Rob Williams - Orangejack

Forget the 50 United States. That's too many. We should only have 38! At least that's what this guy thinks:

The map reducing the U.S. to 38 States is the creation of C. Etzel Pearcy, geography professor at California State University, Los Angeles. The new boundaries totally erase the 104 lines currently separating the 50 States. Each State's new name, chosen with the help of a poll of geography students, represents a physical or cultural aspect of the new territory...

Why the need for a new map? Pearcy states that many of the early surveys that drew up our boundaries were done while the areas were scarcely populated. Thus, it was convenient to determine boundaries by using the land's physical features, such as rivers and mountain ranges, or by using a simple system of latitude and longitude. Proof of this lies in the fact that the Mississippi River borders 10 States. The practicality of old established State lines is questionable in light of America's ever-growing cities and the increasing mobility of its citizens. Metropolitan New York, for example, stretches into 2 adjacent States. Other city populations which cross State lines are Washington, D.C., St. Louis, Chicago, and Kansas City. The "straddling" of State lines causes economic and political problems. Who should pay for a rapid transit system in St. Louis? Only those citizens within the boundaries of Missouri, or all residents of St. Louis's metropolitan area, including those who reach over into the State of Illinois?

So I guess I grew up in Carolina and currently live in Biscayne. I just don't know why people would go out and make up new systems like this.

You can see the large scale map here.

Thanks to The Map Room for the tip.

An old farmer went to the city one weekend and attended the big city church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the farmer. "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang praise choruses instead of hymns."

"Praise choruses?" asked the wife. "What are those?"

"Oh, they're okay. They're sort of like hymns, only different," said the farmer.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked the wife.

The farmer said, "Well it's like this ... If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a hymn. If, on the other hand, I were to say to you:

Martha, Martha, Martha, Oh, Martha, MARTHA, MARTHA, the cows, the big cows, the brown cows, the black cows, the white cows, the black and white cows, the COWS, COWS, COWS are in the corn, are in the corn, are in the corn, in the CORN, CORN, CORN, COOOOORRRRRNNNNN.

Then, if I were to repeat the whole thing two or three times, well that would be a praise chorus."

As luck would have it, the exact same Sunday a young, new Christian from the city church attended the small town church. He came home and his wife asked him how it was.

"Well," said the young man, "It was good. They did something different, however. They sang hymns instead of regular songs."

"Hymns?" asked the wife. "What are those?"

"They're okay. They're sort of like regular songs, only different," said the young man.

"Well, what's the difference?" asked the wife.

The young man said, "Well it's like this ... If I were to say to you, 'Martha, the cows are in the corn,' well that would be a regular song. If on the other hand, I were to say to you:

Oh Martha, dear Martha, hear thou my cry
Inclinest thine ear to the words of my mouth.
Turn thou thy whole wondrous ear by and by
To the righteous, glorious truth.

For the way of the animals who can explain
There in their heads is no shadow of sense,
Hearkenest they in God's sun or his rain
Unless from the mild, tempting corn they are fenced.

Yea those cows in glad bovine, rebellious delight,
Have broke free their shackles, their warm pens eschewed.
Then goaded by minions of darkness and night
They all my mild Chilliwack sweet corn chewed.

So look to that bright shining day by and by,
Where all foul corruptions of earth are reborn
Where no vicious animal makes my soul cry
And I no longer see those foul cows in the corn.

Then, if I were to do only verses one, three and four, and change keys on the last verse, well that would be a hymn."

The following email just went out to our eNews subscribers:

We're sure you have been affected as we have by the ongoing stories of human
suffering and needs resulting from the tsunamis. We in Campus Crusade for Christ have been very active in helping address the unimaginable physical, emotional and spiritual suffering.

There is great despair. Just recently a Crusade leader visited a family who refused any help, asking only for cyanide. Another man could not hold on to his sister, who could not swim. She died and he is blaming himself.

Read how Campus Crusade is providing Tsunami relief here.

Thanks for partnering with us as we minister to the world.

Rob & Patricia Williams
Campus Crusade for Christ
www.orangejack.com

Star Wars Episode III: A Lost Hope

UPDATE: Bummer. Looks like the link is dead now. I wonder if someone got into some Lucas-trouble?!?! I'll keep the link live in case they put it back there.

Something I've been thinking about writing for a while is a simple, how-to guide for those who have come to this website with the question "what is a blog" or "isn't this just another website"? In addition, Ken Leebow wrote today

Blogs are great, but bloggers need to explain in simple layman's terms what it's all about. The people in the blogosphere don't appear to be doing that.

So this goes out to Ken and all others wondering what this whole "blog thing" is all about.

I could take some time to go into the history of blogs, but I won't. I don't think the average person really cares. What they you probably care more about is what is different about a blog and how to read it.

A blog is simply a website.

However, a blog is a little different than just a website. A blog has a slightly different structure to it than a traditional website. What confuses most people about blogs is the homepage. But before I explain that, let me explain something else. Every blog post (section on the homepage such as this post) has it's own unique web address (URL). The blog website links all of these posts together to make a website...just like a traditional site.

The biggest confusion about a blog is usually the homepage. It looks different than a traditional website. That's because what the homepage does is display the latest posts or webpages added. Usually it posts them in reverse chronological order. That way the most recent entry or post is at the top of the page. Scroll down to see the next posts in order.

Another confusion is that the posts on the homepage can cover all sorts of topics. That's because there are different kinds of blogs. Some people write randomly--like journal postings. Some write about different topics and then file those entries into categories. After a while, on most blogs, some of the entries on the homepage "fall off" or disappear. Depending on the blog, those entries are now in the archives or categories. Usually you can find links to those archives and/or categories on the side of the page.

Another difference in a blog from a traditional website is that blogs usually has interactivity built in. At the bottom of most blogs is a line that says how many people have commented. If you click on that comment link, you'll be taken to that post's unique web's (where that entry alone sits) and you can read the comments left by other readers. You can even post your own comments if the blog owner has it setup to allow it.

Blogs also have something called a "permalink" at the bottom of each entry. That is "blog-talk" for that entry's unique web address. Click it and you'll see the "permanent link" for that entry.

For another great tutorial for you, check out this page.

If you have any questions, feel free to leave a comment on this entry. Just click on the link below that has some number and the word "comments" after it. If you were on my homepage, you'll be taken to a page that has another link that says "post a comment". I'll read it and leave an answer for you there.

Hope this helps!

Is American Idol kind of like a lottery?

I was pondering that this morning as I was driving to work. My radio is busted. I had to think about something!

