Casual Games Are The Rage

A good article on how Microsoft is now jumping in on the "casual gaming" phenomenon. If you'll pardon the self-promotion, over on the right side is an ad for BigFish Games. Here is a great opportunity for you to jump on this bandwagon, if you will. Joe, over at Building Your MLM, Network Marketing Business, hooked me up with this he has enjoyed some success with it. This is my first active promotion of this product, but I plan to do more. If your a casual gamer, or know someone who is, head on over there or forward them this post. Have some fun and enjoy!

Game Stooge » Casual Games Are The Rage

BigFish Games

A little morning humor for all the parents out there...

My sister sent this to me. Blogger was down last night so I didn't get to edit it before this morning, but anyways, here it is for you parents...

For the parents...

My son came home from school one day,

with a smirk upon his face.

He decided he was smart enough,

to put me in my place.

"Guess what I learned in Civics Two,

that's taught by Mr. Wright?

It's all about the laws today,

The 'Children's Bill of Rights.'

It says I need not clean my room,

don't have to cut my hair

No one can tell me what to think,

or speak, or what to wear.

I have freedom from religion,

and regardless what you say,

I don't have to bow my head,

and I sure don't have to pray.

I can wear earrings if I want,

and pierce my tongue and nose.

I can read and watch just what I like,

get tattoos from head to toes.

And if you ever spank me,

I'll

charge you with a crime.

I'll back up all my charges,

with the marks on my behind.

Don't you ever touch me,

my body's only for my use,

not for your hugs and kisses,

that's just more child abuse.

Don't preach about your morals,

like your Mama did to you.

That's nothing more than mind control,

And it's illegal too!

Mom, I have these children's rights,

so you can't influence me,

or I'll call Children's Services Division,

better known as CSD."

Of course my first instinct was

to toss him out the door.

But the chance to teach him a lesson

made me think a little more.

I mulled it over carefully,

I couldn't let this go.

A smile crept upon my face,

he's messing with a pro.

Next day I took him shopping

at the local Goodwill Store.

I told him, "Pick out all you want,

there's shirts and pants

galore.

I've called and checked with CSD

who said they didn't care

if I bought you K-Mart shoes

instead of the Nike Air.

I've cancelled that appointment

to take your driver's test.

The CSD is unconcerned

so I'll decide what's best."

I said "No time to stop and eat,

or pick up stuff to munch.

And tomorrow you can start to learn

to make your own sack lunch.

Just save the raging appetite,

and wait till dinner time.

We're having liver and onions,

a favorite dish of mine."

I also rented out your room,

you'll take the couch instead.

The CSD only requires

a roof over your head.

Your clothing won't be trendy now,

I'll choose what we eat.

That allowance that you used to get,

will buy me something neat.

I'm selling off your jet ski,

dirt-bike and roller blades.

Check out the 'Parents Bill

of Rights',

It's in effect these days!

Hey hot shot, why are you crying,

Why are you down on your knee?

Maybe you should ask God to help you out,

instead of CSD..."

Send to all people that have teenagers or have already raised teenagers, or

have children who will soon be teenagers or those who will be parents

someday OR ANYONE WHO'D JUST GET A LAUGH ...I love this one!!!

MOM (Mean Old Mother)

Blues, Gunners provide classic Cup Final

A very good match indeed, as Chelsea prevails 2-1.

FOX Sports - England - Blues, Gunners provide classic Cup Final

Windy Saturday...

Woah... last Saturday we had the windstorm from hell here in North Texas. The winds were so strong that the sky was red from all the sand that was picked up in West Texas. There were power outages, trees uprooted and many roofs were damaged. We had the privilege of driving to my daughter's soccer match, in Plano, TX. just to have them cancel the game as we got there. True, it was much worse at 3:00 p.m., game time was 4:00 p.m., but by 5:00 p.m. the skies were clear. It was still windy, but not as bad. It was surreal.

Really reminded me of my youth... pt0ooie, excuse me as I spit sand out of my mouth... I remember having to ride my bike to basketball (yes, we played Little Dribbler's basketball... seriously) practice one Saturday morning. By the time we were done with practice, the wind had kicked up and the sand was everywhere. Now, remember we had just finished practice, so I was sorta sweaty... The bike ride home was almost directly south, except for a couple of turns, so by the time I got home, my whole RIGHT SIDE was caked in sand... Another time, my friend Larry had to go to Lubbock for some reason, and by the return trip, one of these sandstorms had kicked up and literally SANDBLASTED his car. Seriously, the whole right side of his car was flecked with small indentations in the finish that had been blasted away by the sand. He had to have the car re-painted.

I don't have any pictures from this past weekend... not sure why, as that was really dumb now that I think about it, but here's a picture my sister sent me from a storm rolling in near Brownfield, TX.













And here's one I DID take in Lubbock, TX last summer as a sandstorm preceded a thunderstorm as it rolled in from the west. This was the weekend of the Great Class of '81 Pre-Reunion... well that's what I call it, as we ended up having another reunion during the Homecoming football game later last fall. I missed that one...

