Rob Williams - Orangejack

Well, we'll be leaving for the airport in a few hours to fly to Budapest for our conference called MinistryNet: Budapest 2005. I won't be able to post anything for a while for we won't get there until noon Friday Budapest time.

But I wanted to point out that we've been praying for 11 people to get their visas so they can come also. We're down to 2!

Stay tuned for more updates both here, the MinistryNet website, Patricia's blog, maybe my ministry blog and even sometimes Rev Bill's blog...not to mention Tom & Jerry's blog and maybe even Keith's!

If you can't stay updated for this conference and want to, you're without excuse! ;-)

I'm very excited about one of the projects I've been working on for over a year. All that work is about to come to fruition. Thursday Patricia and I will be traveling to Budapest to put on an internet ministry conference called MinistryNet: Budapest 2005. We are expecting about 60 people from about 25 countries. Check out the map representing the countries coming:



Will you please pray for Patricia and I as we prepare to travel, write our presentations, and for the 8 people still needing visas to come to Budapest?

By the way, the MinistryNet conference website is a blog...and we plan to liveblog the conference (along with personal updates on our blogs). So stop by, say hello, and pray. Thanks.

I haven't received my invite in to the new Yahoo! 360. I hope I get it soon because I can't wait to play with it!

Man! Mondays are so dang busy. I've got meetings from 9 until noon (one of them I lead). I spend the rest of the afternoon not doing anything I really want to do, but putting out fires the rest of the day. If I were a fireman I guess that wouldn't be so bad, but I'm not.

So when do I get to do the stuff I needed to do? Once I get home.

It's also a very busy week this week because we're leaving the country on Thursday. I'll tell you more about that tomorrow...if I get time!

Today in church they showed a video of interviews of local people about what Easter and Jesus mean to them.

They asked a kid (probably about 4?) "Who is Jesus?" He replied with a confused response, "All I know is Chuck-e Chee-sus."

Today Foxtrot was a bit confused about Jesus and Obe Wan Kenobi.

So who is Jesus, really? Jesus offers life...both here and forever more.

I know I believe it.

So I got two of the Final 4 right. That takes me to a total of 37-23. "Seed McGee" is 38-22...and I can't beat him.

My Final 4 are: Illinois, Wake Forest, UNC, and Duke but Michigan State and Louisville got in there instead.

I've got Illinois beating UNC for the championship.

Of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), UCF, Winthrop, Wake Forest, UF, GA Tech, and now Duke and NC State are out. Only UNC remains. That makes my teams 10-7.

(this is the part where you leave a comment of "He is Risen Indeed!")

It's my attempt to bring liturgy to the blogsphere.

Man, this isn't looking good for me at all! In the Elite 8 I went 3-5. That takes me to a total of 35-21. "Seed McGee" is 36-20...and I don't think I can beat him.

To recap, my Elite 8 were: Illinois, Oklahoma St, Louisville, Wake Forest, UNC, UConn, Duke, and Oklahoma.

My Final 4 are: Illinois, Wake Forest, UNC, and Duke.

I've got Illinois beating UNC for the championship.

Of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), UCF, Winthrop, Wake Forest, UF, GA Tech, and now Duke and NC State are out. Only UNC remains. That makes my teams 10-7.

I told you yesterday that NBC's Nightly News was going to run a spot on Campus Crusade and Big Break.

In case you missed it, here is the transcript: America's new vacation companion: God

Well last night I went 2-2 in my picks. Thank you Illinois and Louisville.

That takes me to a total of 34-18.

I created a seed bracket that picks no upsets and named that guy "Seed McGee". Right now he's 34-18 also.

My Elite 8 are: Illinois, Oklahoma St, Louisville, Wake Forest, UNC, UConn, Duke, and Oklahoma.

My Final 4 are: Illinois, Wake Forest, UNC, and Duke.

I've got Illinois beating UNC for the championship.

Of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), UCF, Winthrop, Wake Forest, UF and GA Tech are out. UNC, NC State, and Duke are all still in and play tonight. That makes my teams 9-5.

We already knew Darth Vader drank Mountain Dew Slurpees. But he's from the Dark Side. A Sith. How can Jedi Master Yoda drink Pepsi too?

Who in the galaxy drinks Coke then? Wookies?

Congrats to Google for translating into their 104th language.

They've got about 767 more to go to catch the "JESUS" film.