The chances of winning AI are similar to winning a lottery. The lottery is a "get rich quick" sort of thing. AI is a "get famous quick" sort of thing also. It could be argued that only about 3-5 AI alum to date are really benefiting from the experience...similar to a lottery.

I wonder how many people aren't working hard to make it in the music industry because they see the glitz of AI...so they wait and take that route instead? I'm not saying to win AI isn't hard...I'm sure it's quite difficult!

I'm probably getting myself in trouble here, but just wanted to ask the question.

A lot of people give Jacksonville a bad rap. I've driven through there a lot and I don't think it's all that bad. Okay, it does reek of sulfur from the paper mills and doesn't have great weather, but what do I know? I'm from Orlando...

Here's all you need to know: As Jacksonville gets ready for its Super Bowl next weekend, guess what big sports happening will be in Orlando this weekend? It's called 'The Super Bowl of Motorsports,' but actually it's just a glorified name for a tractor pull. Jacksonville gets the real Super Bowl; we get the Monster Truck Super Bowl...

Would Orlando be a better spot for the Super Bowl? Of course, it would. We have a zillion hotels, an internationally renowned airport and infinitely more entertainment options. But Jacksonville has something more important: Vision...

Jacksonville shouldn't be laughed at by the nation's media, it should be lauded. Jacksonville is what all sports writers say they love: The ultimate underdog story. It's the Rocky and Rudy of sports cities. It is the little town that could. And did.

Orlando dreams; Jacksonville does.

Orlando wanted an NFL team at one time; Jacksonville went out and got one.

Orlando wants a new downtown arena; Jacksonville just built one.

Orlando wants a minor-league baseball park downtown; you should see the one Jacksonville just built.

Orlando put in a half-hearted bid to get the Atlantic Coast Conference football championship; Jacksonville put in a serious bid and got the game...

Heck, we can't even make fun of Jacksonville's reputed love affair with Waffle House and Hooters. According to the Waffle House customer service hotline, Orlando and Jacksonville each has seven Waffle Houses. And are you ready for this? According to the Hooters Web site, Jacksonville has just four Hooters locations; Orlando has six.

I had a couple of random observations about a couple of words today.

reckless - You can get ticked for driving reckless, but not if you're driving in such a way that is causing less wrecks.

in-between - I find it quite appropriate that the proper spelling for this word has a hyphen between the words "in" and "between".

Boy, you know the press is going to love this: Janet Jackson To Co-Host Super Bowl Event.

I got up early today to start my semi-normal routine of going to the gym before work. I hadn't gotten back into the swing of things since we left Canada. Honestly, in part it's been because of travel, busyness, laziness, and a bit of anxiety. But I'm over it all. So I got up and got myself ready.

Goof #1: I couldn't find my new gym bag. I had to use my wife's.

Goof #2: I brought everything I needed to swim laps. The pool was closed. Ugh. I didn't have the right equipment to work out, so I left. No gym today.

Goof #3: I boiled an egg for breakfast while I took a shower. I ate it right out of the hot water (I tried cooling it some) and burned my tongue...some.

Goof #4: I decided after that morning, I "deserved" a good coffee. So back to Barnie's to get a good cup of half-caf Americano. This week the price went up to $2.12 in my mug. Man! In Canada it was $1.75 CAN. That stinks.

Goof #5: Got to work and all was fine. Was chatting with a buddy over AIM. Meanwhile I had my windows media player on and set to random. While we were chatting Bette Midler's Wind Beneath My Wings came on. What the? How did that song slip in? Later it got back to the good stuff: Sly and the Family Stone's War, the Charlie Daniels Band's The Devil Went Down to Georgia, and Al Green's Ain't No Sunshine When She's Gone which seemed rather appropriate this morning (it's both raining and my wife is out of town).

That's about it. I debated posting this stuff. It was a fight between authenticity and pride. Authenticity won out.

Now it's 9:15. But at least it's Friday!

Snopes.com is the definitive website to find out if that too-good-to-be-true email you just got actually is too good to be true.

Now snopes has made it even easier to find out. Introducing the Urban Legends Reference Pages: 25 Hottest Urban Legends.

Bookmark it. Subscribe to the RSS feed. Sign up for their email. Do something! Just don't send me that email again!

BTW, several years ago I "replied to all" to announce a hoax email and cited a webpage to back me up. I got an angry reply from someone on the list that I didn't know saying "how dare I call it a hoax" and for all he knew "I created that entire website just to debunk emails like that" and implored me to "never email him again."

I laughed and obliged. I still crack up over that.

Oh my! You've gotta watch Mark Mathis, the former weatherman for Fox Charlotte. It's about a 5 minute video.

But then read a recent update on how he's battling back from alcoholism.

Thanks to Leo for the video tip.

Yesterday the car outside car handles finally broke for good so my wife blogged about it. Since we can't open the doors from the outside, we have to keep a window down or open the back door and reach way up to open the doors. So, I made a comment on her blog:

I think we should just do the Dukes of Hazzard thing for a while instead. It'll be cheaper.

To which my wife replied:

We could but I'm not wearing Daisy Dukes.

So, today we got the following email:

What's the Dukes of Hazzard thing?!?

To which I replied:

You mean my comment, or hers?

Mine is about how there were no windows in the General Lee and the doors were welded shut. They always jumped in the car with the windows down.

Patricia doesn't want to wear short shorts like Daisy Duke.

To which we received another reply:

Hold up. General Lee is the name of a CAR???? Was there a roof on the car? Did they dive in through the windows?

I always thought Daisy Dukes were just the name of short shorts. I didn't know it was based on something!

Sigh. I had no idea I was about to give out an entire synopsis of one of the coolest TV shows of my childhood:

Bo and Luke Duke were just good ol' boys, never meanin' no harm. Beats all you've ever saw, been in trouble with the law since the day they was
born.

Their cousin was Daisy Duke. She wore VERY short shorts. They were called Daisy Dukes.

They lived in Hazzard County, Georgia with their Uncle Jesse.

Boss Hogg was the sheriff (what was Boss Hogg, anyway?) and his sheriff was Rosco P. Coltraine. He had a hound dog named Flash.

The car that Bo and Luke drove was called the General Lee. It was orange and had a rebel flag painted on the top. The doors were welded shut and there were no windows. You see, it never rains (apparently) in Hazzard County.

Daisy drove a cool white Jeep with an eagle on the hood. It never had the top up and I don't think it had a name.

Don't worry. They're making a movie about it this year.

Oh, and this may show up in a blog near you...

More on the Dukes of Hazzard.

You know the phrase. What does the Super Bowl MPV say after their win? "I'm going to Disney World!"

Well not this year. Neither Brady or McNabb or anyone else this year will be on TV saying it. Disney is pulling their traditional ad.

