Help Out The NSSL

Attention, fellow central Oklahomans! Our friends at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman are doing a little experiment this winter. They need volunteers to send in reports on winter precipitation, snow, ice, whatever, through the course of the experiment. They will then correlate your position with their observed radar data. This will allow them to "see" what different types of precipitation experienced at ground level actually look like on radar, so they can better observe and assess winter precipitation in the future and thus help meteorologists make better weather reports and forecasts.

If you're within a 93-mile radius of Norman, you can volunteer and contribute to the project. There is no required amount of reports you have to make, you just report as often as you like. If you're interested and in the target area, go check out the project page for more info and to volunteer.

Christmas Memories Made

Heidi and Donovan were out tonight so Donovan could test for his orange belt at karate. So it was just me and Owen tonight. We had some fun, ate dinner together, then he had a bath. While he played, I set up the laptop to play some Christmas stuff (and a few other songs). One that came on was the classic by Vince Guaraldi, "Christmastime Is Here" from A Charlie Brown Christmas. I am sure you all remember that one...it was one of my favorite parts of Christmas. It was kind of a marker for the season for me, much like the BC Clark jingle is; I knew it was really Christmas when CBS showed this around mid-December.

So this came on while I watched Owen play happily in the tub...and I just sat back and soaked in the feeling. Sometimes, you realize that whatever is happening in the world, life is pretty good.

Addition To The Plan

A couple of years ago, I wrote a post in which I talked about what I would do if I ever won the Powerball. Well, I have some additions to make.

I would add in some additional charitable contributions, if possible with what I win. First would be to those Christmas-gift-giving programs every year, like Salvation Army's Angel Tree. The local OKC-area Dept of Human Services offices have similar programs. You know the programs where you get information on an anonymous, needy youngster, then you buy them gifts of clothes and toys to go along with their requests and needs? I mean, why not? Christmas is supposed to be a time of joy for all, especially children. Needy children in low-income families especially need those good memories, because that life can be so difficult. So I think I'll pitch in to those every year with some good gifts.

Another contribution would go to Make A Wish Foundation, one that I've always liked. Can you seriously argue against fulfilling the dreams of terminally-ill kids? If you can, I would be all for revoking your humanity license. :-D

March of Dimes is another one that's always interested me, because of the focus on babies (again, you just can't argue against babies...it's impossible). I'm a real sucker for babies, truth be told. Every time I see a baby, it just gives me so much joy...that new life in the great big world. Wow. March of Dimes makes sure more of those babies are able to grow up to fulfill their potential. And who knows? One of those kids could grow up to be the next Einstein or Newton or Edison or Washington, and do something really world-changing.

So consider those added to my to-do list when I hit the big numbers. Hope y'all are having a great day today...Christmas is a mere 7 days away!! Thanks for reading along.

Surprise, Surprise

Boy, I sure didn't see THAT coming. They've really outdone themselves this time...don't forget that in 2006 they chose "you".

And the train just keeps on a-rollin'.

I Love The Smell of Napalm In The Morning

If regular trap shooting just doesn't do it for you, try this. This appears to be Jeremy Clarkson, which makes this a segment from the BBC's famous car/motoring show, Top Gear. (If you have cable or satellite, it's on BBC America quite regularly, and it's a great show, if you're into cars...or even if you're not.) Oh, and hat tip to longtime friend and reader Dion for sending this one along.

Try this on for size:

Hope you enjoyed that as much as I did...I nearly fell out of my chair laughing.

Saw This Yesterday

I didn't get a chance to post it, though, until this morning.

Florida-OU BCS Title Game To Be Available Live in 3-D

This is pretty interesting just from a tech standpoint, but what really made the article for me was the following quote:

But audiences - test runs were done in Boston, New York and Los Angeles - generally approved of the technology, which adds depth to the field and gives a sense of being there in person. Shots of cheerleaders were a big hit.

Mmmm, I can only imagine. I can see where this will lead...much like the Internet, we know that 3-D is really designed for porn.

(By the way, a better explanation and view of the above link's content is available here. NOTE: RealPlayer required.)

Thanks for reading along.

For All That Texas "Talent"

(DISCLAIMER: this post is about OU football and nothing more...although you might enjoy reading it. If not, come on back another time.)

OU has been blessed this year. Picked up a few more NCAA records...because The Streak just wasn't enough for us. Winner of the Big 12 South (by a hair, I admit...but that's all it takes). Winner by a much larger hair of the Big 12 after beating Missouri like a rented mule. A spot in the National Championship game.

Yes, God smiles upon the Sooners these days. And for that we are truly thankful.

