Mar 29, 2007

American I-Duh, a hooch gets blasted, and panda sex and droppings

Once again, American 'voters' do not disappoint. Send Chris Sligh home because he has one bad night, but keep stupid-sounding Sanjaya around because... well, because you want to prove how flawed the Idol voting system is... Nice... I hope next year, Idol takes a cue from Grease - let America vote, but give the judges the final say until the pack is whittled down to 10. Of course, I wouldn't mind seeing the judges having a say until the top 4, maybe. Oh well, guess we'll see what (if anything, or if Idol even returns) they come up with next season.


Dad sent us a picture of one of the hooches that was hit recently by Iraqi fire. Apparently the Iraqis were aiming for the palace and missed. So far as I have heard, one employee of KBR was killed in the attack. They are also under "Alert Level Black," which is the highest level, requiring serious security measures. Keep Dad and everyone over there in your prayers, please....



Have you heard that San Francisco may be offering only paper bags at the checkout? Evidently, there is some new ban on plastic bags in S.F... So far, it only affects grocery stores and drug stores, so all the.. umm.. alternative retail outlets can still offer plastic bags (guess the people who like to have sex with 'mature' blow-up dolls are safe....)


And, speaking of sex... A zoo in Thailand has hooked up a big-screen TV for their male panda... And, you guessed it, they are showing porno movies on it to get the guy 'in the mood.' Oh, wait, did I mention, these are... panda porno movies?? Yeah... I just want to know how much of the admission fees are being funneled to this 'project.' i can only hope the screen does not face in a direction where children could be ... well... exposed.. to the panda mating videos.... Seriously, though, I would love to know who and exactly HOW they came up with this idea... The night guard overhears a couple of zookeeps discussing the lack of mating behavior in the panda cages...he scratches his head, and says, "Ya know... you might wanna try some porn..." And, of course instead of smacking and/or firing the guy, they actually implement the idea.... Well, if it works, I'm sure whoever came up with the idea will be all over the news...


And, speaking of pandas, another zoo (this one in Beijing) is trying to turn panda droppings into paper... Look, I don't make this stuff up, I just pass (excuse the pun) it along to you... Seriously, Panda-Poop Paper could be out next year....


I realize that my weird stories today come from the same source, but when you hit a gold-mine, you just keep digging, ya know... :-) You can't say I didn't warn you, either... I mean, it says it all right there in the title....

Mar 27, 2007

Idle thoughts

Yeah, okay, so I was going to do the whole playon words and make the title, "Idol thoughts," but I figured that would lead you to believe I was going to go on some deep, meaningful tirade about "Idol..." And, while I may still do that, it is not really my plan.. :-)

Tonight's Idol showed the bad side of several folks: Chris Sligh, Sanjaya (of course!), and Chris R. Chris S. completely obliterated "Every Little Thing She Does is Magic." While he was singing, I kept saying, "He's just not.. getting there with the beat.." Low and behold, that's exactly what the 'pros' said. It was bad, and if the airheads that keep Sanjie around still do all their voting, then Chris S may find himself out of the contest... Speaking of Sanjie... Well, he sucked - from his stupid hair-do to the fact that HE CAN NOT SING. As for Chris R, I just don't 'get him' yet. Sometimes, I like his style, but for the most part, I don't seem him as 'contemporary' or 'modern.' He sings all over the place and I'm not sure much of it is actually ON KEY... Well, he's top ten, so more power to him....

As you can see, Sanjie got TWO no's this week from Shan. Her reason: The other two were bad, but Sanjaya is SO bad, it needs to be shown by saying it twice! :-)

Idol Singer

Dave's Vote

Shan's Vote

Lakisha

Yes

Yes

Chris S

No

No

Gina

Yes

Yes

Sanjaya

No

NoNo!

Haley

Yes

Yes

Phil

Yes

Yes

Melinda

Yes

Yes

Blake

Yes

Yes

Jordin

Yes

Yes

Chris R

No

Yes?

Stephanie

Yes

Yes

Rudy

No

No

Paul

No

No

Amy

?Yes?

?Yes?

Nicole

No

No

Nick

Yes

Yes

AJ

No

Yes?

Leslie

No

No

Alaina

Yes

Yes

Sabrina

Yes

Yes


Antonella

No

No

Jared

No?

No

Sundance

No?

Yes

Brandon

No?

No?




Finally broke down and bought a new washer today. The other one was 15 years old and started leaking from somewhere I couldn't figure out. The hoses were dry, yes parts were rusted underneath... Rather than pay at least 100 bucks to have someone look at it, the money that would have been spent for that went into a new one. Turns out, 15 years is nearly 5 years longer than most washers are 'supposed' to last. Go figure... :-)


Have you seen commercials for the "TV Diamond Ring?" (http://www.tvdiamondring.com) Well, the premis is that they have this 'genuine' diamond ring, surrounded by imported authentic crystal. The ring comes with a certificate of authenticity. Umm, why would I need a COA for a ring!? Well, the price? 19.95... Yeap, 20 bucks... But, you can 'only' order 5 per caller... whatever... Guess that's what I get for watching late-night commercials, huh?


Well, it turns out my first PBS Teacherline class didn't get enough students to make, so I won't be facilitating my first online course just yet... That is a blessing and a curse all in one.... Maybe next time... :-)


Guess that's all for now.... I spared ya this time... :-)

Mar 26, 2007

...heaven...

It'd been a while since I had listened to some of the 9-11 tribute songs I downloaded off the 'net. And, one in particular stands out for me more than a lot of the others. It is the DJ Sammy verion of his 9/11 tribute version of "Heaven." If you want to search for it, search for DJ Sammy 911 heaven...

The words alone will move you, but when coupled with the music... It can tear you apart....


