Tuesday, January 31, 2006
Miss HBK and Russo on TBN?
Sting interviewed HBK and Vince Russo on TBN a week or so ago. If you missed it, click here an online version.
Aaron Sorkin's next project
Brian Bailey has the lead on the next Aaron Sorkin project. The show will be an hour-long show about the behind the scenes of a sketch-comedy show.
So after the West Wing ends in May, we will only have a few months to wait before the new project from Sorkin comes to TV.
Hopefully West Wing Season 6 and 7 won't take long to be released.
Read the full story here.
So after the West Wing ends in May, we will only have a few months to wait before the new project from Sorkin comes to TV.
Hopefully West Wing Season 6 and 7 won't take long to be released.
Read the full story here.
Monday, January 30, 2006
Average hits
I was just checking my stats for my blog.
Looks like I'm getting on average 1,000 visits per month.
Not too shabby.
I just need to get that up 10 times or so to actually start thinking about making a living off blogging.
So time for you all to start reading the same thing over and over again three or four times a day :-).
Looks like I'm getting on average 1,000 visits per month.
Not too shabby.
I just need to get that up 10 times or so to actually start thinking about making a living off blogging.
So time for you all to start reading the same thing over and over again three or four times a day :-).
Bob Larson anyone?
I feel like I should be Bob Larson all of a sudden.
I've been thinking about actually contacting people to be sponsors for our trip to Nigeria and I feel like I should be on the radio like Bob asking for champions.
"Can I get a champion for $20 a month? Someone who will back me up for only $5 a week. I need a champion. Who's gonna be a champion today. Great! Thanks. Beverly in Sulphur Springs stepped up and said she wanted to be a champion. Who else? Who wants to be a champion today?"
Anyways, that's my minor dilemma today while I'm working on 50 other things.
I've been thinking about actually contacting people to be sponsors for our trip to Nigeria and I feel like I should be on the radio like Bob asking for champions.
"Can I get a champion for $20 a month? Someone who will back me up for only $5 a week. I need a champion. Who's gonna be a champion today. Great! Thanks. Beverly in Sulphur Springs stepped up and said she wanted to be a champion. Who else? Who wants to be a champion today?"
Anyways, that's my minor dilemma today while I'm working on 50 other things.
Dang corrections
One thing I hate more than other people putting out bad information is when I put out bad information. Geeze.
I miss understood someone and had to run a correction. I hate that.
It makes me look dumb and makes the paper look dumb.
It wasn't a big deal by any means, in fact I was told I wouldn't have to run a correction, but I want to be sure I get the facts right.
If I ever doubted working at a newspaper, this would be one of those times.
I miss understood someone and had to run a correction. I hate that.
It makes me look dumb and makes the paper look dumb.
It wasn't a big deal by any means, in fact I was told I wouldn't have to run a correction, but I want to be sure I get the facts right.
If I ever doubted working at a newspaper, this would be one of those times.
Thursday, January 26, 2006
Sprint, Cingular offer new ways to connect
Many of you have been asking how the highspeed cellular Internet cards are working... so now that the story is done and complete, here's the rundown. BTW, I should be getting a demo on Sprint's new phones with TV and video and music downloads soon as well as a Toshiba Gigabeat. I'm looking forward to both, especially the Gigabeat. I'll let you know know how they work if and when I get them. I may just need to start another blog for my tech talk column... we'll see....
--
Sprint, Cingular providing new Internet options
By JONATHAN BLUNDELL Daily Light staff writer
Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:58 AM CST
Back in the day I listened daily to Air 1 Radio over the Internet.
It was 2000 and right before Power FM 89.7 in Dallas was on the air and there was nowhere to get a good mix of “Christian Hit Music” anywhere in the Metroplex.
So with my trusty 56 Kbps modem, I listened to the AM quality music over my home stereo system -- often religiously.
I remember commenting to my friend that I couldn’t wait till the Internet somehow expanded to your vehicle so you could listen to Internet radio from all over the world while driving down the road.
Little did I know that within six years it would become a reality.
Thanks to new services from Sprint and Cingular, laptop users can now connect to the Internet wirelessly, just like they were sitting at home or in the office.
New technology being put in place by both cellular services will give you broadband-like speeds anywhere within their high-speed networks.
The services use a PCMCIA (type II slot) card that connects to the Internet via cellular towers.
I tried out a card from each service over the last week to see if the service was worth the monthly cost.
Sprint sent its Sprint PCS Connection Card by Novatel Wireless, the Merlin S620.
Cingular sent its Sierra Wireless Aircard 860 PC Modem.
Both cards were similar in size and weight, but I was a little nervous about the small moveable antenna on the Cingular card.
I was afraid it might get annoying or in the way, but after a week’s use I hardly realized it was there.
The Sprint card uses a built-in antenna that sticks out about half-an-inch from the PCMCIA slot. Cingular offers a similar card from Novatel as well.
Unfortunately for users outside the initial high-speed service areas, broadband speeds are not yet available, although users can still connect to older networks at lower speeds.
Both highspeed networks are currently restricted to the immediate Dallas and Fort Worth areas in North Texas. But both services say they plan to extend their networks; however, it is unknown as to when or if the service will be extended to Ellis County.
With high-speed service, not only will users be able to get broadband Internet access on their laptops, but cellphone users will be able to access more content on their phones, including video and faster Internet browsing.
And despite the lower speeds in Ellis County, I was initially pleased with both services.
Without a home phone line and being left out in the cold by the other broadband providers, coming home to check my e-mail was a welcome change.
Score one for the cellular providers.
Both cards were super easy to set up.
I installed the software that came with the cards in a matter of minutes. The install was effortless and basically automatic. Once the software was installed I did a quick restart and inserted the PCMCIA card. My Toshiba laptop recognized both cards right away and moments later I was surfing the Web.
I was impressed that both carriers kept a consistent connection, more than I can normally say for my actual cellphone conversations.
When sitting in my cubicle, laying in bed at home, sitting in my recliner or walking around my apartment I maintained a consistent and steady connection.
I tested both cards around Ellis County and found them to be reliable at every test site.
I averaged between 48 Kbps and 63 Kbps with both services. Most home modems with dial-up Internet access max out at 53 Kbps.
I expected to see huge differences in service quality depending on my location, but of the tests I ran, the service remained consistent.
My computer showed the signal from the cell towers varied depending on where I was located, but I still connected at roughly the same speed.
With the lower connection speed I appreciated the accelerated option for both services.
While the connection speed never changes, users can choose to load graphic heavy pages at a lower bit rate than normal.
The resolution on the graphics is lowered while downloading so the page loads faster. If you need to see a clearer version of the image you can reload the page or the individual picture.
The feature was great on both services but I felt my pages seemed to load faster with the Cingular service.
My real surprise came when I put the cards to the driving test to see if Internet radio was ready to go mobile.
I took off with a friend heading north on Interstate 35E. When we passed Interstate 20 I turned on my laptop and fired up the Sprint card.
Right away I was surfing the net and sending instant messages to friends in Belton and Corsicana.
I ran a connection test and found that I was averaging a connection around 824 Kbps. That’s slightly faster than average broadband (768 Kbps) and slightly slower than high end broadband (1.5 Mbps) and about on par with my office.
I watched videos, checked my e-mail and continued chatting with my friends without a problem until my computer’s battery ran out on U.S. Highway 75, just south of U.S. Highway 121.
I have to admit, I was impressed and pleased - despite my mistake of forgetting to charge my battery before I left home.
When we arrived in Frisco, I charged my computer again and swapped cards.
Immediately I was connected to Cingular’s 3G network.
But unlike Sprint, my average connection speed was near 464 Kbps. It wasn’t a bad connection and I barely noticed the difference in speed.
As we left Frisco I kept my connection active to test Cingular’s network capabilities.
My connection was dropped three or four times as we made our way back to Highway 75, which was a slight irritation, but each time I reconnected within 30 seconds. As we made our way south on Highway 75, I pulled up my preferred Internet music site, Yahoo! Music Engine with Launchcast Radio.
The service offers unlimited music downloads as well as more than 30 high-quality commercial free music stations.
I connected to the Coffee House and was very surprised to hear the station play continuously without pausing to buffer or reconnect. The only time the station buffered was while I was downloading several music files as well as visiting a Flash-heavy Web site. As we neared downtown Dallas I rechecked my connection speeds and saw that I was now averaging around 684 Kbps, much better than the previous 464. The connection stayed consistent until we neared the U.S. Highway 67 merger where the service dropped down to 56 Kbps.
Needless to say I was pleased with both cards and services.
I was worried that there would be a number of dropped connections, especially while traveling down the road at 70 miles-per-hour, but both cards remained strong.
Pricing for service and cards vary, but according to its Web site, Sprint is offering each of its three cards for free after instant savings and special discounts. The suggested retail price is $249.
The Cingular cards sell for $99 each after discounts from a suggested retail price of $199. Service areas vary with Cingular launching its 3G, or Third Generation, Network in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, and other cities.
Sprint’s Web site shows its EV-DO network available in more cities nationwide, but coverage from city to city varies.
”We do have the largest high-speed network nationwide,” Sprint representative Roxie Ramirez said. “We’ve been building our network for over a year now and will continue to add more areas and locations in 2006.”
So before you choose or purchase the cards be sure the coverage area is where you need it.
But if you’re spending most of your time on the road or away from traditional Internet connections, this service could be invaluable to your business along with letting you listen to All India Radio, while chatting with friends and catching up on e-mail while you sit in a construction zone on Interstate 35 - just be sure you’re not the one driving.
--
Sprint, Cingular providing new Internet options
By JONATHAN BLUNDELL Daily Light staff writer
Thursday, January 26, 2006 10:58 AM CST
Back in the day I listened daily to Air 1 Radio over the Internet.
It was 2000 and right before Power FM 89.7 in Dallas was on the air and there was nowhere to get a good mix of “Christian Hit Music” anywhere in the Metroplex.
So with my trusty 56 Kbps modem, I listened to the AM quality music over my home stereo system -- often religiously.
I remember commenting to my friend that I couldn’t wait till the Internet somehow expanded to your vehicle so you could listen to Internet radio from all over the world while driving down the road.
Little did I know that within six years it would become a reality.
Thanks to new services from Sprint and Cingular, laptop users can now connect to the Internet wirelessly, just like they were sitting at home or in the office.
New technology being put in place by both cellular services will give you broadband-like speeds anywhere within their high-speed networks.
The services use a PCMCIA (type II slot) card that connects to the Internet via cellular towers.
I tried out a card from each service over the last week to see if the service was worth the monthly cost.
Sprint sent its Sprint PCS Connection Card by Novatel Wireless, the Merlin S620.
Cingular sent its Sierra Wireless Aircard 860 PC Modem.
Both cards were similar in size and weight, but I was a little nervous about the small moveable antenna on the Cingular card.
I was afraid it might get annoying or in the way, but after a week’s use I hardly realized it was there.
The Sprint card uses a built-in antenna that sticks out about half-an-inch from the PCMCIA slot. Cingular offers a similar card from Novatel as well.
Unfortunately for users outside the initial high-speed service areas, broadband speeds are not yet available, although users can still connect to older networks at lower speeds.
Both highspeed networks are currently restricted to the immediate Dallas and Fort Worth areas in North Texas. But both services say they plan to extend their networks; however, it is unknown as to when or if the service will be extended to Ellis County.
With high-speed service, not only will users be able to get broadband Internet access on their laptops, but cellphone users will be able to access more content on their phones, including video and faster Internet browsing.
And despite the lower speeds in Ellis County, I was initially pleased with both services.
Without a home phone line and being left out in the cold by the other broadband providers, coming home to check my e-mail was a welcome change.
Score one for the cellular providers.
Both cards were super easy to set up.
