December 31, 2007

Resolutions

Note to self: On March 1st, re-read this post and LAUGH, LAUGH, LAUGH!

I really don't make any grandiose resolutions. I am not saying I have nothing to improve upon. Just content with myself. And with that said, here we go!

1. Exercise more. (Vague enough to argue that by mid-February this will be accomplished.)
2. Eat healthier. (Again vague enough.)
3. Enjoy more wines. (Sipping on a glass of Veuve Clicquot right now.)
4. Write 500 words a day. (This will be the toughest one.)
5. Post one photo a day on my other blog.
6. Post at least 6 times a month on this blog.

And the one resolve I make each year. And so far, I have kept it.
Enjoy each day as the gift from God that it is. And thank Him daily for the gift.

December 28, 2007

Technorati Surprises

I know that this is really silly. But it's all John's fault. He added the Technorati button to his site. (Hopefully that will help raise you to a "3").
Now I have no clue how this site works. (No, really.) I have no idea why this site is out there. Hopefully someone will take pity on me and give me a succinct explanation as to why it matters. *cough* Lisa *cough*

Now, to add to my general ignorance of this, when I clicked on the widget I found that John's blog was ranked around 3,000,000. That is out of some 113 million blogs! And while playing around the technorati site, I found that this blog was ranked at about 2,100,000! I was floored. How can this even be possible? How are these sites rated? Then there's Kelley's site, which was ranked around 873,000. This makes sense because she has connections. :)

But the big shock came when I searched for my other site - Orlando Daily Photo. This site is ranked around 32,700! !?!!?! I am at a loss. Is there a way to make this work for me? Yes, I mean monetary-wise. Yes, I am greedy.

Seriously, I have had a great time with both sites. They have rewarded me in ways I cannot begin to express. I just wanted to blog about what I found.

December 27, 2007

My New Tagline

And really the motto for my life:

Sometimes you just have to hit the screw harder. Where is that little trademark symbol when you need it?

I love juxtaposition. I like when two incongruous images crash into each other and become symbolic of something larger.

This, my friends, is the system by which I have lived my life thus far, and will continue to do so as long as I have breath. At least until I win the lottery.

December 11, 2007

Everything You Know is Wrong

First, please read this post and then this post.
Very simply put, in this age of information, the unwashed masses are fed a steady diet of pablum. The bane of our existence is the media. Both print and television continue to take stories and bastardize them. This is especially true of anything relating to science. They take away any big words so that a five year-old can understand them. They add a touch of sensationalism to keep people's interest. And the worst part, they know that their audience will not go out and independently validate the so-called facts.
On the local news a few days back, there was a story concerning the high amounts of sodium in processed foods. Foods like frozen dinners will have 30% to 50% of the recommended daily allowance of sodium in one serving. The FDA was looking at ways to crack down on this. But the twist was how the news outlet presented the facts. They stated that one should consume about one teaspoon of sodium a day. But most people are getting 4000 milligrams a day instead. This was a graphic on the screen with the 4000 in a larger font. The voice over then said that this was about twice what one should consume. This confusing graphic is exactly what I am talking about. Yes, too much sodium will lead to high blood pressure and heart disease. But, there was no need to sensationalize the point in such a confusing way.
In Scott Adams' post about fossils and evolution, and in John's post about global warming, the science part of the stories are glossed over. Assuredly, the media outlets feel that the average person (the aforementioned five year-old) would not understand the science involved. And they have achieved the self-fulfilling prophecy.

The good news is that there is intelligent life still on this planet. We must be vigilant in our efforts to educate ourselves and our children. You cannot take any bit of information as fact. You must validate and decide for yourself. Nothing from the media can be taken at face value. Except for maybe sports scores.
It was 82 degrees yesterday. Today we may tie the record of 84. Not blogging about the weather. I just wanted to gloat. If say you live in Dallas or St. Louis, I cannot even lie and say I feel your pain. I'll be out (maybe to a theme park) enjoying the blue skies and warm sun. I'll be wearing a tee shirt, shorts and a smile.

There is a cold front coming this weekend. We will only get up to the "average" temperatures for this time of year: 74.

:)

December 07, 2007

And A Good Time Was Had By One

I won't lie. Nothing beats WDW. NOTHING! There must be some additive in the water that makes people spend their money here like there's no tomorrow. And I've had so much my eyes are floating. But I have a plan. Chase's baby teeth look straight, so I am quite sure he won't need braces. And it's stylish for your jeans to have holes. Why not your dockers and polos? Yeah. Annual passes going up again? No problem. I only need one kidney.

Seriously, if you've been to WDW during the summer or any other time when it's packed, in December it is like a ghost town. The longest wait time was Soarin at 25 minutes. Last summer, if you didn't get a fast pass by 10a.m. (one hour after the park opened) you would have to wait at least 2 hours in line!

I was king of all I surveyed. It truly was magical!

December 06, 2007

It's My Birthday!

And how do I intend on celebrating this wondrous occasion? I'M GOING TO DISNEYWORLD! Laugh all you want; it has been my desire to spend my birthday here for quite some time. And since my annual pass will expire on Christmas day, this will be the year. (I haven't decided if I'm ready to shell out the money for another year. And both SeaWorld and Universal give you the option of a monthly payout, so I may stick with either or both of those for now.)

The shameless part is that I will head there all by myself. Kat is working and has rehearsals after school. I have a meeting at work around Noon, so Chase will already be in "school". (And in truth, I don't think Kat minds. She isn't as enthusiastic about WDW as I am.)

So, yeah. I can't sleep. I'm too excited! I'm going to Disney World! For the 30th time (roughly) this year!