on the right to choose the "Watch" options. From there you can watch all four episodes.