Martha Stewart. Ben Affleck. Britney Spears. George Whatshisname Bush. Joan Rivers. Bill Gates. So much notoriety, so many conflicted feelings. But, to my knowledge, only one of these people has his own blog. (Unless, of course, Affleck really is Rance, though I find that unlikely.)
Okay, I'm going to post this now before my IE browser crashes...again.
June 30, 2004
June 29, 2004
Who is someone who has never been in my kitchen?
The man cannot be stopped. Ken Jennings has become the winningest non-tournament contestant in Jeopardy history with a run of 20 consecutive wins as of tonight. He's got me watching again, that's for sure. (Or, rather, TiVo recording the show because I never seem to be home when it's on.) Ken has the game show world buzzing about his place in the game show pantheon and how far he can go, though I'm beginning to sense that by this point in the taping, Alex Trebek was getting a little tired of having the same guy there show after show. How many interesting things can he come up with to chat about during their little interviews?
It would have been a lot easier for Ken to win the kind of money he has won thus far if he went on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or Super Millionaire, I suppose, but his 15 minutes of fame would have been up a lot sooner. (That doesn't really make sense, does it? But it's the way we now use the term, so bear with me.)
Jeopardy requires a lot broader field of knowledge to get on the show, but it has been on for so long that I don't think they get the rush of applicants like prime-time Millionaire does, which I imagines makes it harder to actually get on that one. Those "fastest fingers" phone auditions are a killer and if one of the five questions hits on one area you don't know, you're out. Jeopardy auditions are a longer process that test you hard, but there's a little wiggle room. Not much, though -- I didn't get past the written test when I tried out in a local contestant search, and I'm one of those "How does she remember that stuff?!?" kind of people. Literature was my downfall -- I'm an avid reader and always have been, but I've never paid enough attention to the classics and their authors.
Game shows have been an interesting topic to me lately. While I was enduring my wasted weekend thanks to being sick, I came across a show that's on GSN right now about what they're calling "The Press Your Luck Scandal." It's about an hour longer than it should be, and they try to hype it into something more than it was, but it is an interesting look at how someone "beat" a game show, fair and square, by exploiting a flaw in the game and having the perseverance to take it as far as he could. I'd never heard about it, since CBS did a pretty good job of mothballing the shows on which he won after one airing, and it was intriguing. Not a terribly well-done "documentary" but intriguing.
It would have been a lot easier for Ken to win the kind of money he has won thus far if he went on Who Wants to Be a Millionaire or Super Millionaire, I suppose, but his 15 minutes of fame would have been up a lot sooner. (That doesn't really make sense, does it? But it's the way we now use the term, so bear with me.)
Jeopardy requires a lot broader field of knowledge to get on the show, but it has been on for so long that I don't think they get the rush of applicants like prime-time Millionaire does, which I imagines makes it harder to actually get on that one. Those "fastest fingers" phone auditions are a killer and if one of the five questions hits on one area you don't know, you're out. Jeopardy auditions are a longer process that test you hard, but there's a little wiggle room. Not much, though -- I didn't get past the written test when I tried out in a local contestant search, and I'm one of those "How does she remember that stuff?!?" kind of people. Literature was my downfall -- I'm an avid reader and always have been, but I've never paid enough attention to the classics and their authors.
Game shows have been an interesting topic to me lately. While I was enduring my wasted weekend thanks to being sick, I came across a show that's on GSN right now about what they're calling "The Press Your Luck Scandal." It's about an hour longer than it should be, and they try to hype it into something more than it was, but it is an interesting look at how someone "beat" a game show, fair and square, by exploiting a flaw in the game and having the perseverance to take it as far as he could. I'd never heard about it, since CBS did a pretty good job of mothballing the shows on which he won after one airing, and it was intriguing. Not a terribly well-done "documentary" but intriguing.
Getting back on the horse
I was home sick yesterday, so you'd think I'd have had plenty o' time to come up with something vaguely interesting to post about. Not so. I was most interested in sleeping and not feeling like crap, so I wasn't online for most of the day. And when I was, at my usual posting time, absolutely nothing caught my interest so I gave up and slept some more.
I've dragged myself into work today because the level of crapocity didn't warrant another day off. In between doing the very vital things they pay me to do, I checked on some of my usual suspect sites and found what my post yesterday would have been about had I been up to it.
This article from Slate captures everything that was so very, very wrong with the coverage of the Olympic trials for the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team. For the first time that I can recall, this event couldn't hold my interest for more than 10 minutes at a time over the weekend. The fact that they kept showing and talking about Pam Anderson turned my stomach and, believe me, I couldn't really risk any more of that!
I have nothing against Pam apart from general disinterest -- not being a guy, her most prominent attributes don't spin my wheels much -- but the way the commentators just couldn't resist mentioning her and her connection to the one gymnast, while flashing her cheering self on-screen, again and again, just left me cold. Well, nauseous, really, but I can't be sure that it was actually because of their pandering.
As talented as Mo Bhardwaj undoubtedly is, and as deserving as she probably is of being on the team, a small part of me hopes that she doesn't go to Athens because I dread the media-created spectacle of having Pam be there to support her.
I've dragged myself into work today because the level of crapocity didn't warrant another day off. In between doing the very vital things they pay me to do, I checked on some of my usual suspect sites and found what my post yesterday would have been about had I been up to it.
This article from Slate captures everything that was so very, very wrong with the coverage of the Olympic trials for the U.S. Women's Gymnastics team. For the first time that I can recall, this event couldn't hold my interest for more than 10 minutes at a time over the weekend. The fact that they kept showing and talking about Pam Anderson turned my stomach and, believe me, I couldn't really risk any more of that!