Back in the day (when I was still in college), during spring break we'd take off and go to Daytona Beach. It was always a blast. I remember one year just trying to get there was a real adventure.

On Thursday night before Spring Break I ate a frozen pizza. On Friday afternoon, my buddies and I drove 2 hours to my friend's house. We had pizza. We then decided to leave at midnight to make the 8 hour drive to Daytona. So we stayed up all night driving down.

On the way, we hit bad weather. Somewhere in the middle of Georgia the weather started getting rough. Our tiny car was tossed. If not for the courage of our fearless crew the land-cruiser would be lost...the land-cruiser would be lost.

We stopped after it settled down and went into a local diner to find out we just missed the tornado. What?!?! So we regained our wits and kept going. The rest of the trip was really windy. I remember my leg for driving was tough. There was debris all over the road and the car was swaying in the wind.

When we got to Daytona, the beach was missing. The waves were up to the wall! So we went to IHOP. Later we went to Wendy's. Our stomachs were getting upset with all the grease and lack of sleep. So when we went to dinner with other people from our campus, we went to the Ryans all-you-can-eat veggie buffet!

So I tell you that to tell you this...

NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams to feature Big Break on Good Friday

On Friday, March 25th, NBC Nightly News will air a story about Campus Crusade's Big Break outreach during the 6:30 pm broadcast (Eastern). The story will feature two students involved with our ministry and show the worship sessions and beach evangelism in action. Please pray for the final editing of this story...that the gospel message will be clearly, accurately and positively portrayed.

The conferences are now in Panama City and they really rock. Did you get whiplash from that transition? LOL! Sorry.

Please check your local listings for your showing.

I doubt you've ever seen a globe like this. Let the images load...it's cool.

I've seen relief maps before, but not globes. By the way, why are they called "relief maps"? Is it because when you see the height and depth of the land it's a relief? I have a strange feeling that's not the real answer.

I know because The Map Room told me so.

What happens when you mix Google, Apple, and a bunch of lawyers? A legal merry-go-round, that's what.

What a goofy thing to watch.

The following went out to our eNewsletter group:

Patricia's health took a turn for the worse last May when she started to experience symptoms typical of Fibromyalgia and chronic fatigue. We believe that this was triggered by the amount of hormones she was taking as we were trying to get pregnant. For the last few years we have been trying to have children but after trying so long on our own, we decided to see an infertility specialist. However, God is using this part of Patricia's life to encourage others as well!

Read our entire update here.

You can sign up for our eNewsletter if you'd like.

MSNBC is running a Bracket Bonanza where they line up 64 comedies and you fill in the bracket.

My Elite 8 are: Dumb & Dumber, Ferris Bueller, Ghostbusters, Fletch, Best in Show, A Christmas Story, Airplane, and The Jerk.

My Final 4 are: Ferris Bueller vs. Fletch and A Christmas Story vs. The Jerk. A Christmas Story beat out Fletch.

What's your top 4?

I know because SteelerDirtFreak told me so.

The Bad News for me: My bracket isn't working out like I'd hope.
The Good News for me: Everyone else's brackets are all messed up too.
The Good News for you: No more bracket updates until later in the week.

I went 7-9 in getting the Sweet 16 right. Here are my 16: Illinois, Boston College, LSU, Oklahoma St, Washington, Louisville, Gonzaga, Wake Forest, UNC, Florida, Kansas, UConn, Duke, Syracuse, Oklahoma, and Kentucky.

I filled out a bracket based on seeds and found out that according to the seeds, the Sweet 16 would be 8-8. So I feel like I'm not too far off. BTW, round 1 'should' have been 25-7 which is what I did.

So the Seed Bracket is 33-15. I'm 32-16. Does that mean I've bogeied the torney so far? I'm 1 over.

Of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), UCF, Winthrop, Wake Forest, and now UF and GA Tech are out. UNC, NC State, and Duke are all still in. That makes my teams 9-5.

After a spectatulr start, I'm not doing so well with picking who's supposed to be in the Sweet 16! I only got Kent-yucky, Washington, and Illinois right. I missed 7 others already. So that put me at 28-14. Ugh.

Another way of looking at it is I missed only 7 of 32 in the first round. I've already missed 7 of 16 in the second round. And I've already missed 2 of the 8 and 1 of the 4 (it's Wake and Oklahoma's fault).

So, of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), UCF, Winthrop, and Wake Forest are out. UF, UNC, NC State, Duke, and Georgia Tech are all still in. That makes my teams 6-3.

