A bit of sad news: my grandfather, Steward Bernd, died last week. He was 91. He had been unwell for several years. Poor circulation led him to lose a leg in the 90's. The other leg was lost in June. Needless to say, his quality of life for the better part of a decade was not great.

While in the hospital for the second amputation, doctors discovered that he had a 8.5cm embolism on his aorta. I've been told that these embolisms typically rupture at 4cm. Given his general condition and advanced age, it was decided that nothing could be done for him other than to send him home to rest comfortably in the care of my uncles and grandmother.

During the funeral, he was honored for his service in World War II. He described it to me some months ago as filing a lot of index cards in London while trying not to get hit by falling V-1 rocket bombs. The Army sent a sergeant (Grade E-7 for aficionados) to perform a final tribute. He presented my grandmother with the flag that had been draped on his casket "on behalf of the President of the United States and a grateful nation".

It's hard to be sad for Poppy. Like I said, he had lived to a very advanced age and was not in great shape. He led a pretty good and, I might add, blameless life. He had it all: a good upbringing, a long marriage with many children, nice house in the suburbs, loyal dog, member of the Kiwanis, the whole bit. You could do a lot worse than having been Steward Bernd. I think that's why the reception afterward had such a light feel — celebrating a life well lived.

I decided to jettison some of the flotsam and jetsam of my on-line life by de-friending a bunch of boys who proved to be users and/or losers. So long, suckers! "No second chances. I'm that sort of a man."

I got an iPhone. So far it has met, and even exceed, my expectations. The sound quality is excellent for calls, as well as music and videos. The screen is great, and the keyboard is good once you get accustomed to typing on glass. I feel it is truly a device that I will carry everywhere religiously. I only wish it had an AIM client -- a feature that is probably in the works for some future release.