Truth in Advertising

Signature line from a forum post:

Girls are:
- Single
- Attractive
- Stable
you can only pick two of the three

Birthday Message

Today is the sixth anniversary of the birth of my favorite (and only) niece. Happy birthday, Shannon. Her desire to trade her current godfather in for me puts a smile on my face. What a sweetie.

Thanks, Blue Cross Blue Shield

Terse and depressing:

You or your spouse will change rating age brackets on the effective date shown. Your new premium rate will be $[a lot more].

New Platform

Frustrated with the Inspiron 700m's tiny keyboard and half-size keys that are really important to software denizens, I sold the otherwise beautiful machine to a client. After exhaustive research, I decided to go with the 12.1" Powerbook. I was able to convince myself that I could accomplish 90% of my tasks on the Mac. Besides, this would be a nice switch for me and amazon.com has a $150 rebate on top of their low price. Then at checkout, amazon offered me a free 4-month trial of Amazon.com Prime, allowing me to have it shipped overnight for $3.99. I love these guys.

So, does anyone know the answers to the following questions:

o Is IE available for Tiger? If not, what are the workarounds? IE still has 90% marketshare and I build web applications, so I'd like a solution that doesn't involve using Remote Desktop to log into my Windows XP desktop.

o Is there Mac software that can play music I download from Yahoo Music Unlimited, the subscription service? Specifically, it has to play wma drm's.

Why You Should Train

After a summer of drinking and carousing, I thought it would be a good idea to participate in the Ride for Roses yesterday. With two week's rest from physical activity and an early bedtime on Saturday evening, I was ready to tackle the 100 mile course with corhorts 1 and 2. At the 35 mile mark, we had to decide between the 72 mile course and the 100 mile course. As I've undertained for every endurance event in my history, I sensed the upcoming pain of riding 28 extra miles with wind gusts up to 25 mph.

Despite Joy's protests, we rode the 72 mile course. As I antipicated, the lack of training caught up with me. At one point, I was drafting a 180+ lb woman and was unable to maintain the pace up a hill. What an ego blow. However, with the help of my teammates and a tailwind for most of the final 7 miles, I managed to reach the finish in one piece. 100 miles next year.

High Road

George Steinbrenner takes a lot of criticism from fans, players, his staff, and other owners. However, I can't fault a guy who is obsessed with winning and will spend the money necessary to achieve that goal. As a fan, what more could you want from an owner? Of course, when the Yankees fail to win the World Series, the year is considered a failure.

Mel Stottlemyre, the Yankees pitching coach for the past 10 years, has decided not to return next season. Primarily, his cites the tension between Steinbrenner and his staff for the not returning, even taking shots at The Boss. Instead of engaging in banter through the media, Steinbrenner chose the high road and praised his former employee:

Mel Stottlemyre will always be a Yankee. When I purchased the ballclub more than 30 years ago, he was one of the team's true stars and leaders, and during his 10 seasons as pitching coach, we won six American League pennants and four world championships.

While it is no secret that I can be a very difficult boss, Mel has always conducted himself as a professional and a gentleman. I wish he and [his wife], Jean, much success and happiness in the future.

Whether you hate him or love him, you must admire the class.

Ink is Expensive

This article reveals the true economics of home photo printing:

Printers return relatively low profit margins. But the ink, ounce for ounce, is four times the cost of Krug Clos du Mesnil Champagne, which sells for around $425 a bottle. Ink is about the same price as Joy perfume, considered to be one of the more pricey fragrances, at $158 for a 2.5-ounce bottle.

Just as the internet increased the demand for printers and paper, digital photography will generate more money for photo labs.

It's in the Genes

My soon-to-be 6 year-old niece was recently named the Student of the Month. Princeton class of 2017, here she comes. Rumor has it that her little brother is even more advanced that she was at the same age. I'm so proud.

Searching for New Digs

I've decided to move downtown. After living in the same house for over 4.5 years, I've found myself stuck in a rut. Dowtown living will offer restaurants, shops, and bars -- all within walking distance. But most importantly, it's an opportunity to try something different.

The bank has pre-approved me for a loan and I'm meeting with my buyer's agent tomorrow. Now if I could only wrap my mind around Austin downtown condo prices ...

Random Act of Kindness

You know you're really drunk when a stranger finds you lying on your back on the sidewalk, hands you $20, and shoves you into a cab. Thank you, kind stranger.