Motivational poster of the Week 1/30/10

Enjoy the Weekend.

-Doc

Cybergrievances - Guest Post from Absolutgator

My kids, who are in elementary school, have teacher assistants that are parents of a couple of other kids in class. Their job, which they volunteer to do, is simply to help the teachers with special projects and to keep all the parents informed about things going on in the classroom/special events. On Wednesday, we received an e-mail notification that there was a case of head lice in my son’s class; no it wasn’t him. The e-mail had a Word document attached that came from the school nurse about how to check your kids and what to do if you found lice. Good job keeping parents informed, right?

Well not for one parent. To protect the assholishness identity of this person, I’ll call him Mr. Jobs. It appears that Mr. Jobs is not a fan of Windows-based computers and really is annoyed by the attachment:

I appreciate your e-mails, but can I ask... why would this come as an attachment? I'm not a MS Word user (it's one of the worst written programs ever), but I was able to open it in other programs (like Pages and Staroffice). There's NOTHING in that document that would require it to be in a word document. No special formatting, pictures, etc. This is a REALLY big pet peeve of mine.

1. For all the windows users, you are risking them getting a virus (I use a Mac, so that's not a concern of mine). Microsoft Office documents are the petri dish of the Internet.

2. You expect everyone to have a $200 word processing software just to read an e-mail.

3. It makes me have to open another application to read something that's just plain text anyway.

So... in the future, I'd like to ask that if you are going to send us e-mails that are simple plain text, that you send them as e-mails. Not word attachments. IF, you have a highly formatted document with pictures, your fonts, etc., then I suggest you export those as a PDF, which everyone can freely read.

Just as an example (and to help anyone out that got this e-mail and doesn't have the ability to open the latest word documents), here's how the e-mail should have been:

Mr. Jobs then goes on to take the text from the attachment and put it at the bottom of the e-mail.

This really got under my skin for a couple of reasons. First, he clicked Reply All. Did he really have to let it be known to everyone how unhappy he was that she forwarded what was sent to her? Second, she is a volunteer! She is not getting paid to help the teacher that this guy’s kid is taught by and shouldn’t catch flack from some coffeehouse Mac lover (what a pretentious ass!).

So, it got me thinking. With all the ways we communicate electronically today, what are your greatest annoyances? (If you missed it, mine is when people use Reply All when they really need reply to only one person.)

-AbsolutGator

UPDATE: The dumbass did it again! The teacher assistant forwarded an e-mail attachement from the principal this time. He replied all what it 'should have looked like' and said 'your welcome' at the end of his e-mail. This makes me think of an SNL skit..."This guy needs a beatin'!"

Thursday Random Thoughts 1/28/10

Stuff I have been thinking about:

-Anybody remember Charo? She hasn't changed a bit in 30 years since she was on the Love Boat....Cuchie Cuchie!

-I love the Urban Dictionary website. I wish that it wasn't blocked at my work... Bunch of good stuff there.

-Last week we had a visitor whose IP address was from the New Jersey Institute of Technology. Who knew there was such a thing? What do they teach there leg breaking and extortion? (I keeed I keeed!) But seriously I have to think that NJIT is the poor step brother of MIT. Maybe they will film an episode of Jersey Shore there next season.

- Sign in the break room where I work. "I want to be very clear about this! On Friday January 30th all refrigerators will be cleaned out and any leftovers thrown away!" So much for being "Very Clear" considering this Friday is the 29th... so exactly what day is my week old egg roll gonna get tossed again?

-What is so "fun" about an inch long Snickers bar?

-The Winter Olympics are coming up and I enjoy them. Not quite as much as the summer games, I can't watch the ice skating or ice dancing or stuff like that, but I do like some of the skiing and bobsledding and stuff. NBC always seems to find the heart wrenching and touching stories to tell about the athletes. I bet that NBC is still looking for the sequel to the Tonya Harding - Nancy Kerrigan thing. Speaking of which can you believe that Tonya had the nerve to have her PR person (how does she even have a PR person?) issue a note of sympathy on the passing of Nancy's father. That Tonya Harding still has her trademark lack of tact, that's for sure.

