Austin, TEXAS, January 8, 2006 — A friend's mother died this morning. Which makes me think of other friends' mothers who are fragile. I make calls for her because it's something I can do.

Sometimes everything seems to be winding down, entropy all around. Last night the neighbors had lost a child (he showed up). Some other neighbors are splitting up, losing cats and their dog keeps escaping. (I don't know them well. But we keep seeing the dog and rounding her up.) Apparently they've had a lot of death and illness in their extended family.

Our dog is acting weird.

Things are constantly wearing out, eroding, falling down. Our own bodies are giving out as we try to build them up. While that's

disconcerting, I find threats of immortality through nanotechnology more frightening. (I read something about that in a newspaper a few days ago.)

We've all got to move on. But until then be nice to each other and have fun.

Anton Chekhov seems to have said (the WEB shouts it out to me): "Only entropy comes easy." That makes sense. However, the WEB also shouted out this quote.

Software is like entropy. It is difficult to grasp, weighs nothing, and obeys the second law of thermodynamics; i.e. it always increases.

But you can't conclude from that pair that software is easy!

Downtown Austin seems to be defying entropy and steadily organizing itself into a urban center with a nightlife and life at night. We went to Copa and heard a set by a big jazz orchestra and then met friends for drinks and food at Capitol Brasserie. We went to Taverna afterwards to have a nightcap and just see more people, eating and drinking and socializing in downtown Austin.

Chalow seems to be asking to go outside and lot. We worry that there is a tumor pressing on her bladder or something. She is such and old lady with such a young heart.