http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss itsjames2u@mac.com © James Pecht Tue, 12 Apr 2005 08:41:44 -0500 Tue, 12 Apr 2005 08:41:54 -0500 iBlog 1.4.2 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E566083520/index.html

For those of you who don't check my other blog, Jenny & I found a house last week! It's in the Lake Highlands area of Dallas, and we couldn't be happier!

Now it's on to the inspections and all the other stuff one has to do in the option period. Then there's the mortgage stuff. But hey-- we found a house!

Here are some initial pictures of the place... more to come soon:

]]> Tue, 12 Apr 2005 08:41:27 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E566083520/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E1049160136/index.html

While watching last night's Baylor-Michigan State basketball game:

Announcer: And up against this zone defense, the Lady Bears have no trouble finding the gap.
Jenny: Of course they have no trouble. They're from BAYLOR! Finding The Gap is a REQUIREMENT!

]]> Wed, 06 Apr 2005 10:51:00 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E1049160136/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E750404346/index.html

I checked my FreeiPods.com account yesterday, and it said I'd been approved to order my free iPod. So I did that... the order's processing, and I'll report if and when it arrives.

And for a bonus, I bought a Pepsi last night, and the cap told me I won a free song on iTunes . Cool!

And before I forget... GO BEARS!

]]> Tue, 05 Apr 2005 13:41:47 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E750404346/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E1549248866/index.html

So, um... yeah. House hunting is tiring work. Jenny & I officially started our house hunt this weekend, although we've been looking informally for about a year. By that I mean we've been driving around neighborhoods, looking stuff up on realtor.com , making lists of what we like and don't like, that sort of thing. So you shouldn't be surprised when we say that we *almost* found the perfect house for us on our first day of actually looking. Almost.

The house itself is gorgeous, in very good shape, and has a huge and glorious back yard. Only problem is the neighborhood. It's not a bad neighborhood, but some of the homes to the south of it need some love. To the north, all the homes are in great shape, and the neighborhood is beautiful. It's just not 100% perfect, so we're not too sure it's worth plunging into it right now.

We also found what would have been the absolutely perfect house for us. Wallpaper/paint adjustments would be unnecessary. The kitchen is huge and beautiful. Hardwood floors throughout. Gorgeous neighborhood. The right price. But a freakin' pool. We DON'T want a pool. This will be a house where we'll start a family. We need a back yard that wouldn't be a death trap for an infant. (Not to mention, the doglet really needs a yard. It can be small, of course, but it just needs to be a yard!)

So we shall keep looking. And we've been taking along our digital camera... it's quite funny how awful some of these houses are. We're going to build a little photo site with some of the gems we've found. For example, we found toilet art.

]]> Mon, 04 Apr 2005 11:44:49 -0500 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E1549248866/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E314670162/index.html

Patthebone clicked on my freeiPods.com link, completed an offer and received credit, becoming referral No. 6-- my emergency backup referral! Thanks, Pat! Now, your praise...

A "Renaissance man" is defined as one who dares to "acquire more than superficial knowledge about many different interests"-- an apt description of my friend Pat Gary. He is an accomplished musician, skilled at playing more instruments than I can even imagine. He's an incredible composer and songwriter, and he currently lends his talents to Dallas rock band Full of Eels. Plus, he's smart as a whip and one of the wittiest people you can know... and he is never satisfied in his quest for further knowledge. All this, with his progressive stance on political and social issues, makes him an outstanding friend and an all-around great guy.

There you go, Pat, and thanks again for helping me in my quest toward a free iPod. Now that I have all the referrals I need, if anyone is interested in helping my friends out in their iPod endeavors, here's how.

• To help out Jessica , click on this link, sign up and complete an offer. She's a good friend to have, and she'll repay you with kindness, I'm sure.
• To help out Leila, click on her referral link, sign up and complete an offer. She's offering a choice of incentives: Glowing praise, a free T-shirt or $10 in cash.
• To help out katjabee , you'll need to click on her referral link, sign up, complete an offer, and probably do a little dance. (just kidding about the dance). Her incentive: Glowing praise, and I bet she's better at it than I am.