-I really like the song, "I just haven't met you yet" by Michael Buble. Is Buble the reincarnation of Frank Sinatra just minus Rat Pack?

- They are calling for snow in my area this weekend Friday into Saturday. One of the people on the radio insists that the local grocery store chains are in cahoots with the dairy farmers and bread makers and they are blackmailing the meteorologists just so they can sell out the shelves of milk and bread. Ahhh the joys of snow in North Carolina.

- The Absolutgator e-mailed me yesterday saying that he wants to guest post a blog. I told him that he could post tomorrow morning. I wonder what he has in that head of his? Who knows... I just hope that he doesn't kill off the readership here! Check back tomorrow and see what he comes up with.

-Doc

Tweet of the Week 1/27/10

It was such a great week on Twitter and a bunch of Award worthy Tweets were tweeted. Tweets by @Jayman3768 , @Dana_Lu , @Kiki_Mo , and @MandyVaughn all were close contenders but one had to win. So Without further adieu let me introduce this weeks winner a fellow blogger KarenSugarpants:
Karen pens a great blog by the same name KarenSugarPants (please visit sometime) that I highly recommend. However that is not the reason she is tweeter of the week. the reason she won was her uncanny ability to get her point across very directly in just one word!

The Following Tweets happened last Saturday morning while I was at the grocery store. Ms. Pants is opining about the fact that she is "retired" from web design and is seeking other employment:

karensugarpants: Watching Sportsnet with my husband & coffee. Retirement means no pants

My response: docnolz: @karensugarpants No pants = no sugar :-(

And the WINNER Less than two minutes later Karensugarpants: @docnolz sugarpantIES!

Yes for this quick wit you win the Doc's Tweet of the week award from YJKOBT. Here you go Karen!

There you go Karen enjoy your award... and everyone keep tweeting and check back next week for the Tweet of the Week!

-Doc

A Texas Sized Sex Ed Talk

The old adage is that everything is bigger in Texas. Apparently that holds true when it comes to the sex education in the schools there as well. Yesterday while scanning for odd news stories I came across several stories about a motivational speech gone awry.
It seems that a member of the school board in Hitchcock (yes ironically I said Hitchcock) Texas was invited to give a motivational speech to 6th - 8th grade girls at the middle school there. The speaker, Dr. Shirley Price had heard that the girls were being pressured to have sex and decided to ask the school's principal to leave the room so she could discuss the topic with the girl's in private. The discussion seems to have started with a public discussion about the use of the word "bitch" and escalated from there.
Some of what was said and discussed is in debate and has been denied by the speaker but various news reports say that graphic discussions describing how to perform oral and anal sex and role playing situations where boys may try to pressure the girls into performing these acts. Dr. Shirley helped to explain and even role play these situations with the girls and included the phrasing “what is said in here stays in here.”
Understandably parents are upset. Not only were parents not notified ahead of time to allow their children to be excused if they felt that the sex ed talk was inappropriate but now they are having to do damage control about some of the things that were said.
Don't get me wrong, I feel that sex ed is a valuable educational tool and that parents should talk to their kids about sex. However I think that parents should be able to determine how and where this discussion takes place. Sex Ed can take place in a more clinical manner than a speaker discussing oral and anal sex and role playing the same. The speaker is now apologizing publicly but wants to speak to the girls again to apologize again in person. Ummm I don't think so.
What do you think? What is your opinion on how sex ed should take place in the schools? What is and what isn't appropriate? Comment and let me know your take.

-Doc

Deep Fried Hooters Chicken at Home!

So my in laws gave me this awesome turkey fryer for Christmas. They were down to visit this past weekend and I decided to fire it up. No I didn't burn the house down and the results were very yummy. So here I present a short series of pictures documenting how to do a Hooters deep fried chicken at home.