Why?

...the official word from spokesman Craig Dezern is that Disney is focusing on the two big ad campaigns it already has under way.

One, the "Happiest Celebration on Earth," includes global spots for all Disney parks pegged to the 50th anniversary of Disneyland. The other, "Magic Your Way," is about new prices for vacations in Orlando.

Both campaigns happened to start earlier this month.

"We're not saying we won't do this again," Dezern said, leaving the locker-room door open for future Super Bowl ads.

Disney: Don't give up one great brand you've got going!

Universal: The door is open!

Were Martin Luther, Thomas Paine, and George Orwell the world's first bloggers?

Take Luther in the early 1500s. About 60 years before, Johannes Gutenberg invented the printing press. Before that, only the church and governments could afford to reproduce and manage information, keeping a lock on ideas and power. The printing press gave Luther a way to distribute his thesis — an early version of blogging. Next thing, we had Protestants.

In Paine's time, the key was the falling cost of printing pamphlets. That allowed Paine to get out his ideas in Common Sense, which greatly influenced the American Revolution. Pamphleteering was quite the bloglike craze in the 1700s, though most amateur writers stuck to politics and religion. The colonists didn't get anything like one current blog, called, "Adventures of a Domestic Engineer: The day-to-day travails of a sleep-deprived mother of three."

Orwell wrote pamphlets before writing 1984. Lamb was maybe the first video blogger, or vlogger. In the 1970s, when ABC, NBC and CBS reigned supreme, cable opened TV to low-budget operations. Lamb worked in the Pentagon's public relations department before launching C-Span in 1979. He was a nobody who took a small bite out of major media's influence.

Also:

These days, Internet blogs are all the rage. Blog-related companies such as Technorati and Six Apart have people in technology hyperventilating like it's 1999. Blogs are ripping down mainstream media and the ruling class! Blogs give power to the people! Everything is blogolicious!

Jeez. Take a pill, all you blogomaniacs. Blogs are fun. Blogs add a fascinating new element to public discourse. But blogs are another turn of history's wheel, not a radical departure.

LOL! So true.

Yet I blog.

Maybe so.

Thanks to DJ for the tip.

You've seen the recent beer ads with refs, haven't you? When a ref comes up to some guy and pretends he's in the "game of life" I suppose and calls a penalty on him because he's drinking the wrong beer (a Bud) and they give out a Miller.

I've thought those ads were kind of lame.

Then Budweiser came back and ran ads of their own saying that the refs were secretly stealing Buds because they secretly liked it better than Miller.

I've thought those ads were even lamer.

Well, I'm not alone:

Although the commercials amused many consumers, some observers say they lack sportsmanship and maybe good sense. Even television networks are pulling some spots and refusing to introduce others.

Critics say the ad campaigns present several problems: Some of the Miller commercials make unsubstantiated claims about its rival's products, while the Bud spots include unlawful acts.

Okay, I said the commercials were lame. I never said they were lacking sportsmanship or good sense. Ever think some people take things too far? I'm glad they are pulling some of the ads...not because of their reasons, but because I just think they are lame.

It's good to have friends. It's even better to have smart friends. It's the best to have smart friends who know how to do things you don't know how to do and who have great attitudes.

When Hurricane Frances was bearing down on us, we, along with most Central Floridians, decided to board up our home. So Brent and I decided to go get some plywood and we attempted to board up our homes.

But Brent and I ran into trouble. We couldn't get it done. So a call went out and Keith came over to help early and Steve came over in the late afternoon. These guys saved Brent and I.

During it all, Keith had to borrow a sheet of plywood from each of us. He said he'd pay us back. Yesterday Keith emailed me to say he forgot to pay us the $20 each for plywood. I told him to forget it...that without him, we wouldn't have gotten all the boards up. So I emailed Brent to see if he wanted the $20. Here's the email that went back to Keith today:

Keith, just wanted to let you know that I talked to Brent and asked if he wanted the $20 for the plywood. He replied:

"no way. Keith's the reason I'm not running naked around the everglades muttering 'screws...won't go...in the cement blocks.'"

To which I replied to Brent:

"...I'd probably be running behind you sniffling the same thing, picking up driftwood and muttering 'my preciousessesesesssssss'"

Thanks again for your help. Keep the change.

To which Keith replied:

...Thanks for your generous donation of two sheets of plywood during our time of woodlessness. In my search for wood, I felt like Frodo and Sam on the slopes of Mount Doom. No trees anywhere!!!

It's good to have friends.

Apparently there is a formula to calculate a bad day:

1/8W (D-d) 3/8xTQ MxNA - which is able to pinpoint the worst day of the year.

Factors included in the calculation are:

* W: Weather
* D: Debt
* d: Money due in January pay
* T: Time since Christmas
* Q: Time since failed quit attempt
* M: General motivational levels
* NA: The need to take action

I haven't sat down to calculate my worst day yet. That NA factor (the need to take action) isn't sticking too well right now. I don't have a need to figure it out. But it sure is interesting!

Thanks to theMUSCtiger for the tip.

We really liked our 3 month stay in BC. Apparently Mark Burnett wants to see if others could handle it too.

Of course, our stay would be much tamer then what Mark has in mind.

Super Bowl XXXIX is set. The New England Patriots will play the Philadelphia Eagles in Jacksonville, Florida, Sunday, February 6.

It should be a pretty decent game, but I expect the Patriots to repeat.

Yahoo! News - Johnny Carson, King of Late Night, Dies

-----Original Message-----
From: BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM [mailto:BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM]
Sent: Sunday, January 23, 2005 2:15 PM
To: TEXTBREAKINGNEWS@CNNIMAIL12.CNN.COM
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- Former "Tonight Show" host Johnny Carson dies of emphysema, his nephew tells CNN. He was 79.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com for the latest news.
More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.

Visit theMUSCtiger for more.

Last week I told you that Yahoo! was launching a newly updated desktop ticker. Someone commented that they'd like to hear more about why I've been a big fan of Yahoo! for so many years. I'll try to explain here.

We all know the story of how Yahoo! was one of the first kids on the internet block in trying to index the web into a more understandable, more obtainable way. I for one enjoyed their service early on.

Later they gave us the ability to customize Yahoo! in the way I want it and I made it my start page many years ago. They offered the ability to use little modules from different news sources, let me track the weather I want to track, sports teams, and even some free email! My.Yahoo.com was great!

But within the last couple of years, I've realized they offer so much more. They also have a great subdomain naming system that's easy to remember. Want to play games? Go to games.yahoo.com. Interested in health issues? Go to health.yahoo.com. Need a definition? Go to definition.yahoo.com. Want to listen to music? Go to music.yahoo.com (which is launch.yahoo.com).

