At noon, there were 5…At 5:30pm, there were about 50.

I just don’t get it…

Sweet criminy, Ms. Steinfeld has pointed us all at the best web-service ever.

Says Emma:

So, if you’re in Pennsylvania, North Carolina, or Texas and you see a litterer, jot down the license plate, register at Litter Butt, and report his/her!

That’s right, folks. Apparently, if you live in one of the three cooperating states (NC, PA, and TX) you can report litterbugs and they’ll get a letter from the state government. Unfortunately, there’s no fine or real punishment, but hey, maybe shaming these people will do enough to make them realize they’re boneheads.

Thanks, Emma!

Or, you know, not so much…There were only about 10 folks in line at 12:30pm.

They were drawn to the iPhone because…Well…”Just look at it!” one of them said. “There’s never been anything like it before” another line-occupant remarked.

One of those that there waiting wasn’t even getting the phone for herself…”I’m being paid $200 to wait and buy the phone for my friend.”

Wow. I mean, seriously, wow. On top of paying $500-700 for the phone, someone is paying the young woman $200 just to wait? Sheesh, who’s got that kind of disposable income?

There was even one of Jacksonville’s finest present (just not for the photo) to keep this unruly crowd under control.

I’ll swing by again after work to see if the crowd has grown and get a comparative shot then.

For BrockNet Media News, I’m Tom Brock in Jacksonville.

Corrections:

I post this correction to yesterday’s post: Scoble: Waiting in an iPhone line so you don’t have to. I said Robert was at the (apparently much sexier?) Apple store in San Francisco. Robert is actually at the (apparently much geekier?) Apple store in Palo Alto. I ask your forgiveness, Mr. Scoble. My familiarity with California’s geography is limited.

Deflections:

Yesterday I wrote that the Jacksonville Daily News website had an asinine poll regarding  Japan’s decision to correct the name of the island Iwo Jima to Iwo To on maps. Shortly thereafter the poll was changed to a much more asinine question of the then-already-failed-in-the-Senate immigration bill. For it? Against it? Ultimately, it doesn’t matter.

Reflections on bad choices made during insomniacal episodes:

At 2am a quarter pounder with cheese and a sweet tea sounds like a great idea. At 6 am, not so much.

A lot of folks have asked why I blog with my full and real name, why I publish my calendar online, and why in some places I even publish my telephone number.

There are several reasons:

• I have nothing to hide.
• It’s my website, so it wouldn’t take much to look up the registry information.
• I’m fortunate enough to write what I write without fear of being “Dooced.”

There are many reasons that someone would want to write anonymously, though.

• Personal security: It’s a risky world these days. Sometimes when one opines, the fringes of our society becomes violent and bad things happen to friends, family, or themselves.
• Fear of the aforementioned Doocing.
• It’s been used for centuries and it’s not a big deal.

People that spend their time worrying who is and isn’t really who they say they are or aren’t online need to step back and take a good, long, and hard look at themselves to figure out why they care and what it matters. Because, trust me on this, there are bigger issues in the world today that need to be dealt with.

Have you watched Planet Earth?

If you haven’t, you should. It’s the perfect vehicle for a bit of much needed human humility. BBC’s version is available on Netflix.

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iPhone’s won’t be available in Jacksonville, NC until tomorrow evening at 6pm. There was no line at my local AT&T store.

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The Essential Paul Simon (Amazon, iTunes) is a great listen. My long-time favorites like Kodachrome and Slip-Slidin’ Away are matched with songs I’m less familiar. I’m glad I splurged because the 36 songs create a great compilation of Simon’s work.

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I’m having a touch of insomnia. It’s really irritating because I’ve not had many episodes lately. Ultimately, it’s a good thing. I have a lot of cleaning and arranging and organizing that must be done in my apartment…

Of course, you’ll all benefit from my efforts, as I’ll give you a tour of the place…When it’s presentable, but not before.

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Today’s poll at the Jacksonville Daily News website is at left. As you can see, it asks the reader “Were they [Japan] right to change the name or should they have shown respect for the tradition of a battle that killed nearly 7,000 Americans?”

I would like to take this opportunity to remind the Jacksonville Daily News that Iwo To was always the name of the island and that it was through an error of translation that the island was ever call Iwo Jima.

This has nothing to do with “respect for the tradition of a battle” but everything to do with respect for the tradition of an island and its people.

Jacksonville Daily News, how about asking important, or at the very least interesting, questions instead of trying to foment some sort of false sense of historical interest.

It’s Japan’s island. They can name it what they want.

That’s right folks, one-time BLog visitor (and commenter, even) Robert Scoble has started the San Francisco Apple store line for the iPhone. All so you don’t have to.

He’s a far better man than I, especially since I don’t really want an iPhone (and, thus, am not getting one). It has given me the idea to check the Jacksonville AT&T stores to see if they’ve got any lines.

That’d be more fun than standing in line!

Nothing too crazy on the first night.

The instructor, Peter Rulon (Webshots, OneModelPlace), is a local photographer and has been published and won 2nd place in Animal Behavior category of NC Wildlife’s contest.

Our first assignment is to take a walk (with camera, of course). Photographed subjects must be within 5 feet of the camera. Out of the photographs taken, we must select 4 (3 that we’re proud of and 1 that is not-so-good) to submit for class review. The only “tampering”  allowed is changing coloring to black and white.

We must also photocopy (or print from the online manual) the index and mark the topics that we aren’t fully familiar. It’s to help him gauge the classes knowledge and how to tailor the class to our needs.

I’m excited and interested and I’m hoping that I’ll be able to take better photos after the 8 weeks.

Tonight is the first session of an “Intermediate Digital Photography” course I’m taking. I’m a tad nervous because I’ve got to provide samples of my work. Knowing that I’m a mediocre (at best) photographer, having someone look at my photographs is a concern.

I’m hoping that the course will teach me how to really use the camera I have, instead of just “pointing-and-clicking.”

I shall, of course, report back after the lesson.