The Bits and Bites Sprint PCS Connection Card Merlin S620 Compatibility: Windows 2000, XP, Tablet XP computers with Type II PC Card Slot Chipset: Qualcomm MSM 650 Operates on: CDMA 1900 MHz prior to Sprint 800 CDMA roaming available System Requirements: Memory: 32 MB Disk Space: 14 MB CPU: Pentium Processor 166 MHz or higher Disc Drive: CD-ROM Slots: Type II card Sierra Wireless Aircard 860 PC Modem Compatibility: Windows 98 (second edition), 2000, XP, computers with Type II PC Card Slot Chipset: unknown Operates on: 850/1900 MHz UMTS/HSDPA Networks and 850/900/1800/1900 MHz EDGE/GPRS Networks System Requirements: Memory: 256 MB Disk Space: 40 MB CPU: Pentium Processor 300 MHz Disk Drive: CD Rom Slots: Type II card More information: www.cingular.com or www.sprint.com |
I installed the software that came with the cards in a matter of minutes. The install was effortless and basically automatic. Once the software was installed I did a quick restart and inserted the PCMCIA card. My Toshiba laptop recognized both cards right away and moments later I was surfing the Web.
I was impressed that both carriers kept a consistent connection, more than I can normally say for my actual cellphone conversations.
When sitting in my cubicle, laying in bed at home, sitting in my recliner or walking around my apartment I maintained a consistent and steady connection.
I tested both cards around Ellis County and found them to be reliable at every test site.
I averaged between 48 Kbps and 63 Kbps with both services. Most home modems with dial-up Internet access max out at 53 Kbps.
I expected to see huge differences in service quality depending on my location, but of the tests I ran, the service remained consistent.
My computer showed the signal from the cell towers varied depending on where I was located, but I still connected at roughly the same speed.
With the lower connection speed I appreciated the accelerated option for both services.
While the connection speed never changes, users can choose to load graphic heavy pages at a lower bit rate than normal.
The resolution on the graphics is lowered while downloading so the page loads faster. If you need to see a clearer version of the image you can reload the page or the individual picture.
The feature was great on both services but I felt my pages seemed to load faster with the Cingular service.
My real surprise came when I put the cards to the driving test to see if Internet radio was ready to go mobile.
I took off with a friend heading north on Interstate 35E. When we passed Interstate 20 I turned on my laptop and fired up the Sprint card.
Right away I was surfing the net and sending instant messages to friends in Belton and Corsicana.
I ran a connection test and found that I was averaging a connection around 824 Kbps. That’s slightly faster than average broadband (768 Kbps) and slightly slower than high end broadband (1.5 Mbps) and about on par with my office.
I watched videos, checked my e-mail and continued chatting with my friends without a problem until my computer’s battery ran out on U.S. Highway 75, just south of U.S. Highway 121.
I have to admit, I was impressed and pleased - despite my mistake of forgetting to charge my battery before I left home.
When we arrived in Frisco, I charged my computer again and swapped cards.
Immediately I was connected to Cingular’s 3G network.
But unlike Sprint, my average connection speed was near 464 Kbps. It wasn’t a bad connection and I barely noticed the difference in speed.
As we left Frisco I kept my connection active to test Cingular’s network capabilities.
My connection was dropped three or four times as we made our way back to Highway 75, which was a slight irritation, but each time I reconnected within 30 seconds. As we made our way south on Highway 75, I pulled up my preferred Internet music site, Yahoo! Music Engine with Launchcast Radio.
The service offers unlimited music downloads as well as more than 30 high-quality commercial free music stations.
I connected to the Coffee House and was very surprised to hear the station play continuously without pausing to buffer or reconnect. The only time the station buffered was while I was downloading several music files as well as visiting a Flash-heavy Web site. As we neared downtown Dallas I rechecked my connection speeds and saw that I was now averaging around 684 Kbps, much better than the previous 464. The connection stayed consistent until we neared the U.S. Highway 67 merger where the service dropped down to 56 Kbps.
Needless to say I was pleased with both cards and services.
I was worried that there would be a number of dropped connections, especially while traveling down the road at 70 miles-per-hour, but both cards remained strong.
Pricing for service and cards vary, but according to its Web site, Sprint is offering each of its three cards for free after instant savings and special discounts. The suggested retail price is $249.
The Cingular cards sell for $99 each after discounts from a suggested retail price of $199. Service areas vary with Cingular launching its 3G, or Third Generation, Network in Austin, Baltimore, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Houston, Las Vegas, Phoenix, Portland, Salt Lake City, San Diego, San Francisco, and other cities.
Sprint’s Web site shows its EV-DO network available in more cities nationwide, but coverage from city to city varies.
”We do have the largest high-speed network nationwide,” Sprint representative Roxie Ramirez said. “We’ve been building our network for over a year now and will continue to add more areas and locations in 2006.”
So before you choose or purchase the cards be sure the coverage area is where you need it.
But if you’re spending most of your time on the road or away from traditional Internet connections, this service could be invaluable to your business along with letting you listen to All India Radio, while chatting with friends and catching up on e-mail while you sit in a construction zone on Interstate 35 - just be sure you’re not the one driving.
People connecting more with the Internet
The Dallas Morning News has an article on a new study that says the Internet is helping us connect and interact more - rather than escaping to isolation as some have feared.
For consiracy theorists
Here's a site for all you conspiracy theorists. I found the link on Joey Dauben's page.
This pastor (not Dauben) believes the World Trade Towers were demolished with explosives from a demolition crew, not because two commercial airliners crashed into the sides of them.
Mike should have a fun time with this site for sure.
This pastor (not Dauben) believes the World Trade Towers were demolished with explosives from a demolition crew, not because two commercial airliners crashed into the sides of them.
Mike should have a fun time with this site for sure.
Wednesday, January 25, 2006
Leno gets Kinky
From Dallasblog.com:
Kinky Friedman was the subject of a "60 Minutes" special report last Sunday. Now NBC's "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" has invited Kinky to be a guest this Wednesday, January 25th. He of course said "yes." The show begins at 10:30 PM in Dallas. This is the kind of coverage that Rick Perry and Carole Strayhorn can't buy and why Friedman could be a factor in November.
Tuesday, January 24, 2006
Owens closes eight restaurants in Texas
Owens closes eight restaurants in Texas
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
At 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, customers at the Waxahachie Owens Restaurant were told to leave the building and the doors were to be locked.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. announced today that they were closing the remaining eight Owens Restaurants in Texas.
The company signed a definitive agreement to sell the restaurant properties and two additional properties for an undisclosed amount to a joint venture between Ft. Worth based Woodmont Company and Commercial Net Lease Realty, Inc., of Orlando, Fla.
The Owens Restaurants properties are located in Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Irving, Mesquite, North Richland Hills and Waxahachie.
Owens Country Sausage, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bob Evans Farms will not be impacted by the sale. The company will continue to operate its food production plants in Sulphur Springs, Texas and Richardson.
"The announcement came in at 2 p.m. from our corporate offices," Waxahachie Owens Restaurant Manager Mike Karl said. "We were told to ask our customers to leave and lock the doors."
Karl, who started at the restaurant two weeks ago, said he was given no reason for the closing.
"They offered transfers and severance packages for employees," Karl said. "But we weren’t given any reason why we were closing."
The restaurant currently employees approximately 38 employees.
"We were told we would have a meeting on the new menu," Employee Amanda Smith said. "We were extremely shocked to hear we were closing. We worked our shift as normal and then were told at 2 p.m. we were closing."
Waxahachie Owens general manager Mark Maginnis said he received a call from the area director that an investment firm had purchased the restaurant.
"We’re offering transfers to any of our other locations," Maginnis said. "We’re helping displaced employees with severance packages as well."
Maginnis said current employees would be kept on until the restaurant is fully closed down by Saturday.
"We’ll just have to look for work elsewhere," Employee Kristin Tyner said. Tyner and co-worker Katie Davis have worked at the Waxahachie restaurant for three years. Both are students at Navarro College.
"I live and go to school in Waxahachie," Davis said. "I can’t commute to Ft. Worth to work at the sasusage plant or move out of state."
Davis said the final customers of the day were given their meals for free and employees were sending potential customers away the rest of the afternoon.
Larry Corbin, president and chief executive officer of Bob Evans Farms said in a press release that the decision to close the restaurants was difficult.
"It is always a difficult decision for us to close restaurants," Corbin said. "But financial results at these locations had not met our expectations for some time. We were not able to grow the concept based on our performance combined with the high cost of advertising in the Dallas Metroplex, so we were receptive when the opportunity to sell arose."
Corbin added that while other underperforming restaurants had been closed by the company earlier in the fiscal year, no additional closings were planned for FY 2006, which ends in April 2006.
Attempts to contact additional company representatives were unsuccessful.
The company announced last year that same-store sales at Bob Evans Restaurants had decreased for the month of December. Sales were down 2.2 percent from the same period a year ago, while average menu prices were up approximately 2.6 percent.
With the new deal, the company owns and operates 582 full-service restaurants in 19 states. The company also operates 96 Mimi’s Café casual restaurants in 13 states.
"This is great quality real estate for which we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire," Woodmont Company senior vice-president Greg Rabin said. "Our plans are to redevelop and redeploy the assets."
Sales of the restaurants made little impact on Wall Street where the company’s stock value (BOBE) closed at only a dime, or .42 percent lower than Tuesday’s opening price of 23.94.
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
At 2 p.m. Tuesday afternoon, customers at the Waxahachie Owens Restaurant were told to leave the building and the doors were to be locked.
Bob Evans Farms, Inc. announced today that they were closing the remaining eight Owens Restaurants in Texas.
The company signed a definitive agreement to sell the restaurant properties and two additional properties for an undisclosed amount to a joint venture between Ft. Worth based Woodmont Company and Commercial Net Lease Realty, Inc., of Orlando, Fla.
The Owens Restaurants properties are located in Arlington, Austin, Dallas, Farmers Branch, Irving, Mesquite, North Richland Hills and Waxahachie.
Owens Country Sausage, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Bob Evans Farms will not be impacted by the sale. The company will continue to operate its food production plants in Sulphur Springs, Texas and Richardson.
"The announcement came in at 2 p.m. from our corporate offices," Waxahachie Owens Restaurant Manager Mike Karl said. "We were told to ask our customers to leave and lock the doors."
Karl, who started at the restaurant two weeks ago, said he was given no reason for the closing.
"They offered transfers and severance packages for employees," Karl said. "But we weren’t given any reason why we were closing."
The restaurant currently employees approximately 38 employees.
"We were told we would have a meeting on the new menu," Employee Amanda Smith said. "We were extremely shocked to hear we were closing. We worked our shift as normal and then were told at 2 p.m. we were closing."
Waxahachie Owens general manager Mark Maginnis said he received a call from the area director that an investment firm had purchased the restaurant.
"We’re offering transfers to any of our other locations," Maginnis said. "We’re helping displaced employees with severance packages as well."
Maginnis said current employees would be kept on until the restaurant is fully closed down by Saturday.
"We’ll just have to look for work elsewhere," Employee Kristin Tyner said. Tyner and co-worker Katie Davis have worked at the Waxahachie restaurant for three years. Both are students at Navarro College.
"I live and go to school in Waxahachie," Davis said. "I can’t commute to Ft. Worth to work at the sasusage plant or move out of state."
Davis said the final customers of the day were given their meals for free and employees were sending potential customers away the rest of the afternoon.
Larry Corbin, president and chief executive officer of Bob Evans Farms said in a press release that the decision to close the restaurants was difficult.
"It is always a difficult decision for us to close restaurants," Corbin said. "But financial results at these locations had not met our expectations for some time. We were not able to grow the concept based on our performance combined with the high cost of advertising in the Dallas Metroplex, so we were receptive when the opportunity to sell arose."
Corbin added that while other underperforming restaurants had been closed by the company earlier in the fiscal year, no additional closings were planned for FY 2006, which ends in April 2006.
Attempts to contact additional company representatives were unsuccessful.