I have nothing against Pam apart from general disinterest -- not being a guy, her most prominent attributes don't spin my wheels much -- but the way the commentators just couldn't resist mentioning her and her connection to the one gymnast, while flashing her cheering self on-screen, again and again, just left me cold. Well, nauseous, really, but I can't be sure that it was actually because of their pandering.
As talented as Mo Bhardwaj undoubtedly is, and as deserving as she probably is of being on the team, a small part of me hopes that she doesn't go to Athens because I dread the media-created spectacle of having Pam be there to support her.
June 27, 2004
Norman's Cat Corner
Kitty-san 
Welcome to the new regular catblogging feature for Sundays, Norman's Cat Corner. As kittycat pictures seem to leave Norman in such a good mood, I plan to start each week off in grand style for him and feature a new cat picture each week. (Not just my family's cat, however, so if your blog doesn't run to catblogging but you have a shot of your kitty that you'd like to see here, please feel free to e-mail it along.)
So say hello to Kitty-san, who lives in New Jersey. Kitty-san is shown here, blissed-out on her newest place to hang, on a beautiful summer day. Her turn-ons include running madly up and down stairs, eating flower arrangements and getting petted on her schedule. Her biggest turn-offs are hairballs and thunderstorms, and she eats Oakland A's fans for breakfast.
Welcome to the new regular catblogging feature for Sundays, Norman's Cat Corner. As kittycat pictures seem to leave Norman in such a good mood, I plan to start each week off in grand style for him and feature a new cat picture each week. (Not just my family's cat, however, so if your blog doesn't run to catblogging but you have a shot of your kitty that you'd like to see here, please feel free to e-mail it along.)
So say hello to Kitty-san, who lives in New Jersey. Kitty-san is shown here, blissed-out on her newest place to hang, on a beautiful summer day. Her turn-ons include running madly up and down stairs, eating flower arrangements and getting petted on her schedule. Her biggest turn-offs are hairballs and thunderstorms, and she eats Oakland A's fans for breakfast.
June 25, 2004
Play ball!
Just as the first game in the annual "Bay Bridge Series" between my beloved San Francisco Giants and the less-than-beloved Oakland A's is about to begin, we have a Top Ten list! (Courtesy of the Giants and Major League Baseball.)
10 reasons it's better to be a Giants fan than an A's fan:
1. Mr. Barry Lamar Bonds
2. You get to sing along with Tony
3. We've actually won a pennant in the last decade
4. Three franchise 500 homer hitters (Mays, Ott, Bonds)
5. Mount Davis: what a view ... not!
6. Jason Schmidt
7. Splash Hits -- Giants: 34, A's 0
8. No dot racing
9. You can't kayak in the Coliseum parking lot
10. Sourdough bread and Ghiradelli chocolate
So grab a cold one, a dog and a bag of Cracker Jacks (peanuts are too messy), and watch the first place team in the National League West take on their sometimes-great, sometimes-hapless cross-bridge rivals. Since the first set of games is at the Coliseum I definitely won't be going, but I'll be watching on TV and cheering...much to my neighbors' annoyance at times, I'm sure. Go Giants!
10 reasons it's better to be a Giants fan than an A's fan:
1. Mr. Barry Lamar Bonds
2. You get to sing along with Tony
3. We've actually won a pennant in the last decade
4. Three franchise 500 homer hitters (Mays, Ott, Bonds)
5. Mount Davis: what a view ... not!
6. Jason Schmidt
7. Splash Hits -- Giants: 34, A's 0
8. No dot racing
9. You can't kayak in the Coliseum parking lot
10. Sourdough bread and Ghiradelli chocolate
So grab a cold one, a dog and a bag of Cracker Jacks (peanuts are too messy), and watch the first place team in the National League West take on their sometimes-great, sometimes-hapless cross-bridge rivals. Since the first set of games is at the Coliseum I definitely won't be going, but I'll be watching on TV and cheering...much to my neighbors' annoyance at times, I'm sure. Go Giants!
June 24, 2004
Make mine with extra butter, please.
The beer poll has concluded and the results were both decisive and heartwarming to me. A full 50% of the vote went to "Microbrews and imports." And, heinous accusations of discrimination against the beers of a certain northern neighbor hurled at me notwithstanding, I think it's a fine confirmation of my and my readers' beer sense. Yes, this time I was with the majority, Sam Adams in hand. The non-picky/cheapskate crowd of "Whatever you're buying" came in second with about 30% of the vote. The Evil Bud (representative of all sub-par beer, from my perspective) got only one measly vote.
This week's poll looks to the silver screen -- though with the cost of movies these days, maybe it should be the platinum screen -- and the hottest upcoming films. Which blockbuster are you most looking forward to this summer? There's even a choice for the die-hard, "Who needs to leave the house?" Netflix crowd! So please take your seat, turn off your damned cell phone and no talking while you vote.
In a related note, I feel honor-bound to go see Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as soon as possible. An unbelievable number of people are coming to OPO daily via "dodgeball clubs" Google searches (or, on my computer, "seawches") thanks to this post. I feel like I'm letting them down by not having more info here.
If you're looking for suggestions for team names, please let us know. A pretty creative group of people stop by and I'm sure they'd be willing to come up with something fan-freaking-tastic for you. It's not like we're going to join the team -- that would take time away from our computers, you see -- but I know we could toss out some very original names. Let us help make you the team everyone wants to come see!
In the meantime, check out dodgeball.com and perhaps you'll find some teammates to dodge the red rubber demon with you. It has absolutely nothing to do with the game of dodgeball, but it's an interesting idea and it involves pinging so it has to be good!
This week's poll looks to the silver screen -- though with the cost of movies these days, maybe it should be the platinum screen -- and the hottest upcoming films. Which blockbuster are you most looking forward to this summer? There's even a choice for the die-hard, "Who needs to leave the house?" Netflix crowd! So please take your seat, turn off your damned cell phone and no talking while you vote.
