It's a few hours until the first of a new month, so get ready to say, "Rabbit rabbit!" It's going to be a lucky bonus for me because my birthday's in March - the 18th, to be exact. And there is a Wishlist link over there. ;-)

.: 49 words at 09:42 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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‹rant›I'm sitting here doing my online focus group and already three telemarketers have called. The last one kept asking when Steven would be available and would not let it go. Has anyone tried The Telezapper? If it works, I would buy one in a heartbeat. We stay up really late during the weekends (well, all the time really, but I digress), so if you call my house before noon, I want you dead. Don't call me! Ever!‹/rant›

.: 78 words at 08:14 PM in Rants, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (6) :.

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I am leaving work and am off to the gym before I have an online focus group to participate in tonight for $50. I still need to get a list together of things like focus groups, surveys, and what-not so that y'all can get paid for your opninion too!

.: 49 words at 05:51 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I am pleased to present another new skin, one that I think is just beautiful. As many of you probably know, Mena offers, from time to time, a coloring contest where participants take a black and white .gif and use something like Photoshop to color it. I went to go view the entries to the lastest contest and absoultely fell in love with the winning entry. April's entry was so beautiful that I had to e-mail her and ask permission to make it into a skin. She was so sweet and granted me permission. After tweaking it all day, this is the result. Please go take a look and let me know what you think. I'm really proud of it. :-)

.: 121 words at 05:21 PM in Skinning the Fish, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

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And yet another online test. I do like the results on this one, though!

Wowie! You are Redensek! You are techy yet cute, and pretty much all around cool. Everyone loves you! You're fun, popular, and can mold yourself to fit right in to any situation.

So, go find out what font you are!

.: 54 words at 04:18 PM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Yet another link for those who want to try and make their voices here. Please go fight discrimination against gay, lesbian and bisexual workers. It only takes a second to do.

(Link courtesy of Candi)

.: 37 words at 06:12 PM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (6) :.

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Want a good laugh? Go read the always hilarious Dave Barry's explanation of the Enron scandal in layman's terms.

.: 20 words at 05:09 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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One of the funniest things I ever received in my e-mail was this open letter to Dr. Laura. I am a liberal and hate that bitch, so if you like her, don't go read it. On the other hand, if you think she's an evil lying freak, go enjoy yourself!

.: 51 words at 04:18 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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In today's headlines: two-headed moose fetus shocks Native community, baffles biologists. I wonder if the lady in the river from my previous moose post would have had to hold up two racks of antlers to confuse it!

.: 38 words at 03:41 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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I love Edward Gorey and actually have a poster of The Gashlycrumb Tinies that I bought in college. This is definitely a way I could see me slipping off the mortal coil....

You are most like Maud who was swept out to sea! Created by Thren. Which Gashlycrumb Tiny are you?

(Link courtesy of Sekimoria)

.: 57 words at 01:43 PM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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I found out today that Odd Todd (another unemployed dot.commer) was busted by the New York Labor Department (free registration required at The NY Times to view the article). I feel for Todd and left him $5.00. I hope that he doesn't end up losing his money to The Man. Like it isn't shitty enough being unemployed (the part where he talks about not being able to sleep at night resonated strongly with me), now you have to get in trouble for being successful in getting donations from people. If he was actively looking for a job and has the documents to prove it, they need to back off of him. Poor Todd.

(Link courtesy of Christine)

.: 118 words at 01:41 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I joined Six Degrees of Blogeration yesterday. So, if you read my site frequently, now you too can join and make us all a step cosmically closer to one another.

.: 30 words at 11:42 AM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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If you, like me, are concerned about the environment, please visit The Environmental Defense Network. They have petitions that you can electronically sign and send to members of the government along with all kinds of interesting information.

.: 38 words at 11:16 AM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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My boyfriend Steven is one of those men that you could describe as a gay straight man. He's very particular about decor, he has more fashion sense than me (not that that's probably saying much, though), and he loves to cook. Last night I'm talking to Christine on the phone when I here this funny clicking noise, like someone is stirring something really fast. It goes on for a couple of minutes, so I call into the other room, "Honey? What's that noise?" I hear back, "I'm making something from the Food Channel." My curiosity piqued (other Food Channel tests have lead to him making the best made-from scratch pizzas, calzones, and piña coladas), I walk into the kitchen to find Steven making mayonnaise. He accidentally put too much salt in, but it totally cracked me up that he was making mayonnaise by hand! On a side note, he also brought me flowers last night because he said it looked like I'd had a rough day. He is just too cute some times.

.: 175 words at 10:58 AM in Love Notes, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I happened to click on one of my BlogSnob links today because it was entitled Religion - All the thoughts left unsaid and I thought it sounded interesting. So I go visit his site and find this post (quoted from below):

To the best of my knowledge, there is no other terrorist group associated or affiliated with a major religion--nay for a few blow-up-abortion-doctor-people.

