Letterman Strikes Deal With Writers/Bloggers

Worldwide Pants, the production company for "The Late Show with David Letterman" and "The Late Late Show With Craig Ferguson", has reached an interim agreement with the Writers Guild of America. So what does this mean? Most late night talk shows are scheduled to return to the air next Wednesday. These two late night talk shows will be the only ones with material written by professional writers.

What have the Late Show writers been doing since the strike began? Blogging of course. Here is a link to the Late Show Writers Blog. You will find the infamous "Top 10 Lists" along with a lot of short videos. If you have not guessed, yes, I am a night owl.

Private Practice

Being the day after Christmas, there was not much to watch on TV, so as I was channel surfing, I came across ABC's "Private Practice". I thought it was a good show. However, in real life, you will never find a private practice where the doctors, both male and female, are so good looking.

Annual Pitt Christmas Luncheon

I had lunch today with two buddies who graduated from the University of Pittsburgh School of Engineering. It is an annual tradition that started some time ago. I actually graduated the same year as Jim. Gerry graduated about 10 years earlier than Jim and I. Jim and Gerry grew up together and act like younger and older brothers. Jim and Gerry followed their engineering education and are actually employed as real engineers. I got my MBA Degree from the University of Pittsburgh Katz Graduate School of Business, worked in Finance, then moved on to the IT field, my true calling, my gift, my curse. I have no regrets and am very happy working in the IT field. We have been lunching at a Pizza shop on Fifth Avenue for who knows how long. The conversation, pizza, and company was good - as it always is. We will probably get together again later next year for our annual Pirates game. Hopefully the annual tradition of a Pirates losing season will not continue.

Merry Christmas

Wishing Everyone a Very Merry Christmas !

Christmas LED Pics

Cynthia from My Brilliant Mistakes asked me how my LED Christmas lights look compared to regular incandescent bulbs. Here are a few pics I took with my Canon A520. This is the first time I have taken photos in the dark with my camera, so I am not sure how these will turn out. The LED lights were placed inside the window and not outside. The window glass kind of softens the LED's and creates some glare. They would look much better from outside, if they were placed outside. I enjoy viewing the lights from inside, and I think the LED's are just as bright as incandescent bulbs. I will let you judge for yourself. The lights are not perfectly straight, so I will never be able to compete with the Griswold's. This is a view from the street:






This is a view from the sidewalk:

This is an interior view from one of my bedroom windows:

When I bought these LED's at Wal Mart, another shopper spoke to me and said we live in a throw away society. He preferred to pay $2.00 for a 50 light incandescent set versus $10.00 for a 60 light LED set.

This year, the Capital Christmas Tree in Washington, DC was lit with LED lights.

Green Christmas

I decided to have a Green Christmas this year. Instead of the usual incandescent mini lights in my windows, I bought LED mini lights from my local Wal Mart. They were reduced from $10.00 to $7.00. Sure they are more expensive upfront, but in the long run, I will save money in energy costs. Just do not expect me to compete with Al Gore for the next Nobel Prize.

Let's Wait Till the Last Minute

In the winter, why do people wait until the first or second snowfall to figure out that their vehicle needs new tires? I took a day off from work today to get my physical therapy session, get an oil change for my car, and just catch up with stuff at home. I usually go to the local Wal Mart to get an oil change. This morning, around 10:15AM, there were six customers ahead of me. I think everyone was there to get new tires, wiper blades, or a new battery - all stuff you should take care of before winter. Everyone procrastinates, but when it comes to safe winter driving, I like to get prepared for winter in the fall.

Pay It Forward

I did my good deed for the day today. As I left the Target on Route 8 in Gibsonia, I saw two people in the parking lot talking on cell phones. One was a gray haired adult male and the second person was a female teenager. It was kind of strange seeing two people standing six feet apart talking on cell phones. As I was about to start my car up, the older gentleman asked me if I had a set of booster cables that he could borrow to help the young lady. The gentleman used his pickup truck to attempt to jump start the teenager's vehicle, but the battery was just too dead. The gentleman handed the booster cables back to me because he did not want to take too much of my time. I told him I was sorry that the booster cables were not able to help the young lady's car. The two did know each other, either from church or the girl's parents. The girl's car had a temporary vehicle registration in the back windshield, so I assumed she was driving a recently bought used vehicle.

Usually I do not like to help strangers, but it was a lighted parking lot with surveillance cameras, so I thought it would be safe. It was a nice feeling helping someone out, even if the outcome was not the best. You may have heard of the movie "Pay It Forward". It was based on the novel of the same name and there is actually a Pay It Forward Foundation.

10 Things I Love/Hate About Winter

Since we had our first taste of winter yesterday, I am reposting from last year 10 Things I Love/Hate About Winter:

Here are 10 things I like about Winter, in no particular order:

1. When I get home from work, it is dark, so I do not feel guilty about taking a nap.
   
2. Snow makes Christmas much more special.


3. I do not have to mow the lawn.


4. It is too cold to hand wash my car.


5. I can gain some weight and hide it with a baggy sweatshirt.


6. I like wearing boots instead of sneakers in the winter.


7. I like wearing a beanie/skull cap in my cold basement when I workout.


8. I can be late for work because of the weather.
   
9. I can catch up watching my collection of DVD’s because I spend more time indoors.


10. The Pittsburgh Penguins.
    

Here are 10 Things I hate about winter, in no particular order:

1. There are less hours of sunlight. I wake up in the dark, and leave work in the dark.


2. I have to shovel snow.
   
3. I have to drive in snow and ice.


4. Waterproof boots are never waterproof.


5. My car gets all salted up, and it is too cold to wash my baby.


6. My basement is cold, my workout equipment is in the basement, so I workout in a cold basement.


7. My head gets cold because I refuse to wear a hat which would ruin my hair.


8. I have to wear layers of clothes to keep warm, then I feel too warm because I am wearing layers of clothes.


9. My nose gets dry, so I get a lot of nosebleeds.


10. My skin gets very dry, so my fingertips crack. Very painful.
    

Weekly Workout Rewind - 11/25/2007

After a 3 week layoff, I am back to cardio and leg only workouts. It is a weird feeling trying to get back into any rhythm, even just fitting in cardio on a regular basis. I am also completing a series of exercises recommended by my physical therapist for my tennis elbow. I can mimic everything from physical therapy at home except for the ultrasound treatments. I have noticed a small improvement in my elbow. Shaking someone's hand is not as painful on my elbow as it used to be, so that is a good sign. My health insurance for physical therapy is not the best, so I am only going to take two sessions per week instead of three. I am in the middle of watching the Steelers game, posting here, and winding down the day to get up earlier than normal for work, so I am signing off now. Later.

Pitt Wins Backyard Brawl

Pitt just won the Backyard Brawl versus West Virginia. I am a Pitt Alum, so WOO HOO! I guess there will not be any couch burning celebrations in Morgantown this year.

NaBloPoMo-Results

So, how did I do with National Blog Posting Month, NaBloPoMo? I found out about NaBloPoMo on November 10, 9 days after the official start, so I missed 9 posts. Since November 10, I have only missed one post. That was due to the WiFi not working at the hotel I was staying at while out of town on business. I have enjoyed the challenge of posting everyday in November. I am hoping this dedication motivates me to post more often.