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Live...from Tampa Bay...it's Saturday night!
 In case you haven't checked yet, the party cam is up and running!

UPDATE: A chat room was set up for us to monitor the party's progress. You can get there on IRC at irc.webmaster.com room #tampabaypartycam.
posted at 08:39 PM | link--it | mail it | (27) shout it



With love from me to you
 Look what showed up on our way out the do' late yesterday afternoon! A huge Gnomedex care package from Jim and Candi! It was packed full of t-shirts, boxers, CDs, a Lockergnome beanie signed by Chris, and more! Thank you SO much guys!!!!

Everyone made it in safely last night -- although Statia and Mike had quite the adventure. Their original flight turned back on the runway from mechanical problems, so they were delayed getting into Dulles. This made them miss their connecting flight to Tampa, so the only thing they could get was to Orlando. Only problem was, it landed at the exact same time as Christi's flight here in Tampa. So we cooled our heels at the Sooner Club watch party (what a fuh-gly first half it was!) and then went to pick up Christi. The Philadelphia gang drank at their airport bar in the meantime, and we managed to get them shortly after 1 a.m.

Everyone here didn't make it to bed 'til after 5 a.m., so no 'net camming for us yet... But check in later! And happy holiday weekend everyone!
posted at 03:32 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it






Boomer frickin' Sooner, ok?
 In just over four hours the Oklahoma Sooners will be taking on the Tulsa Golden Hurricanes. Yes, yes -- I know what you must be thinking. Hurricanes have a color? And doesn't Oklahoma have tornadoes instead? But that's not the point... The point is -- it's time to PLAY! Bring. It. On.
posted at 03:38 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



I've got posters on the wall - my favorite rock group Kiss

Now I have an 8x10 glossy of Rivers Cuomo to put under my pillow at night! I joined the official Weezer fanclub this summer and my starter kit just showed up. Too cool...
posted at 01:36 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



Happy trails to you
 Just want to wish the three of you safe flights tomorrow -- can't wait to see ya'! And safe driving wishes go out to Annessa, who lands (edited for the sake of Veshka and all Canadians) arrives in town tomorrow night!
posted at 03:33 AM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



It don't mean a thing if it ain't got that ping
 Great new find from the Scripty Goddesses: Ben and Mena of Movable Type have released a stand-alone TrackBack! "It allows non-Movable Type users to use TrackBack with the tool of their choice." Drop by the site and see if your blogging tool meets the requirements.
posted at 03:10 AM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



You're filthy cute and baby you know it
 Remember all those "E! Rank" lists I've linked in the past? Well there's a new one up -- the "top 25 Hollywood bachelorettes". I think the play-by-play commentary is much better left to Stacy, but Christina Ricci's pic actually made me snap-back. (She looks almost as bad there as the so-called new Performer of the Millennium - with what, one year under our belt - does here.) And for the love of god, will someone please feed Brittany Murphy again? Ho-ho's. Twinkies. I don't care. The girl needs her arms back. Just don't forget to play "spot the muumuus" while you're browsing the top 25, mmmk?
posted at 02:59 AM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it






S.A.T.U.R. - D.A.Y. Night!
 We just got back from a massive grocery store and liquor store run. Here's a little preview of Saturday night's festivities (the new stuff, already stocked cabinet, stocked garage fridge). It's not too late to RSVP to the big bash. Unlike P-iddy we don't require that you wax-on -- only that you wax-off. I'm...not sure what that means. But it sounds like fun. Don't forget to check in on the party cam!
posted at 10:58 PM | link--it | mail it | (13) shout it



Every girl's crazy 'bout a sharp-dressed man
 I'm completely shocked that my invitation wasn't in the mail. *sniff* I'm crushed. No really...I am.

I'm not sure which funnier -- that the invite actually had to define what "fly shit" is, or that it mandates the ladies must be "waxed".
posted at 04:48 PM | link--it | mail it | (13) shout it



Hotmail...not so hot... Yahoo! still blows. Film at 11.
Think using Yahoo or Hotmail e-mail at work protects you from your boss’ prying eyes? Think again. New spy software essentially lets employers or parents co-pilot virtually any kind of e-mail account, including private Web-based e-mail accounts like Yahoo and Hotmail. A new version of eBlaster spyware will secretly forward all e-mail coming and going through such Web-based accounts to a spy’s e-mail, allowing anyone to ride-along even supposedly private e-mail.
Just a little heads-up to those of you who haven't heard the word yet. Be careful out there folks... (Get the full scoop at MSNBC.com.)
posted at 05:06 AM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



Someday, someway...
 Borrowed from Robin, who told two friends, and they told two friends, and so on and so on, and shoobee doobee do wop...


  1. Someday my hair will grow back out.
  2. Someday I will go back to school and finish my double-degree since I wanted to get out fast at the time and stopped with the one I least-wanted.
  3. Someday I will be able to afford to get my teeth fixed and quit hating them.
  4. Someday I want to live ON the beach and not just near it.
  5. Someday I will work from home because I want to, and not because I have to.

posted at 03:00 AM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



I love you, Todd!

Today, my better half turns 30. Where do I start? I was just a teenager, 19 years old, when I met him. And even when he didn't...I always knew. I am so incredibly blessed to have him by my side each and every day -- even when he makes cracks about my hair. I often tease him that he's the only one on the planet that could put up with me for a lifetime, and I mean it. He'll tell you otherwise...but don't listen to him. I'm right. We're heading on seven years of marriage, and I still find post-it notes in places I'd least expect them telling me "good morning", or "I love you", or well, that's for us now isn't it? Every day when I check my e-mail I have a note from him saying "good morning" with hugs and kisses -- even though he knows it will probably be afternoon by the time I actually read it. How lucky am I?

He...is my everything. And now that we're both about to leave our 20s behind and head on to the 30-something decade, I just wanted to take a few moments to let him -- and everyone around us -- know how much I love him. So forgive this little PDA, but I hope you have the bestest birthday ever, babe. Now hurry home for your spankings...30 will take me awhile! ;-p

HAPPY BIRTHDAY TO YOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOU!
posted at 12:00 AM | link--it | mail it | (27) shout it



Kathy's clown
 She's in Vegas so she probably won't see this today -- but Kathy turns 30 on August 29th, as well! Happy birthday girlie! Bet on red -- I don't care what Wesley says.


posted at 12:00 AM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it






King of porn
 Suddenly that, Honey, why don't we visit Manhattan on September 23rd request (when the "serious, academically credentialed" Museum of Sex opens) makes much more sense... "It will be a primary source for historical research and a great repository of pop culture." Riiiiight. And I'm sure visitors will go to the museum just to read the articles, too.
posted at 11:44 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



Oh it is to laugh
 Poor, poor Tennessee fans. Stupid orange teams...
posted at 10:54 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



The tracks of my tears
 Fortunately, I think in a couple of weeks I'll be able to do something with it... It could definitely be worse. No points for artistry here, but here's the front and back. Gads, I am such a girl. It's just hair.

UPDATE: Well these and this face just walked through the door. He's not a total male-schmuck. He looks good in guilt so I guess I'll have to forgive him now. <wink> Ahhhh...marriage.
posted at 09:55 PM | link--it | mail it | (29) shout it



Husbandry 101
 How to make your wife cry for hours... When her stylist doesn't show up for her appointment, and she gets stuck with someone else, who proceeds to cut her hair a good 4" shorter than she asked -- even when she stopped replacement stylist before the top layer had been cut by saying "it's too short" -- let the first words out of your mouth when walking by her side out of said salon be, "It looks like shit." Gee tell me something I didn't know. Now I'm crying too hard to care that it's almost 10 p.m. and I haven't eaten. Guys -- tell her she looks good. That you'd still do 'er even if bald. I swear lying isn't that hard.
posted at 09:28 PM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it



So what I wanna know is...
 ...who took the time to count all of the colors to begin with before bringing the lawsuit?

"Palm Inc. has admitted it overstated the color display features of its new m130 handheld. Now it faces a consumer class-action lawsuit. The maker of personal digital assistants apologized last week to customers, saying on its Web site that it had discovered the m130 supports about 58,621 color combinations -- not the 'more than 65,000 colors' that the company had been advertising since the product came out in March." (Read the full article at CNN.com.)
posted at 03:11 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



I'll be missing you
 I've long had a thing for Ewan McGregor, but this quote and photo just about elevates him to god-status in my eyes! I...need a moment.
posted at 03:53 AM | link--it | mail it | (17) shout it



Everyone knows it's Butters!
 Paaiint. Everything clean. Everything new. Paaiint. Must be made clean. New. Must clean Butters. Clean. Never be clean. Must...kill? The only way? Must kill Butters. Paaiint...
posted at 01:01 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it






They say that waking up is hard to do
 We took a reeeeeeally long nap this afternoon, so while sitting on the couch trying to regain consciousness I opened up my little editing program and made a new IE bookmark icon for the site. It looks like this:

If you've bookmarked the page in the past, it probably won't work for you this time around, since I used to have a little heart icon -- but it's something fun to play around with nonetheless (just bookmark, and then click on my link from your bookmarks, and it should show up in the IE address bar).

If you want to do the same thing at your own site, here's an article from Builder.com on how to do it. This is the program I use to draw the .ico files.
posted at 08:15 PM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



And I thought our insurance premiums were bad
 This is just a wee bit scary -- Raymond James Stadium, home of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, has lost its insurance. "An independent insurance consultant told the Tampa Sports Authority to expect a 30 percent increase in premiums and no guarantee that terrorism attacks will be covered...the sports authority paid $266,167 in premiums this year for property, liability and auto insurance..."
posted at 02:54 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Rah Oklahoma
 Pssssst...family and friends: still looking for a last-minute gift idea for Mr. Pollman? Lookee what Jana just found (ships in September)!
posted at 01:48 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Wahoo!
 Just as I was getting ready to head to bed, Todd decided to call in "sick" because the Explorer is acting kinda funky and we have to take it in later. Since he can't take his birthday off...today will be his unbirthday I guess. Off to snuggle with my man! Go read this blog if you get bored.

UPDATE: Well Todd just got back with the car, and $140 later (thank goodness not $1040 later), it was a problem with the thermostat not cooling the engine. The Ford dealership said they get about 10 Explorers a week with this problem. Recall anyone?

But an amusing side note. Claire was in bed with me when he came back. She woke up and heard someone walking around inside before I did, so she immediately started groaning and growling in 'attack' mode. Then the bedroom door opened. So what did my little defender do? She RAN UNDER THE BED! She thought it was an intruder, and she hid. Lovely. And here I always thought she'd just lick them to death...
posted at 06:16 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



Eye candy
 Ok, to all the ladies that complained the green Christina skin was gone...quit y'er whinin'! If this doesn't make you adore football, I really don't know what will... (To select a different skin, go here.)

