Entries from December 2006

Sunday, December 31st, 2006

Fifteen Books to Jump-Start 2007

Tim Sanders, author of the excellent books Love Is The Killer App and The Likability Factor, suggests a few books for us to read in the upcoming year. It looks like a good list to me, most were already on my to-read soon list. In addition, here are some from my book list that I […]

Saturday, December 30th, 2006

New Year, New Software, New Look

I warned you that it might be coming. The new year isn’t quite here yet, but the new weblog is (mostly, anyway).
Thanks to Geren and Mike for assistance in understanding how WordPress works.

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

Moving

They’re not saying “boo.” They’re saying “Moo-ving.”
Expect a new look, possibly using new software, for the new year. In the meantime, I hope you all have a very Merry Christmas.

Sunday, December 24th, 2006

Atlanta Library: No iPods

Good news for Atlanta-area audio book lovers: the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System has announced the upcoming availability of downloadable audiobooks.
Bad news though: the Atlanta-Fulton Public Library System has chosen a system that ignores the huge percentage of portable audio device owners, as it requires “any desktop or portable device supporting Windows Media Player version 9.0 […]

Friday, December 22nd, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week Answer

This week’s lyric was posted while we were packing, as many are, to travel “over the river and through the woods” for the Christmas holiday.
Truckin, Im a goin home. whoa whoa baby, back where I belong,Back home, sit down and patch my bones,and get back truckin on.

The Grateful Dead’s Truckin’ hits the some of […]

Thursday, December 21st, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week

Thursday again, time for our Song Lyric of the Week. Surely you know the “rules” by now, Are you ready?
You’re sick of hangin around and youd like to travel
Get tired of travelin’ and you want to settle down.

Quick, know what song that’s from? Send your guesses here. Be sure to include your URL and city.

Wednesday, December 20th, 2006

Non-Beta Blogger

Blogger, the service that I use to build and maintain this weblog, has finally moved their new version out of beta. Over the next few weeks or so, everyone with an (old) Blogger account will be given the opportunity to move over to the new version, with a google (gmail) login i.d. (Google bought Blogger […]

Sunday, December 17th, 2006

They Won’t Take Your Money?

Mike McBride asks for some experiential information from Mac users:
My wife was doing a little on-line shopping today on her Mac and ran into a couple of sites that wouldn’t accept her credit card information. The transactions failed in both Firefox and Safari.

I’ve never had a problem with a shopping site taking my credit […]

Saturday, December 16th, 2006

Hanukkah begins

To all my Jewish friends, Shalom.

Friday, December 15th, 2006

24th

I’m not sure where my friend and former neighbor Jason found this (somewhere on Fox.com, I’d suspect), but as he says, it’s “brilliant.” If you’ve ever watched an episode of (or ad for) 24, check it out.

Friday, December 15th, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week Answer #5

And in our world of plentywe can spread a smile of joyThrow your arms around the worldat Christmas time.

The lyric this in this week’s Song Lyric of the Week was of course from Bob Geldof’s fund-raising project, Do They Know It’s Christmas? [iTunes] sung by a whole host of musicians coming together under the name […]

Thursday, December 14th, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week #5

Thursday, one day left in the work week and - more importantly as far as this blog is concerned - time for the Song Lyric of the Week. Surely you know the “rules” by now, Are you ready?
Tonight thank God it’s them instead of you

Quick, know what song that’s from? Send your guesses here. Be […]

Tuesday, December 12th, 2006

Whimsical Winter Concert

Last night’s concert was a lot of fun, especially as the Wind Ensemble ended their portion with a fun rendition of Sleighride, complete with a quick addition to their normal black dresses and tuxes:

There were plenty of other pieces played, very beautiful music. I just really dug the hats.

Monday, December 11th, 2006

Submit A Snowflake

Have you flaked yet?
Thanks to Rob for pointing to the SnowDays site, where you can make fabulous flakes and help out the Salvation Army at the same time.
It’s a fun diversion with a good cause.

Sunday, December 10th, 2006

The Cost of Viewing

Ignoring the almost-religious-fervor format war for a moment, Sean does the math involved in buying into either HD-DVD or Blu-Ray.
[Y]ou can buy the average BD player and zero movies, or get an HD DVD player and over four and a half years of NetFlix HD rentals at the same price.

If I were getting a new […]

Friday, December 8th, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week Answer #4

Two guys were quick on the lyric-trigger finger this week. Both Geren, in (Columbia?) Maryland (and best man at my wedding twenty years ago) and Tommy, from Bellview Washginton, sent in the right answer and were only minutes apart. Yesterday’s song lyric was of course from Elvis Costello’s What’s So Funny (’Bout Peace, Love and […]

Thursday, December 7th, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week #4

Another Thursday, another Song Lyric of the Week. I know, I know, the songs change but the rules never do: I post a lyric, you guess what song it’s from (preferably without using Google or other search tools). Are you ready?
Searchin’ for light in the darkness of insanity

Quick, know what song that’s from? Send your […]

Monday, December 4th, 2006

Higher But Not High?

December 1st’s 60-Second Science podcast, High and Higher, is well worth the minute it takes to listen. Steve Mirsky does a good job of pointing out a deficiency in wording that’s used every day by advertisements and government alerts. Check it out.

Monday, December 4th, 2006

On the BCS

I’m no great football analyst, but on the subject of the BCS National Championship, I’ve got three words: Let’s Go Ohio. Or three others: Anybody But Florida. Or still three more: Michigan Was Robbed.

Saturday, December 2nd, 2006

Let ‘em Make Cake

In between rounds of multiplayer Gears of War tonight, I’m making cakes for my son’s Confirmation tomorrow. The recipes call for egg whites and let me just say this: Eggs are officially the gookiest thing there is. Ooky, gooky, yucky, ucky. Ick.
And while I’m ranting, what’s the deal with KitchenAid mixers? I mean, people […]

Friday, December 1st, 2006

Song Lyric of the Week Answer

Hey hey, Tommy, from Bellview Washginton, is happy. He was the first in the inbox with the answer from yesterday’s Song Lyric of the Week:
Alright! One I know. “Scenes from an Italian Restaurant” by Billy Joel. Good ol’ Brenda and Eddie…

That’s right, this week’s song is the wonderful three-section love song from 1977, reportedly […]