*It's been a year daddy
I really really miss you
Mommy says your safe now
In a beautiful place called heaven*

Oh I'm thinking about our younger years

*We had your favorite dinner tonite*

there was only you and me

*I ate it all up*

We were young and wild and free

*Even though I don't like carrots*

Now nothing can take you away from me

*I learned how to swim this summer*

We've been down that road before

*I can even open my eyes*

But that's over now

*While I'm under water*

You keep me coming back for more

*Can't you see me?*

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

*I started kindergarten this year*

Love is all that I need
And I found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

*I carry a picture of us
In my Blue's Clues lunchbox*

Oh once in your life you find someone

*You are the greatest daddy*

Who will turn your world around
Pick you up when you're feeling down
Now nothing can change what you mean to me

*I can swing on the swing by myself*

There's a lot that I could say
But just hold me now

*Even though I miss you pushing me*

Cause our love will light the way

*Can't you see me?*

Baby you're all that I want
When you're lying here in my arms
I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

*I miss how you used to tickle me*

And love is all that I need

*Tickle my belly*

And I found it there in your heart

*My belly hurts*

It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

*I try not to cry*

I've been waiting for so long

*Mommy says it's okay*

For something to arrive
For love to come along

*I know you don't like it when I cry*

Now our dreams are coming true
Through the good times and the bad

*You never wanted me to be sad*

I'll be standing there by you

*I try Daddy but it hurts*

Baby you're all that I want

*Is it true you're not coming home?*

When you're lying here in my arms

*Maybe someday*

I'm finding it hard to believe
We're in heaven

*I can visit you in heaven, okay?*

And love is all that I need
And I've found it there in your heart
It isn't too hard to see
We're in heaven

*It's time for me to go bed now
I sleep with the light on
Just in case you come home
And kiss me good night
I love you so much
I miss you Daddy*

~*In loving memory of all the victims of 911*~
~*RIP PGC*~

Video: The original version of the DJ Sammy 9/11 "Heaven" remix... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UV4tML4lTlY 

Mar 25, 2007

The ones that WE want! Spring Cleaning Part 1

Oh, yeah, buddy!! America voted and they picked MAX and LAURA to be the leads in the "Grease" Broadway show! That is awesome! I was so afraid Austin was going to win, but SO glad he didn't!!


Today was the first round of Spring Cleaning. I started with cleaning up the yard a bit, which led to sawing Daisy's water barrel in half. The main reason I wanted to do that? Lots of wasted water. Now, I know I will have to check the water more often, but that is actually a better thing anyway, so it will be easier to clean and she'll have fresher water more often! From there, I decided to 'fix' the steps on the deck in the back of the house.... This involved removing the old steps (which of course was supposed to be a 15-minute job) much in the manner that Tim 'the toolman' Taylor might do it... The deck was built in 1996 or so, and I affectionately refer to it as "Deck 1.0." Now, because of the lack of care, it's pretty run-down. But, because it is Deck 1.0, it was built to withstand most natural disasters. Great if you plan on leaving it alone - not so great when you are trying take the stairs apart. To spare you the boring details, I'll just say I finally got the steps ..um.. dismantled. I put different steps up and 'rigged' pieces of wood together to make some steps from the house down to the deck... Yeah... I may have to take a picture, just so you can see how.. umm... 'redneck' I really can be... :-)

Following the deck-work, Shan cut the grass, then we broke out the tree trimmer and cut down some saplings that had grown in between the deck and the house. It was a jungle out there in back... :-) Emily decided she wanted to play hide-n-seek, and then we played 'duck, duck, goose' ... I'll be making an appointment to see the doctor... I turned my hip one way and my leg in the opposite direction... Let's just say thins aren't feeling well in that area. Now, normally, I wouldn't care. But, I have been...ummm...putting off going to doc about my knees and hips for quite a while now.... When I was a teenager, my knee suffered some damage during soccer. I was told that I would have a knee operation by the time I was 25... Since I saw 25 many moons ago, I am way overdue... I kept putting it off, and now I'm afraid it has caught up with me... Getting old is heck... :-) Nah, not really... :-)

Let's see, I think that ends round 1 of spring cleaning...


Have you seen the latest Honda ad? In it the guy says something about liking bologna on his pizza, and she says, "it must be a guy thing.." uh, no.. I like bologna on sandwiches. On pizza? I can't even imagine how nasty that would be... AUGH!


The story about a woman who chopped up her husband, cooked him, then buried hum under her house was in the Arkansas-Democrat Gazette today.... People will never cease to amaze me!


And, if THAT story wasn't bad enough... A guy in Houston was barbecuing his girlfriend.... Seriously, what it with some people?



We saw "Wild Hogs" yesterday. I thought it was hilarious, especially to see John Travolta let himself show his 'middle-aged' humorous side! Of course, the end credits were great! :-) I whole-heartedly recommend you see the movie! Be prepared for some 'rough' language and some one 'grown-up' talk/humor. It was funny listening to the youngsters in the place laughing though... :-) I should clarify - our kiddos did not go with....


I was bummed that Angela got kicked off "The Apprentice" tonight. But, as Ivanka said, Angie gave no compelling reason to fire anyone else. I think she could/should have fought to get Nicole fired, but she didn't.

I was livid that Tim did NOTHING when confronted with James' choice to send Nicole to the other team. I'm not saying he should have offered to take her place, but why not fight for some other method of choosing? Of course, had it been put to vote, James would have found himself on the other team... I actually thought the skating idea was good, but they needed some kind of tent ot table or something to help out... Use the skaters to get people interested, but then send them to the table - or steer them in that direction anyway.... Look, if your girlfriend needs some kind of defending, DEFEND her!

Mar 23, 2007

Spah-ring Buh-rake!

Oh yeah, Buddy! Today officially starts Spring Break for me, Shan and the kiddos. I have to admit, working in K-12 has its perks... :-) So, what are the plans? Cleaning, mostly... and playing, I'm sure.. :-)


Emily chose our evening dining destination tonight... She picked McDonald's. Not for the food, but for the playground... :-)

Mickey-D's is doing TMNT toys for boys and Madame Alexander "Wizard of Oz" dolls for girls. It is so weird to see TMNT making a comeback after all these years... Of course, when *I* was a kid.... LOL, just kidding. If you go to HappyMeal.com, there is a little curved line of text at the top that reads, "Hey Kids, This is advertising." How funny.. :-) Well, at least they're honest....


The Walgreen's in Hope is now officially open. I thought it was kinda funny (or sad, maybe) that there were few cars there for it being the first opening and all... I mean, several places have opened in Hope over the past few years, and those places have generally been packed when opening... Walgreens? Nope... Then again, it *IS* a drugstore...