The company announced last year that same-store sales at Bob Evans Restaurants had decreased for the month of December. Sales were down 2.2 percent from the same period a year ago, while average menu prices were up approximately 2.6 percent.
With the new deal, the company owns and operates 582 full-service restaurants in 19 states. The company also operates 96 Mimi’s Café casual restaurants in 13 states.
"This is great quality real estate for which we feel fortunate to have the opportunity to acquire," Woodmont Company senior vice-president Greg Rabin said. "Our plans are to redevelop and redeploy the assets."
Sales of the restaurants made little impact on Wall Street where the company’s stock value (BOBE) closed at only a dime, or .42 percent lower than Tuesday’s opening price of 23.94.
The Ellis County Facilities Subcommittee reports findings
The Ellis County Facilities Subcommittee reported their findings on whether the County Farm is a viable location for future county offices.
You can read the whole report online.
You can read the whole report online.
Monday, January 23, 2006
The best blog in the world... I mean... US... no make that Texas...
I visited a Racetrack Gas station yesterday and they've started a new marketing ploy for their coffee.
They want to prove how good their coffee is, so you can bring in a competitor's cup and get a free cup of their coffee.
But the way they're going about it is dumb.
The sign says, "The World's Best Coffee."
But they marked out World and put D/FW instead.
Isn't that backwards?
If you wanted to say how great your coffee is, shouldn't you up the value when you change it rather than lower it?
That's like saying, "We were the world's best coffee, but then we found someone in India who had better coffee."
"Oh wait, someone in Canada has better coffee too so I guess we're just America's best coffee."
"Nope - Heidenhemmer in Belton has the best coffee. I guess we'll just be D/FW's best coffee."
I hope they don't compare it to the Starbucks next door.
Because then they might have to change it to, "The Best Coffee at 3701 Hwy 77 in Waxahachie."
I could go on with the comparison, but I think you get the point.
They want to prove how good their coffee is, so you can bring in a competitor's cup and get a free cup of their coffee.
But the way they're going about it is dumb.
The sign says, "The World's Best Coffee."
But they marked out World and put D/FW instead.
Isn't that backwards?
If you wanted to say how great your coffee is, shouldn't you up the value when you change it rather than lower it?
That's like saying, "We were the world's best coffee, but then we found someone in India who had better coffee."
"Oh wait, someone in Canada has better coffee too so I guess we're just America's best coffee."
"Nope - Heidenhemmer in Belton has the best coffee. I guess we'll just be D/FW's best coffee."
I hope they don't compare it to the Starbucks next door.
Because then they might have to change it to, "The Best Coffee at 3701 Hwy 77 in Waxahachie."
I could go on with the comparison, but I think you get the point.
Starbucks date ideas
Found this interesting marketing concept today.
It's all about having first dates at Starbucks. And I think they're only advertising on dating websites.
There's a dating guide, fun stories, and the history of dating in America. Plus there's a Starbucks Card loaded with $10 if you sign up for a month of Yahoo! Personals.
I wonder if/how a church singles group could use that concept.
Every singles group I go to I hear, "We're not a meat market" but what if they offered dating tips, ideas, fun stories and the like to build community online?
What would you want on the site?
It's all about having first dates at Starbucks. And I think they're only advertising on dating websites.
There's a dating guide, fun stories, and the history of dating in America. Plus there's a Starbucks Card loaded with $10 if you sign up for a month of Yahoo! Personals.
I wonder if/how a church singles group could use that concept.
Every singles group I go to I hear, "We're not a meat market" but what if they offered dating tips, ideas, fun stories and the like to build community online?
What would you want on the site?
Saturday, January 21, 2006
Step back and exam the whole picture
My friend Michael posed this question on his blog the other day, “Have you ever driven behind someone on a two lane road who was driving well under the speed limit thinking that the driver is just an annoying slowpoke only to discover later that the person in front of the guy in front of you is the actual slowpoke?”
Michael pointed out that often our perception is in error because we can only see a small part of the picture.
Since I’m never wrong I don’t know what he’s talking about. Just kidding!
There are so many times I believe I know the answer or I’ve found the root of a problem, when in reality there’s so much more going on.
We always have a limited perception and perspective of those things around us.
When we get caught up in a problem we often become close-minded and near-sighted, not allowing us to make the best decision.
“Like the traffic scenario, sometimes there is a middle element between the cause and its effect. Or in other words, a person wrongly blames the driver directly in front for the traffic delay when it the problem is the two or even three cars ahead,” Michael wrote.
We all want to point fingers away from us and to other people, but sometimes we hastily point those fingers and miss the real issues involved.
More on this later... i hope...
Michael pointed out that often our perception is in error because we can only see a small part of the picture.
Since I’m never wrong I don’t know what he’s talking about. Just kidding!
There are so many times I believe I know the answer or I’ve found the root of a problem, when in reality there’s so much more going on.
We always have a limited perception and perspective of those things around us.
When we get caught up in a problem we often become close-minded and near-sighted, not allowing us to make the best decision.
“Like the traffic scenario, sometimes there is a middle element between the cause and its effect. Or in other words, a person wrongly blames the driver directly in front for the traffic delay when it the problem is the two or even three cars ahead,” Michael wrote.
We all want to point fingers away from us and to other people, but sometimes we hastily point those fingers and miss the real issues involved.
More on this later... i hope...
Surfin on I-35
I've got my sprint card in my laptop and I'm cruisin with Matt up I-35E through Oak Cliff. I still don't have the new 3G connection yet, but its a good steady connection and I'm enjoying the freedom of these wirless laptop cards.
More later...
More later...
Thursday, January 19, 2006
George H.W. Bush to speak at UMHB
Former President George Bush is scheduled to speak at UMHB Feb. 10. Tickets to the event will be available to the public Feb. 3.
Happy Confederate Heroes Day
Hope everyone in Texas is enjoying Confederate Heroes Day. If you're a state employee I hope you enjoy your day off.
Luckily, MLK day didn't fall on the 19th this year, as it has in the past. Then state employees would not get to observe both holidays with a day off of work.
Luckily, MLK day didn't fall on the 19th this year, as it has in the past. Then state employees would not get to observe both holidays with a day off of work.
Tuesday, January 17, 2006
Nigeria update
For those of you interested, we got a little more information on Nigeria last night.
The CWF has been asked to join a team going to Nigeria in October. There will be a number of things going on during the trip, including medical missions and at least one CWF show - planned in a soccer stadium.
We're each responsible for raising our own funds so there will be a couple new things added to this blog in the next few months.
Any money that is raised through this blog will go directly to sending me on the trip. Anything raised over my needed amount will go towards other people going.
I will need to make an initial payment of $250 by March 5 and then will be required to get approx. $250 in shots by May 10. In all I'm expecting to need $2800 - $2900 for the trip.
If you'd like to make a donation, zip me an e-mail or hopefully I'll have a Paypall donation button posted soon.
The ads on this page help in fundraising. Everytime you click on a Google ad (left hand side) I get a small amount of money.
And if you order shirts by clicking on the Randomshirts.com ad at the bottom of the page, a portion of the money will go to y Nigeria fund as well.
But above all, I ask that you support us in prayer.
Pray that God will begin now to work in the hearts of those we come in contact with.
Pray that God will strengthen our team now and God will teach us and grow us in amazing ways in the next 9 months.
Pray for safety.
Pray that God will be glorified and made famous through our trip.
Pray that God will provide the financial means for everyone to go.
Thanks for all your support. God bless.
The CWF has been asked to join a team going to Nigeria in October. There will be a number of things going on during the trip, including medical missions and at least one CWF show - planned in a soccer stadium.
We're each responsible for raising our own funds so there will be a couple new things added to this blog in the next few months.
Any money that is raised through this blog will go directly to sending me on the trip. Anything raised over my needed amount will go towards other people going.
I will need to make an initial payment of $250 by March 5 and then will be required to get approx. $250 in shots by May 10. In all I'm expecting to need $2800 - $2900 for the trip.
If you'd like to make a donation, zip me an e-mail or hopefully I'll have a Paypall donation button posted soon.
The ads on this page help in fundraising. Everytime you click on a Google ad (left hand side) I get a small amount of money.
And if you order shirts by clicking on the Randomshirts.com ad at the bottom of the page, a portion of the money will go to y Nigeria fund as well.
But above all, I ask that you support us in prayer.
Pray that God will begin now to work in the hearts of those we come in contact with.
Pray that God will strengthen our team now and God will teach us and grow us in amazing ways in the next 9 months.
Pray for safety.
Pray that God will be glorified and made famous through our trip.
Pray that God will provide the financial means for everyone to go.
Thanks for all your support. God bless.
Fireman for life
Fireman for life
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
Friends, family and Dallas area first responders are mourning the loss of Todd Bell of Italy.
The 33-year-old firefighter died Friday at Baylor Hospital in Dallas from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident around 8 a.m.
Bell was on his way home from work, where he lived out his greatest passion in life.
"From the time he was old enough to walk, he had a fire engine in his hand," Bell’s brother Clifford McDaniel said. "He absolutely loved what he did and loved helping people."
Family members said Bell ran his own volunteer fire department long before he was even old enough to drive.
"He had his own little fire department he and his friend called the West End Fire Department," Bell’s niece Michele Stephens said. "He and his friends would pull a little red wagon with a water hose in tow around the neighborhood looking for fires."
He quickly made friends with two firefighters in the neighborhood who taught him a lot about the tools of the trade.
"When he was 6 he was always listening for the fire alarms going off in town," Bell’s mother Bertie Bell said. "I could call him and call him to come inside and he’d never hear me, but if that alarm went off, he sprung into action. Even in the middle of the night he’d hear the alarm and run outside, jump over the fence and wake the two firefighters in our neighborhood.
"He just loved the fire department. He made friends with every firefighter he could and they would let him come and help clean the trucks and help around the station. He could tell you everything about everything on the engines and why the firefighters do what they do," Bertie said.
As soon as Bell was old enough, he began hanging around the Italy Volunteer Fire Department and soon began volunteering with the heroes he had admired his whole life.
"He wanted to help people and always talked about helping people," Bertie said. "He felt it was a huge honor."
As Bell became more active in Italy’s VFD, he also made friends with Italy Police Chief Shana Miller, who became a second mother to Bell.
"He would ride out with me all the time and do the most silly things. He loved to tease," Miller said. "And he was always looking for something to do. One night I was 10 minutes away from getting off my shift at 3 a.m. when Bell spotted a black horse wandering loose. I was ready to go home and knowing Bell, I didn’t believe him, but sure enough, Bell was right and we had to go round up the horse before we could head home."
Bell would later graduate from the Police Academy and serve a year as a policeman before returning to firefighting.
"One night Bell was visiting me when a big storm blew through," Miller said. "We had a call for a late night accident. And when we responded Bell was left in the car alone. Another officer and I were on the scene when two large semi’s flew by. It scared Bell crazy and I remember him singing, ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ He thought for sure he was about to die."
Family and friends said it would be hard to pinpoint one thing they would miss the most about Bell.
"I’ll miss him calling on the phone," Escamilla said.
"I’ll miss his hugs," Miller said.
"I’ll miss the comfort he gave and his smiles," Childress said.
"I’m going to miss his love," Bertie said. "He was very loving. He made me feel so very special."
"He made everyone feel special," Miller chimed in.
"He just loved helping people," Bertie said. "He didn’t brag or boast about it, he just did it."
But it was his overall joy of life and mischievous nature that several family members and friends said they’d likely miss most.
"He was always sweet to his mother," Bell’s fiancée Jennifer Childress said. "But every football Sunday he would call his mom and pick on her about the Cowboys. He said he hated the Cowboys, but I think it was just to get at his mom who is a huge Cowboys’ fan."
Childress said Bell also changed his college allegiance after meeting her.