In a related note, I feel honor-bound to go see Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story as soon as possible. An unbelievable number of people are coming to OPO daily via "dodgeball clubs" Google searches (or, on my computer, "seawches") thanks to this post. I feel like I'm letting them down by not having more info here.
If you're looking for suggestions for team names, please let us know. A pretty creative group of people stop by and I'm sure they'd be willing to come up with something fan-freaking-tastic for you. It's not like we're going to join the team -- that would take time away from our computers, you see -- but I know we could toss out some very original names. Let us help make you the team everyone wants to come see!
In the meantime, check out dodgeball.com and perhaps you'll find some teammates to dodge the red rubber demon with you. It has absolutely nothing to do with the game of dodgeball, but it's an interesting idea and it involves pinging so it has to be good!
June 23, 2004
Yum!
I spent the better part of the last two evenings whipping up a cake for a potluck we're having at work tomorrow. Because it took up so much of my attention tonight -- last night was just baking the layers, tonight was the harder work of decorating it -- it's the thing that's at the forefront of my mind right now. Frankly, I'm just too darned tired to give much thought to anything else right now. And, since I'm still having a love affair with my new digital camera, of course I took pictures.
So I'm either going to torture you with the thought of how completely yummy this cake that you're not going to get to have is, or bore you to tears because you're simply just not interested in a two-layer, light, moist, lemon cake with buttercream icing. Yeah, why would anyone find that remotely appealing? Excuse me while I go grab a glass of cold milk.
So I'm either going to torture you with the thought of how completely yummy this cake that you're not going to get to have is, or bore you to tears because you're simply just not interested in a two-layer, light, moist, lemon cake with buttercream icing. Yeah, why would anyone find that remotely appealing? Excuse me while I go grab a glass of cold milk.
June 22, 2004
Give a dog a bone
Looks like I'm just in a mood for games this week. Taking a break from the one yesterday that I still can't solve, I found an amusing game at Flip's site. (If it's links you want -- to check out after the workday -- this is the place!) This game, Dog Toy or Marital Aid, is probably one you won't want to play at work if you've got nosy co-workers, but when you do check it out, you'll be amazed at how difficult it can be to tell them apart.
I did surprisingly well in the Warm-Up Round...all that time spent in the pet toy aisle looking for one of the half-million cat toys I've bought really paid off. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) But the Difficult Round took it up a notch and I only got half of them right.
I'll never look at a Kong the same way again, though, that's for sure. (I can't recommend the cat version all that highly, by the way. Once she'd ripped off the ears and whiskers portion, Peri had very little interest in it. 'Cause I know you were wondering.)
I did surprisingly well in the Warm-Up Round...all that time spent in the pet toy aisle looking for one of the half-million cat toys I've bought really paid off. (That's my story and I'm sticking to it.) But the Difficult Round took it up a notch and I only got half of them right.
I'll never look at a Kong the same way again, though, that's for sure. (I can't recommend the cat version all that highly, by the way. Once she'd ripped off the ears and whiskers portion, Peri had very little interest in it. 'Cause I know you were wondering.)
June 21, 2004
It's all just a game to you, isn't it?
Here's a little time-waster for your day. It just about made me nuts and I wish that I had timed how long it actually took me to get it right. But, being a complete glutton for punishment when it comes to puzzles and games, once I did finish it I went to the index and played a few others. I still haven't figured out the "Get Connected" one, after many, many tries.
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have just enough time for a few rounds of Fishy! before I turn in for the night. (Which I still suck at, by the way.)
Now, if you'll excuse me, I have just enough time for a few rounds of Fishy! before I turn in for the night. (Which I still suck at, by the way.)
June 20, 2004
For Norman!
'Cause I know how much he loves seeing pictures of people's cats on blogs, here's a shot of the cutest kitten ever, Peri, just for Norman in my first successful picture posting.
June 18, 2004
Short post -- long weekend
Greetings from the sunny South shore of Lake Tahoe! I didn't think I was going to get a chance to check in here today because I didn't haul the laptop along, but to my happy surprise the place I'm staying has almost the very same laptop and DSL, so I'm set. If only I didn't have a killer headache from the elevation right now, I'd be in heaven.
Since I was really feeling computer withdrawal before learning of my mini salvation here, I could relate to this site. Not crazy about #10, but you can't have it all.
I have to say that I'm enjoying the results of the current poll -- I knew there was something I really liked about you guys.
My headache and I are going to bed now; we've got a wedding to go to tomorrow. Thankfully, it will be blessedly short and without all the hullabaloo of your typical wedding -- I knew there was something I liked about my family.
Since I was really feeling computer withdrawal before learning of my mini salvation here, I could relate to this site. Not crazy about #10, but you can't have it all.
I have to say that I'm enjoying the results of the current poll -- I knew there was something I really liked about you guys.
My headache and I are going to bed now; we've got a wedding to go to tomorrow. Thankfully, it will be blessedly short and without all the hullabaloo of your typical wedding -- I knew there was something I liked about my family.
June 17, 2004
Sex Takes a Beating
Now there's a title that could make for some interesting search results! But it's not as provocative as it sounds.
In case you didn't take a look at the results of the first poll before it ended, the overwhelming favorite (with 50% of the vote) for the ranking of three great things in life was: Sleep, Food, Sex. This was, alas, not the order I selected, but it was interesting to see the order my coworker chose find such validation! Overall, I'd have to say Sex didn't fare too well. Interesting when the most time-honored tenet in marketing is "Sex sells."
Today, in honor of Flip and Chris, please hoist your glasses for the poll for this week about that nectar of the demi-gods, beer. Which best describes your approach to ordering a pint?
Thank you and remember to tip your servers.
