Yay! Blog! v2.0
Category: March 2005

Senator Jeff Wentworth filed a bill in the Texas Legislature today that would prohibit Texas NCAA football teams from participating in bowl games unless a national playoff system is instituted. There's a failsafe in the bill, though, so Texas wouldn't be the only teams left out. Four other big football states must enact similar laws by December 1st or this law would expire. The big football states are: Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Florida, Georgia, Michigan, North Carolina, Oklahoma, Oregon, South Carolina and Washington.

The bill says the playoff system must have...

...at least 16 teams competing in successive elimination games resulting in a final game for the national championship of that entire division or level of intercollegiate competition.

How funny is that? Just think if four other states enact a law by December 1st. There wouldn't be time to institute a playoff system this year. Crazy.

This is just a bill... not law yet. There are a lot of hoops it has to jump through before it's law. Kinda like Schoolhouse Rock Bill.

I saw this at Austin American Statesman.

Here's the actual text of the bill.

Two years ago, I never would have thought...

• I'd ever cook an acorn squash.
• I'd be single and looking again.
• I'd have taken trips to Phoenix and Portland.
• I'd consider cleaning house something to do to make me feel good rather than a chore to dread.
• I'd enjoy walking around my neighborhood.
• I'd recognize Venus and Orion on sight

How about you?

I spent quite a bit of time this week ripping CDs to MP3. I started with CDs by women or woman fronted bands. No reason for that... it just seemed like a good place to start. Some of the bands: 10,000 Maniacs, Abra Moore, Fiona Apple, Bjork, Alanis Morissette, Serena Matthews, and Joan Osborne. I found out my Jill Sobule CD is messed up, but I got most of the songs off it. I couldn't get a song called "Train" to rip, so I'm struggling with whether to pay 99 cents for it on iTunes or go without. Will it really make that much difference in my life? I'll sleep on it some more.

See more progress on: Convert my entire CD collection to MP3

• Yesterday, I started a goal to lose 10 pounds. Today, I quit. I haven't actually eaten anything I shouldn't yet, but I made a commitment to myself to eat cookies and not torture myself with restrictions. Besides... it's a depressingly cloudy day, and I think I'm PMSing.
• I woke up this morning with a cat snuggled up to my left armpit, and a dog butt up against my right waist. It doesn't get much better than that.
• That was the second time I woke up. The first time I woke up was when Lily wanted to go for a walk. We walked to the post office field, and I saw a cardinal. That made up for the nasty weather.
• Wow... it just thundered. I better save this post quick in case the power goes out.
• Okay... I saved it.
• I'm drinking juice made from nectarines, strawberries and raspberries. It's quite frothy.
• I don't know what I'm going to do today. I'm getting tired of converting CDs to MP3 and watching movies. Reading a book doesn't sound that good. Nor does putting a gallery together of pictures I took on my trips this year. I wish I could crawl into bed until the sun comes out again without screwing up my sleep cycle.
• I was going to abort this post at this point, but I guess I won't.
• Baby steps... I'll start by burning a couple of movies I recorded to DVD: Just Write and Storytelling. The first, I've seen and love. I've not seen the second.

The other night, I turned on the TV and heard that Robert Blake was acquitted of murdering his wife. My first thought was that the jury was incompetent. Then I was ashamed. I'm cynical about Robert Blake's innocence, but I'm ashamed of that moment of certainty that I knew better than the folks who heard the evidence.

That's a trait that makes me lose respect for others when they exhibit it. A few years ago, James Earl Jones was honored at a celebration of Martin Luther King's life. A plaque was designed that was supposed to say, "Thank you, James Earl Jones, for keeping the dream alive." But when it was prepared, it said, "Thank you, James Earl Ray, for keeping the dream alive." Sadly, James Earl Ray was Martin Luther King's assassin. The plaque's maker said it was a typographical error and was understandably embarrassed.

I can totally see that happening. Have you ever been thinking about one thing while typing something else only to discover you've typed what you were thinking instead? If I were typing the description for that plaque, I could see myself thinking about how close the names James Earl Jones and James Earl Ray are, and inadvertantly typing the wrong name.

When it happened, there were some who didn't believe it was a mistake. No... they *knew* it wasn't a mistake. Yet they weren't there, nor did they know anyone involved personally.

Cynicism is okay. Certainty based on that cynicism is as unattractive as arrogance.

At this moment, I'm enjoying a glass of fresh juice made from 2 big oranges, a bunch of strawberries, and a handful of raspberries. The picture is an actual "before and after" picture.

