Hey, we're having the same forecast.

Now that I've cancelled all my plans, I just hope the storm doesn't veer off somewhere!

I went to the link regarding shopping apps. I LOVE my Starbucks app. Just love it. It probably is the only one of those apps I use regularly. I have had people in Starbucks stop me and ask me about it when I hold my phone to the scanner.

I do use the amazon app (windowshop) on my ipad and I have to say that while it is wildly different from a computer web experience, it is pretty good. I don't use price check, etc. I might use price check if I shopped for expensive crap more often, but I can't see finding toilet paper $.10 cheaper 1 mile away and dropping everything to go get it.

Oh, dear. Courtesy of BoingBoing, a site that gives you a fresh conspiracy theory every time you refresh:

Awesome! My co-worker believes every last one.

Please be safe wishes for those in the path of the storm, or better yet, come visit me! I won't check my current temp and such, but it is lovely.

tommy, just Tolkien or faux-Celt the spelling up a bit to something like Aenyd or Eanydh, attach it to a plucky secondary character in the next big thrilling not-quite-YA serial (my pitch: Steampunk proto-feminist/The Riches mashup with a band of Dirigible Roma blood-oath-sworn friends for life who commandeer an air wagon to help one of their group flee a particularly odious arranged marriage to the violent scion of a rival clan, and then roam steam-Europe disguised as boy pirates and pulling off elaborate cons to survive, fleece clueless industrialists and bring down the rival clan before it destroys their own; Aenyd/Eanydh is someone's kid sister who stowed away and can't be returned without serious risk to everyone, but is a preternaturally gifted pickpocket and safecracker), and it could easily fight its way into the top 100 within a year or so.

JZ, I would be ALL OVER that book series. Can you write it up and get it in stores by, say, 2017? I'm aiming to make that our last-baby-by date, and I'd like to get in early on this Aenyd thing.

I should read JZ's post to my mom. She'd be completely confused.

Yeah, I'd read that book series too.

Aw, crap. I don't know if I have the brain cells for a whole series all on my own. Maybe we could Buffista-crowdsource it and use the NO DOUBT MASSIVE revenue from the series to finally purchase Buffista Island?

The shopping app I use up to 50% of the time I shop is my discount card app--it's small, but it has all the barcodes for all of my rewards cards. I've been using it for more than a year now, I think, and I don't get asked about it as much as before, though last week the guy next to me in line said he was going to look it up.

Took me a while to get the proper rhythm of having both my money out and the right card selected for the cashier, but it's totally simpler than carrying plastic.

Ah! The Walgreens app--how can I forget. That's huge. I can order refills by either scanning barcodes or picking options from currently filled scripts (and I always know how many refills I have left, etc). It has other features, but other than finding the phone numbers of the nearest one and refills, I don't do much.

And Taxi Magic isn't quite shopping, but the ability to order a cab without making a call (and it tells you when its dispatched, when its nearby, what the medallion # is, gives tou the ability to use the phone as a "flag" with the cab #, put in specific instruction, specify the drop off address (and it estimates the cost of the trip). It does also allow you to pay electronically, but they have too sizable a premium (as much as I was going to tip) for it to be worthwhile for me. But if market penetration drops that down, I'd totally do that too. Making sure I have change for the cab is an annoying end-of-week ritual.

I rarely post in Natter, but I had to chime in with how much I'd love to read JZ's series!

I just sent an email to a Director detailing info on three flights.

His response?

That flight is fine, go ahead.

?!?!?!?!?!?!?!!! Dear Sir, Communication - u r doing it wrong!!!!!