In case you didn't take a look at the results of the first poll before it ended, the overwhelming favorite (with 50% of the vote) for the ranking of three great things in life was: Sleep, Food, Sex. This was, alas, not the order I selected, but it was interesting to see the order my coworker chose find such validation! Overall, I'd have to say Sex didn't fare too well. Interesting when the most time-honored tenet in marketing is "Sex sells."
Today, in honor of Flip and Chris, please hoist your glasses for the poll for this week about that nectar of the demi-gods, beer. Which best describes your approach to ordering a pint?
Thank you and remember to tip your servers.
June 16, 2004
Fasten those seat belts, bumpy ride or not.
Just when I get my focus back, Nature turns around and slaps me dizzy again. Due to an apparent momentary power loss at some point yesterday, and the temporary unavailability of my in-house computer guru (who is off vacationing, but calling daily to torture me about the fact that I am at work and he is not), I was without an Internet connection yesterday evening. Very unfair, since, unlike the last few days, I knew what I was going to post about before I even got home!
But thanks to the electronic tether that is the cell phone, I was able to corral him to (once again) remind me how to reset the DSL connection. It hadn't been out of commission in so long that I had forgotten how, much to my inner geek's everlasting shame, I'm sure.
So now I'm delightfully back on track...well, delightful for me anyway. And in that wonderful way in which delay can sometimes be a good thing, today is an even more appropriate day for the posting I'd planned to make. It's almost kismet, really, isn't it?
Today was the first day of service for Independence Air, a new low-cost airline operating just on the East coast at first. (This is the "delay is a good thing" part -- I didn't know yesterday that they were launching today.) In trying to establish itself in a unique way, the airline has hit upon having celebrities tape the pre-takeoff safety spiel, to be demonstrated as needed by the flight attendants. In case you're not booked on a flight with them anytime soon but just can't wait to hear these rather unique variations on something that is normally a complete snooze-fest, have I got the site for you. My favorite is the first one, though I didn't bother listening to the last one because that particular person annoys me greatly nowadays.
I imagine that it will at least catch people's attention, even if it doesn't actually make them listen to the content. After all, isn't that what the safety cards are there to do? (With thanks to BytchInNY for the link.)
But thanks to the electronic tether that is the cell phone, I was able to corral him to (once again) remind me how to reset the DSL connection. It hadn't been out of commission in so long that I had forgotten how, much to my inner geek's everlasting shame, I'm sure.
So now I'm delightfully back on track...well, delightful for me anyway. And in that wonderful way in which delay can sometimes be a good thing, today is an even more appropriate day for the posting I'd planned to make. It's almost kismet, really, isn't it?
Today was the first day of service for Independence Air, a new low-cost airline operating just on the East coast at first. (This is the "delay is a good thing" part -- I didn't know yesterday that they were launching today.) In trying to establish itself in a unique way, the airline has hit upon having celebrities tape the pre-takeoff safety spiel, to be demonstrated as needed by the flight attendants. In case you're not booked on a flight with them anytime soon but just can't wait to hear these rather unique variations on something that is normally a complete snooze-fest, have I got the site for you. My favorite is the first one, though I didn't bother listening to the last one because that particular person annoys me greatly nowadays.
I imagine that it will at least catch people's attention, even if it doesn't actually make them listen to the content. After all, isn't that what the safety cards are there to do? (With thanks to BytchInNY for the link.)
June 14, 2004
Get Ur Frank On
I really wish I had something interesting to say today. I bet you do, too, since you took the time to stop by. No such luck, after sitting here fruitlessly for longer than I'm going to admit. I guess I'm still feeling unfocused. Everything that comes to mind as post fodder is pretty negative, which isn't out of the question, of course, but I just don't feel like rambling on about any of it.
So I'll go with another bit about "how people find me" -- if it works for other people...
Coming in a close second to searches for the dodgeball clubs is the search for "Der Wienerschnitzel." (See this post for what I had to say about it.) I guess I'm not the only one who remembers it by its old name, back in a time when California was a far different place to live. When I sit and think about it, it's really almost astonishing how much has changed in 30 years, and so much of it not for the better. But I digress. I had lunch at Wienerschnitzel this very day, as a matter of fact, and it was quite yummy. For anyone in the Bay Area who cares, Wednesdays are 25-cent hot dog nights at a participating location near you!
I would really love to know what it is that people are looking for (and more, if they even remotely found it here) when they search for that, but since almost no one who drops in like that leaves comments, I'm left to merely wonder. If you arrived here by such a search, you do know that there's a place to leave some thoughts, right? Really! Just a few lines below this. No charge, no spam, no fuss, no muss.
Hey, you never know, maybe if they did I might be inspired cough up a highly sought-after Gmail invite. It could happen. Okay, I think I'm about a half-step away from sounding like a comment whore, so I'll stop right there.
So I'll go with another bit about "how people find me" -- if it works for other people...
Coming in a close second to searches for the dodgeball clubs is the search for "Der Wienerschnitzel." (See this post for what I had to say about it.) I guess I'm not the only one who remembers it by its old name, back in a time when California was a far different place to live. When I sit and think about it, it's really almost astonishing how much has changed in 30 years, and so much of it not for the better. But I digress. I had lunch at Wienerschnitzel this very day, as a matter of fact, and it was quite yummy. For anyone in the Bay Area who cares, Wednesdays are 25-cent hot dog nights at a participating location near you!
I would really love to know what it is that people are looking for (and more, if they even remotely found it here) when they search for that, but since almost no one who drops in like that leaves comments, I'm left to merely wonder. If you arrived here by such a search, you do know that there's a place to leave some thoughts, right? Really! Just a few lines below this. No charge, no spam, no fuss, no muss.
Hey, you never know, maybe if they did I might be inspired cough up a highly sought-after Gmail invite. It could happen. Okay, I think I'm about a half-step away from sounding like a comment whore, so I'll stop right there.