So if you'll please excuse me, I have to get back to work on other people's stuff now.
posted at 05:12 AM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it






Watch this space...
 I got my old Dell back from Tara recently, which is the only computer our webcam works with. And just in time... We spent the evening getting software set up so we can provide a live feed of the birthday bash this weekend. Here was our parting "test shot". I'll be spicing up the HTML on the cam page here in a bit -- but for now, it's working! Goooo us!

Just don't expect me to sit around on camera all week letting that thing steal my soul. What you see, is what you get...for now. Hey, a girl's gotta have some mystery around 'er!
posted at 11:52 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Maybe I'm amazed at the way you're with me all the time

[Patiently wating...]

This weekend, this was the scene I walked out to after brushing my teeth, washing my face, and other nightly routines... (The foot of the bed faces the master bath.) Thankfully the camera was in close-reach, so I had to share. I never imagined life could be this happy.
posted at 09:22 PM | link--it | mail it | (15) shout it



He turned me into his super spanky slut
 It is SO unfair that in a tickle/pinch fight, girls have more parts to be used against them than guys do. Waaaaah!
posted at 08:53 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Goin' to the chapel?
 There's a great new look over at the digital bride! And they're looking for new authors -- so if you're getting married soon, or know of someone who is, contact them.

And speaking of weddings, you have until Tuesday night to vote for the bride's hairstyle at "Today Throws a Wedding".
posted at 05:53 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



The blogger's guide to popularity
 Newsweek has a new article out titled "Living in the Blog-osphere". Just once I'd like to see blog authors other than Andrew Sullivan, Dave Winer, and Glenn Reynolds get nods in the mainstream press though. That's not to say the above shouldn't share the limelight. It's just there are so many others out there to choose from now... Blogging articles seem to be cut-and-pasted regurgitation these days. Media nods to individual bloggers have become almost as bad as media nods to wedding sites (*cough*Knot*cough*).
posted at 03:48 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Skin-a-rama
 I just changed the spring (green) Christina skin to a more fall-like one. Click here if you're ready for some football. (And click here to reset your skins again, if you'd like to make a different choice.)
posted at 03:23 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



New moon on Monday
 It's another Manic Monday. Wish it were Sunday. Now for the news, FARK style.

  1. From Yahoo! News, a photo of the world's youngest-known mother -- a FIVE-YEAR OLD from Peru! Yes, she was five.
  2. Even in the animal kingdom it's true -- once you go black, you never go back.
  3. "Sex in play in women's sports" -- no, really? I'd never guess when reading wKen's blog...
  4. So those are giant, bouncy balls you have there sir.
  5. Poor Britney. I almost feel sorry for her. I said almost.
And last but not least, just for Christine, "holiday cards we could really use"...
posted at 04:04 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



Stop. Hammer time.
 This weekend, Glen found out what it's like to live-client e-mail me in the middle of the night. His blog is named "Velvet Hammers", so I sent him pics of MC Hammer as a mock design option. Too bad I couldn't find one of him in velvet, or we'd have been set. There are still a few kinks to be ironed out here and there, and the paint is still wet so no sitting or leaning -- but go tell 'im "hi" when you have a chance! I'm still diggin' those fonts he chose.
posted at 03:40 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



Just because
 I missed him...and I don't mean that in an Eddie Haskell kind of way. Welcome back Chris, Gretchen, Mikey, Jason and all the other Gnomedex'ers and BlogCon'ers!
posted at 03:30 AM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it






What I want you got - and it might be hard to handle
 So John Oates - formerly of Hall and Oates - wants to make a comeback. Well I'm sorry sweetie, but you were never "there" to begin with. I give you all Exhibit A and Exhibit B. (Yes, I purchased the album "Voices" with my allowance in the third grade. Wanna make something of it? Didn't think so...) Notice the tight pink pants. The jazz hands pose. The white leather pointy boots. The sleeveless Pitts shirt which managed to show off just that... Even for the 80s, there simply was no excuse. I wasn't even 10 years old at the time and I knew you weren't cool.

I've heard the backup tracks. Daryl had the voice. Daryl had the looks. You were the epitome of 'cheesy moustache man'. You...got lucky buddy. Good luck with that solo career! *snicker*
posted at 06:30 PM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



She's fancy!
 Annessa went and got herself new blog digs and a snazzy new look! Go drop by and tell her how supah-coo' she is. She's had a pretty tough week, so I'm making it my mission in life right now to let her know how much she's loved and adored...

It looks mah-velous dahling. Absolutely mah-velous!
posted at 05:25 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it






Pathetic.
 It may only be the preseason, but so far the Tampa Bay Bucs have given up two three interceptions and three fumbles to the 'Skins. There was a beautiful shot just now of Coach Gruden screaming, "WHAT THE FUCK ARE YOU DOING?," into his mic. I think that's the question on all Buc fans minds tonight. Spurrier's fun 'n' gun offense is a beautiful thing to watch though!
posted at 10:59 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



We'll make Sooners out of 'em yet
 What do you get to do on your 30th birthday weekend? Any-teeeng you want! So that's why we'll be dragging Mike and Statia directly off their plane (which lands 22 minutes before OU's first kick-off) and straight to the just-announced Suncoast Sooner Club watch party. Now we just have to hope the fourth quarter is over before Christi's plane lands. Otherwise, she may be waiting awhile... Heh.
posted at 03:07 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



You're all that I wanted of a girl
 GET OUT! A girl. From Oklahoma. Also with a Rivers Cuomo design/obsession. Oh yeah, and did I forget to mention that her name just happens to be Robin? Sure, she spells it wrong -- but what are the freakin' odds?!
posted at 03:55 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



When you gonna get to me, get to me?
 Just to make Christine happy since she did us so many favors today...I've finally signed up with Bloglet. (You can also find the link over there in the sidebar.)

This means you can now get a daily email digest with a quick summary of my posts from that day -- so go wild.
posted at 03:44 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Now you are 2 bodies, but there is only 1 life before you

I'm putting this up a bit early so she'll have a chance to see it... This Sunday not only does Michele prove what it means to be fabulous at 40, she also ties the knot with her true love in life! I wish you both all the best on this day. Make sure to drink every single second in -- it flies by so quickly! I'll leave you with many happy birthday wishes, even more wedding congrats, and this poem that was read at our own wedding. I still get goosebumps when I read the third and fourth paragraphs. *kiss, kiss* - Love, Robyn (and Todd)



Marriage is a commitment to life,
the best that two people can find
and bring out in each other.
It offers opportunities for sharing and growth
that no other relationship can equal.
It is a physical and an emotional joining
that is promised for a lifetime.

Within the circle of its love,
marriage encompasses all of life’s
most important relationships.
A wife and a husband are each other’s
best friend, confidant, lover, teacher, listener, and critic.
And there may come times when one partner
is heartbroken or ailing, and the love of the other
may resemble the tender caring of a parent for a child.

Marriage deepens and enriches every facet of life.
Happiness is fuller,
memories are fresher,
commitment is stronger,
even anger is felt more strongly,
and passes away more quickly.

Marriage understands and forgives the mistakes
life is unable to avoid.
It encourages and nurtures new life, new experiences,
and new ways of expressing a love that is deeper than life.

When two people pledge their love and care for
each other in marriage, they create a spirit
unique unto themselves which binds them closer
than any spoken or written words.

Marriage is a promise, a potential
made in the hearts of two people who love each other
and takes a lifetime to fulfill.

-- Edmund O'Neil

posted at 02:35 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it






Feedback baby, he's a flipped out cat
 So when over the course of the last couple of hours your husband writes you in separate e-mail conversations and says: (1) he skipped the chips and salsa when the company took him out for Mexican -and- (2) he looked up fitness plans online so he can start losing weight and toning up -and- (3) he wishes he had a toothbrush and toothpaste at work right now

Can one only assume that he's having an affair or would like to? Or is this part of "the change" now that he's about to turn 30?
posted at 02:57 PM | link--it | mail it | (13) shout it



Your performance deserving a standing ovation
 "I'm not apologizing for anything I did," Brian Buck (executive vice president of the Associated Students of ASU and Sigma Nu member) said. "The way I see it is 200 fraternity guys having a good time. It's not like we planned it, it just happened."

How many times have we heard that one from a frat boy? But seriously. Shane's World shot a porno at four Arizona State University fraternity houses and it features a student vice president. An ASU staff member told university officials about the video in early July. (Wonder how they discovered it...hmmmm?) Now it's a scandal. "Fraternity members never participated in sexual intercourse with the women...action went from house to house and took place in bedrooms, living rooms, the limo and poolside. The video even films a dare on a public campus lawn and one in front of a residence hall." And even though Shane's World attempted to prevent identification by blacking out participants' eyes and fraternity logos, that wasn't good enough for ASU.

The investigation will take 4-6 weeks. That's unless the video late fees start racking up. Then university officials will probably have to buy the tape "just to be sure" -- and that will be another 6-10 days for delivery. Buck seemed concerned for the sake of his family -- but that sure is a big ol' honkin' smile he's sporting in the article!
posted at 05:28 AM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



Can I have the attention of the class for one second?
 We're gonna have a problem here.

posted at 04:15 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



It's about freakin' time
 From CNN.com: "Airport passengers may not be asked much longer whether they packed their own bags and, starting right away, they will be allowed to take drinks through security checkpoints.

For the past 16 years, ticket agents have been required to ask passengers two security questions: 'Has anyone unknown to you asked you to carry an item on this flight?' and 'Have any of the items you are traveling with been out of your immediate control since the time you packed them?'

There is no hard evidence the queries have prevented a hijacking or bombing. Many passengers question the value of the questions, since anyone who had something to hide presumably would not answer honestly...

...The new policy requires plastic, glass, metal and ceramic containers to be sealed and put through the X-ray screening machine. An open can of soda won't be allowed through a checkpoint, but a bottle of soda with a sealable top will.

Screeners are forbidden to ask passengers to eat food or drink a beverage as part of a security procedure. The policy was changed on June 24 after a woman said a security guard at New York's John F. Kennedy International Airport forced her to drink from three bottles of her own breast milk to demonstrate the liquid posed no threat to other passengers."
posted at 02:54 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



Still they hate you - you're a vegetable
 So wrong. So very, very wrong... Yet another young life for Michael Jackson to destroy. Welcome to the world, Prince Michael II. (Yes, that is his name. Older brother is now Prince Michael I.) Fortunately your father will be able to afford all that Prozac you're going to need. The baby made its debut at a Vegas Siegfried and Roy show. <insert your own joke here>

P.S. UPDATE: Bravo!
posted at 12:24 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it






Check baby, check, baby 1. 2. 3.
 If you plan it, they will come. My husband turns 30 a week from today. Just does NOT seem possible! He had convinced himself that he was going to hide under the bed and wait for the day to pass. But I had other ideas. I invited his groupies and thankfully they took me up on the invite.

