Snow!

It was snowing last night. No accumulation to mention but it was a nice sight. We still have a lot of time to do better.

Winter Is Coming

The weather outside is frightful. The wind is starting to pick up and there's a chill in the air. I guess the wintry weather is nearly upon us. The lows tonight are forecasted to be in the low 30s, tomorrow's high only in the mid 40s and tomorrow night's low in the low 20s. Yes! I can finally use a real jacket for once. There's also a very, very, slight chance of some precipitation meaning we might see some flurries overnight into tomorrow. I'm not holding my breath, though. I like this time of year. Really, I do.

An Interactive Tour

Of the Eagle Nebula courtesy of the Hubble telescope site.

This Could Happen

But how do you really prove that you had nothing to do with it? What can you really do if the store or police don't believe you?

ST. LOUIS -- A Missouri couple said that when they opened the box for their new camcorder, they found something they hadn't pictured -- a jar of pasta sauce where their camera should have been. Jim Rittenberg, of Perryville, Mo., bought a $1,600 camcorder at a Best Buy store in the St. Louis suburb of Ellisville last week. Inside the Sony box, he said he found a jar of Classico pasta sauce, a telephone cord and an outlet cover where the electronics were supposed to be. So far, the Rittenbergs are stuck without a camcorder. Ellisville police are investigating. Best Buy manager Wade Trapp said that the store is working to resolve the matter.

I have nightmares of similar circumstances...I come home from the grocery store and open the 12-pack of beer and a couple of bottles are empty.

Service With A Smile

I must give my "thumbs up" to FlatSigned Rare Books, which specializes in rare, antique, or hard to find books as well as publishing exclusive signed limited editions, for their customer service attitude. Way back in 2002 I bought To Kill A Mockingbird signed by Harper Lee. When I received the book I noticed that there were some dirt marks or something similar on the edges of the book. I contacted the owner, Tim Miller, and explained the problem. He told me to return the book and he would get me another one and would refund the shipping on my next order. I received the replacement book and it is now in my library. Unfortunately, I have not been able to buy (afford) another book from them until a couple of days ago.

So this morning I called Tim Miller and explained the circumstances from my previous purchase over four years ago and asked if he would knock off the shipping charges for this book. I really didn't expect him to do it but without hesitation he said that that was not a problem. Wow, if only I could get service like that at Walmart or Target or McDonald's. But seriously, if you or someone you know is looking for that special or hard to find book, I confidently recommend that you check out FlatSigned Rare Books first.

Free Money

Well, not really. Technically it's money that I've already spent but for some reason or another it needs to be returned to me. But in my mind, since I had no clue that it was owed to me, it doesn't exist. Hence, it's free money or found money to me. It all started this morning when I was reading the news and came across an article about Texas' unclaimed property website. Just type in your name to see if anyone has reported to the state any unclaimed funds. I tried my full name first, then variations of it, and came up with an exact match. It wasn't a jackpot but $35 is still better than nothing. For grins I tried some friends' names and lo and behold I found one that is owed some money from one of the apartments she used to live in. So if you live in the great state of Texas, go here to check if you're owed any money. There's also a link there that points to searches for other states. Cha-ching!

Kramer's A Kook Part 2

Well, it seems Michael Richards has hired Rubenstein Associates to do a little crisis management for him. Let's see if they can untarnish his reputation and rescue him from his meltdown. Full story here.

Kramer's A Kook

I can't believe what Michael Richards, a.k.a. Kramer from Seinfeld, did last week during a stand-up routine. I had heard about it, but didn't give it much thought because I was sick until I saw the video clip on YouTube. He basically lost it and went out of control. It's really unbelievable and there's no excuse for it. I can sort of understand that out of anger, some people will say the things that they know will hurt the other person, and wouldn't normally say those things at all under ordinary circumstances. But control was something that went out the window for Michael Richards last week. I think he's going to have to do a little more than say he's sorry on Letterman.

It Figures Part 2

I can't believe I missed 8 Films To Die For. Oh, that's right, I was sick. The site is still running with video but I don't know for how much longer.