Now, I'm not forgetting about the crusades either...that was entirely our bad.

Now, the first thing I thought of when I read this is, "Um, ever hear of Ireland?" I didn't realize the IRA was Islamic, though I guess that could be what the I stands for. I'm not saying that a lot of terrorist activities aren't tied to Islamic organizations, but to say that all religions but Islam (with the exception of the crusades) have nothing to do with those kind of activities is completely wrong. In Ireland Catholics and Protestants are killing each other, not Muslims killing them. Religion is probably the biggest reason that people kill each other and I mean all people, not just Muslims. It just bugged me that he didn't have any place to leave comments and I couldn't just leave a little note saying, "Ireland - that's an Islamic country?".

.: 211 words at 12:11 AM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (7) :.

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For all of you bloggers out there, you must go visit BlogOmania. It's the coolest place to host your blog, get skins, get tech support, and all kinds of other things. The prices are extremely low and, if you've looked at their client page, you know The Neurotic Fishbowl makes its home there!

.: 54 words at 09:24 PM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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After spending most of yesterday looking for images to make new skins and creating skin number four (it's now up and running in the skin selector, though it may get some more tweaking), I spent part of today messing around with CSS and trying to get the pear-flavored skin (number three) to look exactly how I want it. I finally get it right and upload the files, only to have them magically disappear on me. Christine got back from her meetings out of the office today to tell me that the pear skin is set up through MT so every time I made or changed a post, it reverted back to the old code. Doh! At least it is fixed now (though you get a tiny bit of sidescroll in 600x800 and it is not Netscape compatible).

I also had to leave work early today to go see the doctor. The good news is I don't have to have a colonoscopy, but the bad news is I do get to have an endoscopy to examine my esophagus bright and early Monday morning. I am very nervous about medical procedures, so we'll see how much of a nervous, thudding goat I can be by Monday. Blah. At least I got third in another Paradise Poker tournament, keeping my winning streak alive.

.: 223 words at 06:31 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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In honor of today being Tuesday...

What day are you?

Of course, whenever I hear "Tuesday's child is full of grace," I immediately think, "My ass!" I am constantly spilling things and I must admit the big reason I don't like stairs is because I have fallen down a few flights of them in my time. Does anyone's day truly reflect their personality?

Note: After looking my boyfriend up, it says he was born on a Saturday ("Saturday's Child works hard for a living"). His reflects him pretty well.

.: 89 words at 06:08 PM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Please take a minute today to visit The Petition Site to oppose oil drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The Petition Site has a lot of different petitions on various subjects, so take a look around and make your voice heard.

.: 43 words at 06:08 PM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Thanks to the talented Brandy, The Neurotic Fishbowl is now available in pear flavor! Go check out The Neurotic Fishbowl Skin Selector and choose skin number three for a taste!

.: 31 words at 11:07 AM in Skinning the Fish, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Ashley's This or That Tuesday:

• Dial-up or cable? Cable! After being on a cable modem, I could never go back to dial-up.
• Wal-mart or K-mart? Wal-Mart. There's one not too far from my house and I think they tend to have a better selection of stuff than K-Mart.
• Butterfly or dragonfly? Hmmm. I like both, but if I had to pick, I'd choose butterfly.
• Plus or minus? Plus.
• Liberal or conservative?Liberal. Big time.
• Do you believe in God or not? Yes.
• Sun or moon? Moon. I cannot go outside during the day without sunglasses. I am very light sensitive, plus I just feel drawn to the moon and find it incredibly beautiful.
• Do you exercise regularly or not? Yes. I go to the gym three or four times a week and Steven and I are planning on buying a StairMaster FreeClimber 4600 PT some time later in the year.

• Coffee or tea? Blah. Neither.
• St. Patrick's Day or Easter? I could give or take either of them, but St. Patrick's Day means my birthday is tomorrow, so St. Patrick's Day!

.: 181 words at 10:19 AM in This-or-That Tuesday, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I am currently messing with the new skin and it is FUNKY! It's skin #4, so just ignore it for now. Thanks!

Update: The skin itself is working now, but I need to go in and tweak the colors. If anyone has any suggestions, please let me know!

.: 48 words at 04:20 PM in Skinning the Fish, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I've been going skin happy lately (and should have a new one to unveil either today or tomorrow) and I want to make a spring theme, but I'm having a hard time finding any garden images or flower images that I don't have to pay for that I like. Since I just blog for fun, I can't really afford to spend money on a new skin. Anyone got any good places to find free images at?

