RIP my CRT

The CRT monitor attached to my second PC died this weekend. It lived for 7 years, so I am pleased with how long it lasted. I do not use my second PC that much. I use it primarily as a file server to backup my data on my primary PC. I took a quick peek at websites like BestBuy, NewEgg, Staples, and Sam's Club, and it is hard to find a CRT monitor. Most monitors sold these days are LCD monitors. How technology has changed and improved for the better! I have a keyboard-video-mouse (KVM) switch somewhere in my basement pile of old PC parts, so I will hold off on purchasing a new LCD monitor until after I get my tax refund.

Brotherly Love

My younger brother brought his cold from Ohio with him this weekend to my mother's house for Easter. A great example of brotherly love. I woke up with a sore throat this morning. As the day progressed, sinus pressure increased in my head, I had the chills, I felt a little disoriented, and I just felt run down. I started talking Cold-EEZE zinc lozenges at work. I still feel crappy, but I mustered up the energy to listen to the Penguins game and watch CSI Miami. I actually plan on going to bed early this evening. Lights out.

Winter Weather Forecast Pet Peeves

I am getting annoyed with the Pittsburgh media hyping up the Winter Weather forecasts. Here are my pet peeves (or conversely the media's sly techniques) for overblowing the winter weather forecasts:

• Teaser Trailers - these are short teasers less than 5 seconds in length telling you of impending doom, but you will have to watch 15 minutes of the newscast before the forecast is revealed.


• Live Reports - TV stations feel there is a need to have a reporter on the spot showing and telling you the current conditions. A few Saturdays ago, KDKA TV had Ivy league educated cutie Alison Morris reporting live from a Giant Eagle parking lot in Beaver County. It was ridiculous. There was no precipitation at all, so the camera panned to a snowpile that was created from a snowplow plowing the parking lot.


• Snowfall totals spanning 2 or more days. If the amount of predicted snowfall for one day is not newsworthy, the snowfall totals are predicted over a span of 2 or more days. This makes the total snowfall amount more dramatic.


• If the snowfall totals in the Pittsburgh area are not going to be significant, the Teaser Trailers hint at more significant snowfall totals. However, when you see the forecast, the significant snowfall total was for a "surrounding area" like Altoona or Erie. There are TV stations in Altoona snd Erie.

I am hoping Spring arrives soon.

Vernal Equinox

From http://www.weather.com/, here is today's weather forecast for the first day of Spring, the Vernal Equinox: High 36 degrees. Intermittent snow showers and windy this morning. Peeks of sunshine later. Temps nearly steady in the mid 30s. Winds WNW at 20 to 30 mph. Chance of snow 40%. Snow accumulations less than one inch. Lovely, do I really enjoy the joys of all four seasons?

Widget1000 Spam

Here is the text from a comment left on one of my blog posts:

anthony bremond has left a new comment on your post "Pittsburgh Penguins Season Opener - 10/5/2007":

Dear Mr,
I'm an intern with startup widget 1000 and I created a news widget for Pittsburgh Penguins News.It's updated every hour with Pittsburgh Penguins headlines from several different sports websites like ESPN, FOX Yahoo,etc. (Take a look: www dot widget1000 dot com). Can we add Pittsburgh Penguins blog to the widget,too? That means that every time you post to your blog the headline of the post will show up on the widget and link directly to your post. Anyone who puts this widget on their start page or on their website will see your Pittsburgh Penguins posts too. It's a powerful and free way to publicize your site. Finally, would you add your Pittsburgh Penguins News Widget to your site so that others can see it? Everyone who grabs the widget will automatically link to you so it's great for your search engine rankings. Plus, it shows a lot of stories about Pittsburgh Penguins and since it's updated every hour it is fresh and will make your site even more appealing than it already is.
What do you think?
Go Pittsburgh Penguins
Anthony Bremond

I am all for free enterprise, but I did a search on Google for "widget1000" and found the above text on a bunch of other blogs. The only thing that was different was that the name of the sports team had been changed. Google also found advertisements for widget1000's paid services. Obviously, I rejected this comment on my blog. You are not going to make a buck off of my blog.

Sunglasses of Justice

CSI: Miami has become my favorite of the 3 CSI franchise television shows. I used to really like the original, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, but have lost interest recently. The original CSI always had interesting, odd, puzzles to solve, which was the main appeal to me. David Caruso's portrayal of Horatio Caine is the reason why I like CSI: Miami so much. At times, his acting can be a little over the top. Horatio always gets the bad guy, and he does it while being as cool as a cucumber with a heart for the victim. Horatio Caine is infamous for his one-liners at the beginning of each show. The content and delivery of the one-liners make them unique. Here is a YouTube link to a whole 7 minutes of Horatio Caine one-liners, www.youtube.com/watch?v=tcD0Mmyp3f4. Enjoy!

Driver Pet Peeves

Here is a my list of pet peeves about drivers:

1. Talking on a cell phone while driving - this is my absolute #1 pet peeve about drivers. I have tried to drive and talk on a cell phone at the same time, but I only have two hands, not three. If you are going to use your cell phone while driving, please use a handsfree headset.


2. Driving slow in the passing lane - Why is it that slow drivers in the passing lane are totally clueless that they are causing a huge backup of vehicles? Cars do come with something called mirrors.


3. Non use of turn signals - cars have turn signals for a reason, to let other drivers know you are changing directions.


4. Leaving you turn signal on - this is almost as bad as not using your turn signal. Are you turning or not? It only takes on quick flick of the wrist to turn off a turn signal.
   

I will stop complaining now.

I Scream for Ice Cream

National Blog Posting Month has a theme for March, LISTS. The goal is to post every day for a month. Obviously, I am already ten days late, but LISTS are an idea that I have overlooked to add variety to my posts. Even though I watch my diet very carefully, I do have some "cheat" foods, and Ice Cream is my favorite cheat food. Ice Cream has changed - you can buy sugar free and double/slow churned versions with less fat. Another thing that has changed is the container size - no more half gallons. Anyway, here are my top 5 favorite flavors, starting with my most favorite:

1. Cookies N Cream - brings me back to the days as a young kid eating cookies and milk before going to bed.


2. Mint Chocolate Chip - the chocolate chips and the mint ice cream are a great pairing.


3. Vanilla - a classic, sounds basic, but you can add almost any topping to Vanilla ice cream and it still tastes great. I particularly prefer brands where you can see the vanilla bean specks.


4. Moosetracks - the perfect combination of everything that is bad but tastes so good.


5. Chocolate - double, triple, with fudge, chocolate chips, or anything with chocolate ice cream as the base is just outstanding.

Yes, I still eat ice cream in the winter, even if my body temporarily gets the chills after eating a few scoops.

Workout Rewind – February 2008

In February, I decided I needed to get back in shape after my layoff from tennis elbow. I managed to fit in at least one, sometimes two, and one week actually three weightlifting sessions. I aggravated my tennis elbow a few times due to removing snow and/or ice from my car. For my upper body, I have limited my range of motion to only partial repetitions. The elbow still bothers me, so I am reluctant to complete full range of motion repetitions. Maybe I am being too cautious, but I do not want to re injure myself.