Little Big Man to Enter Dunk Contest

Mark your calendar. 5’9″ Nate Robinson is going to be in this year’s NBA All-Star Dunk Contest. Remember Spud Webb? That was special. Let’s see if Nate can impress the judges.

The Bachelor, Paris: Week 3

Do wah ditty, ditty dum, ditty do. The girls are marching on Mt. Moana and she can’t handle it. “Captain… she’s gonna blow!” Not once, but twice the misunderstood Moana had a Mount St. Helens meltdown. Can’t say she’s not “invested” anymore, can they?

So recently booted Jennifer and Shiloh come back to pick Travis’ one-on-one dates. No surprise that Moana didn’t get one. Turns out, they chose the nicest girls left—Jehan and Sarah S. I was hoping for a little more from these two in terms of revenge, but they sincerely wanted what was best for Travis, it seemed.

Roses… “Yes!”

On the 2nd one-on-one date Travis surprised America by showing his decent, home-grown, down-to-earth self and extending a rose to Sarah S., his Nashville neighbor. Certainly she’s a good girl and perhaps there’s more than meets the eye, but thus far there haven’t exactly been any sparks between these two. We’ll have to wait until next week to see how the pair does in the home of the Grand Ole Opry.

Sarah B. is still alive and kicking, even though she got trounced in the bike race. (And here I thought she was the strong, athletic type?) Anyway, other than Moana’s efforts to get close to our Bachelor, only Sarah B. has been working her flirt. It seems Travis really likes her, but you get the feeling that he finds her a bit of an utterless boat, a rolling stone, and aimless… you get the picture. We’ll see if her total lack of responsibility (yes students, college isn’t work) will affect his opinion of her. Headin’ to Canada, eh?

Found out this week that Susan has her sights set on Hollywood. Perhaps Travis is just keeping her around as eye candy. She’s certainly cute but that won’t be enough for Travis, otherwise he’d have been paying more attention to her earlier in the season. Either that, or I’m completely wrong like usual.

Moana’s motto, Dominate the Competition. And so far, she’s doing it. We’ll have to wait and see if Travis is the kind of guy that like to be dominated. Yikes, I’ve kind of crossed over into a questionable area of discussion. Let’s hope Travis gets to see the real Moana and then runs for the hills.

Roses… “No.”

Now that I’ve seen more of Jehan, I like her better. Heck, she went to bat to keep an illegal foreign national in the States by marrying him. In my book, that shows real committment.

Two words, “Luu uush.” Ok, that’s not exactly fair. But of the 11.39 minutes Tara has been on the screen, she’s been drinking for 10.7 of them. Might want to get the girl some help. Doesn’t The Gap have a program for its employees?

It’s another crazy week in the world of The Bachelor. Bet he’s starting to wish he could back to the peace and quiet of the ER.

World’s 12 Best New Buildings

I love architecture. Scratch that. I love creative, well-considered, beautiful and functional architecture. It’s tough to do, mind you, but that is we identify the true artisans. They live somewhere between the hacks that are only interested in cost-per-square-foot estimates and those on the other end of the spectrum where egoists call a blob of paint art .

I imagine ArchInfo’s The World’s 12 Best New Buildings lie somewhere closer to the sweet spot where form and function unite in something truly inspiring and at the same time easy-to-use.

Dojo Info 1/27/06

1. The Bleat 1/25/06
   Lileks points out “humorists” like Joel Stein use their position to make non-humorous jabs. And he’s right.
2. Congress catching on to the value of blogs
   Just goes to show how inefficient bureaucracies can be.
3. Chuck Norris Facts
   “#6 Chuck Norris has counted to infinity. Twice.” Awesome.
4. Students’ Quick Actions Save Man From Drowning
   Given the state of our current news bureaus, saving someone’s life doesn’t rank high enough on the newsworthy meter when compared to murders, rapes, trials and disasters. That’s why I like HappyNews.com. And “No” I’m not getting a kickback from them… yet.
5. Toy Story 3 Cancelled
   Pixar either alongside or downstream of their new parent Disney didn’t waste any time killing Toy Story 3. This makes me sad.

