Wired magazine has passed its wired, tired, and expired date, but I read it anyhow, out of long habit. Austin appears in the form of preliminary SxSW Interactive promotion and in editorial copy as well. In a multipage “green home” segment, an entire page is devoted to a five-bedroom residence as an exemplar of eco-freako housing (January issue; page 116). This seems like a dubious proposition given the apparent size of the structure, but I do like the fact that the air-conditioning is supposedly quiet, since most is so noisy. The number of square feet in this paragon of energy-efficiency is not mentioned. Austin is reported (pages 154-55) to be one of the USA’s ten “best geek cities,” earning points on several scales (available free Wi-Fi, for instance), some of them odd (dorkbot attendees). Austin, unlike any of the other cities named, is gratuitously dissed. The fault found with our fair city is that it’s “surrounded by Texas.” Why did “they” pick on Austin? There are so many more “downsides” to Raleigh-Durham, Pittsburgh, and Orlando, just to name three. This issue isn’t on line yet. Remember; it was just a month ago that our live-music status was unilaterally taken down a peg or two. We should all toughen up to be ready for the next time those big mean bullies kick sand in our faces. Yeah!