"He was always a big Aggie fan," Childress said. "And he would pick on my allegiance to the Longhorns. But some time after meeting me he went out and bought a Longhorn sweatshirt of his own just because of me."
Miller said that was just the way Bell was.
"He was a loyal friend," Miller said. "And you were his friend no matter what. He never met a stranger and he would do anything for you."
"He never had to be asked twice to do anything for anyone," lifelong friend Jason Escamilla said.
Along with Italy, Bell volunteered at a number of area departments including Dallas County and Combine. He also worked part-time at Glen Heights Fire Department.
Family members said Bell would volunteer anywhere there was a need.
"He had his radio constantly scanning volunteer departments and would always be ready to help when help was needed," Bertie said.
Waxahachie resident Matt Lehmann first met Bell at Dallas County where the two often partnered on calls.
"We had so much fun together," Lehmann said. "We would always go to as many ‘Dollar-Hot-Dog Nights’ at the Rangers game and see who could eat the most hot dogs. By the end of the night the score would always be something like 17-13 and Bell would always win."
Lehmann recalled numerous calls the two went on while serving with the Dallas County Volunteer Fire Department and later working with the Hutchins Fire Department.
"I remember one night we were called out to a structure fire in south Dallas County," Lehmann said. "When we arrived there were a number of guys standing around drinking beer and watching a manufactured home burn. While Bell went to charge the lines, I went to clear the way so we could put out the fire that was burning directly under overhead powerlines. The guys standing in the street were upset that we had come to put out the fire. They said they had bought the property and were burning the building down so they could build something new."
While Lehmann called for backup from Dallas County Sheriffs, Bell continued to try to calm the group that continued growing angrier and threatened to grow violent.
"Bell was always calm and had a calm presence about him on scene," Lehmann said. "But I had no doubt that he always had my back. He was ready to charge the lines and spray the group down when he saw that the group was threatening me.
"When we heard those sirens coming, I don’t think there was any greater sound in the world," Lehmann said laughing. "We had four squad cars on the scene in minutes and the group quickly dispersed."
"Another night we wanted to run up to the nearby 7-11 for some snacks," Lehmann said. "I think it was Bell’s idea to take the department’s golf cart rather than an engine. We took off in the golf cart and got the strangest looks from a couple cops and sheriff’s deputies when they saw the two of us pull up at 7-11 at 2 in the morning on a golf cart."
Bell graduated from the Kilgore Fire Academy and went to work for Kilgore Fire Department before returning to the Metroplex.
He was employed with Hutchins Fire Department and Rescue Squad in Irving at the time of his death.
He also owned and operated Dallas CPR and First Aide and worked as an umpire for Texas Teenage Baseball.
He had plans to attend paramedic school in the near future and was planning to marry his fiancée in October.
"He’s touched everybody with his life," Childress said. "When I got the call Friday I thought this was my thing, but my entire family was effected by this. He made his mark on everyone he met. When he came into my life he changed it. He was just so calming and comforting."
He is survived by his mother, Bertie Bell of Italy; children, Brittany Leighann and Felicia Renee Bell; step children, Amber, Chase and Cole Fieber of Combine, Texas and Blake Fieber of Colorado; two grandchildren; fiancée, Jennifer Childress of Dallas; brothers, Clifford McDaniel of Italy and Michael Bell of Gun Barrel City, Texas; sister, Lisa Wafer of Wortham, Texas; one aunt, Wilma Hanks of Italy and honorary mother, Shana Miller of Italy; numerous nieces and nephews. Todd was preceded in death by his father, and two brothers, Robert Bell, Jr. and Rob Bell.
A full firefighter’s service for Bell will be held today at 3:30 p.m. in the Boze-Mitchell-McKibbin Chapel in Italy, with the Rev. Ronnie Dabney and Chaplain Scott Chadwick officiating.
Interment will follow in the Italy Cemetary.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Todd Bell Memorial Fund at Citizens National Bank.
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
Friends, family and Dallas area first responders are mourning the loss of Todd Bell of Italy.
The 33-year-old firefighter died Friday at Baylor Hospital in Dallas from injuries sustained in a motorcycle accident around 8 a.m.
Bell was on his way home from work, where he lived out his greatest passion in life.
"From the time he was old enough to walk, he had a fire engine in his hand," Bell’s brother Clifford McDaniel said. "He absolutely loved what he did and loved helping people."
Family members said Bell ran his own volunteer fire department long before he was even old enough to drive.
"He had his own little fire department he and his friend called the West End Fire Department," Bell’s niece Michele Stephens said. "He and his friends would pull a little red wagon with a water hose in tow around the neighborhood looking for fires."
He quickly made friends with two firefighters in the neighborhood who taught him a lot about the tools of the trade.
"When he was 6 he was always listening for the fire alarms going off in town," Bell’s mother Bertie Bell said. "I could call him and call him to come inside and he’d never hear me, but if that alarm went off, he sprung into action. Even in the middle of the night he’d hear the alarm and run outside, jump over the fence and wake the two firefighters in our neighborhood.
"He just loved the fire department. He made friends with every firefighter he could and they would let him come and help clean the trucks and help around the station. He could tell you everything about everything on the engines and why the firefighters do what they do," Bertie said.
As soon as Bell was old enough, he began hanging around the Italy Volunteer Fire Department and soon began volunteering with the heroes he had admired his whole life.
"He wanted to help people and always talked about helping people," Bertie said. "He felt it was a huge honor."
As Bell became more active in Italy’s VFD, he also made friends with Italy Police Chief Shana Miller, who became a second mother to Bell.
"He would ride out with me all the time and do the most silly things. He loved to tease," Miller said. "And he was always looking for something to do. One night I was 10 minutes away from getting off my shift at 3 a.m. when Bell spotted a black horse wandering loose. I was ready to go home and knowing Bell, I didn’t believe him, but sure enough, Bell was right and we had to go round up the horse before we could head home."
Bell would later graduate from the Police Academy and serve a year as a policeman before returning to firefighting.
"One night Bell was visiting me when a big storm blew through," Miller said. "We had a call for a late night accident. And when we responded Bell was left in the car alone. Another officer and I were on the scene when two large semi’s flew by. It scared Bell crazy and I remember him singing, ‘Nearer My God to Thee.’ He thought for sure he was about to die."
Family and friends said it would be hard to pinpoint one thing they would miss the most about Bell.
"I’ll miss him calling on the phone," Escamilla said.
"I’ll miss his hugs," Miller said.
"I’ll miss the comfort he gave and his smiles," Childress said.
"I’m going to miss his love," Bertie said. "He was very loving. He made me feel so very special."
"He made everyone feel special," Miller chimed in.
"He just loved helping people," Bertie said. "He didn’t brag or boast about it, he just did it."
But it was his overall joy of life and mischievous nature that several family members and friends said they’d likely miss most.
"He was always sweet to his mother," Bell’s fiancée Jennifer Childress said. "But every football Sunday he would call his mom and pick on her about the Cowboys. He said he hated the Cowboys, but I think it was just to get at his mom who is a huge Cowboys’ fan."
Childress said Bell also changed his college allegiance after meeting her.
"He was always a big Aggie fan," Childress said. "And he would pick on my allegiance to the Longhorns. But some time after meeting me he went out and bought a Longhorn sweatshirt of his own just because of me."
Miller said that was just the way Bell was.
"He was a loyal friend," Miller said. "And you were his friend no matter what. He never met a stranger and he would do anything for you."
"He never had to be asked twice to do anything for anyone," lifelong friend Jason Escamilla said.
Along with Italy, Bell volunteered at a number of area departments including Dallas County and Combine. He also worked part-time at Glen Heights Fire Department.
Family members said Bell would volunteer anywhere there was a need.
"He had his radio constantly scanning volunteer departments and would always be ready to help when help was needed," Bertie said.
Waxahachie resident Matt Lehmann first met Bell at Dallas County where the two often partnered on calls.
"We had so much fun together," Lehmann said. "We would always go to as many ‘Dollar-Hot-Dog Nights’ at the Rangers game and see who could eat the most hot dogs. By the end of the night the score would always be something like 17-13 and Bell would always win."
Lehmann recalled numerous calls the two went on while serving with the Dallas County Volunteer Fire Department and later working with the Hutchins Fire Department.
"I remember one night we were called out to a structure fire in south Dallas County," Lehmann said. "When we arrived there were a number of guys standing around drinking beer and watching a manufactured home burn. While Bell went to charge the lines, I went to clear the way so we could put out the fire that was burning directly under overhead powerlines. The guys standing in the street were upset that we had come to put out the fire. They said they had bought the property and were burning the building down so they could build something new."
While Lehmann called for backup from Dallas County Sheriffs, Bell continued to try to calm the group that continued growing angrier and threatened to grow violent.
"Bell was always calm and had a calm presence about him on scene," Lehmann said. "But I had no doubt that he always had my back. He was ready to charge the lines and spray the group down when he saw that the group was threatening me.
"When we heard those sirens coming, I don’t think there was any greater sound in the world," Lehmann said laughing. "We had four squad cars on the scene in minutes and the group quickly dispersed."
"Another night we wanted to run up to the nearby 7-11 for some snacks," Lehmann said. "I think it was Bell’s idea to take the department’s golf cart rather than an engine. We took off in the golf cart and got the strangest looks from a couple cops and sheriff’s deputies when they saw the two of us pull up at 7-11 at 2 in the morning on a golf cart."
Bell graduated from the Kilgore Fire Academy and went to work for Kilgore Fire Department before returning to the Metroplex.
He was employed with Hutchins Fire Department and Rescue Squad in Irving at the time of his death.
He also owned and operated Dallas CPR and First Aide and worked as an umpire for Texas Teenage Baseball.
He had plans to attend paramedic school in the near future and was planning to marry his fiancée in October.
"He’s touched everybody with his life," Childress said. "When I got the call Friday I thought this was my thing, but my entire family was effected by this. He made his mark on everyone he met. When he came into my life he changed it. He was just so calming and comforting."
He is survived by his mother, Bertie Bell of Italy; children, Brittany Leighann and Felicia Renee Bell; step children, Amber, Chase and Cole Fieber of Combine, Texas and Blake Fieber of Colorado; two grandchildren; fiancée, Jennifer Childress of Dallas; brothers, Clifford McDaniel of Italy and Michael Bell of Gun Barrel City, Texas; sister, Lisa Wafer of Wortham, Texas; one aunt, Wilma Hanks of Italy and honorary mother, Shana Miller of Italy; numerous nieces and nephews. Todd was preceded in death by his father, and two brothers, Robert Bell, Jr. and Rob Bell.
A full firefighter’s service for Bell will be held today at 3:30 p.m. in the Boze-Mitchell-McKibbin Chapel in Italy, with the Rev. Ronnie Dabney and Chaplain Scott Chadwick officiating.
Interment will follow in the Italy Cemetary.
In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to the Todd Bell Memorial Fund at Citizens National Bank.
Monday, January 16, 2006
Todd Bell - Sept. 15, 1972 - Jan. 13, 2006
Todd Bell
September 15, 1972
January 13, 2006
Todd Bell, age 33 of Italy d
ied Friday, Jan. 13, 2006 in Dallas, Texas. He was born on Sept. 15, 1972 in Fort Worth, Texas to Robert and Bertie Bell. Todd helped on every Volunteer Fire Department since the day they would let him.
He attended Kilgore Fire Academy and then worked for the Kilgore Fire Department.
Todd worked for the Hutchins Fire Department, the Rescue Squad in Irving and also owned and operated Dallas CPR and First Aide.
He was also a certified Texas Teenage Baseball Umpire and a member of a motorcycle club in Dallas.
He is survived by his mother, Bertie Bell of Italy, children, Brittany Leighann and Felicia Renee Bell; step children, Amber, Chase and Cole Fieber of Combine, Texas and Blake Fieber of Colorado, two grandchildren; fiancée, Jennifer Childress of Dallas, brothers, Clifford McDaniel of Italy and Michael Bell of Gun Barrel City, Texas, sister, Lisa Wafer of Wortham, Texas, one aunt Wilma Hanks of Italy and honorary mother, Shana Miller of Italy, numerous nieces and nephews.