A coffee shop in Taylorsville, Utah is in hot water (coffee?) over the use of the Mormon logo in their "Just Add Coffee" ads... I don't know much about the Mormon faith (and, no I do not want anyone knocking on my door, thanks), but evidently "Just Add Coffee" isn't as catchy as "WWJD..."



A would-be thief in Germany got caught the old-fashioned way... He left half of his broken credit card in the door he was trying to 'jimmy' open with it.... Can you say, "DUH!" After the cops got the half with guy's NAME on it, it didn't take long to hunt him down... And, the bonehead had the other half of the credit card laying on the table when the police showed... Really, this guy needs a sign...


USARPSL - sound familiar? Does the acronym look like something from your past? USA - United States of America... RPS... Hmm... How about Rock, Paper, Scissors!? L... League... Yes, the USA Rock, Paper Scissors League... I had no idea such a thing existed... Not only that, but they are holding a tournament in Hot Springs... Before you roll your eyes and laugh, the NATIONAL championship (held in Las Vegas) prize? FIFTY THOUSAND BUCKS! The winner of the Hot Springs tourney gets two free tickets and $1000... 2nd place at the Springs? $500... Not bad for playing with your hands... :-) And, do you wanna know who SPONSORS the tourneys?? How about Bud-friggin-Light!? You gotta see the USARPS website...


You never know what I'll find or why I'm telling you about it... Heck, I don't even know most of the time! My head is full of useless tidbits... Things that will only come in handy when playing a gameshow on television for a million bucks... Not that I would be at the million-dollar level, mind you.. No, no... The stuff rolling around between my ears is good for.... a couple hundred grand at the most... Which, all in all, I could live with, given the opportunity.... :-)


My Sharepoint thought of the day - Permissions. Remember, people can't post to a discussion board if they don't have the permission to do it.... Trust me, I know... I forgot to set the permissions for a whole GROUP of people... It's a little embarrassing, but no where near as bad as having your friend make you laugh just as you have taken a big bite of nachos and a swig of Coke.... You've had milk come out of your nose? Try nachos with Coke... Talk about clearing up your sinuses! :-) (BTW, happened to me while at a Pittsburgh Spirit soccer game in the 80's... See how some things never leave your memory....


Mar 22, 2007

Okay, okay, so I tried again

I couldn't leave well enough alone.... How could I? That thing just kept calling to me, begging me to just try one more time... In a way, I felt like a contestant on "Deal or No Deal..." One more time... One more time.... Well, if you watch the show, you know what tends to happen, right? One more time ends up being one time too many.... Yes, I attacked the bike and installed the derailleur. Now, I'm not saying I did it correctly, or maybe I should say COMPLETELY correctly... Something just doesn't sit right with me as I was riding the bike to test my ... stick-to-it-iveness... But, the "known" issue is the gear cable. The new derailleur is not as far back, or down, or something, as the old one, so there is a LOT of extra cable. I'm sure that can't be good, but I have no idea why or what I need to do shorten it correctly. Notice I said CORRECTLY... So, yeah, I'm calling the bike shop, admitting my lack of bicycle repair knowledge and beg them to fix it without breaking my bank... Oh, and letting me watch so I can learn something...


Life's short... but, it's still longer than today's blog post! :-)

Mar 21, 2007

A matter of interpretation...

While looking through a list of Acts and Bills that have passed or have been proposed in the Arkansas Legislature this go-round, a couple stuck out as a bit odd 'on the surface,' so I thought I'd share... :-)

(Act-145): The driver of a vehicle must remain at the scene of an accident resulting in injury, death to any person or damage to any vehicle for a reasonable time of not less than thirty (30) minutes if they know law enforcement official have been contacted for assistance. - So, if you hit someone and drive off before the cops are called, you're scott free....

SB-6: Requires a driver of a motor vehicle to possess a hands-free cellular telephone device while driving. - This is an inactive Bill, but I couldn't help but wonder at this one... Had this passed, as it is titled, the state of Arkansas would HAVE to give every licensed driver in the state a hands-free cellphone, that they would have to use while driving. I am assuming someone said, "Do you have any idea what the airtime charges would be for that!?" LOL, yes, I know the *intent,* but remember, it's all a matter of interpretation....


Someone, I beg of you once again, PLEASE tell me why there seem to be only 4 people in the world that know how bad Sanjaya is.... How in the world did he make it through!? If "Vote for the Worst" is having an impact, I must tip my hat in their direction. As Simon was trying to convey - the look on the girl's face was of sheer pain and torment. At least Simon knows who sucks....

As for Stephanie getting booted, well, at the beginning of the show, she was in my bottom three, and I had said something about her going, since we pretty much knew that Sanjie wasn't going anywhere...Lord help us all...


I may have mentioned that Tyler crashed his bike and I ordered the part. It came in. It doesn't even remotely look like the part he broke, other than the fact it is a rear derailleur. I tried to figure out how this little contraption fits on the bike, but from everything I could tell, it has to mount upside down... That can't be right, so I believe I will take the thing in to the LBS (Local Bike Shop, a term I learned today while surfing the net trying to learn how to install the beast). I'm calling them Thursday. I'll let you how long it takes for them to stop laughing long enough to give me an estimate... I am not the smartest person in the world, but I know when I am out of my league (basically, if it's related in any way to being mechanical - I'm out of my league...). Don't get me wrong, I would LOVE to be able to whip that puppy on there.... Maybe I can watch them fix the bike... :-)

Mar 20, 2007

It's all about the clothes....

Tonight, Emily decided she wanted to play along with us in our weekly picks for Idol. Now, really, she has played before, but she usually gets bored with the whole thing before the show's over... And, tonight she had to go to bed before it was over, so any blanks under her name simply means she went to bed...

Emily based several of her votes, not on the singing, but on the clothes the contestants wore... She loved Haley's outfit (as did Simon, evidently) and she said she liked the way Blake dressed (er, umm, PLAID pants? Look, I have a picture of myself when I was about 8 or so, and I had plaid pants... It wasn't pretty then, and it isn't pretty now...). And, well, you know me and the whole guys wearing pink thing, so, fuhgedaboutit.... But, he did a great job with his song.