Fill the cooker with about 2.5 gallons of Peanut oil (Yes I am looking sytlish in sweats)

light the burner but be careful- especially in the rain

Prepare the bird by cleaning and then injecting with Hooters wing Sauce

I used Medium sauce and Emeril's Chicken rub

Check the oil temp. It takes awhile to get it up to 325 degrees

Hang the bird on the hook thingy
Rub the bird with the Chicken rub

While you are still waiting for the oil to get to 325 make sure to have a few of these handy

Keep waiting for the oil to get to the proper temp 325 degrees

OK, lower the bird into the oil and cook for 26 minutes

Keep Cooking....

Make sure the temp stays about 325... Very important!

Completed bird ready to cut and serve!

Oh yeah, I made a Green bean casserole too!

The finished product Mmmmm yummy!

OK so there you have it. The Chicken was very juicy and done perfectly... We all ate off it Sunday, last night, and I have the leftovers for lunch today. Not hard at all to do and as I said nothing got burned down.

-Doc

The Barrel O' Fun

I always thought this picture was great... for some reason something made me think of it while I was waiting for 45 minutes to get my H1N1 shot this morning, so I had to google it and find it to post for you guys. It's "The Barrel O' Fun." Does it look like they are having fun to you??

-Doc

Weekly Poll - What do you think of Twitter?

Last week we discussed race relations and by the comments and the poll votes it seems that we are divided on where our country stands. This week's poll is a little bit of a lighter topic. Twitter!
Inspiration for this poll came from our friend Mrs. D who writes 3 Men & a Lady. (Give her blog a read. She is both funny and insightful.) Last week she said that she was not sure about Twitter because it can be confusing, however I got an email on Saturday saying that she was now following my Tweets. To be truthful Twitter can be confusing and if you don't know how to use it (a la the Mt. Cat) or an application that sorts your stream for you it's not worth a lot.
Poll question and topic for discussion is what do you think about Twitter? Is it great? Are you a full fledged Tweeter? Are you just a novice experimenting? Do you hate it? Do you find yourself having conversations in Twitter-speak with Hash tags and @ symbols? What say you? Please vote in the poll which will be up all week and comments below.

-Doc

American Idol Update 1/24/10

This week's American Idol update is honestly going to be kind of weak. Is it my fault the update is weak? NOPE! It's Idol's fault. The audition shows this week were the the weakest lamest collection of talent and terrible singers I can ever remember in years of watching this. Even the guy who got arrested --- wasn't even all that entertaining. The only thing I can surmise is that Idol is saving the best singers for Hollywood week because last year they caught so much flak for bringing in ringers. Oh the ringers are there we just haven't been introduced to us yet.

The best singers from the Chicago auditions were Katelyn Eepperly from Iowa, Keith Semple from Illinois, and Angela Martin who has been on the show before not just once but twice. My pick for surprise coming out of Chicago is John Park an Asian singer who our Tweeter of the week @susantran was referring to her tweet.

Orlando was almost completely devoid of talent except for the very last performer Matt Lawrence. Look for this guy to go far in the competition. Great voice and a compelling story of redemption, as he was recently in prison.

I hope the season really gets going with Hollywood week but first we have some more auditions coming up this week. Once we get through Hollywood I will start giving my rankings and predictions.

-Doc

Motivational Poster of the Week 1/23/10

Have a Great Weekend

-Doc

The Mountain Cat's 'Dog Gone' Birth

My birth and the subsequent aftermath have become folklore in my family. Some of the details of this legend are vague based on my parents' recollections. It all started sometime in July 1971. My parents were on the way to Canada or already in Canada or on their way back from Canada. Allegedly they got into some sort of car accident and were forced to stay overnight in some roadside motel. I can imagine it was the type of seedy motel that propagates romance and other illegal activities for the frequent traveler. Consequently, nine months later on April 7, 1972, Vince was born.