It Figures

So I took three days of vacation last week and was sick during two of those days. That just aggravates the hell out of me. Most everything I had planned to do ended up not being accomplished. Got a lot of T.V. time in, though. Rachael Ray is just too damned perky.

Resemblance?

Comparison of one2believe's Messengers of Faith talking Jesus doll with Colin Farrell and Val Kilmer. You decide...

Start Planning A Head

It's just around the corner...Global Orgasm Day!!

Deal I Couldn't Pass

I was in Best Buy this weekend and for no particular reason was looking around in the computer area. I passed by the display of portable flash drives and stopped to look at them because I've always thought about getting one. I was looking at a Sandisk 1 GB model for $50 when I saw the Sandisk Cruzer Micro 2GB with a sale sign. It was regularly priced at $103 but it had an instant rebate of $59 making the price a mere $44. I just couldn't pass that deal up.

Important Note

Directly from my wife's cell phone instruction book:

If your phone becomes wet do not place in microwave oven to dry.

Duh.

What Are The Odds?

I have two computers at home and last week when I sat down at one I noticed it was off. This is unusual since my computers are always on. I turned it back on and started to do whatever it was I needed to do and it suddenly turned off right in the middle of things. This was about 10 minutes after I turned it on. I turned it on again and while it was booting I began checking the connections and such. That's when I noticed that the fan in the power supply was not working. After it was on for about 5 minutes this time it abruptly cut off. From that point it wouldn't turn on at all. Dead power supply I imagine from overheating. I'm a procrastinator so I just used the other computer and told myself I'd pull the power supply out later and change it.

So I sit down at the working computer yesterday evening and move the mouse to wake it up and nothing happens. I can see that the monitor is on although the light is amber signifying it isn't getting a signal. I move the mouse again because I'm still thinking that the computer is asleep and still nothing happens. I then try to reboot the computer and nothing happens. I check the connections and all that but still no working computer. I have to assume that this computer's power supply also burned up. What are the odds of this happening?

Now I've got to get two power supplies and replace them or I could once again procrastinate and pull out the laptop and connect it to the network instead. Hmmm, that would be a whole lot easier than pulling out two power supplies and running across town to CompUSA. I am *so* lazy. ;-)

Mentos Phenomenon Accident

Check this video out. I heard that the same thing happened to a small boy in Brazil after drinking a Coke and eating some Mentos candy. Poor kid.

Wow

I just had some fresh salsa during lunch. The salsa in a bottle can't compete against the freshly made stuff in my opinion. This was a bit on the hot side. I can't feel my mouth. I think I'm going to die. But it was really good.

A Noble Concern, He, He, He

Although I can't think of 101 things to do with Helium, I am concerned that at some point we may not have helium filled balloons anymore. Entire story here.

11/05/2006
Associated Press
The second-most abundant element in the universe is suddenly getting harder and harder to find. Party stores and florist shops grounded in the balloon business are caught in a helium shortage gripping suppliers across the country and in Texas, where one-third of the world's helium production is overseen.

Supply of the noble gas — second only to hydrogen in the universe but rare on Earth in terms of quantity — has depleted while production from two large international sites is temporarily down. Not helping matters is scheduled maintenance at the U.S. Bureau of Land Management's National Helium Reserve complex in Amarillo, which will curtail production for 10 days starting Wednesday.

"We're so close to the edge now, and every molecule counts," said Leslie Theiss, manager of agency's field office in Amarillo. "We're walking the tightrope right now."

Businesses that depend on helium have met with shortages from suppliers. In downtown Houston, American Balloon and Novelty Co. owner Deborah Muse said there have been times when she couldn't get helium for weeks. Mike Havard, co-owner of Havard Welding in Galena Park, said he's kept his customers supplied but
acknowledged that demand is heavy.

"There is a shortage. There is some concern of allocation," said Havard.

Ow!

Why do I always manage to cut my tongue when eating a Tootsie Roll Pop? Not that I really care how many licks it takes to reach the Tootsie Roll center of the Tootsie Pop. There seems to always be a section of the candy that has a tiny, tiny crevice and the edges are very, very sharp. Almost like eating a piece of glass. Mmmm.