Ponder Loves Ponder

I recently noticed this on Facebook. I'm all for a positive self-image, but I have yet to create a fan page for myself. (Hmm...that gives me an idea!) Seriously though, I guess he's just trying to sell the image. In today's world, you've got to get noticed. But if he starts Twittering from the huddle, I'm going to be upset. (Though I admit it would be pretty cool!)

MySpace Going Down in Red-Orange Flames on Pink Background

Last week, the social networking giant announced they were cutting 30% of their workforce due to the fact that they suck. OK, so they really pointed the finger at increased competition. (Woohoo! Go Facebook!) Hopefully society will learn the lesson (though it's doubtful) that individuals can't be trusted with fully-customizable layouts, text colors and background images. The urge to blind one's "friends" with horrendous, debilitating eye strain is just too great. Or, people have no understanding of visual style, readability or aesthetic comprehension.

Sadly, I never got the chance to take that quiz to determine my favorite vegetable or analyze the color and style of my toothbrush. And how am I supposed to wish Happy St Patrick's Day to someone without an oversized, animated, sparkling image of a dancing leprechaun?

Obama Proves To Be Human Flyswatter

Look out, folks! There's a ninja in the White House -- and it's Barack Obama. The president, irritated by a fly during a TV interview at the Executive Mansion last Tuesday, took matters into his own hands. Said Obama to the persistent fly: "Get out of here." But it didn't.

So Obama waited for the fly to settle, put his hand up and then smacked the fly dead in one try. Without missing a beat, the president said to CNBC correspondent John Harwood: "That was pretty impressive, wasn't it? I got the sucker."

Best of all, the camera crew caught the action on tape.

The Sunshine State

Today's forecast in Panama City: High of 99 degrees, with a heat index of 110. Sheesh! What is this, Florida?!?!

I Doubt It

For some reason, I find myself doubting the validity of the store's name...

Al's Billboard

Here's Weird Al's first billboard! It's for the "Al's Brain" 3-D show and exhibit at the Orange County Super Fair.

Star Wars Cakes

Here are some awesome Star Wars-themed cakes. The Millennium Falcon above is a product of Cakes by Jyl. Pretty cool, and very detailed! Nice work, Jyl.

This R2-D2 cake was actually a wedding cake, and comes from 1886 Cafe and Bakery. The cake was the bride's idea, and here she is striking the famous "Help me, Obi-Wan Kenobi" pose:

This next cake is also a wedding cake. This scene of a fallen AT-AT in the Hoth snow is my personal favorite, and it also has some pretty fine detailing. The whole wedding was themed around Star Wars, and you can check out pics of the ceremony and guests here.

Is it just me, or do those cupcakes look like Ewok faces?

The Benefits of Recycling

No, this isn't some mushy post about helping out Mother Earth -- it's about Rock-N-Roll!! I recently started a recycling program at work, and set up some boxes in our department to collect plastics for recycling. Today I was checking out the volume of bottles in my boxes, and saw some caps on a few Pepsi bottles that looked like the symbols from Rock Band (the drum set, guitar, bass and microphone). The cap had a promotional web address and there was a code on the inside. There wasn't anything on the label at all.

I went to the address, logged in with my Yahoo! ID, and entered the codes. Once you enter a code, it's worth one point that you can use to enter a bunch of different contests. Well, instead of trying to win a trip to Vegas or an X-Box 360, I entered the "free Rock Band 2 song download" contest. I figured the odds would be a lot better of actually winning something. Apparently, any time you enter your point into the song contest you win, so I now have 5 song downloads! The reason it's not mentioned on the bottle is because it's a new contest - there's still like 90+ days remaining. Awesome! Free Rock Band 2 DLC, here I come!

And it doesn't stop there. There are MyCoke Rewards points, and Dr Pepper has some sort of contest going on right now, too.

Needless to say, I'm planning on checking the boxes a lot more often!

I always knew recycling was a good thing.