Well my two underdog schools I was pulling for have stopped dancing. But they both did great. Winthrop took Gonzaga to the end, and UCF really made a great comeback against UConn (cut it to 4 with seconds left). But alas, neither came out with a "W".

My picks are doing pretty well. I'm tied for second in my group. I went 25-7 in the first round...but I already have 3 of my Sweet 16 out. D'oh! LSU, Kansas, and Syracuse all left early. On a personal level, I don't care. But it hurts my brackets!

So, of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), only UCF & Winthrop are out. UF (who won because of an airball), UNC, NC State, Duke, Georgia Tech and Wake Forest all advanced. That makes my teams 6-2.

Ugh. I hate these kind of things, but my buddy Rick is requesting me to answer these questions. Okay, Rick, I'll do it...

1. You're stuck inside Fahrenheit 451. Which book do you want to be?
A: I don't know what the heck this is talking about.

2. Have you ever had a crush on a fictional character?
A: No. I've never had a crush on a fictional character...especially from a book.

3. The last book you bought was...?
A: Blink : The Power of Thinking Without Thinking by Malcolm Gladwell. I'm almost half way through. It's interesting, but I'm waiting on it to really sell me on the concept.

4. The last book you read was...?
A: Well, if it means which book I completed last, it was Waking the Dead: The Glory of a Heart Fully Alive by John Eldredge. I liked it...which really surprised me. I haven't liked Elderedge's other books. Before that it was Blue Like Jazz: Nonreligious Thoughts on Christian Spirituality by Donald Miller and The End of Marketing as We Know It by Sergio Zyman before that.

5. What are you currently reading?
A: Well, I'm in the middle of Blink and I'm almost done with Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey. I should finish it this weekend so I can finally get it off my list!

6. Five books you would take to a desert island?
A: Oh goodness. I'm not a book lover so I have no idea. How would I chose 5 books? Sure, I'd take my Bible. After that, I have no idea.

7. What three people are you passing this stick on to and why?
A: I'm not passing it on, but if someone wants to try it out and leave a comment here, feel free.

I'm going to add another question I'm surprised isn't there:

8. What books do you have in the stack to read next?
A: I really do have a stack. I hope to get to them soon. Searching For God Knows What by Donald Miller, Reallivepreacher.com by Patrick Nielsen Hayden, On Target: How the World's Hottest Retailer Hit a Bullseye by Laura Rowley, The Power of Cult Branding: How 9 Magnetic Brands Turned Customers Into Loyal Followers (and Yours Can, Too) by Matthew W. Ragas, BJ Bueno, and The Contrarian's Guide to Leadership by Steven B. Sample, Warren Bennis. They literally are in the stack.

Winthrop really gave Gonzaga a scare and almost pulled off the upset. They just need another year like this one and maybe they'll creep up in the seeds so they have a better chance of advancing some time. Well done, Eagles!

Oh, and as for my picks, I started the day 8-0! Finished 13-3 on the day. Not a bad start!

Of the teams I'm tracking (besides my picks), UCF & UF take the court along with UNC, NC State, Duke, and Georgia Tech today. Wake Forest already advanced and Winthrop almost kept dancing. That makes my teams 1-1.

How did you do in "the best sports weekday"?

Oh yeah, I meant to also say I had a funny email convo last night. I told someone I was watching a reality tv show called March Madness. They replied asking what it was about. I told them to turn to CBS to find out and their reply, "Oh, so that's why Judge Judy wasn't shown."

I just had to laugh.

Man, where did the day go already? I was going to post about my day but my wife beat me to it.

Patrick was born in 385 but died on this day sometime later. Rev Bill tells more. But my favorite post today on the subject is from the MUSC tiger.

Hope you had a great day today. I'm stuffed on corned beef and cabbage right now. What's a good Irish dessert? I think we'll just have cookies.

You may remember last week I told you that there was a snake stalking me in my yard. If you don't remember, I left you with this:

But somewhere lurking in the newly fresh cut grass is a snake. Slithering. Probably has a scar above his eye (you know, for dramatic effect). Stalking. Planning. Plotting. Jumping into the air. Waiting for a bare foot to walk by.

Well, tonight Patricia and I will rest well. The Orkin guy took him out.

I didn't get to talk to him, but on his report of what he sprayed for it said "Killed a snake" as a hand-written note on the paper.

No more worries of the snake. Now we just have to watch for the badgers and mushrooms.

