Dilbert House - Virtual Tour

Dilbert House - Virtual Tour: "First, let me give you some background. As you probably know, most of the people who design houses hate your guts. For example, they know you'll never use the formal living room, yet they include it so you'll have to pay extra. They tease you with a fancy-schmancy dining room, making you fantasize about hosting important dinners for heads of state, despite the reality that you eat your meals directly from the refrigerator."

Football Fans For Truth

Football Fans For Truth: "Kerry Strikes Out in Baseball

Kerry told a radio interviewer that his favorite Red Sox player was Eddie Yost. Eddie Yost never played for the Sox. He spent most of his career with the Washington Senators, where he earned the nickname 'The Walking Man' for his ability to draw a base on balls.
Kerry once praised 'Manny Ortez' of the Red Sox. There's no Manny Ortez on the Sox lineup--or indeed, any other MLB roster. Manny Ramirez and David Ortiz play for the Red Sox. Maybe all baseball players names sound alike to the Democrat nominee.
When Kerry threw the first pitch at a Red Sox-Yankees game, he did not throw from the pitcher's mound -- yet still bounced the ball before it reached home plate. He then blamed his namby-pamby throw on the catcher, a National Guard soldier and Iraq war veteran: 'I held back,' Kerry told reporters. 'He was very nervous. I tried to lob it gently.' Conclusion: John Kerry throws a baseball worse than a girl.
John Kerry responds to George Bush's GOP acceptance speech with the following opening remarks:
'I'll tell you what happened tonight that will be remembered. The Boston Red Sox moved to within 2.5 games of the New York Yankees.'
At the time of Kerry's speech,however, the Red Sox had not moved up in the standings. While they won that night, so did the Yankees, and the Sox remained 3.5 games back. And John Kerry accuses Bush of misleading the American people? "

hard times

Well I got bumped from this set of tapings for Backatcha! I will be on the next set which tapes at the end of October. That's actually good because it gives me a bit more time to prepare and stuff. I went to the orientation last Wednesday. We went to the set of where the tapings will be, which is in the same room as the newscast set. That set is very small. Interesting to note that the Weather Lab is not in a separate room like I thought but is right next to the main desk area. Very strange. We met with the producer (we being all the contestants) and Jeff Lyons, the host. We ran thru some practice games to get a feel for how things will work at the tapings. The questions were once again hard for me and a bit unnerving since it is starting to make me feel dumb. Fortunately we watched an episode this weekend where I knew most of the answers. That helps my confidence a bit. The new shows start airing this coming weekend, so check them out if you are able to do so. I've already scheduled them on PVR!

Microsoft Geek Blogger

Scobleizer: Microsoft Geek Blogger: "What are some other approaches for a new blogger to get discovered?"

Scoble talks about how to get your blog circulation higher. I may have to try these out.

link blog

I've added a link blog to keep news items and various other links that I find interesting. Check it out here.

switchfoot on letterman

CBS | Late Show with David Letterman : Show Info: "Wednesday, September 29
Joaquin Phoenix ('Ladder 49')
Snakemaster, Austin Stevens
Switchfoot "

fall festival is next week

West Side Nut Club Fall Festival Evansville Indiana

Pujols

BPSports.net - Cardinals' Pujols is 'the real deal,' is growing in faith, his pastor says: "While many marvel at his ability on the diamond, what Southern Baptists like most about Pujols is that he isn't ashamed of his faith in Jesus. Each time the young star drops a single in front of an outfielder, lines a double to the wall between outfielders or slams the baseball into the outfield seats for a home run, Pujols always points heavenward, acknowledging that he is giving God the glory for his talent and what He has allowed the baseball player to accomplish.

'Just a week ago we were having dinner together,' Hunter said in a Sept. 1 interview with The Pathway. 'He was sharing with me and my son, Josh, about an illustration he had heard when Christian apologist and popular author Ravi Zacharias spoke to the Cardinals on a trip to Atlanta. Zacharias said he once asked Billy Graham what he prays for every day.'

Graham's reply: That he would do nothing that would jeopardize the things God had done in and through his life.

