White House Conference on Aging

This post is primarily directed to those readers who are getting older. If you don't fit into that category, then you can return to your own version of reality; please excuse the interruption.

Every ten years, the White House holds a Conference on Aging, during which delegations from each state present feedback to Congress and the President about issues facing older Americans. The next conference is coming up in October, and Texans have been invited to provide input to their delegation by April 15. Here's the official announcement:

This is your chance to provide some input regarding issues that will affect most of us, either directly or indirectly, sooner or later. The squeaky wheel may get the grease, but the creaking joint speaks even louder.

If you're a Texas blogger, I suggest that you replicate this announcement as a service to your readers. A link to the Gazette is not necessary.

Back in the saddle...very gingerly...

The 2005 edition of "Lunatic Texans on Skis" had a successful run, and I'm told that the scarring will be minimal if any. And any rumors you might have heard about a rented snowmobile going over a 600' cliff outside of Taos are greatly exaggerated.

I hope to return to regular posting as soon as I can figure out a way to comfortably prop my right arm so that I can reach the keyboard with the three fingers that are still operating. But for now, I'll leave you with this simple observation: Santa Fe is a city in which, to all outward appearances, time froze on November 1, 2004, or, perhaps, 6:00 p.m. on the 2nd, when the first national exit poll numbers began appearing. The entire population appears to be waiting for confirmation that their candidates did, indeed and after all, win.

Now, where the Aleve?

I'm kidding about much of this, of course. It's called "literary hyperbole" and it's an oft-used technique by writers wishing to compensate for an absence of actual talent. I've gotten very good at it, I think.

But I'm not kidding about Santa Fe.

Vacation!

The Lunatic Texans on Skis roadshow gets underway en la mañana, so the Gazette is going into sleep mode for about a week.

This year's edition of LToS should be awesome. Santa Fe is reporting a 113" base (113"!) with more on the way, which means that those tree branches that we barely ducked under with last year's base of 80" will be at approximately...um...danger level. Should make for some interesting stories, but hopefully the kind that won't make the national news.

So, don't look for any activity in these parts until next week...other than the rotating Abbye pics. But, really, that's what you come here for anyway, right?

Catch you later, amigo...

Oh yeah, I almost forgot. I'll be shutting off comments until we're back, to minimize the amount of time I'd have to spend deleting blogspam upon my return. The 300 daily spam emails will be bad enough without having to do major housecleaning in this joint. Thanks for understanding.

Abbye Update #3: Good news

I hope this is the last health-related post I have to do for Abbye for a long time. Today's blood test revealed that her liver enzymes have dropped to 45; a normal reading is under 100, and the initial test two weeks ago had her pegged at a scary 668.

It seems obvious now that the Rimadyl was indeed the culprit; if your dog is on a steady regimen of Rimadyl for arthritis pain, make sure that the animal is getting regular blood tests to monitor its liver enzyme level. If your vet doesn't agree...consider finding another vet. Seriously.

Her white blood count is still a little elevated, but not to the point of concern. It's always been on the high side...one of her many peculiarities. We're going to keep her on antibiotics for another ten days, and she can go back on her thyroid medicine, which we hope will get her appetite and coat back in shape. But she seems to be feeling good -- practically frisky -- so that's one less thing we have to worry about.

And I do appreciate all the expressions of concern and good wishes left here for our little dog. You guys are great!

Move over, Starbucks...

Having sampled the supposedly heaven-born chocolate concoction named Chantico™ and being somewhat less than enraptured by the experience, I'm here to suggest that a much more satisfying treat is found just down the road from your neighborhood Starbucks, perhaps "across the tracks," metaphorically if not geographically, at the source of Good Texas Eats*, the humble Dairy Queen.

I'm referring, of course, to the Chocolate-Dipped Strawberry Blizzard, a simple frozen delight that puts its more expensive competitors to shame. And, at 590 calories (for the small, 12 oz size) and 25 grams of fat, it's just perfect for recovering from a 20 mile bike ride. Trust me on this. (If you think those numbers are bad, consider the nutrition info on the Chantico: 390 calories and 21 grams of fat...from a six oz serving.)

*I know, DQ was birthed in Moline, has been swallowed by a conglomerate and is headquartered in Minneapolis, about as far from Texas as you can get without leaving the country. But it's still a Texas company, as far as I'm concerned.

Joel Achenbach on Hunter S. Thompson

WaPo columnist and new blogger Joel Achenbach has posted a good essay about Thompson, including an account of a few hours spent at Thompson's legendary Woody Creek (CO) hideaway. Achenbach captures the raw essence of Thompson without glamorizing his weaknesses, which were many and also legendary.

And, for the record, I also have the original editions (it spanned two issues, you know) of Rolling Stone in which "Fear and Loathing in Las Vegas" was unleashed on an unsuspecting world. My first thought upon hearing of Thompson's death this morning was, "wonder if those magazines are worth more money now?" Before you judge me too harshly for such a mercenary thought, ponder this: Thompson himself would likely nod in approval.

Top 100 Gadgets of All Time

What do the Pez dispenser, Tickle Me Elmo, Super Scissors (the ones that can cut through a penny), Dust-Off (air in a can) and the Zenith Space Command TV Remote Control (1956) have in common? Well, they all made Mobile PC's Top 100 Gadgets of All Time list.

As with any such list, it's bound to generate some laughter, argument or derision, but it also makes great reading. It includes products that span literally centuries of time; the criteria for consideration are simple:

• It has to have electronic and/or moving parts of some kind.
• It has to be a self-contained apparatus that can be used on its own, not a subset of another device.
• It has to be smaller than the proverbial bread box.

The gadgets are ranked from bottom to top, and I'm not telling you what made #1. But some folks in Cupertino will be very proud. ;-)

Tip o'the hat to Boing Boing.

URP: Saving the worst 'til last

We've put it off as long as we could, but the painter moves into our bedroom/bathroom on Monday, so we're slowly shifting our life into the other parts of the house. And thus the URP begins its most critical phase.

This is much worse than just moving some clothes and toiletries into new rooms. My "office," such as it is, resides in our bedroom and thus I have to relocate my computers, monitor, printer and all essential peripherals into the game room. And, of course, we don't have an internet connection in that room, so I had to run a temporary cable. (Now, in a bit of uncharacteristic good fortune, the cable splitter is located a mere twenty feet from the wall outlet I tapped into, so running the new cable itself was easy. And in drilling blindly through the wall from the inside out, my masonry bit went precisely into the mortar between the bricks, making the process really easy. Of course, I then managed to make a mess of things anyway, but I won't bore you with the details, at least not until the statute of limitations expires.)

I'll probably wait until tomorrow afternoon to make the switch on the internet connection and move my desktop computer and monitor. If you don't hear anything from me for two weeks, I (probably) haven't died; I just killed my internet connection and/or computer. Which, now that I think about it, might be even worse than actual death.

NetNewsWire 2.x Beta

[Update (2005-03-04): I continue to be impressed with 2.0b25. It provides a very competent browser-like interface, complete with tabs, if you wish to surf through your feeds without jumping to a standalone browser. It also allows you to open any link in your default browser. You can toggle the preference to open links either within NetNewsWire or your default browser, depending on your browsing habits. And for a beta version, albeit a pretty mature one, it's been quite stable...no freezes or other glitches.]

Ranchero Software has released version 2.0b25 of its NetNewsWire RSS aggregator (Mac only) and it fixes the biggest gripe I had with version 1.0: it now handles Atom feeds. It also handles Bloglines subscriptions, although that's not a big deal for me.