A friend of mine decided to travel the world for a year. I had a thought then that I wish I would have pursued more. What if they contacted Yahoo! and asked if they would pay for some of the traveling if the traveler would use all Yahoo! services? What a great marketing idea! If only Yahoo! offered blogging (which they don't now, but maybe soon?) it would be perfect. Think about it:

• While traveling you can interact with people through groups.yahoo.com, messanger.yahoo.com, and mail.yahoo.com
• You can post photos of your trip at photos.yahoo.com, store documents you might need online at briefcase.yahoo.com, bookmark your favorite links at bookmarks.yahoo.com and keep your calendar updated with your plans at calendar.yahoo.com.
• You can keep up with your finances at finance.yahoo.com, pay your bills at billpay.yahoo.com, book all your travel plans with travel.yahoo.com and get directions at maps.yahoo.com
  
• You can keep up with news, sports, and weather back home and internationally at news.yahoo.com, sports.yahoo.com, and weather.yahoo.com

There are so many other things you could do but that's just the highlights. I know there are other networks out there like all Google offers, but I've just liked Yahoo! I don't use all of the Yahoo! stuff, but I use a lot of it...and I use Google and other services for other things too. But Yahoo! is almost the total package.

And Yahoo! has made it easy to find their stuff. They have a toolbar for your browser at toolbar.yahoo.com, a new desktop ticker, and a personalized homepage at my.yaoo.com. You can follow what they are up to at next.yahoo.com and research.yahoo.com.

Then late September Yahoo! revamped their my.yahoo.com which is all RSS based. So now I can get blogs, other news, weather, sports, everything I find important onto one page.

Yahoo! seems to want to do more than just offer the standard email, search, and directory approach. They seem to want to create a web environment that is easy to use for communities to sprawl, for people to connect and stay informed. I like that...and they've done a great job offering it to me over the years. I'm still a fan.

Oh yeah, and Yahoo! ranks this blog #1 for my name! Goggle doesn't.

In the year 2014, The New York Times has gone offline.

The Fouth Estate's fortunes have waned.

What happened to the news?

And what is EPIC?

Weird, but entertaining. Via Ken Leebow.

All you fantasy football enthusiasts, check this out...

A common strategy is to pick up good running backs and you will win your championship. This year it's a bit tougher because of the contributions Manning and Culpepper made.

However, I wanted to point something out from some stats in the playoffs:

Here are the top 5 QB's in yards for the playoffs:
1. Manning
2. Bulger
3. Culpepper
4. Pennington
5. Hasselbeck

Note: none of them are still in the playoffs. Now check out the top 5 WR's:
1. Wayne
2. Curtis
3. McCariens
4. Holt
5. Clark

Note: none of them are still in the playoffs. One might argue that they are leading because they all played 2 games and the ones left only played in one game. Well, check out the top 5 RB's:

1. Dillon
2. Martin
3. Dunn
4. Vick
5. James

Note: 3 of the top 5 are still in the playoffs.

Make of this what you wish.

Another one of my favorite reality TV shows is The Amazing Race...but I've told you that before. One of the cool things is watching different kinds of people and how they interact. I've even written about that also from a previous show.

So when I read two posts from Reality Blurred today about the show, I just had to share it.

First, did you know that you can go to all the hotels the contestants go to throughout the race?

Second, on the next season of The Amazing Race (season 7) will feature Rob and Amber from Survivor All Stars as a contestant couple. This, to the best of my knowledge, is the second major reality star cross-over that at least TAR has done (they had Allison from Big Brother one season recently).

You got all those acronyms? Let me spell it out: the University of Central Florida and the University of South Carolina will play on the Entertainment and Sports Programming Network. (although ESPN doesn't "officially" stand for that anymore, like KFC isn't Kentucky Fried Chicken)

So this means Steve Spurrier will have his coaching debut for the Gamecocks on national TV. What a surprise!

According to the Orlando Sentinel, the game will be on Thursday night, Sept 1 at 7:45 in Columbia, SC.

Date / Opponent
Sept. 3: Texas A&M
Sept. 10: at Maryland
Sept. 17: Miami
Sept. 24: Boston College
Oct. 1: at Wake Forest
Oct. 13: at N.C. State
Oct. 22: Temple
Oct. 29: at Georgia Tech
Nov. 5: Duke
Nov. 12: Florida State
Nov. 19: at South Carolina

Kickoff times, broadcast information to be announced at a later date.

I'm a HUGE fan of Yahoo! Especially my.yahoo! Now, according to the Yahoo! Search blog they are now offering my.yahoo content on my desktop:

...how can we make it easy for users to get their information on the desktop?

Answer: The Return of My Yahoo Ticker - this time with all the new good stuff Today on Yahoo! Next we've put out a new beta version of My Yahoo! Ticker for Windows. It's pretty simple: just enter your Yahoo! ID and password and it will use all your personalized settings to scroll your headlines from Yahoo! and RSS feeds from around the Web. If you used the original My Yahoo! Ticker, you'll feel right at home.

I'm not so sure on this yet, but it sounds promising.

Get the new Yahoo! Ticket Beta here.

Wanna get a 50% discount on Microsoft Outlook? Get a Hotmail account.

Weird.

Our favorite reality show starts it's third season tonight. We're excited, though the premise of "Book Smarts vs. Street Smarts" is a little lame, it's a great show. I like it because I feel like I can "play along" a bit. I'm always thinking through the business decisions and if I would have made the same or evaluating theirs.

Anyway, it's a great show. Would you like to join a community of over 700 people who love the show? I'm a moderator over at Yahoo! Groups : Apprentice_Trump. Stop by, sign up, and interact with us.

Here's to a hopeful good season!

Have you heard of Skype? If you've been around me lately you probably have. I've become a big fan of skype. They call it on their website: Skype - Free Internet telephony that just works. And it's true! I've been on it about a month now and I'm hooked...I just don't have a lot of friends on it yet...or the ones that are on it don't have a microphone!

Skype uses a technology called VoIP (voice over internet protocol, or just voice over IP). Here's the rundown:

• It's free.
• It works like an instant messenger. In fact it is an instant messenger. You have a buddy list and all and you can text chat with other skype users (just like MSN or AIM). But what is cool about it is you can also do audio chat. It's very clear and encrypted (if you care about that...if not, never mind).
• What separates skype from other IM programs is that you can also call phones and not just skype people. The rates are very cheap and you can find it on the website. You can call anyone in the US for $0.02/min and International calls are cheap. But skype to skype calls are free.