Gina? Ouch. Yeah, she's a rocker, but this was screeching. And, what in the freak is up with Sanjaya!? Look, the guy can't sing pop or ballads, so he tries to rock out!? It was the worst performance by anyone I had every heard - even worse than many of the 'outtakes' people... His sister may not have done as well in the auditions, but I can promise you she would kick his rear end at this stage.

I am not a fan of Chris R. To me, he sounds way off key or I dunno, something... The tone of his voice makes me cringe... Okay, not as bad as Sanjaya, but it ain't far off....

This week's chart has an Emily column, and the white spaces under Shan's name indicate she couldn't decide which way to go, so there's a big question mark there...

Idol Singer
Dave's Vote
Shan's Vote
Emily's Vote
BrandonNo?No?
Chris RNoNoNo
BlakeYesYesYes?
SanjayaNoNoNo
Chris SYesYes
PhilYesYesYes?
StephanieYesYesYes
JordinYes?YesYes
HaleyYes??Yes?
MelindaYesYes
GinaNo?
LakishaYes?YesYes?
RudyNoNo
PaulNoNo
Amy?Yes??Yes?
NicoleNoNo
NickYesYes
AJNoYes?
LeslieNoNo
AlainaYesYes
SabrinaYesYes
AntonellaNoNo
JaredNo?No
SundanceNo?Yes


Warning - techie stuff ahead: Today, we got the video system in the conference room to make a call to the Q1 (remember, my cool new little portable!?), and to the MacBook, and to another system on the video network. It was very, very cool! John even took the MacBook (wireless) and walked outside to the parking lot, never losing connection, all the while talking over the video network! I'm telling you, I was in techie awe-dom... :-)


Oh, I need to make a correction: Allie, not Aimee, was the girl voted off "Grease" the other week... Sorry for the mistake... :-)

Mar 19, 2007

Tooth Tunes, Cool Deals, and a temporary death...


The kids got new toothbrushes the other day. Have you heard of these new ones that play songs in your head while you brush? You can actually hear the music outside of your head (that is, hold the brush, push back on the brush head, and it plays). But, put that puppy in your mouth (especially way back in the molar region) and it's a whole different ballgame... Loud as heck inside your head! :-) Very cool... Though, at 8 bucks a pop... Ouch...


"Deal or No Deal" was pretty cool - two hours of two shows, both featuring twins. Very cool. I personally thought the "Doublemint" offer was the best one of the night. Though, the "Hot Dog on a Stick" girl walked away with a pretty penny ($62,000 worth!) - not bad for working in the mall, having Howie walk up and say, "How'd you like to win a million bucks?" The most I ever won while on the job was $105... I may have told the story of the drunk-looking Santa... If I haven't, then I'll share it with you some time...


Em has (or had, depending on her current state of existence) an imaginary friend. Well, she has two, really. We were informed today that one of them died....in a tragic...er, uh... microwave oven incident. Shan told Em to be sure to let her invisible friend know that we should not play in ovens, microwaves, fridges, etc because it could kill us. To which Em replied, "Duh.. that's why she's DEAD, Mom..." Yeap, that would do it.... :-)


I was poking around the net at lunch, and visited my pals at "Vote for the Worst." They have picked Sanjaya now that Sundance is gone. Remember, they can ALWAYS claim victory because they change their...er, um... tune, every time their 'pick' gets voted off. Frankly, if you want to prove your point, pick someone and stick with them. If they get voted off, they get voted off and you theory needs work.... Oh well, what is actually the most entertaining part of all this is that people are posting to the boards, calling for the operator to shut it down. The feedback/posts are heavy with cussing, outrage, etc... "You are ruining people's lives..." blah blah blah... Look, the point of the site is to expose the problems with the voting system. If "Idol" is going to survive for more than one more season, they really need to address the problem... It's flawed - fix it. Of course, I would suggest that since "Vote for Worst" has such a huge issue with the whole thing, they should at least offer solutions... And maybe they do, who knows. I never stay on there long enough to read much passed a few reader posts... I just have too many other things popping in my head... :-)


eTopps has decided to offer WWE wrestling cards. I have never seen so much controversy over trading cards in my life. I mean, look, if you don't want wrestling cards, don't buy them... How hard is that? Geez...


I received this joke in email today, and thought I'd share it... eel free to pass it along and change the city/state if ya want... LOL...

Two guys are driving through Little Rock when they get pulled over by the boys in blue. The cop walks up and taps on the window with his nightstick. The driver rolls down the window and WHACK! the cop smacks him on the head with the stick.
"What the hell was that for?" the driver asks.
"You're in Arkansas, buddy," the cop answers. "When we pull you over, you better have your license ready when we get to your car."
"I'm sorry officer," the driver says, "I'm from Texas."
The officer runs a check on the guy's license - he's clean and gives the guy his license back. The cop then walks around to the passenger side and taps on the window. The passenger rolls the window down and WHACK! the cop smacks him on the head with the nightstick.
"Just making your wish come true," says the policeman.
"Making WHAT wish come true?" the passenger asks.
"Because I know," the cop says, "that two miles down the road you're gonna turn to your buddy and say, "I wish that ***hole would've tried that sh*t with me!"

Mar 18, 2007

Austin, Muna, and Deja Vu

Austin!? America voted, and they voted to KEEP Austin on "Grease: You're the One That I Want!?" Austin acts like a soap opera guy... Which it turns out, he *IS* a soap guy. That explains his fake smile, his overacting, his forced ...well, everything... I was not surprised to see Aimee get voted off, but as I have said, Laura has been the Sandy of the show (in my opinion) the whole time. I'd pay to see Max and Laura. I wouldn't go see Austin and anyone if David Ian invited me personally and flew me up there on a private jet. Well, okay, maybe I would. But, I wouldn't be happy about it! LOL


I thought Heidi was going to get fired tonight on "Apprentice" for sure... When she said she was going to keep her mouth shut, she sure did. She wouldn't answer the question, "Who would you want on your team?" Step up. She then tried playing the, "everyone is great" card, and I thought for sure Mr. Trump was going to axe her happy butt right there. Good heavens, woman, step up and pick someone. Be aggressive. Win the friggin thing! I dunno, she got knocked down more than a few notches in my book tonight...