So in less than seven days (starting next Friday) we will be picking up from the airport and taking in her, and her, and him, and her -- as well as clearing off couch space for her and him, and her, and her, and them. If you're in the insurance biz, it might not be a bad time to drop an extra few bucks in the Tampa Bay investment fund.

Dude, we are soooo gonna party! Just call it "ToddConDex 2002".

Excuse me. I have to go clean like the wind now...
posted at 10:08 PM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it



Teenage suicide...don't do it!
 I was doing a little housecleaning and ran across this. It's made the rounds in the past so you may have seen it before, but just in case not -- "Things you wish your computer had".
posted at 08:56 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



All better now!
 We got the Explorer back from the dealer today. It's all fixed now with a shiny new bumper. And check out that fancy OU plate courtesy of Susan. Thanks again!


posted at 07:21 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



Poi-fect!
 Please don't give away what this item actually is in the comments -- but I just had to share what shipped today for Todd's birthday. I can't wait for him to open it! IF YOU CLICK THIS LINK YOU DIE, MR. POLLMAN! (Thankfully he's got more surprise-restraint than I do.)
posted at 02:20 PM | link--it | mail it | (22) shout it



Always something cooking and nothing in the pot
 I surf the useless news...so you won't have to...

  1. This town needs an enema.
  2. Rethinking 'diamonds are a girl's best friend'...
  3. Can you miss PE because you have to breast-feed?
  4. You have got to be kidding me.
  5. Sometimes the recommendation of therapy is not enough.
And last but not least, a couple of non-work-safe links that had me giggling so hard I was afraid I'd wake Todd up. First, "Ken and Barbie get it on". And now we know where he works -- the "Boobie Patrol".
posted at 04:06 AM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Just save me - I've made this whole world shine for you
 Just found via Statia's (*cough*birthdaygirl*cough*) comments... Remember Karyn Bosnak? That "really nice girl" who needs help paying off her $20,000 credit card debt so her Prada shoes don't get repossessed? Well "The Smoking Gun" has photos of her online now.

I'm with them -- FARK beer fund it is!
posted at 01:53 AM | link--it | mail it | (15) shout it






This is why we watch
 Some of you, I'm sure, do not understand my passion for OU football. It may be because you don't like the sport. It may be because you don't like the team. Or it may be because even though you like the sport, you're just not rabid about it.

Well these mini-videos might help explain why I am the way that I am. Make me happy and watch them. If for nothing else, because Oklahoman James Garner (my OU commencement speaker) does the narration... If you like football, you won't regret it. And if you hate football, well hey, Bob Stoops isn't exactly hard on the eyes so watch anyway!

1. "Heroes" (if you only watch one, watch this)
2. "Land Run 2001"
3. "I am Superman"

Eight days and twenty-three hours left. But who's counting?
posted at 08:58 PM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



Like, gag me with a spoon
 Think you remember the 80s? Take this quiz at CNN.com to find out. There's also a gallery for remembering 80s culture at "Like, Omigod! It's the return of the '80s!"
posted at 07:58 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Brain candy
 I'm going to be a designing fool for the next few days, so I need new music to keep me going. Just ran across this great list of "Remember that song?" alternative tunes to get me kick-started on Limewire. There are two pages full of stuff that will make me happy and bouncy.

And if you're bored and need new toys for your copy of MT, check out what Kristine has been doing with all the new MT plug-ins. Very cool!
posted at 06:34 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Random blogness
 Statia is participating in MS 150 Bike Tour (more details here at the official site). Please stop by and sponsor her if you can!

And my blog is now being syndicated at Name That Blog: "The basic premise is this: a quote from a random blog is presented, with four possible answers. Visitors pick an answer, and find out if they were right or wrong. They then have the chance to visit any of the sites presented as possible answers. New 'Name That Blog' questions are available every ten minutes."
posted at 05:00 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



Show me, show me, show me how you do that trick
 Someone just wrote to see where I got the Buccaneers font for my Tampa Bay skin. I downloaded it from the sports section of Sharkshock. Another site to try is "Famous Fonts", although they always seem to have less available for download.
posted at 04:28 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



The female of the species is more deadly than the male
 Just heard on a girly pajama-party-esque commercial: "Problems are better when you talk about them with friends. Even painful, burning feminine itch." Uhhhh, yeah. Not.

And can I just state that I really hate it when shrink-wrap is smarter than you are... (Totally not related to the above.)
posted at 03:21 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Seether is the center of it all
 I love how the universe works. Yesterday was simply the worst day, ever. I was a bitch on wheels as a result, and this song pretty much explained my attitude. (Todd should be sainted for living with me sometimes.) Today, I woke up to us getting paid unexpectedly and an e-mail from a national news reporter I've helped out in the past needing help again and fast. Hopefully this article will make it to print soon so I can share with the class (and get more traffic over at WM! again).

Thank goodness I remembered to get out of bed on the right side today!
posted at 02:57 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



Mr. Toad's wild ride
 Here are a few "Happy Humpday" headlines courtesy of FARK.com:

  1. The guide to male quickie-sex etiquette (from "The Quickie Express")
  2. Screw Disney World! They have sexual theme parks with raunchy rides!
  3. Miss Cleo told this Florida man to kill the wrong burglar
  4. Mother faces a possible 15 years in jail for letting her kids get second-degree sunburns at the county fair
  5. In Texas a cop will shoot at you if you toilet paper his daughter's house
  6. If you're gonna rob a bank, don't forget to take your fries with you
And last but not least...sounds like someone was raised to believe "bad attention is still attention" (as if we hadn't figured that out by now)... Tonya Harding, after arriving to serve her jail term, credits her "faith" for her peace and calm:

“My faith in God and thanking Him for allowing me this opportunity to put my past behind me, and go on with my future,” Harding said. “I’m just really excited about everything, and thank you guys for all coming out here and giving me the support and putting me on TV.”

Yeah, that's it honey. Those last five words said it all!
posted at 03:50 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



You put the light inside this (wo)man
 This is for that very special someone:

Say I'm crying
I'm looking at what's on TV
Pain and suffering
And the struggle
To be free
It can't ever be denied
And I never will ignore
But when I see you coming
I can take it all

You're so fine
Lose my mind
And the world seems to disappear
All the problems
All the fears
And the world seems to disappear.....
posted at 03:18 AM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



More of da' foosball
 With OU's 2002 season just about underway, I went ahead and made a new blog category for "Sooner 2002 posts". Some of you might recognize the top image from the "OUr Homepage" intro. I spent a lot of time morphing the two girl and boy pics together once upon a time, so I'm getting more mileage out of 'em now.

Anyhoo, for the Sooner fans that visit my blog...you can now follow the 2002 season here. The link is also over in the sidebar...
posted at 01:39 AM | link--it | mail it | (0) shout it






My hunka hunka Sooner love
 Check out the new ESPN Magazine! That's my favorite sideburn-sportin' Sooner there on the cover -- just-announced starting QB Jason White (with DT Tommie Harris). Ahhhhh...you can count the days left 'til kickoff on two hands now! Bring. It. On.
posted at 11:29 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



My name is John Johnson but everyone knows me as Vicky
 Since it seems everyone in the blog world is taking on a faux identity these days, here's a long list of fake names that celebrities use when out and about courtesy of FARK.com.

And you knew this one was coming -- the Anna Nicole Smith Show drinking game.
posted at 04:52 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Papa roach
 Granted it's from the MSNBC.com gossip column, but this has to be one of the strangest "news" items I've read in a long, long time:

"Forget anthrax. Terrorists in Japan are raising cockroaches to unleash on their enemies, reports Pravda. 'Cockroaches eat human eyelashes,' a would-be terrorist supposedly said in an article that appeared in the paper. 'I couldn’t think of anything more satisfying than to have somebody wake up and discover a cockroach has eaten away their eyelashes. ... And women hate cockroaches. I’ll ruin their mental state by unleashing hundreds of thousands of cockroaches onto the streets. And I’m breeding big American cockroaches, which put Japanese versions to shame. . . . I’m going to destroy this world. I’m going to terrorize everybody in the world by unleashing my cockroaches.'"

Just how old is this terrorist anyway? This sounds like something we cooked up in summer camp back in junior high... Ooooh. Big scary cockroaches. Everybody run for your lives! Coming from Japan, you just know they're radioactive and breathe fire as well. (From MSNBC.com's "Notes from all over".)
posted at 04:36 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it






Apron strings
 This weekend, I posted new pics of Maggie. Now it's time for new brag photos of Victoria. She just hit a big milestone and turned three months old! Looking at her most recent portrait session literally makes my uterus ache -- she is just such a beautiful baby. You just want to crawl into the photo and kiss her little eyelashes... And I must agree with Christi and say that Angela is positively glowing in the mommy role! I'm forever amazed watching my friends transform from new wives into incredible mothers as well. Such an amazing part of life!
posted at 10:46 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



I wanna grow old with you
 Some of you might recognize this month's new "Fifteen Minutes of Fame" featured wedding couple!

And I haven't posted the "Today Throws a Wedding" voting links the past couple of weeks, because quite frankly the topics were boring. Here are the dresses selected for the mother of the bride and mother of the groom. The cake I voted for a couple of week's back was selected. And this Wednesday we find out what favors the audience selected -- click here to vote. Favors have always seemed so pointless to me. (We just gave our guests free drink coupons at Pat O'Brien's instead.) 'Traditional' favors are so expensive and I'd guesstimate 80% are tossed by the guests the moment they get home. We have jordan almonds from 1998 collecting dust in a drawer somewhere, I'm sure... Oh well. This is NBC's dime!
posted at 10:14 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



Yummy in my tummy
 I just put a new recipe up at The Red Kitchen. This one is for "quick and easy calzone".
posted at 07:32 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



Desperately seeking...

We received this in the mail today. How cool is that?! The only problem is, there was no identifying information -- just the license plate and a business card from the company that made it. We have no way of being able to thank the sender.

If you're the guilty party, will you please stand up. Please stand up. And THANK YOU -- we love it! We no longer have to pout that ours got smashed.
posted at 07:03 PM | link--it | mail it | (17) shout it



Tell me why...I don't like Mondays
 What a Monday it's been! Our DSL, which never goes down, was down most of the afternoon. Then I finally start getting a slow trickle of e-mail only to find that eBay ripped one of my auctions down in the middle of the night for trademark violations. But...the item is authentic. It stated as such several times in the listing and I had close-ups of every possible detail which would prove its authenticity. And I happen to know it's the "real deal", because I was with Todd when he purchased it for me at Saks. So I had to fire off a bitch-slap to them and relist the item from scratch. Not fun.