.: 76 words at 03:29 PM in I'm Looking For...., ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Here's my first Monday Mission by PromoGuy.

1. What part of your body would you most like to change? Explain.
I would most want to change my hips and stomach. Coming from a line of German women, we're built to give birth in a field and go right on working. I would love to have a flat little belly and hips that are a little less wide.

2. What are the Blogs you absolutely must visit each time you log on, no matter what?
Christine's, Michele's, and Candi's to start. Now that I'm starting to blog, there are several that I have taken to reading each day, pretty much all of them in my list of Other Fishbowls.

3. What part of your (current or most recent) significant other's body would you most like to change?
Hmmm. This is a hard question. I don't really have anything that I would want changed, but I guess he could always be a bit more buff. :-)

4. At what age would you consider yourself as "old?"
Now that I am approaching thirty (I'll be twenty-seven in a few weeks), an age that I think no one ever really thinks they'll be, I'm not really sure. I used to think that someone in their forties was old, but now I have good friends that are in their forties and fifties. I guess age is relative.

5. I hear many stories about children who show potential in a certain area, only to have their spirits crushed by parents or teachers because they are told they aren't doing it right, or will never amount to anything. Was there a point in your life where you feel like you were discouraged in some manner that had an effect on your life?
I'm not sure I ever really had this happen. I was told by my teacher when I was in Tier 4 math in sixth grade (which is two or three years advanced) that girls didn't need higher math class and he basically forced me out. In high school, though, I took advanced calculus and was constantly encouraged by my teacher Mr. De Fazio. As a matter of fact, the first test that I made a B on (and a high B at that), he circled the grade and wrote underneath, "I knew you could do it!" I was so proud of myself.

6. Eek! I left home without my Visor today, I feel nearly naked! What item(s) make you feel naked when you walk off and forget them?
I HAVE to have a book on me at all times. Other than that, I feel weird if I forget to wear earrings or my thumb ring. I've started using my Palm Pilot a lot more, so I'm starting to miss it if I leave it somewhere.

7. I believe we are all artistic in some form or fashion. Not just limited to drawing or painting, but carpentry, baking, music, gardening, collecting, you get the idea. What is it you do that best expresses your artistic side?
When I was in high school, I would have said music. I loved marching band (I marched the bass drum) and being a percussionist. Now, I guess it's more by messing around on the computer with things like Photoshop or Paint Shop Pro. I'm definitely not all that incredible at it, but I enjoy it and sometimes I make something that I think is really nice.

BONUS: Stop, hey... what's that sound?
Everybody look what's going down.

.: 590 words at 03:10 PM in Monday Missions, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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As you may have noticed, The Fishbowl was out of commission yesterday and most of today. It's now back up and running. Normal blogging will now resume.

.: 27 words at 12:25 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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I totally love the girly tee at errorwear: embrace your computer problems. Anyone want to send me one? I'll post pictures of me in it! :-)

(Link courtesy of Christine)

.: 32 words at 07:47 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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Since the moose post below has spawned Monty Python posts galore, I thought I'd share the funniest Quest for the Holy Grail link I've ever found. Watch the Camelot scene done entirely in Legos! The first time I saw this I was at work (working hard, obviously) and I started laughing out loud. Oops! Good thing it's a relaxed environment. :-)

(My favorite part of that whole sequence is the part where the prisoner in the dungeon is clapping in time with the music. That part always makes me lose it!)

.: 91 words at 06:50 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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If you look over in the sidebar, you might notice that right now I am feeling accomplished. The reason for that is on Wednesday, Thursday, and today I've played in one tournamet at Paradise Poker and I've won first place ($25) all three times despite having crappy cards and not being able to make any hands until several rounds into the tournament. Yeah, me! :-)

.: 65 words at 06:40 PM in In the Cards, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I was reading the news today and saw that animator Chuck Jones has died at age 89. This is so sad. Like most kids, I grew up on a steady diet of his cartoons and some of my fondest memories are of his work. I loved "What's Opera, Doc?" and remember watching it through my Viewfinder. One of my absolute cartoons featured Marc Anthony & Kitty (the bulldog and black and white kitten). The bulldog thought the little kitty had ended up cooked in a batch of cookies and when the mom in the picture made him a cookie shaped like a cat he just cried and carried it around everywhere. It was just priceless. My dad used to sing the songs from "Rikki-Tikki-Tavi" to my brother and I and whenever we saw snakes (we lived on an acre in a wooded area of Texas), would call them Nog or Noganina. Going though his official website, it's amazing how many incredible characters he created. What an amazingly talented man. He will be missed by children and adults everywhere.

.: 181 words at 04:32 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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For whatever reason, I haven't put any pictures of me up here yet. I went through and found a few of my favorites:

Me in my short white skirt
Me and my friend Judith
Me in the Bellagio's flower garden

.: 40 words at 09:13 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (7) :.