Coca-Cola redesigns cans

A new Coke can design was introduced in Japan in January. This preceded the world-wide introduction due in March. Used to drink LOTS of Coke, but it makes you fat... or in my case, fatter :|

Japan Today - News - Coca-Cola redesigns cans:
Coca-Cola redesigns cans

Tuesday, January 23, 2007 at 09:25 EST

[The newly designed Coca-Cola can, right, will go on sale in Japan on Jan 29, ahead of its worldwide release in March.]


The newly designed Coca-Cola can, right, will go on sale in Japan


TOKYO — Coca-Cola Japan Co has redesigned its cans and bottles as part of its 'The Coke Side of Life' marketing campaign. The beverage maker said Monday that the new look can will hit the Japanese market on Jan 29 before its introduction to the world market in March. 'We live in a world where we make choices every day and 'The Coke Side of Life' encourages people to make those choices positive ones,' said Marc Mathieu, senior vice president for carbonated soft drink core brands, marketing, srategy and innovation. 'This new campaign invites people to create their own positive reality, to be spontaneous, listen to their hearts and live in full color.'"

Vista WGA problems confirmed

Be careful with your install of Vista. There are definitely some gremlins with the the Windows Genuine Advantage (WGA) so be aware of the possibility of having to reactivate your installation of Vista. It's a pain and the articles bring up some good points about the way Microsoft is handling these types of "security" related issues. Seems a bit over the top, at times. The Apple commercial is spot-on, albeit annoying...

» Vista WGA problems confirmed | Ed Bott’s Microsoft Report | ZDNet.com

Problems arise with Vista’s validation

It's Monday...

we have an Active Directory (AD) problem at work and there's not much to report on... but I'll get something interesting posted... maybe...

Oh, the Academy Awards were pretty much to form, except for the mild upset in the "Best Supporting Actor" category. I really thought Eddie Murphy would win that, but Alan Arkin was a good choice. Both movies are really good!

A few quick hits today

Academy Awards Tonight
If your family does a little Oscar pick contest, here's a convenient ballot to print out. We have done this for a few years now and we have a lot of fun with it. Sometimes we have prizes, sometimes it's just for fun...

Printable Oscar Ballot

Two New Commitments

The Horns got two commitments from a couple of Southlake Carroll kids. And UT cruised to a hard-fought win over the Sooners.

The two commitments are from Southlake Carroll, a current dynasty in Texas High School football and a "mythical" National Champion has won four 5A state titles and is 79-1 in the last five seasons. It's a winning program, and Coach Mack Brown loves winners.

and, finally...

UT Runs Away from OU

The victory over the Sooners was a tough one for the Horns and the loss really hurts the Sooners chances at making the NCAA Tournament, however, Capel has done a really good job under the cricumstances, like losing a lot of their top recruits, including one to UT.

Grapevine baseball player dies | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

I grieve for this young man tonight... Please keep his family in your prayers.

Grapevine baseball player dies | Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | Latest News

A Little Soccer (Football to the rest of the world) for Your Weekend?

We will definitely be looking to catch this match on Sunday, or whenever Fox Soccer Channel gets around to televising it... Chelsea and my daughter's club, the DFW Tornados, have a relationship/partnership where they send their coaches over here to do Player Development Camps. She really enjoys the camps and the coaches, so naturally our favorite EPL club is Chelsea. Her favorite player is Michael Essien, a bull of a mid-fielder, which is her position. Her other favorite player is also a Ghanian, Richard Kingston, goalkeeper, who plays for a club in Turkey.

The First Post : This weekend's big matches in England:

"CHELSEA v ARSENAL
SUNDAY, 3PM SKY SPORTS 1

So much for the top clubs not taking the lesser cup competition seriously! The League Cup has seen off a succession of sponsors in its 46-year history, but continues to attract heavyweight finalists in its beer-backed current incarnation.

Quadruple-chasing Chelsea won it for the third time just two years ago - Mourinho's first trophy in England. Ivorians Drogba and Kalou could lead the Blues line, while Toure and Eboue form the Gunners rearguard. Wenger has promised to stick with his young squad and the Brazilian beast Baptista (above), whose six brutal goals in two rounds got them to the final. After mealy- mouthed midweek musings from both managers, expect anything but a casual Cardiff encounter."

Is Bill's Skirt Chasin' Ways Hurting Hillary's Presidential Chances?

This is interesting, if short, article on Bill Clinton's "friendship" with Canadian, Belinda Stronach, who is described in the article as

" ...a true catch. She is single, youngish (she just turned 40), attractive, wealthy, impeccably well-connected and politically ambitious - glamorous in every respect."

What more could a man ask for? Except that he is married to the front-running (as of now?) Democratic Presidential candidate. Bill, Bill, Bill... what are we gonna do with you? (I can just hear her staff uttering this as the walk away, shaking their heads...)

The First Post : Bill and Belinda’s excellent adventure

This is one of my wife's favorite recent skits on Saturday Night Live... Enjoy!

