With the markets and major players collapsing all around us, it's no surprise that surveys have shown declining consumer confidence. Of course, this means that we consumers would rather tighten our belts to make sure we've got extra resources for lean times, rather than continue to spend at or beyond our means, perhaps even recklessly.

Happy Halloween!

This was one of my better Halloweens in recent memory. Rather than be a mere candy dispenser and onlooker, I donned a costume and an alter-ego and participated this year.

Meet Werewolf Pat. He answered the doorbell and spoke with a growl and a gruff voice, taking care to look out the window first to make sure there was nobody under 3 feet tall who might be easily frightened.

Today I witnessed a troubling event on my cell phone. I saw the front display light up out of the corner of my eye, so I picked it up to see what was going on. The phone told me it had just received 49 Megabytes of data. I don't subscribe to any services that transfer data, and I wasn't even using the phone at the time, and this creeped me out a bit.

File this under "Ill Considered" and "Misconfiguration"

Okay, here's one that defies all logic and explanation.

At 2:00 AM, Spike broadcasts Star Trek: Deep Space 9 (DS9). This is an hour-long show including commercials. Comcast in Boston airs Spike on channel 33.

Comcast in Boston also airs EWTN (religious programming) on channel 33.

I've found a great way to shake off the junk charity callers, you know, those "Disabled Police and Firefighter Association" type calls that try to guilt you into sending some money. By now most people who pay attention to the news are aware that these organizations pay telemarketers huge percentage commissions, to the point that donors would be aghast at how little of their donation actually goes to help the cause.

The pollen has been really bad in Massachusetts the past couple of weeks. Everything that's outside is covered with a fine coat of yellow dust. I was practicing flight maneuvers on Wednesday evening over a pond in Winchendon, and I could see a distinct, wispy patterns of yellow on the pond from all the pollen that accumulated on its surface...and this was from 1500 feet up! We've kept windows closed and ventilation running to help keep the pollen out of the house. Hopefully it lets up soon.

My stargazer lily, one of the things I most look forward to seeing in my garden, picked up a mosaic virus. I haven't finished reading about this, but I suspect I'll have to rip the whole plant out :-(

I wish I had some nice pictures of it, all I've got are the ones I just took.

Cleaning out one of my mailboxes, I noticed a notification from US Airways informing me that, due to the cost of fuel, they have implemented a $25 charge for a second piece of checked baggage.

Since it's weight that causes more fuel to be used, they ought to be charging passengers by pounds of baggage times number of miles traveled rather than by the piece. Clearly they're just trying to extract more money from passengers, using fuel as the scapegoat.

US Airways, the contempt you hold your customers in is one of the reasons I avoid flying you anywhere.

Sorry, but here's some geek humor for the day.

Care to take a guess why the domain in this photo isn't resolving?