Todd was preceded in death by his father, and two brothers, Robert Bell, Jr. and Rob Bell.
Funeral services are scheduled for 3:30 pm, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006 in the Boze-Mitchell-McKibbin Chapel in Italy with Reverend Ronnie Dabney and Chaplain Scott Chadwick officiating.
Interment will follow in the Italy Cemetery.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 pm Monday at the chapel in Italy.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Todd Bell Memorial Fund at Citizens National Bank.
To view an online obituary or leave the family a personal tribute, visit: www.bozemitchellmckibbin.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Boze-Mitchell-McKibbin Funeral Home in Waxahachie.
September 15, 1972
January 13, 2006
Todd Bell, age 33 of Italy d
ied Friday, Jan. 13, 2006 in Dallas, Texas. He was born on Sept. 15, 1972 in Fort Worth, Texas to Robert and Bertie Bell. Todd helped on every Volunteer Fire Department since the day they would let him.
He attended Kilgore Fire Academy and then worked for the Kilgore Fire Department.
Todd worked for the Hutchins Fire Department, the Rescue Squad in Irving and also owned and operated Dallas CPR and First Aide.
He was also a certified Texas Teenage Baseball Umpire and a member of a motorcycle club in Dallas.
He is survived by his mother, Bertie Bell of Italy, children, Brittany Leighann and Felicia Renee Bell; step children, Amber, Chase and Cole Fieber of Combine, Texas and Blake Fieber of Colorado, two grandchildren; fiancée, Jennifer Childress of Dallas, brothers, Clifford McDaniel of Italy and Michael Bell of Gun Barrel City, Texas, sister, Lisa Wafer of Wortham, Texas, one aunt Wilma Hanks of Italy and honorary mother, Shana Miller of Italy, numerous nieces and nephews.
Todd was preceded in death by his father, and two brothers, Robert Bell, Jr. and Rob Bell.
Funeral services are scheduled for 3:30 pm, Tuesday, Jan. 17, 2006 in the Boze-Mitchell-McKibbin Chapel in Italy with Reverend Ronnie Dabney and Chaplain Scott Chadwick officiating.
Interment will follow in the Italy Cemetery.
Family will receive friends from 6 to 8 pm Monday at the chapel in Italy.
In lieu of flowers memorials may be made to the Todd Bell Memorial Fund at Citizens National Bank.
To view an online obituary or leave the family a personal tribute, visit: www.bozemitchellmckibbin.com.
Arrangements are under the direction of the Boze-Mitchell-McKibbin Funeral Home in Waxahachie.
Sting returns to the ring
Friday, January 13, 2006
Miss something on TV or DVR?
I just found Google Video last night.
I haven't had much time to play with it, but there looks to be a ton of content there if you miss some of your favorite shows.
I haven't had much time to play with it, but there looks to be a ton of content there if you miss some of your favorite shows.
Problems and advantages
The 3G card apparently freaked out my computer twice.
I've never seen this before, but I had a screen with lots of text pop up and suddenly my computer reset.
When Windows reloaded it gave me the option to send an error report - I passed the first time. Then 20 minutes later or so the same thing happened.
This time I send in the error report to Microsoft.
Microsoft directed me to a website with a patch update. I downloaded it, installed it and haven't had a problem since.
There's a feature on this card that I like. It's called accelerator. Which as best as I can understand it (without researching it), accelerates loading web pages by not downloading all the data information for each graphic. It looks as if it bumps them down to an 8-bit or 16-bit format. They're alot grainier but load a lot faster. So if you're in the need for fast loading pages, you can adjust the accelerator to the highest speed and the pages load a lot faster because they're not downloading as much information.
I haven't seen any sluggish performance from my text based programs like my e-mail or RSS reader. Both seem to be running fine. They may not be downloading as fast as I'd like, but like I said, this isn't the fastest speed available and some internet is better than no internet right now.
I've never seen this before, but I had a screen with lots of text pop up and suddenly my computer reset.
When Windows reloaded it gave me the option to send an error report - I passed the first time. Then 20 minutes later or so the same thing happened.
This time I send in the error report to Microsoft.
Microsoft directed me to a website with a patch update. I downloaded it, installed it and haven't had a problem since.
There's a feature on this card that I like. It's called accelerator. Which as best as I can understand it (without researching it), accelerates loading web pages by not downloading all the data information for each graphic. It looks as if it bumps them down to an 8-bit or 16-bit format. They're alot grainier but load a lot faster. So if you're in the need for fast loading pages, you can adjust the accelerator to the highest speed and the pages load a lot faster because they're not downloading as much information.
I haven't seen any sluggish performance from my text based programs like my e-mail or RSS reader. Both seem to be running fine. They may not be downloading as fast as I'd like, but like I said, this isn't the fastest speed available and some internet is better than no internet right now.
Thursday, January 12, 2006
Cingular's 3G card
I started my first testing of Cingular's 3G card tonight and so far I like it.
I knew going into it that the 3G network is not yet established in Waxahachie, but the card I was given, a Sierra Wireless AirCard 860 will "dummy" down to the lower end network in place here in Waxahachie.
My computer says I have about a 52-percent signal through out my apartment and claims I'm running at a consistant 1.8 mbps, which I find hard to believe.
I'm pinging most sites around 242.
But considering I haven't been able to find anything other than dail-up available at my apartment, this is a good start.
The cost is higher than DSL or cable, but I can carry my computer anywhere there's a Cingular network.
I'll keep you posted on the results and let you know how the Sprint card does tomorrow.
I knew going into it that the 3G network is not yet established in Waxahachie, but the card I was given, a Sierra Wireless AirCard 860 will "dummy" down to the lower end network in place here in Waxahachie.
My computer says I have about a 52-percent signal through out my apartment and claims I'm running at a consistant 1.8 mbps, which I find hard to believe.
I'm pinging most sites around 242.
But considering I haven't been able to find anything other than dail-up available at my apartment, this is a good start.
The cost is higher than DSL or cable, but I can carry my computer anywhere there's a Cingular network.
I'll keep you posted on the results and let you know how the Sprint card does tomorrow.
Ellis County GOP filings
Candidate filings
The Ellis County Republican Party drew numbers for ballot placement on Thursday afternoon. The following is the order in which candidates will appear on the March 7 Republican Primary ballot (office, candidates, with (I) denoting incumbents):
U.S. Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison (I)
U.S. Representative, Dist. 6
Joe Barton (I)
Governor
Rhett R. Smith
Rick Perry (I)
Star Locke
Larry Killgore
Lt. Governor
David Dewhurst (I)
Tom Kelly
Railroad Commissioner
Buck Werner
Elizabeth Ames Jones (I)
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2
Steve Smith
Don Willett (I)
State Representative, District 10
Jim Pitts (I)
Q.D. “Duke” Burge
40th Judicial District Court
Gene Knize (I)
Dan Altman
Ellis County Court at Law, No. 1
Bob Carroll (I)
Ellis County Court at Law, No. 2
Gene Calvert, Jr. (I)
Ellis County District Clerk
Melanie Price Reed
Anne Grant
Cathy Beer
Ellis County Judge
Cindy Sibley-Thayer
Chad Adams (I)
Ellis County Clerk
Cindy Polley (I)
Ellis County Treasurer
Ron Langenheder (I)
Greg Wilhelm
Ellis County Commissioner, Precinct 2
Terry Gregory
Richard Lansing Trees Sr.
Billy A. (Bill) Dodson
Larry D. Jones (I)
Ellis County Commissioner, Precinct 4
Ron Brown (I)
Steven Skipper
Ellis County Justice of the Peace, No. 1
Bill Woody (I)
Ellis County Justice of the Peace, No. 2
Jackie Miller, Jr. (I)
Ellis County Justice of the Peace, No. 4
Alan Gell
Linda M. Sibley (I)
Kevin J. McDonnell
The Ellis County Republican Party drew numbers for ballot placement on Thursday afternoon. The following is the order in which candidates will appear on the March 7 Republican Primary ballot (office, candidates, with (I) denoting incumbents):
U.S. Senator
Kay Bailey Hutchison (I)
U.S. Representative, Dist. 6
Joe Barton (I)
Governor
Rhett R. Smith
Rick Perry (I)
Star Locke
Larry Killgore
Lt. Governor
David Dewhurst (I)
Tom Kelly
Railroad Commissioner
Buck Werner
Elizabeth Ames Jones (I)
Justice, Supreme Court, Place 2
Steve Smith
Don Willett (I)
State Representative, District 10
Jim Pitts (I)
Q.D. “Duke” Burge
40th Judicial District Court
Gene Knize (I)
Dan Altman
Ellis County Court at Law, No. 1
Bob Carroll (I)
Ellis County Court at Law, No. 2
Gene Calvert, Jr. (I)
Ellis County District Clerk
Melanie Price Reed
Anne Grant
Cathy Beer
Ellis County Judge
Cindy Sibley-Thayer
Chad Adams (I)
Ellis County Clerk
Cindy Polley (I)
Ellis County Treasurer
Ron Langenheder (I)
Greg Wilhelm
Ellis County Commissioner, Precinct 2
Terry Gregory
Richard Lansing Trees Sr.
Billy A. (Bill) Dodson
Larry D. Jones (I)
Ellis County Commissioner, Precinct 4
Ron Brown (I)
Steven Skipper
Ellis County Justice of the Peace, No. 1
Bill Woody (I)
Ellis County Justice of the Peace, No. 2
Jackie Miller, Jr. (I)
Ellis County Justice of the Peace, No. 4
Alan Gell
Linda M. Sibley (I)
Kevin J. McDonnell
Stoked about new network cards
I just got a new pre-release version of the Cingular 3G Network card.
I'm pretty stoked about testing it out. Hopefully it will prove to be a possible way to get Internet at my crib and elsewhere.
Sprint should be sending their version within the next day or so as well.
I'll keep you posted on how things go.
I plan to test them around Waxahachie and Dallas and elsewhere and I'll do some speed tests to see how the networks compare.
I'm pretty stoked about testing it out. Hopefully it will prove to be a possible way to get Internet at my crib and elsewhere.
Sprint should be sending their version within the next day or so as well.
I'll keep you posted on how things go.
I plan to test them around Waxahachie and Dallas and elsewhere and I'll do some speed tests to see how the networks compare.
Morning reading
Here's a few good stories I've been reading this morning:
The City of Dallas will be installing new cameras at intersections to cut down on people running red lights around they city.
Smaller, corporate jets are getting cheaper and more accesible.
Garland leads the area in retail development.
Steve Blow talks about Lancaster ISD's requirement for reading over Christmas break - and then suspending those who didn't read.
The City of Dallas will be installing new cameras at intersections to cut down on people running red lights around they city.
Smaller, corporate jets are getting cheaper and more accesible.
Garland leads the area in retail development.
Steve Blow talks about Lancaster ISD's requirement for reading over Christmas break - and then suspending those who didn't read.
Wednesday, January 11, 2006
This week's column: Finney's reformation
Charles Finney was born 1792, in Warren, Connecticut, as the youngest of seven children.
His parents were farmers and Finney was never able to attend college.
But with his six-foot-two-inch height, musical ability and leadership skills, he gained a good reputation in his community.
He studied to become a lawyer but after a dramatic conversion experience at the age of 29, Finney became a minister of the Presbyterian Church.
He moved to New York City in 1832 where he founded and pastored the Broadway Tabernacle, known today as the Broadway United Church of Christ.
His logical explanations and presentations of the Christian Gospel reached thousands. Some estimate that he led over 500,000 people to faith in Jesus Christ.
Finney is esteemed by Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, singer Keith Green and Jim Wallis of Sojourners’ Magazine.