See more progress on: Drink fresh juice

It's another thing to actually do the things on it. So I've made the number 1 item on mine to spend at least 15 minutes a day doing at least one of the things on the list. Then I'll report back on Sunday (or so) what I did.

See more progress on: Spend at least one hour a week doing something on this list

I'm trying out a new time killer: 43 Things. It's a site where you can build a long term to-do list and write about your progress blog style. When you've accomplished an item, you can mark it done. You can even connect it to your blog to post entries in both places. That's what I did with The Process of Ripping CDs to MP3 entry.

It's kinda neat and free for now.

I go through spurts of ripping CD songs to MP3. I haven’t done it in a few months. It’s tedious because I don’t like to rip every song. I like to listen to the songs and filter out the ones I don’t care for much. I can’t tell how many CDs I have left to do because I haven’t been organized enough to know the ones I’ve ripped and the ones I haven’t. Maybe I’ll work on this this weekend. Whooot!

See more progress on: Convert my entire CD collection to MP3

Is liking "The Simple Life" something I should keep to myself? I thought I'd hate it, but it's cute!

When I picked LilyDawg up from play day, she was Stinky Dawg. Now that she's had a spontaneous bath, she smells like Wet Dawg. I hope she hurries up and smells like Had-a-Bath-Today Dawg.

The cat disappeared at the first sound of the bath running.

Now it's time for carrot/apple/bell pepper juice, meatloaf, caramel ice cream and American Idol. Yay! for Nikko Smith... you go, boy!!

Seen over at BrykMantra's Place:

• If I have a nosey neighbor, he or she could be gossiping about how I was home all week with red eyes. Perhaps I got fired and now I just stay home and get high. Or maybe someone died, and I've spent the week crying.
• I went to the store after dinner to buy apples and tortillas. I walked around with sunglasses on so people wouldn't think I was crying or high.
• Pink Eye makes me remember one reason I don't like to get high. I can't stand the way it makes my eyes feel.
• If I'd known I would be home all week, I'd have ordered some junk over the internet that I had to sign for. Like some accessories for my new cell phone.
• I went out back with Lily this morning and heard a Cardinal singing overhead. I didn't think I'd be able to see him, but even with my filmy eyes, I was able to find the bright red spot among the branches. That Cardinal always makes me smile.
• Being home all week, I had a lot of time to catch up on "Alias." I'm current now. Sadly, I'm a little burnt out on not knowing who to trust and who's really dead. I'll get over it. My favorite character/actor was Lena Olin in the second season. Too bad she's not on the show anymore.
• This probably sounds weird, but I sure miss going to work.

I'm home with a double case of pink eye today. Yech. I even went to the doctor. I never go to the doctor. That's not the point of this post, though...

Being home sick, I've almost caught up on "Alias." I finished the Season 3 DVDs yesterday, and right now I'm watching the second episode of the current season. Sydney is having a party for Eric Weiss.

Sydney's outside talking to her Dad about their highly dysfunctional family. Muffled music is bleeding out from inside the apartment. It's Driveshaft's "You All Everybody." That reference will be lost on you unless you're a fan of "Lost."

I don't think it will happen, but this is the week Constantine needs to get voted off "American Idol." Travis, too. Everyone else was far better tonight. This is the third season I've watched, and I've never seen this much talent going in to the Top 12. Wow!

Girls tomorrow night. I'm not as excited about the girls, although that hyper teenager, Mikalah, impressed me greatly last week.

Allergies are still kicking my butt. I suppose it's the price of Spring.

I'm back from a trip to Houston for my sister-in-law's 50th birthday party. I had a great time. Super company and food.

I came home to hundreds of comment spams that had been force moderated even though they had blacklisted strings in their text. They should have been rejected outright. I also had several trackback spams that got through that should have been rejected. I'm discontinuing all trackbacks now. I only get a few legitimate ones anyway. Sorry to those of you who trackback me. Blame the damn spammers.

My allergies are kicking my butt, and the weather is awful.

I guess things could be worse.

When I got home from work tonight, the kids in my neighborhood had a lost beagle. They said they tried to catch another lost beagle, but it ran into someone's back yard. A girl said she heard a man yelling bad words at the dog. She thought he was hitting the dog, too.

The guy wasn't home when I got there, but he drove up a little while later, and I asked him if he'd seen a beagle. He said he'd seen two. I told him the kids said one went into one of the backyards. He said that one went in his backyard, but he already drove it out. Bastard.

