David Spade? Who would have thought?

Actor Buys Guns for Phoenix Police

Newsday (New York)

The Phoenix Police Department has gotten some high-powered goodies courtesy of actor David Spade. The one-time Phoenix resident donated $100,000 so that the department can buy approximately 50 AR-15 rifles, The Associated Press reports.

Spade said he wanted to make the donation after seeing a TV news report about Phoenix officers having to buy their own rifles. Spade grew up in the Phoenix area and graduated from Arizona State University.

Phoenix Police Sgt. Alan Hill says the rifles will be given to patrol officers and that the agency was grateful for the gifts.

"These guys need to be able to do their jobs and I am just happy I could help," Spade said in a statement released by his publicist.
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Cushing America in the news

NEW YORK -- Crude-oil futures fell for a third session Wednesday, tumbling 9.3% to close at their lowest level since April 2004, as government data showed inventories at a key delivery point hit a record. Crude for February delivery dropped $3.63 to end at $35.35 a barrel on the New York Mercantile Exchange. Crude inventories at Cushing, Okla., the delivery point for Nymex crude futures contracts, reached 28.7 million barrels in the week ended Dec. 19, the Energy Information Administration reported. It was the highest since at least April 2004, when the government started collecting Cushing data.

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Doghouse video (thank you for the memories - hahahaha)

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Ringtones R Us

Every now and again, I get on a big 'ringtone kick'.  And, I figured I would use the latest kick as blog fodder, so here goes:

 

If you are around me when I get a call on my cell phone, what you hear will let you know who is calling me:

 

Current default ringtone (Hawaii 50):

 

My wife (Hot Legs):

 

My daughter (Mary Tyler Moore show):

 

     had been Target Commercial:

    

 

My mom (OU fight song):

 

Anyone associated with OSUPD (Cops theme):

 

Anyone associated with ID Services (Pink Panther):

 

Anyone from the apartments I manage (just have to listen to it):

 

One buddy who drives fast - AH (race car):

 

Another buddy with a fast car - JF (Speed Racer):

 

And the current sound for incoming text messages (and voice mail notification):

  (CTU telephone sound - 24)

 

While putting this post together, I realized I have a lot more contacts I need to figure out personalized ringtones assignments!!!!!

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King Kountry Dancers

Send your own ElfYourself eCards

Give it a chance to load once you click on the play button

Yep, Sarah has a twin in this one
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Bringing some heat!!!

Without going into a huge discussion of the 'symptoms' that forced the need for the replacement of our 15 year old water heater, a buddy came over Sunday afternoon to help me with the task.

 

15 years ago, the 40 gallon water heater cost about $125-$150.  That price included the water heater, installation parts and labor (my father-in-law & I).  The 50 gallon replacement tank, with installation parts, cost almost $530. No, that is not a typo!  (I won't get into why they are so expensive now. Hint - government and new safety issues)

 

After the installation was completed, and leaks fixed, I set the new thermostat at approximately the same location on the dial as the previous heater had been, realizing that I may have to adjust it slightly up-or-down on Monday.

 

Fast forward to that night and time for my shower:  I set the shower knob at the normal location for the temperature I like (normally a very hot shower) and got in.  The water started off warm (as usual) and began warming up.  I was sitting in my shower chair and reaching for the soap as the water continued to get hotter, very quickly.  Next thing I know, scalding hot water is hitting me ... I screamed like a little girl as I thought I was inflicting my internal organs to third-degree burns!  I have never felt water that hot come from a shower before.  I could have easily cooked pasta in that water.

 

Needless to say, I lowered the thermostat level on the new water heater shortly after I recovered!

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Oliver North book signing event

I did something yesterday I really thought I would never get to do: meet Oliver North!

 

I got an email from mardel.com earlier in the week advising that Oliver North would be in Oklahoma City for a book signing.  Needless to say, I instantly called Renee and let her know about the event.  Once we confirmed we didn't already have plans for Saturday (this would have pre-empted pretty much anything!), I put the event on my calendar.  Without getting into all the details, we arraigned for my nephew Matt to go with us.

 

The signing was scheduled to start at 8:00pm.  Those of you who know me will understand when I share that we got to Mardels at 6:45.  Yes, over an hour early!  Even being that early, we were still back in the line around 20-25 people from the start.

 

Since we had 75 minutes to waste, while standing in one spot, Matt and were chatting about various topics, and checking out the books around us.  I have placed a picture of Matt attempting to look interested in one of the books to the right.  I have another picture of "Matt being Matt" in a Facebook album with several other pictures from the event here.

 

 

 

 

After the long wait, we got out books signed by Oliver North.  While he was signing my book, I said "happy birthday in two days, sir".  When I said this, he stopped signing my book, looked up at me and asked if I was a Marine.  I told him no, but that I have several friends who are and that 10Nov is an important date to me for that reason (10 Nov 1775 is considered the birthday of the US Marines).  Just as he was closing my book, I followed up with "also, happy birthday last month", as his birthday is 07 October.

 

After we were through, Renee Matt and I went to go get a late dinner, but stayed near the Mardel store.  I had hopes of getting a 'real picture' with Oliver North after the crowd had left the area.  When we came back, Oliver North was no where to be found.  Being that the crowd had dispersed, the store management had closed up the signing event.  Oliver North was in the back signing books for the employees.  I shared with one of the managers that my nephew and I had waited until now to get better pictures with Mr North.  The manager said it was too late and where I might be able to see Mr North the next day.  As we prepared to leave, another manager came up to me and asked if I was the one who wish Oliver North the birthday wishes and I said I was.  He then told me that I was the only one that had mentioned the upcoming Marine Corp birthday and told me not to leave, as Oliver North would be out in just a few minutes. 

 

When he came out, Matt and I were able to get pictures with him:

 

(click on the images to see larger copies)

 

Here is what I received from Mardel to let me know about the event

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Media Bias????

How can the many members of the media claim not to be bias when they are reporting information such as this?

 

 

This screen capture was on MSNBC political race widget at 9:00pm (Oklahoma time).  Now I realize that only 4% of the precincts had reported in, but the percentage of votes at the time are Obama at 37% and McCain at 62%.  But they have already turned the state blue in their chart and placed a check mark next to Obama.

 

What is up with that?

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Blast from the past - First "Date"

Due to the wonderful social networking abilities of Facebook, I bring you a "blast from the past" .... a picture of me the evening of my first date!

 

Yep, that is me when I was 15, if I remember right.  My dad drove me to pick up <name withheld to protect her identity> and take us to a "sweetheart" banquet at our church.