I'm still undecided as to whether a browser-integrated aggregator (like Sage for Firefox) is the way to go, as opposed to the standalone app like NetNewsWire. They each have their advantages. NetNewsWire is much more powerful (as it should be, considering it's not free), but it's not as convenient as opening the Sage sidebar.

Anyway, while I haven't really put the beta through the ringer, thus far it's playing very nicely with 10.3.8.

Abbye Update #2

(I just realized that I don't have a category for posts about Abbye. I probably should correct that. Someday.)

I've been remiss in providing the promised reports on Abbye's condition, because I know at least two (maybe three) of you really care. In a nutshell, she's doing better, although she's had something of a relapse today.

We've had her on antibiotics for 8 days now, and she's completely off Rimadyl (the arthritis pain medicine). She's also supposed to be taking vitamin E every day, but she balks at that. All of these things are intended to help bring her liver enzymes back into the normal range. She goes back to the vet for a blood test on Monday, at which time we'll find out if they're working.

Until today, she's seemed more energetic and hasn't had any of the symptoms that clued us into the liver enzyme problem to begin with. So that's good. But today, she's dragging around like everything hurts...we could hardly coax her out of her crate this evening for after-dinner treats (laced with antibiotic, of course).

Abbye is the pickiest pill-taker in the canine world. You can imbed a tiny pill deep in a piece of steak and she'll mouth it around until she swallows the steak and spits out the pill. It reminds me of that cartoon bit where the guy lays a cigarette paper flat on his tongue, pours a heap of tobacco onto it, pulls it into his mouth then pops out a neatly rolled cigarette ready for ignition.

We've found one technique to thwart her pill-avoidance system, however. It requires careful planning and the execution must be flawless, but when it works, it's a thing of beauty. The key is to get her into a rhythm of eating succulent morsels. She's always suspicious of the first one, so it's important to make it undoctored and then to have two more treats ready in quick succession. The first one primes the pump, the second one delivers the payload and the third one is presented to her as an incentive to down the second one without worrying it too much.

Sheesh. I can't believe I just wrote that, or that we have to resort to such tomfoolery. Such is life with a canine princess.

Congrats to a Survivor!

I want to take time out to send my best wishes to Sherry, who completed her last round of radiation yesterday, and is destined to be one of the good news stories in the fight against cancer.

If you're wondering why I placed this post in the category of "Tour de France," perhaps the fact that Sherry has now set her sights on riding the local MS150 with her husband this summer will seem like a reasonable justification. Just as Lance Armstrong came back from cancer stronger than ever, with a new perspective on what he is capable of enduring, I suspect that Sherry will laugh at a little west Texas wind and heat. She's a hero in my book.

Even if she would gladly take my last Godiva chocolate. Tough lady, y'know?

Every grandmother should have a hobby...

From today's Wall Street Journal...

Well, of course. She's from Denmark. You know how those Scandinavians are.

This is an excerpt from an article detailing the latest trend in hacking: designing nude characters to replace the clothed ones in the original versions of popular video games. Some people are even spending their time designing unclothed versions of mythical creatures such as trolls, gargoyles and dwarves. I'm not sure that Gimli would approve.

BatesLine Strikes Back

I think this is self-explanatory.

Memo to the Tulsa Whirled: Sow the wind, reap the whirlwind. You guys in Oklahoma know about whirlwinds, don't you?

Peggy Noonan on Blogging

Peggy Noonan's essay about blogging in the OpinionJournal is undoubtedly the most linked-to article in the blogosphere today.

There's a good reason for that. Read it and find out.

Hat tips to, among many, local guys Stark Trek and Jessica's Well.

Webdeveloper: Coolest Firefox Extension Yet

If you're using Firefox (and why, exactly, wouldn't you?) and you have even the slightest bit of interest in website design, CSS or even simple curiosity as to how your favorite website or blog is coded, then you need to install the Web Developer extension.

Web Developer installs a toolbar that sits just below your Personal Toolbar and contains eleven categories of about a hundred options for viewing, editing and managing the website currently displayed in your browser window. Among other things, it allows you to view the CSS for the page (and edit via a popout sidebar), disable CSS completely, display image sizes and dimensions, zoom in and out on the page, draw outlines around page elements (including block level elements and table cells), perform one-click CSS and HTML validation... and the list of other useful and handy tasks goes on and on.

It's quick and unobstrusive, and will quickly become an indispensible tool in your box of debugging tricks. A Mozilla version is also available.

Tip o'the hat to Keith Devens and one of his commenters, David Chen.

Technorati tags: Firefox | Mozilla

Tulsa World and tortious interference

Phelps may not be a lawyer, but he sure can write like one. And he puts forth a pretty good argument as to why The Tulsa World may be guilty of tortious interference, to go along with its general alienation of the entire blogosphere.

As written about here and on scores of other blogs, the World (aka "the Whirled") started down this self-destructive path when it decided to harass the Tulsa-based blog BatesLine over what the newspaper alleged was infringement of copyright and improper linking (whatever that means). The Whirled's net was cast wide enough to include another organization, unrelated to BatesLine, called "Tulsans for Election Integrity," which opposes the Whirled-supported recall of two city councilmen. The Whirled leveled some threats that apparently succeeded in causing TFEI's internet service provider to break its contract with the group to avoid being caught up in the controversy.

Having some firsthand knowledge of tortious interference claims (via my oil bidness experience), the Whirled's actions appear egregious enough to warrant a closer look by TFEI's legal counsel. Blogger outrage over some patently ridiculous accusations may not get the Whirled's proper attention, but a court appearance as a defendant might.

The Grammys: Purple Haze

I didn't watch the Grammys last Sunday night. Most awards shows rarely have any surprises, and the decades-long trend toward politicizing them shows no signs of letting up. But after reading this analysis in the WaPo, I wish I'd seen it (or at least taped it for later viewing).

Setting aside the author's Grammy-derived advice to the Democratic Party, he makes some accurate observations about how we may have a lot more in common, whether "red-staters" or "blue-staters," than we might otherwise think.

Read the whole thing. The only quibble I'd have with the article is the author's failure to acknowledge that the Grammy-winning opening act, Los Lonely Boys, hails from west Texas (San Angelo to be exact), and that Jamie Foxx was born in Terrell, Texas.

Tip o'the hat to Joel Achenbach.

The Yellow Man will be back

It's official...Lance is going for el número siete! (Or I should say, numéro sept.)

Well, there goes three weeks out of my calendar in July. ;-)

Can't wait...

Technorati tag: Tour de France

Podcast studio to open

According to this article from The Blog Herald, an Illinois-based company called PaleGroove Studios will launch the first known "brick and mortar" studio devoted exclusively to the production of podcasts. From the PaleGroove webpage explaining its services:

I've never listened to a podcast nor am I completely sure that I know how to go about grabbing one. I certainly don't know how to create one, although it doesn't seem that complicated. But if I have to hire someone to help me do it, I think I can live without it. I see this as a service that will perhaps appeal to companies, but not many others. What am I missing?

[Update: At least one person seems to share some of my skepticism about the business model, if not the technology or the demand.]

[Update #2: And here's a good-looking resource called The GodCast Network for downloading Christian-themed and other family-friendly audio shows, including podcasts.]

Technorati tag: Podcasting

Tulsa newspaper fails to count bullets before aiming at local blogger

I've always had a certain fondness for the city of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It has a history tied to the oil and gas industry, like Midland. Its downtown redevelopment success could serve as a model for any community, and it seems smaller than its population of almost 400,000 might suggest. Tulsa citizens seem for the most part to be friendly, competent and easy-going. Which makes me wonder why they deserve a daily newspaper as petty and belligerent as the Tulsa World.