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I'm listening to my mp3s on shuffle and Marc Cohn's version of "Walkin' in Memphis" came on. Does anyone remember The X-Files episode called "Postmodern Prometheus" that was done in black and white? I love it at the end when everyone goes to see Cher in concert and she's singing "Walkin' in Memphis" and Mulder and Scully dance together. That has got to be one of my favorite episodes. I'll be sad to see The X-Files ending this season, but I've been so unhappy with the show ever since David Duchovny left. At least I've got the first four seasons on DVD.

.: 102 words at 08:29 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (13) :.

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About five years ago my brother Russell and I were watching a nature program, probably on The Discovery Channel. The whole program was about moose (I swear the plural should be meese, but that's not the point) and the last portion of it focused on a woman that had devoted her whole life to studying moose. At one point she's standing on a riverbank and there's this big ass moose in the river not too far from her. She reaches down and picks up this pair of antlers that she had with her and holds them up to her head. She then starts wading out towards the moose in the river who's been watching this whole thing. I was totally mystified. Like this moose is going to be thinking, "What the hell is that lady doing just standing there? (She puts the antlers up to her head) Whoa! Where'd the lady go? Where did that other moose come from?" My brother and I were just cracking up. I told my brother, "Does she really think that's going to work? Think if the moose put a hat on his head and went into the middle of the street people would wonder what happened to the moose?"

For years that story has made me crack up whenever I see a moose. I shared my story with Steven last year and he completely shattered my illusions. He said a moose would be fooled by the lady and her antlers. Apparently, to a moose, the equation is simple:

Antlers = Moose

.: 257 words at 08:02 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (9) :.

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Today's horoscope is:

Pisces has a hard time getting out of bed and an even harder time getting motivated to start the day. Wherever your energy went doesn't really matter, because it's gone now. Cancel or reschedule all of your appointments if possible. If you can somehow convince others to carry things for a few days, you'll be free to drift. You don't have to be completely idle during this down time. Catch up on your reading or rent a movie you missed when it was in the theater.

I really have been dragging this week. Both yesterday and today it was all I could do to actually get out of bed and go to work. Must be the cosmic forces aligning against me. ;-) So, who volunteers to come do my work for me so I can go home? Anyone?

.: 141 words at 10:37 AM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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For the past couple of days I've noticed that I have an error somewhere on the index page. For the life of me, I cannot figure out what it is. Currently, it says Line: 476, Char: 21, error: Expected ';', Code:0. If anyone can find out why it's doing that, you'd have my eternal gratitude.

.: 55 words at 10:00 AM in I'm Looking For...., ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I just have to rant about this this morning.

‹rant›If you are drinking the last Coke in the refrigerator (or one of the last ones) and there are two six packs sitting on the floor next to you, reach down there and put one or both of them in the refrigerator so the next person will have a cold Coke, damn it! It's not that fucking difficult! Be considerate of your coworkers!‹/rant›

Thank you.

.: 74 words at 09:23 AM in Rants, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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I'm feeling good tonight. I got $70 for the jean study, got first place in another poker tournament at Paradise Poker, and it's basically Friday. :-) I hope everyone else is having a good night! For those that are interested in the survey, focus group, samples stuff that I do, I'll compile a list this weekend (hopefully) so you too can make your opinion count and get paid!

.: 69 words at 10:18 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I'm getting ready to leave work a little early today because I am participating in a focus group about jean trends and what I think is hot and what isn't. I absolutely love focus groups. I'm getting $70 to talk about what I want for two hours. You just can't beat that. :-) I am the queen of focus groups and surveys. I've won large drawings ($500 one time, $100 twice, and various $50 and $25 drawings) for surveys I've done and have been paid up to $125 to give someone my opinion. I love making my feelings known to companies who actually listen to what I have to say (at least one hopes they do since they're paying me!).

.: 120 words at 04:02 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Well, the Olympics have already started, but I only found this today. Enjoy! Official MIT Winter Olympics Drinking Game!

(Link courtesy of Sekimori)

.: 24 words at 03:03 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I happened onto Benj's website and was reading his archives when I found his translation of Bush's State of the Union. Too funny and sadly, too true.

.: 28 words at 12:01 AM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I found a very interesting link today - Desktravaganza! People send in images of their desks. Mine looks like this. What's your desk look like?

(Link courtesy of Nicole)

.: 32 words at 08:59 PM in Participation, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

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I found this news article while surfing today: first-grader wrecks car with dad at his side.

