How many of you are there out there?

Too many of me . . .

HowManyOfMe.com

There are 188 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

'Brenda' is the 67th most popular name in the U.S.

Serenaded

Just saw my favorite Grand Central musician - - - the guy wears black spandex bell-bottoms paired with a black sleeveless T, his long dark locks flailing in time with the energetic melody. His instrument of choice is an electric violin and his music is always vibrant and compelling. I'm not so much a fan of regular violin, but electrified - - - guaranteed to catch my interest!

Tech Savvy (for me)

Friday evening I set myself on a mission: Connect the laptop to the TV (to enable watching General Conference in style)

Since it was already right around midnight, I determined to arise early on Saturday to go to an electronics store for the "cable" I would need.

Saturday morning dawned and I realized that the clerks may not be able to help me without a bit of preliminary information regarding the electronics I was planning to connect. After a little internet research, I learned that my TV and computer both possessed VGA ports. Armed with this knowledge I quickly walked to the store.

Upon arriving I spoke with a series of clerks who each possessed a vague knowledge of the location of the VGA cables. After finally finding someone who actually knew where the merchandise was displayed, I made my way down the third flight of stairs (turned out they were all unnecessary, I was originally on the correct floor) and perused the options before me.

After intently studying each of the options in the display I settled on one, but decided that I possessed such a limited understanding that it would be best to obtain confirmation on my selection. I waited patiently while the clerk assisted another customer before stepping forward and outlining my request.

He pointed out another option (that was cheaper) and said that either selection would transfer the picture as desired, however, he informed me, a VGA cable doesn't transfer sound. I was shocked - - - seriously, what good is picture without sound?! He noticed the look of confusion/annoyance/disbelief on my face and quickly turned back to the display and grabbed another which included a separate cord that connects to the headphone port, pushed it into my hands and told me it was designed to transport sound and picture. Unfortunately though, he informed me that he had no way of knowing if my TV had the capability to accept the sound.

Luckily, I had foreseen this challenge and pulled out my digital camera. Turning it on and selecting the photo I had snapped earlier that morning, I handed him the camera and instructed him on using the zoom function to enable closer study of the photo of the ports on my TV. He was immediately able to confirm that indeed my TV was appropriately equipped. I thanked him effusively and made my purchase.

And yes, I was able to watch all 4 sessions of General Conference, seated on my couch. It was wonderful. And I absolutely loved conference. What a blessing technology is!