This newspaper has apparently suffered mightily at the hands of a local blogger named Michael Bates, whose blog, BatesLine, frequently writes about the paper's perceived lack of objectivity and other shortcomings. The World (ironic title, isn't it?) has decided to retaliate by siccing its lawyer one of its executives on BatesLine, writing a "cease and desist" letter accusing Bates of violating its copyright by quoting articles from the paper, and of improper linking to its content. The paper threatens Bates with a lawsuit if he doesn't remove all quotes of its material, and all links to its website.

Perhaps the Tulsa World subscribes to the theory that any publicity is good publicity, in which case its ploy is succeeding, perhaps even beyond its wildest dreams. As Bates writes this morning, he's receiving a veritable flood of support from not only the blogosphere but also some traditional media; look for this to continue and expand as word gets out.

This little imbroglio has some rather significant implications for the relationship between old and new media. The World (or "The Whirled," as Bates likes to refer to it) seems to want to extend its copyright well beyond the traditional limits of the fair use doctrine. It also wants to control linkage on the web. Bates, on the other hand, wants the freedom to express his opinions regarding the factual accuracy of what he reads in the paper, as well as his perceptions of some apparent conflicts of interest that affect the paper's coverage of and positions toward certain local issues.

The newspaper may very well be able to build a legal case in support of some of its accusations, although I doubt it. But in doing so, it may also find its credibility damaged beyond repair. It's already become something of a laughingstock in online circles, and I wouldn't be surprised if sometime in the future the foolish and shortsighted leveling of trumped-up accusations against a blogger will be referred to as "being whirled."

Technorati tags: Freedome of Speech | Mainstream Media

The Dingo Ate Your...Calf*

Update: Best in Show at the Westminster Kennel Club Dog Show goes to a German Shorthaired Pointer named Carly Carlee. The dog's handler (Michelle Ostermiller) had Best in Show last year as well, with a different dog, a pretty amazing feat in itself.

I thought about liveblogging the Westminster Kennel Club's Dog Show but decided I had neither six hours to spare nor the knowledge to bring anything new to what the excellent commentator has to say. But I have to weigh in here, because the Herding Group is now competing so select its representative for Best in Show.

The Herding Group is my favorite. I love dogs who love their jobs. We humans can learn some lessons in terms of finding pleasure in simple tasks done well and with enthusiasm. The herd dogs have all been bred to work, but more than that, to love their work, and to love pleasing their masters. As a rule, they're tough, wiry, smart and can run all day. They're bored by inactivity; if you want to own a herding dog, you owe it to him or her to make a commitment to let it work every day.

One of my favorite breeds in this category is the Australian Cattle Dog (which, unfortunately, didn't win Best of Group tonight; the Border Collie was the winner). You gotta like a dog whose roots can be traced directly back to the Australian Dingo. There's a fascinating history of the breed on the ADC owners website. The breed is relatively new, compared to others which are literally thousands of years old, and thus its history is well documented. It's an interesting look at the trial-and-error process of breeding a dog to do a very specific job, in this case the herding of cattle in the often brutal Australian outback.

A bit of trivia: an Australian Cattle Dog appeared with Mel Gibson in Mad Max.

You can watch the Best of Breed judging for the Australian Cattle Dog via prerecorded video from the WKC's website The winner is the one with the striped raccoon-looking tail, in case you can't stick around for the whole thing.

Note: In case you're wondering, Abbye couldn't care less about the dog show. She thinks they exploit canines for no good reason.

*Post title is obligatory "Seinfeld" reference. But you knew that.

The Apple Product Cycle

Any Mac fans out there care to dispute the accuracy of this?

Didn't think so.

Tip o'the Stetson to Scott over at The Fat Guy, who secretly lusts after every single Apple product I crow about in this joint.

Technorati tag: Apple

The Gift that Keeps Giving

Today's the day to link to Alan K. Henderson. He weighs in on the inevitable and short-sighted criticism of artists and artistic endeavors that spend and cost, respectively, what some believe to be obscene amounts of money. Christo's "The Gates" project, recently unveiled in Central Park is Exhibit A, costing $21 million, a sum that readily lends itself to the tired old judgment, "but think how much good that would do if only it were used to [fill in the blank]."

Now, while many of these projects are certainly easy targets for criticism from a purely artistic perspective, it should be recognized that the money spent on their development and construction wasn't simply burned on an altar, with the resulting creation arising from the smoke. (OK, I'm sure some of these creations were related to smoke, but that's a different story.) As Henderson reminds us, it takes a village to support an artist and the trickle-down benefits of the spending are undeniable. The money quote:

Technorati tag: Capitalism

Blog Glossary

I probably should have posted this yesterday morning before the onslaught (well, it's all relative) of visits by people to whom this strange phenomenon called "blogging" is brand new. But, frankly, I didn't know about it, so it's not my fault.

"It" is the Samizdata blog glossary, and it defines all sorts of esoteric terminology related to the medium. So if you've heard terms like "blogosphere," "fisk," "instalanche," "moblog" or "RTWT" and don't know what they mean, this is the go-to resource. Even experienced bloggers might stumble across something they didn't know (for example, I had never heard of a "stripblog." It's not what you think.).

Tip o'the hat to Alan K. Henderson, who provided the link via a comment on Jen Speaks Lintefiniel Musing as one of his entries in the bookmark meme.

That explains why the lifts aren't running...

The Weather Channel's really on top of things in Midland, Texas...

Well, dang. I was just getting ready to wax my skis.

Bookmark Meme

[I've bumped this post back to the top of the page because I suspect it slipped by a few people due to its original Sunday afternoon slot. It's not that I think it's the most wonderful thing since sliced bread, but those who have participated in it have come up with some quite interesting links...stuff that we'd never know about just by perusing blogrolls.]

[Originally posted 14:39 on 2/13/05]

It's said that the best way to find out what's important to someone is to look in his or her checkbook register (although an updated variation would refer to credit card receipts).

While I'm not nosy enough to ask about your check register (well, I am that nosy, but I also know that you wouldn't tell me), I would propose that another way to learn about someone else is by a review of his or her browser bookmarks. And in pursuit of such knowledge I hereby propose this simple meme:

1. Open the bookmarks list in your favorite web browser and note the bottommost entry (which may or may not be the last one you added), even if it's inside a folder. Copy the bookmark title, along with the URL, into a post or comment.


2. Count up your list from there, and select every fourth bookmark, until you've picked another four. Add them to your post or comment.


3. Publish the list of five bookmarks and wait for the world to marvel at your eclectic and sophisticated interests!

Here's my list:

1. Scot's Newsletter | The Best Of | Customizing Firefox


2. Simon Wilison: Some notes on Wikipedia


3. BYODKM.net - A Mac Mini Enthusiast Network


4. Mandarin Design. Web and Blog Design and Development


5. SYMBOLS.com -- encyclopedia of Western signs and ideograms

The only thing all the preceding bookmarks have in common is that I found them through other blogs. The impact of blogging is perhaps deeper than we may realize.

Technorati tag: memes

Another new Midland blog

Blogging for Midland debuted this month and is written by realtor John Boswell. He's also a brown belt in aikido, so I predict he'll be pretty much flame-free. ;-)

Tip o'the hat to Jessica's Well, which is still in the throes of an apparently invisible redesign. Or, perhaps, they're using the same guy who's painting my house.

The Power of Chocolate

Ogden Nash was being witty when he wrote "candy is dandy, but liquor is quicker," but he obviously didn't know MLB, who, when presented by yours truly with a pound of Grade A Prime Godiva chocolates in the velvet-covered heart-shaped box, responded with a less edible but nonetheless tasty offering of a new 1 gig iPod shuffle!

And, yes, it's even cooler than you think. ;-)

I {heart} Valentine's Day! Now if you'll excuse me, I have to fill up my new 'pod.