From the Vineyard movement to political and social crusades, his imprint can be seen.
He was well known for his preaching innovations and allowing women to pray in public.
In addition to his preaching of the Gospel, Finney was active in the abolitionist movement and denounced slavery from the pulpit and denied communion to slaveholders at his churches.
He became a professor and then president of Oberlin College in Ohio. The university became the first American university to allow blacks and women into the same classrooms as white men.
Finney envisioned a church that was large in measure as an agency of personal and social reform.
It was from this thought that the evangelical movement became increasingly identified with political causes. Abolition of slavery, child labor legislation, women’s rights and the prohibition of alcohol became the causes of the 19th century church.
With a huge influx of Roman Catholic immigrants coming to America at the turn of the century, Protestants made desperate efforts to regain institutional power and the glory of "Christian America."
The church launched moral campaigns to "Americanize" immigrants, enforce moral institution and "character education."
The church pitched their American Gospel in terms of its practical usefulness to the individual and the nation.
Finney had experienced "a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost" which "like a wave of electricity going through and through me… seemed to come in waves of liquid love."
The next morning he informed his first client of the day, "I have a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead his cause and cannot plead yours."
Refusing to attend any seminary, Finney’s one question for any teaching was, "Is it fit to convert sinners with?"
He instituted the "anxious bench," a precursor to today’s alter call as well as emotional tactics that led to fainting and weeping and other "excitements" as Finney called them.
Finney reacted to the "Great Awakening" by turning from God to humans and from the preaching of objective content to the emphasis on getting a person to "make a decision."
His entire theology revolved around human morality.
Finney believed that God demanded absolute perfection, but instead of that leading him to seek his perfect righteousness in Christ, he concluded that perfect justification was only found in full perfect obedience to Christ.
Finney believed that human beings were capable of choosing whether they would be corrupt by nature or redeemed.
He argued against the church’s theology of "original sin," the doctrine that we have all inherited a sin nature and we will sin anytime given the chance.
Finney attacked justification by grace alone through faith alone.
In his theology, God is not sovereign, man is not a sinner by nature, atonement is not a true payment for sin, justification by imputation is insulting to reason and morality, the new birth is simply the effct of successful techniques and revival is the result of clever campaigns.
Finney’s "New Measures" made human choices and emotions and the center of the church’s ministry and replaced the preaching of Christ with the preaching of conversion.
When church leaders claim that theology gets in the way of growth and insist that it does not matter what a particular church believes, growth is a matter of following particular church principles, they are displaying a debt to Finney.
When churches praise this sub-Christian enterprise and the barking, roaring, screaming and laughing on the basis that "it works" and one must judge its truth by its fruit, they are following Finney.
According to Michael Horton, a professor at Westminister Seminary in California, a Gospel that "works" for zealous perfection one momment merely creates tomorrow’s disillusioned and spent super-saints.
Now if you’ve read this far you’re probably asking what in the world does all this have to do with me?
Allman tells me "I’m too critical of the church today." I think part of that comes from my belief that a lot of it doesn’t really "work."
But to find out why it doesn’t work, I think we need to stop pointing fingers at only today’s leaders and look at where we’ve come from and how we got to where we are today.
I personally believe the church should be used to lead the cause in moral change, but I don’t believe the church should lead the charge legislate their morality on others.
If the church truly shines with the "Glory of God" people will see a difference in us and come join the party.
People will want to be a part of what we're doing, not because of what we're not doing, but because they see a difference in our lives that they want to see in their own.
If not, we become nothing more than a legalistic party pooper wanting to spoil everyone’s fun.
Portions of this piece were taken from "The Legacy of Charles Finney" by Michael S. Horton, Ph.D. a professor of theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California (Escondido, CA).
His parents were farmers and Finney was never able to attend college.
But with his six-foot-two-inch height, musical ability and leadership skills, he gained a good reputation in his community.
He studied to become a lawyer but after a dramatic conversion experience at the age of 29, Finney became a minister of the Presbyterian Church.
He moved to New York City in 1832 where he founded and pastored the Broadway Tabernacle, known today as the Broadway United Church of Christ.
His logical explanations and presentations of the Christian Gospel reached thousands. Some estimate that he led over 500,000 people to faith in Jesus Christ.
Finney is esteemed by Billy Graham, Jerry Falwell, singer Keith Green and Jim Wallis of Sojourners’ Magazine.
From the Vineyard movement to political and social crusades, his imprint can be seen.
He was well known for his preaching innovations and allowing women to pray in public.
In addition to his preaching of the Gospel, Finney was active in the abolitionist movement and denounced slavery from the pulpit and denied communion to slaveholders at his churches.
He became a professor and then president of Oberlin College in Ohio. The university became the first American university to allow blacks and women into the same classrooms as white men.
Finney envisioned a church that was large in measure as an agency of personal and social reform.
It was from this thought that the evangelical movement became increasingly identified with political causes. Abolition of slavery, child labor legislation, women’s rights and the prohibition of alcohol became the causes of the 19th century church.
With a huge influx of Roman Catholic immigrants coming to America at the turn of the century, Protestants made desperate efforts to regain institutional power and the glory of "Christian America."
The church launched moral campaigns to "Americanize" immigrants, enforce moral institution and "character education."
The church pitched their American Gospel in terms of its practical usefulness to the individual and the nation.
Finney had experienced "a mighty baptism of the Holy Ghost" which "like a wave of electricity going through and through me… seemed to come in waves of liquid love."
The next morning he informed his first client of the day, "I have a retainer from the Lord Jesus Christ to plead his cause and cannot plead yours."
Refusing to attend any seminary, Finney’s one question for any teaching was, "Is it fit to convert sinners with?"
He instituted the "anxious bench," a precursor to today’s alter call as well as emotional tactics that led to fainting and weeping and other "excitements" as Finney called them.
Finney reacted to the "Great Awakening" by turning from God to humans and from the preaching of objective content to the emphasis on getting a person to "make a decision."
His entire theology revolved around human morality.
Finney believed that God demanded absolute perfection, but instead of that leading him to seek his perfect righteousness in Christ, he concluded that perfect justification was only found in full perfect obedience to Christ.
Finney believed that human beings were capable of choosing whether they would be corrupt by nature or redeemed.
He argued against the church’s theology of "original sin," the doctrine that we have all inherited a sin nature and we will sin anytime given the chance.
Finney attacked justification by grace alone through faith alone.
In his theology, God is not sovereign, man is not a sinner by nature, atonement is not a true payment for sin, justification by imputation is insulting to reason and morality, the new birth is simply the effct of successful techniques and revival is the result of clever campaigns.
Finney’s "New Measures" made human choices and emotions and the center of the church’s ministry and replaced the preaching of Christ with the preaching of conversion.
When church leaders claim that theology gets in the way of growth and insist that it does not matter what a particular church believes, growth is a matter of following particular church principles, they are displaying a debt to Finney.
When churches praise this sub-Christian enterprise and the barking, roaring, screaming and laughing on the basis that "it works" and one must judge its truth by its fruit, they are following Finney.
According to Michael Horton, a professor at Westminister Seminary in California, a Gospel that "works" for zealous perfection one momment merely creates tomorrow’s disillusioned and spent super-saints.
Now if you’ve read this far you’re probably asking what in the world does all this have to do with me?
Allman tells me "I’m too critical of the church today." I think part of that comes from my belief that a lot of it doesn’t really "work."
But to find out why it doesn’t work, I think we need to stop pointing fingers at only today’s leaders and look at where we’ve come from and how we got to where we are today.
I personally believe the church should be used to lead the cause in moral change, but I don’t believe the church should lead the charge legislate their morality on others.
If the church truly shines with the "Glory of God" people will see a difference in us and come join the party.
People will want to be a part of what we're doing, not because of what we're not doing, but because they see a difference in our lives that they want to see in their own.
If not, we become nothing more than a legalistic party pooper wanting to spoil everyone’s fun.
Portions of this piece were taken from "The Legacy of Charles Finney" by Michael S. Horton, Ph.D. a professor of theology and apologetics at Westminster Seminary California (Escondido, CA).
Tuesday, January 10, 2006
Going to Nigeria
Well, it looks like the ball is rolling.
The CWF has been asked to go to Nigeria in late September or October for two weeks.
We've been told they want to hold shows in soccer stadiums that seat 50,000 people. I sure hope this is a God thing, because an empty stadium that normally holds 50,000 people could be disheartening.
But either way, looks like I'm going to be in the fundraising business for a while.
So if you're interested in helping us proclaim the Gospel in Nigeria, Africa this fall, please let us know.
Our first payments of $250 are due at the first of March.
The CWF has been asked to go to Nigeria in late September or October for two weeks.
We've been told they want to hold shows in soccer stadiums that seat 50,000 people. I sure hope this is a God thing, because an empty stadium that normally holds 50,000 people could be disheartening.
But either way, looks like I'm going to be in the fundraising business for a while.
So if you're interested in helping us proclaim the Gospel in Nigeria, Africa this fall, please let us know.
Our first payments of $250 are due at the first of March.
Monday, January 09, 2006
Google makes new alliance with Motorola
I'm beginning a new tech/consumer-electronics column/report. If you're interested in getting it for your newspaper. Let me know.
---
Google makes new alliance with Motorola
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
If you just thought Google was everywhere, get ready to add your cellphone to that list of mediums the information search giant is moving towards.
At the Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas last week, Google, Inc. and Motorola, Inc. announced a joint venture between the two companies, allowing access to Google’s vast database of information on new Motorola handsets.
Motorola will add a new Google icon to select handsets, starting early this year.
The icon will allow users to connect directly to Google anytime, anywhere, at the click of a button.
"Many of our customers have been asking for mobile devices integrated with their consumers’ favorite online services. By featuring Google on Motorola handsets for these customers, we are making it easier for consumers to connect to the information they need when they need it," Scott Durchslag, corporate vice-president and general manager of Global xProducts for Motorola’s Mobile Device business said. "Our relationship with Google provides an opportunity for us to offer a high quality mobile search experience – one familiar to and loved my millions of users across the globe."
But merging Google with consumer cellphones is nothing new.
The search engine, founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, can be accessed from any cellphone with Internet access, allowing users to connect to Google’s web search features.
Just type www.google.com in the URL field of your phone’s Internet browser. If you get an error message, type www.google.com/xhtml instead.
From the basic web search, consumers can find recipes, sports scores, trivia answers and more. The search page works just like the online version of the site, which is used by millions of users everyday.
Need a definition of a word? Just type "define (word)" in the search field.
Want the correct spelling of a word? Just type the word and Google will give you a suggested spelling if the word entered is not found in its database.
Want movie times? Just type "movies" or "showtimes" followed by the location.
Want weather? You guessed it, just type weather and the location.
Finally, for those needing quick stock updates, just type the stock ticker symbol for the latest updates.
The company has also recently added options for Google Local and Mobile Web to their mobile page, which greatly expands the company’s offerings.
Google Local allows users to find maps, directions and phone numbers to businesses and places worldwide.
Simply select the local option on the search page and type your destination.
For example, McDonalds 75165 or McDonalds, Waxahachie, TX will give you a listing and directions to all the McDonalds in and around Waxahachie.
The Mobile Web option allows users the ability to filter search results to websites customized for viewing on mobile phones.
Google doesn’t charge consumers for access to any of its databases, but users may be required to pay access fees to their cellular provider, depending on their service plan.
For those without net access, the company also offers Google Local information via text messaging.
Simply text your queries to 46645 from any cellphone with text messaging support.
A text response will be sent to your phone, usually within seconds.
And for consumers who use Google’s blog service, Blogger.com can post text or photo updates to their blogs with text messaging from their cell phones as well. Information for mobile blogging is available at www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g.
So with all these features already available too most cellphone users, why the global alliance?