There's been a lot of weeping and gnashing of teeth from the Texas camp. I haven't done much rubbing in, mostly because I try to be gracious in victory (even though, truth be told, I'm usually not very gracious in defeat...although it's usually because I'm mad at myself for failing...but I digress). After continuing to hear the commotion, and after seeing the wild, untamed bitterness from those Texans, with some of them even screaming about how we "cheat" and "steal all of Texas's good players", I can no longer stand idly by.

Sam Bradford just won the Heisman. That makes FIVE for OU, and TWO for Texas. (Don't forget that we have SEVEN National Championships...at the present moment...while Texas merely has FOUR. But who's counting?) If we've done so much with all that Texas talent, why do our Heisman Trophy winners shape up like this:

Billy Vessels...born and raised in Cleveland, Oklahoma.
Steve Owens...born in Gore, Oklahoma, raised in Miami, OK (that's My-am-UH, not My-am-EE, for all you non-Okies).
Jason White...a product of Tuttle, Oklahoma.
Sam Bradford...straight out of Oklahoma City.

Billy Sims is the lone exception, and he's only half-Texan (born in St. Louis and raised there until 8th grade).

As to you, Texas, one of your Heisman winners was...Ricky Williams? He's not even from Texas! And...well...he didn't exactly turn out too well, did he?

Remember, the Heisman determines the "most outstanding player" every year. So come on, Texas...if we "steal" all of your best talent...why don't we have more of those Heismans rolling in? (Or why don't you, for that matter?) Of course, the answer is because our best is better than your best. Let that sink in.

Until next year.

I Miss My Grandpa

It's the holidays, of course, and I just got off the phone with Grandma. She's making scrabble, which Grandpa always used to make. She broke up a little as she talked about it, and now I am too.




I love you and I miss you, Grandpa. Christmas just won't be the same this year without you. I sure hope to see you again; surely God wouldn't have given you for me to love if He were just going to take you away.

Right Out Of Star Wars

So yet again, two pieces of modern technology emerge from either the world of Star Trek, or as in these cases, the world of Star Wars. In the human mythology, this is known as the "self-fulfilling prophecy." We might live these two glorious shows down in about 200 years, when humanity looks back at them and laughs about what they got right and what they got wrong. In the meantime, enjoy these two leaps from the big screen to your backyard...sort of.

"Luke...I am your father!" (You'll know them by the black leather glove they always wear on their right hand.

"With the blast shield down, I can't even see...how am I supposed to fight?"

Hat tip to Chong for sending both of these to me today.

A New Friend and Blogger

I found another good blog by the name of Pax Plena, run by another expatriate Okie named Tory. Tory happens to be out in Arizona, attending law school at U of A. (By the way, if you ever get a chance to visit Tucson, I highly recommend it. It's wonderful...I myself strongly considered U of A for grad school in linguistics. In fact, it was my first choice, or would've been, if I'd actually gotten my application off in time. Long story.)

Anyway, check out Tory's blog when you get a chance.

Another Brick In The Wall

On the Internet, there's crap, there's fun stuff, there's really cool stuff...then there's stuff that really IS innovative (i.e., possibly or actually world-changing), not just buzzword-style innovative (i.e., it looks world-changing but when the rubber meets the road, it doesn't do anything truly useful and is thus just really cool).

Here's another effort in the ongoing software-to-wetware interface, one that has apparently been around for a little while, but that I had never seen before. Look at it and tell me that isn't really cool. Is it truly innovative? You decide.



(Oh, and you can sign up for the eventual beta invite at the main website.)

Reorganizing My Life

So as my long-time readers will remember, I no longer have a decent PIM device to help me keep my life organized, like I used to have. This is complicating things for me, as I am finding it difficult to remember appointments, tasks, and that sort of thing. I thought I had found an online replacement in a service called Sandy, which not only allowed me to put down the things that I needed to remember, but would also let me send to it via e-mail and would send me reminders via e-mail and SMS. I could send Sandy a nice e-mail saying something like, "Remind me to change the cat litter in two weeks" or "Remember my 9:30 am doctor's appointment on July 20th," and Sandy would add it to my calendar and send me a reminder whenever I wanted. I wasn't super-diligent with Sandy like I was when I had my Treo, but I was really starting to get into a groove.

So it was with extreme sadness that I found out this past week that Sandy is going offline. The guy who created the Sandy service was hired by Twitter, and he's taking all of his Sandy IP (that's "intellectual property" to you non-tech types) along with him. That means Sandy will be gone, and I'll be out of luck again until I can find a replacement. Bad news is, I haven't found much that's promising...yet.

(Unrelated aside: it's very challenging, but I am pleased to say that I am not completely without skills. I can eat a double-dip of cookies-n-cream and peanut butter cup ice cream on a waffle cone and drive stick at the same time.)

