Posts from — February 2003

A maker of dialing technology products has crafted a new new telemarketer tool that trumps the popular TeleZapper. For a lot of people who bought a TeleZapper or made their own, this new telemarketing tool would definitely suck!

Worse yet, according to the news article, the new tool by Castel would also allow telemarketers to broadcast a caller id signal. By relaying the caller id information, the telemarketers could effectively negate the "annoynous mall reject" and Privacy Manager style services sold by the phone companies like SBC, Verizon and the like.
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I'm officially snowed/iced in today. Seems like the whole D/FW area is shut down today. Guess I got my snow day after all!

The #1 reason we moved was to reduce my commute from 1.5 hours each way to 20 minutes each way. Before today, it was the perfect plan. And then Mother Nature stepped in.

Apparently when the D/FW area is blanketed under ice, sleet, & snow, my short little 20 minute commute is 2 hours and 52 minutes. 18 miles in 2 hours and 52 minutes. For those of you without a degree in math, that works out to:

7 mph

Can you believe that? 7 mph? In a car? This winter storm stuff has got to get the hell out of town! Yesterday afternoon it was in the 60s! But, this is Texas and the weather will change back just as fast. Don't believe me? Thursday's forecast is 52 degrees and Saturday is a gorgeous 63 degrees.

And, since we're talking about the weather, what the hell is this forecast from the Weather Channel supposed to mean?

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My second favorite (Tony, Carm, & kids from The Sopranos are #1, of course) TV family is headed back for season three as Six Feet Under returns next Sunday @ 8p CST on HBO.

I have become so dedicated to the Fishers. Yes, the show has some dark undertones, but at it's core Six Feet Under is basically a family drama. Granted, the truly do put the F-U-N back in dysfunctional, but it's a show about family life nonetheless.

If you're not familiar with Six Feet Under, I'd suggest you hit the website and learn the down-low on the cast/characters, history of the show, and recaps of season one and season two.

Now, let's all be good boys & girls and set our TiVo's for a season pass! See ya back here next Sunday night to recap!

Very rarely do I recommend you go out and download something. When I do, it's usually AVG anti-virus from Grisoft because it's free, frequently updated, has a built-in email interface for Outlook/Outlook Express, and it keeps it's virus definitions updated automatically. Heck, now I'm off on a tangent, so you might as well go download AVG if you haven't already.

OK. Back to the the subject at hand. About a zillion years ago, Merrin got me a "noise maker" for my birthday or Christmas or something. We call it a "noise maker", but Brookestone calls it a "Tranquil Moments Plus" digital white noise machine. Suffice to say that I can hardly sleep without it. It ranks as one of the All Time Great Gifts my wife has ever given me. (Perhaps I'll compile a list, but that would be another tangent - so it will have to wait for another day!)

I have become so attached to the white noise of gentle ocean waves or a babbling brook that I've been trying to find a similar tool for the computer. I envision myself using it at work, home, etc. to add a little relaxation to my computer time.

Lo and behold, Mr. Charlie Balch has created just the tool I've been looking for. Serene Sound is a great little app that emulates my Brookestone "noise maker" and allows me to achieve a more peaceful state online. I downloaded it today and it has been FANTASTIC.

Serene Sound is freeware and very easy to use. Just choose the sound (or combination of sounds) that you want and it loops them through your computer speakers. Currently available sounds include Light Waves, Heavy Waves, Light Rain, Heavy Rain, Stream, Waterfall, Fire, Blizzard, Hurricane, White Noise, Pink Noise, and Brown Noise.

If you're looking for a great way to relax while using your computer, check out Serene Sound.

OK. Some of you people just don't "get it", I guess. According to PCWorld Magazine, the average American spent 157 hours online from home in 2002.

157 hours? Is that it? Heck, Merrin and I beat the crud out of that total! And, while I can't be 100% sure, I'd be willing to bet that we come close to 157 hours a month! Get with it, people!

I hope this is never a decision that I have to make. I pray that I am never in this position myself.

That being said, there are hundreds of families that find themselves in the unimaginable position of having a loved one die and immediately being confronted with the decision to have their loved one to become an organ donor. I can't imagine how difficult this decision must be for so many families. Like I said, I don't want to be in this position. Ever.

But organ donation saves lives. Thousands of people all over the world are living happy and productive lives thanks to the incredible gift of life they received from a transplant.

We have all seen and heard the story of young Jessica, who received the wrong organs this week and passed away tonight after undergoing a second heart and lung transplant on Thursday. While Jessica did not recover from the terrible mistaken transplant, her body was being kept alive by machines while her parents pondered the decision to donate Jessica's organs to patients in need.

Tonight, Jessica's family declined to donate any organs from Jessica's body, including the heart and lungs that had been donated for her transplant.

If your family was fortunate enough to receive a chance at a miracle in the form of not one but two organ donations, how in the world do you say no to organ donation?

Am I the only one shocked by their decision?

I'VE GOT MINE!! Just finished getting tickets for the Jimmy Buffett concert in Dallas for April 22nd.