‹rant›What the hell is wrong with people? I drives me crazy the way I see people exercising no control over the screaming, obnoxious, self-centered brats. I must admit I'm not a big fan of children (gasp!), but it seems to me that people are not bothering to raise their children at all. You are the parent. You are supposed to teach your children to behave in public and to respect people around them. Is it any wonder that the world seems to be heading for hell in a handbasket? If I would have behaved the way that I see lots of kids behaving when I was their age, I would have been in big trouble, believe you me. I am definitely not for being a total dictator to your kids, but they do have to have some discipline. And for all parents that bring their children into R-rated movies - quit doing it! I cannot remember the last movie that I've seen in the past three years that didn't have a small child or baby in it. Please, show the people around you some common courtesy.‹/rant ›

(Link courtesy of Christine)

.: 209 words at 05:02 PM in Rants, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

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I went to Shawn's site today and made a contribution to her three day walk for breast cancer. If you have a few spare dollars, why not make a donation? If not, how about grabbing a button for your site to show your support?

.: 44 words at 11:23 AM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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YELLOW You are very perceptive and smart. You are clear and to the point and have a great sense of humor. You are always learning and searching for understanding. Find out your color at Stvlive.com!

I think this one is pretty accurate. I am smart and I think fairly perceptive. I like my strange sense of humor and I think understanding is just about the most important thing to have.

(Link courtesy of Starry Sheep)

.: 76 words at 10:59 AM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Susannah at FlutterGlubMeow: Action News 15 breaks the story on the new name for Enron Field. Too funny!

.: 18 words at 10:24 AM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I created a page with some information about me if you'd like to read it and learn a little more about the person behind the blog.

.: 26 words at 12:46 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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My mom sent me this the other day and I thought it was just too funny (especially since we live in Houston). Now the truth about Enron can be known!

.: 30 words at 02:33 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I took the What Mythological Creature Are You? test by peacefulchaos!

Of course, the definition for a succubus is a "female demon supposed to descend upon and have sexual intercourse with a man while he sleeps." How cool is that? ;-)

.: 42 words at 01:57 PM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Ashley's This or That:

• January or July?
July, I guess. July is too hot in Houston, but January is far too cold.
• E-mail or letters?
E-mail. I haven't written a letter since I was in college when I was writing letters to a good friend after a painful break-up.
• Milk or orange juice?
Orange juice with lots of pulp. I hate milk.
• Brunette or blond?
Blonde. We have more fun. :-)
• Digital or film camera?
Digital
• Camping or hotel?
Hotel. I don't camp. The most outdoors I get is the top down on my Miata.
• Pencil or pen?
Pen, preferably with a pretty color ink.
• Rollerblading or roller skating?
I used to rollerskate a lot as a kid, but I don't do either now. Rollerskating, though, since we're choosing.
• Fly or drive?
Fly if it's further away than Austin.
• White or black?
Black.

.: 143 words at 11:44 AM in This-or-That Tuesday, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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As the clock ticks over from 8:01 PM on Wednesday, February 20th, 2002, time will (for sixty seconds only) read in perfect symmetry. To be more precise: 20:02, 20/02, 2002. It is an event which has only ever happened once before, and is something which will never be repeated. The last occasion that time read in such a symmetrical pattern was long before the days of the digital watch (or the 24-hour clock): 10:01 AM, on January 10, 1001. And because the clock only goes up to 23.59, it is something that will never happen again.

.: 96 words at 09:51 AM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I'm a Wind Spirit!

Thought above feeling and mind over matter are your mottos. Others come to you for advice and guidance. Some see you as introverted and snobbish, but they are merely jealous of your common sense knack to think things through. Don't be afraid to listen to your heart though.

Don't really think this one is very me. People do come for me for advice, but I definitely put feelings in front of thought and I don't think I have all that much common sense. Oh, well. The image is the prettiest of the four!

(Link courtesy of Samantha)

.: 102 words at 09:28 AM in Quizzy Stuff, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I know there are programs out there that lets you preview fonts, including ones that aren't installed in your font directory. Anyone care to share one with me?

.: 28 words at 01:13 AM in I'm Looking For...., ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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The new skin is up and running, so check it out. It's basically the fishbowl layout with different colors and a different image, but since it was my first attempt at skinning and I was really just trying to figure out the CSS, it accomplised what it needed to. I may go through and make new titles for it later and tweak the colors a bit more. If anyone has any suggestions, please feel free to leave them!

.: 78 words at 04:34 PM in Skinning the Fish, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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While going through some old e-mail, I stumbled accross Human For Sale - How much are you worth? You go and answer demographic questions and they calculate your value. I am worth $2,146,002.00. The average value for a female is $1,630,625.00. How do you rank?

.: 45 words at 04:02 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Just a note, but I am trying to create a new skin for the site. It's not going to be very impressive, but I am mostly just trying to figure out this whole skin thing. :-) If you see some funky stuff, please bear with me!