I understand being very careful when it comes to copyrighted and trademarked items -- but you think they could at least try to contact the seller first (when there are five days left in the auction) rather than just ripping it down because some other whiny twit with the same item up for bid reported it as counterfeit so she wouldn't have the competition. Yeah I'm not going down without a fight this time...
posted at 05:28 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



How quick the sun can drop away
 I like to think of my college days (1991-95) as "the good ol' days" of music. Grunge was in its prime. Britney was still in grade school. New Kids, Mr. Jackson and hair bands had been banished from the airwaves. But ten years ago this week I was about to start my sophomore year at OU. It would be another eight weeks until I met Todd for the first time. And looking at the Billboard charts for August 22, 1992 -- Billy Ray Cyrus was at number one. Number freakin' one. Eeep. Of course, Pearl Jam's "Ten" was close behind him. But Kris Kross, Mariah Carey, and Garth Brooks were also keeping them company in the top 10. It was the best of times...it was the worst of times...I guess. It's funny what the mind chooses to remember.
posted at 02:18 AM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it






Go on Canadians, beat it
 Ahem. This is for certain Canadian blogs that are always bagging on Americans and their politics. Eat my shorts. It's not always just the red, white and blue -- sometimes you can drop the blue and still be evil, too. Blame Canada (this time). That is all.
posted at 08:09 PM | link--it | mail it | (16) shout it



Reason #1672 why I have the best husband ever
 He makes me yummy blueberry pancakes when I get up on Sunday! (photo 1, photo 2, photo 3) "Hey Jack -- have that bitch make me some blueberry pancakes. Right now!"
posted at 01:47 PM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it



Like a Virgin
 Ok, has anyone out there seen the new Virgin Mobile commercials? Please tell me we're not alone. We're watching "Porn to Rock II" on VH1 right now and they've aired two. They don't. Make sense. At all. We've looked at each other after both of them with that "Beavis and Butthead" patented silent-stare. I swear Stacy and Dan slipped crack in the Popeye's chicken tonight! (We were first-timers.)
posted at 02:48 AM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it






They grow up so fast
 Tara and Tommy found out they were pregnant with Maggie just a couple of weeks after they had vacationed with us. (Todd has always claimed she's secretly his after an alleged 'hot tub incident'.) We were the first ones to send them a congratulations gift -- a little Duke t-shirt. It reads:

When I get to Duke
I'll study when it's rainy
play when it's sunny
and I'll call home
when I need money

Tara said at the time, it seemed like one of the smallest things she'd ever seen. Now Maggie can't even fit into the little shirt any longer. She's growing like a little weed! But Tara snapped a couple of pics for us so we'd get to see her all decked out. Isn't she adorible?! Not that I'm a proud auntie or anything... So tell me though. Does she have Todd's eyes?
posted at 01:07 AM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it






Can you picture this?
 With the help of Kristine's excellent "build your own MT photolog tutorial", I just made a new photolog for Susan. If you want to check it out, you can see her new photolog here.

Now if you'll excuse me, I have to go deal with an "oh shit" moment. Today is the 16th. While working on everyone else's projects, I totally forgot to do this yesterday, and we won't be in town tomorrow. Oops!
posted at 11:39 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



He's the wolf screaming lonely in the night
 Poor, poor Vince Neil. Someone neglected to inform him that the world stopped turning just for him waaaaay back in 1987.
posted at 05:35 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Peanut Butter! Jelly!
 Just in time for the weekend -- its "peanut butter and jelly time"! (Link not safe for work. From FARK.com.) And in case you're still at work, check out the deadly toy archive instead.
posted at 04:49 PM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



Because it's not an orange team
 Kevin's got a big day today. Go tell him to kick ass and take names for me! Go on now... Scoot.
posted at 07:05 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



This life can turn a good girl bad

With your cherry lips and golden curls
You could make grown men gasp
when you go walking past
And in your hot pants and high heels
They could not believe that
such a body was for real.....

Go baby go go - we're right behind you
Go baby go go - yeah, we're looking at you
Go baby go go - oh ,we're right behind you
Go baby go baby - yeah, we're right behind you
Go baby go baby - oh, we're right behind you
Go baby go baby - yeah, we're looking at you
Go baby go baby - oh, we're right behind you
Go baby go baby - yeah, we're looking at you

posted at 03:45 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



So it's sorta social...
 We have a new blogger in our midst -- please welcome Richard Vernon over at "Demented and Sad, but Social". You may have noticed ol' Dick has chosen to go the 'anonymous blogger' route. Although it may be pretty easy to figure out just who he might be, please respect his wishes and do not try to guess his true identity here, nor there, nor anywhere... It's just plain Dick. Capiche? School's back in session, folks. Don't be tardy.
posted at 01:27 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it






I nevah been so happy in my who' lai-fuh
 OMf'inG. That new NFL camera-trick (where the camera hovers and floats directly over the field for a 360° video game-style effect), combined with our new Sony Wega, is literally an orgasm in a box. Double-meaning intended... And Sooner Rocky Calmus should see some playing time for the Titans tonight! My little sister went to high school with Rocky. I hear he's still afraid of her. Heh.
posted at 08:12 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



Dead poet's society
 My new ThinkGeek t-shirt arrived today! Whoo! HTML and CSS count as code in my little world...
posted at 07:02 PM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



I am not an animal!
 The girls over at "Hormonal Bitch" tipped me off on this little blog news event happening over at davezilla.com. You have got to be kuckin' fiddin' me! It's great to see all of the support flooding in though... Go Dave!
posted at 02:39 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



If you believe, they put a man on the moon
 If we can build space shuttles that have survived repeated liftoffs, orbits, and re-entries -- why oh why can we not make bloodtests that require no fasting beforehand? Todd is on his way home to pick me up for 'routine bloodwork' in an hour. But I haven't been able to eat or drink anything since last night. Robyn. At 2:15 p.m. Without caffeine. Not a pretty picture... I don't have needle-phobia. They can suck the blood out to their heart's content. They just damn well better have a 20 oz. Coca Cola waiting for me on the other side of that curtain! Screw the Snoopy bandaid. (Although that's always a nice touch.)
posted at 02:12 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



1,2,3,4,5 - 6,7,8,9,10 - 11,12

"Look girls. Your President can count to this many..."

posted at 05:10 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



The long and winding blog
 Christine M. (of "This or That Tuesday" fame) has moved to a new home with a new name (:: the passionate ailurophile ::) -- so make sure to update your links and Blogrolls accordingly!
posted at 03:36 AM | link--it | mail it | (0) shout it



Colour me your colour, baby
 So I was pretty quiet (for me) Wednesday. Lots of new projects I was working on... But I did take a little of my time to keep my word. A quick "GnomeTome", if you will. Chris fulfilled his end of the bargain, so now it's time I met mine. (Please do not open above tampatantrum.com links at work. To reset, go here.)

Don't forget, I am Chris Pirillo's favorite blog read!


posted at 02:05 AM | link--it | mail it | (17) shout it






Make sure they get your good side good side
 Mikey recently asked "Whatever happened to Adam Ant, anyways?" Don't drink. Don't smoke. What do you do? Apparently get arrested and later plead guilty to threatening patrons with a starting pistol and brawling in a London bar...


In "thank heavens for small favors" news -- the "Batman vs. Superman" movie has been indefinitely shelved and will not see a 2004 release date. “We decided that 'Batman vs. Superman' is like a good wine--it will find its time and only get better,” Warner Bros. exec Lorenzo di Bonaventura says in The Hollywood Reporter. *cough*bullshit*cough* Oh, excuse me. Something in my throat.


It got weird, didn't it? The creator of the Frisbee, Ed Headrick, has died. Headrick's ashes will be molded into a limited number of "memorial flying discs" which will be distributed to family and friends, and sold to help fund a future Frisbee/disc golf history and memorabilia museum. (Can you imagine your dog carrying that Frisbee in his mouth?!) In an interview with the Santa Cruz Sentinel last year, Ed Headrick stated, “When we [Frisbyterians] die, we don't go to purgatory. We just land up on the roof and lay there.”


And a couple of amusing quotes to pass along from the MSNBC gossip pages...


“I don’t want to get too graphic, but it looked like some kind of miscarriage that had somehow been molded into a face and had make-up fired at it by a cannon. It was the most alarming thing I’ve seen.” -- Comedian Judith Lucy commenting on Joan Rivers face

“She’s a bad fucking joke. If I hear one more person compare her to us, I’ll cut their heart out.” -- Jack Osbourne's take on the Anna Nicole Smith Show on E!
posted at 04:24 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



Don't stop 'til you get enough
 Just the other day Christine was talking about her theory that Michael Jackson is actually Janet. (I happen to believe he's LaToya.) So what should I find on Daypop, but this most hysterical site -- "The History of Michael Jackson's Face". Spew alert!
posted at 02:14 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it






13 is a lucky number
 Thirteen has always been lucky for us, and it's apparently very lucky for Kristine and Eric as well! I've known Kristine for quite some time now -- long before blogging. I feel very lucky myself in saying that. (She entered her beautiful wedding dress in the 2000 Dress Contest.) Wishing you many years of love, laughter and happiness ahead kadyellebee and E -- happy anniversary!
posted at 10:05 PM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



It's not easy being green (or blue)
 It seems there's been a lot of bad and sad news floating around the blog world lately. Two bloggers have recently watched their coworkers die from their offices. Others have had medical traumas or lost their jobs and their pets. There's not much any one person can say to make these events less tragic, or to help make those surviving through it all "ok" -- but I just wanted to send a quick note to all of the above that I am thinking about you, and I hope things get better soon. Consider yourselves hugged... -Robyn
posted at 09:28 PM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



Boomer Sooner!
 So did anyone catch the beginning of the Lightning Round on today's Call for Help? <wicked grin> Guess I'd better get crackin'!

UPDATE: There's no turning back now...
posted at 05:30 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



New names and new digs
 peat is running a poll to name "a blog to be named later". Head on over and vote!

And ste has new digs, and a new domain, at "wanderlost". The domain-switch revolution continues!
posted at 04:32 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



I'll take a large pepperoni and a side of Underoos
 A link that could only come from FARK.com -- Undie Funday Monday. Here's the deal. You buy Papa John's pizza in Grand Rapids, Michigan, on August 5, 12, and 19th -- and Papa John's will donate $1 to purchase new packages of underwear for kids in need.

Excuse me, but what possible board-room scenario could make these people see this as a "good" idea... School supplies? Nah. Did that last year. Coats? Too hot still. Toys? That's the Marines turf. How's about we buy those needy kids some panties. Lots and lots of panties. Great idea, Bob! It's genius!

I feel a Tina Fey-esque "So ladies, if ya wanna rob a bank but you don't want your cooter poked, head to Minnesota - land of 10,000 lakes..." moment coming on. Too bad SNL is still in reruns! A commentor at FARK said it best: "This is a great idea to bring in the pizza eating pedophile demographic." Order your pizza now. It's for the children.
posted at 04:16 AM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



A daddy tomato, a mommy tomato, and a baby tomato are walking down the street...the daddy tomato stomps his foot down and says "Ketchup!"
 Whoa. Like I totally had time to remember to do this week's Monday Mission and This or That Tuesday for a change!