June 11, 2004
Unfocused Friday
No one thing bubbled to the surface and really caught my attention today, so I thought I'd take the opportunity to do a couple updates.
Really barking up the wrong tree - Twice before I've mentioned the Boohbahs here and, through that weird confluence of words that brings a certain page up on Google, someone found this site by entering "boohbah are gay i want to make a complaint" on their search. I'm going to assume that the person meant "gay" in the sense of "homosexual," and I can only imagine their disappointment if they read beyond that second post because they certainly didn't find an ally in their complaint.
Red Rubber Ball Redux - A surprising number of people have found OPO by doing various searches on "dodgeball clubs". For some reason, I didn't mention that there is a movie coming out this month about adult dodgeball called Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Since then I've learned that there is also a new TV show called Extreme Dodgeball on GSN starting next week. This article touches on them both.
A Little Taste of Art Week - I was going to save this for the next time I got inspired to do an Art Week (or Art Half Week, if we're going to be accurate). While one of the coolest parts about Gmail is that I can send myself things there and I don't have to worry about them going away if I don't get to them right away, but who knows when I'll have enough pulled together to make it worth our while. So here's Drainspotting, which I think of as the art of our everyday surroundings. I haven't been through all of them yet but, if they don't already have it, there's a really cool manhole cover in downtown San Jose that I'd like to send in.
Still Crazy After All These Episodes - I still love Pimp My Ride, but I'm really not that fond of Punk'd.
Last, But Not Least - Now, for your linking pleasure, a new and improved URL. Ladies and gents, welcome to the birth of www.onepingonly.com. I still can't figure out how to get a picture up here but, dammit, I have my own domain name!
I do hope that last item saves this from being a "clip show." Enjoy your weekend.
Really barking up the wrong tree - Twice before I've mentioned the Boohbahs here and, through that weird confluence of words that brings a certain page up on Google, someone found this site by entering "boohbah are gay i want to make a complaint" on their search. I'm going to assume that the person meant "gay" in the sense of "homosexual," and I can only imagine their disappointment if they read beyond that second post because they certainly didn't find an ally in their complaint.
Red Rubber Ball Redux - A surprising number of people have found OPO by doing various searches on "dodgeball clubs". For some reason, I didn't mention that there is a movie coming out this month about adult dodgeball called Dodgeball: A True Underdog Story. Since then I've learned that there is also a new TV show called Extreme Dodgeball on GSN starting next week. This article touches on them both.
A Little Taste of Art Week - I was going to save this for the next time I got inspired to do an Art Week (or Art Half Week, if we're going to be accurate). While one of the coolest parts about Gmail is that I can send myself things there and I don't have to worry about them going away if I don't get to them right away, but who knows when I'll have enough pulled together to make it worth our while. So here's Drainspotting, which I think of as the art of our everyday surroundings. I haven't been through all of them yet but, if they don't already have it, there's a really cool manhole cover in downtown San Jose that I'd like to send in.
Still Crazy After All These Episodes - I still love Pimp My Ride, but I'm really not that fond of Punk'd.
Last, But Not Least - Now, for your linking pleasure, a new and improved URL. Ladies and gents, welcome to the birth of www.onepingonly.com. I still can't figure out how to get a picture up here but, dammit, I have my own domain name!
I do hope that last item saves this from being a "clip show." Enjoy your weekend.
June 10, 2004
My Maiden Poll
I recently had a conversation with a co-worker about how we would rank three of the greatest things in life -- food, sex, and sleep -- in terms of how important they were to us. The order in which we placed them was quite different, and we were each pretty unwavering about our ranking. It made me wonder how other people would order the three, especially if it could be anonymously...and therefore honestly.
With that in mind, you will find my first, terribly important, poll over to the right. Please note that I put the three things in alphabetical order (here in the post and over there in the poll's first option, moving one to the right for each subsequent option), so as to list them in as unbiased a way as possible and there is no preference expressed by the order in which they are presented.
I'd be thrilled to have your participation, since I'm curious about how evenly divided the results are -- or aren't -- and how many people select the same order I did. And, no, I'm not saying which one I picked. I'll add my choice in after other people have offered their two cents!
With that in mind, you will find my first, terribly important, poll over to the right. Please note that I put the three things in alphabetical order (here in the post and over there in the poll's first option, moving one to the right for each subsequent option), so as to list them in as unbiased a way as possible and there is no preference expressed by the order in which they are presented.
I'd be thrilled to have your participation, since I'm curious about how evenly divided the results are -- or aren't -- and how many people select the same order I did. And, no, I'm not saying which one I picked. I'll add my choice in after other people have offered their two cents!
June 09, 2004
Too Much Time on My Hands
No, this is not a tribute post to that semi-great band of the 70s and 80s, Styx. It's more of a tribute to the madness of the DIY trend. I think it's great that people have decided to worship at the altar of Home Depot, but at what point is enough too much? I do believe that today, I may have found it.
I simply find the idea of hanging this beyond the pale. Until it was done, wouldn't you feel as though you were living in a bad Sunday comic strip, abandoned by the artist because he needed to go caulk his tub? Or in a nightmare of the paint-by-numbers projects of your youth -- unfinished, unloved, unfulfilled -- because the siren call of the ice cream truck took you outside on a sunny day?
The only logical place I can imagine putting this is in your kid's room, so he or she will have something creative to do when sent there for sticking a younger sibling's head down the toilet you installed yourself. After a years of making the child live with the results before sending them off to art school, you get on Trading Spaces and, in an orgy of DIY bliss, turn it into the office of your dreams. Of course, sections of the paper will be cut out and framed in a highly artistic, though cheap, way and hung in said office so you can gaze lovingly at your child's aesthetic development while you devise ways to spend their inheritance.