Webster will be adding some new words to it's dictionary including "wedgie" and "blog".

From Yahoo! News

The new edition will carry this listing: wedgie: noun. a prank in which the victim's undershorts are jerked upward so as to become wedged between the buttocks.

They add:

The new edition will reach bookstores by May and has 58 new entries, plus another 20 new senses of existing words (such as wedgie).

The additions include Al Qaeda, blog, cargo pants, irritable bowel syndrome and partial-birth abortion.

Does anyone else find it ironic that the words "irritable bowl syndrome", "wedgie", and "cargo pants" are all making it at the same time? Something tells me the guys at Webster's are at the end of their list. They are really scraping the bottom of the barrel this year. I just hope this edition doesn't become the butt of too many jokes.

Have I crossed the line yet? ;-)

This is gonna be fun!

NCAA Basketball Men's Brackets

My Teams Of Interest:
The 5 ACC schools (UNC, Duke, NC State, GA Tech, & Wake Forest), Florida, UCF, and Winthrop

Who are yours? Leave a comment.

BTW, if you want in my March Madness Bracket, email me your email and name and I'll send you an invite (we're playing with CBS Sportsline).

It was 7 months ago today that the 2004 Florida Hurricane season began for Floridians. Although the hurricane season was similar to Christmas, it really goes from June 1 - Nov 30, but it wasn't like that in Florida. We had 4, count 'em, FOUR hurricanes hit the state. Three of them in Central Florida...which means 3 at my house! The first of them, Hurricane Charley, landed Aug 13. The last one, Hurricane Jeanne, landed Sept 26. In-between those two and those 44 days were Hurricanes Frances and Ivan.

I blogged a lot about those 4 hurricanes (some more than others). It's taken me a while, but I think I've finally captured in separate posts all of the posts I made on each hurricane. Here they are linked up for you. If you were in Florida for any of them, I invite you to leave a comment on the main post for that hurricane.

I present to you the 2004 Florida Hurricanes...as I saw (and blogged) them.

• Hurricane Charley
• Hurricane Frances
• Hurricane Ivan
• Hurricane Jeanne

PS. In some of the posts I link back to images or reports from the National Hurricane Center. Some of those links no longer work or show something different now.

Hurricane Charley Summary & History

Hurricane Charley hit Florida on Friday, Aug 13, 2004. The storm came ashore near Captiva and Punta Gorda with 150 mph winds and as a category 4 hurricane.

I had just begun blogging when Hurricane Charley came to Orlando. So what did I do? I liveblogged as much as possilbe! Come relive Hurricane Charley as I saw it.

Before Charly

• Oh Charley!
• News Source
• Here He Comes
  
• Charley Update
  
• Hurricane Update

During Charley

• Landfall
  
• Some Hurricane Photos
  
• WeatherBug Blogs Hurricane Charley
  
• Lull
  
• Squall #2
  
• Charley's Here
  
• New Photos
  
• Radar
  
• New Photos
  
• Almost Here
  
• Prayer
  
• Very Windy
  
• Getting Nasty
  
• Moving Rooms
  
• He's Really Here!
  
• Couple New Photos
  
• Windows
  
• Just A Little Longer
  
• Water
  
• Last Blog For Tonight

After Charley

• Online Again
  
• New Photos
  
• Last Today
  
• Linked
  
• Back In Middle School
  
• Updated Photos
  
• Mathematicians
  
• Power On!
  
• Almost Done
  
• Kerry's Non-Visit
  
• Briars
  
• Phones Up
  
• Charley Shrimp
  
• The Hurricane Next Door
• God Speaks Through Charley?

More 2004 Florida Hurricanes

Hurricane Frances Summary & History

Hurricane Frances hit Florida on Saturday, September 4, 2004, just 22 days after Charley. The storm came ashore near Vero Beach with 105 mph winds and as a category 2 hurricane.

Frances moved so much slower. It took 3 days to get out of here. Since I had liveblogged Hurricane Charley I decided to do the same for Frances. Come relive Hurricane Frances as I saw it.

