fun
Does no one like the middle?
Something struck me a few minutes ago: does anyone live in the middle of Missouri? The two most populous cities, St. Louis and Kansas City, are on the eastern and western edges of the state, respectively. You never hear about any other place in the Show Me State, except for Springfield.
"We don't anticipate any management mistakes."
Given my personal experience working for Verizon, and continuously hearing stories from my friends who are still employed there, this rings so true.
Congrats, Oz!
The Ozabs saw Anna pop out in to the world from her warm, cozy womb, back on the 19th. What is it with ATPM staffers and early children? Congratulations, Mom and Dad, and welcome, Anna!
Rock me, Amadeus
I missed blogging about the 300th anniversary of Ben Franklin's birthday, so I knew I couldn't miss today. What's today? Today is the 250th anniversary of the birthday of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart. While Tom and I agree that Bach is the better composer (and I would rate Handel better, as well), Mozart's body of work is quite an accomplishment, given what he produced before his death at the age of 35. There are composers today, living in to their eighties, who do not produce music with the depth and scope that Mozart did.
Deep Thinking
Things to think about that you probably have never thought about: Can you cry under water? How important does a person have to be before they are considered assassinated instead of just murdered? Why do you have to "put your two cents in", but it's only a "penny for your thoughts"? Where's that extra penny going to? Why does a round pizza come in a square box? What disease did cured ham actually have? How is it that we put man on the moon before we figured out it would be a good idea to put wheels on luggage? Why is it that people say they "slept like a baby" when babies wake up like every two hours? (Jim and Lissa, take note!) If a deaf person has to go to court, is it still called a hearing? Why are you in a movie, but you're on TV? Why do people pay to go up tall buildings and then put money in binoculars to look at things on the ground? Why do doctors leave the room while you change? They're going to see you naked anyway. Why is "bra" singular and "panties" plural? Why do toasters always have a setting that burns the toast to a horrible crisp, which no decent human being would eat? If Jimmy cracks corn and no one cares, why is there a stupid song about him? Can a hearse carrying a corpse drive in the carpool lane? Why do people point to their wrist when asking for the time, but don't point to their crotch when they asking where the bathroom is? Why does Goofy stand erect while Pluto remains on all fours? They're both dogs! If Wile E. Coyote had enough money to buy all that ACME crap, why didn't he just buy dinner? Did you ever notice that when you blow in a dog's face, he gets mad at you, but when you take him for a car ride; he sticks his head out the window?! Do the Alphabet song and Twinkle, Twinkle Little Star have the same tune? Why did you just try singing the two songs above? [Via e-mail from my mom.]
Happy News
HappyNews.com. Real News. Compelling Stories. Always Positive. As opposed to the typical "if it bleeds, it leads" attitude of the major news organizations, Byron Reese believes, "News should give you an accurate view of the world." It's not all sunshine and roses, but it's not all doom and gloom, either. The site also offers a weekly online lifestyle magazine. [Via Reader's Digest.]
Shouldn't dynasties win more than one?
Above is the proposed billboard to be placed in a high-traffic area near the USC campus.
LSU grads in the Dallas area, annoyed by the media coverage over USC's attempt at "a third-straight national championship", have raised the necessary $10,000 for the proposed billboard, and are working with a Mobile firm in scouting for a suitable location. As you would imagine, even the Bruins are happy about it.
The message here, people, is that the Bowl Championship Series was created for the sole purpose of providing the means, in lieu of a playoff system, to determine the one, true national champion of Division I-A college football. God knows I have my myriad issues with the BCS, but it is, despite its faults, the system in place, and it should be respected. This is the vein of the message from Onepeat.com.
[Via Hugh via Xon.]
Are you a kept man?
Are you a kept man? Living off the fruits of the labor of your wife, girlfriend, significant other? Married a trust-fund cutie or a wealthy widow? Tell the world with Kept Man Apparel!
Today's miscellany
Ron Moore, creator and executive producer of the best show on television, shares his favorite science-fiction tomes.
From the "You've Got to Be Kidding Me" Department "Hi, we're Western Digital. Since our hard drives are slightly above average in performance and reliability, rather than making them top-notch, the industry's best, we thought we would throw our research and development in to making clear cases for the drives, so you can see the inner workings..." It actually is a rather impressive drive, specification-wise. I just prefer Seagates, when I can get them.