The downside is that you have to be at your computer and logged into skype...but that's no different than using other IM programs. Some friends have commented "No one calls me and I can talk for free after 9 on my cell" or "I have iChat so I'm fine." Well, I can't talk on iChat and I don't want to usually talk after 9! Ha! Admittedly, sometimes the calls sound a bit "digitized", but it's no worse than cell reception sometimes!

You really should have broadband, but I don't think you have to. You'll also need to make sure you have a microphone and speakers. I bought a headset that has a boom mic on it for $25. They have them cheaper. Go to Best Buy or other places like that. Or you can get a mic that stands on your desk for $10.50 at Best Buy. However you might have them built into your computer, but there won't be any privacy (like speakerphone).

It's really cool, clear, and free.

Here's some cool stories about some of my friends and I using skype:

• In one night I talked to a friend in Budapest and a friend in Singapore. They are both on skype so it was free. I've also talked to a friend in Canada a couple of times for free.
• A co-worker who uses it was in Korea and he called his wife in Orlando for $0.02/min because he had broadband in the hotel.
• You can conference call up to 5 people I think. I haven't done it yet, but plan to for planning a conference in Budapest because we are all on it.
• My friend in Singapore had his office distribute headsets to all their staff throughout the country so they could talk and save money.

It's pretty cool. You should check it out also.

From the goofy folks at JibJab.com who brought us "This Land" parody funny short movie comes their latest: "Second Term". And it's pretty funny too! Have a sense of humor and enjoy the show.

Also, check out the Yahoo! Blog for more behind the scenes of this episode.

You may know that Google purchased and launched Picasa last year. It's a program that organizes all the photos on your computer.

Today they launched Picasa 2. Looks interesting and I might just give it a shot. I tried the first version and it was okay. This one looks even better.

The Indian Blogger writes up more that it can do.

I think I have found my favorite wine. Since I prefer red to white wine, I've tried a few different kinds and have settled on Merlot. So, trying to find a really good and inexpensive merlot has been my goal.

I've found it. It's called Yellow Tail, though officially it's written [yellow tail]. It's a great merlot. It's smooth, doesn't have a strong alcohol flavor, not too sharp, and inexpensive. Perfect!

And I found out while searching for their website that their USA homepage is a blog and that the name comes from the yellow-footed rock wallaby, a "small, colorful breed of kangaroo that's known to roam the Casella vineyards" in southeastern Australia.

Good stuff.

Arguably you could say that the title refers to Michael, QB for the Atlanta Falcons and on the verge of a Super Bowl birth. But that's not who I'm writing about.

Marcus Vick is back at Virginia Tech. He's the younger brother of Michael. You may remember Marcus was kicked out of school earlier this year.

Glad to see he's paid his dues and is back. Hopefully that straightened him out some.

Also, if you go back to that post about the Vicks I posted, you'll see Michael wasn't going to shave his 'fro until he won the Super Bowl:

"I'm growing my hair out it, and I'm not going to cut it until we win a Super Bowl," Vick said. "I was going to let my hair grow last season, but I cut it three weeks before I got hurt. I'm really superstitious, so I'm going to let it grow. As bad as I want it off my head, and as hot as I am, I won't cut it off until I win a Super Bowl. I will win a Super Bowl -- someday."

I haven't been able to verify that he hasn't cut it yet. Looking at photos, I can't tell.

Today when I got home from work, Patricia wasn't home so I put in and cranked up my Best of the Steve Miller Band CD. For those of you familiar with the CD, you know the second song is "Jungle Love" and it starts out with laser sounds. Well, Derby (that's our cockatiel) jumped up and put his crest up high listening intently. Then after the laser sounds is a whistle. Derby chirped back.

At the end of the song are a lot more whistling and Derby decided to sing along.

I was rolling in the floor laughing. I never realized our bird was a Steve Miller Band fan!

I heard this on the radio this morning and it made me laugh:

"We have a wind chill advisory until 8:00 this morning. After that, you're on your own."

Just thought it was funny.

There's a couple reasons I was pulling for the Colts this year. I like Peyton Manning (he seems to be a real class act), I like explosive offensives, and I'm a big fan of Coach Dungy.

Back in July 2004 I blogged about Coach Tony Dungy and I thought it was worth bringing back up. He is a classy guy himself. Sorry to see him lose in the playoffs...again.

Chin up, Coach. But the cool thing is, he doesn't need me to encourage him to do that. He already is doing it.

Well, my early prediction was that the Steelers would beat the Vikings in the Super Bowl. We already know I'm half wrong because the Vikes are out. Ethically I'll have to stick with the Steelers to still win it all. But I have to admit, I think it's now going to be the Patriots defeating the Falcons in the Super Bowl.

What's your prediction? I'll make it easy for you. It'll either be the New England Patriots or the Pittsburgh Steelers vs. the Philadelphia Eagles or the Atlanta Falcons.

So how's this for confusion? I've now picked the Steelers (early pick), the Patriots (late pick), but I'm pulling for the Falcons (so much for pulling for the Colts). Eagle fans rejoice. You're now set to win!

These lego computer cases are functional and real. Pretty wild! Reminds me of when I made a huge mother ship out of legos when I was a kid. It had a bomb system, 20 guns, a rocket launcher, escape pod, multi-directional radar system, etc. It was awesome. And I was 12. But it didn't fly. This computer works!

Thanks to the Illusions Etc blog for the tip.

I love watching football. Being playoff season now it's even more fun. It's even more fun to watch with a bunch of guys. Instead, I'm watching with my wife. No big deal though. I'm glad she's watching with me. It's still fun and very enjoyable as she continues getting into one of my favorite pastimes. She has a differnet perspective on watching football, but I've gotta say, it's still fun. It certainly makes watching a game interesting and fun.

Just got this in my inbox:

-----Original Message-----
From: BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM [mailto:BreakingNews@MAIL.CNN.COM]
Sent: Saturday, January 15, 2005 5:34 PM
To: TEXTBREAKINGNEWS@CNNIMAIL12.CNN.COM
Subject: CNN Breaking News

-- Army Reserve Spc. Charles Graner is sentenced to 10 years in prison for abusing detainees in Abu Ghraib prison, Iraq.

Watch CNN or log on to http://CNN.com for the latest news.
More Americans watch CNN. More Americans trust CNN.

Good. There's no place for that mess.

If and when you read this post, leave a comment. Tell me:

1. Where you live (city, state/provence, and/or country)
2. Your blog URL (if you have one)
3. Anything else you want to leave

Here's your chance to get a free link to your blog...just for kicks.

This really isn't an experiment to see where people live, it's really more to see who will leave a comment.

