say what?

a few weeks ago, radio-host/comedian/famous minnesotan al franken appeared on letterman and vented frustration about his and his wife's habit of yelling to each other from different rooms in their house. despite their concerted efforts to communicate superhero-like - through walls and doors- all it did was make them annoyed with each other.

in the wake of such strange couple behavior aired in a public setting, ann and dabney acknowledged that, yes, they do this too... a lot: workroom to living room, bathroom to bedroom, upstairs to downstairs, backyard to kitchen. their neighbors must think they are hard of hearing. and just like al, they, too, get equally irritated by the inability to decipher their loved one's muffled hollers (and not to mention the strange compulsion to reciprocate by raising one's own voice in response, even if only to say, "whaaaaaattt?!? i couldn't hear you!").

bad behavior noted, ann and dabney pledged to change their ways. once again, technology stepped in to the rescue. after over a year of ownership, superette's own techie diva, ann, finally pushed the intercom button on their cordless phone to see what it does. lo and behold, a nerdy solution.

now, the new challenge: resist the urge to pick up the phone fifty times a day.