Before Frances

• Lighten Up, Frances
• Today's To Do List
• I'm Nervous
• Charley vs. Frances
• Vancouver/Hurricane Frances Update
• Getting Ready
• I'm So Tired
• What We Expect
• Boarded Up
• NFL Officials
• Quick Update
  

During Frances

• Sleeping Late
• Animated Loop Radar
• Rain
• Feeder Band Done
• The Lull
• 5 Things That Stink
• Not Much to Report Now
• The Beaches
• Windy Orlando
• Sky Lies
• Some Good News
• I'm Up
• Updated: What We Expect
• Landfall
• Pine Needles
• Power Blip
• An Inside View
• Local TV Media
• Gov Bush
• "It's Going to Get Badder"
• Yeehaw!
• Next Couple Hours
• We're Fortunate
• Can You Find Florida?
• Not Done Yet
• Tornados
• Done With Frances

After Frances

• Still Windy
• We Can See!
• Not Done?
• Prayers For Coach Bowden
• Okay, Done
• Welcome To Florida

More 2004 Florida Hurricanes

Hurricane Ivan Summary & History

Hurricane Ivan hit Florida on Thursday, September 16, 2004, just 12 days after Frances. The storm came ashore near Pensacola with 120 mph winds and as a category 3 hurricane.

This hurricane really scared everyone. It did a lot of damage in the Caribbean and was taking the same path Charley took. Fortunately for us, it stayed out in the Gulf and missed Central Florida. Come relive Hurricane Ivan as I saw it.

• Ivan, You Better Not!
• Vancouver Plans
• Done With Frances
• I'm Tired of Hurricanes
• C'mon Yellow! C'mon Green!
• Ivan is Nasty
• Tracking Hurricanes
• Can Cars Feel Stressed?
• Jeanne
• New Vancouver Plans
• Ivan Lands

More 2004 Florida Hurricanes

Hurricane Jeanne Summary & History

Hurricane Jeanne hit Florida on Sunday, September 26, 2004, just 10 days after Ivan. The storm came ashore near Vero Beach with 120 mph winds and as a category 3 hurricane.

We were out of town for this one and really didn't expect it to make landfall. It meandered in the Atlantic for a long time. But when it came ashore, it was about 5 miles from where Frances landed. Unbelievable! Come relive Hurricane Jeanne as I saw it (not being home).

• Jeanne
• Again? Really?
• Unbelievable
• Weekend Hurricanes
• Jeanne On It's Way
• Hurricane Jeanne Update

More 2004 Florida Hurricanes

I hate doing the taxes.

I'm never sure I got it right. Even though TurboTax is easy, I'm always afraid I miss something. I've never missed anything though...it's just that nagging fear.

At least usually there's a "reward" in that we get a couple hundred dollars back. But not this year. We OWE $400. Man that really sucks. I had hoped to use a $500 or so refund to help us on our plan to get out of debt. Instead, the almost $1000 swing in the wrong direction hurts.

I hate doing the taxes.

Play

I know becuase Karl told me so.

Well, we're up 43-40 over #2 UNC at the half. We made it past Maryland yesterday. Could we pass the 'Heels?

C'mon Tigers!

UPDATE #1: With 11:29 to go, we're still up 63-55.

UPDATE #2: With 6:15 to go, we're still up 72-66.

UPDATE #3: With 4:02 to go, we're still up 76-72.

UPDATE #4: With 2:09 to go, we're still up 79-77.

UPDATE #5: With 1:21 to go, we're DOWN 79-81. I can't take this!

UPDATE #6: With 25 secs to go, we're DOWN 79-83. Dang.

UPDATE #7: Dang. But we sure gave the #2 team in the country a real scare! Had 'em by 13 at one point. Ended down by 7. Lost 81-88. Dang.

I don't normally double post on my blogs, but I thought this one was worth the read. Look what you can do without a computer:

• post photos online
• post text online (thru text message)
• post audio online (voice)
• read customized news feeds
• and oh, talk to other people ;-)

Get all the details here: Inform and Stay Informed Without A Computer

I have a theory of how to get rid of email spam forever.

Don't buy anything from spammers!

My thinking is the reason spammers send these junk emails all the time is because it's cheap to send the mail and someone will buy. Think about it. If it cost $1 to send 1000 spam emails (I'm making up numbers here, but it is cheap to how many you can send...that's the point) and if 1 in 1000 make a purchase where you can net $2, then you've doubled your money.

So if no one buys anything, they won't make money and they'll stop. Or so goes the theory.

So how many people are buying from spam? You might be shocked:

According to the study, respondents claim to open and read more than 20 percent of unsolicited e-mail they receive. Twenty percent is a pretty good open rate for a spammer. I know a few permission-based e-mail marketers that don’t enjoy open rates that high. Also, the study concluded that more than 40 percent of U.S. respondents admit to having bought something from a spam message. Results from their international studies are even higher.