 

It is hard to tell, but that is a blue denim three-piece suite, with an open neck wide collar shirt.  Oh, yeah ... I was a "styling dude" back then.

 

Now that you have had a good laugh, enjoy the rest of your day!

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You just gotta love technology when it works ....

.... but not completely hate it when it doesn't

I ordered a new ID card printer for the ID Card Production office about a month ago. It finally arrived today. With the whole purchase order process at the university, I'm surprised I got it this quickly. Since this type of printer is completely different than what we currently have in the office, I only ordered one. This will allow me some time to make system and procedural modifications prior to replacing all of our printers.

Let's just say today didn't go smoothly. So much so that I don't even have the printer in my officethis evening. Due to various "ribbon identification" issues, the vendor boxed it back up and took it to their repair site. All in all, the printer model is an absolute workhorse, and I figure mine got a little bit out of whack in the shipping (...hum, if it had worked, would it have been considered "in whack"?).

Due to the technology advancements since we last ordered printers, I will be able to lower the number of printers in the office from seven(7) to three(3) - with the third being a spare printer. I will also be able to reduce the number of card template blanks from five(5) to one(1). The new printer has the ability for duplex printing, so it can print the different back images as needed. Pre-printing card template backs costs me $0.10 per card, but the duplex printing ribbon averages $0.06 per card. This will allow an overall initial savings of $0.04 per card, which will add up considering the thousands of cards we print per semester!
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Joe, this post is for you

Yesterday, while enjoying the OSU lead over Missouri, I got a call from an old friend. Joe M. is a guy I know from a previous life (job responsibility) that I have met in person only a few times, but it seems like we have known each other forever. We talk on the phone several times a year, especially to call each other for birthdays and the like. Renee knows him as the guy who sent the huge basket of brownies when I was in the hospital after my accident (when I say huge, I mean it fed three shifts of nurse, besides all the friends and family that came to see me - yeah - HUGE).

I met Joe when he was trying to sell me some training solutions for our CIS personnel (CIS= Computing & Information Services - Pre IT). While I won't mention the name of the company here, the initials are ML. Joe was in the 'College and University' side of the sales team at time. Since then, he has been moved over to the 'Government' side of the sales department. Joe has the type of personality that never meets a stranger, and gets along great with everyone .... everyone except the new VP of the company it seems.

I guess to be accurate here, the VP seems to be the type that only meets strangers, someone that doesn't communicate well with others and builds his decisions based upon those non-communication moments.

Joe was at the top of his game in regards to sales. In fact, he was at the top of everyone's game, as he has been the leading sales guy within his side of the sales area for a while. But that didn't keep the VP from giving Joe the boot last week, the day after his 12 year anniversary with the company.

Joe has a strong faith in the Lord, and knows that this will all work out for good, but it is still a shock to me.

I doubt any other employees with the company (let's call it, um, BrainGuide) read this blog, but if you do I make the following recommendations:
1. Fire up the word processor of your choice
2. Open your resume (or start one if you don't have a copy)
3. Get it updated
4. Start covertly looking for another job

If Joe wasn't safe there, none of the others are either ... unless you have the word 'president' somewhere within your official title.

Side note: #17 OSU went on to beat #3 ranked Missouri with a final score of 28-23.
GO POKES!
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A new 'member' of our family

I would like to introduce you to Clarisza. She is a beautiful eight year old living in the Philippines.

 

Some history: When Sarah was nine or ten years old and asked what she wanted for Christmas, she said she wanted to sponsor a child through Compassion International. We started the monthly sponsorship in her name and was provided the information for a young girl about Sarah's age named Mary Grace. Over the years Sarah received several letters from Mary Grace keeping her informed of what was going on in her life and village, and Sarah wrote to her as well.

 

Shortly after Sarah left for college, we received our last letter from Mary Grace. She advised she was moving to be with her aunt, as she had an opportunity to attend college near her aunt's house. The move would mean that Mary Grace would no longer be within the Compassion International program. In short, both Sarah and Mary Grace were leaving home to go to college.

 

Enter Clarisza: Renee and I didn't want to end the sponsorship opportunity, and Hope had been expressing an interest helping others, so we started working with Compassion International to change the account over from Sarah's name to Hope's. Renee and Hope went online and found Clarisza. She is about six weeks younger than Hope. Her hobbies of dolls, art/drawing, singing and listening to music match perfectly with many of Hope's hobbies. Renee and I anticipate that we will have another great period of ten years or so of hearing from another sponsored child, as well as helping/encouraging our daughter to communicate with her sponsored child.

 

If you aren't currently involved in a sponsorship program, such as Compassion International, World Vision, or any of the other programs, please take the time to think/pray about it as well as research the opportunity. For the price of one evening out a month at a really nice restaurant and movie, you can help change the life of a child and their family. In Clarisza's area, most adults work as day laborers and earn the equivalent of $95 per month.

 

Also, if you would add Clarisza (health, education, family, etc) and Hope to your prayer list (their future pen-pal relationship), I would be eternally grateful.

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Shirt Alert .... shirt alert

Yesterday's mail brought the most recent copy of Wireless Catalog.  This is the amazing catalog that always has numerous new shirts that I would love to have in my closet.  But, instead of filling my closet with the great designs, I am only able to fill my blog with them. 

 

The choices of the ones to share were hard to choose from, but here are some of the ones that made the cut for this post:

 

 

Feel free to visit the site and pick a few of your favorites!!!!

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Possible virus alert ...

If you get an email with the subject line of "Nude photos of Sara Palin", don't open it as it may contain a virus.

If you get an email with the subject line of "Nude photos of Hillary Clinton", don't open it as it may contain nude pictures of Hillary Clinton.

This was found in my inbox from sender unknown and has not been confirmed with snopes.com.
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Yes, I am a HERO!

Ok, ok ....  I only donated blood, but I got a shirt that says I am a hero.

 

It seems there is a blood donation drive on campus every month.  Both the Red Cross and the Oklahoma Blood Institute show up for the drives (but not at the same time).  Today's visit was by OBI.  Being that they were setup in the Student Union Starlight Terrace right across from my office, I decided to use my lunch break to donate blood.

 

Instead of just a normal visit for blood donation, when a donor simply "bleeds into a bag", I opted for an apheresis donation. 

