Posts from — November 2002
Delicious football rumor of the week
OK. I'm ready for the hate mail. Go ahead — bring it on. But before you hit that send button I would ask you to remember the following: I'm probably not too far off base.
Word out of Texas A&M has it that Coach Slocum will be asked to resign as soon as next week. It's a shame because he's a good man, but no one can deny that in the six years since the inception of the Big XII, the Aggies have lost 31 games. For perspective, they only lost 6 games in the final six years of the SWC. Yes, Slocum is A&M's winningest coach, but it's time to turn the page.
Now for those of you outside of Texas, I'm about to say something that you may have never heard. I know that I had never heard it before I moved to the Lone Star State. The Texas A&M Aggies have more money than God. A&M is one of the wealthiest schools in the country with an astounding list of marquee alumni who "love them some football." (How many universities have US Presidents, Senators, and scores of CEOs at every ballgame?) Money is not and never will be an issue in Aggie-land.
So A&M has a new president. Hand picked by the big money alumni, he's already said "OUT" with the AD and has done nothing to quash the rumors swirling around Slocum. Only two candidates have been brought in for the Athletic Director job and an offer is expected to be made to either Missouri AD Mike Alden or Nebraska AD Bill Byrne. It will be accepted and it gets really fun from there.
OK. Before you go crazy on me, I will explain. I know you're question: Why would anyone leave Nebraska for Texas A&M? There are several factors in A&M's favor but they start with money. A&M will pay double or triple the current rate to get the man they want. Aggies look out for and take care of one another. (That's an aspect that I can't explain exactly - you have to witness it. Suffice to say that one A&M alumni would *walk* from College Station to Bangor, Maine for an Aggie they didn't even know if they thought for one second it would help an Aggie. They call it tradition & pride. I call amazing.) So money is one reason. Others? A hometown shot at the best recruiting state in the nation, Big XII conference, outstanding tradition, and there ain't a whole lot of snow to shovel in College Station, TX. And it never hurts to be able to call on the aforementioned Presidents, Senators, and CEOs on a whim.
So how does this get down to the delicious rumor? Well, here goes. Some folks out west may recall that Missouri AD Alden did a long stint in New Mexico with everyone's favorite former TCU coach, Dennis Franchione. Let's take this back another step, shall we? It was Coach Fran who got his little buddy Alden the job at Southwest Texas State, where Franchione was the coach. Coach Fran served as a reference to Alden and the relationship is very close. Coach Fran said last week in the Austin paper that the two talk "at least once a week." Do you see where we're going here?
So the rumor that grows stronger every day is that A&M will bring in Coach Fran to take over the football program. Of course, the boys at 'Bama will have something to say about that, but there is a lot of talk in the local & national papers that 'Bama is no longer in the driver's seat with Coach Fran. Consider the following:
I guess we'll have to wait and see how things turn out. But make no mistake about it, word is out on the street. Heck, Google search the subject for 1,750 results plus 81 news stories or just visit Coach Fran's website, where he says, "R.C. Slocum is the head coach at Texas A&M, and he's a close friend of mine. To talk about speculation on his job would be unprofessional." He also called the speculation "idiotic."
Fort Worth locals will recall that Coach Fran also said rumors of his moving from New Mexico to TCU were "idiotic". Ditto the TCU to Alabama move. :wink
Roll Tide or roll on Ryder Van. We shall see.
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November 30, 2002 Comments Off
Aliens
I want to take a moment and talk about aliens. Not the little green men that have everyone in the UK talking, but rather foriegners who have entered the USA.
We have all heard the stories of people who entered the United States by obtaining a visa and then simply never left. (For the sake of clarity, I'll call them "squatters".) There's a lot of hand-wringing in D.C. about how we can keep better track of the squatters. More specifically, how can we know if these people are conspiring to do us harm and how can we locate them when necessary?
I think we already have a good working solution to this problem. Twenty-seven states use gps-enabled bracelets to track parolees. (For the record, the states are: Arizona, Arkansas, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Indiana, Kansas, Louisiana, Idaho, Illinois, Michigan, Minnesota, Missouri, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, South Carolina, Texas, Virginia, Washington, West Virginia, and Wisconsin.)
The bracelets are small, secure, simple to maintain and even easier to administer/monitor. A company out of Tampa, FL called Pro Tech Monitoring runs the program and can track thousands of people within a few feet of their exact location at any moment.