New version of Gibson's "Passion" coming before Easter

Heard on K-LOVE radio this morning: a re-edited version of "The Passion of the Christ" is being released on about 500 screens nationwide on March 11. The revised version will lack "5-6 minutes" of the most brutal scenes from the original, with the scourging scene being toned down the most. The revised version will not carry an age restriction on viewers, unlike the original's R rating.

This announcement will surely draw accusations of mercenary exploitation aimed at Mel Gibson and the movie's distributor, but I applaud the decision to provide a "milder" version. There were many people -- not just children -- who simply did feel up to the intensity of the movie, especially given the widespread publicity about the violence. The beauty and significance of the story should be accessible to those people without forcing them to endure things that they wouldn't watch anyway.

Please don't misunderstand me. I did not think that the content of the original movie was inappropriate. For those who are emotionally able to take it in, I recommend it highly. But there is a wide spectrum of feeling even among devout Christians as to how much of Christ's passion they can share (and, really, we can't share any of it; the reality is incomprehensible). From those who feel it necessary to actually be nailed to a wooden cross in order to more fully understand His suffering, to those who tear up at a simple reading of the account of the Crucifixion in the Bible, we each come to and react to the truth and implications of this story in different ways.

Fact-checking my own story

It's a little disconcerting to open the newspaper on Monday morning and find your photo and a half-page of newsprint about yourself at the top of the front page of section two.

It wasn't a surprise, of course; Jimmy Patterson conducted the interview more than a week ago and told me when the article would appear. But there's a big jump between a conversation over the phone, supplemented by a couple of emails, and seeing the results in black and white.

Jimmy does a great job of profiling local residents in his weekly "Person to Person" column, although he's sometimes handicapped by the material he has to work with...me being Exhibit A. I wouldn't want his job (or this aspect of it...this isn't how he makes his living). Trying to paint an accurate and coherent picture of a person based on an hour of conversation is just too much pressure. There's too much room for displeasure when the primary fact-checkers are those who know the interviewee the best. But Jimmy seems to thrive in that environment, and does an excellent job of bringing order out of chaos. In my case, I'm happy with the end result.

But, as he alluded in his article, we're entering a new world of journalism, one where news reports (both hard and soft) are no longer one-way streets. Every article is now a potential discussion, and the subjects of those articles have avenues of response, if not outright rebuttal. Being a blogger himself, Jimmy necessarily understands that fact, and so he won't be surprised that I'm going to do a little "fact-checking" myself, as there were a couple of misstatements and one area that I feel needs clarification. These things aren't significant and won't even be noticed by most readers; they also aren't necessarily the writer's fault, as I suspect that interviewing me is like herding cats.

First, my academic creds are a bit different than described. My undergrad degree is in accounting and my M.S. is in behavioral management. I point that out only to ward off any requests for help with tax returns; it's been a long time since I did any real accounting (and I never worked in tax accounting).

Second, the timing of my descent into the surreal world of web design is a little misleading as described in the article. I actually built my first web page in 1996, and it was shortly thereafter that I built the website for First Baptist Church. For three or four years, I provided website design and maintenance services on a completely pro bono basis to a wide variety of organizations, and I started doing it commercially only in 2000 after leaving ARCO. In fact, of the clients mentioned in the article, I still provide all services at no cost to the church, the Permian Basin Area Foundation, the Nonprofit Management Center (mentioned in the article as the "Non-Profit Resource Center") and Keep Midland Beautiful (and several others that were not mentioned).

The one area that I do want to be sure to clarify was where Jimmy wrote about my faith, and included this rather cryptic statement: He said his born again status was due probably to the time when he wasn't -- born again, that is. He then goes on to describe a period in my life when I felt I wasn't living out my faith.

One possible reading of this section could lead one to believe that I said that I was saved, then not saved, then saved again. While I realize that some Christians believe that it's possible to lose one's salvation, my interpretation of Scripture leads me to understand and embrace the doctrine of "once saved, always saved." Jesus clearly states that He will not lose any of those whom God has entrusted to Him, and that's a great comfort to me as someone who will never be good enough to earn my salvation...or to keep it, if it depends on how holy I can be.

Anyway, to some that might be soteriological nitpicking, but it's a very important distinction for me. What I meant to convey was that even though I was saved, and never had any doubts about it, I found myself living in a way that wasn't pleasing to God nor presenting a good example to those around me. I still struggle with that today, but through the grace of God and the encouragement of good friends and loving family, it gets easier.

[Update (2/14/05): The "360 journalism" continues...Jimmy Patterson just emailed me to say that his intent was to say exactly what I said above. He doesn't believe that people can fall from grace, once saved. So, we're just clarifying the words. But, isn't it cool that we're now able to have discussions like this in almost real time?]

All that aside, I think Jimmy did a fine job of profiling yours truly, and I think my parents will be proud of the article...and they're the ultimate critics we have to please, after all. I just hope he can now move on to someone worthy of the newsprint.

And if you're visiting for the dog pictures, Abbye says "welcome"!

Art before your eyes

Growing up in west Texas in the 60s, one of my favorite afterschool TV programs was "The Admiral Foghorn Show," a regional (Lubbock?) production which was broadcast to us on KOSA-TV, the CBS affiliate that was then the 800 pound gorilla in our market.

The program featured cartoons both new and "vintage" but one of my favorite characters on the show was an artist named Rosco*. Rosco was a small, energetic Hispanic man who gave a short on-air art lesson, using a piece of white poster board and a stick of charcoal. He would narrate as he sketched, and the seemingly random black lines hastily scribbled across the paper seemed to magically coalesce into something recognizable: a monkey, a palm tree, a dragster, a sailing ship. I was fascinated by his technique; I was also completely stymied in all my attempts to duplicate it. (As it turned out, my brother got all of the artistic talent in the family.)

Why do I share this little recollection? Because it's what came immediately to mind the instant I saw this. I can't identify the website for you because I don't read Cyrillic. But when you're finished watching the display on the preceding link, hack the URL back to here and take your pick from a wide variety of similar artistic displays.

Tip o'the artist's beanie to Denise over at Grandma's House, although she linked to a different but equally fascinating sketch. If you start watching it, stay with it...it doesn't turn out like you think.

*Footnote: While doing some quick background checking for this post, I ran across Rosco's obituary. Lucio "Rosco" Orozco died in 2000 at the age of 77. I wonder if he realized how many lives his artwork touched? I hope so.

Another, completely unrelated footnote: The first obituary in the page linked above is for the father of a girl who graduated from Fort Stockton High School with me and MLB. Sometimes, the net isn't as big as you think.

Good reads around the web

Ward Churchill: 1st Amendment Poster Idiot Child

Slate's Dahlia Lithwick pretty well nails this brouhaha over a second-rate professor's right to make a first-rate jackass out of himself. Like it or not, this is precisely what the framers of our Constitution had in mind when they crafted the First Amendment. The real question should be directed to the University of Colorado committee who hired and granted tenure to this wacko: what were you thinking? [Hat tip: Rebecca Blood]

USA to Europe: Tell it to the hand

Meanwhile, Francis W. Porretto offers some exceptionally good advice to the US State Department to consider when deciding how to make up with Ye Olde Europe: Don't. [Hat tip: The Fat Guy]

Calling North Korea's Bluff

Phelps doesn't believe for a second North Korea's claim of having a nuclear weapon, and makes a rather convincing argument as to why. Whether he's right or wrong about the bomb itself is almost secondary to the potential bad outcomes of either scenario.

Want an interview? Have your people call my people...

Well, now I know how Pâris Hiltøn feels.* For the fourth time in about a month, I've been asked to do an interview. Two of the requests were for stories dealing exclusively with local bloggers; the other two came about from my blogging but weren't exclusively blog-related.