Can you possibly think of a better pre-anniversary present to your wife? :grin

I came across this link and thought it might be helpful for anyone trying to learn how to connect a Tivo to home theater system.

My particular setup is not shown in any of the diagrams, so perhaps I'll make my own (if I can ever figure out how I've got it wired in the first place!)

TiVo Wiring Guide

I got a call last night from Kelly, Nancy & the gang from over @ Beechwood. They were out having drinks and wanted me to come along to play in their reindeer games. I really wanted to, but it just wasn't a good idea last night.

I really miss those guys. I love my job, but I really miss the people I used to work with. It was such a special little group. I really do love them all and I really did love working with them. I wish I could turn back the clock, sometimes.

I made them promise that they'll call me again next time and I know that they will, but I really do miss 'em.

Raise a glass, everybody! Here's to the good, old days! (photo link)

Why do elections start so early? I don't get it. Well, I say I don't get it, but I really do. I'm a fairly savvy observer of politics and can read behind the lines on most issues.

What I don't understand is why the Democrats are so gung-ho and gearing up for the 2004 election? Umm. Didn't you just get spanked three months ago?

But the Dems have little/no shame so they're heading out in force to try to nibble away at Bush little by little. Truth? Who needs it?!

Well, not Senator John Edwards of North Carolina. "We should never doubt this. This is the Bush recession. He owns it and we should hold him responsible for it," Edwards said in Iowa. Just one problem with the assessment is that the United States is not in recession.

Patriotism? Support for our troops? Liberation for the Iraqis? Overthrow of a menacing dictator? All hog wash according to Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, an old-style liberal who is filing papers to enter the race Wednesday, continued his long-held refrain that President Bush wants to go to war to achieve his own personal glory.

Right now there are no fewer than eight presidential candidates for the Dems. And my, won't they make you proud?! Ohio Rep. Dennis Kucinich, Vermont Gov. Howard Dean, civil rights activist Al Sharpton, former Illinois Sen. Carol Mosely Braun, Missouri Rep. Dick Gephardt of Missouri, Conn. Sen. Joe Lieberman, Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts, and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina.

Is there hope on the Democratic horizon? Florida Sen. Bob Graham? former Colorado Sen. Gary Hart? Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware? Sen. Chris Dodd of Connecticut?

The Democrats just don't get it. It's not who you roll out there - it truly isn't. The problem for the Dems is what do they stand for? Seriously - you can't simple be opposed to everything Bush is doing. That's not a strategy.

Like it or not, Bush has done and is doing what Presidents do: he is leading. You may not agree with where he's headed, but he is leading - and the country is following.

Want to talk about a lot of snow? It's snowed so much on the Atlantic coast that it is now illegal to drive in Maryland.

That's a lot of snow!

I'm sitting here @ work while all my clients have the day off just dreaming for a snow day! But, with my luck, my holiday would be just like the one in Maryland - I'd get day off but couldn't go anywhere & enjoy it!

Happy President's/snow Day America!

OK. I'm coming out. I have been holding back this terrible secret all night and I just can't contain it anymore.

I watched Amelie yesterday. You know the little French movie with that all the girls are so in love with. Well, I watched it. Merrin was at work and it was on Tivo and, well, I just watched it.

Worse? I kinda liked it. I know, I know. I'm a man and I'm not supposed to watch this crap. But still - it was kinda good. For those of you who haven't seen it, I would kinda suggest watching it.

Two gripes (and these may redeem me slightly next time I go to Home Depot):

1) The movie is in French with subtitles. Better get the DVD and switch that sucker to English the way God intended. The subtitles are OK, but I recognize just enough of the French language to know that the subtitles were just summaries of the actual dialogue. Plus, if I wanted to read something I would go get a magazine or something.

2) Audrey Tautou, who plays the main character, was pretty good looking. They should have done a better job of making her hotter in the movie. (OK. I threw that one in as a desperate measure to reclaim some shred of my own masculinity!)

I'll be surrendering my man card later today.

My wife has a favorite game. Perhaps you've played it before.

Take 45-50 cds and jewel cases. Remove two cds from their respective jewel cases and swap them so that cd "A" is in jewel case "B". Repeat for all 50 cds.

For you true pros out there (like Merrin), you can play this game with 200 or more cds! I think the current record is swapping out over 230 cds & cases, but I wouldn't know. Like I said, my wife is the pro!

Answer: Yes. But life has to slow down first.
Question: Are you still gonna do that blog thing?

So this is my first "normal" weekend in like…3 or 4 weeks. Maybe longer, now that I think about it. Everything was thrown off since…well, Thanksgiving really. Since then we've been selling a house, packing, not selling a house, celebrating Christmas, selling a house, packing, buying a house, packing, not buying a house yet still packing, selling a house, buying a house, not buying a house, buying a house, unpacking to use the boxes as shelter since we have no house, packing, buying a house, moving, buying a house (seriously, this time!), moving, unpacking, unpacking, unpacking, unpacking and unpacking. In summary, we've been kinda busy.

But things get back to "normal" this weekend.
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