Brotherly SingStar, EeeGPS, and then some

In no particular order, here are the things that have popped in my head for tonight's posting:

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My brother and his wife came down this weekend to give my Mom and early birthday. Carla and Emily made a confetti cake for my mom, and Emily made the cake for lunch (a rum cake), so she has been quite the baker lately! She loved it! The cakes were great! Moist, good flavor, excellent! I dare Bobby Flay to have a throwdown with my five-year old!

While they were here, my brother and I sat down for a few rounds of SingStar. Shan says my brother and I have the same sound when we sing falsetto. In fact, she said there were times you couldn't tell if there were two voices or one. Now, if we were any GOOD, that would be one thing. We sound the same, and we both suck the same. Shan said the difference in vocals was very evident when we sang in our "regular" voices. Brian kicked butt on "Tricky" and "Respect" - he must have more soul than I have! LOL! After we were done, and Brian had gone home (it was about 1am), Shan got on there and she grabbed the Number 1 spot on several songs.

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So, there's a rock, yes a rock, that has been around since the 1800's. People have carved on it, painted on it, whatever. A flood comes along and washes it away. A man decides to hunt it down in order for kids to write about it. He finds it, and sparks a war of sorts. See, he is in Ohio, and Kentuckyians claim it is THEIR rock. Ohioans say it is THEIRS. Each state's TAX dollars are being spent in order to take the matter to the Supreme Court. Seriously. Over a rock. How much government money is being wasted on this? Want to cut back on the deficit? Throw out stupid lawsuits. Or wait, maybe I need to find a rock... Or maybe I need to figure out how to get on the "do not grow" list so I can paid NOT to grow crops... Stupid.

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Speaking of stupid, I think the government regulation of the banking industry is stupid. Look, people got screwed by the whole adjustable mortgage rate. We never switched to an AdPR because I was not so dumb to think things could not go sour. DUH! That's part of the risk you take when you undertake something like that. Okay, so then we have banks who made high-risk investments and now the government stepped in to save everything. BZZT! Wrong answer. People only seem to want an OPEN, FREE market when life is rosy. When the bubble bursts, they go crying to Mommy. Stupid. Nature has a way of weeding out the bad things or the things that need to be weeded out. Let the banks fail that do stupid things. What incentive is there for any banks to play by the rules, if the government is just going to rescue them anyway!? Heck, for that matter, the same holds true for airlines. Why should the government bail out airlines because they screw up?? Hey, I am up to my arse in debt, I want a government bail out, too!

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A week or so ago, I ordered a USB GPS unit to plug into my EeePC. It came in on Friday, and I hooked it up to my Windows machine to test it out. Shan and I hopped in the truck and "made the block" while the GPS unit updated our location. I know, people have been doing this for some time now, but it was very cool! So, Sunday, I hooked the unit up to the EeePC, followed the steps on running the GPS unit from the EeePC WIKI, and POOF, I had a 7-inch LCD running GPS! Excellent! And, the software is free since the EeePC is running Linux (okay, so the GPS software is also free for Windows, too).

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I am "In The Tribe!" The Indians started a new Fan Forum thing this year, and I joined earlier on Sunday. One of the perks is that I get MLB GameDay as part of the package, so I get to listen to Tribe games live online (at least I think that's what I get - LOL). I also get other perks, but it'll be cool to be able to have the game playing in the background at work or when I am at the house and can't watch the game on TV.

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I have been selling off most of my eTopps collection on eBay. I have two portfolios, and one has been sitting stagnant for about a year. I figured I just as well let someone else enjoy the "cards" and make some money in the process, right? So, I am selling off those cards and dropping the cash in the bank. eTopps is a very cool way to collect, but because I only (okay, mainly) collect Indians cards, it is not really "for" me. I can buy the Indians cards after the initial offering, usually cheaper than the IPO price... Will I dump ALL my eTopps? Who knows...

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I got an update about John's Mom - she had the surgery and was recovering fine. I'll post an update when I have more specifics...

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How could I forget....

Today (Thursday), we learned that many families we know will have their lives changed forever:

News Release

Potlatch to Close Prescott Lumber Mill

SPOKANE, Wash.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--March 27, 2008--Potlatch Corporation (NYSE:PCH) today announced the permanent closure of the company's lumber mill in Prescott, Arkansas, due to poor market conditions.

The Prescott mill, which was purchased by Potlatch in 1966, employs 182, and produces southern yellow pine dimensional lumber primarily for the home building industry. The ongoing housing crisis has resulted in historic low demand for lumber and significantly reduced lumber pricing. Over the coming weeks, the mill will process the remaining inventory of logs, finish and ship the remaining lumber, and permanently cease operations in May.

"The decision to close this operation is a difficult, but necessary decision," said Vice President of Wood Products Rick Kelly.

In addition to a very weak lumber market, the mill's close proximity to other wood products facilities translates to increased competition for logs, which drives up raw material prices and requires logs to be transported from greater distances.

"Our Prescott employees have done exceptional work over the years and we regret that despite those efforts the operation is not viable," said Manufacturing Manager Brad Fountain. "We will work with state and federal agencies to help lessen the impact of the closure for our employees."

Potlatch owns 1.65 million acres of forestland in Arkansas, Idaho, Minnesota and Wisconsin, and operates 12 manufacturing facilities that produce lumber and panel products and bleached pulp products, including paperboard and tissue. The company, which employs 3,800 people, also conducts a land sales and development business. Potlatch, a verified forest practices leader, is committed to providing superior returns to stockholders through long-term stewardship of its resources.

