Sunday, June 24, 2007

Kasey Gets 100th Cap

Sorry I'm a few days behind on this. I watched the game but don't really listen to the annoying announcers, so I didn't realize this was a significant landmark.

From USA Today:
Kasey Keller made his 100th appearance with the U.S. national team Thursday night, starting in goal for the CONCACAF Gold Cup semifinal against Canada.

"It's great. "What makes it better is winning," said Keller, who came out of the locker room smoking a cigar after the Americans' 2-1 victory.



Friday, June 22, 2007

I'm pretty sure (and happy that) I don't know this Karen person.

The Baby-Name Business

Parents are feeling intense pressure to pick names that set their kids apart. Some are even hiring consultants. Alexandra Alter on the art of 'branding' your newborn.

A sample:

"Karen Markovics, 36, who works for the planning department in Orange County, N.C., spent months reading baby books and scouring Web sites before settling on Nicole Josephine. But now, four years later, Mrs. Markovics says she wishes she'd chosen something less trendy -- and has even considered legally changing her daughter's name to Josephine Marie. 'I'm having namer's remorse,' she says."


Um, she works in the WHAT department? Who changes their 4-year old's name because it's too "trendy"?

(PS: Nicole stopped being a trendy name back in the 80's, hon)

Thursday, June 21, 2007

Bret's Wife is So Cool :)


Read the story of Bret's wife Erin and her experience with Peter Buck of R.E.M.

My favorite line in the post:
"Peter Buck? Well Pete has always seemed like the cooler older brother in R.E.M. who would let you hang out with him, but only so he could make fun of or injure you later. He seems like a good guy, but not one to suffer fools or fans lightly."

Friday, June 15, 2007

The cell phone saga contines.

So I think I've had maybe 4 or 5 different cell phones this year. Not having a lot of luck with the stupid little things. One broke, then I got a used one on eBay, which also broke, so I replaced it with another used one, which my cats decided they would like to treat as a hockey puck and play with, the goal being a kitchen trashcan that had a puddle of discarded melted butter from some crab legs we had eaten the night before. When I finally found that phone, it stunk like old seafood (imagine that) and refused to work anymore. Well, finally the sound started working, but the screen succumbed to the butter bath.

So. I used a three-year old phone I had sitting around, for a while, which really sucked because this phone did not know what a text message was or what it was supposed to do with one. I could get texts, but I really couldn't answer them without about a half hour of cursing on my part. Plus this phone kept randomly calling people that I hadn't talked to in years. The nice part about that is that I got to talk to a few friends with whom I hadn't caught up in a while.

I finally broke down. I was waiting for an iPhone, really, but with my job situation the way it is I truly can't justify spending $400 or $500 on a new phone, even the coolest cell phone ever, maybe. I called Cingular/at&t/whatever it is now and told them I thought I might switch to Verizon. They offered me a new Samsung Blackjack for $175 "for being such a good customer since 1996." Um, that's the same price I can get the phone for online, Mr. Guy-with-a-funny-accent. OK, how about $129? No, thanks, I don't want to spend $100 for a phone right now. OK, then you can have it for $75. Sold. I couldn't get him to go any lower.

I've had the phone for a couple of days now, and I like it a lot so far. It's a Windows Mobile Smartphone. So that means it can do a lot of things I have absolutely no use for and plenty of things I will never figure out unless I "RTFM".

One bad thing is that I have to enter all of my contacts by hand into Outlook (ugh) to get them on the phone. There was no mass import option. One good thing is that I can make my own ringtones. And I made one today! And it actually works! I used this free software called Audacity, and it took about five minutes, tops. Of course any eleven year old could have probably figured it out faster than I did, but then again I'm not sure I'm able to work our DVR at home yet, either. So I'm pretty proud of myself.

Anyway the ringtone is a piece of the song "The Ascent of Stan" by Ben Folds and it came out nicely, if I do say so myself. Too bad I can't figure out how to embed the audio clip here. Maybe in a couple of months...if the cats don't kill this phone, too.

Tuesday, June 12, 2007

I get found the weirdest ways

This video is especially for the person who found me yesterday by doing a search for "toilet rose:"

Monday, June 11, 2007

Yes, I have a Facebook account too.

Hat tip to k1v1n for this great NY Times article,

‘omg my mom joined facebook!!’

I have not asked son #1 to be my "friend" yet. I am afraid he will say no.

Friday, June 08, 2007

The Cradle of 'Cue

The North Carolina Barbecue Society (I'm not making that up) came up with a really nifty interactive "Historic Barbecue Trail" map, which can be found here.
I've eaten at #8 (lots of times) and #9, and hope to visit many more of these fine establishments in the future.

One of the funniest dining moments I've had recently was when some friends of ours who are Boston-area natives came to visit, and the husband decided he wanted some real NC 'cue. So we took him to Allen & Son. He ordered up a big old barbecue platter, compete with slaw and hush puppies. His wife is somewhat of a fitness freak, so she ordered a chef salad instead. Which to her horror, came topped with a huge scoop of...chopped pork barbecue. The best salad you can get, I thought.

(photo by Kevin Meredith)

Sunday, June 03, 2007

My Neighbors Will Be So Thrilled!


Pink Flamingo To Spread Its Wings Again!

Thanks to White Trash Mom for letting us know. I'm gonna get a pair and put them up next to my mailbox, just to annoy my neighbors, who like to pretend we have an HOA that can tell people what to do with their houses and yard, but we DON'T ...so why did they move here and think they could be so bossy?

(photo by Amy Taylor.)