Very good and interesting article from the Columbia Journalism Review called Among the Evangelicals: How one reporter got religion by Mark Pinsky.

I like Pinsky. He is the religion writer for the Orlando Sentinel...and author of The Gospel According to the Simpsons, an funny read.

Anyway, it's a good article from "a parent, a media consumer, and -- in my heart -- a blue-stater" and how he has observed and learned from evangelicals.

I got it back today after meeting the hostage taker's demands.

Via OrlandoSentinel.com:

Do you want up-to-the-minute headline news at your fingertips? Now you can have them, with OrlandoSentinel.com's RSS feeds. Each feed of headlines links back to OrlandoSentinel.com for the full article.

You can now add that along with many other news groups who have gone RSS such as CNN, Yahoo News, CBS Sportsline, and the NY Times as some other major news sources who've gone the RSS route.

Be careful how you say that title!

Over the weekend I added a hit map to this and my other blog, effective web ministry notes. It's pretty cool. There's a small map icon in the blog gutter (the right-hand column of this blog) that gives a link to the larger map. It places red dots on the map coresponding to where people are coming from. Check it out!

There's been some good discussion on getting blogs noticed or increasing traffic to a blog.

The other day I got an email from a fellow blogger asking the same question. I thought I'd post the reply here as well:

If you've gone through my "Orangejack Blogging University", you know I've covered some of the tips I have for increasing traffic.

Basically I suggest you start/continue to:

Get yourself known in the blogsphere by reputation:

1. Post frequently
2. Post on what you know and write so others are interested
3. Post on topic or in your niche as often as possible...unless your niche is "random"...kind of like mine. I don't know why people keep coming to mine. It's all over the place.

Get yourself known in the blogsphere by getting noticed:

1. Comment on other blogs that are similar to your stuff (comment on topic...contribute). It's like finding friends out there.
2. Link to other blogs (blogroll and post about other blogs). Let them know you've linked to them. Maybe they'll reciprocate, maybe they won't. Don't be pushy, just let them know.
3. Visit other people's blogs by clicking on the links on your blog (bloggers will see the referring reference as your blog and might check it out). This one is kind of weak, but it sometimes works.
4. Advertise in your profile/signature on [online communities you are a part of] and/or post on [those communities] and say "I wrote more on my blog here". Just don't be a real tease about it. People don't want to chase your thoughts all over the internet, but they will check it out if it's reasonable. You have an advantage here because you have a good rep in [a particular community]. I post infrequently so people aren't as up to visiting my stuff as they are yours. It's the same in the blogsphere. Use the same model to build reputation.
5. Add a signature to your email and let your friends/family know about it.

What this boils down to is if you continue to post good stuff, people will eventually come. You have a small network of people who are coming already. They will spread the word if it's good. If it's not, they won't.

Hope that helps.

One of my favorite musicals is Fiddler on the Roof. I got the DVD about 3 years ago and have watched it only once. I love it so much that I've told several others about how I like it a lot...including some co-workers.

About 2 years ago (remember that date) I told a particular co-worker about it. I won't name names. I just knew that this person would like the movie also...so I let her borrow the DVD.

A couple weeks ago I sent this no-named co-worker an email:

I have an idea of what you can get me for Christmas! Check it out.

Monday I got the DVD back...so I thought. Today I opened the case and inside were two sticky notes. One read "Ha Ha" and the other said "Blog This!" And the DVD is not there.

A fiddler is being held hostage until this blog post goes up. I hope this has satisfied the demands of the hostage taker and that I get the actual disc back tomorrow.

This does, however, raise the question: Is it really my favorite if I let it go that long? I say yes...I'm just a nice guy.

Have you made the switch to Firefox yet? Well, you don't have to switch, but you should try Firefox out if you haven't already. It's a really stable and save browser. The two best things about it is that you can surf using tabs instead of new windows, and you can download and install quickly and easily Firefox Extensions. Here are my current extensions:

• BlogThis: allows me to right-click and begin blogging from that page
• Gmail Notifier: tells me when I get Gmail
• ForecastFox: adds little icons to let me know the weather forecast and current conditions (pulls from weather.com)
• Yahoo Companion: the Yahoo! Toolbar for Firefox
• BugMeNot: lets me bypass most websites that require subscriptions
• SwitchProxy Tool: I have to set proxy settings for work so this lets me toggle between the proxy and not having one at home ::: UPDATE: Be warned if you install it!
  

There are a bunch of other extensions out there. What do you like the most and why?

I've heard the suggestion to drink Sumatran coffee to help the tsunami recovery a few times lately. I think it's a good idea. The skeptic in me says that it won't amount to a hill of beans (pun intended). But then again, Sumatra coffee is really good! In fact, it's some of the best coffee beans out there.

Additionally, won't the cost of tea go up? I think Sri Lanka produces like 80% of the world's tea (don't quote me on the number).

Just like tomatoes and citrus are costly right now because of the Florida hurricanes (though mulch is cheap), I think Sumatra coffee and the price of tea will also increase soon.

Michael Moore and Mel Gibson both won honors at the People's Choice awards last night.

The next morning, two houses were swallowed into a sinkhole.

No word yet on any connection between the two stories.

I had a dentist appointment for next Monday morning. I got a call this morning telling me that the doctor won't be there but the hygienist would. I'm only scheduled for a cleaning so it shouldn't be a big deal. They told me that if I had any concerns that the doctor should address, I should reschedule.

I then asked, "I don't think I have any problems, but if the hygienist finds something she wants the doctor to look at..."

"Then we'll schedule you to come in later," the lady interrupts.

"And will I have to pay for a second visit?" I reply.

"Yes, you'll pay for each visit."

"Reschedule me."

Not only are they going to inconvenience me, but I'd have to pay for my inconvenience also?

No thanks.

I feel like an anti-dentite. Next thing you know they're going to have their own schools.

Blogathon :: 20 January 2005 :: For the victims of the Tsunami.

Thanks to the ProBlogger for the tip (who will be blogathoning).

What a wild weekend for the NFL Playoff Race. 3 of the 4 games were "upsets" according to the seeding. I still say the best would be if we could have a 4 team tourney with the Steelers, Patriots, Colts, and Eagles. And so far my silly prediction of Pittsburgh defeating Minnesota in the Super Bowl is still on!

But I'm pulling for the Colts.

For my Starbucks addicted friends, I present to you the Starbucks Drinks Simplified (kinda) list.

Funny, but when I read this list, my ordering doesn't get too much further than the first entry!

Thanks to Brian for the link.

