My brother's roomate from college Garett is getting married today. If you have a couple of bucks and want to help him celebrate, why not go donate a little money to help his wedding? Btw, congratulations, Garett! May you and your bride have a wonderful life together!

.: 47 words at 06:48 PM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Time for Phoxxe's Saturday Scruples!

1. You manage a TV station. Your female news anchor doesn't look the way she did 15 years ago. The ratings are falling. Do you replace her? Hmmm. I would love to say no, but since I'm in business to get better ratings, I guess I would have to. I wouldn't fire her, though, and I would try and find her another position or slot that she would be happy with.

2. You're traveling in Uzbeckistan when you're invited to a feast by shepherds. You're given the sheep's eyeball, the greatest delicacy. To refuse it is the greatest insult. Everyone's watching. Do you gulp it down? Blah! I would try it, though, since I would hate to insult anyone. Maybe they'd have pity on me when I threw up. :-)

3. After months, the charge for your new TV doesn't show up on your credit card statement. Do you report the oversight? Nope. I sure wouldn't.

.: 162 words at 05:00 PM in Saturday Scruples, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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I got Amazon.com Gold Box Offers twice today for some reason.

.: Oregon Scientific BAR338PA ExactSet Projection Clock with Cable Free Weather Forecaster: why would you pay $62 for a clock, even if it did tell you the weather? What a waste of money!

.: Porter-Cable 352VS 3" x 21" Belt Sander with Dust Bag: how many times do I have to pass on tools before they stop offering them to me?

.: Omni Swings n' Things 536 Yucatan Mayan Hammock, Festive Multicolor Stripe: same as the power tool thing above - I've passed on a million of these products. Stop offering them, already!

.: Logitech 961189-0403 ClickSmart 310 (USB): since I just bought a $400 digital camera from them, you wouldn't think they'd offer me a little crappy $50 one.

.: Memorex Travelview 43055 Mobile VCR with 9" Color Screen: I drive a Miata. Somehow I don't think this would fit in my car.

.: 160 words at 04:56 PM in The Gold Box, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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OMG! It's a miracle, but I finally obtained Master rating in Pogo Dominoes! Probably a silly thing to be excited about, but I have been trying to get rated that high forever! Yeah, me!

.: 35 words at 04:48 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Steven grew up in Dubai in the United Arab Emirates where his father was a geologist for Conoco. This weekend is the Dubai reunion where all the people that grew up in their community get together. It takes place at the Westin Galleria hotel and we'll be staying the night there, so I won't be online much this weekend. I hope everyone has a nice weekend!

.: 66 words at 04:24 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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More crap in my Amazon.com Gold Box Offers. I did see my first almost $1,000 item, though.

.: Sabatier Laguiole Opener Set, Black: very nice set, but I don't drink wine. I can think of a friend, though, who would love it.

.: JET 708750G 18" Woodworking Bandsaw includes 1/4", 1/2", and 1" Blades over an $82.00 Value: why in God's name would they think I need a big ass, $990 saw? Pass! Pass!

.: Riedel Vinum Port Glasses, Set of 6: once again, I don't drink wine.

.: Leatherman 69010103H Pulse: this is the most bizarre looking tool. It looks like a dental torture device.

.: RCA DS4220RE Dual-LNB DIRECTV System with Free Pro-Installation *(see Terms and Conditions): very strange that Amazon would sell this, at least strange to me. We can't have satellite systems here at the condo complex.

.: 148 words at 02:29 AM in The Gold Box, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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The Scene: Christine and I walking into the office after lunch. All the doors are propped open. The maintanence guy is standing outside smoking.

Me (to Christine): The air must have gone out.
Maintanence Guy: No, we had an electrical fire. The doors are open to air out the building.

Much more comforting, no?

.: 54 words at 03:52 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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"A two-month-old puppy takes a nap on a bottle of cold water to cool off from the summer heat in Beijing, China Monday, July 29, 2002. (AP Photo/Str)"

How's that for cute?

(Link courtesy of Robyn)

.: 37 words at 03:16 PM in Notable News, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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I was reading PromoGuy's list of handy little MT tweaks and loved The Girlie Matters's tip to back-up MT templates with "link this template" feature in four easy steps.