The Debut of PlanetBizzle 2.0

Today I launched PlanetBizzle 2.0 in a desperate attempt to attract a fresh audience. Currently, my readership is comprised of a 31-year-old (OK, it's me) and sometimes my wife. So I decided to enhance the look, but stopped short of adding "Totally in your face" as a subtitle (I thought that would be too obvious). In case you're blind and someone is reading this to you, the blog looks much hipper than before. I also joined Twitter, and I'm fully planning on tweeting like crazy for the next 36-48 hours before getting bored/frustrated with posting and giving up on it altogether. There's a link on the sidebar if you care to follow the madness...I think my current tweet is "joined twitter". Yeah, I'm awesome.

Can't Argue with That!

ZYZ: The World's Next Big Text-Phrase

Recently, my wife and I were chatting with some friends on Animal Crossing about texting abbreviations. You know, like BRB (be right back) and IDK (I don't know). We were trying to think of more obscure ones that the others may not know, so my wife thought it would be funny to type XYZ. Unfortunately, "typing" with the Wii remote means guiding your pointer to letters on a keyboard and pressing the A button. In her haste, she entered ZYZ and we both thought it was hilarious (yeah, we're a little nutty).

Ever since, I've been trying to work it in to emails and other online communications. Today, my supervisor and I were discussing something in IM and I closed the conversation with "ZYZ". She asked me if I was sleepy, and I said, "No, it means 'no problem, everything's good, forget about it'". She accepted my explanation, and thanked me for the intel. I expect she'll be using it herself soon, so I wanted to document the start of the world's next big text-phrase.

So join me in spreading the message online and in other standard forms of communication. ZYZ! ZYZ! ZYZ!

More Responsibility, Same Pay

I recently told my boss that I would be willing to collect recyclable products (bottles, cans) from our area at work and take them to the recycling bins that I pass on the way home. Not only did she think it was a great idea, she made me Captain of Finance's Green Initiative. Pretty cool, right? Now I get to recruit some lieutenants and draft some plans. I'm going to insist that from now on, everyone at work call me "Captain Ben" - or at the very least, "Cap'n".

An Explanation

OK, OK - so my plan to post once a month failed, and I've only got one thing to say...April Fool's! HAHA! That was the most elaborate April Fool's blog joke ever! I totally fooled you all into thinking I was done posting...like I had disappeared off the face of the Earth or something! There were a lot of times in the last few months that I would have written, but I wanted the joke to seem real. Boo-ya!

One question - who's supposed to feel like the fool? You or me?

2009 New Year's Resolution (Amended)

Okay - so the new resolution is to write a blog at least once a week. Wish me luck! (Oh, and BTW, this one counts for this week).

2009 New Year's Resolution

My resolution for 2009 is to write a blog entry every day! I know it's going to be hard work, but I want to try my best to document the events in my life for future generations. Wish me luck!

Bubble Gum Fun

My wife is helping out with the fall carnival at her school, and they all had to come up with some fun little games. She decided to do the old "Guess-How-Much-Candy-Is-In-The-Jar-And-You-Win-It-All" game, using Peanut M&Ms and Dubble Bubble gumballs. The jar said how many gumballs were inside, but you KNOW that the winner of the contest will invariably take the gumballs out and count them as soon as they win. (Kids are nutty.) So we had to count them. The M&Ms had to be counted anyway, as their packaging was a little more cryptic. Their contents were measured by weight (54 oz.), not quantity. I took the gumballs, and my wife took the M&Ms.

I poured the jar into a strainer, got out a plastic fork and started lifting them back into the jar. It probably wasn't the best idea as the gumballs kept rolling off the fork, but I wanted to be sanitary about the whole affair. Coincidentally, about halfway through this arduous chore, I looked over at my wife who was cooly and calmly counting her Peanut M&Ms WITH A SPOON. Dang. Why didn't I think of that?