So, what's the problem with strapping a bracelet to every Tom, Dick, Harry, and Mohamed that wants to come into the country? And don't you dare answer it costs too much. Don't you say it or I swear I will come through this monitor and just smack ya! If the monitor costs $200 and we give out the "legal" limit of 675,000 visas plus the "exception" limit of 480,000 family visas, the cost comes to roughly $231 million. That's it.
I know this isn't the solution for illegal aliens, but I gotta think this is a step in the right direction. I can appreciate that we've never done anything like this before, but doesn't that kind of make you wonder what the heck we were thinking back then?
Anyway, this solution works for me. I'm interested in hearing what you have to say. Post your comments and email your elected officials.
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November 29, 2002 3 Comments
So many thoughts
I have so much inside of me yearning to escape to the screen through my fingertips. So, it's pretty ironic that I have neither the time nor the energy to post it all. All the tragic juxtaposition that is my life. :wink
A few things, however, have floated to the top and I find myself blogging on a FIFO (first in - first out) accounting system.
1) Have the absolute happiest Thanksgiving, folks. I really mean that. This is the best time of the year and all of us have a lot to be thankful for. I wanted to sit down and list all the things I'm thankful for. That effort led me to the realization that I'm also thankful that I don't have to sit down and list all the things I'm thankful for! Here's a couple of highlights. (You'll just have to play along with me and know that I really do feel grateful for so many gifts in my life).
Happy Thanksgiving!
2) This weekend is the big FSU-Florida game. As bad as things have been for the 'Noles this weekend, nothing feels better than watching St. Bobby work out his demons by beating the hell out the Gators. I don't know if FSU has the better team this year, but I'll be rooting like mad none the less. GO NOLES!
3) Happy Birthday, Robyn! Go bravely into that good night! (And if y'all are gonna have a really kick-ass party, at least be kind enough to fire up the webcam so we can all vicariously join in your reindeer games!) Here's to XXX! Better you than me (at least for a few months, anyway!)
4) Finally, this is the "official" start of the holiday season. I think the unofficial start is the day after Labor Day. Not sure - I'll check on that one. Anyway…. This is the official start of the holiday season. This is the time of year where I pour out my heart (& wallet) to a lot of folks in need. If you are looking for a few good causes to support this year, can I please ask you to consider your local Ronald McDonald House (or mine) or the Salvation Army? There are so many worthy causes and so many men, women and children in need. Please remember them. And — even though I feel like a schmuck for even saying it — these groups need your help all year long.
If you're not in a position to help financially, groups are always looking for volunteers and there are several websites that will donate to charity simply because you visited the website.
There are hundreds of thousands of heroes that are away from their homes. It's my understanding that military may not conduct a holiday card drive this year because of security concerns. This fact is going to make being away even harder for a lot of very brave folks. They would appreciate even a simple email from you or you may donate a phone card so that they can stay in touch with their families.
Have a wonderful Thanksgiving!
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November 27, 2002 1 Comment
BRRR
Dear God:
This…
is kinda unacceptable. I think someone left the a/c on full blast or something. It's not even December and we're getting freeze warnings?!
What gives?! Sounds like someone has dropped the ball up there, God. Can you please look into it and shoot me an email? Or, just IM me. OK?
Thanks!
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November 25, 2002 Comments Off
One writer's view of Texas
The e-mail arrived on my computer the other day. "Are you enjoying Texas and Fort Worth? Is it as much fun as they say? Or is that just myth?"
Myth? I wanted to respond: Yes, hon, there is a Texas. It's as big and as full of possibilities as they say.
No, it's not perfect. We live under the shadows of clouds that blow in from far away, and our own storms sometimes darken our days. But mostly it's sunny, and it's the sunshine that we talk about the most.
Small blessings accumulate here and, when counted, amount to a blessing larger than Texas itself.
When the world seems too crazy, we can always say "Thank God for Texas." Thanks for waitresses who call customers "hon," and thanks for beautiful, ornate courthouses in small town squares.
It's the down-home, Old West part most of us brag about. That's our emotional comfort food.
We can sit at a corner table in a dance hall on a Saturday night and watch a couple twirl to Western swing so smoothly and sweetly that it looks like they are moving with one heartbeat. We can also walk down a street on a Sunday morning and hear the strains of the South — a gospel choir sounding so goodness-almighty glad to be alive that we are happy to be alive, too.