I turned down one of the requests; one has already been written about here and another is going to be, um, accessible to local residents very soon. The fourth request is not something I'll say anything more about until after the project is completed, out of respect for the writer.

I'm a little uncomfortable with the notion that people are interested in either what I have to say or blogging in general. I worry that stories about blogging have been overdone, and I certainly don't feel that I'm qualified to be a spokesman for the blogosphere.

Or...am I? OK, I accept the fact that I'm not and never will be one of the "A-list" bloggers. I have neither the time nor the talent for that. But I may well be representative of the other million (five million? ten?) bloggers who also aren't "A-list." We're not bring down media empires or changing the course of national elections or setting the stage for the next fashion trend; we're just writing about stuff that interests or annoys or amuses us, and hoping that there are a few other folks who can relate. We're not in it for the money, and when it stops being fun, we'll probably stop doing it.

So, bring on the interviews, if you think the subject is worth the pixels or the ink. Just don't be surprised when the man behind the curtain looks suspiciously like the guy next door or down the hall (or even in the pew just behind yours).

*Well, other than being fabulously wealthy, skankily gorgeous and notoriously unaware of anything outside of her personal space, I know just how she feels. After all, we're both apparently famous for no discernible reason.

Another new Midland blog

I just discovered another new local blog, the second this week. It's called "Stark Trek" and it's written by one of MLB's co-workers. He's a Christian, a sci-fi fan and has a dog; what more could you ask?

The neighborhood is getting a tad crowded so I've created a new blogroll to house the Midlanders. I'm still waiting for the first Odessa blogger to hit the scene (and Ukrainians don't count...at least not for this).

Dean is to 2008 as Gravy is to Batteries

I know I'm not the brightest bulb in the chandelier when it comes to politics, but I really don't understand the Republican glee over the selection of Howard Dean to head up the Democratic National Committee.

If you listen to the commentators on Fox News, for example, you'd think that the Republicans had just been handed the keys to the 2008 White House on a silver platter. Some are going so far as to say that Dean's appointment will not only ensure a Republican presidency in 2008, but will ensure Republican majorities in both houses of Congress.

I don't buy it. Sure, Karl Rove swung a heavy bat behind the scenes in the last presidential election, and I suppose his strategy decisions reinforced certain themes that "resonated" with the majority of voters. But the race still went to the candidate with the best ideas (as judged by those voters), and I don't believe for a minute that Rove planted any of those ideas in an otherwise barren landscape.

Until proven otherwise, I believe that Hillary Clinton will be the Dem's candidate in 2008, and Senator Clinton will set the agenda for the party's run at the White House, when it comes time to do so. How much does she need Dean? So much that rather than being in close proximity at the time he was anointed, she's in Ukraine as a part of the Congressional delegation meeting with the newly elected President Yuschenko.

Republicans would do well to look at Dean in similar fashion as C.S. Lewis warned Christians to view the devil: you can get in trouble by not taking him seriously enough, but also by taking him too seriously.

Friday Lameness

It's Friday, most of the clients have disappeared for a long weekend, and the weather can't decide what it wants to be when it grows up: petulant, spitting and dreary or Charlie Brown wishy-washy sunny. (Where's a Bulwer-Lytton judge when you need her?)

Abbye's feeling better, although she's at the vet clinic right now getting a check-up (this is MLB's day off). We've got both a painter AND a plumber working our house over. The former may finish with our den today, allowing us to move the recliner and loveseat out of our dining room and reclaim a TV that doesn't fit in a cabinet. (Although, after last night, I'm not sure it's worth the trouble.) The latter is sawing holes in our wall to install new tub fixtures (yes, I did plan ahead; it's in the bathroom where the painter hasn't yet arrived). Unlike the painter, the plumber charges by the hour, and this job appears to have the complexity of disassembling and rebuilding the Hubble Telescope by remote control. I'd get a second job to pay for this only second jobs usually pay less than first jobs, and since I'm a freelance website designer in west Texas, there's no such thing.

I see that Apple is going to do a 2-for-1 stock split; it closed at an all-time high yesterday. Do I own any Apple stock? What do you think?

OK. This may represent the pinnacle of my blogging performance for the day. You're free to visit amongst yourselves.

E.R.'s tired Christian stereotypes

Tonight's episode of "E.R." was entitled "Just As I Am," and it featured the first singing of that famous hymn that I've ever heard on a network TV drama. Unfortunately -- but not unsurprisingly -- it was used to set up yet another episode where an explicitly Christian character is revealed to be the usual judgmental, hypocritical bigot for not accepting a sinful lifestyle as a perfectly logical part of God's plan for creation. Imagine that.

The use of "Just As I Am" as an episode title is particularly maddening considering the full lyrics of the hymn (which, of course, were not sung) and their real message. Here's one of the unsung stanzas:

The E.R. writers thought it would be clever to use the hymn title as a message that God -- and by extension other humans -- should be willing to accept someone for "who they are," which is code for "the choices they've made." It doesn't matter whether those choices run counter to God's will or His holiness.

In reality, the hymn speaks of being totally broken before God, coming to Him with the full knowledge of one's sin and shortcoming, and counting on God's grace which has been promised to those who will repent of that willful sin. The use of the hymn by E.R. to put forth a message of "tolerance" was, in fact, a complete perversion of the hymnwriter's original intent.

NBC has once more shown that it not only doesn't understand Christianity, it has no desire to do so.

Technorati tag: Christianity

Lance and Oprah

Lance Armstrong will appear on The Oprah Winfrey Show tomorrow, February 11. He'll be talking about his bout with cancer as well as the fabulously successful LiveStrong yellow armband fundraiser for the Lance Armstrong Foundation.

By the way, according to the armband order page at the LAF Store, they've upgraded and restocked and the big shipping delays are apparently a thing of the past. I hope that's because of increased supply and not due to a jumping of the shark regarding rubber wrist bands in general.

The Diary of Samuel Pepys

If you ever wondered what blogging might have been like had it been around in the 17th century, look no further than the The Diary of Samuel Pepys. Pepys was a prolific diarist who lived in London; his journal of daily life in the mid-1600s has been published extensively in treeware form and is available on the web in various places. What makes the preceding website unique is that it publishes one entry per day, just like the original journal, with the month and day corresponding to the original material, albeit 443 years later.

For example, here's today's entry (it was Sunday for Sam):

Each entry contains links to various annotations which are clarifications and explanations provided by knowledgeable readers. In this sense, the Diary is quite similar to a wiki...a collaborative effort at building up a body of knowledge about a specific subject.

To paraphrase George Santayana, those who ignore history are doomed to reblog it.

Tip o'the hat to the oddly charming Fishing Guide to the Stars, who probably will say that he knew I was going to link to him.

Revenge of the Spam Victims

Bryan has a dream.

As long as he's dreaming, I suggest that he causes each one of the spam messages to become zombieized (the darting kind, like in "Dawn of the Dead," not the slow-moving goofs in "Shaun of the Dead") with a built-in tracking mechanism that leads 'em all back to the sender.

Now that's entertainment!

The Segway Index

Apple's stock has substantially outperformed the market over the past year, and its financial results have been laudable. But, apparently, you don't have to look at the financial section of the newspaper to figure that out.

Technorati tag: Apple

Can't Touch That

Update (2/10/05): Was just reading the details of the just-released Mac OS X 10.3.8 Update and ran across this tidbit in the description of what the update accomplishes: Addresses "jumping cursor" issues that might occur when using your portable computer's trackpad with your thumb, side of thumb, or a "flat" finger. Well. Perhaps the fingers on my left hand are just too "flat."