I simply find the idea of hanging this beyond the pale. Until it was done, wouldn't you feel as though you were living in a bad Sunday comic strip, abandoned by the artist because he needed to go caulk his tub? Or in a nightmare of the paint-by-numbers projects of your youth -- unfinished, unloved, unfulfilled -- because the siren call of the ice cream truck took you outside on a sunny day?
The only logical place I can imagine putting this is in your kid's room, so he or she will have something creative to do when sent there for sticking a younger sibling's head down the toilet you installed yourself. After a years of making the child live with the results before sending them off to art school, you get on Trading Spaces and, in an orgy of DIY bliss, turn it into the office of your dreams. Of course, sections of the paper will be cut out and framed in a highly artistic, though cheap, way and hung in said office so you can gaze lovingly at your child's aesthetic development while you devise ways to spend their inheritance.
Go Fish
I did not accomplish as much today as I should have. I was distracted. There really is no need to elaborate on whether this was at work or otherwise, as I'm sure it's completely irrelevant, right? The blame for this distraction rests squarely on the shoulders of one man.
Much as I enjoy his blog, his comments here, and the occasional e-mail, the way I see it Cbeck now owes me at least a couple hours of wasted time. I'm sure his post today was an innocent attempt to provide some entertainment to people just like me, trapped in a cubicle farm all day (not that I necessarily even read his blog from my cubicle, only that it defines how I spend the majority of my day, right?) and in desperate need of a diversion from time to time.
But I have discerned the truth: this simple little game is actually pure evil. Deceptive in its simplicity, magnificently challenging, addictive at its core -- some cruel person has inflicted it upon the world and it's up to people like us to spread the "joy."
Good luck.
Much as I enjoy his blog, his comments here, and the occasional e-mail, the way I see it Cbeck now owes me at least a couple hours of wasted time. I'm sure his post today was an innocent attempt to provide some entertainment to people just like me, trapped in a cubicle farm all day (not that I necessarily even read his blog from my cubicle, only that it defines how I spend the majority of my day, right?) and in desperate need of a diversion from time to time.
But I have discerned the truth: this simple little game is actually pure evil. Deceptive in its simplicity, magnificently challenging, addictive at its core -- some cruel person has inflicted it upon the world and it's up to people like us to spread the "joy."
Good luck.
June 07, 2004
Googlicious
I will freely admit that I was late to the Google party. I've been using the Internet for quite a long time -- I love it when I take a survey about Internet use and the choices for how long are "Under 1 year," "A year or more," "2-3 years," and "More than 3 years," as though anything more than that was unexpected -- but I was never someone who turned to Google first for my Internet searches. I can't really tell you why, other than that I just gravitated toward Yahoo! more, especially when they came up with My Yahoo! and that became my default page. (Anyone who's going to give me grief about that -- save your breath. I've withstood the "Why are you still with AOL?!?" barrage for years.)
Then, when Google started to become a household word I got ticked off by the use of it as a verb. I'm still not okay with that, as a matter of fact, not that anyone asked. And, frankly, being the obdurate nonconformist I am when it comes to stuff like that, that was enough to make me avoid it.
But one day I came across an item on a blog (Little.Yellow.Different, if I'm not mistaken) that mentioned you could use the language tools to set the Google interface to different languages...real and imagined. That intrigued me enough to check it out and I got a kick out trying out different ones before settling on the one I use to this day -- Elmer Fudd. It cracks me up and happens to be a manner of speaking I lapse into when I'm being silly. Weawy!
Since I know that so many people rely on Google to find everything from the dirt on their potential suitors to how to get the dirt out of their suits, I'm wondering if anyone else has selected an alternate language preference that isn't their native tongue. If I knew how to throw a poll up over there to the right in some of that beautiful blank space, I probably would. (Damn, there are so many things yet to learn about all the little doodads available for blogs.) For the time being, comments are the way to go -- lurkers get the lead out; I know you're out there, the water's fine and it really doesn't hurt.
But you should know that the Elmer Fudd thing didn't hook me into regular use. The free pop-up blocker on their toolbar did that.
Then, when Google started to become a household word I got ticked off by the use of it as a verb. I'm still not okay with that, as a matter of fact, not that anyone asked. And, frankly, being the obdurate nonconformist I am when it comes to stuff like that, that was enough to make me avoid it.
But one day I came across an item on a blog (Little.Yellow.Different, if I'm not mistaken) that mentioned you could use the language tools to set the Google interface to different languages...real and imagined. That intrigued me enough to check it out and I got a kick out trying out different ones before settling on the one I use to this day -- Elmer Fudd. It cracks me up and happens to be a manner of speaking I lapse into when I'm being silly. Weawy!
Since I know that so many people rely on Google to find everything from the dirt on their potential suitors to how to get the dirt out of their suits, I'm wondering if anyone else has selected an alternate language preference that isn't their native tongue. If I knew how to throw a poll up over there to the right in some of that beautiful blank space, I probably would. (Damn, there are so many things yet to learn about all the little doodads available for blogs.) For the time being, comments are the way to go -- lurkers get the lead out; I know you're out there, the water's fine and it really doesn't hurt.
But you should know that the Elmer Fudd thing didn't hook me into regular use. The free pop-up blocker on their toolbar did that.
June 05, 2004
Snap! Crackle! Pop! Soda!
Told you I was over my word limit -- Blogger wouldn't let me in last night! So a rare weekend post to make up for it now that my counter has been reset. I won't tell you which portion of my soul I had to sell in order to make that happen. Let's just say that the gates in my eternal future may not be pearly.