]]> Thu, 31 Mar 2005 13:47:53 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E314670162/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1558889425/index.html

I stayed home Monday and Tuesday with a bad cold and a particularly nasty sore throat. I don't get sick very much, so being puny at home is kind of a foreign concept to me. Here are some things I learned:

1) It is possible to nap more than the doglet.
2) The doglet likes it when you nap. He gives you an expression like, "Finally! He gets it!"
3) Hot tea is very good for a sore throat.
4) Contrary to what you might expect, the tea called 1812 Gunpowder isn't actually laced with high amounts of caffeine. Bummer.
5) When you're battling a particularly bad headache, nothing tastes better than that forgotten bottle of Dublin Dr Pepper you find hiding in the back of the fridge.
6) Nothing, that is, except maybe that cherry danish your wife bought you from Central Market .
7) No matter what all TiVo has recorded for you, it is easy to get incredibly bored by 2 p.m. of your first day home sick.

]]> Thu, 31 Mar 2005 10:08:05 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1558889425/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1174649623/index.html

Well HERE was a nice surprise! Glenda, Jessica's mom, clicked on my freeiPods.com link and became my fifth referral! That means I have enough to be eligible for a free iPod. I'll keep everyone updated on the status. And since there are a couple of others in the system still pending, I'll continue to write your paragraphs o' praise when they alert me that you've completed your offers!

Now, without further ado... glowing praise for Glenda:

Glenda Brown is the second mom everyone would like to have. She cooks great food, pours a tasty glass of wine, and takes good care of people. She's also a gifted quilter, and her quilts are treasured gifts for all their recipients. On top of all that, she's Jessica's mom, so she is indeed quite accomplished!

There you go, and thanks!

]]> Wed, 30 Mar 2005 14:07:39 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1174649623/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1103452558/index.html

Now a belated -- but heartfelt -- thanks to katjabee , who clicked on my free iPods link and completed an offer, thus giving me one more referral toward the goal. Get five friends to complete an offer, and I qualify for a free iPod. So, Princess Mary Sue, here is your praise:

Katjabee is one of the most vivacious and friendly people you could ever know. In addition to being smart as a whip, she's one incredible performer. She's the frontwoman rocker-chick for Dallas band Full of Eels , and she's a proven talent on the Renaissance Faire stage. And she hails from my hometown, which makes her even more of a delight.

I hope I could do you justice in just a few sentences. Thanks!

]]> Tue, 29 Mar 2005 13:30:59 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1103452558/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C158891056/E726439651/index.html

We're treated on this Good Friday to a wonderfully obvious lead from a DMN front-page story:

The Easter Passion story is always the same.

Yup. Not a lot of surprise there... Jesus dies every time.

]]> Fri, 25 Mar 2005 08:50:11 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C158891056/E726439651/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E232214539/index.html

Special thanks to Leila for clicking on my FreeiPods link, signing up and completing an offer. That's three down, two to go!

Now, her paragraph o' praise:

Leila Merrill is quickly becoming one of The Dallas Morning News' star copy editors. Her award-winning headline skills are matched only by her uncanny sense of style. In addition to her professional skills, she is a human of exquisite character, known especially for her caring attitude toward animals. She is a fantastic caretaker of the feline phenom Eliot, and she is dedicated to the humane treatment of all creatures. A devoted vegetarian, the flesh of no animal shall ever cross her lips!

There you are, Leila. And thanks!

Remember, those who sign up via this link and complete an offer (a very necessary requirement -- Jeff and Jessica did Blockbuster Online; I don't know yet about Leila) will receive a few sentences of glowing praise. What's not to like?

]]> Wed, 23 Mar 2005 13:54:38 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E232214539/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1130887471/index.html

I'll wrap up the weekend in a second, but first an observation. Central Market recently introduced their own line of organic foods. So I thought I'd try their microwave popcorn... it might make a good snack at work. I detected a slightly "earthier" flavor than regular popcorn, so I checked the ingredients list:

Certified organic gourmet popcorn, certified organic palm oil, certified organic butter flavor, salt, annatto.

Could someone please tell me what is "certified organic butter flavor?" Not actual butter, mind you-- butter flavor. How can imitation anything be organic?

SATURDAY

Jenny & I slept in for the first time in several weeks. We had a leisurely breakfast... next to the Highland Park high school crew team. One of our favorite breakfast spots is right by our apartment-- Barbec's . It's just a classic diner, but a guilty pleasure nonetheless. And it's usually enjoyable... except when you have a bad headache and a bunch of boisterous teenagers right next to you. I know, I know... it's kinda petty to complain about loud teenagers on a Saturday morning.

After a couple of errands, we went to Cedar Valley College for a production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers . Jenny's brother Jonathan was one of the brothers. The cast was pretty darn good. The musical itself was awful. let me explain-- The best cast in the world can't rescue a poorly written script and disjointed musical score. But the performers were great.

The rest of the day involved some shopping, dinner and crashing in front of the TV, catching up on stuff TiVo found for us. Boring? Perhaps. But we'd had a busy day. Then came Sunday.