Barret Update

Just got back from Barret’s one-week doctor visit. The good news is that he’s up past his birth weight to a massive 5 lbs. 8 ounces. What a hog! The bad news is that we’ll still have to wait three more weeks to learn more about his heart defects.

Looking at that American Heart Association’s Web site, I learned a little bit about his ASD and VSD.

According to our heart specialist, Barret’s ASD is considered “small.” If this was the only problem, we likely wouldn’t be too upset as they’re the less scary of the two. His VSD, however, is considered “moderate” so we’re much more concerned (trying to avoid the worry, right?) about this one.

So again, please keep our little boy in your prayers. We truly appreciate every prayer. If it does come that he’ll need surgery, our pediatrician told us they’re doing this kind of thing by laparoscopic means. This is so much better because they would’t need to open up his little chest or stop his heart with this procedure.

I’ve Seen the Future and the Future is Flex

The Internet concept isn’t about HTML or even HTTP so much as it is about computers talking to computers. And what a concept it is! The problem thus far has been that computers and people don’t always see eye-to-eye. Enter Flex. Flex is a new technology platform from Macromedia that allows for interfaces that far more engaging and responsive. Mark my words, even though AJAX is getting all the press, it won’t be long before the smart companies are jumping all over this technology.

For a full-featured online demo of this technology just view the Platform Overview.

Talk About a Litmus Test

“If one is pro-choice in this day and age, in this structure, one can’t vote for Judge Alito…It is simply that simple.” -Diane Feinstein, Senate Judiciary Committee, January 24, 2006

And this from the party that claims tolerance as its mantra. Things are looking good for Alito but we’ll have to wait and see.

Update: Just saw this from Tony Perkins at the Family Research Council:

Senate Democrats want to drag out the confirmation vote so they can spend six days in prebuttal before President Bush gives his State of the Union address next week – that is, six days of bashing the President. I feel confident that in the next six days we will hear more from Democratic members of the Senate about the alleged failures of President Bush’s policies than about the qualifications of Judge Alito.

Twitch Trailer Honors Star Wars

From their site:

The current crop of Star Wars fans can’t seem to understand why us older lot are so bothered by the over-digitization of our childhood dream-world. But Patrick Read Johnson does. And how. 5-25-77 is his loosely autobiographical film about the impact of Star Wars on his own life as a teenage geek in love with the movies.

[via Coudal]

Dojo Info 1/25/06

1. Talk to the car with new tech
   Combining gadgets to cars is every man’s fantasy.
2. WhosThatWithJeremy.com Draws Celebs
   You never know what might make you famous.
3. Reports: Disney close to Pixar deal
   Didn’t Pixar just leave Disney? Am I on a replay? Update: It’s a done deal.
4. NBC Cancels ‘Book of Daniel’
   I thought the show would be cancelled. Looks like not enough people enjoy the attempts to publically bash Christianity, go figure.
5. Alito Nomination Goes to Full Senate
   I guess it was too much to ask for the Democrat leadership to be reasonable. After months of digging for dirt, finding none, they still voted down party lines trying to keep Alito from getting a fair vote. When will the mainstream Democrats realize that they’ve lost their party to the extremists fringe? JFK would be disgusted at what his party has become.

The Blonde’s Year in Review

Sure it’s mean, but I’m feeling frisky. ;^)
[Via my good friend Tracey.]

January – Took new scarf back to store because it was too tight.

February – Fired from pharmacy job for failing to print labels… “duh”…
bottles won’t fit in typewriter!!

March – Got excited… finished jigsaw puzzle in 6 months… box said “2-4 years!”

April – Trapped on escalator for hours…power went out!!

May – Tried to make Kool-Aid… 8 cups of water won’t fit into those
little packets!!

June – Tried to go water skiing… couldn’t find a lake with a slope.

July – Lost breaststroke swimming competition… learned later, other
swimmers cheated, they used their arms!!

August – Got locked out of car in rainstorm… car swamped, because top
was down.