I was curious to see how close the gumball count would be to the number printed on the label ("about 679"). When it was all said and done, the final count tallied 690 - 686 normal gumballs and 4 freaky ones (see image). That's an 11-gumball bonus!

Oh, and by the way, in case you ever need to convert English weights and measures to something more practical, 54 dry ounces equals 626 Peanut M&Ms. (That's approximately 11.5 per ounce.) Don't believe me? Count 'em yourself!

Our 2008 Pumpkins

Just found these on the camera and wanted to share:

Mine's the one on the left that appears to have been ran over by the tractor. Admittedly, they look better in the dark:

The End of an Era...*sniffle*

You may have noticed that my Touch-Tone Phone Song link was removed for a few days. It used to point to my phone song page that was housed on AOL Hometown until they turned off their server.

It was #1 (out of 67,200,000) on the results list on Google for "phone songs". Do you know how awesome that is? I was getting so many hits that my webcounter kept freaking out and would reset itself every couple of months.

I was regularly getting emails from people who thought the site was interesting, and had suggestions on songs. I even got an inquiry from Al with Froggy 98 FM in Lincoln, Nebraska asking if I could transcribe some Brad Paisley songs for a contest. I found links to my page on other pages, and even found the address listed in some Canadian government documents for interns (on the "just for fun" page).

But, as with all good things, it had to come to an end. Well, it didn't really HAVE to, I guess a global media and entertainment conglomerate like TimeWarner couldn't afford to host a little page like mine that was mostly text and three pictures. (Oh wait, one of those was an animated .gif, so I guess I can understand...NOT!!) Anyway, October 31 was the last day the site was available. The link now points to my page on GeoCities, which should last until Yahoo! goes bankrupt or ends up on the wrong side of a merger.

Coincidentally, my page was #2 on LiveSearch, #2 on DogPile, #9 on WebCrawler and #13 on Yahoo, but let's be honest...Google is by far the most popular. Man, this sucks! Curse you, TimeWarner!!

The 4 Aphorisms of Fantasy Trades

ALWAYS research the player you are trading for - a name alone is meaningless. This cannot be stressed enough!

NEVER let your trades hang for more than a week. You will forget about them.

NEVER offer a trade in the heat of frustration. The players you are mad at one week may become stars the next.

NEVER regret a bad trade. Interpret your foolishness and misfortune as a personal challenge.

As you can probably guess, this all started when I got mad at New England one week and sent a trade offer to a buddy of mine. I offered QB-Matt Cassel, WR-Randy Moss and RB-Edgerrin James all for RB-Reggie Bush. I was sick of Moss being hot/cold/hot/cold, so I figured I’d dump him for Bush. I added Cassel and James as extra incentive. Well, the trade didn’t get accepted right away, and I forgot about it. Moss had an awesome week, and my feelings changed. But I never remembered to retract the trade. So you can guess how “surprised” I was when I saw that my trade had been accepted! Add to that the fact that Reggie Bush is out with a concussion and not expected to return this season! It’s like I just dumped 3 good players for nothing. Now I've got to work my tail off to be competitive for the rest of the season.

So let my mistake be a lesson to you all...DON'T GET BLINDSIDED!!

Hail to the Cheif

I don't usually use this blog to discuss political affairs, but since the election is now over, I just thought I'd share some of my impressions of this historic event.

For weeks I was undecided, and exposed to rumors and emails about Obama's ideas and personal character. It’s funny – these actually made it easier for me to make the choice to support Obama. I felt like he was being discriminated against for coming from a non-traditional family, or being raised in another country. It seems that the hardest insult being thrown at Obama was that he was secretly a Muslim. What does it even matter if he was a Muslim? We have thousands of Muslims living and working in America that are going through the same struggles and hardships that we are. After seeing the group of people I would be lumped with as a McCain supporter, the choice became a little easier.

