ita, you can delete phone messages in the middle of them, can't you? It's the only way I can control my mother's rampant abuse of cell phone.

I should clarify: I'm not a fan of crying in public, but if one has a properly acknowledgeable stimulus -- a book, e.g. -- then it's justifiable. If done silently.

One of my pet peaves? People on the platform who walk alongside the doors of the train as it slows to a stop, so they'll be right in front of the door when it opens. A couple of times I have had to step out of the way to let these people walk by... until I asked myself why I had to move out of their way when I was already at the place where the doors would be when the train stopped. Now I just pretend not to notice those people.

Heh. I am these people.

you can delete phone messages in the middle of them, can't you?

One can. I can't. It's like a license to eavesdrop. I listen to all the dial-in-error messages that get left (and with the lowercase, I'm often the first number in the cellphone directory). This is probably why my parents accidentally sent a text message, when they were using my phone, to someone who REALLY didn't need to be getting almost blank test messages from me. Kismet, they tell me the word is.

one has a properly acknowledgeable stimulus -- a book

Among Buffistas, that is proper, but is it among train takers?

I very rarely cry at books, and would expect to be looked at funny if I did.

George W Bush uses an iPod.

I'm waiting for a playlist punchline.

The only times I talk to someone about what they are reading is if I am reading the same book, which happens freakishly often.

Well, there was that one time on the plane when the man next to me was reading something stamped with both Confidential and the logo for a project my father helped head up, but really, that was just to be mean.

You all will be glad to know, by the bye, that "earworm" is gaining acceptance in published works. Next up: the dictionary.

Obladi, Oblada, Amygdala: Word as Earworm

eta: There. Fixed it meself. No big.

Nutty, I tried to fix your post to remove the trailing >, but I can't make it disappear. We'll have the code fixed soon.

George W Bush uses an iPod.

I'm going to guess he doesn't listen to the Air America Podcasts.

I think I'm with ita wrt people reading what I'm reading.

Not so much with books, mainly because I tend not to read books in a way that they can be easily co-opted. But if I'm reading the paper on the Commuter rail, where it's less easy to keep the page to yourself, and I sense someone trying to read it, my first impulse is to smack said person with the paper, 'cause, ya know, it's only 50 cents (or free, depending on the paper) - get your own fucking paper and stay out of my bubble. Especially if they notice I noticed and look away, and then try to sneak a peak again when I go back to reading.

That said, if I don't notice, more power to you. But if I notice? You've broken the bubble.

I'm going to guess he doesn't listen to the Air America Podcasts.

He listens to it while riding his bike. Maybe he listens to Air America as a way to motivate himself to ride harder.