While digging through CD's, Emily found one of Tyler's old games, "Just Me and My Mom." It's an interactive storybook. Watching her play, and discover all the fun, hidden animations and surprises gave me a sense of Deja Vu. She laughed, and pointed, and played while she clicked on anything and everything on each page. Like a good movie, or a favorite TV series, there are certain 'games' (programs) that will never wear out their fun, and to me, the "Little Critter" ones are near the top of that list. Please, take that in the light it is meant - I have Duke Nuke'm 3D at the top of the list... :-) But, some games come and go, and they're okay but wear out their playability... The very well-done interactive books, however, will bring laughter and discovery into any child's world... Trust me! :-)


I forgot to mention that yesterday was Daisy's first day back in 'riding' season for us. Now, she did get ridden a couple times during the "colder" months, but that was only twice, maybe... Since it will be warmer now, she'll get ridden much more. Shan's Dad rode first, and Daisy was not happy about it. But, it wasn't too long before he brought her back to where we were all playing and watching Emily play with her T-Ball stuff (more on that in a moment). I got up on Daisy and rose her around for a bit. I took her out into the pasture, since the cows (mainly the bull) were further away. She did okay, but kept her ears straight up and whinnied a lot! Just about the time I got back to the gate, the cows had come across to see what was up... Emily hopped on and we walked around for bit before Shan's Dad took Daisy back into the pasture to see how she was around cows.... Now, remember, Daisy is a former racehorse, not cow horse... It was hard to tell who was more skittish... But, for an old gal, I think she did great... Got the cows to move where Junior wanted them to move, and she even faced the bull down a time or two. Later, Shan's Dad said, "The horse and the rider are too old, or else I would have shown you some stuff." Frankly, I think it was more the horse than the rider. If she were younger, and more accustomed to cows, I believe my father-in-law could have/would have made those cows behave exactly how he wanted.... Of course, Daisy was treated to a nice brushing and feeding after her walk. :-)


Emily is very, VERY excited about playing T-Ball this year. This will be her first year! She just HAD to have a bat (purple because they didn't have any pink ones in stock) and a batting helmet (pink). We also found black and pink batting gloves. We're going to get her a pink mitt soon, too. Can you tell what her favorite colors are? Hmm... :-) Oh, wait, did I mention that SIGN UP for T-Ball is at the end of this week...the 'season' doesn't start until April, we think... Does that phase our little slugger? Nope! :-)


I find it wildly entertaining that twice in the same week, I have been asked to 'snoop' out a story being circulated by email... You see, I am the one person in the world that everyone hates to see mail from... Why? Because many of my messages are in the form of 'reply to alls' in which I provide a link to snopes.com, discrediting whatever nonsense poppycock was first forwarded to me. Snopes... which becomes 'snoops' when someone actually ASKS me to check out a story... Thus, I am the 'snooper...' or, perhaps, makes me...well... snoopy... :-) I don't mind at all when someone asks me to 'snoop' out a story! At least, I've bugged enough people that they are coming to me BEFORE they forward the email about the 'free applebees meals'..... :-)

Stranger Than Fiction, Pictures from Iraq, and Baseball

Tyler had his first baseball practice of the season today. Unlike previous years, this year, the coach (a new coach) moved players around, trying them out in different positions. We were a bit shocked, and honestly, a bit skeptical. We'll see how things go... On a very high note, though, the coach let EVERY player try his hand at pitching. He asked Tyler if he had ever pitched. Tyler said no (which is true) and then proceeded to throw 7 of 10 pitches right over the plate! Shan and I had to pick our jaws up off the floor. We had no idea... Now, he's not fast at it, but he did toss a few zingers...


We watched "Stranger Than Fiction" tonight. Now, I'm sure I have shared my feelings about 'happy ending movies' before (I'll have to check on that), but the predictable twist at the end was a much needed one. I guess because I 'dabble in the art of writing fiction,' I happen to love movies that have the author of a storyline affect or interact with the characters IN the movie... I dunno, it is like the ultimate blending of fictions while testing just how far we are willing to suspend our disbelief.... If you're not familiar with the term "willing suspension of disbelief," look it up sometime... It is an interesting way to look at the reason we watch movies and read fiction in the first place... I digress...

Though it took a long time (in my opinion) to get to 'the start' of the movie, the background-building helped take the viewer further and further away from reality, all the while seeming to be fixed IN reality. I think that's why they picked a character who is/was an IRS agent... Stereotypically unfeeling, unfunny, meticulous, etc... And, being the geek that I am, I loved the "GUI" pop ups... It was very "Minority Report."

The bad thing about the movie is that if things like that DO happen, then there is a chance a pain-in-butt teenager is buried in some old guy's backyard somewhere (based on a short story I wrote a few years ago). I'm not sure I could live with myself, knowing I inadvertently killed someone through writing... Then again, by comparison to say, Stephen King, really, I don't come off "that" bad... :-)


My Dad sent some more pictures from Iraq! Feel free to scroll down and take a look, if you'd like....


Various pictures of Saddam's tributes to himself... Dad says he passes the fallen head on his way to work.... I find it fascinating how dictators build all these large icons in their own images... Wouldn't want the people to forget who was boss, right?




Care to go for a swim?? One thing about Saddam... He sure knew how to put in a pool!




I think the sign says it all.... What is scary is that they had to make the sign in the first place.............



Pictures of the Presidential Palace... Dad says he eats lunch there sometimes.... er, uh, I mean... Father indicated he dines in the Presidential Palace on occasion... :-) How cool is that!?!?




This one got my attention because of the American model cars... I guess it never occurred to me that you would see Fords, Chevys, Dodges, etc in Iraq.... (call me naive):

Mar 16, 2007

Pictures of MacOS!