I also have to thank the Republican National Committee for helping me to choose Obama. In the last few weeks, I was receiving multiple emails every day from the RNC asking for donations to help defeat Obama. Those emails never mentioned Republican values or McCain’s proposed policies – just the idea that we must give as much as possible to keep Obama out of the White House. Clearly, they had nothing to positive to say about their own campaign.

So I voted for Obama. Me, a white, 30-year old Republican. 7 out of 10 voters in my county disagreed with me, and picked McCain over Obama. And now that the results are in, I am proud of my country, and proud of myself for voting the way I did and helping to usher in what looks to be a new way of doing things.

Obama motivated and inspired this country like never before. His words have given hope to all kinds of people, from ambivalent college kids who used to think their votes didn't matter, to jaded baby boomers who've become sick of voting for "the lesser of two evils." Obama seemed to create voting excitement for them all. Our governor, Charlie Christ, had to declare a state of emergency to extend early voting hours in Florida due to the long lines. And on November 4, polling places across the country were flooded with voters, many of whom were lining up around the block. I heard several stories of people who had voted in the same precinct for years and never had to wait – but yesterday they stood in line for an hour and a half. And you know what? They were happy. They were energized. They were glad to see new faces taking their right to vote seriously.

Obama encouraged these feelings across the country by challenging the notion that certain states will always vote Republican, so there’s no reason for Democrats to campaign in them. He visited locations that hadn’t seen a presidential candidate since the Civil War. And it worked. Virginia and Indiana haven't supported a Democratic candidate since 1964 - that was 11 elections and 44 years ago. Both went to Obama. He also took Florida without incident – and that's saying something! He made traditional Republican states into battleground states, and went on the offensive.

And it worked. Obama closed his victory speech with these words:

“This is our moment. This is our time - to put our people back to work and open doors of opportunity for our kids; to restore prosperity and promote the cause of peace; to reclaim the American Dream and reaffirm that fundamental truth - that out of many, we are one; that while we breathe, we hope, and where we are met with cynicism, and doubt, and those who tell us that we can’t, we will respond with that timeless creed that sums up the spirit of a people: Yes We Can.”

And when it came to the Presidential Election of 2008 - yes, we did!

Skeeters: 2008 Fantasy Baseball Champions!!

Yeah!! I'm the 2008 Yahoo Fantasy Baseball World Series Champion in the Sallie Mae Sluggers league!! Right now I'm spraying e-champagne on my fantasy players and theoretically wearing my 2008 champions hat and t-shirt. We the best! Woo-hoo! Yeah! Skeeters '08, baby!

"I wasn't sure that it was gonna happen...halfway into the World Series matchup, I fell behind by a lot. But I started dropping and drafting pitchers daily, and my hitters came alive and made it happen for me. I want to thank each and every one of the 61 different players that helped me this year. We worked hard, we trained hard and it payed off!"

Not only do I get Fantasy Baseball bragging rights around work, but I also get this fatty trophy to put in my fantasy trophy case:

Whew! It was an exhausting seven-month ordeal, and I'm glad it's over. But by the time Spring Training rolls around, I'm gonna be jazzed about the new season, I just know it. From the pre-rankings and the draft right up to the end, it was a demanding game that required daily attention. And you know what? It was all worth it! Woo-hoo! Yeah!

Flute Beatboxing

This is Greg Patillo, flute beatboxer. I know it sounds ridiculous, but he rocks! He really gets into it at 30 seconds in. You can find him and other flute beatboxers on YouTube - just search for Flute Beatboxing. Actually, chances are you've probably already seen this video - it's had 15.2 million views!

There are some video clips that show him in what looks like Central Park jamming along with a rapper. If I saw them on the streets of New York, I would never get to where I was going because I would stand there and throw coins at them ALL DAY (I'm a fan, but I'm cheap).

Perfect Pick'Em

I've been playing College Pick'Em on ESPN.com since football season began. I've had some good weeks and some bad weeks, but on October 25 I had the perfect week - I picked all 10 winners!

The glory was short-lived however...last weekend I only got 4 of 10 right. *Sigh* Well, there's always next week!

