Grace Notes @ Snarkattack

I went home last weekend, and saw a brand new Mozilla Firefox on the dining room table.

Having mentioned it recently, I thought I might tell the tale of Conrad Fox.

Conrad Fox is the name of my Mozilla Firefox. I sleep with him nearly every night (I don’t mind admitting it – I get cold, and hugging him happens to keep me warm).

He got his name after a childhood anecdote that Z told me – one of very few.

When Z was little, he didn’t quite understand the whole communist thing which is perfectly understandable. I’m of adult age and I still don’t understand it. He didn’t know why everyone was called ‘Conrad’ and it puzzled him to hear his former yippie sociology professor parents always talking about communists and Conrads.

Yes, he misheard ‘Comrade’ as ‘Conrad’.

Now, the firefox, or ‘red panda’, being red (ie. communist, haha), I thought it would be amusing to name him Conrad in honour of Z’s misunderstanding as it was quite a cute anecdote and Z is steely: it’s hard to imagine him doing anything ‘wrong’ or ‘cute’ – even as a child. I’m sure he did heaps of things that would prove otherwise, but he most certainly didn’t tell me. As far as I was concerned, as soon as they pulled him out of his birth vessel he probably started creating his first masterpiece or recording a face-melting grindcore vocal track * rolls eyes *. Or painting Warhammer 40k figurines…

His only other ‘weakness’ that I can think of: when I had a sweet in my mouth and put it to the side of my cheek resulting it it bulging – he used to tell me when I did that I was having a ‘cute attack’ which apparently meant being too cute according to him and his brother. Though many have remarked on my supposed ‘cuteness’ (ie. Due to my compact size rather than aesthetic pleasure), this was the only time Z fell into such a trap.

That’s the tale of Conrad Fox. Here’s a picture below. He’s a good deal more battered, squashed and drooled upon than the pristine model I saw today on the table downstairs. But, I love him all the same. My father bought him for me instead of a Mozilla shirt.

(The photo lies – it was taken two years ago)