 

From OBI's web site:

Apheresis (a-fe-REE-sis) is a special automated type of blood donation that involves collecting whole blood from a donor, but instead of separating components in the lab, the components are automatically separated online while you donate. Since the majority of patients are treated with only one particular blood component, an apheresis donation is more efficient and beneficial to the donor. Apheresis allows a single donor to provide more of the single component needed by a patient. By reducing the number of donors needed to meet a patient's need, the chances of a patient reaction or rejection are decreased.

 

This process took a little more time than normal - I was hooked up for about 35 minutes, as opposed to my normal donation time of 12-15 minutes.  However, considering the result (... allows a single donor to provide more of the single component needed by a patient), the extra time is worth it.

 

I don't know where/when tradition of giving t-shirts to blood donors started, but the image above is the shirt that was being handed out today.  I've got a few other donor shirts at home, and even had one on the day I broke my leg (which later lead to the amputation). 

 

The nurses at the ER went to extreme lengths not to cut that shirt off, since they said they like people to wear donor shirts to get the word out to donate blood.  And, after the fifteen (15) units of blood I received in 2001, I am grateful for blood donors as well.

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Consider yourself Barack-Rolled

 

Someone with a lot of time on their hands, as well as some mad clip-editing skills has put together a Barack-Roll video, overtop the normal Rick-Roll music ... and they did a quality job.

 

Following the creation of the above video, it was later spliced into video from the RNC tape of McCain's speech, making it appear that McCain got Barack-Rolled (see below)

 

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Enable multiple monitor support in Remote Desktop

Multiple monitor support is available in Remote Desktop as long as the monitors are the same resolution and aligned side-by-side.

1. Open the command prompt by clicking the Start button, All Programs, Accessories, and then open Command Prompt.
2. Type Mstsc /span and then press Enter on your keyboard.
3. Now you can connect to a remote computer using Remote Desktop with multiple monitor support.

Another method involves already having an .rdp file saved to connect to another machine.  Create a shortcut with the following command properties:

               mstsc.exe ShortcutToMyComputer.rdp /span

(change the info to point to the proper rdp file)

 

Note: If you are using a computer with multiple monitors, you can drag the width of the RDP session across the width of both monitors, so that you actually make full use of the span command.  If not, you will just have to scroll left/right to see everything.

 

Appropriate disclaimers:

• If you do not understand, or cannot read, all directions, cautions and warnings, do not use this product.
• This product is meant for educational purposes only.
• Subject to change without notice
• Some assembly required.
• Your mileage may vary

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This looks like an absolute BLAST!

Toilet Paper Game
Perhaps one of the most recognized athletic traditions at JBU is the annual Toilet Paper Game. At the first home men’s basketball game each season, on the first FIELD GOAL by JBU, toilet paper is tossed onto the floor by fans. (see accompanying video) This is an exciting event and draws many fans and brings on the first technical foul of the year.

 

 

Other videos of the tradition can be seen here (YouTube) or here (JBU - wmv file) 

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I am officially a "Golden Eagles" fan!

Sarah is now at John Brown University (wikipedia entry) in Siloam Springs, Arkansas.  As such, she is a Golden Eagle and that automatically makes me a Golden Eagle fan.

 

Being the techno-geek I am, I had to make an appropriate wallpaper for my Nokia 6555 cell phone.  The 6555 is a clam-shell (flip) phone, so there is both an internal and external screen.  Since the internal screen is cluttered with short-cut icons, calendar entries, inspirational notes, etc ... I decided to make the wallpaper for the 128x160 pixel external screen.

 

The image to the right is a mock-up of the wallpaper as it is displayed on my phone, with the signal strength, battery level, AT&T carrier info and date/time displayed on the screen.

 

Other JBU Golden Eagle fans:

If you stumbled across my blog while searching for a cell phone wallpaper, you can download the actual wallpaper image I am using here.

 

Go Golden Eagles!

 

 

Note: These logos are registered trademarks of John Brown University and are used with permission.

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Can we stop the clock (calendar)?

Alternate title: I don't want tomorrow to get here!

 

Tomorrow is the last time we will drive to Sarah's college as four, but return as three ... and I am not looking forward to it.

 

All the girls (Renee, Sarah and Hope) have been sad for the last couple of weeks as moving plans have been being finalized, but I have tried to maintain a firm facade.  But with it being approx 24 hours until we start the drive, it is very hard for me to keep my composure. Today is going to be a LONG day!

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I don't seem to remember these Olympic moments

Enjoy:

 

 

Commentary is in French (sorry):

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Who is in your speed-dial?

I found my own personal method for setting up the majority of the entries on my cell phone speed-dial:
1 - Voice Mail (set by manufacturer)
2 (abc) - Renee (wife - #1 was taken by v-mail)
3 (def) - Henry
4 (ghi) - Home
5 (jkl) - Joe (buddy)
6 (mno) - Mom
7 (pqrs) - Sarah
8 (tuv) - Todd (buddy)
9 (wxyz) - GOOG-411

 

My method (except for 1,2,3 & 9) is to tie one of the letters from each button to the first letter of the person it is assigned to.  I would have put Renee on #1 (since she is my #1), but that was taken by v-mail, so she got #2.  If you know Henry, you would know why he doesn't fit into any normal mold, so he got #3.

 

If you don't know about Goog411, you need to learn about it!  Calling information (411) from a cell phone normally costs well over a dollar a call.  How would you like a free option (except cell time use) that can:
- automatically connect you to the number you are looking for
- send you a text message with business name, phone number, address and map link

- doesn't play about 30-45 seconds of advertising to 'pay' for itself

 

For more information, via the GOOG-411 homepage or watch the video below:

 

I use the TEXT MESSAGE option just about every time I call, so I will have the phone number I am looking for at a later time.  After Goog411 acknowledges it sent a text message, it then connects you with the number.

 

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How NOT to win friends and influence enemies!

I believe the old saying of When in Rome, do as the Romans doesn't apply to making "Chinese eyes" when in China.  That is exactly what Spain's Olympic basketball team is doing below during a photo-shoot for some courier company. 

 

The sad part of the story:  This is the image that was used in the sports daily Marca, Spain's best-selling newspaper.

 

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I feel like a one legged man at a butt-kicking party ...

... and I know for a fact that 50% of that statement is correct.

 

With the recent resignation of the IDCP (ID Card Production) supervisor, I have been tasked to provide the day-to-day supervision of that office along with all of the other duties I have.  Between that and a couple sets of days of annual leave for family time before Sarah leaves for college, I just haven't really had time to blog.

 

And now with the Olympics starting, there is another great blog-blocker!

 

As Lt Gen Douglas MacArthur stated in 1942:  I Shall Return!