Today's Wall Street Journal has a report that shows the danger of having all your eggs in one basket.

I'm not particularly concerned about Synaptics' potential business problems, but this report gives me hope that Apple is going to address one of the few areas where it has dropped the ball in terms of user interface. The trackpad on my G4 PowerBook is horrible; I refuse to use it, instead toting around a mouse with a retractable USB connector.

Now, I'm willing to concede that the problem may be me, or, more specifically, my internal power grid. I have much more success getting the trackpad to do my bidding when I use my right hand; the cursor tends to jump like a cat on a hotplate (not that I would know) when I use the left. Unfortunately, I'm left-handed, and while I'm fairly ambidextrous when it comes to mousing, I prefer to work left-handed. I've always wondered why my internal "wiring" is such that the trackpad responds properly to one hand but not the other.

Anyway, if the alternatives Apple may be considering will address this issue, they've got my blessing.

Techorati tags: Apple | PowerBook

The Bride of Chuckie

I have nothing to add to this story, nor any interest in it. I just couldn't resist the headline.

New Midland Blog

Today's the day for navel-gazing posts, it seems, and this one fits (in the category, not my navel). I've just run across Bert's Blog, which has been up since mid-January (hey, Bert...don't be so secretive, dude!).

Bert's a local college student, and I'm pretty sure he's been an occasional commenter here at the Gazette. Drop by and give him some encouragement when you get a minute; this blogging stuff's hard work! I mean, really hard.

Deconstructing Dawn's Departure

Dawn Eden discloses the reason she lost her copy-editing job at the New York Post, and links to an excellent article about her situation in the New York Observer.

I have to say that from a pure blogging perspective, the Post has done her a huge favor. Regardless of the alleged job-related excuses that are being put forth, she was essentially fired for being a conservative Christian blogger and the fallout from this should have some major reverberations.

Technorati tag: Freedom of Speech

Well, that didn't last long...

In the category of "Shortest Lived Blogs Which I Kept Meaning To Blogroll But Never Got Around To It And Now It's Too Late," we must add The Diplomad."

The writers claim their resignation from the blogosphere has nothing to do with pressure from the State Department.

Abbye Update

Abbye is getting decidely annoyed with these frequent visits to the vet's office. She objects, in particular, to the highly personal methods used to check her temperature...which, by the way, show that she's still running a lowgrade fever.

However, things are looking up. The medicine got her nausea under control, so she can eat and drink again. She now begins a protocol of antibiotics and Vitamin E to get the apparent bacterial infection under control and bring her liver enzymes back into the normal range.

Most importantly, we may have identified the culprit that's caused the liver spike: the every-other-day dose of Rimadyl she gets to control pain from arthritis. The vet said that 10-15% of the dogs who take Rimadyl end up having to leave it due to stomach and/or liver problems. The only odd thing about this is that Abbye is normally not part of such a large minority. It's usually something along the lines of, "I've never seen any dog react in that way to this medicine!"

Of course, we want the liver problems fixed, but if it is the Rimadyl, we're then faced with a different but just as vexing problem: pain control. I guess we'll cross that bridge when we come to it.

Transferring Music from iPod to Computer

Apple sold 4.58 million iPods during the 4th quarter of 2004. That works out to 38,000 devices per day...and that's before the $99 iPod shuffle hit the streets. That's a lot of potential storage space for music. It's also a lot of potentially frustrated owners who are bumping into the one thing that is not "insanely great" about the iPod, getting music transferred from the player to a second computer.

OK, I can see the red flags going up. Copying music from an iPod to a computer that's not its "primary host was made intentionally difficult to prevent easy pirating of copyrighted music. No honest person will quibble with that goal. However, the end result is that it also makes it difficult for honest people to make legitimate copies of the music they own. If you have both a desktop and a notebook computer, you have to choose where you'll listen to your music. Likewise, if you lose a hard drive with your iTunes collection, you're out of luck even though you have the whole collection on your iPod.

Fortunately, there are relatively simple and inexpensive workarounds for this problem, and they are well documented in this article from Playlist Magazine. The article discusses alternative approaches for both Mac and Windows users. Follow the steps and you'll once again be able to take control of the music you own.

Technorati tags: iPod | Apple

Super Bowl Commercial Wrapup

Everyone's dissected yesterday's Super Bowl commercials ad nauseum, but that won't stop me from piling on. The main impression they left was one of, well, insignificance. Perhaps the threat of FTC fines and sanctions had advertisers walking on eggshells to the point of completely losing their creative edges, but I'm going to accuse them of just copping out and using that as an excuse.

Note: All the ads can be viewed via iFilm's website.

Commercials don't have to be R-rated or in poor taste to be effective and memorable. There were at least two examples of that yesterday, with each coming in at the opposite end of the spectrum.

FedEx scored big with its spoof of the "ultimate Super Bowl commercial," wherein it listed the ten factors that make a great SB spot, and then attempting to put all ten into one ad. OK, so one factor was a "groin kick" (carried out by a dancing bear on Burt Reynolds and therefore it was completely forgivable) and another was "attractive females" (but the cheerleaders were quite modest). What made the commercial for me, however, was the item "Product Message," followed by "Optional" in parentheses. I like that sort of self-effacing approach (especially when contrasted with the overly-dramatic and proud offerings by most car manufacturers, Cadillac being Exhibit A).

At the other end of the spectrum was Anheuser-Busch's tribute to soldiers walking through the terminal of an airport and attracting spontaneous and increasing applause from bystanders and airport employees. I couldn't tell if the soldiers were leaving or departing, but it didn't matter. The message of gratitude was clear and moving.

In both of these instances, the ads had nothing to do with the companies' products, but they still managed to make a brand-specific impression.

Of course, the biggest buzz and, I suspect, educational success was achieved by GoDaddy.com with its spoof of the very thing that scared off the other advertisers: a presumed Congressional hearing into the appropriateness of broadcast material. The GoDaddy rep in the ad, a quite healthy young woman, suffered a "wardrobe malfunction" during the hearing, but carried on bravely in the recitation of GoDaddy's product offering. Fox News reported this morning that the ad that was shown was actually the third take (although CNN reports only two takes), with the first two not making through the vetting process for broadcast appropriateness. The final version was designed to look more dangerous than it really was; the commercial was actually more tame than some of the sideline shots of cheerleaders during the game itself. But I have no doubt that GoDaddy had a huge amount of traffic to its website (where the commercial could be downloaded) and many of those who visited it had never before heard of the company or what it offers. Now, whether any of those visits turn into paying customers is another issue.

Sick dog

I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but Abbye suffers from chronic canine Ehrlichiosis, a tick-borne disease similar to Rocky Mountain Spotted Fever. We suspect that she contracted it as a pup, before she came to us, as we believe she was out on her own for a while before the Humane Society found her.

She gets an annual blood test for the condition, and she continues to test positive. The treatment is a round of antibiotics that are effective in suppressing the symptoms for about a year, at which time another test may indicate that the organism that causes the disease has been snuffed. Unfortunately, that hasn't been the case with Abbye, and may never be.

Anyway, we're approaching the one year anniversary of the last round of antibiotics and she's starting to show symptoms again. The blood test confirmed that she's still got the Ehrlichiosis, but she's also got some significantly elevated liver enzymes which has the vet a bit concerned.

Obviously, we're concerned too. She threw up about eight times over the weekend (that's always been the first obvious symptom), shows little interest in food but is drinking water to excess (diabetes has been ruled out, btw). Her coat is also thinning out. But the most telling sign that she doesn't feel good is that she wants to sit in my lap while I'm working, and if there's one thing Abbye is not, it's a lap dog.