A boy wanted to keep the dog they caught. He said his mom said it was okay. The dog had tags with an address and phone number, but he said he wasn't going to call. I memorized the number and went home and called. I told the guy some kids had one of his dogs and the other one was out, but we didn't know where it went.

A little bit later, I saw a truck drive up and a guy got the one dog. I hope he didn't tell the kids a lady called him because now they'll hate me.

It's just not right for someone to keep a dog that has tags.

I hope the other one is okay. Sometimes people wonder why I won't leave Lilydawg in my backyard during the day. I don't ever want her to get out and come across someone who will yell obscenities at her and possibly hit her if she got scared and ran in their backyard. It makes me sick.

It's Texas Independence Day, and I was off work. Love it! The next Texas holiday is San Jacinto Day on April 21. Here's all the stuff that happened way back when between today and April 21:

March 2, 1836

Texas Declaration of Independence presented at Washington-on-the-Brazos.

March 6, 1836

The Alamo falls. Remember the Alamo!

March 19-20, 1836

Mexican army surrounds Col. James W. Fannin's troops at Battle of Coleto.

March 27, 1836

Santa Anna orders execution of Fannin's surrendered troops.

April 15, 1836

Santa Anna burns Harrisburg.

April 20, 1836

Sam Houston's 910-man army arrives at San Jacinto River.

April 21, 1836

Texan surprise attack defeats Santa Anna's army. Go Sam!

Information slurped from Texas Independence Trail.

... and no, you can't have the number.

I don't have a number yet, anyway.

My quest for a cell phone started off not so well. I didn't want to order one over the internet because they require a signature when they deliver them, and I'm a regular 9 to 5 workerbee, so I'm not home to sign. I looked at some plans over the internet, though, for leverage when I went into the wireless store. I found one for $9.99/month and decided I could deal with that.

I entered the wireless store and a salesman immediately asked if he could help. He didn't really want to help... he wanted to make money. Here's how the dialogue went:

Me: I need to get a cell phone for emergencies only. I wondered what kind of deal you could give me.
Him: Do you travel?
Me: Sometimes.
Him: Where?
Me: Oklahoma. Arkansas. Wherever.
Him: Okay... what I would do is get the [Blah Blah] plan. It's $40.00 a month.
Me: That's way too much.
Him: It is? Okay, well, we have another plan. It's $30.00 a month.
Me: I can get a plan for $9.99 a month over the internet, so that's too much.
Him: What's the coverage on that plan? This plan is nationwide.
Me: It's nationwide.
Him: Oh, well, we have this one (walks across the store and points to a brochure) for $19.99/month. It has (some number) of anytime minutes and 500 weekend minutes.
Me: No.
Him: (walks over to a map). It covers all of this area in the United States. All the major cities.
Me: The one I saw on the internet covered all the major cities.
Him: (walks over to the phones). We could give you this phone for free. (shows me the tiniest freakin' phone I've ever seen).
Me: I need one that goes from my ear to my mouth.
Him: You can still hear with this one.
Me: [Thinking to myself: Are there any phones you knowingly sell in this store that you can't hear? Idiot.] No. I need a phone that goes from my ear to my mouth. Doesn't matter anyway. I can get a plan for $9.99 on the internet.
Him: Okay. *shrug*

After that, I went shopping for fun stuff. I got some little dog magnets and a neat beaded bracelet.

On the way home, I remembered someone talking about cell phones for sale at Walmart. I try to avoid Walmart. Partly for social reasons; partly because of a lack of willpower not to spend lots of money there; partly because of the crowds of people who frequent that place. But I think it might be one of the only places that cater to people who want to buy a cellphone they won't ever use.

I ended up with a nice Motorola flip phone for $69 and a year of service with 150 minutes for $93.42. That's $7.79/month. Whooot! Still too much for something I won't use, but I'll deal.

I haven't activated it yet because it's charging. I'm sensing that charging this phone is going to take forever. Ugh.

I signed up for a Google Alert that sends me news stories about Kim Novak. This morning, I opened the alert and was shocked to find this:



I've had people suggest that I need to change my name online because people will think I'm the actress or that I'm trying to sponge off her name. This is the name I was born with, so I'm sticking with it. Kim Novak's real name was Marilyn Pauline Novak. If I decided to pursue a real career in music where I needed to change my name, though, I'd change it to Marilyn Novak. That would be a fun twist.