40% make a purchase?!?! Holy cow! Who's doing it? I assume that's 40% of the 20% who open it, but still!

If you're one of those spam purchasers, please STOP IT! Instead, just stay up late and buy something from Ronco instead so they'll leave my inbox alone!

I know because Earthlink told me so.

Wow! Usually we don't win any ACC Tourney games. But today we advanced by beating Maryland to have the privilege of playing UNC tomorrow. But hey, we advanced! Track the bracket.

Baby steps...baby steps...

Reason #37 to monitor the blogsphere: You might just find out someone you know is also blogging: Welcome David!

Okay, I don't know what the other 36 reasons are, but here are some more...and how to do it.

Could chocolate be a health food?

Yes! Load me up with the good stuff...

At least that's what Donald Trump would have said to Dan Rather if he could have. From the transcript of a Trump interview by Chris Wallace of Fox News Sunday:

WALLACE: Dan Rather is stepping down as the anchor of the "CBS Evening News" this week. You don't care much for him, do you?

TRUMP: Well, I think he did a report on me that was very dishonest. So, since then, I don't deal with him.

And I've never understood how he stays in position so long. How does this guy stay in position when he always has the lowest ratings? I mean, he's had bad ratings for years. Now, this isn't just a new phenomena. Dan Rather has had the worst ratings for years, and he continues to go forward. So I never understood it.

TRUMP: So I'm not a big fan of Dan Rather. I don't want to be a fan of Dan Rather. I don't think he's good at the news. I don't think a lot of people think he's good at the news. He was always highly overrated.

And other than that, you know...

WALLACE: Other than that, you're going to send him some flowers?

(LAUGHTER)

TRUMP: Other than that, I think he's a wonderful guy.

WALLACE: What do you think of the whole Bush memo-gate?

TRUMP: Well, I think it was disgusting the way it was handled by Dan Rather. And I don't know why they're firing other people. He was the head of it, so why aren't they firing Dan Rather? But I guess they want to let him go gracefully.

WALLACE: What would you do?

TRUMP: I would have fired him a long time ago.

WALLACE: How would you have done it?

TRUMP: I would have said, "Dan, you're fired."

I had a bizarre result.

Inter-Advanced
You scored 6% Beginner, 100% Intermediate, 87% Advanced, and 61% Expert!
You have a good understanding of intermediate and advanced commonly confused English words, getting at least 75% of the intermediate and advanced level questions correct. The puzzling part of your test result is the fact that you only answered 75% or less correct in the beginner section. Fascinating.

Thank you so much for taking my test. I hope you enjoyed it!

For the complete Answer Key, visit my blog: http://shortredhead78.blogspot.com/.

OKCupid! presents: The Commonly Confused Words Test

I know about this because Peter told me so.

Blogging is so easy that even an ex-President can do it.

I know because the SmartChristian told me so.

UPDATE: Apparently theSmartChristian wasn't so smart! ;-) Seems the blog is a fake.

My wife is an artist. My aunt in South Carolina is an artist. My aunt in North Carolina is an artist. But I had no idea how great of an artist my two nieces are!

When a tattoo is put on a person, who really owns that tatoo? The artist or the person who is "wearing" it? Well, maybe you should ask Rasheed Wallace:

A Portland man who put a tattoo on the right arm of Detroit Piston Rasheed Wallace is suing to stop the forward from displaying the work in ads for Nike basketball shoes.

Matthew Reed from TigerLilly Tattoo and DesignWorks claims he owns the copyright for the design of the tattoo. Reed's lawsuit wants the Nike ad featuring Wallace and the tattoo off the air and the Internet, as well as damages.

...Wallace has one of the more distinctive tattoos in the NBA...

...But Reed claims he became aware last year of a Nike ad that centers on the tattoo and its creation. He claims the ad violates the copyright he holds to "the Egyptian Family Pencil Drawing"...

...According to the suit, Wallace told Nike...either that he owned the intellectual property rights to the tattoo image or shared it with Reed. If a court determines that Reed and Wallace share ownership, Reed says he is entitled to a portion of the money Wallace was paid for the ad.

The merits of Reed's suit have yet to be decided. But under intellectual property law, buying an image doesn't necessarily mean you can do whatever you want with it.

"When you buy a painting, then you own the painting. But if you want to reproduce the painting in a book, if you want to have it be the central part of a commercial, then you have to pay a licensing fee," said Lydia Loren, a Lewis & Clark Law School professor who teaches intellectual property law.