1. In each of blog directories, create a folder called "templates" and set the permissions to 777.

2. Pulled up each template for editing and assign a linked file to each one. Example: for Main Index Template link to a file called "templates/mainindex.tmpl".

3. Saved the template, which generates the necessary back-up file in the templates folder.

4. Download all the template directories to your local drive so you have a copy if something happens to your site.

As easy as pie and saves all the trouble of copying and pasting each template to a text file, which is what I had been doing. Since I currently have nine different skins and some of them have different templates from others, that could take a while to do. Kudos on a quick and easy way to do back-ups.

.: 166 words at 12:44 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Another day of nothing in my Amazon.com Gold Box Offers worth getting, but I did get to see my most expensive item yet.

.: Hatteras Hammocks SW-GTX Green Swing Stand: as I've mentioned several times previously, I don't have a yard or a hammock. I so don't need one of these.

.: Eastman Outdoors 38110 36-Quart Stainless Steel Pot with Lid: I don't think we need one of these, plus it's kind of expensive at $50.

.: Eastman Outdoors 38080 Stainless Steel Fish Fry Pot with Lid and Basket: in the five years we have been together, I have never seen Steven fry a fish. Pass.

.: Generac Portable Products 1417 2500 PSI, 3 GPM Pro Series Pressure Washer: OMG! This thing is on sale at $674.99! And what the hell would I do with it anyway?

.: Oxford Garden Designs Chadwick Collection Armchair Cushion, Green: I have no armchairs, so not exactly something I need.

.: 161 words at 11:01 AM in The Gold Box, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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And now, time for today's Friday Five!

1. What is your lineage? Where are your ancestors from? On my father's side I'm Scots-Irish (can't tell with a last name like McGuire, huh?) and on my mother's German.

2. Of those countries, which would you most like to visit? Well, I've already been to Scotland and while I'm not sure if we're Scottish or Irish, I'd love to go to Ireland.

3. Which would you least like to visit? Why? Since I've been to Scotland and want to go to Ireland more, I guess this would mean Germany would be my least favorite of the places to go, but I would love to go there too.

4. Do you do anything during the year to celebrate or recognize your heritage? Nope, but my birthday is March 18th, the day before St. Patrick's day, so it's like my birthday is my celebration of my heritage.

5. Who were the first ancestors to move to your present country (parents, grandparents, etc)? I have no idea on my dad's side, but on my mom's I think it was my great-great grandpa, but I'm not positive. We have a book that gets put out every few years by one of her relatives with everyone's family tree, so it wouldn't be too hard to find out.

.: 221 words at 02:12 AM in Friday Five!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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Today's Theme Thursday was "Adornment" so there are new pictures up at Picture Fish of my body piercings, jewelry, and my new blonde hair.

.: 24 words at 11:52 PM in Picture Fish Update, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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An eclectic collection of items in my Amazon.com Gold Box Offers today, but I am going to pass on all of them.

.: Fashion Snap Doll (Blonde): they either offered me this doll before or offered her to me as a brunette. Once again I have no kids and am not interested.

.: Caleca Original Italian Amalfi 16-Piece Dinnerware Set, Service for 4: maybe it's just me, but I thought these plates were ugly.

.: Oxford Garden Designs Classic Collection Sidechair: I am so not buying a $120 chair from them site unseen.

.: Mikasa Garden Harvest 5-Piece Stoneware Place Setting: I didn't like this patern at all. Thought it looked kind of cheesy.

.: Riedel Vinum 4-Piece Wine Tasting Set: Steven and I both don't drink wine, so this is pretty much an automatic pass.

.: 141 words at 01:52 PM in The Gold Box, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Convention to Eliminate All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) was passed by the Senate Foreign Relations Committee. If you urged your senators to vote for (CEDAW), why not take a minute and thank them for their support?

.: 39 words at 01:05 AM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Are you pro-choice? Take a moment to go urge your senator to oppose the nomination of anti-choice Justice Priscilla Owen.

.: 21 words at 01:01 AM in Take Action!, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Mike's Hard Lemonade has had some pretty fun ads, but I love the new one for Mike's Hard Ice Tea where the guy grows a second evil head. I swear, though, the ad I saw had the evil head making eyes and hitting on her at the end of the commercial. The first time I saw that commercial I was laughed so hard. Steven said that the fact I find this so funny shows that I am a twisted human being. I agree.