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From our trip to Washington DC several weeks ago

"I heard Mr Booth open the door and tried to warn Abe, but it was just too late" advised eye-witness Ron King to the Metropolitan Police Force.

 

Actually, this was taken at Madame Tussauds, Washington D.C. the first evening we got into town.  This was the first 'wax museum' I had ever visited where the guests were encouraged to act as part of the scene.

 

From their web site:

Have you ever wanted to kiss George W. Bush? Give Hillary Clinton a big ole hug? Or simply see if you were taller than George Washington? Well now there's a place in Washington D.C. where you can do it all - Madame Tussauds Washington D.C. The premier wax attraction gives visitors an interactive, full-sensory experience; they will be able to touch, see and hear major historical events and celebrities in a way unlike any other Washington D.C. attraction. Located within walking distance of the National Mall and the White House, the attraction is located in the historic Woodies building with the entrance on the corner of 10th and F Streets.

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I do my own stunts

Wednesday morning while at work, I was trying to hurry around to complete the monthly back-up/recovery test for our Document Imaging server. I came in early, since one the admins I needed to work with was leaving his office just prior to 9am for a training session.  When I got in at 7am, I started to complete all my tasks (deleted stuff) so that I could go down to the basement around 8:20 to meet with the various server admins for them to complete the recovery.

T-Shirt I should get

 

Sometime around 8:15-8:20 I headed to the basement, taking the stairs as I normally do. The stairs case is about 12-14 steps down to a landing, then make a u-turn to get to another 12-14 steps to complete one floor's descent.  First set of stairs went fine, but the second half was a different matter that day.  The last thing I remember is dragging my right (prosthetic) side heel on one of the top steps.  I don't drag a heel on steps all the time, but it does happen occasionally.  Normally I just grab the handrail, recover my balance and continue down the stairs.  For some reason, this wasn't a normal day.  The last thing I remember is missing the handrail and falling.

 

The following information has been told to me by co-workers:
Shortly before 9:00am someone entered the stairwell and found me laying at the bottom of the stairs face down.  It looked like I had slid down the last few stairs, as my head and body were on the floor and my legs still up on the stairs (back bowed in half).  I was unconscious but breathing.  911 was called and an ambulance requested.  At some point in time, the EMTs rolled me over and put on a cervical collar (which I believe was about 2 sizes to small).  One failed attempt at an IV was started in my right arm (pretty bruise shows exactly where they missed the vein). 

 

The first thing I remember is a sharp needle poke to my left arm (successful IV started) and someone rubbing their knuckle in my sternum looking for a stimulus response (reaction to pain) while calling my name.  As I was starting to come around, I was being packaged up on a back board and taken to the ambulance (the experience of going up the elevator is a blog post within itself).

 

Long story short (for the rest of the incident): Numerous x-rays and cat scan showed no broken bones.  The ER doc advised I would get much more sore prior to getting better and he wasn't kidding.  The next day it felt like I had been run over by a semi, then they backed up to see what they hit (rolling over me again) and then drove away (over me a third time).  Being that Renee and the girls were still out of town (in Columbus Ohio seeing friends), my mom came up to take care of me.  (we returned to Norman, since she was having work done at her place)

 

I need to see a chiropractor because I feel like a human question mark, and I may need to see someone about my left elbow as it has a real nice bruise and is extremely sore to the touch.  However, considering the fact I took a header down a long flight of stairs and was found unconscious after an unknown length of time, I think I am a very lucky individual!

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"Beautiful shooting star" will never have the same appeal

 

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Happy Birthday, Princess

18 years ago today I became a daddy.  This happens to be the first birthday I haven't spend the day with her, but she is on a trip with her mom and sister.  She didn't know until today that the trip included a detour to Niagara Falls today!

 

Today's birthday dinner will be enjoyed at the Top of the Falls Restaurant.

 

Note to Sarah:  LOVE YA!

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A study I wish I would have found years ago

First off, I don't want to imply that being a police officer during the first 'season' of my marriage with Renee resulted in any negative or relationship-ruining circumstances.  But, working odd hours, arriving home with tons of adrenaline still pumping through my veins and several other factors did provide some stressful moments.

 

While searching for new study materials for our evening time together, Renee ran across this study at FamilyLife.com:

 

Link: Protecting Your First Responder Marriage

 

DESCRIPTION:

Having a strong, healthy marriage isn't always easy. For police officers, firefighters, and emergency medical personnel, it can be grueling. Making the shift from "society guardian" to "family member" can be particularly demanding. FamilyLife understands the rigorous demands that are placed on first responder marriages, and has addressed them in this small group study.

You'll cover topics such as...
--The unique challenges faced in "first responder" marriages.

• --Handling extraordinary relationship stress.
• --Making marriage a priority.
• --Improving communication.
• --Adjusting from work atmosphere to a family culture.

And, as an added bonus, it was written by Chuck Douglas, a retired Oklahoma City police officer!  I have no affiliations with FamilyLife, so I am not getting any kickbacks, free products, etc for writing this post (However, if FamilyLife or Mr. Douglas stumbles across this post and wants to send me something, that is up to them :-)

 

While I am on the subject of couples, how about a video from Dennis Rainey, the president of FamilyLife, explaining how couples that pray together every day have stronger relationships and families.:

 

Video: Why Couples Should Pray Together

   (It can be viewed on GodTube, if you have trouble viewing this embedded video)

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How to Make $$$ with Your Computer

Finally! A guaranteed way to make $$$ with your computer - no strings attached!

 

That's right! You can makes lots of $$$$$ using the simple method described below. There is no secret to this method, it has been around for hundreds of years - before computers even existed! Read all about it below.

 

People have been making $$ this way for a long time - in fact, it is estimated that over $ 100 trillion has been made this way by hundreds of millions of people.  Don't worry this is not complicated - everything is completely automated and you won't have to sink any money into it.  Follow these simple steps and you are guaranteed to make $$$:

 

Take a look at the box below.  Simply click your mouse cursor inside the box.

  

 

Now that your cursor is blinking inside the box, it is time to get to work:

• Hold down the shift button on your keyboard.
• While holding this button, locate the "4" key on the upper left-hand side of the keyboard.
• Click the "4" key 3 times and take a look at the box above.

Congratulations!  You have just made $$$!  See how simple it was.  To make lots of $$$, repeat the same steps.  You can even try it on your favorite email program or word processor.