I know because theDesignWeblog told me so.

Congrats to two of my favorite "small schools" for making it to this year's big dance: UCF and Winthrop.

UCF is 10 minutes from my house.

Winthrop is 3 minutes from my grandparents house.

Congrats! At least I'll have someone to pull for in this year's tourney as I'm quite confident Clemson won't make it. Well, at least we're not last in the ACC this year.

Ever had "one of those days"? I'm wondering if yours was anything like mine.

Well, my "day" started last night. Patricia and I were on our way home from a great meal at Carrabba's when we stopped to fill the car with gas. I got out to pump. While standing there, I saw something I wasn't sure about.

There's steam coming out of our car.

The car next to us just started up so I didn't know if it was our car or theirs. I continued pumping. A moment later I looked back up at the front of the car.

There's steam coming out of our car.

A car had just gone by so I didn't know if it was our car or theirs. I continued pumping. A moment later I looked back up at the front of the car.

There's steam coming out of our car.

This time I couldn't blame it on another car. Patricia got out and said:

There's steam coming out of our car.

There was also antifreeze "dripping heavily" out from under the hood. This can't be good. I finished pumping. Someone walked up to us and said:

There's steam coming out of your car.

My denial is now over. We pop the hood and he says, "Yup, your radiator is busted." In one way I was relieved that was steam and not smoke...and at a gas station nonetheless! So we got on home hoping it wouldn't overheat.

This morning I got up at 7 and took the car in to have it checked out. At each red light I'd see the steam again and pray for green (truth be told, I was praying for both the light to be green and that the repair wouldn't take much green). So I pulled up to the service station and what does the first guy say to me?

There's steam coming out of your car.

I replied, "That's why I'm here". Another guy walks by. Can you guess what he said?

There's steam coming out of your car.

Though I had spent 6 of the last 10 hours sleeping, I was beginning to get tired of that phrase.

It took them about 75 minutes to determine that the radiator was busted. It's funny how knowledge does very little until it's in the minds of those with the hands to do something about it. Until then, the knowledge isn't that useful.

Patricia comes to pick me up and go back home. Time to cut the grass (one of the joys of living in Orlando...you get to cut the grass year-round). While trimming behind the a/c unit, a black snake comes flying out! Once I returned to the earth I realized it was just a 2 foot black snake no thicker than my pinky. But he looked dead. I must have killed him with my trusty weed whacker. I kept going and when I walked back by...the snake was gone! He wasn't dead and now he was hiding in the grass again...and mad! I then thought, "Isn't this how many horror movies start?"

I started cutting the crass with the mower and when I got back to that spot, I saw him. He was so mad he was ready to take on the nose of my lawn mower. I felt pretty safe on the other side so I just checked him out. I lifted the mower to show the blade to him so he'd move away. Instead the joker jumped straight up in the air three times! It was freaky. He moved and I backed away, finishing the section of grass.

The phone rang after lunch and the car was ready. Oh! Did I tell you this was the third time we'd taken that car in this year? We've now put about $1400 of work into it. First the door handles broke off (which lead to a fun discussion). Then it was some maintenance. Now a new radiator.

There's no steam coming out of our car.

But somewhere lurking in the newly fresh cut grass is a snake. Slithering. Probably has a scar above his eye (you know, for dramatic effect). Stalking. Planning. Plotting. Jumping into the air. Waiting for a bare foot to walk by.

From StarWars.com:

The much anticipated full release trailer for Star Wars: Episode III Revenge of the Sith is on its way. Consisting of over two minutes of new footage from the movie, the full trailer will soon appear on television, on starwars.com and in theaters.

Here's the rundown for when the full trailer will run (for those who care):

• March 10: Free TV -- During an episode of "The O.C." on FOX (check local listings)
• March 10: Paid Online -- If you're a member of starwars.com Hyperspace or AOL, you can watch it online after "The O.C." finishes.
• March 11: The Big Screen -- It'll show during the movie previews of Robots
• March 14: Free Online -- It'll be available on starwars.com

I'm not a member of hyperspace, AOL, or watch "The O.C.", so I may be holding out for the March 11 date.

Sometimes you just keep on going and don't realize the coolness of the date staring back at you.

Today is 03/04/05.

Maybe I'll be more alert on 04/05/06!

I've recently run across a new blog that I've been following called White Noise. Today I read one of the funniest posts I've seen in a long time. Although I doubt it's all true, it is still very funny.