SUNDAY

We knew we were in for a bad day when we headed for the car to go to church and found that the two back tires on my Mustang were flat. VERY flat. Like they had been slashed, or punctured. Having no time to inspect them (we were running late), we decided to deal with the tires later. Church. Lunch at Maggiano's , where we had awful service for the second time in our last two visits. (How does one forget to turn in the order for THE MAIN COURSE?) Then back home to deal with the tires.

When you have one flat, it's not hard to change the tire, put on the spare, and head to the store to get it fixed. But when you have two flats-- it gets a bit more challenging. You have to take both tires off and take another car to the store. Unless you're lucky enough to have two spares, but we weren't. So here's my sad car in our parking lot:


I wish I'd thought to take a picture with the two flat tires... alas, I did not. Anyway, off to Pep Boys, where we saw the cause-- two screws, thoughtfully placed in the treads. Freak accident or deliberate job? Who knows? One screw, I wouldn't think twice about it being an accident. Two? I just don't know. Whatever the case, since they were screws and not, say, a razor blade or knife across the sidewalls, the damage was covered by my road hazard warranty, and we got the tires fixed for free. Our luck was turning around.

It shot most of the day, of course, but that was resolved, and we didn't want to mess with the world anymore last night. So we ordered a pizza and watched a marathon of Alias, season 3, courtesy of the fine folks at Netflix . Things were looking better. Then, of course, the weekend ended. Darnit.

]]> Mon, 21 Mar 2005 10:00:00 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1130887471/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1182653891/index.html

Jeff clicked on the FreeiPods link and completed an offer, so now I have two referrals... Thank you, Jeff! And now, your glowing praise:

Jeff Franks is an emerging master in the field of visual arts. His video production skills are unmatched, and his set design skills are among the best anywhere. In addition, he is an accomplished actor and a person of impeccable character. He's the one you want standing next to you on the biggest day of your life. Reliable, strong, witty, smart and talented -- Jeff Franks has it all.

There you go, Jeff! And thanks.

]]> Wed, 16 Mar 2005 11:08:24 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E1182653891/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E2007866313/index.html

I am not the most disciplined grocery shopper. On my days off, when I must visit the grocery store on my own, Jenny sends me with great trepidation. I'm supposed to pick up tomatoes and nothing else? I also come home with cheese. Oh, and fruit. Maybe some flowers. I'm an impulse grocery shopper, the kind that stores must love.

Today, I vowed to be different. We needed tomatoes to go with dinner tonight, along with some sandwich fixin's for Jenny. I had a list. I was going to stick to that list for once.

The list included postage stamps. Now, I usually use the self-checkout lanes at my local Albertson's. But I'm not sure if you can buy stamps in those lanes like you can when you use an actual, human checker. So I stand in the express lane, proud that I've purchased everything on my list, and nothing more.

Then a woman comes over from the bakery, wheeling a cart filled with french bread, fresh out of the oven.

Resistance.... fading... No, I'll be good. After all, we're going to eat dinner in just a couple of hours, and I already have bread for Jenny's sandwiches and a baguette for tonight.

But... it smells soooo goood..... and I could use a snack.... and it's only a dollar....

I caved. I bet you, would, too, if you had that cart right in front of you, the pleasant aroma of fresh-baked bread wafting through the air.

So my streak of not being able to go to the store without an impulse buy continues. And I'm eating fresh bread while typing this. And I have no regrets.

]]> Tue, 15 Mar 2005 16:43:21 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C296299595/E2007866313/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E648382603/index.html

Jessica is the first to have signed up completed an offer so I can selfishly get a free iPod. Thanks, Jess!

As promised-- glowing praise:

Jessica Brown is one of San Antonio's brightest young engineers. Work from her latest project is being used the world over in the battle against heart disease. Her amazing talents, combined with her fortuitous good looks, make her one of Texas' most desirable professional women.

There you go, Jess-- copy that paragraph and put it on your Web site, a book jacket, or anywhere you'd like it.

Who's next?

]]> Mon, 14 Mar 2005 12:54:22 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C1552600234/E648382603/index.html http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C77958875/E1419644496/index.html

So I'm not asking anyone to sell their soul or anything, but I would like your help toward my getting a free iPod. Click on this link, sign up, complete an offer. What will you get in return? Nothing but glorified praise from me, in this here space. So what do you have to lose?

]]> Thu, 10 Mar 2005 14:02:33 -0600 http://homepage.mac.com/itsjames2u/iblog/C77958875/E1419644496/index.html