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Had to upgrade my lawnmower

If you will remember back a few years, I shared how I had bought a new rider mower on eBay:

 

Considering how busy I am, I needed to find a way to complete the yard work quicker.  This would allow me some additional quality time with my family.  As such, I decided to upgrade to a new power mower:

 

 

Up until a few days ago, my neighbors never asked to borrow my mower .... now they seem to line up at my door asking to use it.  Go figure!!!

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Time for a 'funny'

As a person whose history includes 13 surgical procedures within a 2.5 year window, the below video/song really 'tickled my funny bone"

 

Enjoy:

AMATEUR TRANSPLANTS: Anesthetists Hymn

Link to video on YouTube, if it doesn't display above

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Scott has been laid to rest

It has been a long week and a half.  Scott's body arrived Wednesday morning, was available for viewing Thursday and the funeral was Friday.

 

I was going to put together a post or two to share about the funeral and grave-side services, but a local LEO's wife did too good of a job not to link to (the posts include a huge amount of pictures):

     Part 1: The Memorial Service

     Part 2: The Procession

     Part 3: The Final Resting Place

     Part 4: Celebrating the Other Hero

     (Thanks 5150wife!)

 

One thing I would like to add for Part 2 (The Procession):

The distance from the church to the cemetery is just over five (5) miles, and while there were crowds and crowds of people within the main area of town, there wasn't more than 100 feet between people on the outskirts of town, where they had to purposely drive to get there!  The outpouring of people to show support for to the family was awe inspiring!

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Additional links and an image to honor Scott Hagerty

Local newspaper report on his death: Stw NewsPress

Blog post by his father-in-law: Old Sgt's Out "Post"

AP report, includes some extra info: KSWO 7news

Living his dream in Uganda: Stw NewsPress

The image to the left was taken during his time in Uganda.

I just can't quit hearing Tim McGraw's
"If You're Reading This" song
video here

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A Fallen Friend

With great sadness I use this blog to report the loss of another great man, one I greatly respected and had the honor of calling a friend: Major Scott Hagerty, US Army.

 

I received a call late last night advising me that Scott was kill in Afghanistan (no further details currently available).  I have had the privilege of knowing Scott for about four years.  During those years, he has been deployed to Iraq, Africa and Afghanistan.

 

Besides being missed by family and friends, he will also be missed by his fellow soldiers as well as those in the areas he has been deployed.  Let me explain why:

 

Scott wasn't a front line 'grunt' that went around with firearms like is always shown in the media.  While in Africa, he was the commander of Civil Affairs Team 412, a team whose mission included coordination with Ugandan leaders and the Uganda People’s Defense Force military to help carry out the government’s plan for recovery, development and peace. This initiative resettled displaced persons into villages where infrastructures have been restored.  While there, civil affairs team members repaired 63 wells in Lira and Pader districts at a cost of $120,000, positively affecting 250,000 villagers.

 

But Scott did more than the official work reported in this "Defend America" article.  In his 'personal time', he adopted an orphanage.  Mind you, not a single orphan, but an entire orphanage!  While in Africa, his communications with home didn't include requests for personal comfort items, but instead listed items for a poorly supplied orphanage in his area.  Our church had the honor of sending box after box of supplies so that Scott could share a some of our country's "wealth" with those who needed it.  Scott wasn't big on asking for himself, but he was huge on helping others.  For this reason, Scott will be missed by even those he was sent to protect/serve.

 

The only comfort during this time is knowing that Scott is currently basking in the glory of his personal Lord and Saviour, Jesus Christ.  One day many of his family and friends will be there with Scott.  It is my hope that you (yes, you ... the one currently reading this blog entry) will be there with us as well.  If you have questions, email me!

 

From the article linked above

 

Capt. Scott Hagerty, Civil Affairs Team 412 commander, mingles with local villagers after the Acholpii Lapono PS well dedication in Uganda recently.

 

U.S. Army photo by Spc. Evelyn Rodriguez

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Outrage in Oregon!

Obama's campaign staff members, while organizing a May 18 rally in Portland, OR had porta-potties placed directly on top of the Portland Police Memorial, which honors the agency's 25 fallen police officers.  When initially quizzed about the incident, the staff members claimed the toilets were placed on the memorial for safety reasons to accommodate wheelchair access.  If you will see in the photo below, there appears to be plenty of other areas that would have provided stability for the porta-potties and proper access for ADA needs.

 

Additional information:

After being notified of the incident, Obama campaign officials sent an apology letter to Portland Police Chief Rosie Sizer, and the Portland Police Association, calling it an unintentional error.

 

This appears to be conflicting information, as the original report advises the placement was done intentionally (for safety reasons) and the apology mentions it was unintentional.

 

This photo by Officer Thomas Brennan shows the porta-potties

setup on the police memorial, with its flag still at half mast.

 

Link to original story

Link to report of apology

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Written Friday evening ...

.... but should be posted Saturday mid-day.

 

Blogger implemented 'scheduled' posting earlier this month, so that an entry can be authored one day but wait to be published until a later date/time.  This would work good for when you need to post an entry but know you won't be near a computer, or if you are going to be on vacation but still want new stuff appearing on your blog.

 

I use Windows Live Writer for my posting client, and there is an option at the bottom of the client window to input the date/time for the post.  I have set that to show 5/31/2008 12:05 PM as the time this post is to be published. 

 

Now to sit back and see if everything proceeds as planned.....

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A few more pictures from our trip

Make a Smilebox scrapbook

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In the past week

For some reason, the software on my trusty little PDA decided it didn't want to connect with Blogger to post any additional information after it uploaded the Treasury Dept image.  That image was taken our first evening in Washington DC, as Sarah and I did a little walk around near our hotel.

 

Quick overview of the week:

• While we were in the Blue Room of the White House tour, Marine One landed just outside the window and we saw President Bush get on and fly away.  Just before he got on the helicopter, he stopped and waved toward the building.
• While we were on the tour of the Capital building, we ran into Senator Inhofe.  His office was responsible for arraigning our White House, Capitol, Bureau of Engraving & Printing and National Archives tours.  He was nice enough to stop and chat with our group from Oklahoma for about 25 minutes.  (Oh, John Kerry walked by when we were chatting with Inhofe)
• Met Bob Dole at the World War II memorial on Sunday.  Just as we were getting there, the nurse from the famous "sailor kissing nurse" image from WWII was being introduced to him (Sarah got a picture of them together).  Renee took a picture of the girls and I with Bob Dole with Sarah's camera, but here is one I took of the Bob Dole and the girls with my PDA: 
     
