How to fight aging? Be born on Leap Day!

This is a quick shout out to my nephew, Alex, who was actually born on February 29. He's actually eight today, but this is just his second actual birthday.

Happy Birthday, Alex! Two or eight, take your pick.

P.S. When he's 56 and he has the option of being 14, that's when the advantage will hit home...

Will Ferrell K.O.'s Bill Walton at H.O.R.S.E.

Great to see Bill Walton lose...

Laptop Explodes at LAX!

A video that appears to show a laptop computer exploding at LAX airport has surfaced from the depths of the internet.

I happen to work for a laptop computer maker, one that has never made an exploding notebook. I can't really make too much of this since this specific laptop looks to be ancient -- I'll guess it to be at least five years old. From the video, it's difficult to tell who the manufacturer was.

My guess -- Compaq.

Williamson County again ranks among the richest in the country

It's simply a quirk of how the county lines are drawn, but Williamson County again ranks among the top counties in per household income.

Sixteenth. Williamson County ranks number sixteen after counties mostly in the Washington, D.C. area and in the New Jersey suburbs.

It does have its benefits -- our tax base is able to pay for some great amenities and great schools. We are indeed blessed.

Franktown Rocks is coming!!

After years of developing websites and music for businesses, Rob and Deb, some friends of ours here in Franklin (by way of Minnesota) have gone on their own and developed a website for kids that features a "rock n' roll" theme.

They will soon be online and ready for gaming!



As friends and neighbors, we (and by "we" I mean my daughter) have played the delta version of the site, and I must say that I'm impressed. The instruments sound great, and you can really play music if you get the hang of it. On top of that, you can play music from the music bar, and the town is pretty well stocked with stuff to do.

http://www.franktownrocks.com/

(Personally, I think that I'll be a bear. Skunks, pigs and hamsters? I don't think so.)

Just to prove my point...

Mrs. Clinton has once again trumped up something against Senator Obama because she's behind and she's desperate.

As I've said before: she's showing her true colors: she'll do anything to get elected.

How to earn EASY money? Retire from the NBA

I'm NOT talking about how NBA players banked cash while they were playing, nor am I taking about the likely generous NBA pension.

I'm talking about Keith Van Horn, a player that hasn't played in over a year, signing a $4.3 million contract to "play" in New Jersey -- and his contract expires in June.

Why would he make all that money for NOT playing?

Because the NBA collective bargaining aggrement stipulates that NBA trades must "balance" in salaries and cap space. So, to allow the New Jersey Nets to trade the ultra-high-earning star point guard Jason Kidd to the Dallas Mavericks, the Mavs had to cough up equally high salaries to offset his contract. Even after throwing in a few others, the Mavericks had to sign Van Horn to an absurd contract and put him on a plane to New Jersey just so the Nets could cut him.

I want Van Horn money. That's for sure.

Rational, thinking people, those Democrats

Evil GOP Bastards.

Yes, I certainly want to throw in with these jerks.

Could they be any more childish and pedantic?

Honestly, I vote for the right candidate without regard for party, but when I see stuff like this, I want to vote against their smug, holier-than-thou, "obviously we know best" attitude. They are obviously NOT interested in debate, nor are they "OPEN MINDED" about any other point of view.

Mrs. Hillary Rodham Clinton is electioneering again

Mrs. Clinton denies originating and/or emphasizing the current flap over "plagiarism" of speech lines originally from Gov. Deval Patrick of Massachusetts that found their way into a speech given by Barack Obama.

Her nose is growing. She and her campaign have been beating this drum for days.

You see, Hillary Rodham Clinton doesn't care what she has to do to get elected; she just needs to get elected. Her tactics willingly include lying and using a wedge issue like this.

You see, you can't use wedge issues when you negotiate with other heads of state. You can't lie about what you've done when the world is watching.

Toshiba loses another battle in the tech world

Toshiba gave up on their dream of owning the technology that will supercede the conventional DVD format. Their HD DVD was more backward compatible and perhaps more reliable than the rival Blu-Ray DVD from Sony, but the Sony technology was superior in performance and had the market connections to make some very desirable titles available ONLY in Blu-Ray. The later ultimately made the difference when Warner joined the Blu-Ray-only distribution network, thereby killing the HD DVD.

By ceasing all production at the end of their fiscal year (March 2008), Toshiba is taking a huge loss and stranding some customers much as it happened with Sony Betamax video cassette users in the 1980's.

Well, now I can go out and buy an HD DVD player....

The number one reason that I fly Southwest.

The government released the air travel statistics for the 2007 calendar year. Southwest ranks third in on-time flights behind Aloha Air and Hawaiian Airlines, two airlines that I don't get to fly very often (eye roll). This puts Southwest as the number one "national" carrier (Southwest is not truly national -- they do not fly to some major airports).

For the record, the number two reason that I fly Southwest is that their pricing policies are realistic -- they show the fares available for all flights an all potential routes on their website, and changing routes later doesn't require "change fees" and last-minute fare gouging. If a cheap fare is still available on the selected flight, you get it. You are simply charged the difference between your previous fare and the new fare, if any. Reasonable. Easy to understand.

Fly Southwest. You'll be glad that you did.