.: 46 words at 11:43 AM in Skinning the Fish, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Since I am a such a geek, I armed myself with my camera and took pictures of all my fish for In the Fishbowl (The People and Fish in my Life...). Go check out their cute pictures. :-)

.: 39 words at 09:37 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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Steven's brother, Alex, sent me this story and I found it hysterical. Go read for a good laugh. Passed Over, Syria, China, Libya Form Axis of Just As Evil.

.: 29 words at 05:27 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Some of you may have seen the story about Colin Powell urging people who have sex to use condoms. Of course, he's getting a lot of heat for this stance. If you would like to, go tell Colin Powell thank you for taking a stand for responsible, comprehensive AIDS prevention. I know that abstinence is the only way to be totally safe, but to preach it only and stick your head in the sand and ignore that lots of people are having sex seems silly. Btw, this website is great to let those in power know of your thoughts. If you are of the feminist persuasion, that is. :-)

.: 111 words at 05:08 PM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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I found this article about proposed buildings to replace the World Trade Center. Some of the ideas are really awesome. I think I like the one with the bridge the best. (Link courtesy of Jish)

.: 37 words at 05:05 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I just loved this news article. The picture is so cute. 'Wiley' coyote sneaks onto MAX train. (Link courtesy of Davzilla)

.: 22 words at 02:48 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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I had started to make a post last week about the whole Canadian figure skating pair scandal and never got around to it. This is the first time (probably since 1988) that I've actually watched the Olympics thanks to Steven Tivoing it. I was absolute stunned by Jamie Sale and David Pelletier's performance. When they finished and they just had the look that they KNEW they'd do the absolute best they could, I was so happy for them and proud of them. Then, they got totally screwed in the judging. Today, that has been rectified. They have been awarded the gold medal. I am so glad that this travesty has been rectified!

.: 112 words at 02:15 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I finally get into AvantGo's ability to allow users to use a PDA to download and sync your pages only to find out that as of next week, they are going to start charging if you have more than eight people subscribed to your channel. And it's not cheap either. The cost is going to be $1,000 a year. Go read their new FAQ here.

.: 65 words at 06:51 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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There's a new page over on the right there called In the Fishbowl (The People and Fish in my Life...). It's basically a short little who's who of people that get mentioned here. I've also added a list of my fish and hopefully, will be getting pictures of them up there soon. Thanks to Christine for creating the page for me!

.: 62 words at 04:20 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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My very best friend in the whole world, Jeanna, sent me the most beautiful card for Valentine's Day! It is completely gorgeous and I may try and see if I can make a skin with it. Thank you, Jeanna! You are so great!

.: 43 words at 04:03 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Happy Valentine's Day, everyone! I haven't posted much this week, but I wanted to take the time and wish everyone a day filled with lots of love and chocolate. ;-) Enjoy the day and tell someone that you love them.

.: 40 words at 09:24 AM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

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Thanks to Christine, here's a list of secret emoticons for Trillian. Enjoy!

.: 14 words at 09:59 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (11) :.

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I found an article today about how the crew from Start Trek (Picard, Riker, Data, and Worf) will represent the United Federation of Planets at the 2002 Winter Olympics in Salt Lake City as a last-minute entry in the four-man bobsled competition. Really. Go read the article. (Link courtesy of Marmalade Maermaid)

.: 53 words at 04:34 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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How can it be Monday already? Where does the weekend go? For the most part, I spent mine drinking raspberry pina coladas, going out to dinner Friday with Steven (Mexican food - yummy! For those in the Houston area, try Lupe Tortilla's. Delicious food and they just opened one on I-45 near Rankin), playing Civilization: Call To Power, online poker tournaments, going out to dinner with Steven, my brother, and his girlfriend, and catching up on all of episodes of The Practice that I tape on the FX channel every morning. In other words, a lazy weekend with lots of tv, video games, poker, good food, and raspberry pina coladas. :-)

.: 114 words at 09:40 AM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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This is sad and pathetic, but it's 4:00 in the afternoon and I'm just really getting out of bed. Of course, it was after 4:00 in the morning before we went to bed, but still. Last night we watched Rush Hour 2 and I just was not all that impressed. It started to get funny towards the end, but if that's the best you can say about a movie, that's not saying much.

.: 73 words at 04:30 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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It's Friday night, so that means I've had a blender full of pina coladas (raspberry flavored! Yummy!) and we're off to dinner. Everyone have a great Friday night!