This press release contains certain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the Private Securities Litigation Reform Act of 1995 as amended. These forward-looking statements are based on current expectations, estimates, assumptions and projections that are subject to change, and actual results may differ materially from the forward-looking statements. Factors that could cause actual results to differ materially include those risks and uncertainties described from time to time in the company's public filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission. The company does not undertake to update any forward-looking statements.

SOURCE: Potlatch Corporation

Fallen

My thoughts and prayers are with John and his Mom. John's Mom is 92, and has been having a hard time keeping her balance lately. Today, she took a very, very bad fall. She broke her nose, her knee, and bruised herself pretty badly. According to John, she will undergo knee surgery on Friday, then be in the hospital for 3-5 days afterward. Following the surgery recovery, she will undergo hospitalized physical therapy.

I know this is a difficult time for both of them. We are praying for them both.

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Tonight (Thursday) was the finale for Celebrity Apprentice. Piers raised gobs of money for his charity. That's all well and good. But, the simple truth is that throughout the show, it was rarely about his charity - it was about winning the task. His whole goal was to decimate the other team/player. I don't agree that Piers was chosen as the Celebrity Apprentice. I believe Trace raised more awareness for his charity (Severe Food Allergies) and brought a little known disease to a world-wide audience. His daughter suffers from the disease so he is very personally involved with his charity. To me, THAT is who should represent the "Celebrity Apprentice." Charity should never be about ruthlessness and rolodexes.

Going Home...

Who gets the boot tonight? Let's start by picking our own bottom three:

Shan - Carly, Syesha, Christy
Dave - Ramiele, Michael, David A

I had no idea who Kimberly Locke was, and when we saw her, Shan recognized her from an Idol special she saw. I didn't see it, so I had no idea who she was. Never heard of her.

Chikezie - Bottom 3 - WHOA... I was not expecting that at all. I thought he kicked it last night. Dang.
Brooke - Safe - Excellent!
Carly - Safe - Shan said she was glad. I think Carly will make it for quite a while yet...
David A - Safe - Bummer. Man, they need to send him HOME, America!
David C - Safe - I didn't like the song, but he is a fan fave for now...
Syesha - Bottom 3 - I don't see how that happened. She was one of the best last night.
Michael - Safe - Must be that accent...
Ramiele - Safe - That sucks. I didn't think she did well at all. I think all this using "sick" as an excuse is lame.
Jason - Bottom 3 - I hated his song last night, so I'm glad...
Christy - Safe!! - Wow!! That was unexpected! Awesome!

Well, crap, Jason is safe after all.... I can't believe Chikezie and Syesha are the bottom two. We are so not happy about this.

And tonight's loser: Chikezie. Well, I am sorry to see him go, but he'll have an album for sure. I have to say I am SOOO glad Syesha made it through. She is a great singer!

THIS is Ah-MER-ican Idol

Welcome to another edition of our American Idol Yea's and Nay's!

---- Name -------- Shan ----- Dave -----
Ramiele ------------ ? -------- N ------
Jason -------------- ? -------- N ------
Syesha ------------- Y -------- Y ------
Chikezie ----------- Y -------- Y ------
Brooke ------------- Y -------- Y ------
Michael ------------ Y -------- N ------
Carly -------------- Y -------- Y ------
David A ------------ ? -------- N ------
Christy ------------ Y -------- Y ------
David C ------------ Y -------- N ------

Ramiele - "Alone" - I think they call that screaming, not singing loudly. I thought she was flat, but that's just me. Sick or not, you have GOT to perform well. She didn't. Send her home.

Jason - "Fragile" - Shan says she can't vote NO on his birthday. We'll see... LOL... I'm voting no. If I closed my eyes, this song would either put me to sleep or make me throw the radio across the room. UGH.

Syesha - "If I was your woman" - We finally have a singer in the house! She is very, VERY good! She has a shot at the whole thing. Fantastic! Snag it off iTunes for sure.

Chikezie - "If only for one night" - He has a great classic R&B voice. He is old school throwback, and it works perfectly. Shan is not as impressed, not as good as Syesha (I agree with the last part). Download it.

Brooke - "Every breath you take" - Hey, will she beat-box it like Blake did last year? Probably not... She had a rough a start. I liked her take on the song, but it was not as strong as some of her other songs. Download-worthy for sure.

Michael - "We will rock you/We are the Champions" - This is not working for me at all. This is like some drunk guy at the front of the bar while his favorite team just won the world series. I say no, Shan says yes. We are pretty sure this is first time Shan agreed with the judges (at least up to where Simon said it was the only memorable performance).

Carly - "Total Eclipse of the heart" - Great song choice. Man, she really rocked this one! I really liked her performance here. I liked the fact that you could hear a little bit of her accent in the song. The last note was kinda rough, though. May be worth checking out the full version, we'll see...

David A - "You're the voice" - Ouch. Not a good choice. I just don't think he has a strong enough voice to last much longer in this competition. He might get the 'cute' vote, I guess from the girls, but dawg, this sucked for me.

Christy - "God Bless the USA" - I was afraid she would botch this, but I actually like her rendition of the song. I think it could actually do pretty well on the radio with today's "kids." Well done! I may actually download this one.

David C - "Billy Jean" - He gets bonus points for the pouty baby picture alone - hilarious! I have never heard of this version of the song. This is like William Shatner doing Michael Jackson. What the heck!? The chorus picks up a little, but the song never goes anywhere... Let's just hope he doesn't start moonwalking... UGH. He killed it. In a bad way. I admit, my problem is that I didn't like that version of the song, so I am biased against the singer. Sue me.