First up, PromoGuy's Monday Mission:

  1. If I could guarantee that the Fashion Police would not lay the smackdown on you, which favorite out-of-style article of clothing do you wish you could wear right now? (and if you have photos of you wearing it, post 'em) Let's see...I still wear 'em anyway, but definitely flannel shirts and Doc Martens. The grunge era suited me quite nicely.
  2. In your opinion, who is famous but shouldn't be? John Travolta.
  3. Are there any new movies or TV shows that you are forward to this fall? To be honest, not really. I'm ready for FOOTBALL.
  4. If you had a time machine that you could use only one time (there and back), where would you go and what would you do? I would go back to Australia a few years ago, tell Michael Hutchence to put on some damn pants, sober up, and go have a bite to eat with me. Then I would explain in very detailed terms what a fucktard Bob Geldoff is -- and how he was in no way significant enough in the scheme of things to make Michael's children grow up without a father and the world to have his voice silenced for all time.
  5. What cologne of perfume do you like to wear? Which brand do you prefer that your partner wear? I wear Comptoir Sud Pacifique's Vanille Abricot (which I'm just about out of again) and Obsession. I love it when Todd wears Obsession for Men! *swoon*
  6. Do you recall your first "French kiss?" Tell me about how that felt, and how it came about. Do you like them? Yep, sure do remember it. I was in the 8th grade and "Pretty In Pink" had just been released on video. My friend Elisa threw a party. During the prom scene at the end, my boyfriend Matt Berry squeezed my hand -- and a very slobbery, sloppy first kiss for us both ensued. Don't know whatever happened to him to be honest. I moved across the state the next school year. Do you mean "do you like them" as in the person, or "do you like them" as in the kisses though? In either case, my answers would be "yes" and "hell yes!"
  7. Excluding your partner...If you had the opportunity, who would you most like to French kiss? Oh I could answer that question with my eyes closed and my hands tied behind my back. Wait. That sounds like fun. But seriously...duh.
BONUS: Can't you see that it's late at night? Rats. Foiled again.



And now...this week's "This or That Tuesday":

  1. Dr. Seuss characters: the Cat in the Hat or the Grinch? Grinch!
  2. "Anne of Green Gables" or "Little Women"? Never read either series. I went straight from Ramona and Beezus to trashy novels.
  3. Nancy Drew or the Hardy Boys? Wasn't much of a mystery book reader either... I was a history book reader.
  4. Winnie the Pooh characters: Tigger or Eeyore? T. I. double Guh-ER.
  5. Which author: Judy Blume or Beverly Cleary? I loved both authors. But in a head-to-head battle, I'd have to give the edge to Judy Blume for the puberty factor alone.
  6. Roald Dahl books: "Charlie & the Chocolate Factory" (Willy Wonka) or "James & the Giant Peach"? "James and the Giant Peach".
  7. "Harry Potter" or "The Wizard of Oz"? Wizard of Oz - hands down. I'm still miffed it no longer airs on CBS because of Turner.
  8. Curious George or Madeline? Another toughie! We own both, but I have to give the edge to "Madeline" because we have her namesake.
  9. "A Wrinkle in Time" or "Little House on the Prairie"? Haven't read the first, and tossed the "Prairie" series half-way through the first book. Boh-ring.
  10. Dr. Seuss again: "Horton Hears a Who" or "The Lorax"? "The Lorax". I married an environmental science grad.

posted at 01:48 AM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



May I admire you again today?
 Another new domain to report -- Jason of Blogrolling fame has moved into yummy new digs at badh*p. If you've noticed your Blogrolls have auto-updated to his new domain -- that's why!

And a quick note of thanks to Christi! She surprised me with a little summin'-summin' from Amazon, and I was able to pre-order this and this on DVD. I've only been waiting for them to be released, oh like, for-evah. John Hughes fest at our house!
posted at 01:10 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



I'm me. Me be. Goddamn. I am.
 Well if he can do it, so can I! Hear me now and believe me later. Man, I hate what my voice sounds like recorded. Please tell me I don't sound that bad when you meet me in person. Pretty please...
posted at 12:32 AM | link--it | mail it | (22) shout it






Some things you just don't wanna know
 So Todd and I were doing a little house-cleaning while looking for a computer part, and ran across this pamphlet that we snagged from my doctor's office last year for posterity. In case you're wondering, we did not have this test performed. But just the thought of it was enough cause for a 20-30 minute Beavis and Butthead-style laugh fest. No matter what life throws at us, we always keep our senses of humor intact! And we always end up making our own dirty jokes...
posted at 11:26 PM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it



Happy birthday to yooooou!
 Whew -- this one almost snuck right by me! For some reason I had it in my little blonde brain that Dan's birthday was this weekend during the party. But better late than pregnant...HAPPY BIRTHDAY DAN! You can collect on your spankings Saturday. <wink>


posted at 09:23 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it



Squish da' fish
 My Tampa Bay Bucs are just about to take the field against the Miami Dolphins on ESPN Monday Night. (We actually attended this very game last year.) Tonight's match-up will be of particular interest to us because Ricky Williams looking nice and nasty in the color orange again. He stomped all over Oklahoma back in the dark days of our program in the 90s -- and our hatred for him runs very, very deep. He's whiny. His teammates do not like him. He would miss two games with injury if he got a splinter in his right pinky. And I'd just about lay down money on the fact he won't play a full season for Miami this year. Time shall tell... I'm just hoping by the end of the night that he'll have a #47 imprinted across his chest, left over from a nice Lynch hit.

Man it feels good to be wearing this jersey again! Seven straight months of fucking golf and auto-racing, all ignored of course. I'm ready for some football. Go Bucs -- Chucky's back and you're gonna be in trouble!
posted at 07:44 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Yo VIP, let's kick it!
 Ok, you just have to see this!
posted at 04:41 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Blogger evolution
 With all the blogiversary stuff flying around, Todd and I were joking last night that someone needs to make an evolution of bloggers chart. We both started off on Blogger (although we had our own domain and webspace already and skipped the Blogspot part). I lasted a few weeks, got fed up, and went to Greymatter. But Todd held out and stuck with Blogger for a few more weeks once he learned Movable Type was in the works. Then we shared webspace for a couple of months, with both of us running MT. Then I got my domain blogblogbaby.com (from Christine as a birthday present and I moved in with her on her copy of MT), so Todd decided that he needed his own domain as well. Then I got tampatantrum.com and moved to my own webspace. Which brings us to where we are today...

With that, I thought I'd take an informal survey of where you are now and how you got started. Did you use Blogger first (yes, no)? If no, did you enter your entries manually and then progress to another blogging tool -- or did you start off with another piece of software altogether? Do you currently use a publishing tool like Blogger, Movable Type or Greymatter -- and if so which one? If you've moved on from Blogger and the like, how long did it take you before you saw the need to upgrade to the big-kid blogging tools? No specific questions to answer really. We're just curious how your blogs have progressed as well...
posted at 03:10 PM | link--it | mail it | (38) shout it



Roll Tide
 Christi saw new Todd's OU design and my new Tampa Bay one, and batted her eyelashes at just the right time -- so I gave her a quick Bama skin for her blog. OU and Bama meet up this September 7th in Norman for the first game in a back-to-back series. I thought it would be a good opportunity to learn the lyrics to "Yea Alabama" just in case... Boomer Sooner!
posted at 04:57 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



All I do is contemplate ways to make your fans mine
 Ok, so it appears I was taken to task over the weekend (in an audio message) for not having a "Call For Help" skin on my site. The sidebar perma-link and graphic is no longer enough, I guess. So here's the deal. You show me yours...I'll show you mine. If you can figure out how to work the words "Boomer Sooner" (said TOGETHER, not separately!) into this week's show -- I'll figure out how to make up a Call For Help skin to rival the Apple one by the upcoming weekend. Deal? I will be watching (and listening)...
posted at 01:33 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it



You see I do what they can't do, I just do me

Which one, pick one, this one, classic
Red from blonde, yeah bitch I'm drastic
Why this, why that, lips stop askin'
Listen to me baby, relax and start passin'!

And if I had to give you up
It's only been a year
Now I got my foot through the door
And I ain't goin' nowhere
It took a while to get me in
And I'm gonna take my time
Don't fight that good shit in your ear
Now let me blow ya' mind...


Today (August 12, 2002) marks my one-year blogiversary! My life has seen a lot of changes in the last year. We had just moved into our first home after five years of marriage. When I started blogging my health wasn't so great -- I would guess that I was bedbound about 60% of the time and I was only able to get out and leave the house on rare occasions. Now I'm doing much better and make it out the do' for at least one outing a weekend, and sometimes during the week as well. Before blogging my portfolio from 1998-2001 included mostly friends and family member's sites. Since blogging, with the help of a lot of wonderful women I've been able to pump up my HTML skills, learn CSS, and give that 2002 portfolio a real workout.

When I started blogging a close group of friends and I had just survived an internet wedding group split that wasn't exactly a fun time for anyone. Since then we've remained quite close and three of seven of us are now first-time mommies. When I started blogging, I was powered by Blogger and I didn't even have comments. Movable Type is now the Oz-man behind the curtain of my Wizard (after a brief stint with Greymatter), and I live for all the latest bells and whistles. When I started blogging almost all of my online time was devoted to Wholly Matrimony! and Clueless Books. Now it seems I hardly ever have time to even touch those sites. When I started blogging I didn't even know Tech TV existed. Now I have one of the hosts wearing red shirts on air just for me.

And all of this doesn't even begin to cover all of the amazing friends we've both made since blogging. (Todd started a month after I did on September 14th.) Some we've met in person. Some we will meet in person soon. And still others we'd better meet in person in the near future somehow!

I never dreamed I'd have so many people reading here every day. I still don't know "how" or "why". I'm only thankful that you do, because even though I never in my wildest dreams imagined I'd be able to keep up with all this -- much less for full a year -- it's become a very important part of my life. And I'm very thankful to have found that secret writer/ranter buried deep inside of me in order to share her with you all every day.

[And I said no salt...NO SALT for the Margarita, but it had salt on it... BIG GRAINS OF SALT!] So to the important things... Beer's in the fridge to the right. Chips and salsa are over to the left. I'll be firing up the blender momentarily for blogaritas, and the cake should be wheeled out soon. Hopefully if my wish comes true when I blow out the candles, Rivers Cuomo will pop out of it! Thanks for stopping by... -Robyn
posted at 12:00 AM | link--it | mail it | (49) shout it






Public Service Announcement
 May I have your attention please? wKen is a blogging god. And Annessa is cute, smart, fun and she forgot to mention adorible. That is all. You may now return to your regularly scheduled blog-reads.
posted at 10:13 PM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



P.S. We should be together, too.
 Earlier last week I quoted a passage from "The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog" by Rebecca Blood. Here's another interesting one to put up for discussion from Chapter 6 on "Weblog Community and Etiquette" under "Things to Avoid":


ASKING FOR A LINK: Every so often I receive an e-mail that says, "Hi, please add my weblog to your portal page." Or worse, "Hi, I am interested in trading links with you. Please confirm that you have added me to your site so that I can add you to mine." What?