The vet has a plan laid out, but it's not something that will show results or even a diagnosis in just a few hours. When your dog doesn't feel good, nothing feels good, especially when you're not sure about the problem or the cure.

While we're not yet at the point of worry, let's say we've slipped over the edge of anxiousness. Knowing how some of you feel about Abbye, I'll be sure to keep you posted on her progress.

Report from Iraq: Part 2 - Jan 2005

Update (2/7/05): Even though this was originally posted a couple days ago, I've bumped it back up to the top of the page, as it deals with a subject that...let's face it...is much more significant than a silly football game (no offense to the Pats and Eagles fans). I also realize I may have dealt a fatal blow to the space-time continuum by altering the post date, but it's precisely that sort of awesome power that caused me to start blogging in the first place. I'm sure you can deal with it.

I've just received a detailed report complete with photos from Will, who is getting settled into his tour in Iraq. He sent a very interesting slide show, which I've annotated and uploaded. The show is in Acrobat format and should open in autoplay mode. However, to see the annotations describing each photo, you'll need to open the file from within Acrobat and manually scroll through the document. Note that the file is almost 3 mb in size.

In his transmittal letter, Will writes about his perspective on these experiences.

I really like his reference to the Iraqi people and their ability to "see this through," because it's a perceptive reference to the fact that at some point, it is indeed the citizens of Iraq who will need to step up and take control over their own country...and their own democracy.

As I mentioned in the previously-linked post, Will's wife is expecting their first child in March and I know they'd appreciate your prayers for her and their daughter's health.

SB - Final

New England intercepts McNabb to end the game. This one will be quickly forgotten, except by Pats fans (and few second-guessers in Philadelphia).

Commercial wrap-up will come later. Gotta call home.

SB 20

Well, how 'bout that, sports fans? Philly's not rolling over. Greg Lewis just caught a TD pass to pull 'em to within 3 points, just under two minutes to play.

Onside kick? It's a low percentage play...very low...but I don't think they've got the defense to stop the Pats (other than NE is likely to go conservative in their play calling). The experts are saying onside kick is the only choice, since the Eagles spent a timeout earlier. Makes sense.

Worst. Onside. Kick. Ever.

The last two minutes of "big" games last forever.

SB 19

Another challenge from the sidelines, and it's successful. That's three overturned plays in this game. Results in Philly picking up a few extra yards, but not a major break. The clock's under five minutes and the Eagles are still in their own territory. They are not managing the clock well at all.

Looks like I'll be able to make my usual 9:00 p.m. Sunday night call home pretty much on schedule.

Oh, great catch by Terrell Owens. Wonder what he'd be doing if he was 100%. (Have I already asked that?)

Hey, I noticed that my cousin, Bart Bryant, won $31K and change in today's golf tournament. That gives him over a quarter million for the year already. Not bad for a guy born in Gatesville, Texas and a graduate of New Mexico State University.

Two minute yawnin...I mean, warning.

SB 18

This game has moved along pretty quickly, hasn't it? Thank goodness.

Pats kick a field goal, lead 24-14. Might as well be 124-14.

[Does anyone buy those "Old Super Bowls on DVD" packages?]

Interesting graphic on TV: no team has ever come back to win after being down by more than 8 points in the fourth quarter of the Super Bowl.

Terrell Owens has a long catch and run into Pats territory, wherein McNabb immediately throws an INT. Turn out the lights, the party's over...

SB 17

Commercials...

Mastercard (TV animations gathering for dinner: priceless) - 7 (out of 10). Not as good as the Badger (lost dog making his way home) series from last year, but a fun commercial nonetheless. However, I suspect that at least half the viewers won't recognize at least half the characters in the commercial.

Amazing pass catch by Deion Branch, stealing a reception from the defender. Pats are gonna win this one. Branch has tied the record for the most receptions in a Super Bowl, by the way, with 11.

Emerald Nuts (mythical characters will disappear): 6. You always get extra points for working a talking unicorn into your commercial.

SB 16

The Patriots are answering with a steady drive of their own, and are now inside the 30 of the Eagles...and we're heading to the final (finally!) quarter. Tie ballgame, 14-14.

I see that the Lincoln Fry has now fetched a bid just a tad over the 100 billion dollar level. If this works, maybe someone will find an onion ring that looks like the Social Security system.

The Pats are fixin' to score. Yep. That was quick. 21-14, New England.

I don't look for any great new commercials from here on out. I wouldn't think that most advertisers would take a risk in putting their best stuff at the end of a potential turkey, like so many Super Bowls have been.

SB 15

Third quarter is half gone and Philly has a pretty good little drive going. The Pats are playing too loose on the corners and McNabb is hitting those out patterns one after another.

First down inside the 10, as Westbrook reaches behind him to pull in a pass.

Touchdown, Philly. Westbrook snags another pass down the middle. Tie ballgame, kiddies.

[Have I mentioned that I don't care who wins this thing? I'm partial to the NFC, and tend to root for the underdog, but I'm not an Eagles fan. So. Meh.]

SB 14

OK, I'm back. If Fox's primary motivation for halftime was to avoid controversy, it succeeded beyond it's wildest dreams. What a snoozer.

Anyway, couple of commercials to note.

Tabasco (reverse tan): 5 of 10. Subtly effective.

Anhauser-Busch (soldiers getting applause in airport): 8. OK, it was a bit schmaltzy, but I don't care. Great message. I like it.

Ameriquest #2 (man holding cat and knife over spilled spaghetti sauce): 7. Now that was pretty funny.

Michele weighed in via a comment...she liked the albino parrot the best thus far. She may have been watching a few too many cheesy disaster movies lately, however.

Oh, yeah...I almost forgot there's a game going on. Pats in the lead by a touch. Don't look for 'em to lose it.

SB: Half Time

No, I'm not blogging halftime, but I figured I should sum up the first half commercials.

FedEx has the top spot, hands down, for its Burt Reynolds & Groin-Kicking/Dancing/Singing Bear with touching yet funny postscript.

Number two is Budweiser for the animal kingdom Clydesdale wannabes.

Everything else pretty much stank or was non-memorable. GoDaddy gets an honorable mention for flouting the censors, however.

SB 13

Brady just throws the worst pass in Super Bowl history. Oh, not really; I'm just trying to interject some excitement. NE converts its first 3rd down of the game (four minutes until halftime).

The Pats are back to first and goal, as Brady starts to get in the groove. Two minute warning.

Michelob Amber Bock commercial #1 (rich but not smooth; smooth but not rich): 4 of 10. Haven't we seen this one before?

Touchdown Pats. The receiver was so alone in the end zone, he was writing a letter to his penpal. That's one ugly play by the Eagles' DB.

Tie ballgame, just in time for the half. I'm not planning on blogging the halftime show, btw. I'd rather eat something. I know you're disappointed.

SB 12

Somebody get Cadillac an ad agency...please?

Challenge is upheld (man, twice in one half!). Pats are now deep in Philly territory, as I was saying before I was so rudely interrupted. Great run by Dillon, down to the Eagles' 7.

Brady loses the ball, and Philadelphia comes up with it! First turnover of the playoffs by New England this year (according to Joe Buck).

Still a lot of time to go -- a lot -- but NE isn't very impressive thus far.

New England holds Philly and they'll have to punt from their end zone.

Commercial break. Chimps. CareerBuilder.com refers to them as monkeys. I dock them many points for non-PC terminology. 3 of 10.

Bud Light commercial #? (cockatoo? cockatiel? albino parrot?): 4 of 10. Talking animals work, but not always.

SB 11

Commercial break after kickoff (one of the worst NFL broadcast traditions)...

Degree (deoderant) commercial (Mama's Boy doll): 1 of 10 (It reeks. How ironic is that?)