Shan asked me why I was so bent on getting the MacOS stuff to work on my computer. The truth is, I have no idea what possible benefits there are of playing around with MacOS on my computer (or at all for that matter). The truth is, it's a nerd/geek thing... The very fact that I could run MacOS at all on a PC... Add to that the idea of running MacOS *AND* Windows XP at the same time ON a pc, and you have nerdville nirvana... :-)

And, so, I reinstalled the OS in VMWARE, only this time I *only* selected the Intel Kext. I left the room for a while and when I came back, not only was the OS installed, it was waiting for me to continue the registration and set-up of the OS. I was like a kid a Christmas... After walking through the steps, I was presented with the blue background with swishes and the MacOS toolbar! Finally, all was right! :-)

Well, not quite. It took a bit of playing around to get the network stuff to work. But, I finally did....until I accidentally pressed CTRL-ALT-DEL while in full-screen mode for VMWARE... Things went terribly, horribly wrong. I'm hoping that a reboot of the PC will fix whatever I crashed in VMWARE... :-)

I was, however, smart enough to grab a few screen shots before I crashed the network (the OS actually loads and runs still, which means I can play - just not online...)


OS X starting to boot (in vmware):



The OS X desktop... Running on a PC (in a virtual machine, no less!):



Surfing the web with Safari! (Before the three-finger salute..ouch):



The MAC Dashboard... Frankly, I don't see the big deal with this application. It sits on top of your other programs and just seems to be in the way... Perhaps a 'maccie' will enlighten me (assuming there may be one or more of those reading, though I don't know of any that are...):



I'll post my version of "how I did it" before too long... Thanks for coming along for the ride, even if you are a 'captive audience...' :-)

Well, maybe not...

Okay, so my next post ISN'T from inside my MacPC... Turns out, I did something wrong and crashed it or something... Anyway, we'll see what happens next time I try it. Because, yes, I am going to try again... Why? I wanna... :-)


Did you watch Gray's Anatomy? Well, I knew George and Lizzie were going to sleep together, but the whole time, I'm thinking, "NO! For once, don't let two people on this show sleep together!" Oh well... At least she didn't cry like Meredith did... Of course, Lizzie would have been too drunk to cry about it while it was happening, I suppose.... Yeah, yeah, I'm addicted... :-)


HUMBLE MAN KILLS ANOTHER MAN OVER RELIGIOUS CD... Seems a guy from Humble, Tx, tried to sell a religious CD to another guy. The man didn't want the CD, so Brian White (the Humble, Tx guy) killed the other guy with a rock... Full story here....



The postal service in Arkansas is going to set up four mailboxes that look like..... R2D2!! How cool is that!? Check it out here!


Are you hungry? How hungry? Hungry enough to spend...oh... $1000 on a pizza!? A place in New York has a pizza with different kinds of caviar and lobster for the toppings... The price is $1000, making it the most expensive pizza known as being sold... Want a slice? How about $125?? Seeing as how I am not a caviar or lobster person, I guess I'll have to pass.... :-) (If you just gotta see, here ya go!)


I went to Dairy Queen for lunch, mainly because it is all of 2 blocks from work. I kept my cup handy and went to their web site to play that scratch-off game they have. You have to find the 5 DQ logos. Good luck with that one... Anyway, they had this contest to be the DQ Apprentice. The winner showed herself planting blizzard cups, pouring a blizzard all over her hair in the shower, and a whole 'day in my life as a blizzard fanatic' video... It is actually very well done, and very funny, if not a lot messy! Feel free to watch, laugh, and be UDDERly surprised...

Mar 14, 2007

Bye, Bye, Brandon and Mac-in' on a PC...

When the bottom three contestants on Idol were revealed, and Sanjaya was one of them, I raised my hands! I could hear the choir of angels singing! Turns out, my ears were just ringing.... Sanjaya and Brandon stood on stage as the bottom two vote-getters. I knew Brandon was going - he forgot his words, for crying out loud, but still, there was the hope... the desperate hope that some how, some way, Sanjaya would be wisked off the stage... Tartar Sauce! Brandon got bagged for his blunder, and we all get to pay for it by suffering through yet another week of Sanjaya.... Oh, the humanity of it all... LOL, okay, perhaps a bit much there at the end....


If all goes well, my next post will be from the Mac OS-X I am installing on my computer at the house. My original plan was to install the Mac software onto a hard drive I have in my system. But, I'm not 100% sure that I've cpoied all the info I need to keep to the new drive. So.... I decided to download the demo version of VMWARE and try that... For the record, I am flying blind. I only played with VMWARE once before this adventure, and I have never installed MacOS. So, it took a couple tries to get settings just right and figure out what I was supposed to be installing... Since we have a MacBook at work, I wanted to be able to play around with the OS at home. I have a couple screenshots of the install (or, one of the installs anyway), and I'll post other shots once I have it up and running! :-) I will also detail the install, in case you get the hankerin' to try it yourself.. :-) And, one of these days, I will try the install natively on the PC and compare performance, etc... (Oh, the things we geeks do for fun....)

Mar 13, 2007

Idol, Deal, NVU, and who knows what else!

Okay, in all fairness, I feel I should comment on the women of the "Grease" competition... Laura kicks everyone's butt... I thought it was a given, so I didn't mention it before... The other two women are very good, but, really, unless the voting public takes another stupid pill (see post regarding Sabrina from Idol), Laura will be the Sandy we want.


America, I beg you. Please come to your senses and get Sanjaya off Idol before he hurts himself... Really... And, I told Shan that Gina was beginning to grow on me, despite my best efforts to combat that very thing from happening... Dang it, she sings alright, and she is definitely unique in the crowd. Ah, by the way, MSN.com is *NOW* running a story about how "Idol" may be on its last legs.. Excuse me!? Yeah, I bee-logged that a long time ago - DUH! Whatever... (LOL, do I sound like a teenie-bopper or what?) In the interest of fairness (or just plain - holy-smokedness), I came across this article that shows "Idol" is responsible for roughly 6 MILLION plays of songs on the radio. That is, "Idol" contestants have added songs to radio airplay, and each time one of their songs is played, it adds up...to 6 million airplays... Holy Cow!

And, I admit, for the first time all season, Haley actually kicked some singing booty tonight. She was good... Yes, I know, I have a "No?" by her name below, but she did okay....