.: 84 words at 12:48 AM in Entertainment Value, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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I was looking for today's "It's a Group Thing" term and came across one that I really liked. My sophmore year in high school we marched George Gershwin's Rhapsody in Blue. It pleased me to no end to find today's term:

A Rhapsody of Blues

.: 46 words at 12:48 PM in It's a Group Thing, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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I tagged Kristine, so she's today's Blog Tag site.

.: 10 words at 12:43 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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For anyone who's interested, there are new pictures up at Picture Fish.

.: 13 words at 09:15 PM in Picture Fish Update, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Melly tagged me! I know who I'm going to tag.... :-)

.: 11 words at 05:24 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (3) :.

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Steven and I have been slacking in the fitness/health things we used to do: we used to go to the gym three or four times a week and we used to eat better during the week. Now, I'm lucky if I do fifteen or twenty mintues once or twice a day on the StairMaster, I eat crappy all the time, and I haven't been into the gym in months. I'm in pretty good shape, but I would like to lose a little weight since I've been unhappy with how I look in photos lately, especially with how my neck just seems to be fusing into one big column. Okay, that's a little extreme, but I'm unhappy with how I look.

Steven and I actually made it to the gym last week and we were talking about how we've really become sloths when it comes to our workouts. I am one of those people that work best when I have a clear goal and, preferrably, a clear reward. Steven asked me how much weight I would like to lose and I told him, ideally, fifteen pounds. I jokingly told him he needed to set me a reward for part of that so I could get motivated and he agreed.

So now we have a bet: I am to lose five pounds by the end of the first week in September - a third of my goal. If I do so, I get five intern massages from the local massage school (get your mind out of the gutter; real massages). If I don't, I think he's got in mind that I have to take him out to a really nice dinner, but we never agreed on that. Of course, the "fear" of having to pay if I don't make my goal might help inspire me.

Anyway, I am going to try and do the following:

• Drink eight glasses of water a day
• Go to the gym and do weights at least three times a week
• StairMaster, at no less than level six, for thirty minutes four times a week
• Eat a better at lunch time - no fries, no desserts
• Tan at least three times a week

I'm hoping that by posting here I will become a little bit more accountable for my actions; that's the same reason I post my To Do Lists here. If I post them and someone else can see them, I'm more likely to do whatever it is I am supposed to. Wish me luck!

.: 418 words at 03:59 PM in Daily Ramblings, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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A winner in my Amazon.com Gold Box Offers today.

.: Pyrex Oven Thermometer: wow. I save a big $0.80 by buying this as a Gold Box Offer. Whooptydo.

.: Farberware Classic Stack 'N Steam 3-Quart Saucepot and Steamer: nice looking saucepot, but Steven wouldn't use this.

.: Sex and the City - The Complete Third Season: OMG! Something I actually want in my Gold Box! Being the good friend that I am, though, I am letting Christine buy it for herself. Finally, success in the Gold Box, even if it's not my success.

.: 96 words at 10:35 AM in The Gold Box, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (4) :.

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Time for Christine's This-or-That Tuesday:

• Charlie Chaplin or Buster Keaton?
Charlie Chaplin.
• Laurel & Hardy or Abbott & Costello?
Abbott & Costello. I love the "Who's on first?" bit.
• Marx Brothers or Three Stooges?
Marx Brothers. I hate the Three Stooges.
• David Letterman or Jay Leno?
David Letterman. I think Jay Leno is so unfunny.
• "Saturday Night Live" or "Mad TV"?
I used to watch SNL all the time, but that was so long ago.
• Adam Sandler ("Mr. Deeds") or Mike Myers ("Austin Powers")?
Depends. I loved "Happy Gilmore" but didn't thing "Big Daddy" was funny. I love Mike Myers in almost everything (though some of the stuff in Austin Powers, like Fat Bastard, I don't find funny at all). I guess we'll go with Mike Myers.
• Jerry Seinfeld or Ray Romano ("Everybody Loves Raymond")?
Good Lord! Neither! I can't stand either of them.
• George Carlin or Bill Cosby?
Bill Cosby.
• "Monty Python's Flying Circus" or "Rowan & Martin's Laugh-In"?
Monty Python, of course!
• Gone but not forgotten...John Belushi or Chris Farley?
Chris Farley. I love "Tommy Boy."