• We attended the National Memorial Day Concert hosted by Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise on the Capital lawn Sunday evening.
• Watched the National Memorial Day Parade at the corner of Constitution Ave and 12th Street.
• We visited (in no particular order, not a complete list):
  The Korea War Memorial,
  The WWII memorial,
  The Lincoln Memorial,
  The Thomas Jefferson Memorial,
  The Library of Congress,
  The National Archives,
  The Bureau of Engraving and Printing,
  The Holocaust Memorial,
  Several of the Smithsonian museums,
  The Capital,
  The house where Lincoln died,
  The Ford Theater (which was closed for renovations).
  Walked past the Washington Monument several times
  Arlington Cemetery (visiting JFK's grave and eternal flame site and was 
       present for the changing of the Guards at the Tomb of the Unknowns
  The Old Post Office Tower
  The Navy Memorial
  
• When we were in the Rotunda viewing the Constitution, Bill of Rights and the Declaration of Independence, I took a few pictures of the murals on the walls. The mural to the right of the Constitution, name appropriately "Constitution Mural" by Barry Faulkner had one particular individual within the murals stood out from all the rest to me: 
    
  The amputee depicted in the image to the left is Gouverneur Morris from Pennsylvania. 
  According to Wikipedia:
  Morris had a wooden leg as a result of an accident that occurred while he was climbing onto a carriage without anyone tending to the horses, which suddenly took off, catching his left leg in one of the carriage wheels on May 14, 1780. Physicians told Morris that they had no choice but to remove the leg below the knee
  
  
  
  

After I have a chance to go through the pictures taken by both Sarah and I, and we all have a chance to recover from the trip, I will post additional information about our fun in DC.

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treasury-dept

Our hotel in Washington DC is four blocks from the Treasury Department, which is only a block or two from the White House & Washington Monument!

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My Graduate

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Don't Taze Me Bro

Remember the guy getting tasered at the John Kerry speech?

Here is a little 'mash up' of that and MC Hammer:

 

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Found in my in-box. Author unknown to me.

I am subscribed to humor mailing list.  The below story was recently received via that list:

 

Subject: Gas Pains
One Man's Good Fight

I went grocery shopping recently while not being altogether sure that course of action was a wise one. You see, the previous evening I had prepared and consumed a massive quantity of my patented "You're definitely going to $h!t yourself" chili. Tasty stuff, albeit hot to the point of being painful, which comes with a written guarantee from me that if you eat the next day both of your a$$ cheeks WILL fall off.

Here's the thing. I had awakened that morning, and even after two cups of coffee (and all of you know what I mean) nothing happened. No "Watson's Movement 2." Despite habanera peppers swimming their way through my intestinal tract, I appeared to be unable to create the usual morning symphony referred to by my next door neighbors as thunder and lightning.

Knowing that a time of reckoning had to come, yet not sure of just when, I bravely set off for the market; a local Wal-Mart grocery store that I often haunt in search of tasty tidbits.

Upon entering the store at first all seemed normal. I selected a cart and began pushing it about dropping items in for purchase. It wasn't until I was at the opposite end of the store from the restrooms that the pain hit me. Oh, don't look at me like you don't know what I'm talking about. I'm referring to that "Uh oh, gotta go" pain that always seems to hit us at the wrong time. The thing is, this pain was different.

The habaneras in the chili from the night before were staging a revolt. In a mad rush for freedom they bullied their way through the small intestines, forcing their way into the large intestines, and before I could take one step in the direction of the restrooms which would bring sweet relief, it happened. The peppers fired a warning shot.

There I stood, alone in the spice and baking aisle, suddenly enveloped in a noxious cloud the likes of which has never before been recorded. I was afraid to move for fear that more of this vile odor might escape me. Slowly, oh so slowly, the pressure seemed to leave the lower part of my body, and I began to move up the aisle and out of it, just as an elderly woman turned into it.

I don't know what made me do it, but I stopped to see what her reaction would be to the malodorous effluvium that refused to dissipate, as she walked into it unsuspecting. Have you ever been torn in two different directions emotionally? Here's what I mean, and I'm sure some of you at least will be able to relate.

I could've warned that poor woman but didn't. I simply watched as she walked into an invisible, and apparently indestructible, wall of odor so terrible that all she could do before gathering her senses and running, was to stand there blinking and waving her arms about her head as though trying to ward off angry bees. This, of course, made me feel terrible, but then made me laugh. Mistake.

Here's the thing. When you laugh, it's hard to keep things "clamped down", if you know what I mean. With each new guffaw an explosive issue burst forth from my nether region. Some were so loud and echoing that I was later told a few folks in other aisles had ducked, fearing that someone was robbing the store and firing off a shotgun.

Suddenly things were no longer funny. IT was coming, and I raced off through the store towards the restrooms, laying down a cloud the whole way, praying that I'd make it before the grand mal assplosion took place.

Luck was on my side. Just in the nick of time I got to the john, began the inevitable "Oh my God", floating above the toilet seat because my ass is burning SO BAD, purging. One poor fellow walked in while I was in the middle of what is the true meaning of "Shock and Awe." He made a gagging sound, and disgustedly said, "Sonofabitch!", then quickly left.

Once finished I left the restroom, reacquired my partially filled cart intending to carry on with my shopping when a store employee approached me and said, "Sir, you might want to step outside for a few minutes. It appears some prankster set off a stink bomb in the store. The manager is going to run the vent fans on high for a minute or two which ought to take care of the problem."

That of course set me off again, causing residual gases to escape me. The employee took one sniff, jumped back pulling his shirt up to cover his nose and, pointing at me in an accusing manner shouted, "IT'S YOU!", then ran off returning moments later with the manager. I was unceremoniously escorted from the premises and asked none too kindly not to return.

Home again without having shopped, I realized that there was nothing to eat but leftover chili, so I consumed two more bowls. The next day I went to shop at Albertson's. I can't say anymore about that because we are in court over the whole matter. Bastards claim they're going to have to repaint the store..

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She R a GradU8 ...

... and we are so proud!

Mobile post sent by osumailguy using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

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Wonder if I could put one outside of my office?

A device named the Mosquito has been developed that emits a shrill, piercing noise audible only to teens and young adults is being installed in various areas of the United States.  I wonder if I could get one for near my office.  I wouldn't leave it on all the time, just when the hall rats decide to stand outside my office door and have long, heated conversations about anything and everything on their cellphones.

 

For more information, see this CNN story

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First test of Utterz

Mobile post sent by osumailguy using Utterz.  Replies.  mp3

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"Gary England Drinking Game"

If you are not from Oklahoma, or never visited Oklahoma during stormy-weather seasons, this post really won't mean anything to you.  However, if you are from around here, you will understand the humor behind the Gary England Drinking Game. 

