Dream modalities

The fragment of dream I remember from last night was a phone call with someone I'm no longer in touch with. The strange part was realizing this morning that it wasn't a visual dream, but an aural one. I don't remember this ever happening before; I'm more sight-oriented*, so while there has been dream sound, it's never been primary. It made me think about Touching the Rock, where he describes how memories of sight fell away, wondering whether his dreams became more aural or more tactile. Would someone who loses hearing completely (rather than born deaf) have a similar loss of even the memory of sound?

* Not mostly in the picture-making sort of way. I know some people who make vivid pictures when reading narratives, for instance, but I tend towards vague images, more for a feeling of orientation (map-like), if at all. I'm more focused on the text (and can frequently say where on the page of a book a piece of information is, even if I can't remember the thing itself), though I don't remember ever having a text-based dream.

Spending like it's almost presidential

From this story in the Houston Chronicle: funding requests for former Presidents Jimmy Carter, George H.W. Bush and Bill Clinton, fiscal 2008.

Total
• Carter: $518,000
• Bush: $786,000
• Clinton: $1.16 million

Given the totals, it's not surprising how the Chronicle spins the story against Clinton. However, as always, the devil's in the details.

( broken out )

Clinton's office is in NYC, which accounts for the majority of the difference (rent). He's also got significantly higher phone costs than the other two, which does surprise me. And the extra $10K for pension doesn't make any sense either. I think there definitely are questions that can be asked, but I don't believe that Clinton's duping the feds as the article implies.

Also, Carter? Continues to be the best investment in a former president. His expenses are the lowest (he's not in an expensive area, among other things), and he's doing all kinds of humanitarian works.