Classic?

At what point does something become "classic?" According to Apple, it only takes 6 years .

The original iPod style is now being referred to as the "iPod Classic." Actually, the 80 GB and 160 GB models carry that name. According to Wikipedia, these versions (which just arrived this year) introduced the classic name. The 20 GB 4th Generation (which is what I have) is not even mentioned on Apple's web site - much less its parent, grandparent, and great-grandparent. These have all become the Macaulay Culkin of the MP3 player world - they are simply overlooked.

Apple is, in a word, amazing. Their products may not offer more functionality than their competitors, but Apple has created a brand that is the industry standard. I mean seriously... how in the world can an iPod be considered classic? Blows my mind.

Take a good look at the current iPod line-up... it will likely be totally different this time next year. From left to right: iPod Shuffle, iPod Nano, iPod Classic, and iPod Touch.

As Requested...

In my last post, someone asked if I could just post a picture of a 6 month old baby instead of pictures of my minor head wound. This blogger is happy to give the readers what they want... so I give you the following:



I googled "6 month old babies," and this is one of the many pictures that came up. There were quite a few pictures of some human babies as well... but the reader was not specific enough. :-)

It's Merely A Head Wound...

Last night, I had dinner with a couple guys (Chad and Travis) at Texadelphia. We were going to be discussing some things that are pretty personal to me, so I got a table in the far corner from the front door. Well, we stayed there for a couple hours… talked about all the stuff we needed to talk about… and then it was time to go. I just stood up as any normal person would, but the fact that I am probably a little taller than most other people caused a bit of a problem. I full-on crashed my head into the TV stand right above my head. You don’t think about how fast you move when you are standing up until a stationary object is there to prove Newton's Frist Law of Motion. I immediately sat down and touched my head… there was blood. Very nice. So Chad got the waitress to get some ice and a towel while I just sat there feeling pretty stupid. One of the waiters said, "I'm sorry." I replied, "It's not your fault… I'm just 6'2"." Then I asked if I could take the towel home with me (since it had my blood on it, I wasn't so sure they would legally be able to take it back), and the waitress said I could keep it. Apparently, they only cost about 5 cents. I told her I would pay for it on my next visit… and she replied that they probably owe me.

When I got home, I wanted some sort of proof of the indicent, so I stood at the mirror trying to snap some good shots of my head wound with my phone camera. Here is what I was able to come up with. They are not great, but you can just see the cut in the lower right corner.

Coffee Addiction

It is no secret that I am addicted to coffee. To some, it is bitter brown water. To others, it is a necessary morning elixir. I fall into the latter category.

I believe there are three kinds of coffee in this world. Really Good, Tolerable, and Not Fit For Human Consumption.

Because I have been sick the past few days, I have avoided my regular morning cup in favor of water. Since I feel much better today, I decided to go for it and partake of this delicious beverage. Unfortunately, I opted for the free stuff in our breakroom - which falls into the third category noted above.

But this is what separates a coffee addict from all other coffee drinkers... I am drinking it. I don't really like it, but I am drinking it. How messed up is that?

Things are not as they should be...

This morning saw a first for me. I overslept. I never oversleep.

Now the full story is that I woke up at about 3:45. I then went back to sleep, and my alarm woke me up at about 5:00. I snoozed... and snoozed... and snoozed... and I think my alarm clock finally just gave up. (the weird thing is that the alarm started to become a part of my dreams... but what was happening is that the people in the dreams were emitting this annoying beeping sound everywhere they went). When I woke up again (not to the alarm... but simply by God's grace), it was 7:45. I am supposed to be at work at 7:30. D'oh!!!

Now for the best part of the story. Remember the pestering nail guns from Saturday morning? Well, they were in full effect yesterday - the Lord's Day of all days. But not this morning. I guess the construction company has decided to only disturb sleep on days when people actually can sleep in.

To make matters worse, I am fighting some sort of sinus issue that is causing me to sneeze and my head to ache... so things just really are not as they should be.

Two Suburbs and a Local Island

Today was quite a busy day for old Toddatello.

My day started at 8:00am to the loud popping of nail guns. There are some loft style homes being build less than 20 yards away from my bedroom window... not a great way to kick off a weekend.