 

This isn't an original game invented by yours truly (me), as you can find it online several places like here, here, here & here (the last is my favorite due to the comments added within the game).  I will share the game here, and provide a few comments at the end, as to why certain pieces are personal favorites.

 

GARY ENGLAND DRINKING GAME:

Pregame

1. Everyone selects a storm chaser other than Val Castor*. Every time Gary talks to your storm chaser, you take one drink. Take two drinks every time we see footage from your storm chaser. Take four drinks if your storm chaser says "tornado on the ground."

 

2. Everyone selects a county other than Pottawatomie County**. Every time Gary mentions your county, you take one drink. Take two drinks every time we see footage from your county. Take four drinks if a tornado touches down in your county.

 

One drink

1. Take one drink every time Gary says the following:

"Hook echo" | "Updraft" | "Metro" | "Doppler radar" | "Wall cloud" | "Ranger 9" | "Underground" | "Mobile home"

2. When Gary gives a list of counties, take one drink for every county in the list.

3. Take one drink every time Gary interrupts a program.

     Take one drink if Gary says "You're not missing any of [program name]."

     Take one drink when Gary says "We'll keep you advised."

 

Two drinks

1. Take two drinks every time Gary says the following:

"Baseball-sized hail" | "Waterloo Road" | "Pottawatomie County" | "Deer Creek High School"

2. Take two drinks every time Gary mentions the following towns:

Altus | Burns Flat | Dill City | Gotebo | Hydro | Lookeba | Meeker | Mulhall | Oktaha | Olustee | Shattuck | Slaughterville | Tryon | Vici | Waukomis | Wayne (or Payne) | Weleetka | Wetumkah

3. Take two drinks every time Gary talks to Val Castor.

 

Three drinks

1. Take three drinks if we see footage from Val Castor.

2. Take three drinks if we see footage from Pottawatomie County.

3. Take three drinks if Gary mentions the following:

"Immediate tornado precautions" | "National Weather Service" | "Mesocyclone" | "Portable Radio" | "Take shelter" | "Tornado warning in effect until ..."

Four drinks

1. Take four drinks if Ranger 9 must land to refuel.

2. Take four drinks if Gary issues his own tornado warning, not recognized by the NWS or says the following:

"Will someone please answer that phone?" | "Do you see power flashes?"

3. Take four drinks if a shirt-less tornado victim is interviewed.

 

Finish your drink

1. Finish your drink if someone uses the word tornado as a verb or if Gary mentions the nearest cross streets to you.

2. If Gary says "We've lost Val," pour a little out for your homies and finish your drink.

===============================================

 

Comments:

* Val Castor lives in my hometown.  Sarah has been babysitting for him lately when he and his wife go "storm chasing".  Yesterday was a long day for them.

** Pottawatomie County is where Renee grew up.  They are very used to hearing Gary England mention their county and home-town.

 

Believe me, if you play this game to its fullest, it is a good thing that one of the safest places to be during a tornado is a bathroom .... as your bladder will be filling quite rapidly!

 

Personal Note: This drinking game doesn't have to be done with alcoholic beverages, which is very nice for a recovered alcoholic.

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To page this person, press 5

I have always had my cellular service with Cingular (the new AT&T, whatever name that multi-personality company currently uses).  When an inbound call goes to voice mail, the first thing the caller would always hear is "To page this person, press 5...".  What the heck is that about?  If I wanted to page them, I would have sent a text message!

 

I was playing around with my voicemail settings and found that option to be called cut-thru paging, and it can be turned off. To deactivate this 'feature', once you call your voice mail, use the following options:

     - 4 (personal)

     - 2 (administrative)

     - 7 (cut thru paging)

     - 2 (turn it off)

 

Now, when callers go to my voice mail, they no longer will receive a prompting to page me.

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In case you were wondering

Polar Foils is an anagram for April Fools

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It's official ... I am going to be a guinea pig!

Currently, a BK (below knee) amputee's normal method of wearing a prosthetic leg involves donning (putting on) a liner of some type and then their socket which has a foot at the end of it. This means it takes a little while each morning before getting out of bed or doing anything, unless you hop around on your good leg (which is bad for your sound leg).

There have been advancements in the dental world that has pioneered the implantation of 'studs' into the boney parts of the jaw for attaching dentures for extended wearing. This technology has progressed to where some orthopedic surgeons believe it is possible to do the same thing with lower limb prosthetics.

A team in Europe has experimented with attaching a prosthesis directly into the femur (thigh) bone, which allows the skin to 'grow around' the pylon attachment. The AK (above knee) approach was used as it provided an anchoring into the largest bone in the body.

Enter the US attempt: This method will use an Ertl Bridge attempt as the anchoring location for the internal pylon attachment. (The bridge is the stabilizing link at the bottom of the tibia & fibula) The pylon will be attached by going through the bridge so that it can be secured between the tib/fib as well. Once the pylon and bone work strengthens and the skin heals around the titanium pylon, the prosthetic foot could be permanently affixed to the leg. This would be as close to being 'normal again' as possible for an amputee.

Why do I share this? An 'Ertl amputee' is needed for the initial attempt and I just happen to be an Ertl amputee. I received notification that I have been lucky enough to be selected for this ground-breaking and historical procedure. I have a few more tests to confirm I am a valid candidate for the surgery, but those shouldn't be any problem at all.

From what I have reviewed of the proposed procedure, I believe it should work very well. I will have a good amount of "down time" while I am healing and will have to be in a wheelchair again for several weeks. But if this works, it will be one gigantic leap forward for both the fields of orthopedics and prosthetics. If nothing else, I will get to at least travel and share about this adventure.

The Ertl Procedure was named after the man who designed it: Janos Ertl

The BK bone-implantation procedure I have described above has a peculiar name, of which I am unsure of the exact origin. It is named oddly enough: Polar Foils

Follow-up: Additional information can be found here
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There are fans, and then there are FANS!

I'm not an Arkansas Razorback fan ... never have and never will.  But there is at least one Hogs fan that has certainly taken his "fan-ship" to a new level:

 

To be perfectly honest, while I wouldn't want to drive it around, the owner did a really good job transforming the VW Bug into great representation of his school's mascot.

 

The Arkansas Razorback logo (if you didn't already know):

 

A few more images of the RazorBack-Bug can be found here

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Free Songs on iTunes?