I don't recall how I learned about this story, I believe that I quizzed my parents once in my adulthood about the events that led up to my nativity. Not that I'm a pervert mind you, but somehow we got on this topic one day. Over the years since then, my mother has recanted her original story and amended; 'No Vin, I was actually pregnant with you when we got into that car accident.' If this fact is accurate, it may explain some of my mental deficiencies due to a bump on my head that I suffered when my mom hit her womb against the passenger side dashboard. Those of you who know me well enough know that my personality is slightly 'left of center' to describe it modestly.

Anyway, over the years I have often given my parents mock guilt that I was an unplanned child. My mom always give me the same response: 'Well none of your sisters were planned either, Vin. So don't feel bad.' My two sisters are 11 and 12 years older than me which illustrates how unplanned my birth was!

Now at the time of my genesis, my parents had a French poodle named Jean-Pere. (Pictured below with my sisters in 1971). According to my father 'Jean-Pere was the best catcher he'd ever seen! He can catch any ball or any stick no matter how far or fast you threw it to him.' This fact has nothing to do with my story but it is a fascinating to me nevertheless. Unfortunately for me but certainly more for the dog, I never met Jean-Pere. My parents decided that they did not want Jean-Pere around their new infant. They were probably worried that poodle scent can deform a baby or something. I will have to research that someday to justify my parents' rationale. But the running gag all my life has been that my parents 'had to decide whether to keep me or dog'. Luckily my parents choose me instead of leaving me on some random doorstep or donating me to some refugee family in Chinatown.

Anyway I am saddened that I never got to meet the great Jean-Pere. My parents can't recall what happened to Jean-Pere. They most likely gave him away to a dog shelter where he stayed lonely and unwanted for several months before he was eventually euthanized. Mom and dad you should be ashamed of yourself! The blood is on your hands! Oh and I would have gladly co-existed with Jean-Pere. Come to think of it, I never had any pets growing up. Only goldfish. And goldfish are not affectionate plus they die too quickly to form any loving bond with them. What joy a dog, a cat or even a hamster would have brought to my life instead of the barren childhood that I led. (How's that for guilt?)

Yup, my mom was definitely pregnant with me at the time of the car accident.

-The Mountain Cat (aka Vince)


***Note: The poodle's name is pronounced 'Jon-pear'. It is French for 'John the Father' in case you were wondering. I don't know how he got the name Jean-Pere. According to my dad, they adopted him as a puppy and he already had the name.

Thursday Random Thoughts 1/21/2010

Stuff I have been thinking about:

- So apparently with Titanic and now Avatar James Cameron is the King of the World. Speaking of which I have absolutely no interest in seeing Avatar whatsoever. I think my interest in Sci Fi ended with Star Wars.

- I'm not usually a snooze button hitter but the difference between 5:08 am and 5:18 am made all the difference on Tuesday morning.

- I am all about shooting the messenger.

- I am telling you this It's not a good thing when you get an email and the subject line is "Mr. Douchebag is now following you on Twitter."

-I read the other day that Tim Tebow and his mother are filming a commercial to run during the Super Bowl that is sponsored by a religious organization. It's an anti abortion commercial and apparently tells the story that Tim was an at risk pregnancy for his mother and the doctors advised her to terminate the pregnancy. Obviously she didn't and see what a life was saved. Not trying to start an abortion debate here at this time and not a big fan of Tebow but I bet this will be a pretty pointed commercial. Something to think about.

- This past month I shattered the old text messaging record of about 10,000. New record is 18,600!

-Last night I went to the Charlotte Bobcats game and not only did they win but they blew out the Miami Heat by 40 points. This team is really good. They are 9-1 in their last 10 and are now in 5th place in the East. Watch out NBA the Bobcats are going to be a tough out in the playoffs!