I've been following a cool blog called Illusions Etc... and I'm diggin' it. Today they posted a great brain teaser. Try it yourself:



click to see larger image

1. It is never ever wrong to claim scoreboard after a victory.
2. No argument after that claim shall diminish the claim of scoreboard.
3. Scoreboard is all that needs be said after a victory.
4. It can be debated which is a better program. It can be debated which had a better season. It can be debated who "owns" who. But it CANNOT be debated who owns scoreboard.
5. Be it a last second, fluke, debatable, controversial, unpopular, lucky, or ugly victory, it still deserves scoreboard.
6. Stats lie. The scoreboard doesn't.
7. A picture of a scorebaord is worth well more than a thousand words.
8. If a fan of team A claims his team owns team B, but yet team A lost the last head to head matchup then scoreboard is still a valid claim against team A.
9. Past records make NO difference to scoreboard.
10. Scoreboard lives until a new scoreboard is born. (Caveat: Particularly beautiful scoreboards live forever).
11. Scoreboard ends arguments. It doesn't begin them. There is NO arguing scoreboard.

Originally posted on the TigerNet Forums.

You know the song...sing along...

"In 1814 we took a little trip,
along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans,
and we fought the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and they a-kepta commin',
but there wasn't near as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they begin a-runnin',
on down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico."

Today is the anniversary of that battle...one that admittedly I didn't know a lot about. The World Magazine Blog does a good job of recounting that battle. Some excerpts:

The United States entered the War of 1812 mainly because the British...[were] not really recognizing the United States as an independent country....But the war did not go well. The crack British army occupied a good number of the major cities and burned Washington, D. C., including the new capitol building and the White House. President James Madison and his wife Dolly were on the run...But as in the American Revolution, the British army could not corner the American forces, which kept fighting. Victories on the Great Lakes and at Baltimore (where Francis Scott Key wrote "The Star Spangled Banner") kept up the national spirit...Then Colonel Andrew Jackson of Tennessee led a contingent of regular army, local militia, backwoodsmen from Tennessee and Kentucky, freed slaves, Choctaw warriors, and a band of Jean Lafitte's pirates--somewhere between 3,500 and 5000 men--against nearly 15,000 British veterans of the Napoleonic wars. The aim of the British army to capture New Orleans and thus control the Mississippi, the main trade artery of the West...The Kentucky long rifles, with which the Americans were armed, had a much longer range than the British muskets...Some 2,000 British were killed, including the two commanding generals. The Americans lost 71. The British survivors fled to their ships and sailed away. Ironically, a few weeks before, on December 24, the Treaty of Ghent had been signed, officially ending the war. In those pre-internet, pre-news channel, pre-telegraph days, it took a while for news in Europe to sail overseas. The battle was unnecessary, but it propelled Jackson to the White House (where he established a more thorough-going democracy) and boosted the confidence of the new nation.

Floating Logos Project

Thanks to the Yahoo Search blog for the tip.

My wife just posted a funny, yet sad post about today being Three Kings Day. It's one of my favorite stories she tells.

Today I feel like a real guy. A man's man. A real hero. All because I escaped my impending feeling like a dolt.

About a week before we left for Canada, the horn on the car my wife drives stopped working. I had no idea why or how to fix it. But since we were leaving and there was another hurricane on the way, we decided our priorities didn't need to be on fixing the car horn.

Today I was scheduled to take the car in to have it diagnosed. It was going to cost $45 just to look at it, but that would be applied to any fixes it needed.

For some reason, this morning after I woke up, I was lying in bed and thought, "What if it's just the fuse? If it is, I'll really feel like a ninny." So I got up and went out into the garage to find the fuse box. Of course, being the car man that I am, I had to look it up in the book to find the fuse box. After studying the myriad of illustrations, I figured it out. It's under the hood.

Up the hood goes, I wrestle with opening the fuse box and consult the book to find which fuse is which (it tells me it's on the undercover of the fuse box...d'oh!). I pluck out the offending fuse and there it is! A busted fuse!

So this afternoon I went out, bought 5 of those suckers for $2.88 and fixed the car. I did it! I fixed the car!

And now I feel like a man.

Via the Orlando Sentinel:

HONG KONG -— The 1985 African famine relief song "We Are the World" is being revived for tsunami recovery efforts in a new, Chinese version featuring Jackie Chan, Andy Lau, Jacky Cheung and other Hong Kong stars.

The new rendition, titled "Love," will be the featured song in a Crossing Borders charity performance Friday organized by the Hong Kong Performing Artistes Guild.

Organizers think that "We Are the World" captures their belief that disaster relief shouldn't discriminate by ethnicity or national boundary, guild official Patricia Ho said Tuesday.

"Love" retains the English chorus of the original song, but otherwise contains entirely new Chinese lyrics. Hong Kong's version will be sung in the Chinese dialects of Cantonese and Mandarin.

Unlike the original song, "Love" will not be released commercially, Ho said.

Jackie Chan singing? I love his movies but the only time I can remember him singing was "Whah! Uhh! Wat is it goofow?" Do you understand the words commin' outta his mouth? But I have to say, he's got a big heart and I like him a lot. Glad he's stepping in anyway. I hope it does raise a lot of money. But it's not going to be released commercially...bummer.

Star Wars Episode III will be released May 19. But that hasn't stopped this guy from camping outside a Seattle movie theater already.

And he's blogging his wait.

I can't wait for May 19 also, but this guy is nuts. Of course, I'll follow his blog though.

CAUTION: If you check out his blog and are offended by language, namecalling, and other rudeness, DON'T read the comments.

Call this number to get the latest news, sports, weather, traffic, movies, flight arrivals, etc. It's all voice activated. You used to be able to customize a favorites list online but it seems they got rid of it. Bummer.

1-800-555-TELL.

I've been using a program called Trillian to manage my instant message programs for years. I can load my AIM, MSN, Yahoo Messenger, and ICQ accounts all in one program and chat. It's been good.

Today I found out that Trillian has upgraded it's free program. I've been playing with it and it seems pretty nice. One cool thing is they now allow audio and video chat. However, I haven't been able to try it out with anyone yet. It almost seems it won't work with AIM, but will with MSN. At least in theory anyway.

So if you are an IM person and you have contacts on different platforms, you should check out Trillian. Also if I can get this audio thing worked out, maybe I can drop skype...or maybe Trillian could pick skype up also!?!?

Doubt it.

Don't know if you're into reformed theology or not, but Jollyblogger has put together a quite lengthy series of posts on the Five Points of Calvinism.

I must confess I haven't read it all. They are pretty long thorough.

The following is an open letter from Thomas Abraham, Vice President of Campus Crusade for Asia, Latin America and Oceania.

We want to thank you for standing with the hundreds of thousands in Asia that have been tragically affected by the 9.0 earthquake and devastating tsunami that followed.

