Is this a can of worms to open?

You’ve seen every type of license plate. Plates for your favorite college, plates with the state birds, yada, yada, yada.

Well the Florida state legislature is debating whether to create a specialty plate for Christians. Being a Christian it’s kind of easy to say “why not?” But also wanting to be fair, I think then, there should be plates for other religions. And here’s where that can of worms comes in. How can you do all of them? If you want to do all of them, can any state afford it? I don’t know how many requests there would be for, just for example, let’s say a Wiccan plate, but if they asked and the state said “NO” - is that fair?

Would it be fair to say, if we get at least “300″ (or some number that makes it feasible) pre-orders for a plate then we’ll create it.

As I said, I’m not sure where I stand on this. Whaddya think? Hit the comment button and let me know.

Found Money - Lost!

I suppose you already have plans for the money that you'll get back from the IRS...the money that you'll get to help "spur" the economy. For us, since we don't have any dependants anymore, we were looking for $1200. We have always called this kind of a windfall "found money." It just shows up and wasn't' part of the budget. We had decided we were going to "splurge" and buy something nice. I was leaning toward a new HiDef Plasma TV.


I had actually done some preliminary shopping around and when that money was automatically deposited into the ol' checking account, - off the to store I was going to go.


But it's funny how things work out. Last week one of the cars wouldn't start. Called the auto club and had it towed to my mechanic. Turns out, it's going to cost...about $1500. Guess the big screen will have to wait. Ah, well.



Looking at it from the Silver Lining Side...at least we're getting $1200 from the government and we won't have to decide whether we want to eat or drive... And my mechanic will probably have a new big screen to watch. (sigh).... Maybe he'll invite me over for the games this year.

I hate spammers!

This is just great! I found this article this morning. Just what we need a new way to be annoyed by spammers.

Here at work, we just upgraded to Microsoft Exchange Server. Because we have a lot of our email addresses posted on our websites, we get a lot of spam. It is not unusual for me to walk in on Monday morning and find more than 500 spam emails in my spam filter. I used to go to the trouble of checking each one, but I just don't have the time anymore.

Now, it looks like spam will start to clutter my calendar. Why can't these worthless spammers get a real job at a legitimate company? They are obviously very talented, very creative and computer savvy. You'd think that companies like Microsoft, Google, Oracle, etc would love to have them on their team.

Ah Well....I guess that's progress. Excuse me, gotta run...I think I have to schedule a Nigerian fundraiser according to my meeting schedule.

More Wacky Birds

This event at the Mid American Center looks like fun if you like Exotic Birds (Parrots and the like). As you can probably tell from my previous “wacky bird” posts, my wife and I are “Bird Fans.” Our first birds were a pair of cockatiels (Fred and Ethel). We had them for a few years until Ethel went to the great bird cage in the sky. Then we decided we wanted a larger hook bill, so we got “Legolas.” (this by the way was a long time before the movie. I started reading Tolkien’s Hobbit and the Ring series back in the 70’s.) Legolas is a Military Macaw and about 30 years old at this point. We’re not exactly sure of the age. We got him from private citizen who told us he was (we think he’s a he) about two.

Then my father-in-law got “Pepe” from a friend of his. He got “tired of him” and we took him in. Pepe is a Moluccan Cockatoo and a real pain in the “cage.” We believe he was mistreated by his first owner (not my father in law) and is very very skittish. He is much more comfortable with my wife than me. He really won’t let me get near him.

Legolas on the other hand is “My Bird” and he doesn’t really dislike my wife, though he does like to torment her. He does talk, but these birds aren’t known for their speaking ability. His vocabulary is probably about 15- 25 words. He says his name, calls our dogs, tells us to “go to bed”, and a few other phrases he picked up from things we’ve said around the house.

Large birds like these are really amazing creatures. They can live for 60 - 80 years. They have unique personalities, just like people. Legolas for example, will allow me to do just about anything to him. I can pet him, rub his wings, and carry him around on my shoulder all day. He’ll give me a kiss, take a peanut from my mouth, etc. - all without a complaint. When my wife tries any of those things, he’ll get “smooth” on her…he’ll coo, say his name real softly and act like he can’t wait for her to pick him up. But the minute she tries, he’ll scream and bite her (not hard, just enough to let her know he’s the boss.)

If you have ever had an interest in exotics, I would recommend you head over to the MAC for the GOCBS Bird Fair on May 4th. It’s only a buck and there should be some real pretty and interesting birds there

Movies on the Computer?