There are services that are available, like Google Calendar, but so far they're all much more limited in features. For example, some don't offer tasks or tasklists. Others don't provide e-mail or SMS reminders. Still others are limited in their interface, such that I could only use the web to enter, edit, or delete. Basically what I need is something that I can control through e-mail, SMS, or mobile web interface, that provides calendaring, tasks (with timeframes and reminders), and contacts, and that provides e-mail and/or SMS reminders in the timeframes that I specify.

So far, I haven't found it. If you have a recommendation, feel free to drop a comment or an e-mail (see the blog description above and look for the description of the address).

Finally, Monday night has become my TV night. NBC starts with Chuck, follows up with the classic Heroes, and finishes with the excellent Christian Slater vehicle My Own Worst Enemy. (I'm still in my media and news boycott, so this is pretty much the only TV I actually watch, aside from sports.) Unfortunately, I just found out that My Own Worst Enemy will be cancelled after only 9 episodes. I am extremely disappointed...looks like lots of things I use or enjoy are getting whacked these days. Oh well, at least I get another hour of my free time back. I'll just be interested to see what sort of schlock NBC puts back in its place.

Thanks for reading along.

Another Classic Rockwood Comic Today

For those of you who have been following the OU-Texas thing the last few weeks, our fellow Okie and Sooner fan Brian Lundmark over at Rockwood has contributed his own take...and I like it!

Check it out here.

A Long-Term Project Completed

I don't know how many of you have been doing this, as well, but I completed a long-term project today. Last night, Heidi brought me the last of the 50 U.S. state quarters, Hawaii. I had all the others and that was the last one I was waiting for. This morning, it joined the collection and it is now complete.

Long-term projects, particularly those spread out over 10 years, can be difficult to maintain and complete. We take them all on, on our own volition. I have quite a few (as you probably do, too): my marriage, my children, the Mustang, the house are all examples. It is nice to know that I can still commit to something for that long and see it through to completion, no matter how small or insignificant it might seem.

You Can't Reason With A Liberal

...nor can you expect any of their vaunted "tolerance" either, if you're a conservative.

But even the most patient have limits:

American Episcopal conservatives form rival province

Don't think this is just about gay priests and bishops. Conservative Episcopalians have watched for 40 years as liberals within the church have done everything possible to twist God's Word to fit their own beliefs. Some of the liberal clergy have even made statements denying belief in Christ's resurrection. AND, those individuals were not censured in any way by the church. So, at that point you have to ask, "So you don't believe in the resurrection, which is explicitly stated as part of the Creeds...how exactly do you claim to be a Christian, again?" For years, the conservatives tried to play it the Christian way, working with the liberals and talking and trying to convince their brethren that these viewpoints were in direct contradiction of Scripture. However, the liberals refused to listen, and still do, and instead continue down a path that puts Man into God's place (one of humanity's most common failings throughout history). This leads directly to my title for this post, of which this entire situation is yet another proof. America might survive and remain "united" even if the liberals do their best to run it into the ground, but when you're dealing with your eternal soul and your prospects for the afterlife, compromise of principles for the sake of unity can't work.

In any case, I bid a hearty welcome to the North American Anglican Province...it's about time.

Fresh Sooner Haiku

I did this some last year, I think, but this year's got some fresh stuff, so I put together some fresh haiku. (Don't forget to check out Brian Lundmark's Rockwood, where he has Haiku Thursday every week.)

Early October
Losses matter but we see
"Full body of work"

Computers knew it
Soon pundits will know it, too
Sooners over Horns

Poor ol' Mack Brown cries
His whining got him nowhere
Texas Longhorns stink

Sooners beat Mizzou
Then stomp some SEC butt
NC on the way!!

OU has many
National Championships
Seven...but soon EIGHT

(The next two are linked and should be read together)
OU-UT's big
But next year's game will be mean
After this year's mess

#1 vs #2?
Heisman first vs second?
One for the ages?

Hope you enjoyed reading them as much as I enjoyed writing them. Thanks for reading along.

Machines Have Feelings, Too

As proven by my MP3 player this morning (I have an Archos 605 Wifi)...I set it for random shuffle, so it's picking songs on its own. It started OK...I got "Margaritaville" at least, before it began a long melancholy run:

Benny Goodman, Goodbye
Sarah Brightman, Bailero
Simon and Garfunkel, Kathy's Song

None of those are bad songs at all, but they're not exactly upbeat. I'm almost scared to see what comes next.

THANK YOU!!!

In the classic words of Fat Tony, "It's funny because it's true."

Mapple - The Simpsons
Uploaded by aarplane