alack

one of the students in my class was in need of a note-taker ($7.15/hr), so i sent an e-mail around asking for a volunteer. the first response came in 35 seconds, and in the time it took me to send another e-mail saying that the vacancy had been filled, i received 13(!) more.

mentioning this to laura over dinner, i was informed that people do not sit in front of their laptops fingers poised to reply to incoming messages, but now have devices known as Blackberries from which electronic correspondence can be received and responded to as if by magick, that in fact, more penn students than not now own them. o brave new world! was't not just last year that the Blackberry was something that one might bake in Pie, or eat with a Light Sprinkling of Sugar?