It is rumored that iTunes is in discussions with music companies to offer a deal that would provide buyers of iPods and iPhones, free access to iTunes music library. The way it would work is that Apple would pay the music industry a set fee, $20, for each iPod and iPhone that is purchased, and those new customers would then have unlimited access to download songs. Nokia did a deal like this with Universal Music last year, offering buyers of their MP3 players to download 80 free songs. Rumors have it that at this time it is the price that Apple is offering that is being negotiated.

 

For more information, visit
http://money.cnn.com/news/newsfeeds/articles/newstex/AFX-0013-23882310.htm

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Stealing Cinderella

Last month I posted a video of Steven Curtis Chapman's "Cinderella" (see post).  That song was from the father's perspective of his little girl growing up.  Sarah pointed me to another song, but from the view of 'Prince Charming' (groom-to-be).  The song is titled "Stealing Cinderella" by Chuck Wicks.

 

You can view the video here.

(for some reason I can't get a YouTube embed to work tonight)

 

LYRICS: 

I came to see her daddy for sit down man to man
It wasn't any secret I'd be asking for her hand
I guess that's why he left me waiting in the living room by myself
with at least a dozen pictures of her sitting on a shelf

 

[Chorus;]

She was playing Cinderella
She was riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad, looking up at him

In her eyes I'm Prince Charming
But to him I'm just some fella
riding in and stealing Cinderella

 

I leaned in towards those pictures to get a better look at one
When I heard a voice behind me say "Now, ain't she something, son?"
I said "Yes, she quite a woman" and he just stared at me
Then I realized that in his eyes she would always be

 

Playing Cinderella
Riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad, looking up at him
In her eyes i'm Prince Charming
But to him i'm just some fella riding in and stealing Cinderella

 

He slapped me on the shoulder
Then he called her in the room
When she threw her arms around him
That's when I could see it too

 

She was Playing Cinderella
Riding her first bike
Bouncing on the bed and looking for a pillow fight
Running through the sprinkler with a big popsicle grin
Dancing with her dad, looking up at him
If he gives me a hard time
I can't blame the fella
I'm the one who's stealing Cinderella

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I feel like I've hit the jackpot!

Seems like yesterday was a jackpot day for new widgets being found via my RSS feeds!

 

#1 TimeBridge: A free web-based service that allows a person to send meeting invitation options to anyone with an email address.  No need for everyone to be on the same system (Outlook, Google calendar, etc).  The service allows you to provide up to five meeting times and each recipient rates the options as No, Good or Best.  Once all the responses have been received, the meeting is automatically scheduled and a confirmation message is sent to all attendees.  I have lowered the level of automation by having the system send me the answers and then I pick the ultimate date/time.  But, once I pick it, the system then notifies everyone.

 

Timebridge also has an Outlook Connector, so that when I have a meeting request out, all of the times provided as an option are blocked out on my calendar as tentatives.  When the meeting is confirmed, the extra tentatives disappear and the meeting is marked as confirmed.  This should come in handy with trying to coordinate meetings with various departments on campus, while trying to get vendors invited as well.

 

=========================================================

#2 PocketMod: Not for me, but a great item I plan on sharing with non-techy friends and family.  It is a paper-based "PDA" that is highly configurable for each person's needs.  Using a single sheet of paper, you decide up to eight components for the page.  Once you decide, print, fold and cut ... you have an eight page booklet.  There are about 45-50 components to choose from, some with the ability to pre-print standard info on the pages.  (I just wish there was a way to link an Outlook calendar to it)

 

I just re-read the above paragraph.  You really need to visit PocketMod and experience it for yourself.  I didn't do it justice with the above review.

 

=========================================================

#3 EverNote: A single place for all your notes!  Another way to try and keep track of information you find on a day-to-day basis.  I have played with the web version and windows install piece, and actually prefer the presentation method of the web best.

 

In short, when you find something you want to refer to later, select the text (and/or image) on the webpage and click on the toolbar "Clip to Evernote" button.  It is automatically saved to your default notebook within Evernote.  The notebooks are searchable, and the system claims to even have the ability to search for text within images (image of an advertisement, for example).  If I really start using this a lot, I see myself making my default notebook as a catch-all, and then move clips to an appropriate notebook at a later time (gift ideas, DocImage stuff, fun things, etc)

 

You can request a beta demo account here:

http://www.evernote.com/prereg/?c=downloadsquad 

(they have 2000 invites available, no telling how many are left)

 

=========================================================

#4 Give Away of the Day: The newest addition to my sidebar (scroll down to find it)

This is how I actually found out about #3 EverNote!  This site offers free copies (or registration codes) for different types of software on a daily basis.  The offers are only good for 24 hours, so you have to take advantage of it while it lasts. 

 

In reviewing their archives I didn't find that I would want a majority of the software they have offered.  But even just one item every couple of weeks is worth keeping an eye on the site (RSS feeds - gotta love them!)

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Why you should never swallow your bubble gum:

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Happy St. Paddy's Day!

This isn't the exact design on the shirt Renee bought me last year for St. Paddy's Day, but the idea is the same.

 

Renee and the girls are on a 'Spring Break' road trip right now.  They are visiting a very close friend of Renee who used to live here, but has since moved.  Them not being here today is really harder than I thought it was going to be, because we always enjoy this day together.

 

To be completely honest, we enjoy being together pretty much all the days of the year, but some more than average.

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Another reason while I love to use RSS feeds to follow blogs

I have posted previously how I used to follow several blogs and web sites, both personal and work related, via Maxthon (review).  I have also shared how a person can open several sites at the same time via IE or Firefox (how-to).  Both of these methods involve visiting each site and then realizing that only a few of them have new posts to read.

 

Besides the fact that I don't waste time visiting sites that don't have new information, I also enjoy the fact I am not bombarded with auto-loading music playlists on various blogs.  I still try to visit the actual websites I follow every couple of weeks to look for new blogroll entries in their sidebars.  Here lately it seems that a good number of blogs owners have decided to add music to automatically start after their site loads.  If I were to be opening only one or two sites, that might not be too much of an issue.  However, when opening about 25-30 sites, having four or five different songs play tends to get annoying.

 

In case you are wondering, the RSS reader I use on my PDA is Newsbreak by Ilium Software.  It is set to automatically check for new posts every five hours.  This way, when I have time to read new posts, I have the new posts available for me.

 

<soapbox>

Note to members of the blogging community: If you find a cool widget to add music to your blog, check and see if it can be configured not to auto-start.  Allow your readers the option to start it themselves if they want.  Or, at least have the widget at the top of the page as opposed to at the bottom

</soapbox>

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