'What thrilled my heart,' Hunter said, 'was when Albert looked at me and asked me how long I had been a Christian. I told him 42 or 43 years.' Pujols, picking up on what Graham had said, then asked Hunter: Did he realize that if he did anything wrong, it would undermine everything he had done since he became a Christian?

'That's why we've all got to be in our favorite position -- every day on our knees -- so we will do nothing to jeopardize the name of the Lord Jesus in our lives. That's where Albert is in his growth as a believer,' Hunter said.
'Every time that I see Albert, I ask him if he is still on his knees.'"

Now we know who they is

Branson man legally changes name to "They"
Associated Press

BRANSON, Mo. - A Branson man has put a face to the anonymous references people often make to "they" by changing his name to just that: "They." The former Andrew Wilson, a 43-year-old self-employed inventor, was granted legal permission last week by a circuit judge to change his name. It's just They, no surname. He also has changed his driver's license to reflect his new name.

They said he did it for humor to address the common reference to "they." "'They do this,' or 'They're to blame for that.' Who is this 'they' everyone talks about? 'They' accomplish such great things. Somebody had to take responsibility," he said.

Now, his friends are getting used to his new name. "They call up and say, 'Is They there?'" He acknowledged the name could drive grammarians crazy. "Not only is he making a statement about his name, but he's messing with the entire English language," friend Craig Erickson said.

They holds 14 patents including Ground-Effect lighting, used to create a neon glow beneath vehicles and patented in 1987. His newest product is "Shades Eyewear," which have a built-in visor over each sunglass lens. The visors protect the eyes from glare without having to wear a hat, he said.

Back At Ya

"You got the call, Kid!"

That's what Ron Eaton said to me on the phone last Thursday night. Ron Eaton is the creator and Executive Producer of the local gameshow, Backatcha! So I'm going to accomplish one of my goals that I really did not think was possible. I'm going to be on Backatcha. The tapings are this weekend so it's coming up fast. How do you prepare for something like this? Laura is quizzing me each day with the trivial pursuit game cards that we have. I DVR'd the show this weekend and watched it. Holy cow were the questions hard! Fortunately that means they won't be asking me those questions.

Here's how I came to be on the show. A few months back I was looking for information about contestant searches and couldn't find anything. So I emailed WFIE and asked them if they still had the show and if they were going to have a contestant search anytime. They emailed me back and let me know that they would let me know. I pretty much figured that was the end of it. Well I got an email about a week ago saying they were having a special invite only audition for those people who had emailed with interest about being on the show. It was on Wednesday in Newburgh. I went and had to do a videotape interview and then took a test. The test was about 25-30 questions and had to be finished in 7 minutes. No problem, the questions were hard but I know most I think. Before taking the test, the producer told us there will be a new segment in this year's shows called the Blitz! You have to get 5 questions right (out of 7 I think) in 30 seconds and you win a $100. You can pass on the ones you don't know and come back to them. Well I got 5 right pretty quickly and I hope that impressed them. Fortunately it was things I knew and didn't have to think about them. Anyway, I have to go to a rehearsal showing on Wednesday to get used to the set and not be nervous for the real show. I just want to win at least one game because I fear failure. Pray for questions that are in my wheelhouse.

They will be having another contestant search for the public on October 2nd from 1-4pm at Eastland Mall. Go out and get on the show. I challenge you all (in the local area).

smoke on the water

Went down to the BBQ festival on the river this weekend (Saturday). It was very confusing. Everyone was cooking their bbq, but I didn't see any samples. The only place you could purchase bbq was a Wolf's travel thingy. No thanks. What's the point? I thought you would be able to walk to each booth, get a little sample and if you liked it purchase their sauce or something. No music, one inflatable jumpy thingy for the kids and general confusion lends to a not good time. So we went to Tumbleweed and had some lunch. Tasty as usual. We rarely go there but it is consistently good and not that busy. Then we went to the library's opening, and so did everyone else in Evansville it seems. It was wild. That building is pretty cool and it is nice to have all the books out in the open, unlike the old place. Now I have a place to go at lunch again. And a convenient place to get DVDs this winter. Thumbs way up!

Library

The new library is freakin huge! Go visit it. Good stuff.

My Dad works on a pirate ship

Today is talk like a pirate day. Aye!

j-o-b

General wonderment today. If you could have any job what would it be? Who would you want to work for, if anyone? What would you want to do?