The story is at Qantas Airlines, the pilots have made several maintenance requests in which the ground crew checked out and reported back. The following is a supposed collection of the funniest (P = pilots request, S = solution from maintenance):

P: Left inside main tire almost needs replacement.
S: Almost replaced left inside main tire.

P: Test flight OK, except auto-land very rough.
S: Auto-land not installed on this aircraft.

P: Something loose in cockpit.
S: Something tightened in cockpit.

P: Dead bugs on windshield.
S: Live bugs on back-order.

P: Autopilot in altitude-hold mode produces a 200 feet per minute descent.
S: Cannot reproduce problem on ground.

P: Evidence of leak on right main landing gear.
S: Evidence removed.

P: DME volume unbelievably loud.
S: DME volume set to more believable level.

P: Friction locks cause throttle levers to stick.
S: That's what they're for.

P: Suspected crack in windshield.
S: Suspect you're right.

P: Number 3 engine missing.
S: Engine found on right wing after brief search.

P: Aircraft handles funny.
S: Aircraft warned to straighten up, fly right and be serious.

P: Target radar hums.
S: Reprogrammed target radar with lyrics.

P: Mouse in cockpit.
S: Cat installed.

P. Noise coming from under instrument panel. Sounds like a midget pounding on something with a hammer.
S: Took hammer away from midget.

Whoa! You'll flip out if you watch this.

I know because Ken told me so.

With freedom comes responsibility. From OrlandoSentinel.com:

Since Florida relaxed its law, making helmets optional for riders 21 and older, Florida's roads have gotten more dangerous. At the same time, the popularity of motorcycles has exploded -- and so has Florida's motorcyclist death toll.

An Orlando Sentinel analysis of federal crash data reveals the number of motorcycle deaths has more than doubled since 1999, the last full year that all Florida riders were required to wear helmets.

In 2003, the most recent year for which data are available, 365 people, including passengers, were killed on motorcycles in Florida, compared with 178 in 1999.

In 1999, as many as 156 riders wearing helmets died, and in 2003, 142 did. Yet 10 times as many riders died without helmets in 2003 -- 223 -- as in 1999, when there were 21 such deaths, according to federal data.

Here's something I don't get...why can't podcasting be read in a typical RSS aggregator? I think I'd get into podcasting a bit more if it came right in with what I typically use. I don't want to have one program for email, one for RSS, and one for Podcasting. Right now I use two (Outlook and SharpReader (or Bloglines)). I don't want to add a third.

I know that's an absurd statement, but it seems like it right now. Trillian is taking forever, SharpReader is too. Every page I go to online is slow (not just the notoriously slow Blogger). Even email is taking a while to send/receive...and I'm on broadband.

And this post was started at 7:30 this morning...

Okay, just kidding about the last one. But it's really slow today for me.

From OrlandoSentinel.com

The Slurpee rainbow will soon include a dark side.

Dallas-based 7-Eleven Inc. will debut in late April its first black Slurpee -- a tribute to the movie villain Darth Vader that's tied to the May premiere of Star Wars Episode III: Revenge of the Sith.

Jedi and Slurpee fans alike will be able to slurp the pitch-black, icy concoction, called Darth Dew, from a standard-size cup or from one fitted with a black, shiny Darth Vader head. Yoda collector mugs also will be available.

It will be a marriage of two venerable, decades-old brands. Star Wars is one of the world's most recognizable movie and merchandise empires, while Slurpee -- named for the slurp sound made when drinking it through a straw -- will celebrate its 40th anniversary in June.

'We know that black food does not generally sell well,' said Robert Passikoff, founder of New York-based Brand Keys, a brand research firm. 'Having said that, the inherent value of the Star Wars brand is good enough reason to try it. . . . They are both classic brands.'

Darth Dew, made by PepsiCo. Inc., is modeled after the beverage company's limited-edition Mountain Dew Pitch Black flavor.

Sweet.

I can't come up with a funny, pithy quote for this. Leave a comment if you've got one.

Happy Birthday, Yahoo! You've come a long way. You have an interesting history. Thanks for being the first on the block at trying to make sense of this vast inter network of documents!

The folks at MarketingProfs.com have published another great article, this one entitled How to Write Compelling Blog Posts. I think I agree with everything there! So instead of going into it here, why don't you just stop by and read the article yourself? Worth the read (and it's not that long either ;-)