We know we can easily escape our workaday worlds. When life gets too hectic, we can take a drive down a farm road and past a stand of oaks in a field so pretty it looks like a park. And we know that down the highway a piece, we're bound to see a shop called an antique store that is really a small museum of midcentury household goods. We have "retro" down pat, and in that we find comfort.
We all have our own lists of favorites. We have our longhorns, our cowboys, our cowgirls, our ranches, our oil-monied families, our Stockyards that serve as a living museum to days gone by. Those are our heroic images, the icons of the West, and this is where the West begins.
The West to a Texan also means fresh starts, bold ventures, pioneering aspirations. These ideas of old are transposed on our modern landscape, in business and in art, most visibly in large art, which embodies the cutting edge of the New West. Fort Worth is a city where a spare Isamu Noguchi sculpture stands across the street from sculptor Jonathan Borofsky's 50-foot-tall Man With Briefcase, both not too far from the latest addition to the landscape, the 67-plus-foot-tall Vortex by artist Richard Serra.
It's the bigger-than-life West here, allrighty, but it's also part Southern, part big-city, part country, part international, and all of that is worth saying grace over.
Texas is homemade tortillas and salsa one night, barbecue brisket washed down with icy Dr Pepper the next. A Brazilian steakhouse. A lunch of Vietnamese noodles. A dinner of Gulf shrimp curry. Pecan pie. An organically grown salad. Texas is the whole enchilada, and that leaves us with a sense that life is full of potential.
Blessings are counted here in this land so big it feels there's room to grow, so big it feels there is, as the Dixie Chicks sing, room enough to make the big mistakes. And there's room enough for big dreams under these great big skies. And for blessings large and small.
When I responded to my friend's e-mail, what I did say was this: "Is Texas a myth? No, hon, it's actually a lot better."
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November 24, 2002 Comments Off
More geek stuff
Got an email tonight regarding Internet Connection Sharing and thought it might be time to dust off this old link - PracticallyNetworked.com Guide to Internet Connection Sharing.
It should be noted that the single easiest way to share an internet connection within your home network is to set it up automatically using WindowsXP or the more recent Apple OS's.
For everybody else (especially if you have a couple of different operating systems on the network), go read up at PracticallyNetworked.com and email me back if it doesn't make any sense. :smile
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November 23, 2002 Comments Off
New firmware upgrade for Linksys
Hey all you home network folks with Linksys BEFSR41 (a.k.a. EtherFast® Cable/DSL Router with 4-Port Switch). Linksys has released a new firmware upgrade (11/15/2002) that addresses a couple of routine updates and helps protect the hardware's unPnP setting. This will defend you (little Linksys friend) from DDOS attacks.
The firmware is error free (so far) so download your copy today at the Linksys support site. Just one thing, please make sure you get the correct version!! For Windows users, the "plain-jane" Windows download is not the first one on the list, it's the fourth one.
While you're at it, good time to update your anti-virus software (should be done weekly). The most recent AVG database is 11/20/2002. Tisk-tisk. You never learn, do you? Alright, go get a free copy of AVG over at Grisoft.
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November 23, 2002 Comments Off
What in the Sam Hill?!
Can someone please explain to me why TIME-LIFE BOOKS is selling a 3 disc set of Beavis and Butt-Head DVDs??
I LOVE Beavis, but (heh-heh…I said "but") is this the absolute best that TIME-LIFE can do? I thought they were supposed to focus on stuffy old documentaries of Ike and Patton.
Anyway, if you need some yule, the 3-disc set is $29.99 at TIME-LIFE and (amazing) not available at all via B&N or Amazon.
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November 23, 2002 2 Comments
NEW SKIN ALERT
:star:star:star:star:star New Skin Alert!! :star:star:star:star:star
I just uploaded the beta version of Merrin's new "HOMAGE TO MONET" skin. To check it out, click here.
To see the skin "in action", follow this link and then choose "STICK WITH THIS SKIN". You'll be sent to Merrin's home page (wow! round trip at no additional fee!) and you'll be using the HOMAGE TO MONET skin. FUN!
Now, go try out the new skin!
:star:star:star:star:star New Skin Alert!! :star:star:star:star:star
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November 23, 2002 Comments Off
Need a DirecTV Tivo right now?!