.: 179 words at 12:38 AM in This-or-That Tuesday, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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Here's PromoGuy's Monday Mission 2.30:

1. What is your favorite snack food? Does anyone you know have weird tastes in snacks?
I guess favorite snack food would have to be something mundane like chips. I love Doritos (both cool ranch and cheesy ones), French Onion Sun Chips, and Funyuns. Now the Funyuns might be a little strange...

2. Ever caught yourself saying "well it can't get any worse" and it does? What's the story there?
I feel like that all the time at work. Recently we had told a client that we would be finished coding her site by 8:00 at night and at 9:00 the problems with the code started multiplying. Luckily, we were able to get them fixed pretty quickly.

3. What's your attention span like and how has it served you?
My attention span is pretty good. As Chrsitine can tell you, I *hate* to have things on my plate just waiting to be done. I usually get things completed as soon as I can.

4. Do you believe in the existence of extra-terrestrials?
Yes. Seems silly to think that in the vast universe we are the only life.

5. What do you think of the whole "crop circles" phenomenon?
It's kind of weird, but when I was in Wales (or maybe it was Scotland, but I'm pretty sure it was Wales) in the summer of 1990 my aunt, uncle, and I saw one way the hell out in the middle of no where. It seems strange that someone would have tracked out to that remote farm to make one. I do know that some of them are fake, but maybe a few are strange, unexplained things. This whole question really makes me want to go see Signs even more now. :-)

6. Ever had a time where you begin visiting with someone you don't know all that well and just find you "click" like long lost pals? Tell me about how that came to happen, and who was it? What kind of things do you have in common?
At my friend Mita's wedding shower I really got along well with one of her friends (her name is Indian, so I can't spell it). We hung out at the mendhi ceremony and at the wedding and had a good time. I wish I would have stayed in better contact with her.

7. What funeral do you remember most vividly?
I suppose that would have to be my grandmother's (my dad's mom) funeral when I was about twelve. I remember how we got her tons of birds of paradise flowers because they were here favorite and how it was my cousin Marie's birthday. I remember everyone going to my uncle Whitey's house and my uncle playing Stairway to Heaven. I remember a lot more too, but I think that's all I'll post.

BONUS: How can I forget you, girl?
You can't forget me. It's impossible. :-)

.: 490 words at 05:50 PM in Monday Missions, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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It's Monday, so time to start the week out right with Jess's Participation Positives!

• I feel like I've gotten my good luck and poker playing skills back and have been doing awesome in my poker tournaments lately
• I had a hell of a time over at Michele's blogathon
• I've been working on a site for Steven's friend and he really likes what I've done so far
• I am really happy with some of the pictures that I've taken and posted in Picture Fish
• I have not missed one day posting a 1000 Words a Day post at Picture Fish
• I am now TrackBack enabled here and at Picture Fish thanks to Christine and Kristine
• I've got all of the Anita Blake books now
• We have a new The Dead Zone episode to watch
• I love and am loved

.: 139 words at 05:30 PM in Participation Positives, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Thanks to Christine I am now TrackBack enabled. So feel free to ping me all you want!

.: 17 words at 10:41 PM in Geeky Things, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Christine has decided to take the blah out of the blog and has changed her domain to Big Pink Cookie which, by the way, was partially inspired by this picture I took. Go give her some pink lovin'.

.: 39 words at 10:32 PM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (1) :: All the Voices Say... (0) :.

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Two new self portraits up over at Picture Fish. Of course, they aren't as interesting as the picture I posted over at Michele's.

.: 25 words at 03:50 AM in Picture Fish Update, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: Pings (0) :: All the Voices Say... (1) :.

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Go take a look at the immoral support I provided for Michele to help her through her Blogathon. I'm sure you'll be happy you did.

.: 25 words at 01:52 AM in Linky Love, ";print substr($entry_cats, 0, -2); ?> :: Link :: :: All the Voices Say... (2) :.

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