Had to take a quick timeout to delete some trackback spam (thank you MT-Blacklist!).

If you're leaving comments, I'm quite grateful, but I probably won't be able to respond for a while. My twitchy little fingers can do only so much, you know?

The Pats are moving smartly downfield, mostly running the ball. How many times have we seen this in past Super Bowls? Boring first quarter, one team scores, then the dam breaks. We'll see, but the Pats are...ooh...wait a minute, turnover to Philly, barring an overturned call.

Here comes a challenge. Commercial break.

I'm not grading the Pepsi/iTunes commercials. They're, um, cute, but not in the running. They're throwaways.

SB 10

Touchdown Eagles! Whoda thunk it? Great pass from McNabb to Smith, as the receiver fights off a double team. Pats trail in the playoffs for the first time this season (according to Joe Buck).

Budweiser commercial #1 (all the animals want to be Clydesdales): 7 (out of 10) (As Fed Ex says, talking animals are important)

Subway commercial #1 (guys parking, eating subs and fogging up windows): the description should clue you in... 2 (out of, uh huh...)

SB 9

MBNA commercial #1 (Gladys Knight plays rugby): 3 (She's always struck me as more of a bocce ball player.)

2nd quarter's underway, and Brady gets sacked. So much for my prediction. Does New England have a first down yet? Don't know, but they do have four punts thus far. Brady is 4 of 7 for 28 yards.

I notice that an anagram for Super Bowl is "Bowel Spur." Sorta fits. Also, "Pus Blower."

Oh, oh...long pass by McNabb to Pinkston. Philly's inside the NE 20 now. Westbrook runs for a first down...first and 10.

SB 8

Pats can't move the ball...as Collingsworth points out, they're being very conservative, and that's their strategy. Wake me for halftime.

Philly gets great field position, in NE territory, following the punt. You gotta hand it to Philly, they keep hammering away. Another long pass, but it's almost intercepted as well.

NE strips the ball from a Philly receiver, so the Eagles waste another opportunity. The Pats will, I predict, move the ball this time. Although not on first down, as the receiver slips while the ball's in the air. And not on second down. And who knows about third down, as the 6th scoreless 1st quarter in Super Bowl history (according to Joe Buck) comes to an end.

*yawn*

SB 7

Bud Light commercial (your apartment, your girlfriend): 2 (out of 10)

McD's commercial #2 (LincolnFry #2): 4 (out of 10)

McNabb is determined to throw an interception, and where there's a will, there's a way. Pats get the ball deep in their own end. More commercials.

Visa Checkcard commercial #1 (Superheros): 3 (out of 10)

Ameriquest commercial #1 (You're getting robbed): 3 (out of...well, you know)

Quizno's commercial #1 (Bob the baby): 2

SB 6

We have a first down! (7:11 left in the first quarter) OK, now we're getting somewhere.

The GoDaddy.com website is inaccessible. I'd say the commercial got somebody's attention. GoDaddy's president is blogging The Game, btw. Not a great idea, if their server response testifies to their hosting capabilities. (OK, I just checked the so-called blog, and it's just an extended commercial.)

McNabb and his receivers are not on the same wavelength thus far.

Back to the pregame show, I was impressed with the combined service academy choir's rendition of the National Anthem. It's refreshing to hear it sung without undue soulful embellishment.

Hey, I thought Terrell Owens was injured. Philly's got 1st and goal after the refs missed a penalty on the offense. Oops...McNabb just lost 16. So much for 1st and goal.

Pats get the interception, but let's check on the flag. Ooooh...it's on the defense, and an automatic first down for Philly.

SB 5

I had low expectations for this game and thus far, it's fallen short. What a yawner. Where's the offense?

Another punt, and the Iggles are out to their own something or other. More commercials.

Diet Pepsi commercial #2 ("Staying Alive"): 2 (out of 10)

GoDaddy.com commercial #1 (healthy young lady in defective tank top): 12 (out of 10). Just kidding. But it's a good thing I already know what GoDaddy sells.

SB 4

Diet Pepsi commercial #1 (P. Diddy) - 3 (out of 10)

Bill Belichek (Pats coach) went to the wrong bench at the beginning of the game?

Good punt by NE; Philly can't make a first down and will punt from near its own end zone. So far, the punters are the stars of the game.

More commercials.

Gotta tell you, "The Pacifier" looks like a hilarious movie (as I've previously noted).

Fed Ex commercial #1 (Burt Reynolds and Dancing Talking Bear): 8 (out of 10). This one looks like it might be a winner.

Bud Light #2 (Cedric the Entertainer..."gotta work on my fantasies"): 5 (out of 10).

SB 3

Update: Check out the Lincoln Fry blog...there's an actual story here. Although, the more I think about it, the more I believe it's still all part of commercial strategy by McDonald's, to raise money for its charity. Good cause, by the way.

Oh, this is the most exciting part of the game: the Official Review of the Play. And the call was overturned, Philly gets the ball back, and now has to punt as it was fourth down anyway. Still, beats a turnover in your end of the field.

Commercial link of the game, thus far: LincolnFry.com, from a series of commercials by McDonalds following the exciting exploits of a guy who finds a french fry that resembles Honest Abe. There's some sort of commercial tie to Yahoo! Auctions. Oh, I see, a replica of the Fry is being auctioned over at Yahoo! with the proceeds being donated to the Ronald McDonald House.

SB 2

First turnover, as McNabb loses a fumble under pressure. It's likely to be a long night for the Iggles.

Anybody got a clue as to why Bush the First and Willy Boy were part of the National Anthem ceremony? I mean, the guys are like Siamese Twins nowadays, but, really...

First Bud Light commercial (parachutists): 3 (out of 10)

Blogging the Super Bowl? Why not?

I wasn't sure I'd even watch the game, much less blog it, but I had fun doing it last year, so why not?

Special emphasis on commercials, of course.

The Pats have just kicked off, after the lamest coin toss I've ever seen. I predict the Pat will lodge a complaint with the NFL after a replay shows the coin turned over only once in the air, giving the Eagles the option. That's what they get for having a 9 year old handle such an awesome responsibility.

Women's Wear Doofus

Update (2/11/05): Women's Wear Daily has retracted -- or at least corrected -- the misleading story described below.

I had a hard time deciding in which category this post belongs. On the surface, the lunatic ravings of Women's Wear Daily's Sara James about blog pal Dawn Eden seems to belong in the "Just Plain Silly" grouping, but only because it's one of those "you have to laugh to keep from crying" stories.

After reading Dawn's refutations (here and here), it seems to be yet another case where a "journalist" refused to let the facts get in the way of a juicy story, resulting in the apparent libeling of an innocent. Knowing Dawn as I think I do, WWD is in for a very rough ride unless it issues a speedy and complete retraction.

And, despite Gawker's well-intentioned support, Dawn might remember that the only admonition in the Bible about not taking an offender to court is when all parties involved are believers.

"Sideways"

The movie "Sideways" raised a bunch of questions in my mind, and probably none of them were anticipated by the director.

For example, at what point are the skills of the director, writer and actors made irrelevant by objectionable content? And, what is the dividing line between "adult humor" and pørnøgråphy? And, just how many times will I fall for the offering of garbage disguised as "serious film"?

"Sideways" lived up to the reviewers' claims as a well-written and -acted movie. The California wine-country scenery was beautiful and it was fun to recognize some of the roads and vistas I'd traveled many years ago. And there were occasional scenes of laugh-out-loud hilarity.

But, in the end, the movie was about characters who I didn't care about engaging in behaviors that they should be ashamed of, and I came away regretting the loss of two hours that I'll never get back.

Oscar nominations? Fine. Whatever. It's