Right now I'm waiting for the Belmont Stakes to start, where hopefully Smarty Jones will become a name added to the list of Triple Crown winners. While waiting, I thought I'd have a nice, cold, refreshing beverage. Setting aside for another time discussion about my affinity for ample amounts of ice in my drinks, when I'm thirsty I vacillate between preferring iced tea and carbonated beverages. But when I choose a carbonated drink, it's "soda." It has always been "soda" and will always be "soda" to me. And now I know why that is -- both of the places where I've lived the majority of my life are "soda" regions. Which term do you use? Take a look at this map and see if it corresponds to where you spent your formative years.
The race is just about to begin, so I'm going to get a refill, sit back and enjoy the action. Go Smarty!
Update: If you want to participate in the collection of data for this debate, go here and submit your preferred term. The only thing I don't care for is their conclusion. How erroneous!
Oh and Smarty lost, Philly mourns and I wish I'd had a ticket for Birdstone.
Right now I'm waiting for the Belmont Stakes to start, where hopefully Smarty Jones will become a name added to the list of Triple Crown winners. While waiting, I thought I'd have a nice, cold, refreshing beverage. Setting aside for another time discussion about my affinity for ample amounts of ice in my drinks, when I'm thirsty I vacillate between preferring iced tea and carbonated beverages. But when I choose a carbonated drink, it's "soda." It has always been "soda" and will always be "soda" to me. And now I know why that is -- both of the places where I've lived the majority of my life are "soda" regions. Which term do you use? Take a look at this map and see if it corresponds to where you spent your formative years.
The race is just about to begin, so I'm going to get a refill, sit back and enjoy the action. Go Smarty!
Update: If you want to participate in the collection of data for this debate, go here and submit your preferred term. The only thing I don't care for is their conclusion. How erroneous!
Oh and Smarty lost, Philly mourns and I wish I'd had a ticket for Birdstone.
June 03, 2004
Can you read me now? Good!
I just got a notice from my wireless blogging company. It seems I've exceeded my maximum "word allotment" for posts this week and the overage charges are a killer. But you know how it is -- you select a plan with too many words and it's just a waste, select a plan with too few and you get slammed.
Can you tell how completely fed up I am by the constant onslaught of wireless phone ads? Radio, TV, print, Web -- every time you turn around you're getting hit with yet another ad for how this plan is better than that plan.
But that's not actually what I have to say today. No, at a blog I visited for the first time today, Doctor J's Words, Words, Words -- he obviously found a far better plan than did I -- I found a link that was simply too good for me not to share.
Smuggled out of the den of our 41st President, somewhere deep in the heart of Kennebunkport, and published for all the world to see we have little Bushy's progress report. He's just not working up to his potential. I think someone needs a "time out" and should be sent to his room to think about just what he's done. As he's at the brink of being expelled, however, I fear he'll use that time to come up with ways to suck up to the faculty. Maybe it's time for Papa to take him out to the woodshed and have a little talk with him. He'll just have to use small words.
Can you tell how completely fed up I am by the constant onslaught of wireless phone ads? Radio, TV, print, Web -- every time you turn around you're getting hit with yet another ad for how this plan is better than that plan.
But that's not actually what I have to say today. No, at a blog I visited for the first time today, Doctor J's Words, Words, Words -- he obviously found a far better plan than did I -- I found a link that was simply too good for me not to share.
Smuggled out of the den of our 41st President, somewhere deep in the heart of Kennebunkport, and published for all the world to see we have little Bushy's progress report. He's just not working up to his potential. I think someone needs a "time out" and should be sent to his room to think about just what he's done. As he's at the brink of being expelled, however, I fear he'll use that time to come up with ways to suck up to the faculty. Maybe it's time for Papa to take him out to the woodshed and have a little talk with him. He'll just have to use small words.
June 02, 2004
Food: Bad? Food: Good! Food: Good? Food: Bad.
As it has been far too long since we had a Krispy Kreme mention here, grab a cup of joe and lick the glaze off your fingers!
But wait, first is a topic that has been nearer and dearer to my heart for far longer -- chocolate. (Fat Dude, you can tune out here and pick it up again at the next paragraph!) Oh yes, chocolate, that rich, sinful, creamy and meltingly delectable nectar of the gods that has affected many a life. At a tender young age they took me to specialists who poked and prodded, tested and teased, measured and re-measured, in order to diagnose exactly what was going on. The determination: Chocoholic, through and through. The treatment: Enjoy it! So I have sought to fulfill that dictate most every day of my life. And really, I never imagined that it would really be a kind of therapy. But according to this article, it can be. I'm a little ticked that they didn't ask me to be in the study -- I mean, it's not like my number isn't engraved in their little brown book -- but I think the results are pretty terrific. Why the heck shouldn't something that has been both extolled and maligned over the years in the ebb and flow of the dictates of dieting finally find some vindication? And I only have a year to wait until I can check out the Chocolate Tour when it oozes into the Bay Area.
While it's not dark chocolate, what better place to put it than on top of a Krispy Kreme doughnut? (You "It's gotta be Original Glazed or nothing" folks can take a hike to another purist's blog for today, if you'd like.) Just don't try to do a good deed with said indulgence, because someone will probably come down on you for it, like in this article. In light of all the news stories we're seeing about the Obesity Epidemic ("Tonight, on Channel 3 at eleven: Obesity on the rise. Is your favorite food making you fat? Could it kill you? Tune in for our special report from Dr. Dave who explains why every bite you take could put you one step closer to an oversized coffin. Join us for the nightly news, sponsored by Burger King.") and how pretty much all aspects of the American diet are screwed up -- from the lunches for kids in schools being almost completely lacking in nutritional value to the meteoric popularity of the wacky low-carb Atkins diet their parents are hooked on, even though most of them probably don't even actually understand what a carb is (thanks to April for the link) -- I think a fat-filled fundraiser is probably the least of our problems.
So someone pass me the Assorted dozen box and no harm will come to you. Stand between me and my Krispy Kreme, however, and look out! Doughnuts, yummmm.
