Hand Coding

I drove back from Hershey today. Of course, yesterday was Brian’s funeral and visitation.

Many of my friends from Virginia Tech attended, so it was nice to be able to talk to them about Brian and even just life in general. It seems that almost all of them live in Northern Virginia these days, and it’s probably been almost a year since I was last in that area (visiting Brian).

The funeral service was held at The Evangelical Free Church of Hershey. Some people said some words about Brian, and there was actually a good deal of hymn-singing. I hadn’t been to a funeral before this one, but I can’t say that I expected so much singing. And, I’m not sure whether it was intentional, but I thought it was oddly appropriate that the first hymn was #404.

At the end of the day, I ended with an uplifted feeling. I think just talking with other people about Brian made me feel better.

As Leia mentioned in a comment to my ride-from-the-airport post, Vanguard Airlines went out of business. So, I've bought another ticket with Airtran for Saturday:

Pittsburgh to Dallas: 8:03pm - 11:35pm, via Atlanta, flights 129 and 77

Jason will be in Colorado when I return to Dallas on Saturday. So, I’m looking for a ride back from the airport. My flight arrives in Dallas at 11:15pm CST on Saturday (Vanguard flight 259). So, if you'd be able to help me out there, please e-mail me (the link is on the right).

Update: Amanda has offered me a ride. Thanks!

I was talking with my brother the other day about peanut butter and banana sandwiches. And, after reading about them, he had the urge to have one again.

Specifically, my brother had a craving for what’s apparently known as a “Velvet Elvis”, which is a peanut-butter-and-banana sandwich, except that it’s grilled as if like a grilled-cheese sandwich (with each slice buttered on the outside).

So, he set out to buy the necessary ingredients. And, normally, this wouldn’t be a problem, except that he’s interning in Germany for the summer. So, while the bread and bananas were easy enough to find, he just couldn’t find any peanut-butter at his local grocery store.

However, like any good European food-store, his local store had plenty of Nutella. Now, in case you’ve been living under a rock, Nutella is a chocolate-flavored spread made with hazelnuts. It’s very much delicious, but can hard to find in this country (at least at reasonable prices). So, at any rate, he picked up some Nutella as a substitute for the peanut butter.

He assembled and grilled the sandwich: bread + bananas + Nutella. He tells me that, though it was definitely tasty, it still didn’t live up to the full potential of a genuine Velvet Elvis. Nonetheless, he named this new sandwich as a “European Elvis” (a good name, I think). And, though I'm still a big fan of ordinary peanut butter and banana sandwiches, I look forward to consuming a European Elvis sometime.

ObJulie: Yes, I'm aware that Central Market probably has Nutella for sale ;).

Roxanne e-mailed me this info on Brian’s funeral, in case you had wanted to attend:

Date of Service: Tuesday, July 30
Church Name: Evangelical Free Church of Hershey
Address: Hilltop Road, Hershey PA, 17033
Closest Airport: Harrisburg
Parents Address: 305 Cocoa Avenue, Hershey PA, 17033
Visitiation: 1PM
Funeral: 2PM
Reception: return to church

[Roxanne also writes:]
Please call my cell phone if you need anything. 703-926-0673

I talked with Roxanne on Friday, and she tells me that Brian’s funeral is being held sometime on Tuesday in his hometown of Hershey, PA. I’ll be flying into Pittsburgh, and driving to Hershey from there. That way, I’ll be able to see my folks for a few days as well.

My flights are:

Sun July 28: 12:25pm - 6:10pm, Dallas to Pittsburgh, on Vanguard Airlines via Kansas City (flight numbers 404 and 508).

Sat Aug 2: 7:00pm - 11:15pm, Pittsburgh to Dallas, on Vanguard Airlines via Kansas City (flight numbers 777 and 259).

If you’re also attending the funeral, or if you need to contact me while I’m gone, my cell number is 469-569-7421. Of course, I’ll also be checking e-mail through Sunday morning.

I’ve just learned that one of my college buddies, Brian Wagner, took his life yesterday. He cites depression, though I was not aware of that. I feel sadness, but I feel confusion even more.

Brian was “thoughtful” enough to write his suicide note as a Word file. I’m not about to post it here. But, if you’re also a close friend of Brian’s, just e-mail me (link is on the right) and I can get it to you.

It appears that several companies are opening call centers in India, where the labor is cheap, but them tutoring them for an American accent to complete the illusion:

“Hi, this is Betty Coulter and I am calling because I have a great deal for you today. I am going to offer you a credit card at a low 2.9 percent with a whole bunch of free gifts.”

Yeah, yeah, you’ve heard it all before. You try to get off the phone, but Betty just drones on and, amazingly, never takes a breath. You try to place the accent. Iowa maybe? No, the “a” sound is too flat. California? Maybe it’s a crowded call center in some business park in Kansas City.

But Betty is actually calling from Bangalore, and her real name is Savita Balasubramanyam. And she is indeed in a crowded office, but it's not dinner time, it’s the middle of the night. And her perfect American accent is the result of rigorous training and an employer-encouraged addiction to Ally McBeal. […]

As uncovered by The Smoking Gun, one of the Big Brother 3 contestants was apparently busted for drunk driving in early-May, but still made it onto the show:

[Chiara] Berti was arrested by California Highway Patrol officers at 2:40 AM on Sunday, May 26. She spent about five hours in custody at the Van Nuys jail before being released on $2500 bail. On June 11, Berti was formally charged with three misdemeanors: driving under the influence, driving with a blood alcohol content above California's .08 limit, and driving without a license. Her attorney, Sherman Ellison, told TSG that Berti's case was “very likely to settle,” lawyerspeak for “she’ll probably take a plea.” […]

From Logophilia, today’s coined-word of the day (or, coined phrase, in this case) is “irrational depression”:

Investors have coined a new phrase for the relentless declines: “irrational depression,” a play on the famous phrase “irrational exuberance” uttered by Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan to describe the stock-market surge of the late 1990s.

“Whereas two years ago, it was get me in at any price, now it's get me out at any price,” said Alfred Goldman, chief market strategist at A.G. Edwards & Sons Inc. in St. Louis. “Unfortunately, investors are thinking with their emotions and not their minds.”
— Amen Sachdev, “Dow slides below 8,000 to ’98 level,” Chicago Tribune, July 23, 2002

Hmm, yeah, I can relate to that one :-/.