A lot of people are waiting (very impatiently) for the new DirectDVR units powered by Tivo. Commonly referred to as the Series II DTivo, they are rumored to be on the way out to retailers. Most of the inventory, however, has been pre-sold by Circuit City and the other big boxes. So, if you want a DirectDVR, hop down to Circuit City TODAY.
But, if you absolutely can't wait then check out this deal on one of the better "Series I" units - the Sony SAT-T60. This unit is only for DirecTV customers. It will only record a DirecTV signal. With that said, it's similar to the two that we own and we are in love BIG TIME.
This is a private invitation offer (so I'm told) so you may need to mention code: DVRO. Not sure what that means exactly, but I digress. If you already have DirecTV and just want a top of the line Tivo unit, hurry - supplies are limited. If you not a DirecTV subscriber…what the heck are you waiting for?! Go on! Scoot!
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November 23, 2002 Comments Off
Friday @ Home
My routine is all shot to hell. I'm home today to catch up on my rest and to recover. (Don't ask)
Meanwhile, the whole world is in some kind of chaotic funk. There's no friday five (grr! - understandable, but "grr!" nonetheless). I forgot to take the trash out to the curb…so the wife is going to kill me (or at least make me load it up in the truck and drive until I locate a dumpster!) I can't find a decent sort attributes mod to sort the options over at WinnersAll.com (a.k.a. Winners-All.com a.k.a. PraiseDanceStore.com). I've got Jimmy Buffett tickets to sell (4, 2, 4, 2) over at ebay. It's like 44 degrees outside (!! brr !!).
The world is all screwed up. There's a riot that kills 500 in Nigeria over whether the Miss World pageant is…(whatever the Muslim word for "kosher" is). I'm going to be vilified across the globe for even suggesting a link between "kosher" and Muslims. :shock A pastor in (gulp) Fort Worth was arrested for pulling the old "Where'd that slide come from?" routine during a powerpoint show. AOL continues to enslave the unrefined and is now spreading it's reach with prepaid internet cards at the wife's bastion of retail bliss: Target.
I mean, the shit has really hit the fan here, people. (fun game via mefi)
I don't know. Maybe I shouldn't have had that early morning caffeine. :wink
Have a great Friday, everybody! Your very best pal,
PS - Special shout out to the peeps in TAMPA! Especially you, Fonzie!
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November 22, 2002 Comments Off
Be like Mike
Mike promised his wife he'd be rich or famous. (Yeah, who hasn't?!) But it's true:
So, to help a brother out, I'm posting his link:
Mike needs to be famous… and fast.
More on Mike's attempt at grandeur here
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November 21, 2002 Comments Off
Apple to auction off excess inventory
Love Apple? Sucked in by the hype of the "SWITCH" ads? Well, now you can buy excess inventory directly in an auction from Apple. This is a ONE DAY WEB AUCTION scheduled for December 3, 2002 from 12:00p EASTERN to 7:00p EASTERN.
According to the auction house, DoveBid, Apple will be selling computers, notebooks, and peripherals with a one year warranty. I'm sure there will be some great deals, especially if they're selling the BEAUTIFUL cinema displays. Online preview of the auction items begins Nov. 27.
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November 21, 2002 Comments Off
Jimmy Buffett Tickets for Tampa, FL
If you need tickets to the Feb 8, 2003 Buffett concert in Tampa, you've come to the right place. Due to some overzealous duplication of efforts, my Dad & I ended up with 12 extra seats.
Note: this paragraph is strictly for the search enginges. 
Great seats to Jimmy Buffett concert, tampa florida, february 8, buffett concert tix for sale, tampa show, 2/8/2003, tickets for sale jimmy buffett
So, if you want great seats to the Tampa concert, here are links to Jimmy Buffett tickets:
4 Reserved Aisle seats - Great view — Jimmy Buffett Tampa
2 Reserved Seats - Great View — Jimmy Buffett Tampa
4 tickets together — Jimmy Buffett Tampa
2 tickets together — Jimmy Buffett Tampa
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November 21, 2002 1 Comment
FINS UP!!
All you old-school Parrotheads will love this one!
Austin City Limits is replaying Jimmy's famous 1984 appearance. This is the first show after Jimmy's #1 songs started to hit. Great episode with a *very* young Buffett and the Coral Reefers. Don't miss it:
Set those TiVos! FINS UP!! (more info)
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November 21, 2002 Comments Off