Google Premium: Don't get too excited | News.blog | CNET News.com

Google has announced their business-class versions of all of their web apps, Google Premium. Looks like a good start, but there are still holes or missing functionality. Personally, I only use Microsoft applications at work. For collaborative documents, I use the personal editions of Googles web apps. At home, most of our PCs have OpenOffice.Org loaded up on them, except for "The Wife's" PC, which must have MS Office for work compatibility... or something...

Google Premium: Don't get too excited | News.blog | CNET News.com: "Google Premium: Don't get too excited"

DailyTech - Canon Announces Five New Consumer Cameras

A couple of Canon announcements with your morning coffee, or whatever it is you might be imbibing at this time... First up are five new consumer level cameras ->

DailyTech - Canon Announces Five New Consumer Cameras

And the biggest news is a new professional-level camera, the 1D Mark III, here ->

Canon Launches Fastest D-SLR in the World




Anyone want to contribute to the "Roy Wants One Fund"?

Some link love and the Z-List meme

By way of Kumiko and Dosh Dosh, I'm going to try this Z-List meme. If you recall, Kumiko is the AGLOCO dissenter I wrote about a few days ago, but she has a lot good posts on her blog about her quest to make money on the internet. So here's the deal about the Z-list meme:

How can I participate in the Z List Meme?

Finally, the exact steps you need to follow in order to join the meme.

1. Create a new post on your blog.
2. Copy and Paste the entire list of blog links below
3. Add any blogs that you want to include near the top of the list. (This isn’t compulsory, so you can either add as many blogs as you want or none at all.)
4. Include the blog where you first got the list from, on the list in your post.
5. Do not include your own blog links on the list in your post.
6. Make sure that all links point to each blog’s homepage.
7. Publish the Post.

Do note that you can join the Z List meme even if your blog isn’t listed below. Just copy and paste any or both of the lists below, add Dosh Dosh and any other blogs you want to share on the list and publish it as a post in your blog.

Here's my list:

Just a Girl in short shorts talking about whatever
Hotel @nyware
The Thinking Blog
Snippy
Heather Kovar's blog
Build your MLM!

Here's the combined list from Komiko/Dosh Dosh

Dosh Dosh
Connected Internet
Blog-Op
Can I Make Big Money Online
Blogtrepreneur
Time to Budget
Blogging to Fame
Million Dollar Experiment heads Down Under
Kumiko’s Cash Quest
Calico Monkey
Internet Bazaar

Shotgun Marketing Blog
BrandSizzle
bizsolutionsplus
Customers Rock!
Being Peter Kim
Pow! Right Between The Eyes!
Billions With Zero Knowledge
Working at Home on the Internet
MapleLeaf 2.0
Two Hat Marketing
darrenbarefoot.com
The Emerging Brand
The Branding Blog
CrapHammer
Drew’s Marketing Minute
Golden Practices
Viaspire
Tell Ten Friends
Flooring the Consumer
Kinetic Ideas
Unconventional Thinking
Buzzoodle
NewsPaperGrl
The Copywriting Maven
Hee-Haw Marketing
Scott Burkett’s Pothole on the Infobahn
Multi-Cult Classics
Logic + Emotion
Branding & Marketing
Popcorn n Roses
On Influence & Automation
Bullshitobserver
Servant of Chaos
converstations
eSoup
Presentation Zen
Dmitry Linkov
aialone
John Wagner
Nick Rice
CKs Blog
Design Sojourn
Frozen Puck
The Sartorialist
Small Surfaces
Africa Unchained
Perspective
gDiapers
Marketing Nirvana
Bob Sutton
¡Hola! Oi! Hi!
Shut Up and Drink the Kool-Aid!
Women, Art, Life: Weaving It All Together
Community Guy
Social Media on the fly

UT routs Tech!

Great game for the Horns! My best friend is a huge Tech fan, so I know he's not happy this morning. Overall, it was a HUGE team win, since Kevin Durant didn't go off with a 40/20 night (eh, I exaggerate but not by much). It looks like Justin Mason and Damion James are the keys to this team being a serious contender when March Madness rolls around. Go Horns!

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Top Stories

Another Great Article from John Chow dot Com

John Chow writes on some of the strategies to increase links to your site. Very interesting article with great strategies.

Six Top Linking Strategies « John Chow dot Com

More offseason Cowboy news

The Cowboys have reached an agreement with starting center, Andre Gurode, that will make him a Cowboy through 2012.

Dallas Morning News | News for Dallas, Texas | SportsDay: Top Stories

Dell's Ideastorm - A new way to get customer feedback

Dell is hard at work trying to win back old customers and gain new ones. They recently opened up the DellIdeaStorm web site, a customer feedback site. I've never had a problem with Dell's products or customer support, but many people have. Michael Dell has recently taken back the CEO title he had relinquished a couple of years back. This is one of the first signs of the new leadership and direction for this company.

Dell Idea Storm

Virtual PC 2007 made available

CNET reports that Virtual PC 2007 is being made available today from Microsoft. It is optimized for Vista and is part of several tools being made available to east Vista migration.

Virtual PC 2007 made available | CNET News.com

Here's another article about Vista annoyances from PC World:

Most Annoying Things About Vista