Yes I know that many "experts" will advise you to trade links with others in order to increase traffic to your site, but in the weblog community an email like this is very bad form. Think about it: Almost all of us maintain our weblogs for free, in our spare time. Our only payment is traffic to our sites. More to the point, our reputations are built largely on the quality of the links we provide to our readers, especially in the case of filters. Maintainers of blog-style sites are just as motivated to protect their hard-earned credibility by pointing their readers, when they do link, only to sites that genuinely reflect their taste...

...In contrast with telling another weblogger that you admire their work, I think it's iffy to write suggesting that they would enjoy yours. Well, they might, but chances are they already have looked at your weblog if you have linked to them. If they haven't linked you, they might be waiting to see if you make it past the one-month or two-month mark...

Putting another weblogger in the awkward position of having to turn you down or ignore your request may make her feel guilty. Since guilt is based on the worry that one is not a good person, your note may make the weblogger whose attention you hope to attract feel vaguely bad about herself. Because none of these feelings originate with her own actions, the weblogger will quickly transform this vaguely bad feeling about herself to a vaguely bad feeling about you. If your goal is to gain allies in the weblog world, putting others in an uncomfortable position is poor strategy.

Sooooo...let's blow that hornets nest wide-open shall we? How do you feel about this? (And please don't write with apologies if you've written me asking for a link in the past. This is not my writing, but rather Rebecca Blood's. I have been known to tease certain bloggers into linking me once upon a time myself.) But I get a few e-mails a week now from people asking to be added to my link list. I do agree with Rebecca somewhat on the guilt feelings. Although I don't really take it to the second level mentioned above and then transfer 'bad feelings' onto the blogger who wrote, I do feel bad that I can't link everyone who wants me to do so.

However that said, my link list (massive as it is) is a list for me and not for anyone else. It's my own personal bookmarking system. It just happens to be on a webpage rather than in a browser "Favorites" folder. It's what I read when I have the time to read it.

I guess, in a way, it would almost be like FOX News writing me and saying, "I noticed you have CNN.com and MSNBC.com bookmarked and that you read them every day. We'd like you to read our news, too. We think you'll like it. Will you please add our link to your IE Favorites folder?" Although I do visit FOX News from time-to-time, I can't possibly sit down and read the news on every single site out there, so I stick with my two favorites -- and read the others as I have that precious commodity called spare time. Make sense? It doesn't mean I don't love discovering new reads -- but that's the point. The discovery process is more fun if you find the items yourself. Scavenger hunts don't come with lists of items and where they are located. Instead they come with clues on where to get started (i.e. blog comments and stats).

So how do you feel about this... Is this yet another needless set of "rules" for a new genre of online writing that wasn't based on rules to begin with? Or do you go through the same struggles with your own blog reads?
posted at 05:41 PM | link--it | mail it | (28) shout it



Shut up slut, you're causin' too much chaos
 I ran across a cool new to me site last night while looking for ecards, and thought I'd pass it along -- nerdslut.org. They have three categories of ecards (my favorite is the new section is here). There's also a weblog and articles like "The Nerdslut Guide To Post-Film Sex Probability". Check it out because I said so, mmmk?

[nerdslut.org postcards]


posted at 04:38 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it






Rolling, rolling, rolling on the river
 I forgot to send out a quick public thanks to Jason last night for helping me with Blogrolling. In case you haven't seen the site updates, there's a new PHP option for your Blogrolls on PHP-enabled weblogs. Why is this a good thing? It loads the Blogroll text into your page before display so it can be read by search engines and other robots (and browsers) that can't read the JavaScript code.

When I got the code added, my "recently updated" images weren't working -- and Jason came to the rescue with lightning-speed. Go give him money today if you haven't already. He makes all of our lives a little bit easier!
posted at 04:39 PM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Share it fairly but don't take a slice of my pie
 I wrapped up two more designs this week, and don't have anything on my slate 'til Monday. I don't know what to do with myself. I've almost forgotten what a free weekend was... I guess that's why I had fun playing with my own site last night. I never get to anymore!

The first design is "An Age Like This". He wanted a 'blue Horologium' (also my work), so I did my best to give it to him. You might notice that skyline looks familiar. It's downtown Tampa.

The second one, I have to be honest...I'm not all that happy with TheAgitator.com now... It really evolved away from my original vision, at the client's request. But I made all the necessary changes, and he seems happy with it. That's what count$. (Logo design was by Brian Kieffer.) It was a real challenge because I never got into his copy of MT to set things up. I had to design it as a skin (header and footer file) around my own blog and then send installation instructions to a friend of his. So if there are any bumps...be patient. We're still trying to iron everything out via e-mail.

Wow. A whole weekend for me. Nothing but feeling like the rest of the world -- kicking back, reading Vogue and InStyle, and painting my toenails. Oh crap. I've just come full-circle. Happy weekend everyone!
posted at 04:18 PM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



Let's get ready to ruuuuummmble!
 I just put a new skin up for the upcoming Monday Night Football game. I thought it was 'bout time that tampatantrum.com had a Tampa Bay skin!
posted at 04:32 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it






Never gonna get it...never gonna get it...
 I went ahead and staked my claim -- Shutterblog is MINE, dammit! So if you have a link to it on your sites, please update to shutterblog.com. Now that I've actually forked over the $$ for the domain, expect a revamp...someday...
posted at 09:36 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



Woooonderful...
 I'm happy Todd's ok and the accident wasn't worse right? Riiiight? Then forgive me as I scream about having to pay $129.93 on Priceline for a rental car on the 18th since we didn't have that as part of our insurance plan. (We do now, but too late...oops!) I forgot about THAT cost in addition to the deductible. Somebody kill me now. Our party goers may be getting zippy straws to make their own hot tub bubbles at Todd's birthday party. The money for the wreck had been earmarked for hot tub parts. C'est la vie!
posted at 07:03 PM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



Money for nothin' and your chicks for free
 Here's a link from FARK.com that should make everyone nice and queasy early in the morning -- find out your CEO's salary. Just type in the company name, hit search, click on the company name and prepare to be depressed. Although I can't type out the name of the company Todd works for, his Chairman of the Board of Directors and Chief Executive Officer will pull in $1,000,000 plus an $800,000 bonus this year -- or so he claims. I happen to know of a few more George Washingtons that aren't getting reported there somewhere... Bastages.
posted at 05:16 AM | link--it | mail it | (5) shout it



Get back honky cat
 Pornographer says he hacked al Qaeda
'I wanted to do something ... I know the Internet'

CIA? We don't need no stinkin' CIA. We've got the porn industry to take down al Qaeda! Let's put Sky on the case, Mikey! She can bring along her light saber. (Read the full article at CNN.com.)
posted at 05:12 AM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



I love, I love, I love my calender girl
 The Philadelphia Eagles cheerleaders became the first professional squad in history to pose for a lingerie (vs. swimsuit) calendar for the 2002 season. The official website has 20 images from it. Todd's reaction to the cover shot? "Hummina, hummina, hummina." (Read more about the calendar at SportsbyBrooks and The Philadelphia Daily News.)
posted at 12:30 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it






Hook THIS!
 Maxim Magazine has released their 2002 pre-season top 26 NCAA football poll. A couple of note:


1. OKLAHOMA
2001 record: 11–2 (6–2 Big 12)
Returning starters: 8 offense, 7 defense
When your top returning receiver is a tight end, it means one of two things: 1. Your offensive coordinator’s as imaginative as a zipper company brand manager; or 2. Your quarterback has the field vision of a chronic masturbator. Replacements at both spots ensure change, for better or worse—but most likely better. Then again, what difference does it make, when Bob Stoops could suit up 11 tranny Eagle Scouts on the other side of the ball and still hold the Longhorns to a field goal?


5. texas
2001 record: 11–2 (7–1 Big 12)
Returning starters: 8 offense, 5 defense
Mack Brown will not win a national championship. Ever. Hell, the poor bastard will likely never win a conference championship. But four consecutive nine-plus-win seasons have fans and friends believing the longhorns are entitled to a Sears Trophy just for coming within range for so many years. Get used to it. Mack W. Bush is the game’s best recruiter but is mediocre come game day and, along with QB Chris Simms, is deathly allergic to the big game. The luckiest team in the Big 12 finally plays Nebraska and Kansas State—both in down years—and boasts a non-conference slate highlighted by North Carolina, so a 10-win regular season is bankable.


I don't think I could've said it better myself. And I swear I didn't write that. I also particularly liked the rejection letter at the bottom of the page. Check out the full article online at Maxim.
posted at 10:05 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



Survey says!
 Spotted at Kristine's: Ben and Mena would like people to fill out a short survey about Movable Type. They are holding a random drawing to give out 5 recently updated keys to those who submit their answers with e-mail addresses (optional)!
posted at 09:42 PM | link--it | mail it | (0) shout it



A quick public prayer of thanks
 I am way out of it. I take medication for insomnia and I didn't get to bed until almost 6 a.m. this morning. About 15 minutes ago I was woken up by the sound of the front door opening and Claire going nuts. In walked Todd. He'd been in an accident. He's 100% ok. It's still a hazy daze. The front bumper on the Explorer is toast (and it was totally his fault for following too closely, although he wasn't ticketed). But have I mentioned he's fine? My heart stops when I watch the traffic reports each day and they show smashed up vehicles on bridges where the speed gets up to 90 mph. He had a mere fender bender. Excuse me while I go cry and hug him like I'm never going to let go before he has to go back to work. (He's on the phone with our insurance right now.) He can't surf from work anymore, but leave him some love when you can, ok? Thanks.

UPDATE: He snapped a pic of the damage just before he left. Whee.
posted at 09:23 AM | link--it | mail it | (34) shout it



But, but, guns don't kill people. I said...
 This is priceless. How many NRA lectures have we had to endure about guns are safe...it's the people that use them...blah yadda yadda blah. Well thanks to FARK, I found this gem on Yahoo!.

Rep. Bob Barr, a board member of the National Rifle Association, was at an Atlanta reception in his honor. He was handed an antique 1908 Colt .38-caliber pistol by Georgia lobbyist Bruce Widener. However, Widener had removed the magazine but forgot to clear the chamber before handing the weapon to Barr. Widener said "one of us hit the trigger" just as he gave Barr the gun during Friday's reception at Widener's home. A glass door was taken out in a crowded room. But...the quote of the day...