September – Lost a TV quiz show. The capital of California is “C”… isn’t it??

October – Hate M&M’s… they are so hard to peel.

November – Baked turkey for 4 1/2 days… instructions said 1 hour per
pound and I weigh 108!!

December – Couldn’t call 911… “duh”… there’s no “eleven” button on the phone!!

What a year!!

The Bachelor, Paris: Week 3

Not a crazy episode by any stretch of the imagination, pretty typical fare. Girls find the loner. Girls gang up on the loner. The loner gets even. It’s How To Win a Guy 101. All the same, I find Moana (and her name) a bit disgusting. Am I wrong?

Roses… “Yes!”

Susan gets the first rose of the evening by basically flattering Travis for 5 straight hours. Hey, whatever works. Even still, she’s quite a looker so expect Susan to stick around, even if she’s not the odds-on favorite.

Moana and her gag-reflexive name got tonight’s second rose. She simply outmaneuvered her opponents and the others appeared to become defensive. They all complained about her “stealing time” with Travis but maybe Moana just wanted to ride the JetSki? Maybe Moana isn’t a woman after all? Did you see her with the cigar? I think I noticed an Adam’s apple, but I can’t be sure. Plastic surgery has made tremendous leaps these past few years.

The camping chick got a camping date. The stars were aligned. My wife said The Model would get the rose but I thought differently. Does that mean I’m getting all girly like those Scott tissue truck drivers?

Again with the Jehan? I’m apparently missing something because I just don’t see what she brings to the table, well, besides those vitamins.

Tara is this season’s little bad girl. But if she wants to displace Moana is the “dark and mysterious” one, she’s gonna have to up her badness intake and start working it. Still, she’s growing on me.

Sarah S. received the final rose and gave an enormous sigh of relief. One more week in the house, then she’s gone, but “Hey!” at least there’s a chance, right?

Roses… “No.”

Jennifer was this show’s Tara Reid wanna-be. As the night went on, I started thinking that I may have been a bit harsh in my criticism of her. Not all models are bitches, right? Anyway, she was the major underdog on that camping date and gave a valiant effort. Still, the exposure from the show might help her career so she can’t be too distraught.

Other than never smiling, Shiloh was wonderful. Uh huh. I know CBS edits the crap out of these shows but did she ever smile, even once? Poor girl got labeled and couldn’t recover. Let this be a lesson to all you reality TV contestent hopefuls, in the words of Cosmo Kramer, “Now if I’ve told you once, I’ve told you a thousand times – poise counts! It’s just as important as the others. Swimsuit! Evening wear! Talent! POISE!”

Until next week, tell us what you think!

Move Quick!

My brother sent me a link to Escapa! which is tougher than you’d think. I just started playing so here’s my early best score.

If you get a really high score, screen cap it and I’ll post it with your name!

Update: Mazurland topped my scored, so I need to play again. Sure, I didn’t beat it by much, but I want this contest to last a while. Back to you pallie.

Update 2: So then I see this cat did 23+ and I had to play some more. It’s go time!

Update 3: The Amazing Damon beat my score and did so soundly. Try and top this! That is, unless he Photoshopped it. 8^)

The Slick 2007 Camry

Have you seen the new Camry? Spor-tay! You gotta enjoy them now before there are eleventy-billion on the road and no one cares. The thing I don’t like is how they release them, like magazines, except a whole year earlier.

Kobe Goes For 81

I’m kind of speechless. I’ve always thought that Chamberlain’s 100 points back on March 2, 1962 was untouchable. Now I’m not so sure. Kobe is a freak. Look at these numbers:

• 42 minutes
• FG: 28 of 46 (61%)
• 3PT: 7 of 13 (54%)
• FT: 18 of 20 (90%)
• 81 points, 6 boards, 2 assists, 3 steals and a block

He’ll never be as dominant as Wilt but he’s infinitely more fun to watch. I still hate Mambo.

Viewing ‘This Game of Life’

With recent hardships, I got to thinking. And that can be a very dangerous place to be. How is it that you view This Game of Life?