I would like to be self-employed at some point in my life. I have absolutely know idea what I would do though, so it isn't much of an option at this stage in my life. My present work experience* is good. A little tedious at times but I really can't complain. If I had to work for someone else my short list includes: Google, Microsoft, IBM, St. Louis Cardinals. Perhaps even Apple as they are really changing my perception of them. What kind of jobs? Programming consultant, DBA possibly?, statistician, technology evangelist? Not FoxPro programmer, I can tell you that much. But what about outside the tech field? Could I ever get outside the tech field? Screenwriter, writer, actuary(?), music producer, stand-up comic (ha!), poker player (is it gambling if it's your job?), pro-wrestler? Not sure. I like gathering information about things. And statistics and patterns (not china patterns, unless it is patters about China). What do those qualities make me best suited for? The computer field can get pretty overwhelming sometimes, especially when there is no focus on where you are going.


*this does not reflect on the current liking/disliking of my job

Enough to make Todd a Duke fan?

CNN.com: "And the final item of today's 'Campaign News Daily' extra edition: a state divided over basketball and politics. As if cheering for Duke or the North Carolina Tarheels were not enough to divide voters, two legendary basketball coaches have taken sides in the U.S. Senate race. Duke head coach Mike Krzyzewski, better known as Coach K, is hosting a fund-raiser tonight for Republican Elizabeth Dole, while former UNC head coach Dean Smith last week hosted a competing event for Dole's opponent, Democrat Erskine Bowles. "

Nightcrawler

Thunderstruck - Interesting article on X-Men's Nightcrawler and his religious beliefs.

No blogs

I haven't been blogging lately. I haven't had the energy or thought patterns or whatever. School and work are making me crazy. It's like everything is sped up now.

History is boring so far. We just finished the post civil war-westward expansion-new south era and are heading into industrialization. WooHoo. Fortunately I enjoy history from 1920 on and we are rapidly approaching that. I have a quiz on Thursday for History and a quiz on Tuesday for my film class. My film class is pretty cool. We watched Matchstick Men last night. It was enjoyable. I actually enjoyed Nicolas Cage in this movie. He was very good as a con artist with OCD. Recommended just look away when they hit the stip club scene. There was no nudity, just a half naked woman on a pole, which doesn't really make sense if you think about it. Why go to the trouble of having a strip club part in the movie if you aren't going to show the boobs? I'm glad they didn't show them, but I don't understand their logic there. It didn't last long, so it doesn't matter I guess. Maybe they just wanted an excuse to play a Kid Rock song.

Work is getting hectic. It's hard to concentrate on one thing as I'm bombarded with many things right now. Make it all go away, he says somedays. Lots of report programs to make and that is about the crappiest program that I get to do so it's not all skits and giggles here at the Q factory.

My fantasy football team is so-so. I got Tomlinson, which is good, but I'm not real solid anywhere else, except TE. Tony Gonzalez, can't forget about him. I'll finish around 5th I think. Laura's team is the most solid pre-draft. The God Squad is the sleeper team I do believe. I'm kinda disappointed with the names of the teams this year. Mongo? Rikki Tikki Tavi? Underdog somethings? Broad Ripple Raiders (again???)? Where's the creativity? As Hanson sang, Where's the love? It's not enough. I digress.

Getting drafty in here

Tonight is the draft for our fantasy football league. I love/hate drafts. Love them because I love sports and making lists and this is the perfect harmony of said events. Hate them because I have such a hard time concentrating on anything else until the draft is over. Hope my USI class doesn't suffer for it today. I'm taking Ray Guy with my first pick. I love making those stupid jokes about players who are hurt or not even in the league anymore. We all do it, and we all know it's lame, but it is tradition! Second pick is Ray Finkle.

He's Back

Ankiel has been recalled. I'm pretty excited about it. Here's a guy who had a realistic chance of never pitching in the majors again and suddenly he's dominating the minors. He's done with his rehab assignment and could potentially be in the playoff picture. Of course time will tell but I'm rooting for him. A dominant lefty is a good thing to have. He's also got a new number. He's not #66 anymore, but #49. Interesting change.