We have received reports from our countries that all of our staff members survived the fury of the waves. God has been very merciful to us, and for a purpose. We believe He did it so that we may join together with the worldwide body of Christ to meet the physical and spiritual needs of devastated and desperate families.

We as a movement are engaged in bringing immediate help to the affected areas through our staff, students, disciples, church partners and business associates.

Several countries are now raising funds through various means. Our staff, students and partners are already distributing blankets, providing meals and initiating clean-up efforts in India and other affected countries.

But we can and must do more, as time begins to run out.

Already the need for fresh water and medicine is becoming acute. An epidemic of cholera looms in many areas. Thousands more face physical and spiritual death. We must act now.

We need your prayers. Even as I write this letter the death toll continues to mount dramatically. Please continue to pray that God will use us to bring Christ's love into this desperate situation. Pray that thousands of hearts will be open to the gospel, wherein lies their only hope.

We love you and appreciate your commitment to take the gospel to the ends of this earth,

Thomas Abraham
Vice President of Campus Crusade for Asia, Latin America and Oceania

I've been seriously thinking about switching to Vonage, a VoIP phone at the house. Anyone on Vonage? How is it?

A friend of mine here in Orlando is using it and really likes it. I need to head over there and check it out with him.

Today I read that Vonage is now going to sell a "mobile phone" of sorts. It will allow you to use VoIP on any Wi-Fi hotspot.

Whoa. Were there too many initials in that sentence? Sorry. Here's some definitions: Vonage, VoIP, Wi-Fi.

Via the the Orlando Sentinel:

A U.S. military relief mission is underway in the tsunami-ravaged areas of southern Asia. Additional help is en route from military facilities in the region. Among the efforts:

• An aircraft carrier battle group off Sumatra is ferrying supplies to Banda Aceh.
• Supplies are being flown to Jakarta, Medan, and Banda Aceh. Surveillance aircraft are helping in search and rescue.
• Naval medical personnel are at work in Meulaboh.
• Military assessment teams in Sri Lanka, Thailand Indonesia are assisting those nations in getting supplies to the areas in greatest need.

By the numbers
U.S. military resources involved in the disaster relief effort:

• Personnel: 12,600
• Ships: 21
• Aircraft: 80
• Humanitarian aid: 430,000 pounds of food, supplies and equipment, including 76,800 daily rations to Medan and 32,000 rations to the Maldives.

In transit

• A group of seven ships, including an amphibious assault ship and helicopters, is headed from Guam to Sri Lanka.
• Seven ships with the capacity to produce 90,000 gallons of fresh water per day are sailing from Diego Garcia and Guam.
• A field hospital ship in Guam may be ordered to the area, depending on need and the findings of assessment teams.

Sources: Department of Defense, Associated Press
Graphic reporting by Brady MacDonald

Shaun Alexander of the Seattle Seahawks finished 1 yard short of New York Jets running back Curtis Martin for the season's rushing title. Though break. To rush for 1696 yards only to come in second in a title that is only for pride...and to lose it by 1 stinkin' yard! (now, I'm not complaining too much...I had both Alexander and Martin on my fantasy football team!)

But Alexander says it's not his fault he didn't get the title. It's the coach's fault. His exact words were "I got stabbed in the back". Seriously? Alexander rushed for 1696 yards in 16 games and the 1 yard he needed was because the coach called a quarterback sneak? It has nothing to do with any tackles he could have broken? What about when he fumbled? He could have gotten an extra yard on one of those plays earlier in the year. What about those games where he only rushed for about 30 yards instead of 150 like he often does? He rushed the ball 353 times. There was plenty of opportunity to pick up one (or two for the title) yard in those 353 times.

Sour grapes. I'm disappointed in his reaction. I'm not disappointed that he's upset he didn't get it. But to blame someone else? Give Martin his props, be humble and take it like a man. It's really beneath him to blame it on the coach.

Maybe Shaun Alexander should take a page out of the late Walter Peyton's book. If any running back in the history of the NFL deserved a touchdown in a Super Bowl, it was him. But you know what? William "The Refrigerator" Perry, a defensive lineman, got one instead. Yet Peyton was a class act and as far as I know, never publicly complained or blamed anyone for it.

UPDATE: Shaun Alexander apologized for his comments. Specifically, he said:

I'm human...Anybody can at one time pop off. I've done it several times. I think in the position I'm in, I need to own up to it...It got the best of me. I definitely blurted out stuff I shouldn't have said. I wouldn't want to take any light away from this team and what we have accomplished.

Well done, sir. You've been redeemed in my book blog.

I wonder if he apologized after reading this post? ;-)

TiVo is getting cooler and cooler. I need to get me one of those suckers.

We finally got back to Orlando last night after a long drive from South Carolina. Normally it's about a 8-9 hour drive. Yesterday traffic was full and it took over 10 hours.

It is nice to be home, but we have a lot to do to unpack our house. We had a family stay here while we were in Canada so we packed up our closet and master bedroom. Everything is in boxes in the office.

On top of that, I'm sick. Started Jan 1 and it hasn't let up. I think it's just sinus stuff, but it's knocking me out. I can't believe I've been in cold weather for over 3 months now and I didn't get a cold until the last day!

Here's to a restful resettling!

The NFL Playoff Bracket is out. Man, I don't know what to think of this year's playoffs. It'll be interesting, that's for sure. But you know what I'd rather see? A 4-team playoff with Pittsburgh, New England, Philly, and Indy. I'm not sure any team in the NFC can win. Here are the matchups:

AFC
#1 Pittsburgh (first round bye, plays winner of SD/NYJ)
#2 New England (first round bye, plays winner of IND/DEN)
#3 Indianapolis vs. # 6 Denver
#4 San Diego vs. #5 New York Jets

NFC
#1 Philadelphia (first round bye, plays winner of STL/SEA)
#2 Atlanta (first round bye, plays winner of GB/MIN)
#3 Green Bay vs. #6 Minnesota
#4 Seattle vs. #5 St. Louis

Seriously, I'm not sure anyone in the NFC can win this thing. Maybe Philly, but I'm not sure anymore about them. Heck, the #6 Vikings might actually luck up and win the NFC.

But the AFC looks rough. I'd love to see a Indy/Pats game with the winner playing the Steelers.

I'll go out on an early limb here and say it's going to be Pittsburgh defeating Minnesota in the Super Bowl. What say you?

Fanblogs put together a nice cheat sheet (links) of all-time bowl game statistics going into this year.

Bummer that Clemson can't continue on it's current streak of bowl appearances. Some of the stats and records of some of these teams is just amazing.

May 2005 be a great one for you!