I had scheduled coffee with my buddy D-Lux, who lives in Pearland, (suburb visit #1) at 9:30am. So around 9:00am, I set out to meet him at his new coffee shop of choice. He graciously bought my coffee since I had used so much gas to get there.

Since D-Lux and I had not seen each other in a few weeks, it took us three hours to adequately catch up. So by the time I left it was 12:30pm, and I had to be at a birthday party for Cooper (son of my friends Chad and Teresa) in Katy (suburb visit #2) at 2:00pm.

In that 90 minute window, I had to purchase a gift for the lad (he turned one today), get some lunch, stop by my house to pick up a key that I had to return to some friends who would be at the birthday party, and treck across the greater Houston area. (for the non-Houston peeps... Pearland is on the south side, and Katy is on the far west side)

So I set out on my journey, and arrived at the party at 2:10pm with a full stomach (Whataburger chicken fingers) and gift in hand.

I left the birthday party at 4:30pm, and had another party to attend in Galveston (island in the Gulf south of Houston) that was to start at 5:00pm. Needless to say, I did not make it to that party on time, but I did make it. (Yes, Chad, I did send him a text telling him that I would be late...) This event was being hosted by a former roommate of mine (Clint) and his wife Gina. They recently moved to Galveston, and just wanted to have people over to see their new place. On the way, I picked up another buddy (Preston) to accompany me on the journey south (roughly an hour).

I returned home around 10:00pm after having taken a detour to avoid the closure of I-45 at NASA road and dropping Preston off at his house.

Each portion of my day was enjoyable and well worth the effort... I just need some sleep. I really hope the nail gun guys have tomorrow morning off.

Why coffee and I are still friends...

... but I have developed a love/hate relationship with the Rubik's Cube.

I was up a lot later that I intended to be last night, but coffee was not to blame. Rather, the multi-colored cube puzzle that is an icon of the 1980's is at fault.

I grew up in the 80's, but was never into the Rubik's Cube. I guess I always figured I was not quite smart enough for it, and that it was better to have never tried than to have tried and failed.

Well, as the Colts slaughtered the Saints last night, I sat on the couch twisting and turning the various sides of this infamous game... and still, I can only get to the last step. I can't seem to complete the last side. D'oh!!!

I will confess that I was using a step by step guide to help me... but it still isn't a cake walk. In any event, I am tired again this morning... and Rubik is to blame.

Why I like coffee...

...well, at least why I like it at the moment.

It is pretty helpful in the jet-lag battle. I started to feel the effects around 2:00; but rather than take a nap under my desk (cuz who actually does that, right?), I got a double shot latte. It has done wonders. I am pretty wired at the moment... I just hope it wears off by the time I want to go to sleep tonight. Otherwise, tomorrow's post may be "Why I hate coffee..."

Divine Moments

This morning, as I was leaving my house, I saw a sunrise that was simply beautiful. Shades of pink, orange, yellow, and blue filled the sky. My "commute" to work only lasts about 7 minutes; and by the time I arrived at my building, the colorful explosion was gone. But I couldn't get enough of it in those seven short minutes.

As is true for us all, there are things in my life that I just have to trust Christ for... things that can easily take me over if I let them. Well, I happened to be praying about one of those very things this morning as I was leaving for work... and then I saw this amazing site filling the sky. God graciously reminded me that just as He is faithful to make the sun rise everyday, He will be faithful in the difficult areas of my life. So it really was a divine moment that I am truly thankful for.

Seoul, Korea...

I am passing the time here in the airport in Seoul, Korea... and I figured it was a good time to post an update "from the field." Some of you may not know that I have been in Mongolia the past two weeks visiting a friend of mine who is working for a Christian ministry over there. I had a great time experiencing the Mongolian culture (and I experienced a good bit of it in two weeks, actually). I hope to have lots of posts with pictures and the like, so bear with me on that.

For now, let me share something that happened just a few hours ago. Since my layover is so long (12 hours), I decided to take a tour of the city. Part of the tour involved riding a ferry; and while on said ferry, a random Korean guy approached me and commenced to tell me that his daughter was studying English in Canada. He then asked me what my job is and how old I am. So awkward. The girl was very pretty (I have a picture of the whole family). But I am big on communication... and even if she started learning English 5 years ago, she is a bit behind for me. Sorry.

So there you have it... I basically get proposed to by a Korean girl's father. Nice.