But wait, first is a topic that has been nearer and dearer to my heart for far longer -- chocolate. (Fat Dude, you can tune out here and pick it up again at the next paragraph!) Oh yes, chocolate, that rich, sinful, creamy and meltingly delectable nectar of the gods that has affected many a life. At a tender young age they took me to specialists who poked and prodded, tested and teased, measured and re-measured, in order to diagnose exactly what was going on. The determination: Chocoholic, through and through. The treatment: Enjoy it! So I have sought to fulfill that dictate most every day of my life. And really, I never imagined that it would really be a kind of therapy. But according to this article, it can be. I'm a little ticked that they didn't ask me to be in the study -- I mean, it's not like my number isn't engraved in their little brown book -- but I think the results are pretty terrific. Why the heck shouldn't something that has been both extolled and maligned over the years in the ebb and flow of the dictates of dieting finally find some vindication? And I only have a year to wait until I can check out the Chocolate Tour when it oozes into the Bay Area.
While it's not dark chocolate, what better place to put it than on top of a Krispy Kreme doughnut? (You "It's gotta be Original Glazed or nothing" folks can take a hike to another purist's blog for today, if you'd like.) Just don't try to do a good deed with said indulgence, because someone will probably come down on you for it, like in this article. In light of all the news stories we're seeing about the Obesity Epidemic ("Tonight, on Channel 3 at eleven: Obesity on the rise. Is your favorite food making you fat? Could it kill you? Tune in for our special report from Dr. Dave who explains why every bite you take could put you one step closer to an oversized coffin. Join us for the nightly news, sponsored by Burger King.") and how pretty much all aspects of the American diet are screwed up -- from the lunches for kids in schools being almost completely lacking in nutritional value to the meteoric popularity of the wacky low-carb Atkins diet their parents are hooked on, even though most of them probably don't even actually understand what a carb is (thanks to April for the link) -- I think a fat-filled fundraiser is probably the least of our problems.
So someone pass me the Assorted dozen box and no harm will come to you. Stand between me and my Krispy Kreme, however, and look out! Doughnuts, yummmm.
June 01, 2004
Torporific Tuesday
Y'know those days where you just don't feel passionate enough about anything to actually blog about it? I've been having one of those days. Yesterday, same thing, but I let myself off the hook because it was technically still "the weekend." Today, however, I have no excuse apart from not finding anything that really grabbed me. (I do believe that TiVo has to share some of the blame, though, because it's enabling me to watch TV during the time I'd usually be surfing and posting.)
So anyway, here are the top three things I read today that, while interesting to me, were clearly not interesting enough to merit posts devoted just to them:
1. I found this article at the Merc first, but because of their whole "registration required" thing I decided to see if I could find it elsewhere. Kudos to The Seattle Times! Read about "the gospel of blogging," for which they apparently needed to go to Japan to get the real news. This is just the latest article/news report I've spotted that's trying to clue the masses in to exactly what the hell blogs are. If people depend on this article to get clued in, however, they'll never get hooked because it's dead boring.
2. Celebrity gossip moment, but a happy one: Julia Roberts is pregnant with twins. I've always liked her and enjoyed her movies, and I always thought that one line she has in "Notting Hill" (about how, as a celebrity, the media treated gossip about her lovelife as mere fodder and having her heart broken was used as entertainment) was not just words in a script for her. Plus, as we're the same age I can appreciate her desire to start a family sooner rather than later. I do feel bad that she was more or less forced into announcing her pregnancy, a few weeks before most expectant mothers would prefer to do so, merely because of rampant speculation based on paparazzi pictures. But so long as all goes well, I doubt she'll care in the end. So cheers to Julia and her expanding family!
3. And finally, this article (which is from the Merc, so you may need to register) that demonstrates how behind the curve traditional media are these days. In other words, this is old news as far as I'm concerned! I mean, hell, if I blogged about it almost two weeks before the main newspaper in my area manages to mention it, it's ancient history. (In case you don't feel like reading all about it, or registering to do so, it's about the same site I posted about on 5/20/04 where people plead for Gmail accounts.)
So, with that, I'll close this out and hope that I'm feeling more inspired tomorrow.
So anyway, here are the top three things I read today that, while interesting to me, were clearly not interesting enough to merit posts devoted just to them:
1. I found this article at the Merc first, but because of their whole "registration required" thing I decided to see if I could find it elsewhere. Kudos to The Seattle Times! Read about "the gospel of blogging," for which they apparently needed to go to Japan to get the real news. This is just the latest article/news report I've spotted that's trying to clue the masses in to exactly what the hell blogs are. If people depend on this article to get clued in, however, they'll never get hooked because it's dead boring.
2. Celebrity gossip moment, but a happy one: Julia Roberts is pregnant with twins. I've always liked her and enjoyed her movies, and I always thought that one line she has in "Notting Hill" (about how, as a celebrity, the media treated gossip about her lovelife as mere fodder and having her heart broken was used as entertainment) was not just words in a script for her. Plus, as we're the same age I can appreciate her desire to start a family sooner rather than later. I do feel bad that she was more or less forced into announcing her pregnancy, a few weeks before most expectant mothers would prefer to do so, merely because of rampant speculation based on paparazzi pictures. But so long as all goes well, I doubt she'll care in the end. So cheers to Julia and her expanding family!
3. And finally, this article (which is from the Merc, so you may need to register) that demonstrates how behind the curve traditional media are these days. In other words, this is old news as far as I'm concerned! I mean, hell, if I blogged about it almost two weeks before the main newspaper in my area manages to mention it, it's ancient history. (In case you don't feel like reading all about it, or registering to do so, it's about the same site I posted about on 5/20/04 where people plead for Gmail accounts.)
So, with that, I'll close this out and hope that I'm feeling more inspired tomorrow.
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