.: 28 words at 09:03 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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I thought I would share with everyone the charity links that I click every day. There is The Hunger Site, which also has links on the page to The Breast Cancer Site and to The Rainforest Site. By clicking this link you can help the hungry, help poor women get breast exams, and help save the rainforest. The next site is The Ecology Fund. This site allows you to contribute to seven different projects including save the South American rain forest, protect endangered Mexican Wildlife, and protect natural reserves in Scotland. Next is a group of sites: Care 2's Race for the Rainforest, Care 2's Race for the Big Cats, Care 2's Race for the Panda, and Care 2's End Breast Cancer. It only takes a minute or two to make these clicks, so try adding them to your daily stops.

.: 147 words at 10:04 AM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Last night I bought a pretty red and blue beta to be friends with my other beta, Spike. Since his colors remind me of fire, I named him Flame. I've read that betas are actually happier when they are put next to each other for short periods of time (but not in the same tank, of course!). Spike was very lively when I had another beta around, but the other guy died several months ago. I noticed this past week that he's been really listless, so maybe Flame will perk him up.

.: 92 words at 10:46 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (5) :.

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Finally got some much needed computer cleaning done last night. I got a new machine about a year ago, so everything I had went on to Zip drives - fonts, program installers, zip files, and pictures. Lots and lots of pictures. Last night I found about 200 pictures that I had been wondering about. Christine turned me onto using ACDSee for a picture viewer, so the next step is to sort them into albulms. I found pictures from some of my first dates with Steven, the first fish we owned (Rhett and Scarlett), and of some Vietnamese pot bellied pigs that someone dumped on my parents' street that roamed the neighborhood. I also played in one of Paradise Poker's tournaments and managed to catch runner-runner cards to win the whole thing and $25. Not much, but makes you feel good to win. :-)

.: 143 words at 10:41 AM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Christine and I were talking on Trillian a couple of days ago when she found the cutest emoticon:
I messed around and found this version of him:

To make the first one, use :0p
To make the second one, use :0)

One of the ladies at work used (A) and she came up with a pretty little angel:

Anyone know any other cool emoticons for Trillian?

.: 66 words at 12:06 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (21) :.

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I finally finished Stephen King's Rose Red last night after it sitting on the Tivo for a week or so. I thought it started off pretty good, but by the last hour I was pretty bored and annoyed at the idiots that kept wandering off on their own ("I saw some iced tea in the kitchen. I'm going to go get a glass by myself. The Lord is always with me, I'll be fine." Uh huh. Right). Personally, I think if you're stupid enough to ever go anywhere in a haunted house by yourself, you deserve to die. It also bugged me that everyone was in seperate bedrooms. Did you people ever see a horror movie or read a book? Like I said, it started out kind of interesting, but by the end I was ready for it to be over. I so would have been Emery, the guy who kept advocating that the knock out the autistic girl who was keeping them locked in the house. If you find out who or what's keeping you in, you've got to take it out. Doesn't matter if it's a teenager or an old person, knock them out and run. Nancy Travis did a decent job, but by the third part was the typical, obsessed maniac. It wasn't terrible, but it could have been so much better. The Shining that ran on ABC back in 1999 was incredible, shame this wasn't as good.

.: 241 words at 12:00 PM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I forgot to mention, but Steven and I made reservations for our yearly Vegas Vacation. We're staying at the Bellagio again. I totally love that place! We're both poker rated, so the rates really aren't that bad, plus they said that if we call a month before we go they can get us good "O" tickets, Cirque du Soleil's water extravaganza. They're a little high ($121 a piece), but I figure since Steven's paying for the tickets and the room, I can take us to a show. I didn't put last year's pictures online, but I do have pictures up from when we went in 2000. Enjoy!

.: 107 words at 10:18 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I am such a dork, but I love stuff like this. (I voted for the new animal cracker too.) Vote for the new M&M color! Actually, you can only sign-up to get notified since the polls don't open until March, but do it now so you don't forget!

(Link courtesy of Gretchen)

.: 53 words at 08:10 PM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I stole Ashley's This or That? from Kristine's site.

• Coke or Pepsi?
Coke! Cherry Coke is my favorite, though I wish they had kept the cool blue and black cans from the early nineties. Pesi is evil.
• McDonald's or Kentucky Fried Chicken?
McDonald's. Love those fries!
• Pizza or subs?
Pizza, but with pepperoni (and lots of it!) only.
• Nintendo or PlayStation?
Playstation.
• One credit card or more?
More.
• Photos of people or photos of nature?
Probably people to keep, but of nature for calendars and things like that.
• In the car, do you listen to the radio or CDs/tapes?
CDs for the most part.
• Would you rather see a dentist or a doctor?
Depends on what kind of doctor! If it's the chick doctor, that would be a tough one! GPs over the dentist, though.
• Did you watch the Super Bowl or not?
Nope. Watched Rose Red that I had on the Tivo.
• American or non-American made car?
Foreign; I love my Mazda Miata!