Do you watch movies on your computer? I don’t. I do subscribe to Netflix and have for years. Now as part of your subscription, you can stream some of their library directly to your computer. It sounds cool, but sitting in front of the computer to watch a movie is not what I consider comfortable. However, I can watch movies on my Zune. I know it’s weird, but I when I watch them on a the Zune, I usually only watch about 10 or 15 minutes at a time. It may take a week to finish the movie, but I can do it.

But I saw this story this morning and this could change my whole idea. If Netflix manages to work out the LG set top box at a reasonable price, my whole opinion of watching streaming movies will change.

UPS Found me.

Well, the UPS Truck showed up last night. Guess they found their way back to Missouri Valley. The Zune Case, after taking the scenic route, arrived on-time as promised and is now hugging the Zune and hanging on my belt. Life's good.

Sometimes, I'm easily pleased.

A Geography Lesson for UPS?

I mentioned the other day, I bought a Zune. It's getting to be "outdoor" work season and I like to listen to music while I'm out mowing the lawn and/or working in the yard. I didn't want to just stick the Zune in my pocket. I found a pretty cool looking case on line for about $10 bucks. So, I ordered it.

A little clarification, if you're not familiar with this area. I live just outside Missouri Valley, Iowa. That's about 25 miles north of Omaha.

On Friday the Zune Case left Colorado Springs on the big brown truck headed for Missouri Valley, with an estimated arrival of today (Tuesday, April 15). I was provided with the tracking number and sure enough, the big brown truck arrived in Omaha yesterday afternoon. And it would be on it's way to Missouri Valley shortly. BUT WAIT, yesterday evening it left Omaha headed for Des Moines, IA. WHAT? In order to get to Des Moines, it goes right by Missouri Valley and then about 120 miles to the east.

I checked the tracking this morning and lo and behold at 3 AM, the package was put back on the UPS truck and headed back to Omaha.

Here's the Tracking:

Stay Tuned! Will it show up at the front door? Or take another scenic tour of western Iowa?

Time Shift Your Life

How do you time shift your life? First it was the DVR (or TiVO). It’s nice to be able to watch a TV show when you want to, especially when they schedule two shows you love on the same day and same time. We started using a DVR in our house about 4 year ago.

And though, I have resisted getting an iPod, I did buy a cheap little MP3 player. Ya know, when you work in radio, it’s kind of easy to have access to music, so my little 2GB MP3 player was filling up. For Christmas, we bought my son one of the new 80GB Zune players and I was pretty impressed with it, so I started looking around for one for myself. But being really frugal (or cheap, according to my wife)…I was searching for deal. I finally found a 30GB refurbished one on eBay for about $100.

At first, it was just an MP3 player, but then I started downloading some podcasts (audio and video - mostly news shows like Meet The Press, Fox News Sunday, etc) and I have found that it’s really great. Now, not only can I watch some of my favorite shows when I want, but even WHERE. I’m not sure how Tim Russert or Chris Wallace would feel knowing that I watch them while I’m in the bathroom, but then again, I guess they don’t have to know.

So how do you time shift your life? Are there any other tools that you use to do the things you want to do, WHEN YOU want to do them? I’d love to know and tips and tricks you may have.

You know, this internet thing might catch on.

Snow - You have to be kidding me

I said it before and I'll say it again. I am so SICK OF WINTER. Geez. As I look out the window, it's snowing. Some part of the state got more than a foot. Not here thank goodness, but for crying out loud, I'm supposed to be working in the yard, planting flowers for my wife, mowing grass...not starting a fire in the woodburner.

If one person says "Oh, isn't the snow pretty"...I'm gonna slap 'em. Snow is pretty in December..maybe even January and February, BUT NOT IN APRIL. It's flat out ugly!

Must be Global Warming. OK, I won't go there.

At least looking ahead to next week, spring should be here. We're expecting 60's and maybe even some upper 70's.

Flying American Pt. 3

I told my wife she better buy a lottery ticket. When I read stories like this, I almost feel guilty. My wife got to Philadelphia on American about 30 minutes early.

Yes she flew an MD-80 out of O'Hare. She usually makes this flight once a year and this was one of the smoothest flights she's ever taken.

In the past, she's had 2 hours of sitting on the tarmac in Chicago waiting for a gate. She's had to be diverted around storms and had to sprint from concourse to concourse to make her flight.

When she got to Philadelphia and got to "Zone 2" to get her rental car, the Budget Bus pulled in just as she was walking out the door.

I really think someone up there (and I don't mean a Pilot) was looking out for her.

An amazing, but very good day.