- So Jersey Shore is the newest trashy reality show flavor of the month. I have never seen the show but I am listening to a few of the participants on the radio right now and Oh MY we are in trouble if these kids are our future. As someone who spent summers during my childhood growing up at the Jersey Shore I am appalled at these idiots. I am sure the city officials of places like Wildwood, Ocean City and Seaside Heights must be so proud. I bet this show is even worse than Rock of Love or Flava Flav's show.

- You know a movie that I haven't seen in a long time that I need to see again? Johnny Dangerously. What a great hilarious movie!

- Is the opposite of being on the "up and up" being on the "down low"?

- What exactly is my son's fascination with toilet paper? He is potty training now and is so distracted by the TP that he forgets to go to the potty. I guess it's the rolly aspect of it. Anyway have any other parents found their child to be fascinated by the TP? Is it just a boy thing?

Until next week...

-Doc

Oh BTW - Vince (The Mt. Cat) has a post going up tomorrow about the strange and debatable surroundings of his birth.

Tweet of the Week Award 1/20/10

I am introducing a new feature here on YJKOBT. The Tweet of the Week! (only kind of stolen from Sports Illustrated columnist Peter King) I follow a bunch of great and funny people on Twitter and often laugh or cringe at the things they say. I am going to use this space each week to highlight some of these great tweets. This weeks winner is @susantran for her hilarious Tweet about American Idol and the lack of Asian pop singers:
An Asian dude is an American Idol hopeful. Cool! I'm afraid we might not be a hugely musical people! Plz submit names of #asianpopstars! :) Here is the permalink to this Tweet.
I have included a funny picture of Susan supporting Charity by "growing" a mustache. Susan is a local Charlotte news personality who not only lots of fun as a tweeter but is also a big supporter of local charities:

Susan: Here is your Tweet of the Week award if you want to post it on your blog. And if you send me the address of your blog I will gladly post it here for others to read and follow:


Until next week keep tweeting and of course if you have a twitter feed I need to be following please let me know.

-Doc

OK, So apparently I have too many coats

I have a confession to make. My name is Doc and I am a coat whore. Very recently it has been pointed out to me by my wife that I just may have an issue with this so I have decided to come clean. I know I have picked on women for having to many shoes in the past so I now must confess my own failing. Coats. After using a gift card to buy a New York Mets jacket while up in NY the other week my wife asks me, "Why in the heck do you need another coat?" My response, "Oh I don't have too many coats."
"Go count them!" I'm told. So I did. I made an inventory. Here is a picture of our downstairs hall closet:

Between this closet and in my closet upstairs I have:

1 Carolina Panthers Heavy Duty Coat
3 Panthers pullovers (heavy, medium, and light)
1 Panthers lightweight coat
1 Panthers Windbreaker
1 New York Mets Heavy Coat
1 Mets pullover
1 Company logo Windbreaker
1 Company logo Parka
1 Dupont Jeff Gordon Jacket
1 FSU pullover
1 FSU Windbreaker
2 FSU Coats (heavy and light) + I recently gave my nephew my FSU letter jacket
3 Fleeces (2 full and 1 vest)
1 Everyday Windbreaker
1 Everyday heavy coat
1 Dress overcoat
1 Everyday light jacket
1 Rain Coat

For a total of 23 coats/jackets/pullovers. (Too be fair that closet picture also has 2 of my wife's coats and 3 of my son's as well) Is this excessive? Maybe. Now I don't live in an area known for super cold weather but sometimes it can be unpredictable. These coats are not being wasted. I promise that I have worn each of these within the past year. Probably more than once.

So there is my confession. I am a coat whore. Even so I can give good reason for having and keeping each and every one. How many do I plan on getting rid of? Well None actually. I already gave away one last year. As a matter of fact I am thinking there is room in there for me to get another one. (or two)

-Doc

Edgar Allan Poe's Mystery Toaster fails to show...