"Nobody was in any danger. We were handling it safely, except that it was loaded," said Widener.

Rep. Barr's statement said: "This accident only underscores the importance of proven gun safety measures, especially when owning and handling antique firearms." Gee, I feel so much better now knowing how NRA board members handle weapons -- and help put the spin on their major faux pas with them! How 'bout you?

And if this "stupid people with loaded weapons" story just wasn't enough for you, go check out this story from, yep you guessed it, Texas. I smell a future 2002 Darwin Award winner!
posted at 05:25 AM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



Swimming with sharks...literally
 Note to self: Do not donate to the New Orleans Aquarium next year. The behind-the-scenes tours are a real bitch.

Looks like Gwyneth's claws are finally comin' out. You go girl!

And it sounds like some pigs can't afford to be in space after all...
posted at 04:56 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



Women wave your pantyhose, sing the chorus and it goes...
 I saw a post at Kristine's a bit ago about how two different photolog's had just taken her name "snap!". I commented that I would be crushed if someone took "my Shutterblog" name away from me. So I hopped on Google, and lo and behold, this Shutterblog was born on July 30th, 2002. (My Shutterblog was born on April 15th, 2002, thankyouverymuch.)

I agree with her "can't people be original?" viewpoint. I spend a lot of time thinking up my blog names before taking them public. I Google them first. That's why I'm not "Blah Blah Blog" as a matter of fact. I thought I was being original with that one 'til a quick look on Google told me otherwise. So I went back to the drawing board. Hence ATPTB. I Googled "Shutterblog" first as well.

I realize that Shutter City just morphed their name with the word blog, and probably never even thought to look and see if there was another blog with that name already out there alive 'n' kickin'. But let the record show...I was there first. And I ain't changin' my name just because they took it. Unh uh. No way. Fuhgetaboutit. And I just registered shutterblog.com, too, so nyah-nyah!
posted at 03:50 AM | link--it | mail it | (7) shout it






The eyes of texas have been blackened
 Todd bought a VHS copy of the 2000 OU vs. tx game on eBay this past weekend, and it showed up today. He's watching it right now and the game is in the middle of the first quarter, score OU-14 and tx-0. We won the game 63-14. I know this. But every time Heupel steps out of the huddle I get nervous. Every time Applewhite drops back to pass my heart stops (even though I know it's going nowhere). Man I feel silly. But beating the helloutta texass is serious business, you know. Just 22 days, 21 hours 'til the first kickoff!
posted at 11:00 PM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



I'd like to buy a clue for $200, Alex
 Below is first-draft a copy of the Democratic gubernatorial primary ballot in Florida from the Orlando Sentinel. We did it again. Tell me if this would have confused you... Maybe it's just because I'm a natural blonde, but it sure did me. Notice the circled part says "Vote for One Pair". Only you weren't supposed to select two names on the ballots. You were only supposed to select one. Selecting two would have resulted in a voided ballot. The "pair" part referred to the candidate's choice for lieutenant governor. Only the candidates haven't selected their running mates yet, so the text under the candidate's name read "Not Yet Designated". I'm sorry, but as if the 2000 ballots weren't confusing enough to some -- someone somewhere had to know that these were even more so!

Thank goodness Judge Nikki Clark agreed. Today she just gave her blessing to a plan which will remove one word from the ballot instructions. Ballots will now read "Vote for One" rather than "Vote for One Pair". (Read more at the Orlando Sentinel. This post at "Painfully Cool" reminded me of this story.)

UPDATE: If you didn't think Florida was fucked up enough 'til now, check out this link found over at Seki's. As someone who hopes with every fiber in her being to be able to adopt one day, it just makes me want to cry. Andrea has added an excellent response as well.


posted at 03:27 PM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it



The truth is stranger than fiction
 And now the wacky Wednesday news story of the day from FARK.com: Cape Town police hunt for semen thief

"In a bizarre attack, a job hunter was 'robbed' of sperm in Kraaifontein, after a passerby offered him food, took him home and beat him up before forcing him to ejaculate into a jar.

Police spokesman Ian Rosant confirmed that a 33-year-old man had laid a charge of indecent assault with Kraaifontein police. He said the suspect, described as middle-aged, had offered the man work and food at his home. But instead he took his victim into a room, locked the door and asked him to have sex with his wife.

Rosant said that when the confused and shocked job seeker refused to have sex with his false Samaritan's wife, the man punched him. 'The attacker then partially stripped the frightened man and forcibly caused him to ejaculate' while the woman looked on, Rosant said. The man collected his victim's sperm and sealed it in a jar. The attacker let him go and he fled."
Words...fail me. But at least you can get a free case of beer if you've been bitten by a crocodile, no matter where you live.
posted at 03:53 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



Not even for free...
 "Spirit Airlines Tuesday announced its plans for commemorating the one-year anniversary of the Sept. 11 attacks, saying it will offer free seats to all passengers on that day. The company’s chief executive, Jacob Schorr, called the 13,000 free seats a 'thank you' to the American public and the airline’s customers."

Sorry guys, but my feet will be firmly planted on the ground that day. I just couldn't possibly imagine flying on September 11th ever again. It's hard enough to come to terms with flying again period. (Read the full article at MSNBC.com.)
posted at 03:07 AM | link--it | mail it | (14) shout it






Crimson reign

Let it rain. Let it rain. Let your love rain down on me.

posted at 09:04 PM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



Girl, don't go away mad. Girl, just go away.
 Last week I bought "The Weblog Handbook: Practical Advice on Creating and Maintaining Your Blog" by Rebecca Blood. In Chapter 5 under "Online Rules of the Road" (page 85), point #1 is:

  • Do not post when you are angry. Period.


    • Although so far the book has made an excellent read, I'm afraid I have to respectfully disagree. I'm a ranter -- I feel some of my best writing gets its start when I go from zero-to-bitch in 0.2 seconds. And some of my favorite blog reads are versed in the fine art of ranting as well. How do you feel about the book's advice? To rant, or not to rant...that is the question...

    UPDATE: The closer I inspect this chapter, I see that perhaps Ms. Blood was implying you should not post when angry online in general -- quite possibily in instances not just specific to your blog. This is addressed in a comment I have made in this thread. It still lends itself to interesting discussion, regardless.
    posted at 06:34 PM | link--it | mail it | (26) shout it



    Also "ready and deserving"?
     Never in a million years will my heart and mind be able to comprehend how the universe will allow women like this to have a healthy baby, and so many of us to never even get the chance. An update to the news story linked -- on the six o'clock newscast they are now saying the baby was approximately 15 hours old when found, not 2 hours old as originally thought. The poor thing is truly going to need the fighting spirit it was obviously born with...
    posted at 06:09 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



    More Dell hell
     Remember when I told Dell to "byte me" and switched to Apple? Well Chris Pirillo is learning why Inspirons are the pond scum of the laptop world now as well. I'm tellin' ya' folks...just don't do it. Close the Dell website and put the credit card safely away. For every "but mine has never given me any problems" story I hear, there are ten more tales of doom lined up right behind them. And just ask Susan and Joy what happens after making that "but mine's ok" claim! You taunt your Dell, and it says, "Oh yeah, buddy?" right back.
    posted at 05:25 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



    That's right...it's my birthday, my buh-buh-birthday...
     Don't worry Statia -- I got your back, girl! I hope you have a very happy 30th 31st, Mike! Can't wait to celebrate with ya' at the end of the month...


    posted at 04:29 AM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



    I was drawn into your magnet tar pit trap
     Soooo...sometimes it just gets kinda impossible to keep up with the traffic coming in here now. I thought I'd give all those I haven't had time to extend a formal greeting to yet a little "Oklahoma hello", and ask that if you've visited here and/or commented recently - and you know I haven't visited and/or commented at your own blog yet - a chance to speak now or forever hold whirrled peas. I'd love to drop by and say "hi". I need to know where to go first though... Just leave me a comment with directions. Remember, I am a natural blonde. You don't even need to vacuum the floors first! -Robyn
    posted at 03:31 AM | link--it | mail it | (16) shout it



    I love MT, yes I do! I love MT, how 'bout you?
     Lookee what I just found over at Scripty Goddess -- now you can display your Netflix queue in any MT-powered blog!
    posted at 02:52 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it



    The pages from my mind are stripped
     You may have noticed I was unusually quiet - for me - today. That's because I just wrapped up another design tonight (Stacy did the logo!) after several days work on it. I have to say I learned more designing this one than probably the last 2-3 designs combined. That's always a nerve-wrecker at the time (just ask poor Todd), but such a feeling of triumph when the job is complete. So when you get a chance stop by the Neo-Conservative News Portal and tell me I done good. And then go hire Stacy and me, por favor.
    posted at 01:56 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it






    Are you ready for some fooooootball?
     Tonight Monday Night Football makes a triumphant pre-season return as the new Houston Texans take on the New York Giants. I am still mourning the loss of Dennis Miller, however. I cannot stand John Madden.

    "You know, what they're doing now is called a pass. You throw passes in football. Did I tell you about this time I almost didn't pass a math exam? Like this time on 'Matlock'. It's all about timing. And passes are based on timing. Like that time I almost didn't pass..."

    During about 90% of his color commentary I will usually end up screaming, "FOR THE LOVE OF GOD SHUT...UP MAN!" The old guy is senile and lost his skillz long ago. Long, long ago... So I thought I'd take a little poll and see which of these two personalities you think would win in a game of "Brain-Dead Celebrity Jeopardy" -- John Madden or Anna Nicole Smith.



    Granted, they're both a few fries short of a Happy Meal. But unless every category was sports or eyeshadow...I think that match-up might be too close to call. Oh well, there's always the mute button. It's time for a Monday Night party! C'mon let's kick it.
    posted at 03:18 PM | link--it | mail it | (13) shout it



    Gig 'em or gag 'em?
     Ok, Christine, I realize you're an Aggie thru and thru -- but someone please tell this man to quit wearing your University's baseball cap out in public as your representative for awhile. I'm going to have nightmares! The horror...