From the "You've Got to Be Kidding Me" Department: Part Two The mail arrived at the house today at approximately one o'clock this afternoon. I know this only because I was walking down the stairs at that moment, and saw the postal worker depositing today's mail in our box. Within today's delivery was my latest order from the BMG music club of which I am still a member. I don't order from them very often, waiting for the really good sales they have from time to time, but that's not really the point here. The point is that at approximately two-thirty, an hour and a half after I pulled the order out of the mailbox, an e-mail from BMG hit my In box, informing me my order had shipped. Way to stay on top of things, guys.
I thought we were painting our faces for the Tiger game
Have you seen the McDonald's commercial with the face-painting football fans? I just about lost it when Tiger Face licks the back of his hand at the end.
On those Wikipedia ills
Given Ellyn's column this month on Wikipedia, I thought this Penny Arcade was apropos. [Wave of the phin to Dan.]
Documenting bad grammar
Lee and I share a pet peeve relating to grammar, and he has chosen to begin documenting finds in meatspace. One reason I don't slog through comments on most blogs is because the respondents apparently didn't learn anything in third grade, or since. "It's" means "it is," and "Its" denotes the possessive case. "There" denotes a place, while "Their" denotes a plural possessive. Those are the two major mistakes I see, which irk me to no end.
Another reason to love the Scots
The Scottish accent--when it is comprehensible--is better for business than a regional English accent.
If you want to get ahead in business and don't speak the Queen's English, it is better to sound as if you are from Scotland, or indeed from America, Europe or India, than from any English region. Those Brits sure can be a wee odd at times. [Via AWAD.]
Why you should not use your mouth before engaging your brain
Scene: my wife and I are sitting at our respective desks in the study, doing our respective things on our respective computing systems. Her: "Wow. There are thirteen miners trapped in a mine in West Virginia." Me: "What the hell are a bunch of minors doing..." That was the point I shut up and then started laughing. Then I had to explain the insanity that took place in my mind, to which my smiling bride stated, "Doofus." Doofus, indeed.
Happy New Year
For New Year's Eve, my wife and I went out to dinner, toddler in tow. Over our meal we toasted the new year, praying it would be better than 2005, which was better than 2004, which was only slightly worse than 2003. My prayer for my family, my friends, and you, dear reader, is that 2006 is a better year for you as well. God bless, and be God's.
Kelly's Dump Soup
My wife found this dump soup recipe somewhere online, and neither of us can remember where nor find the bookmark for it. As the name implies, it's a soup made up of whatever you dump in the pot. Here's what we had for lunch:
1 can, Campbell's Healthy Request Minestrone
1 can, pinto beans (15 oz)
1 can, Ro-Tel Original diced tomatoes and green chilies (10 oz)
1 can, whole kernel corn (15 oz)
1 can, cut green beans, no salt added (14.5 oz)
In the past, we've also added a can of red beans, and a can of black beans to the mix, each of those a 15-ounce can like the pinto beans listed above. You'll need a good-sized pot to heat it on the stovetop with, and some Tupperware™ or other storage of your choice for the leftovers. Because there will be plenty of leftovers. It's very hearty, especially if you go with all three types of beans.Today's fixing fed both of us for lunch, and will give us at least one more meal, possibly two, depending upon how many bowls each of us has.
If you're on Weight Watchers™, this soup is extremely low in points; two to three per bowl.
Thanks to the Ro-Tel, I should have skipped taking some decongestant earlier. The green chilies cleared out my sinuses just fine.
Razor's New Year's words of wisdom
The most common eye injury in France is damage done by flying champagne corks. (It's true.) Apparently they don't retreat fast enough when it comes to avoiding bubble propelled projectiles.
Razor says, 'Let's be careful out there, and wear a visor.' And this is from a guy with French ancestry.
How you know you're a parent #1,487
While testing a new product for review, you set your iPod on shuffle, and hear Hootie & the Blowfish, dc Talk, King James (old Christian metal group), Petra (the Aerosmith of Christian rock), and then VeggieTales. Just kind of throws that whole rhythm off to have Junior pop in to the middle of the mix with "Come over to my house and play!"