"Access to information is imperative for people on-the-go. Whether checking the local weather or locating the restaurant of their choice, consumers today require personalized services that are tailored to their needs," Vice-President of Google’s European Operations said.
And with the quick, one-button access on cellphones, Google will be able to expand their user base and increase brand loyalty which will in turn help drive Google’s real moneymaking venture -- advertising.
The alliance will also help increase Motorola’s plans for a seamless, flowing mobility experience.
The company announced part of its vision for the future in 2004, with phones that pay for parking without touching a key, cars that know where you’re supposed to be and how to get there, homes that record your favorite tunes and movies and share them with your friends and products and systems that carry intelligence into your life.
It’s all part of the future of converged devices bringing more and more information to our fingertips.
---
Google makes new alliance with Motorola
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
If you just thought Google was everywhere, get ready to add your cellphone to that list of mediums the information search giant is moving towards.At the Consumer Electronics Show Las Vegas last week, Google, Inc. and Motorola, Inc. announced a joint venture between the two companies, allowing access to Google’s vast database of information on new Motorola handsets.
Motorola will add a new Google icon to select handsets, starting early this year.
The icon will allow users to connect directly to Google anytime, anywhere, at the click of a button.
"Many of our customers have been asking for mobile devices integrated with their consumers’ favorite online services. By featuring Google on Motorola handsets for these customers, we are making it easier for consumers to connect to the information they need when they need it," Scott Durchslag, corporate vice-president and general manager of Global xProducts for Motorola’s Mobile Device business said. "Our relationship with Google provides an opportunity for us to offer a high quality mobile search experience – one familiar to and loved my millions of users across the globe."
But merging Google with consumer cellphones is nothing new.
The search engine, founded in 1998 by Stanford Ph.D. students Larry Page and Sergey Brin, can be accessed from any cellphone with Internet access, allowing users to connect to Google’s web search features.
Just type www.google.com in the URL field of your phone’s Internet browser. If you get an error message, type www.google.com/xhtml instead.
From the basic web search, consumers can find recipes, sports scores, trivia answers and more. The search page works just like the online version of the site, which is used by millions of users everyday.
Need a definition of a word? Just type "define (word)" in the search field.
Want the correct spelling of a word? Just type the word and Google will give you a suggested spelling if the word entered is not found in its database.
Want movie times? Just type "movies" or "showtimes" followed by the location.
Want weather? You guessed it, just type weather and the location.
Finally, for those needing quick stock updates, just type the stock ticker symbol for the latest updates.
The company has also recently added options for Google Local and Mobile Web to their mobile page, which greatly expands the company’s offerings.
Google Local allows users to find maps, directions and phone numbers to businesses and places worldwide.
Simply select the local option on the search page and type your destination.
For example, McDonalds 75165 or McDonalds, Waxahachie, TX will give you a listing and directions to all the McDonalds in and around Waxahachie.
The Mobile Web option allows users the ability to filter search results to websites customized for viewing on mobile phones.
Google doesn’t charge consumers for access to any of its databases, but users may be required to pay access fees to their cellular provider, depending on their service plan.
For those without net access, the company also offers Google Local information via text messaging.
Simply text your queries to 46645 from any cellphone with text messaging support.
A text response will be sent to your phone, usually within seconds.
And for consumers who use Google’s blog service, Blogger.com can post text or photo updates to their blogs with text messaging from their cell phones as well. Information for mobile blogging is available at www.blogger.com/mobile-start.g.
So with all these features already available too most cellphone users, why the global alliance?
"Access to information is imperative for people on-the-go. Whether checking the local weather or locating the restaurant of their choice, consumers today require personalized services that are tailored to their needs," Vice-President of Google’s European Operations said.
And with the quick, one-button access on cellphones, Google will be able to expand their user base and increase brand loyalty which will in turn help drive Google’s real moneymaking venture -- advertising.
The alliance will also help increase Motorola’s plans for a seamless, flowing mobility experience.
The company announced part of its vision for the future in 2004, with phones that pay for parking without touching a key, cars that know where you’re supposed to be and how to get there, homes that record your favorite tunes and movies and share them with your friends and products and systems that carry intelligence into your life.
It’s all part of the future of converged devices bringing more and more information to our fingertips.
Mmm Snapple
I gots to tell you, I still love me some Peach Snapple Tea (or any Snapple tea for that matter).
I don't buy it much because I'm more conscious about where my money goes, but whenever I "splurge" it always hits the spot and leaves me craving more.
We used to grab two or three of those a day when we were in high school.
Those were the days - when you made money and you could spend it all without having to worry about bills and rent or other monthly costs.
If you went out to eat it was in addition to the "free" food you got at home.
If you got low on your cash flow, you would still have food waiting at home, electricity coming on and a hot shower.
Now if you get low on your cash flow you have to decide, do I grab a burger or eat a cold sandwich at home so I can pay my bills.
Growing up is no fun :-)
I don't buy it much because I'm more conscious about where my money goes, but whenever I "splurge" it always hits the spot and leaves me craving more.
We used to grab two or three of those a day when we were in high school.
Those were the days - when you made money and you could spend it all without having to worry about bills and rent or other monthly costs.
If you went out to eat it was in addition to the "free" food you got at home.
If you got low on your cash flow, you would still have food waiting at home, electricity coming on and a hot shower.
Now if you get low on your cash flow you have to decide, do I grab a burger or eat a cold sandwich at home so I can pay my bills.
Growing up is no fun :-)
Ellis County GOP start blog
Ellis County GOP have started their own blog to push news to the public quickly and efficently.
Friday, January 06, 2006
Thanks for all the forwards
Mike McIlvain sent this along to me...
As another year will shortly be a memory, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.
Extra thanks for the ones that I have to open 15 times to get to the message.
Special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.
Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer drink Pepsi, or Dr Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who won't put "Under God" on
their cans.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me. I no longer receive packages from, nor send packages by UPS, or FedEx, since they are actually Al Qaeda in
disguise.
I no longer answer the phone, because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer eat KFC, because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks without feathers.
I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus, since I now have their recipe.
I no longer worry about my soul, because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.
Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
I no longer have any savings, because I gave it to a sick boy who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time)
I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.
Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!
And don't forget to say "Merry Christmas"!!
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of stomach flu will land on your head at 5:00 PM (EDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of mine's next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's
beautician.
Have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
As another year will shortly be a memory, my heartfelt appreciation goes out to all of you who have taken the time and trouble to send me "forwards" over the past 12 months. Thank you for making me feel safe, secure, blessed, and wealthy.
Extra thanks for the ones that I have to open 15 times to get to the message.
Special thanks to whoever sent me the one about rat poop in the glue on envelopes 'cause I now have to go get a wet towel every time I need to seal an envelope.
Also, I scrub the top of every can I open for the same reason.
Because of your concern, I no longer drink Coca Cola because it can remove toilet stains. I no longer drink Pepsi, or Dr Pepper, since the people who make these products are atheists who won't put "Under God" on
their cans.
I no longer use Saran wrap in the microwave because it causes cancer.
I no longer check the coin return on pay phones because I could be pricked with a needle infected with AIDS.
I no longer use cancer-causing deodorants even though I smell like a water buffalo on a hot day.
I no longer go to shopping malls because someone might drug me with a perfume sample and rob me. I no longer receive packages from, nor send packages by UPS, or FedEx, since they are actually Al Qaeda in
disguise.
I no longer answer the phone, because someone will ask me to dial a number for which I will get a phone bill with calls to Jamaica, Uganda, Singapore, and Uzbekistan.
I no longer eat KFC, because their "chickens" are actually horrible mutant freaks without feathers.
I no longer have any sneakers -- but that will change once I receive my free replacement pair from Nike.
I no longer have to buy expensive cookies from Neiman Marcus, since I now have their recipe.
I no longer worry about my soul, because at last count I have 363,214 angels looking out for me.
Thanks to you, I have learned that God only answers my prayers if I forward an e-mail to seven of my friends and make a wish within five minutes.
I no longer have any savings, because I gave it to a sick boy who is about to die in the hospital (for the 1,387,258th time)
I no longer have any money at all - but that will change once I receive the $15,000 that Microsoft and AOL are sending me for participating in their special email program.
Yes, I want to thank you so much for looking out for me that I will now return the favor!
And don't forget to say "Merry Christmas"!!
If you don't send this e-mail to at least 144,000 people in the next 7 minutes, a large pigeon with a wicked case of stomach flu will land on your head at 5:00 PM (EDT) this afternoon. I know this will occur because it actually happened to a friend of mine's next door neighbor's ex-mother-in-law's second husband's cousin's
beautician.
Have a very HAPPY NEW YEAR!
Thursday, January 05, 2006
Traffic accident
Not quite a highlight of the day....
Man in critical condition after collision with train
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
A Waxahachie man was seriously injured when his car collided with a Union Pacific train Thursday afternoon near the intersection of Munchus St and Eggar St.
At approximately 3:51 p.m., the train, travelling northbound on the Southern Pacific Railroad collided with the car traveling westbound at the Munchus St. crossing.
The car was pushed down the tracks to Peters St./Parks School Rd., approximately 1,200 feet away, where the car stopped shortly after the crossing.
The train continued on before coming to a full stop nearly just past the Burleson Honey building.
ETMC EMS, Waxahachie Police and Waxahachie Fire all responded to the accident.
The driver of the car, Fredrick Crayton, 32, was taken by air ambulance to Methodist Dallas Hospital shortly after 4:30 p.m., where he was listed in critical condition.
According to Waxahachie Police Officer Ron Clayton, inattention by the driver was likely the cause of the accident and the accident is still under investigation.
No lights, bells or crossing bars are installed at the Munchus St. crossing.
Man in critical condition after collision with train
Jonathan Blundell
Staff writer
A Waxahachie man was seriously injured when his car collided with a Union Pacific train Thursday afternoon near the intersection of Munchus St and Eggar St.
At approximately 3:51 p.m., the train, travelling northbound on the Southern Pacific Railroad collided with the car traveling westbound at the Munchus St. crossing.
The car was pushed down the tracks to Peters St./Parks School Rd., approximately 1,200 feet away, where the car stopped shortly after the crossing.
The train continued on before coming to a full stop nearly just past the Burleson Honey building.
ETMC EMS, Waxahachie Police and Waxahachie Fire all responded to the accident.
The driver of the car, Fredrick Crayton, 32, was taken by air ambulance to Methodist Dallas Hospital shortly after 4:30 p.m., where he was listed in critical condition.
According to Waxahachie Police Officer Ron Clayton, inattention by the driver was likely the cause of the accident and the accident is still under investigation.
No lights, bells or crossing bars are installed at the Munchus St. crossing.
The perils of deadlines
The Dallas Morning News was one of over 140 newspapers who faced a press deadline Tuesday night and incorrectly printed headlines saying the W.Va. miners were found alive.
They have an interesting article online on the deadlines newspaper face daily.
And don't worry this isn't the first time this has happened (with newspapers that is).
The Titanic, Kerry's running mate in 2004, Gore v Bush and others have had wrong headlines and stories published before the latest news was gathered.
They have an interesting article online on the deadlines newspaper face daily.
And don't worry this isn't the first time this has happened (with newspapers that is).
The Titanic, Kerry's running mate in 2004, Gore v Bush and others have had wrong headlines and stories published before the latest news was gathered.
Wednesday, January 04, 2006
Let me prove my Christianity
Why do we constantly have to prove our Christianity to each other?
I mean seriously. How many times have I gotten an e-mail that says, "If you love Jesus you'll send this e-mail to X number of people"?
Let's show them we love Jesus by filling their inbox with junk.
Now there's a blog entry going around on Myspace and other places that says basically the same thing, but asks people to post a message on their blog or bulletin board saying they love Jesus.
Last night a woman went on a rampage a city council because she was a Christian, the council members are Christians, she knows what church they go to, and Waxahachie was founded on Christian morality, yet the council was going to vote to approve a liquor license at the civic center.
