Posts from — January 2003

In the words of the great, St. Jimmy (btw — see ya next weekend in Tampa, J.B!), I'm incommunicado after this posting.

We are buying the house of our dreams tomorrow. :grin

With buying the new house comes moving and that begins in earnest tonight. Unfortunately, I will have to unplug the computer. I just hope I remember how! But seriously, the moving schedule is really tight and Merrin & I are both going to be out of touch for a few days.

Once we get moved, we'll get some new pictures posted in the Photo Album and (I'm sure!) have lots of moving horror stories to tell.

Thank you all for all your incredible support. The kind words of "strangers" has meant so much to both of us. Although we've never met many of you, you are our friends and we both appreciate your support through all of this.

Until I see ya again, if the phone doesn't ring, it's me!

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There is a vicious rumor running amok that we could have a big, house-related announcement coming at the end of the week. I can't really talk about 'cause I might jinx it, so you'll just have to draw your own conclusions. Suffice to say, I'm a very happy boy, but I'm not saying another word until "later in the week".

If you're catching the tail end of this discussion, check these previous posts:

1/25/2003
1/22/2003
1/15/2003
1/12/2003
1/11/2003
1/5/2003
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OK. Somehow I have managed to vault myself towards the top of the search engines and gained a whole new audience: Miller Light Catfight Commercial fans. Ever since I posted the info on the commercial, I've been flooded with hits for "Miller Lite Catfight" or hits from it's stars "Tonya Ballinger" and "Kitana Baker".
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Are you ready for some football? HELL YA!!

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Brian & Courtney have signed up for the Baby Registry at Babies 'R Us (and Babiesrus.com!). Scoot on down to your local or store or geek out and buy something online!

They are expecting a baby girl on or around May 12, so get to shopping for my first niece, people! :smile

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I'll admit it: I was jealous of alll those Winamp users who included their playlists on their weblogs. Sure I could have downloaded Winamp and done the same myself, but I don't like Winamp enough to download it and I certainly don't like it enough to actually use it.

Finally, there is an alternative I can live with. The new Windows Media Player 9 supports the SongWriter plugin. With Windows Media 9 and SongWriter, I can upload "Now Playing" list to my weblog. SongWriter offers an ASP output or a text output that can be automatically uploaded your playlist to your webserver via FTP. You can configure the output to include album art (in two sizes!), artist, album, song, writer, year, etc, etc, etc. The next version will offer a XML export, so that should give us even more flexibility. Visit the SongWriter website for more info and screenshots.

So, if you want to upload your "NOW PLAYING" information from Windows Media Player, I suggest downloading Windows Media 9 and the SongWriter plugin.

To see my implementation of this gem, check the "NOW PLAYING" section of the link bar over there.

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I just want to say thank you to my family for all their help over the last few weeks. This house situation has been incredibly stressful and you all have been wonderful. Your love, concern, sacrifices and generosity have been such incredible gifts.

You have given so much of yourselves for us, and I really don't know how to say thank in a way that begins to justify what I feel.

I know I've been snappy and stressed, but I really, truly do appreciate your phone calls and emails. I can't thank you enough for even considering taking us in if we end up homeless. I don't know what words to use for helping us find ways to make all the numbers work. You've offered to give up so much for us. I don't even know how to communicate my thanks for your generosity.

Mom & Dad, Jack & Dana, Cheryl, Keith & Jen, Brian & Courtney, Sonny & JoJo…thank you so much. I don't have the words to tell you how much I love you.

I just hope you know that I am so grateful. We both are. I love you all so much. Thank you.

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Admit it: you like swimsuit issues. Or at least you used to when they were a novelty. I can remember going into bookstores and EVERYBODY was checking out the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue. Women, men, and kids were all trying to sneak one a quick peek.

Then swimsuit issues started popping up everywhere. Now it seems like almost every major magazine has a swimsuit issue. I'm a 29 year old guy and even I think it's gotten a little extreme!

So is it really necessary for National Geographic to offer swimsuit issue?
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First there was the Coors Light Twins commercials. Those were a terrible distraction from the football games. Now the whole nation (or at least the male population) is talking about the Miller Lite Catfight commercials. Now I can't run to the fridge to get a beer because I have to stick near the TV to catch a glimpse of the commercails!

Anyway, for those who haven't seen it (and for those who can't get enough), the Miller Lite Catfight commercial is available on the Miller Lite website. Wanna know more about the ladies in the commercial?
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Four times I've sat down to write about the "peace marches" that took place in DC, San Fran, NY, and in a few foreign capitals last week. Each time, I've walked away disgusted at the lack of logic in the protesters message.

So, I'm surfing today and I come across this page. It made me realize just why some people are paid to write. This is exactly what I've been wanting to say. It's rather lengthy, but I hope you'll take a moment because it is certainly worth the read.
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It never ceases to amaze when my liberal, Democrat friends ( & wife ) say things like, "Bush has put the budget into a huge deficit."

Well, apparently the deficit isn't big enough for the Democrats. Last night the Republican Senate approved the $390 billion package. Democrats wanted to add extra $500 billion into the budget. Of course, they would have blamed the increased deficit on Bush, but what else is new?

The new budget bill increases federal aid to education by more than 10 percent and provides relief for doctors facing cuts in Medicare payments, farmers suffering from drought and financially strapped states. All the while, the Republican budget cut by about 2.9% to offset the increases in education, farm aid, and medical assistance.

Don't worry, my Democrat friends, you can always add more spending later in the year. You simply missed your first big chance. Cutting spending and improving aid, gotta love the Republican Congress! :wink

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So, the New Jersey Education Association has some guidelines for parents on how to assist help their children and how to work with their children's teachers. There's one called "a parent's resource" which is — presumably– for all parents. There's another version called the "spanish version" which is –presumably– in Spanish. And then there's a third version called the "African-American version" which is — presumably — one of the more racist things I've seen in a long, long time. And I live in Texas.

Want proof?
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Why are people so fascinated with coffee? I don't get it. I never have and I probably never will. Everyone I work with has to stop down every morning and get 2-3 cups of coffee. Why? I don't know. Maybe it's just the social interaction. Maybe they think, "I'm a professional in a professional workplace. I should drink coffee." Who knows?

So what have I got against coffee? Well, #1 - it's hot. I live in Texas. I've already got plenty of "hot". Give me something not hot and that'll get the ball rolling. Give me something…I don't know…cold and we're really getting started. #2 - It kinda tastes like…old water or something. I can't describe the taste other than to say that coffee tastes exactly like coffee, and not in the good way. #3 - Coffee gives you some nasty breath. Ever go up & chat with someone who's drinking coffee? They open their little mouth and this vapor wafts out like something from Gremlins. Nasty. #4 - If you have to put x sugars or x creams or x shots of whatever into your coffee, what's the point? Clearly, you don't like coffee either or you would drink it black. Think about that one and get back to me because you know - deep down - I'm on to something there.
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Just got off the phone with my mortgage broker and everything is (finally) coming together nicely. The new mortgage company sent us some disclosure info in the mail yesterday and everybody is rushing towards the final closing.

Merrin & I have been in a complete panic since last week when we were supposed to close. Then we delayed it until today. Now it's delayed until Friday - we think. But all the signs are looking good for Friday. It's possible that it could be before then, but as long as we can buy the new house - I don't really care when we close.

Shout out to Keith for keeping me sane (by sacrificing his own sanity) and to Jimmy for making a few extra phone calls last night & this morning to speed things through.

I'll keep you all posted. Keep your fingers crossed as we hurry up and wait!

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