Ah! There's nothing like lying in bed and waking up to the smell of freshly brewed coffee -- but I would prefer that that would not happen at 12:30 AM. You see, the coffee maker had needed cleaning, and so it was unplugged to be taken to the sink. When it was plugged back in, the clock was re-set. Unfortunately, the "delay brew" timer was not re-set. So, two nights ago, I ground the beans and poured in the water and pushed the button so it would begin brewing automatically (which I thought would be 10 minutes before we were to get up the next morning). The timer, though, had not been changed from the "default" time of 12:00 (midnight) -- and, sure enough, the coffee brewed like clockwork!

We're having technology problems at the Ballentine home. I did re-set the coffee pot yesterday, so the coffee was fresh and hot at 6:30 this morning. But, later this morning, while Patty and I were talking on the phone, the line went dead. Hmmm. Good thing I have a cell phone. I called the Verizon repair number and I am sorry to say that I have discovered what passes for customer service at Verizon. Turns out that it's the customer's responsibility, first, to serve himself: to determine if the problem is inside the house (which means it's gonna cost us) or outside (which is Verizon's responsibility). The agent gave me instructions of how to open up the phone access box on the outside of the house and plug in a phone and see if there was a dial tone. So I did that. Nope. No dial tone. As instructed, I called Verizon back. The agent that then answered the phone (of course it wasn't the same one, and so I had to give my phone number and address and name ...) apologized and said there would be a technician out to fix the problem (get this) on Wednesday, August 13, between 7:00 AM and 3:00 PM. I said, "You mean we'll be without phone service for a WEEK?" She said, "I apologize for that. You'll receive a credit on your bill for each day you're without service." I said, "I should hope so." She said, "It is very likely that the technician will be out before the scheduled day." I said, "That would be nice." (I'm sorry that the sarcasm of my voice doesn't come through when I report them in the typed words of a blog.)

Strange thing: we DO still have Internet access, which runs through the phone lines ...

And, at least my fountain pens still work. This is 10th century technology, updated a number of times since the resevoir pen was invented in Egypt.

Some of you know that I have five fountain pens, actually, that I use on alternating days. Over the years, the Fountain Pen Hospital in NYC has received enough of my money that I find their catalogues in the mail several times a year. What fun to see a page in the most recent catalogue: "Parker Vintage Pens of the 1960s and 1970s" The text reads: "We're fortunate to have recently acquired an extensive collection of original, mint condition Parker pens from the 1960s to late 1970s, all made in the USA. We are delighted to be able to make this tremendous find available to our loyal customers."

Sure enough, there, among the pens pictured on the page, is the first fountain pen I ever bought -- in 1975. I was in seminary in Chicago and vividly remember taking the "El" from Hyde Park on the south side down to the loop, to a pen store, and paying $25 (which was real money for a pen back then)for a "Parker 75 Stainless Steel Flighter," with a 14kt gold "fine" nib. The Fountain Pen Hospital is selling that same pen today for $195, which seems pretty reasonable to me, 33 years later.

This 33-year old pen is my journaling pen. Since it has a "fine" nib, the amount of ink flow doesn't soak through a page, so I can write on both sides of a journal page. My other pens have "medium" nibs, and result in bolder ink strokes.

So, that's a communications technology I'm still comfortable with. (Even though it's getting harder to find bottled ink.)