For the first time since 1949 they mystery toaster who leaves a bottle of Cognac and roses on the grave site of Edgar Allan Poe in a Baltimore cemetery has failed to show. for those who have no idea what I am talking about there is a a single mystery individual who for more than half a century has shown up between the hours of midnight and 5:30 am on January 19th and leaves these gifts at the author's grave in a birthday tribute. This year the mystery guest was a no-show for some reason.
Over the years the Poe Toaster has developed quite a following and the 19th of January has become a sort of pilgrimage day for serious Poe enthusiasts to visit the site. Apparently many were waiting overnight for the toaster to come and present his gifts. Perhaps the simple gesture that was born and carried out for decades in solitude has become to much of a spectacle for the enigmatic toaster who has never been identified or sought any attention for his simple act of dedication.
I hope this tradition isn't dead along with so many other things but I fear that it is. I would like to think that life still has some things that remain a mystery. Perhaps the Poe Toaster wherever he is as sad as I am today because others ruined his gift. Poe might agree.

"I have no faith in human erfectability. I think that human exertion will have
no appreciable effect upon humanity. Man is now only more active - not
more happy - nor more wise, than he was 6000 years ago. " - Edgar Allan Poe

-Doc

My Weekend Project - The Train Table

So this past weekend I had little project. My in-laws gave my son a train table for Christmas that we were just able to transport home last week after the wedding. So on Saturday (while he was taking a nap) I put it together. It is pretty awesome. The pictures below don't even really do it justice. I mean it's just a simple low to the ground table with a landscape scene printed on it but to my son it's magical. We set up the tracks and the accessories and he runs the trains around it. Well actually he has so many trains that he hooks them all together that it makes it hard to go around the corners. He uses his imagination and has the trains talk to each other and do little jobs. He crashes them in spectacular fashion and hollers out, "Cinders and Ashes!" just like they do on the show Thomas the Tank Engine. It's great and you know what the best part is? He isn't sitting there staring at the TV or a video game. This is active and mind engaging play!

What do you think? I'm actually pretty proud of my handiwork.

-Doc

Weekly Poll - How are race Relations in America?

With a nod towards Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. whose birthday is celebrated as a holiday today I figured that this week's poll would be about race relations in America. How are we doing as a country? I know we have come a long way from the days of segregated bathrooms and denial of voters rights but where are we today?
I don't think that the election of an African-American as President means we have reached the end of the racism tension in America. I think maybe it has just galvanized the extreme edges of the debate. Within the past 3 months I have still heard someone in casual conversation using the 'n-word' in reference to our President. I have always been puzzled and disturbed by people's reaction to race and what I perceive as an emphasis on the things that divide us instead of the things we have in common. Anyone who has read here for years knows that. You can read previous posts on this here.
Tell me what you think of the state of race relations in our country. The poll question answers are this: We are moving on the right track and We have a long way to go but I would like to hear what you think about this topic as well. Let me know what you think.

-Doc

Short Video of my son playing in the snow

When we were up in New York for the wedding last weekend Patrick got to play in the snow. He loved it. I figured on a Sunday I would share a quick clip of him running around making snow balls.

-Doc

"I'm gonna buy some belts after this"

I have seen some great stuff on American Idol but this is the best so far. Good news article about the General Larry Platt and his causes here.

Enjoy and have a great weekend.

-Doc

Hitting the High Notes 1/15/2010

Stuff I have read about recently:

-Back in 1920 who would have ever thought that someday Canada would have to change the name of it's national pastime's magazine called "The Beaver" about the fir trade because Internet filters think it's about porn? Did they even have porn back in 1920? Anyway if you are a subscriber to "The Beaver" look for future publications to be called "Canada's History."


-The new list of words that should be banned from the English language is out from Lake Superior State University. Included are tweeting, teachable moment, toxic assets, shovel-ready, unfriended, any new czar, sexting, and anything that starts with Obama- such as Obamacare and Obamanomics. Now I have heard of most of these but not sure about sexting. If any woman knows what this is and wants to teach me about it I will be glad to give you my cell #. LOL!