Chupacabra Invades Area Home, Takes Nap

This ferocious little creature was photographed in my living room terrorizing our family. Apparently the excitement was too much, because she was later seen taking a nap:

Obviously, you can see that this is really our lovable miniature dachshund, Daisy. Sleeping seems to be her natural state, but every once in a while she gets wound up and goes crazy. Here she is posing with our other mini-dachshund, Cocoa.

Cocoa is usually the one full of energy, running around the house or playing with his ball:

Panama City Sunset Pics

Angela took these awesome sunset pictures looking out over the bay toward Panama City Beach. These are all 1024 X 768, and they make great desktop backgrounds! None of these are photoshopped - they are all true images just taken at different speeds and aperature levels.

Last Weekend's Construction Project

We built this awesome shelf unit to display our Disney-Pixar CARS collection. And, we only spent $25.00. This included some one-time purchases, like a sanding block and finishing nails. All-in-all, I think it turned out pretty well! The most difficult part was figuring out how to hang it on the wall. We finally decided to use three picture hangers attached to the top shelf. As soon as the third coat of paint was dry (1 flat and 2 gloss) we were ready to hang it and arrange the cars. Unfortunately, that meant we had to bang nails into the wall studs at 10:00 at night! Sorry Neighbors!

Today in History - October 28

On October 28, 1886, the final rivet was fitted to the Statue of Liberty during the dedication by President Grover Cleveland.

Bartholdi, the sculptor, was in the torch during the dedication, and pulled the rope that removed the French flag from Liberty's face.

Then, President Cleveland accepted the statue on behalf of the United States and said, ""We will not forget that Liberty has here made her home; nor shall her chosen altar be neglected."

Some interesting facts:

• The statue's official name is "Liberty Enlightening the World".
• Bertholdi personally selected New York Harbor as the site of the statue.
• U.S. Patent D-11,023 was issued for the Statue of Liberty. This patent covered the sale of small statues, which helped finance the cost of the full statue.
• The statue's nose is 4' 6" long.

THIS SPACE FOR RENT

I'm not using it...

Today in History - September 9

In 1909, Russian Pyotr Nesterov came into contact with aviation when he was sent to an aircraft manufacturer to work. He built his first glider and learned to fly it. Nesterov began formal training as a pilot and soon graduated. A short time later he also passed the examination to be a military pilot.

Nesterov believed that an aircraft could fly a loop, a feat not previously performed. Despite the doubts of his peers, Nesterov proved his theory on September 9, 1913 and became the first pilot to fly a loop. This was done in a Nieuport IV monoplane with a 70 hp Gnome engine over Syretzk Aerodrome near Kiev, before many observers. He was disciplined with ten days house arrest for risking government property. His achievement made him famous overnight and the punishment was reversed – he was promoted to staff captain and later awarded a medal. He founded the practice of aerobatics, stressing the value of these exercises for a military pilot. Nesterov improved the flight methods and designed new flight models without rudders.

In honor of Nesterov the Soviet Union established the Nesterov's cup for the best aerobatics crew. The cup was donated to the International Aeronautics Federation in 1962, and is awarded to the Men's World Team Champions of the World Aerobatic Championships.

¡Viva la [BEEEEEEEP]!

On Saturday, my wife and I went to a restaurant in our neighborhood called Old Mexico. It's got good food, great service and decent prices. It also has some interesting choices in music! We were sitting there enjoying our food and talking, when all of a sudden the music switched to a high-pitched BEEEEEEP and then switched back to music again.

It was kind of stormy, so we attributed it to some sort of signal interference. Until it happened again. My wife and I looked at each other and cracked up. The vocals in the song were pretty wild, and there were sections when the signer would just be yelling all kinds of stuff...all in Spanish, of course. And then we heard the beep for the third time. I looked around at the other customers, but no one seemed to notice.

Now that's got me thinking...how many other songs are cussing en Español and NOT getting beeped?!?!