Without further ado, the list:
Idol Singer
Dave's Vote
Shan's Vote
BrandonNo?No?
Chris RNoNo
BlakeYesYes
SanjayaNoNo
Chris SYesYes?
PhilYesYes
StephanieYesYes
JordinYes?Yes
HaleyNo?No?
MelindaYesYes
GinaYes?Yes
LakishaYesYes
RudyNoNo
PaulNoNo
Amy?Yes??Yes?
NicoleNoNo
NickYesYes
AJNoYes?
LeslieNoNo
AlainaYesYes
SabrinaYesYes
AntonellaNoNo
JaredNo?No
SundanceNo?Yes



We watched the two-hour "Deal" (or most of it so far, anyway. I love DVR!). The night before, Shan picked case 11 for the General. She picked it before he did. So, when his case held the million bucks, she had no doubts. I had picked some other number, which had $200,000... Funny how that worked out, eh... The "Prom" game was absolutely endearing. I have to hand it to the folks at "Deal," they know how to treat some of their contestants. I would guess that "Deal" paid for the Tiffany necklace.... And the dance at the end was a very nice touch.... Good job, "Deal!"


Sometimes, I write my entries on the kids' (or should I now use the 'legal' form - kid's') computer, which does not have Office installed. Not usually a big deal, but when I am working with things like the "Idol" table, I need to work inside a web page editor. At work, I was told about a program called "NVU," which is free. I installed it, and I like it well enough. The problem is that it adds 'hard returns' to all the lines of code. Normally, not an issue. For Blogger, though, every hard return is treated as a TRUE hard return - making my table appear about 50 lines down the post. I am not the fastest learner in the world, but I had been copying the source code from NVU into Notepad, then using "DEL" and "END" keys to make the thing look like one big paragraph. Even Notepad wraps lines eventually, though. So, I decided to try Wordpad. BINGO! One long line of code.... Why am I sharing this with you? Why not? It popped in my head, after all....


Which reminds me - I learned something about Sharepoint today that I was supposed to write down in order not to forget it... You guessed it - I have forgotten what it was... Well, if I remember, I'll post it... I'm sure it's something I will need again, and someone else out there experiencing the hell, er uh, joys of Sharepoint may need it, too.... Then again, maybe it wasn't a Sharepoint thing at all... Dang... Smell the smoke? That'd be the wheels in my brain coming off the axels...


(from MSN)

Holy cow! Gas in San Fran is more than $3 a gallon! OUCH! Check it out...

I was surprised to actually find gas prices for Prescott on MSN... I figured Hope would be listed, but to search and find them for Prescott is pretty cool.... :-)


I applaud Jay Leno for ending his monologue with a moment for Richard Jenni. Jenni was a very funny man. I remember my younger years, watching him on HBO and Carson and laughing wildly... He will be missed by family, friends, and fans around the world....


Emily decided to put a blanket down on the floor during exercise tonight.... She said it was her mat... When Bob (on the video) mentioned getting on the mat, she was ready. She even told him, "I have my mat, Bob!" She and her brother decided to play in the sand (which was, for all intents and purposes MUD) after school... For a kid who hates to get dirty, Tyler sure loves to..well.. get dirty... :-)


I saw this article online, and just had to share:
Denver International Airport was reputed to be an "all-weather" facility that would operate seamlessly in a blizzard, but when it failed during the January snowstorms (closed for 45 hours), an embarrassed airport spokesman, Chuck Cannon, admitted he'd like "to choke the person who came up with (the 'all-weather') term." The Associated Press then discovered a 1992 interview with Chuck Cannon, bragging to reporters about his new "all-weather" airport. [Rocky Mountain News, 12-28-06]


And, last but not least.... No matter how far we come technologically, there will always be stupid people...er, uh, rather, people who may exhibit behavior insufficient to warrant membership into Mensa... This woman decided to Google "How to commit murder..." Problem? She did it at work... Bigger problem? She killed her husband 10 days afterward... Bigger problem still? Her work had a record of her searches and the times she performed them.... "Here's Your Sign..."

Mar 12, 2007

You're the One I (don't) Want...

Are you watching "You're the One That I Want?" No? Well, you should be. Why? I dunno, maybe 'cause I said so... Or, maybe because it is as head-scratching puzzling as Idol is... The judges, in all their superbly-evident lack-of-all-wisdom, elected to 'save' Austin in the competition. Now, in his defense, the other guy (whose name always escapes me) sucked just as badly. Here is my problem with Austin: He is TOO 'professional.' How can that be? He knows all the 'right' moves, and it's obvious he has been taught HOW to dance, sing, act, etc. And that is the problem. He is too mechanical, too 'fake.' Look, he'd be great in a soap opera or in some other show, or maybe some other role in Grease, but he is no Danny.... Should Max take it all? I dunno. He doesn't... LOOK... like a Danny, ya know? But, he has certainly grown the most during the show....


If you were on "Deal or No Deal," at what point would you say, "Forget it, I'm playing the whole game?" For me, that point would come if I had only one big amount (more than $100,000) on the board. At that stage, really, what do you have to lose? Yeah, okay, you might go home with 5 bucks, but so what? I bet you'd have fun getting there. Of course, my rule-of-thumb is $200,000. If my offer is more than 200 grand, I'm outta there (well, unless all I have left are big amounts, by some freak miracle). After taxes, whatever is left of 200 grand will pay off enough of my stuff that I could actually start to SAVE money...


On the radio today, I heard about a woman who called the police when she woke to find a strange, naked man on her couch. Turns out the guy was drunk, broke into her house, stripped, found a blanket, and passed out. He was arrested for breaking in and indecent exposure. She told the cops to keep the blanket and couch for evidence as long as they wanted - she wouldn't be using it anytime soon, or ever again for that matter... :-)


The helicopter crash in Hawaii had a couple from Arkansas (Cabot) on their honeymoon... Turns out, the woman was the secretary for the law firm where Shan's cousin works... She had borrowed a book on Hawaii from Shan's cousin... Arkansas really is a small town - in both good and not-so-good ways....

Shaneileen, taking Chik-Fil-A literally, and a few pics...

I realize many folks may know this, but I just learned that Shania Twain's real name is Eileen Regina Edwards. So, had she kept her name, would she have sold anywhere near as many albums? I doubt it. So, if I ever decide to share my musical talent with the world, I guess I'd better come up with a new name... hmm...


In India, a farmer was having his chickens eaten at night. In order to catch the culprit, he set up a little sting operation. Turns out, it wasn't the Jackal... It was one of the family calves... Yes, as in COW!I know it's hard to believe, so here's the scoop... Maybe he read a few too many of those "Eat Mor chikin" signs....


