Not only would I not pay twenty five dollars to do this, but I would require receiving vast sums of money to do so. But there may be a market for it.

[Update late, after getting back to Florida]

Yes, I did mean acrophobic, though I suppose the Grand Canyon could be heck on agoraphobes, too.

Well, there’s an incipient hurricane heading right at my house tonight or tomorrow morning, according to all the track predictions. And I’m feeling guilty, being up here in DC, where the weather is gorgeous, while Patricia has to batten down the hatches at home by herself. It gives me a sense of deja vu about last year, when we got hit twice in two weeks in September.

A coworker up here just asked me what it is with Florida and hurricanes lately. My theory is simple: Florida sucks. That’s just my theory, though…

Sixty years ago today, the Japanese government accepted surrender terms from the allies, saving millions of lives in what would have been a futile last-ditch defense of the home islands. A formal signing would take place a couple weeks later, on September 2, 1945.

And Ann Althouse points out another anniversary today, from a quarter of a century ago. It was the beginning of the liberation of eastern Europe, and the beginning of the end of the Cold War.

Not even on earth. Not even in California.

McDermott says he’s never laid eyes on the nearly 400-foot waterfall that park officials recently discovered in a remote corner of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 43,000 acres of wilderness in northern California.

“Sure, I was surprised,” he said from his home in the park, where he’s lived for more than 70 years. “I’ve been all around that place, I never seen ’em.”

Not even on earth. Not even in California.

McDermott says he’s never laid eyes on the nearly 400-foot waterfall that park officials recently discovered in a remote corner of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 43,000 acres of wilderness in northern California.

“Sure, I was surprised,” he said from his home in the park, where he’s lived for more than 70 years. “I’ve been all around that place, I never seen ’em.”

Not even on earth. Not even in California.

McDermott says he’s never laid eyes on the nearly 400-foot waterfall that park officials recently discovered in a remote corner of the Whiskeytown National Recreation Area, 43,000 acres of wilderness in northern California.

“Sure, I was surprised,” he said from his home in the park, where he’s lived for more than 70 years. “I’ve been all around that place, I never seen ’em.”

I got a call claiming to be from my Discover Card. The caller asked me if I wanted to make a balance transfer at an attractive rate. I said, “Sure, but I won’t give you my credit card numbers since you can’t authenticate that you really are Discover Card.”

Triumphantly, the agent told me the last four digits of my credit card number, my “member since” date and my last transaction. While this does indicate that the caller has access to my bill or account (or did at one time), it does not authenticate them as Discover Card because they could have stolen a bill from my mailbox.

More insidiously, they could have dialed a wrong number or a house guest or sitter could have picked up the phone. They did not authenticate me before giving me the personal information that they were so proud of. Not that they could have authenticated me since I would be reluctant to provide any personal information to someone who I did not already know was authentic and authorized.

I asked if there was a way to contact them through my number on the back of my card. They said no, but “I can make a notation on your account and customer service can verify its authenticity and you can call me back on a separate number.” While just possibly securely authentic (if the employee isn’t steering me to an illegitimate outsider), it requires me to make two calls. Why not just call the credit card directly and speak with someone else? I could, but my guy would have trouble getting a commission on the transaction. Maybe they should arrange for a share of any transfers I initiate in the next few minutes or ask for me to do a three-way call to my issuer.

I like checks better. They only go back to the offering party after they have been cashed and even then there might not be any evidence of what account I paid off.

July 20th is chock full. In addition to the first Apollo landing, it’s also the day that Viking 1 landed on Mars, in 1976. And in the non-space category, it’s sixty-one years since the failed attempt on Hitler’s life (an alternate history of what would have happened had that succeeded might be interesting). Also, it’s been a dozen years since Vince Foster’s body was found in Fort Marcy Park, and his killer and the location where his demise occurred remain unknown.

Better than blogging? The mind boggles at the concept.

Better than blogging? The mind boggles at the concept.