Sleet? Who do I speak to about this?

yep. today, November 21st 2006, we had a brief period of mixed sleet and rain in Charlotte North Carolina. I would like to lodge a complaint about this, but I get the feeling that God is busy tending to wars, famine, etc. to really worry about this. Still…we moved the Charlotte to escape the cold and winter weather. Now I know it gets cold here, but usually it is January/February, not November. I also know that a brief period of sleet when the temperature is 38 is nothing to panic over…but still.

If I didn’t have a good job, I’d probably be packing up to move to, I dunno, the equator right now!

Devil of a time vs. the Demon Deacons

Stephanie and I are back in Charlotte after our day trip up to the Triad area to watch our beloved Hokies take on the Wake Forest Demon Deacons. My mom and Uncle met us at the game as well. And oh my…it seemed that the rest of the Hokie Nation was in attendance too! For a stadium that seats roughly 40K, I would safely say that 18K or more were Hokies. We were definitely the more vocal fans (even before the score moved decisively in our favor).

As always, tailgating was in full force. This game gave us all a glimpse into traditional tailgating again. For the last few years, we have been tailgating at a friend’s house in Blacksburg – forgoing the hustle and bustle of the parking lot revelry for the conveniences of indoor plumbing (among many).

Not Saturday though. On Saturday, we were knee deep in the grand ol’ tailgate traditions. Throwing football dangerously close to other tailgaters. Rigging up TV feeds out of the back of a car to catch early games (who could miss Ohio State v. Michigan?). Ham and roast beef sandwiches instead of smoked pork on the grill. And, of course, standing in line to use the facilities. Even with all of that, we had a great time and headed off for the stadium in fine spirits.

Now I know that our fans sometimes get a bad reputation. I also know that sometimes they deserve it. But I always find it funny when the upper echelon schools embarrass themselves in front of our “bad” fan base. In the case of Wake Forest, it didn’t take long. As we were walking to our seats, we passed a fist-fight between two Wake Forest fans in the line to the men’s bathroom in the stadium. (Note: I assume these two guys were Wake fans as they were dressed in black and grey and not orange and maroon). Very sophisticated.

But the most humorous moment was provided by a woman sitting directly in front of us during the game. To her right were three VT students that had a whole lot of school spirit. They made me proud. Their enthusiasm, however, was somehow lost on this woman. During a TV timeout she loudly remarked to her husband that she had to stand up and turn sideways so that she would not lose hearing in her right ear. Then she proceeded to tell him that “I never thought any fans could be more annoying that South Carolina fans, but they are”. Thanks. If not sitting under your little blanket and clapping your hands as if you were in church is considered annoying, then sign me up. It is football. Get over yourselves! Oh, and look at the scoreboard!

Why, was that an annoying thing to say? I sure hope so.

Stumblin’ (and not even drinkin’)

I was just reading up on the world of SEO and SEM at SearchEngineGuide.com when i spotted a neat article from the folks at SEOmoz. The article reference a new (I’m assuming it is new) add-on for Firefox called StumbleUpon. Functioning as a toolbar, StumbleUpon (www.stumbleupon.com) allows you to, as they put it, “Channel Surf” while you are browsing.

I’ve tried it twice. My first result as a music site that builds a custom radio station for you based on an artist of your choosing. I, of course, entered U2 and was presented with several songs that match the style of U2 (nobody can match the talent though!). The second site that I stumbled upon was dedicated to the level of emissions produced by each country. Very neat…while also depressing.

All in all, if you are a Firefox user, I would suggest at least checking it out.

Dobbs in ‘08? I wish!

Sean sent me an email today with the latest masterpiece from Lou Dobbs attached. If you don’t know who Lou Dobbs is, and you care at all about the state of the United States, you should find out who he is. Dobbs is the anchor of Lou Dobbs Tonight on CNN and write a weekly commentary for CNN.com. His reflections on the current situations affecting Americans are pointed, poignant and thought-provoking.

First, I suppose I should lay down the basis of my perspective here. Although Mark will tell you that I am a conservative republican, I am not. I unfortunately did not vote in the latest election (I forgot to change my registration from Virginia). However, in the last election, I voted for a democratic Governor and Lt. Governor. I voted for a republican Attorney General. I also voted for Bush. But we won’t go there .

I am also not a democrat. I believe John Kerry rivaled Mike Dukakis as one of the worst democratic candidates of all time. I think that the democrats do a lot of hankering, with very little to back it up. Tell me what your plan is, PLEASE? Believe me, I want to hear about some alternatives to what we have going on right now.

I believe that the 2 party system has lost its purpose and is ruining the political arena. I am a centrist. An independent. After reading Dobb’s latest article, I also consider myself a populist.

This man gets it. What makes this country run is not the nuts on the far left and the far right. It is the hard-working middle class that fuels this great nation. Republicans and democrats alike have lost focus of this great fact. I’m hoping that the recent election results, as Dobbs noted, will help refresh their collective memory.

