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I just deleted 4,880 junk comments on my blog.
In the same way that we all get spam emails, bloggers often have to deal with spam comments. I know I do. So today I changed my blog to only accept comments from authenticated users. It's not hard to register, so I hope this won't completely deter commenting. I just don't have time to sort through the spam anymore.
Thanks for those of you who have commented. I hope you'll still want to give me feedback!
My wife and I took the kids (and my wife's parents) to see Happy Feet last week because we thought it would be fun to get out and just see something cute. We could have gone to see Flushed Away or Santa Claus 3, but we chose Happy Feet because it looked like it would appeal to everyone.
Happy Feet was a huge disappointment. Ok, the music was very good and the animation was good. The story was lame and a little embarrassing for this century and the political message was a whole lot too strong for me. I'm getting used to the idea that a lot of movies have a political message these days. I suppose I can live with that. However, I can't enjoy a movie that was apparently created for the sole purpose of delivering such a message. Not only was the story just a thin veil over the message, but just in case you didn't get the message, there is a segment within the movie that's not animated where the message is clearly delivered. Ug.
So, wait for the DVD. Your kids will enjoy it and you can watch the fun parts of the movie at the beginning. You can stop watching when the main character starts swimming after the boat (you'll know what I'm talking about when you get there). 0.5π.
Dyed-in-the-wool Harry Potter fans have probably already seen this video, memorized all of the lines and started new blogs about the problems where the movie differs from the book. For those of us who simply enjoy reading Harry Potter and are interested in the movies, here is a 4-minute preview of the upcoming (July 13, 2007) movie:
I failed to mention that I recently received a summons for jury duty. I'm not sure what that means exactly as this is the first time I've received a summons. I'll find out very soon if I'm actually selected for jury duty, but I think I'm not supposed to talk about it after that.
So there you go. I might have a secret or I might not. It's anyone's guess.
I do have to say that I can't help but think of that movie Runaway Jury when I think of jury duty. I never read the book , but the movie was pretty good (my wife prefers the book). I thought it was funny that the character played by John Cusack tried to get out of jury duty by explaining that he had a commitment to a video game convention or something like that. I don't think I'll try that.
Wow! It has taken me a lot of time to get back from Indiana. Most of the day Friday I spent just going through emails and other messages and up until now today, I've been catching up on all my general work stuff. Being gone 4 days costs another 4 days just to get normal again!
I have so much to talk about, but I still have a few things that I need to do. First, Indiana was very nice. I met many great people there and have a few stories that should make interesting reading. I saw a movie while I was there and I ate at a few new places that I'm excited to tell about.
Overall, I took away a couple of thoughts from my trip. Primarily I have been thinking about professionalism (or the lack thereof) in our daily interactions and also about service. I'm going to be writing about this more and more I think.
So, I'm back, but not quite ready to blog ... getting there. It's good to be back.
Next week I'm going to be in Bloomington, Indiana for a few days. I'm pretty unhappy about that. Not because I dislike Indiana (I've only been in Evansville and only for a couple of hours), but because of the weather. I'll admit it. I'm a spoiled Arizonan, but this time of year is the best time to not leave home.
Bloomington weather next week:
See how our lows are about the same as Bloomington's highs? Also, do you see any happy little pictures of the sun in Bloomington? Yeah, me neither.
If you're a good driver, you can skip this post.
Here's a tip: If you're in traffic on the freeway in rush hour behind 7,000 cars, don't honk. You're not going anywhere no matter how much honking you do. All you're doing is making other drivers upset and creating blog fodder.
That is all.
Long-time readers already know that I like Pachelbel's Canon in D. Thanks to my wife, I have yet another reason:
You can't beat that with a stick.
Just a note to remind you to get out and vote. Even if you have to wade through some interesting stuff, you still need to vote. Well, I suppose you don't need to vote, but if you don't then I don't want to hear you whine about what didn't go your way later on.
Oh, and if you vote in Arizona, you might just win $1,000,000. Seriously. Prop 200 this year:
A "yes" vote shall have the effect of establishing a $1,000,000 lottery for voters who vote in the primary or general elections that would be funded by a percentage of unclaimed state lottery prize money and creating the Arizona Voter Reward Commission and Fund.
Arizona has a couple of ballot propositions this year that really make me scratch my head. Here is the Proposition 204 text as it appears on the ballot for a Yes vote:
A "yes" vote shall have the effect of establishing misdemeanor fines and penalties for tethering or confining a pregnant pig or a calf raised for veal for all or a majority of the day in a manner that prevents the animal from lying down and fully extending its limbs or turning around freely but excepts transportation of the animal, rodeo and fair exhibitions, lawful slaughters, research, veterinary purposes and the seven day period before a pig's expected date of giving birth.
That would put it all in perspective.
I wish I had read it sooner. I love this book. In fact, I think it is a book that should be required reading for human life. It's not an economics book, per se, nor is it a business book. Freakonomics is a book that I would say most generally influences critical thinking and evaluation. If you think you know something about campaign finance or abortion or baby naming, read Freakonomics and find out what you don't know. This book invites readers to re-evaluate everything. At least that's what I took away from it. If you haven't read Freakonomics and if you like to challenge your own thinking and your personal beliefs then get Freakonomics.
I'm now in the market for another book. Any suggestions?