-Did you all hear about this drunk driver in South Dakota with a blood-alcohol level of 0.708 percent ? Isn't that legally dead? Her mugshot is here to the right... YIKES she even looks like she should be dead.

-If you are thinking about pulling a practical joke let me just tell you this. It is a really bad idea in these days of Nancy Grace and Amber alerts to pull a prank by driving your 12 year old daughter down the road in your truck bound and gagged with duct tape. Idiot.

-One last one. This is a great story about the wife of one of Britain's parliamentary representatives from Northern Ireland whose wife Iris who is 60 just got caught having an affair with a 19 year old friend of the family. Talk about a Cougar! What's the ironic part of this story? Their last name is Robinson. Iris truly is Mrs. Robinson!

-Oh yes and I stole the Idea for Megan Fox Naked from my buddies Matt-Man and Jayman. Let the Hits roll in!

Later!

-Doc

Hey Lurkers... Come Say hello!

It's Delurker Day 2010! So come out and say hello... you can post a comment anonymously without signing up for an account or anything. Just Say hi an where you are lurking from. We know you are there....It's ok to lurk, we just want you to comment and say hi every once in a while.


-Doc

Thursday Random Thoughts 1/14/2010

Stuff I have been thinking about:


-OK here it is, The picture of me in my mother in law's Snuggie. I look and felt like some cult member or something. My wife actually liked it and says she wants one for her birthday next week. Should I actually get her one?


-So I came into work this morning and found the Mexican leftovers from yesterdays lunch here waiting for me on my desk that I forgot to take home yesterday... Yuck!


-Stat Counter info of the week. Had someone visit the blog from someplace called Romeoville Illinois last week. Sounds like a cool enough name for a town. Oh and I am pretty sure that the people I wanted to read my rant about the radio show getting cancelled at least read the post.


-We had a great trip to NY for my Brother in laws wedding this past weekend. The wedding was great but it was also great that my son got to play in the snow. He got to make his very first snowman and really enjoyed it. Maybe this weekend I will post some pictures or video.


-Why do women need so many shoes?

-I generally try and ignore Pat Robertson and his comments yesterday are no exception to this policy I have. Just go away Pat... please.


-So I have found something more awesome than Cheetos. Target Market Pantry version of Cheetos! All the awesome taste but with a generic price!


-Saw a billboard recently for Belmont Abbey College a Catholic college near where I live that is run by Benedictine Monks. The billboard simply said "Got Monks" and I thought it was interesting so I googled it. Turns out http://www.gotmonks.com/ is their website! Hilarious! They sell Got Monks T-shirts and hats and everything. I love it when religious organizations have a sense of humor and don't take themselves to seriously.


-So yesterday I got a credit card statement in the mail from a credit card company that I don't (or didn't think) that I have a credit card with. It turns out that I do apparently have an account from 2002 with them. I never had the card and it's never been used. Wheew, I was worried about identity theft and other stuff for a bit. Now I am just not sure what to do. Should I cancel it?


-American Idol update: After the first 2 shows of Season 9 here are a few thoughts: The show is still sticking to it's formula with the bad auditions and production done to be funny interspersed with really good singers. The "pants on the floor" bit was really good and I bet we see that guy in the season finale. From the people shown so far I have 3 that sound like they have a shot to make it in Hollywood. Ashley Rodriguez, Luke Shaffer, and Mallorie Haley. Haley was so good I think she may have been a ringer planted there. The tough luck stories are being really played up this season as always and Simon seems to be a little less edgy. My thought is that this season a female will probably win. The last two winners were male and 3 of the last 4. More auditions coming up next week and once we get to Hollywood rounds the real fun begins.