Mark pointed out the other day that this election seemed to signal to congress that the American people were tired of waiting for results. Many states took up votes on gay marriage, the minimum wage, and other topics that congress has been “debating” for far too long. How right he was. This election was a stinging referendum on the current Republican administration. But you have to believe that somewhere, Thomas Jefferson and James Madison, are smiling from ear to ear as they watch states take on the responsibility of governing and legislating. I’m sure they are also quite fond of this Dobbs guy. I know I am.

Tis’ the Season…Almost

Several weeks ago (yeah, I’ve been thinking about Christmas that long), Stephanie mentioned that she didn’t have a Christmas stocking for our house. From that simple observation rose a quest to, not only find a stocking for Stephanie, but a "new and improved" stocking for myself. The stocking that I have for myself is about as plain as you can get. Red with a white band around the top. Even has my name on it. How boring…

"I’m done with that!!", I think to myself. We even took some time on that following Sunday to visit a local Christmas Shoppe. What was it that I was looking for? I wasn’t really sure, but I knew I wanted a knitted stocking. Something that really looked like a stocking. We even looked online several places. By we, I mean Stephanie looked and I continued to dismiss candidate after candidate. I thought it was very sweet that she was looking for the stockings, but we weren’t hitting the mark. We both knew it.

So, alas, our search went dormant. Until the most unlikely encounter put me face to face with destiny….sorta.

Stephanie and I have both been fighting a cold for weeks, so on Sunday night, we headed out to CVS to pick up some medicine for her. As we head towards the back of the store to retrieve said medicine, Steph stops to look through the Christmas decorations. "There is no way you are going to find good Christmas decorations at CVS!", I smugly exclaim. I mean, what is this girl thinking? And then, I heard it. The Hallelujah chorus. There in front of us was the most perfect Christmas stocking I have ever seen. Knitted, with Christmas red and a soft white interspersed throughout!!!

Nervously, I checked the price tag. The chorus was even louder now. $4.99!!! I was so happy I almost bought all 3 of them that were in stock. After much deliberation, Stephanie settled on a somewhat similar design. The chorus finally died down and we headed home with positively the coolest f’n Christmas stockings in south Charlotte.

PISC(TH)ATAWAY!!!!!!!

Welcome back to the college football map, Rutgers.

What a truly unbelievable victory for the Scarlet Knights. I can’t even entertain a reason why people would not enjoy this new-found success for Rutgers. College Football, the greatest sport on earth, was born in Piscataway. Therefore, it is only fitting that the “Adam” of college football return to prominence. I feel just as excited as I did in 2003 when the Hokies knocked off Miami. And VT is my alma mater!!!

I have no ties to Rutgers whatsoever. But, in a way, they remind me of the Hokies.  At least the way the Hokies used to play every game (and have played the last 3 games). Tonight, you could tell that those players had no fear, and even though most experts felt that they didn’t belong, they KNEW they did. Things almost got sideways on them early, but they believed in each other, they believed in their coach (Dear Rutgers Administration: Secure Schiano’s contract!!!!) and now they are 9-0. Amazing.

And hey, the freakin’ empire state building was lit up in scarlet for Rutgers tonight. How cool is that?

Before you Googled…

…what did you do? It hit me, as we were out in Mt. View, that Google has only been around for 6 years (not counting the “beta” years). They have become so engrained in our way of life that if feels as if there has always been a Google. So that got me thinking, before we Googled….what did we do?

I have thought about that question for about a week and I honestly can’t remember how i found information on the internet before Google. I think I have been using Google for about 5 years, but what did I use before that? Yahoo? Sure, I probably used it a few times. MSN? Although it was the default choice on most PC’s, I don’t think that is right either. Excite? Not so much. Ironically (because I now work for a sister company of theirs) I believe I used AskJeeves (now Ask.com) several times in my pre-Google days. Funny how things work out like that.

Hangin’ with “The Google”

Wow, I guess it has been awhile since I plastered my musings on the “internets”, huh? There certainly hasn’t been a shortage of topics to discuss. So I’ll start with last week, when I had the privilege of making a visit to Mountain View, California – the home of, as W. likes to put it, "The Google". What a sight!

If you ever encounter a Google employee and wonder why they are so passionate, so maniacal about their work and their employer; the answer probably lies somewhere in the way Google cares for their employees. State of the art…everything, even a full service cafeteria on-site (free, it seems, for everyone).

These guys get it. Treat your people like kings and they’ll build a kingdom for you.

And then, just to top off the evening, we dined at Cafe Niebaum Coppola – owned, of course, by Francis Ford Coppola. Not only does the man make fine films, but his wines are quite nice as well as the bread, Caesar salad, and spaghetti! All around, it was a great experience.