    I need a cute kitten pic now to cleanse my brain.
    posted at 12:48 AM | link--it | mail it | (10) shout it



    You say it's your birthday? It's my birthday, too, yeah!
     Today we don't just have one birthday boy -- we have two! Both Mikey and Jason share August 5th birthdates. So I thought a little greeting from the Costello Twins might be appropriate... Happy birthday guys!


    posted at 12:03 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



    Tied up in (Celtic) knots
     I didn't do the blog design here, but I just wrapped up the graphic header and link button image designs to the site owner's specs over at "Joshua Claybourn's Domain" (with a little help from Seki's Celtic art stash).
    posted at 12:01 AM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it






    Who's your daddy?
     Seen at Christine's...my BlogTree.com Blog Pedigree. It's a family tree for blogs.
    posted at 05:26 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



    Buttah ya' bread
     It's been awhile since I've posted any recipes to "The Red Kitchen" because quite frankly, it's too hot in south-central Florida to do a lot of cooking in the summer. But with football starting to creep on TV again (and a Monday Night pre-season game on tap tomorrow), it reminded me of one of our fall favorites -- soup or chili in easy-to-make bread bowls. Bon appétit!
    posted at 02:51 PM | link--it | mail it | (1) shout it






    How many people wanna kick some ass? I do! I do!
     By the way, here are the knobs I was fighting to get today (photo 1, photo 2) We didn't like the brass ones that came with our new entertainment center (photo 1, photo 2) so we replaced them. Has anyone seen that new Circuit City commericial "we can go bigger"? Doesn't work in real life, guys. Sorry!
    posted at 08:04 PM | link--it | mail it | (9) shout it



    Confidential to the rich bitch at Lowe's
     Yes, I realize you are probably a full two income tax brackets ahead of me. But even your fake tan, fake boobs, and fake nails do NOT give you the right to literally shove me out of the way when looking at cabinet knobs in the hardware section. I know, I know...I had the audacity to arrive there first. But you see, I wasn't finished looking yet. Maybe if you'd have stopped and taken a second to say, "Could you please excuse me...but...", I might have taken pity on you. I might have realized with your Prada purse shoved right there in my face, that the world really did stop turning for you when you asked it to. I might have understood that because of the 5-carat rock on your left hand that it was my place in society to step back and give you the time and space you obviously needed. But you didn't ask. You just stepped on in leaving me nowhere to go but back.

    I have had a shit day. I have been yelled at. My husband has been yelled at. We are about theeeees close to opening a full can o' whoop-ass on anyone that dares get in our way. You lady, got in the way.

    So you go ahead and stand there all shocked and incredulous that I dare say "PARDON ME!" after your brief looky-loo turned into a full five minutes of idle time letting you go ahead and do your thang -- because not only did your little ass take up the bottom two rows of knobs -- your big fucking ego took up the five rows above it. And continue to play dumb that no one has never, ever had the nerve to think the things I thought, much less tell them to you in your face.

    But when I said, "Pardon me! But proper etiquette in a store dictates saying 'please excuse me...' before butting in, shoving someone aside, and taking over the whole knob section when the other person was there first." Well I did not need to hear, "But I never touched you...," in return. That's correct. In fact, you did NOT touch me. That's because I had to dive-bomb out of the way because my own determination be damned, you were going to OWN that knob section before the day was through.

    Surprisingly enough, even though you were probably convinced otherwise -- you didn't have to wither up and die while being forced to wait your turn either. In fact, I saw you at the checkout just moments after we were being bagged up. You did survive. See? It's not so hard. I'm glad I could do my civic duty in setting you straight for all the other low-lifes that have already been cut down by your titanium card's harsh glare. Even my cashier said, "You go girl!", after hearing the story, and then seeing you herself.

    The hormonal floodgates straight to hell have been opened folks. Speak softly and carry a big salt-lick.
    posted at 07:12 PM | link--it | mail it | (15) shout it



    Nappy time anyone?
     I know weekends are supposed to be lazy anyway -- but when they are rainy and gloomy, it's just impossible to keep your eyes open. I have so much work to do, and I think I'm going to have to sew my eyelids open to my eyebrows in order to make it through. So very, very tired...
    posted at 02:16 PM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



    Boomer Sooner
     "Things that make your husband whine like a little girl for $200, Alex..."
    posted at 01:45 AM | link--it | mail it | (12) shout it






    Who has the last laugh now?
     Remember the Queen of the Bad Cosmetics Katherine Harris -- the Florida Secretary of State who helped her ol' buddy W. win the election? Well turns out Ms. Versed in Election Law wasn't so well-read when it came to her own national bid.

    "The secretary of state admitted she failed to read the elections law, which requires her to step down to seek a federal office. Harris said she made a mistake when she qualified to run for Congress last month by failing to submit a letter of resignation required of all state officeholders seeking federal office.

    State law requires all state officials to submit a resignation letter when they qualify to run for federal office. Otherwise they face 'an automatic irrevocable resignation, effective immediately, from the office he or she presently holds'. She said she didn't think the law applied to her because Florida's elected secretary of state post is being abolished in January.    "

    Katherine Harris back-dated her resignation by two weeks because she qualified to run for Congress on July 15th. Now the legality of everything done by the Florida Secretary of State's office during the last two weeks is being called into question -- because technically by the back-dated resignation, we've been acting without a Secretary of State during that two week period. Not only is this opening a pandora's box of legal fury regarding the Secretary of State's office, her opponent in the Congressional race is also discussing the option of a potential lawsuit over Harris' ability to run now, since she failed to follow legal guidelines in announcing her candidacy.

    "This is beyond egg on your face," said Richard Scher, a political science professor at the University of Florida. "This is just plain dumb."

    Excuse me whilst I pick myself up off the floor in heaps of laughter. (Read the full article at the St. Petersburg Times.)
    posted at 06:12 PM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



    He passed!
     I extend my middle finger in the general direction south, pointing it towards a certain company that shall remain nameless. Because even though they only gave him four days and four nights to prepare -- Todd PASSED his MCSE 2000 today! Everyone bow in the general direction of Mr. Smarty Smart... Congrats babe!
    posted at 04:08 PM | link--it | mail it | (21) shout it



    How 'bout this instead?
     Yahoo! moved their links around on me. This is the photo you should have seen today:

    The caption was: "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)"


    And just in case you might be unhappy with your job: "One of the most exclusive grocery stores in the UK needs a new chocolate taster and will pay 35,000 pounds a year for the successful candidate. Fortnum & Mason is looking for a chocolate buyer to travel the world, taste as much chocolate as possible and select only the best for its discerning customers. REUTERS/Kimberly White"
    posted at 02:43 PM | link--it | mail it | (8) shout it



    It's Friday - I'm in love
     Mindless surfing to shut my brain down before bed...
    1. You know there isn't much hope for the rest of us if Maxim thinks they have to digitally trim down Beyoncé Knowles derrière for the cover. I told Todd just last week that if I somehow inherited a few billion dollars, I would buy up every publication I could get my hands on and forbid anyone to ever airbrush away pounds and cellulite on a celebrity again.
    2. First seen at wKen's and now on MSNBC.com -- Anna Nicole Smith appeared on the Howard Stern show where he gave her a brief lesson on world politics and tensions in the Mideast. When told about suicide bombers, she asked, “Doesn’t that hurt?” Ya' think?
    3. It's not just us. Even Angelina Jolie's dad Jon Voight thinks she's gone all insane in the membrane.
    4. What do you want on your Tombstone? How about motor oil and brake fluid!
    5. And just because it's Friday, a couple of "rate my's" that aren't safe for work (one, two). What will they think of next? Wait. Forget I asked that...
    Happy (almost) weekend everyone! Look at the cute l'il puppy...
    posted at 04:10 AM | link--it | mail it | (6) shout it



    Deep thoughts...by Robyn Pollman
     Has a really good rainstorm ever just made you start crying for no reason at all? Almost like a soul-cleansing of sorts, right along with Mother Nature...
    posted at 03:11 AM | link--it | mail it | (4) shout it






    Blondes have more fun
     The August 2002 Wedding Dress of the Month is now online!
    posted at 07:41 PM | link--it | mail it | (2) shout it



    excess bloggage
     Before everyone begins to panic -- nothing bad has happened to Todd. However, where he works is now monitoring everyone's tracks, and he wants his material off the "open web" ASAP. So please e-mail one of us if you'd like in. Thanks!
    posted at 06:03 PM | link--it | mail it | (21) shout it



    Their A&R man said 'I don't hear a single'
     Take that RIAA! I was just getting ready to blog this story and saw it mentioned here, too...

    I've long been a fan of the group Wilco. I saw them in a small club setting when I lived in Mobile back in the summer of '95. The cool thing then was to get a Wilco gas station lighter from the tour. An excellent new article on CNN documents the making of their latest album:

    "Before the [Yankee Hotel Foxtrot] album's release, Wilco acted contrary to music business wisdom by making the album available to fans for free on its Web site. Ultimately, it seems those fans -- and more -- also bought the disc when it became available.

    'It hurt when they [Reprise Records] said they didn't like our record,' [band leader Jeff] Tweedy said. 'But we went out on tour and nobody canceled our shows. Our tour was basically sold out. People came to the shows and sang all of the songs, and not one of them had to pay a penny for it. That felt good, actually.'    "

    Many of you will recall a similar fight Weezer faced with their record company over the release of Maladroit this spring. Ultimately, Rivers Cuomo won the right to put tracks from Maladroit -- and any past, present or future release -- on the weezer.com site for download. Has this hurt the band? Obviously not.

    I'm sorry, but record companies and the RIAA have a long way to go to prove to me that they are fighting fair and in the artists' best interests. These are two very big instances where they were dead-wrong and were going against their bands' own wishes. (Read the full article at CNN.com.)
    posted at 04:21 AM | link--it | mail it | (11) shout it



    Express yourself - don't tell me what I cannot do, baby
     So I'm ok with the fact no one has voted for our chestesses in the new Boobie Blog. No really. I'll be fine. I have these comments from their original posting to console me. I may not give you any more pics in the future as punishment. But don't you worry about me...

    And can someone please let me know when it suddenly became AUGUST?! Hello??? Pleasant hooters...
    posted at 03:05 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



    Let them eat cake!
     The best part about "Today Throws a Wedding" -- it's time to pick the cake. I wish we got to do a taste-test first! Based on the wedding colors and flowers, I'm going with choice #1 (although that chocolate cake looks divine).
    posted at 02:15 AM | link--it | mail it | (3) shout it



    Just might be the next best thing but not quite me
     Finally something I didn't have to lose to Wil Wheaton over. I know this may shock some of you, but I've won the July 2002 Bloggy Award for "Most Posts".

    I'd like to thank the Academy. And my third grade teacher, Mrs. Botkin. Conjunction Junction was my function. And my hairdresser for always helping me find the true me behind the dye. And the waitress we had at Bennigan's the other night. I never had to ask for a refill. Not even once. And my dance instructor for convincing my mom those stomach aches weren't actually 'real', and suggesting soccer instead. Oh yeah, and my husband. Sorry honey! *waves* And that guy who dashed in front of us at Target the other night to beat us to the check-out. If it weren't for him, I might never have discovered those cute flip-flops. Totally changed my life. Where was I? Am I out of time yet? Blondie for letting me know when the tide is high, it's time to move on. But I'm gonna be your number one. Ben & Jerry for all of the emotional support in times of crisis. Oh no. There's the music... Thank you. Thank you all!
    posted at 01:24 AM | link--it | mail it | (13) shout it