-Doc

Motivational Poster of the Week 1/13/10

-Doc

The YJKOBT Curse... An Open letter to 107.9 The Link

Everyone has heard about the Sports Illustrated curse and the Curse of the Bambino. I am here to offer a new curse to add to the list. The YJKOBT curse. This curse struck while I was away in New York. You will remember back just a week or two ago to this post detailing my 'Best of" list for 2009. In this list I had high praise for the very topical and funny Candy and Potter Show on 107.9 the link in Charlotte, NC. I praised it for being the best of the three main shows they offer there. I like Bob and Sheri and The Matt and Ramona show on this same station, (previously praising them on this blog) but in my estimation in the past year the Candy and Potter show really stepped up their game including a late year admission that they were expecting their first child in May of 2010.
Late last week while I was in NY this show was cancelled by 107.9 The Link with a simple statement saying that they were "moving in different direction."In response to that I decided to give this new show a listen to see what that direction was. Apparently that new direction involves pretty much just music. The new host Kelley McKay gives abrupt one liners and little quips in between endless back to back songs. She asks for calls but takes very few. (possibly because it didn't take people long to figure out it's not worth calling) and the ones she does take are brief and ended awkwardly. This does not follow the mantra stated by Greater Media's Bill White who thinks that, "Her style is fun and interactive which enables our listeners to be the "co-host" of the show." Also this new direction lasts an extra hour (10 am - 3 pm) taking an hour away from Matt and Ramona (admittedly this was their original start time).
Basically what The Link and their parent company Greater Media have done is tell the public that music and drive by commentary are more important than a pair of folks who not only moved to Charlotte to take a job but at the same time really dove in and immersed themselves in this city. Candy and Potter dedication to the area and their community involvement wasn't just done as a part of their contract. You can tell that they did these things because they enjoyed them and felt a sense of dedication to charities and those less fortunate in this area. Apparently to Greater Media, not the same company that originally owned the station when they were hired community involvement is not what matters. I suggest that this decision is wrong and that the other shows will suffer because they cancelled Candy and Potter.
Like I previously stated I like both Bob and Sheri and Matt and Ramona but I don't listen to the radio during work days for music. I listen to be informed and entertained and I can certainly find that elsewhere from 10 -3. I just hope that I can remember to change the channel back unless I like really like what I find somewhere else. Now I know that this blog is not the most wide read thing on the web but I can almost guarantee that every time I mention one of the radio shows that someone (probably Angela) from 107.9 the link will read it. Please pass on to Neal Sharpe, Bill White, or whoever is in charge now that there has been a change in management. At least this member of the music advisory panel is not happy with this decision. I am not one who makes ultimatums because who knows what the future holds, but your station's listeners have certainly be hurt by this decision and by extension your advertisers as well. I will certainly be listening less.
Oh and let's hope this YJKOBT curse doesn't continue because I also said recently that I like the Jay Leno show... Oh Whoops!

-Doc

Your regularly scheduled YJKOBT snarkiness will return tomorrow.

The Ultimate Jets Fan Bride

So those of you who follow me on Twitter already know about the wedding I was in in NY on Saturday and the surprise that the bride had for the cocktail hour after the reception. I figured I would share it here though.
My brother in law got married on Saturday and we were all in the wedding. It just so happened that service was at 5 pm which was during the Jets - Bengals playoff game. Kim the beautiful bride is a huge Jets fan so as a show of solidarity for her team she came down for the cocktail hour (before the reception) wearing her Jets jersey of Mark Sanchez. I just had to get my picture taken with her and post these here:

Classic and a very beautiful bride too!!
BTW - Maybe the jersey brought the Jets good luck. They won the game and continue on in the NFL playoffs!

-Doc

Walk to 100 Update

Still on the road for my brother in laws wedding but I wanted to give a walk to 100 miles update. As expected the holidays slowed me down a bit but I am full speed ahead in January. So far on my quest for better health I have walked 26.675 miles out of my 100 I pledged to walk by April 15th. That gives me 73.325 more to go. With 14 more weeks to go I will need an average of just over 5 miles per week. Easily doable for me. Wish me luck and better health in 2010.
Is anyone else doing anything or changing up their lifestyle to try and live better in 2010?

-Doc