Flying American Pt. 2

Well, my wife got to Chicago without a hitch. The flight left about 20 minutes late, due to the heavy weather around the midwest and southern plains, and got to Chicago about 1/2 an hour late, but given all the circumstances, not a bad day.

I'll let you know when she gets to the city of "Brotherly Love."

Flying American Pt. 1

Well, it's gonna be an interesting day for my wife. At least once a year, she takes a week and flies to Pennsylvania to visit her family. She usually goes sometime in January or February, but with the winter being as unpredictable as it was this year, she put it off until now. So, about a month ago we booked her flight to Philadelphia. The best deal was on American, so we got her on a flight scheduled for today. The 2nd leg of the flight was through O'Hare and on an MD-80. Late yesterday we got the word that her flight was cancelled because of the round of inspections that AA is going through right now.

After 45 minutes on hold, I got through to American customer service and she has been re-booked on a later flight, but who knows what's going to happen once she gets to Chicago. The person I spoke with at customer service was very pleasant and helpful. I can only imagine how her day was going. It doesn't help to get angry at these folks...they are doing the best they can in a really bad situation, that they didn't cause.

I have to say that the initial check-in in Omaha was quick, simple and painless. The automated check in kiosk's seem to work great. We got her boarding passes and luggage checked in less than 5 minutes.

Oh, and one final note, the American Airlines automatic status notification also works great. If I hadn't signed up for that, I probably wouldn't have known about the cancelled flight for several more hours. So I recommend that if you are flying, you sign up for these notifications. I used the "voice call" option, but I would bet the text message might be even more convenient.

I'll re-post once she gets to Chicago.

When Will Winter End?

I am so sick of winter! It’s April for gosh sakes and I’m sitting here looking at the weekend forecast and we could get SNOW!

I am so ready to fire up the lawnmower and start doing all those OUTDOOR things, but it sees like every time I have some extra time it gets cold, or windy AND cold. I tried last week to get out in the yard and for about ½ hour it was ok, but the wind was blowing about 30 miles an hour.

Ah well…I guess at some point spring will come. I just hope it’s before summer.

Tax Time

Well, I finally filed my taxes. I hate this time of year. I don't mind paying my fair share, but it just seems my fair share gets less fair every year. I never get any money "back" from the IRS, but I don't mind that. I hate the thought of giving the government an interest free loan. I just wish I could get the amount down a little bit.

I have been a Turbo Tax customer since back in the 90's and it's relatively simple. I don't have any major complications in my return, so I think this is a pretty simple system. Early on, I thought I might have 'professional' do my taxes, and I found that Turbo Tax actually did a better job. So, I'm happy with it, although the e-filing fees seem to be getting a little high. I have to file a federal and two state returns (I live in one state, but make all my income in another). All told, it cost me about 55 bucks just to file...plus of course the cost of the program. Still, though, it's under $100 bucks and I don't think I could find a service to prepare all three for double that.

No sooner do I file than I see this story about the weakness of the IRS computer system. This kind of freaks me out, since in the past few years, I have had someone, somehow, get hold of my credit card number. Nothing really bad came out of it for me, but the bank got tagged. I have to say that Wells Fargo has been a great bank to work with. The first time, someone decided to do some "offshore" gambling with my money. It was a Sunday morning and the bank called me, because they saw some weird activity on my card. Luckily, by the time this scumbag had spent about 1100 dollars of my money, we had the account closed. But this only took about an hour and it was quite scary.

Now I see the story of the IRS computers and I get nervous. With all the information the IRS has on taxpayers (ss#, address, bank account numbers, etc) this is really frightening.
But I paid 'em and will just have to deal with it.

So, I guess I'll ingore this whole process for another year.

Them wacky birds

My wife and I took the weekend to visit Grand Island, Nebraska to view the annual migration of the Sand Hill Cranes. We go every year, and arguably, March is the better time to see them, but after doing some research, we heard that the best time to see a "Whooping Crane" is in early April.

We weren't disappointed. We stopped at the Audubon Society at Rowe Sanctuary in Gibbon and heard that there had been a sighting of Whopping Cranes near Funk, NE. We programmed the GPS and found the WPA in Funk and, sure enough, there were three Whooping Cranes there. We spent about an hour watching them. It was hard to get a good picture, since the closest they ever came was about 100 - 150 yards, but we did see them.

If you're not famalier with "Whooping Cranes" they are on the endangered species list. There are only about 350 known Whooping Cranes in the world. It's believed that about 250 of them stop over in Nebraska each year. So, actually getting to see them was quite a thrill, especially for my wife.