.: 165 words at 07:56 PM in This-or-That Tuesday, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I've been noticing lately that my expenses have been a little higher. Since my boyfriend and I would seriously like to get a nice house in the next couple of years, I need to start saving. I was thinking I need something to keep a running total of my expenses on me at all times so I can go, "Do I really need this? Look how much I've already spent this month." I was looking through software over at Palm when I found Expense Pro by PDAsoftnet. I installed it and entered the items I bought so far this month and I really like it! It allows you to sort by date or category, create your own categories, and, best of all, keeps a total at the bottom of the screen so you can see at a glance how much you've spent. It's free to try and only costs $9.99 to register. If you're looking for an expense tracker, this seems to be a good one!

.: 167 words at 11:22 AM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Well, when we got home last night, the black moor was dead, despite major effort on Steven's part. Arnold, our huge goldfish, got a strage sore on his head this summer that the local fish store owner said was hole in the head. He now has it again. We can't figure out what the hell is wrong with the fish, so I'm taking some water in for PetSmart to test and see if they see anything. Keep your fingers crossed that we don't have a mass extinction on our hands soon.

.: 91 words at 09:25 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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I'm not sure if it's the dreary weather, the sick fish, or that it's Monday and the weekend's over, but I am definitely in a melancholy mood. All I want to do is go home and curl up in bed, but, since it’s Monday, tonight is dance class and I have to go to the gym before that. Damn. Why can’t it be Friday again?

.: 65 words at 02:10 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I didn't watch the Superbowl, but the ads generally are pretty good (remember the cat herder ad from a couple of years ago?). USA Today has a page where you can watch all of them. I'll have to go back later and see if any live up to the cat herder one (my personal all-time favorite).

.: 57 words at 09:42 AM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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My brother's friend and roommate, Garett, up at Sam Houston State University is getting married on August 3rd. Like most college students, he's broke, so he set up Help My Wedding.com. If you've got a couple of bucks to spare, why don't you drop by and help the kid out?

.: 51 words at 09:21 AM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Friday we noticed that the black moor we've had for at least a year was sitting on the bottom of the tank. We moved him to the sick tank and as of now, he's laying on his side and not eating. He looks perfectly healthy, so we can't figure out what the hell happened to him. I have a feeling he is not going to make it through tomorrow. I feel so sad. :-(

.: 74 words at 01:27 AM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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After a week filled with big client meetings and long workouts in the gym, I'm glad it's Friday. Of course, winning third place in a tournament at Paradise Poker, the blender full of pina coladas, the vanilla vodka shots, and the other things that make a Friday great might have a little to do with it. :-) Steven should be back with pizza soon, so I probably will be gone from the computer for the rest of the night. Everyone enjoy their weekend!

.: 84 words at 10:05 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Apparently, if you say "rabbit rabbit" as your first words at the beginning of each month, you get massive amounts of good luck. Even though today's the first and it's too late to say it in the morning, if you say "tibbar tibbar" when you go to sleep, you're still covered. What could it hurt, right? (Link courtesy of Michele)

.: 61 words at 01:57 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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You know how everyone mishears song lyrics? I have a great misheard song lyric. Remember Kyrie by Mr. Mister? I was about twenty years old or so and was playing a board game called Songbusters (or something like that) where you're given the first line of a song and have to sing the rest on the card. The more lines you have to be given, the less moves you get on the board. It's my turn and the guy reading the card goes, "Kyrie eleison." I shake my head and tell him to go on. He then reads, "Down the road that I must travel," and I have a revelation. My whole life I've always heard (and sung), "Carrying a laser gun down the road that I must travel. Carrying a laser gun through the darkness of the night." Hey, it makes sense to me! You get a laser gun and no one is going to mess with you! (Btw, "Kyrie eleison" is Greek for "Lord have mercy." Don't say you never learn anything from the neurotic fishbowl that is my life!)

.: 182 words at 12:14 PM in Fish Tales, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Two nights ago we watched the Blue Planet - Seas of Life show, the one with the commercial that made me think, "Cool! Exotic fish!" and start Tivoing the series. It was absolutely incredible. I was completely amazed by the fish and other creatures that live thousands of feet below. Did you know that there are sharks 3,000 feet down? I didn't! I knew about some of the creatures (hatchet fish and angler fish, for example), but to see them in their habitat was something else entirely. As they kept saying, some of the creatures had never been seen before ever and the few that had had never been filmed. Check out screenshots from the show and then try and watch it yourself. For those with Tivo, this is the episode entitled "The Deep." It looks like they are replaying all four episodes back to back on February 10th and there are several more showings of each between then, so be sure and check it out!

.: 167 words at 10:30 AM in Media Consumption, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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