She was on a righteous mandate from God suddenly.
You know who else was on a righteous mandate from God? The people involved in the Salem witchtrials. They were God's judge and executioner.
Does a righteous indignation some how make us closer to God?
What do you think?
I mean seriously. How many times have I gotten an e-mail that says, "If you love Jesus you'll send this e-mail to X number of people"?
Let's show them we love Jesus by filling their inbox with junk.
Now there's a blog entry going around on Myspace and other places that says basically the same thing, but asks people to post a message on their blog or bulletin board saying they love Jesus.
Last night a woman went on a rampage a city council because she was a Christian, the council members are Christians, she knows what church they go to, and Waxahachie was founded on Christian morality, yet the council was going to vote to approve a liquor license at the civic center.
She was on a righteous mandate from God suddenly.
You know who else was on a righteous mandate from God? The people involved in the Salem witchtrials. They were God's judge and executioner.
Does a righteous indignation some how make us closer to God?
What do you think?
Tuesday, January 03, 2006
This week's column: The Myspace bug
I have a confession to make -- I’ve been bitten by the Myspace.com bug.
I’m not sure how I let it happen, but I let my guard down one night and then "Bam!" just like cooties I was overwhelmed.
I’ve avoided the online networking service for the past year, telling myself I was too good for it.
I kept telling myself I already had a blog, or online journal, and I didn’t need another thing to waste my time.
But then one night, shortly after Christmas, I visited a friend’s online profile and decided I was tired of being "out of the loop."
My friends were joining the service, that boasts itself as "a place for friends," daily and I was being left out.
I usually like to be on the front lines of things and suddenly I found myself following the growing numbers of people who log in daily to share journals, pictures, music and information.
But who needs Myspace? After all I was one of the first ones in my group of friends to get a "real blog" on blogger.com. Why couldn’t they just join my world instead of me joining theres?
So while I had vowed to avoid the Myspace community for so long, I now find myself checking the site almost hourly to be sure I haven’t missed someone wanting to be my friend, or a comment posted by "I'll take the glazed with chocolate covering," a Lancaster cop I met recently at Café Brazil in Dallas (yes, that is the name posted on her online profile).
Sure Myspace sends e-mail updates to alert me when one of my friends have added comments or messages, but if I’m lucky, I can beat my e-mail server and find comments and messages sooner than my e-mail client can notify me.
And if I’m lucky I may get to read a journal entry from my buddy Brandon, who lives in Ohio and apparently hasn’t updated his journal since September 25, 1992.
Since joining Myspace after Christmas I’ve accumulated 26 different friends -- something Brandon says somehow validates our existence in the online world.
Most of my friends are from college but some are from my high school alma mater, and others have simply contacted me through networking groups, designed to join people with similar interests.
The site is almost like a large "Six steps to Kevin Bacon."
Your list of friends and network expands as you add more friends to your profile.
I’m roommates with "Mattchew", who’s brothers with "All Things New", who’s friends with Christian artists Michelle Tumes and Rebecca St. James, which makes me friends with Michelle Tumes and Rebecca St. James.
If I’m lucky, one of my friends will give me true validation and put me on their list of Top 8 friends, showing people I really do exist.
Many are suggesting that an alternative community is developing within the boundaries of Myspace.
With over 46-million users it is one of top 10 English websites in the world.
The site and service was first founded in 2003 by Tom Anderson, the current president and Chris DeWolfe, the current CEO.
In July 2005, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, parent company of Fox Broadcasting, paid $580-million to buy out IntermixMedia, the former owners of the site.
With so much attention given to the online community, companies and celebrities are quickly jumping on board.
Madonna, Green Day and other artists have their own profiles in the online community that are typically maintained by publicists or record labels, but are many times maintained by the artists themselves.
There’s even a growing number of politicians joining the community. Politicians wanting to gain as much exposure as possible are joining up and marketing their thoughts and campaigns to the growing number of users.
The online Republican group has 27,100 members to date and the online Democratic group has 31382 members.
Victoria Bernal a community building associate with the Benton Foundation writes "creating a successful online community is one of the most sought after and elusive goals in a Web strategy."
Bernal said huge sums of money are spent to perfect online strategies to build community, customer relationships and loyal customers.
In the non-profit community, clients, grantees and citizens take the roll of customer.
"The (non-profits) stakes are higher because usually the nonprofit’s goal is to sell not a product, but a mission," said Bernal. "In this context, an online community can be a powerful tool to bring constituents together to share their concern for an issue."
Nonprofits can use online communities to increase visibility about an issue of concern, mobilize concerned citizens to advocate a political support fundraising efforts by connecting donors and members, announce current events to the public and to recruit volunteers for the organization.
Many credit Howard Dean’s early success in the 2004 Presidential Elections, with his ability to join people online behind his cause.
But while Myspace works to improve community and networking, parents need to remember that the information their 14-year-old posts on their profile is available to all 46-million users with very little effort.
Parents need to keep a constant watch on what information their children are posting online. Start your own profile and join your child’s network of friends. Don’t let them navigate online alone.
Well, that’s it for this week, I believe "Dr Rosenrosen" has just updated his online journal. If I hurry I can be the first to comment on it.
I’m not sure how I let it happen, but I let my guard down one night and then "Bam!" just like cooties I was overwhelmed.
I’ve avoided the online networking service for the past year, telling myself I was too good for it.
I kept telling myself I already had a blog, or online journal, and I didn’t need another thing to waste my time.
But then one night, shortly after Christmas, I visited a friend’s online profile and decided I was tired of being "out of the loop."
My friends were joining the service, that boasts itself as "a place for friends," daily and I was being left out.
I usually like to be on the front lines of things and suddenly I found myself following the growing numbers of people who log in daily to share journals, pictures, music and information.
But who needs Myspace? After all I was one of the first ones in my group of friends to get a "real blog" on blogger.com. Why couldn’t they just join my world instead of me joining theres?
So while I had vowed to avoid the Myspace community for so long, I now find myself checking the site almost hourly to be sure I haven’t missed someone wanting to be my friend, or a comment posted by "I'll take the glazed with chocolate covering," a Lancaster cop I met recently at Café Brazil in Dallas (yes, that is the name posted on her online profile).
Sure Myspace sends e-mail updates to alert me when one of my friends have added comments or messages, but if I’m lucky, I can beat my e-mail server and find comments and messages sooner than my e-mail client can notify me.
And if I’m lucky I may get to read a journal entry from my buddy Brandon, who lives in Ohio and apparently hasn’t updated his journal since September 25, 1992.
Since joining Myspace after Christmas I’ve accumulated 26 different friends -- something Brandon says somehow validates our existence in the online world.
Most of my friends are from college but some are from my high school alma mater, and others have simply contacted me through networking groups, designed to join people with similar interests.
The site is almost like a large "Six steps to Kevin Bacon."
Your list of friends and network expands as you add more friends to your profile.
I’m roommates with "Mattchew", who’s brothers with "All Things New", who’s friends with Christian artists Michelle Tumes and Rebecca St. James, which makes me friends with Michelle Tumes and Rebecca St. James.
If I’m lucky, one of my friends will give me true validation and put me on their list of Top 8 friends, showing people I really do exist.
Many are suggesting that an alternative community is developing within the boundaries of Myspace.
With over 46-million users it is one of top 10 English websites in the world.
The site and service was first founded in 2003 by Tom Anderson, the current president and Chris DeWolfe, the current CEO.
In July 2005, Rupert Murdoch's News Corporation, parent company of Fox Broadcasting, paid $580-million to buy out IntermixMedia, the former owners of the site.
With so much attention given to the online community, companies and celebrities are quickly jumping on board.
Madonna, Green Day and other artists have their own profiles in the online community that are typically maintained by publicists or record labels, but are many times maintained by the artists themselves.
There’s even a growing number of politicians joining the community. Politicians wanting to gain as much exposure as possible are joining up and marketing their thoughts and campaigns to the growing number of users.
The online Republican group has 27,100 members to date and the online Democratic group has 31382 members.
Victoria Bernal a community building associate with the Benton Foundation writes "creating a successful online community is one of the most sought after and elusive goals in a Web strategy."
Bernal said huge sums of money are spent to perfect online strategies to build community, customer relationships and loyal customers.
In the non-profit community, clients, grantees and citizens take the roll of customer.
"The (non-profits) stakes are higher because usually the nonprofit’s goal is to sell not a product, but a mission," said Bernal. "In this context, an online community can be a powerful tool to bring constituents together to share their concern for an issue."
Nonprofits can use online communities to increase visibility about an issue of concern, mobilize concerned citizens to advocate a political support fundraising efforts by connecting donors and members, announce current events to the public and to recruit volunteers for the organization.
Many credit Howard Dean’s early success in the 2004 Presidential Elections, with his ability to join people online behind his cause.
But while Myspace works to improve community and networking, parents need to remember that the information their 14-year-old posts on their profile is available to all 46-million users with very little effort.
Parents need to keep a constant watch on what information their children are posting online. Start your own profile and join your child’s network of friends. Don’t let them navigate online alone.
Well, that’s it for this week, I believe "Dr Rosenrosen" has just updated his online journal. If I hurry I can be the first to comment on it.
15 comments heard from cops
Got this from a Lancaster cop:
The following 15 Police Comments were taken from actual police car videos around the country.
#15. "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."
#14. "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."
#13. "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."
#12. "Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9 mm bullet fired from my gun."
#11. "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"
#10. "Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?
#9. "Warning? You want a warning? O. K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."
#8. "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not: Is Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"
#7. "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in donkey crap."
#6. "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."
#5. "No, sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."
#4. "Just how big were those two beers?"
#3. "In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."
#2. "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."
#1 "You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't. Sign here."
The following 15 Police Comments were taken from actual police car videos around the country.
#15. "Relax, the handcuffs are tight because they're new. They'll stretch out after you wear them awhile."
#14. "Take your hands off the car, and I'll make your birth certificate a worthless document."
#13. "If you run, you'll only go to jail tired."
#12. "Can you run faster than 1200 feet per second? In case you didn't know, that is the average speed of a 9 mm bullet fired from my gun."
#11. "So you don't know how fast you were going. I guess that means I can write anything I want on the ticket, huh?"
#10. "Yes, sir, you can talk to the shift supervisor, but I don't think it will help. Oh, did I mention that I am the shift supervisor?
#9. "Warning? You want a warning? O. K., I'm warning you not to do that again or I'll give you another ticket."
#8. "The answer to this last question will determine whether you are drunk or not: Is Mickey Mouse a cat or a dog?"
#7. "Fair? You want me to be fair? Listen, fair is a place where you go to ride on rides, eat cotton candy, and step in donkey crap."
#6. "Yeah, we have a quota. Two more tickets and my wife gets a toaster oven."
#5. "No, sir, we don't have quotas anymore. We used to have quotas, but now we're allowed to write as many tickets as we want."
#4. "Just how big were those two beers?"
#3. "In God we trust, all others we run through NCIC."
#2. "I'm glad to hear the Chief of Police is a good personal friend of yours. At least you know someone who can post your bail."
#1 "You didn't think we give pretty women tickets? You're right, we don't. Sign here."
Thought for the day
Why would people want to read books about The Book, when they can read The Book?
Monday, January 02, 2006
Cafe Brazil Run
For those of you in the D/FW area, Mattchew, Brandon Mc and I plan to make a visit to Cafe Brazil on Central tonight.
I don't think we're calling anyone for invites, but if you're interested in joining us, you can call us.
Maybe we're just lazy for not calling, but oh well. We're leaving the invite open to you.
I don't think we're calling anyone for invites, but if you're interested in joining us, you can call us.
Maybe we're just lazy for not calling, but oh well. We're leaving the invite open to you.
Sunday, January 01, 2006
Great quote...
"Someone's out there selling Who Would Jesus Nominate? t-shirts."
- Josh Lyman
West Wing
- Josh Lyman
West Wing
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