As it turns out, police in Hurst, TX, had to rope a bull that had found its way to a McDonald's drive-thru... I guess he figured if the Indian calf could eat chicken, he could have a burger.... :-)


I also read about a woman who had gotten lunch at Subway, went out to the cab she was taking, told the cabbie she forgot her cookie and went back into the store. Apparently, she pulled a gun and demanded money. When they didn't give it to her, she took a cookie instead... Hey, I just pass this stuff along to you, man.... I couldn't make it up if I wanted to....


DISCLAIMER: HERE BEGINS THE PICTURE PORTION OF THIS POST. It's a lot like, but not entirely the same as, one of those 'vacation slide shows' of yester-year.... If you continue past this point, don't say I didn't warn you....


This is that crazy bird that keeps attacking itself in my mirrors....



Here is a couple of pictures of a statue in Iraq near where my Dad is working... Notice the Benz in the one pic... :-)



Here is a picture of one of the roads... Check out the cement walls that surround just about everything there... Dad said this was the bus they have to catch in order to head to the PX for groceries, etc...



This is the door that leads to the 'office' where my Dad works... The sign reads, "NO LOCAL National Cell Phones Allowed." I'm pretty sure that means you CAN have 'national' cell phones (whatever that means) but not local ones. But, really, the whole thing is pretty confusing for this brain's popping... :-)



As you can see, they take the threat of attack very seriously. This is a "Duck-N-Cover," which is something akin to the "Kiss-N-Rides" they have in major cities over here (in U.S.). As you can see, they are common, as there is one further away in the shot, er uh, picture...



This picture was taken from the window of Dad's "hooch." If memory serves, he said the door across the way leads to where he works... Of course, he might have said it LOOKS LIKE the door to where he works... :-)



This is Dad and a guy he met (who happens to be from Gurdon, which is all of 15 minutes from Prescott) standing in front of a RHINO (personnel transport).



Here's a shot Dad got of an incoming chopper:



A picture of the (or one of the, maybe) observation tower for the area (airport?). BTW, DAD is the one leaning, not the tower... :-)



Oh, yeah, did you remember to change your clocks?

Mar 8, 2007

America goes insane... Or something like that...

What in the world are the American Idol voters thinking!? The biggest shocker on Idol, for us anyway, was Sabrina. Holy smokes!? How in the world did she get fewer votes than Haley!? HALEY!? Good heavens, people! Even SHE knows Sabrina should have been in there.... As for Sundance... Well, he had a couple really bad sets, and I guess they finally caught up with him. I hate to see him go, though, because I think he is one of the unique ones on the show. BUT, to keep Sanjaya!? Please, someone, explain to me why in the world anyone would vote to keep him on there?? What does he have that America wants to see more of!? Someone... anyone, please clue me in here.... UGH...

As for Antonella... Well, did you notice that she didn't even get to TALK to the judges!? Heh-heh! Like my mother used to say, "If you don't have anything nice to say..." Oh, wait, my mother never said that... Well, someone once told me that... :-)

Jared? Well, he got the boot, and really, in my eyes, it's no big loss. Nothing made him stand out, even though he did sing pretty well... As they say on Idol, he just didn't have "it." I think I had it once... No, wait, that was tonsilitis.... and the doctors took them out... Guess I lost it... Explains a lot, doesn't it? :-)

Well, here's tonight's updated Idol chart... As sad as some of it is....
Idol Singer
Dave's Vote
Shan's Vote
BrandonYes?Yes
SundanceNo?Yes
Chris RNoNo
BlakeYesYes?
SanjayaNoNo
Chris SYesYes
JaredNo?No
PhilYesNo
StephanieYesYes
SabrinaYesYes
AntonellaNoNo
JordinYesYes
HaleyNoNo
MelindaYesYes
GinaYesYes
LakishaYesYes
RudyNoNo
PaulNoNo
Amy?Yes??Yes?
NicoleNoNo
NickYesYes
AJNoYes?
LeslieNoNo
AlainaYesYes



That crazy cardinal has decided that one mirror is not enough. Tonight, it attacked the bird (er, itself) in the driver's side view mirror... I think it's getting braver... I was actually outside working on Tyler's bike and the bird basically ignored me (Hmm, you may need to see the above 'lost it' comment). Stupid bird. Cute, stupid bird... :-)


Speaking of working on bikes, do you have any idea how long it has been since I took a socket wrench to the bolt on the rear wheel of a bike? Yeah, me either! But, I couldn't help feel like a kid again when I flipped the bike upside down. As a kid, I (along with my friends) would play "Ice Cream Man" with our bikes - turn the bike upside down and turn the pedals and gears to make the wheel spin, thus making ice cream! :-) Man, what memories there... Of course, someone would try to stick their hand into the "ice cream machine" and get it caught in the spokes... Man, were we brave or stupid? Take your pick - we were prolly a little of both...


Some things pop in my head, and I wonder if they are better left there... For instance, earlier today, I was thinking back to my Dungeons & Dragons days (I guess because of the Oblivion I've been playing). We always had one person in the group that we called DC-TDO... The TDO stands for "The Door Opener," and I'm not at liberty to say what the DC stood for, other than to say the C stood for Cheese. Anyway, this person's character was always used to open doors, spring traps, etc. No one wanted to be DCTDO for the night. See? The stuff that pops in my head....


That, of course, reminded me of the Motley Crue concert my friend and I went to. See, we decided that since we had free tickets, we would dress up as preppy as we could and go to the concert. Why? I dunno, some weird thing to do when you're a teen-ager, I guess. We had a lot of fun, and managed not to get our butts kicked (which still amazes me). Of course, we managed to drive the wrong way up a one-way down ramp... There is nothing like the sight of a parking lot full of cars coming at you with headlights blazing... Well, maybe the white light people talk about when you die.... :-) It was a very similar experience, I'm sure.


Do you know what your first memory is? The earliest thing I remember is sitting in a yellow VW bug we had. I think my parents said I was about 2 when we had it. Why or how I remember it, I have no idea.... But, there ya go... Take a minute and think back... What is the very earliest thing you remember? I just hope it isn't what you had for lunch yesterday... :-) Wait, you DO remember what you had for lunch yesterday, right?