American Idol? Looks like one of the finalists was a jailhouse rock singer before she was a wanna-be pop icon.

High Infidelity. Have you ever run across people that claim to like all types of music? I've had the pleasure of meeting a couple and just until a few days ago I never realized that these people don't really like "everything" at all. In reality, these same people who profess to have no real problems with any type of music are really music snobs in disguise. I mean sure, you're always impressed when they rattle off names of bands you've never heard before and you're always intrigued by the music that they do listen to but sometimes that whole "Indie thing" wears a little thin in my opinion. I agree, its cool to listen to things that no one else listens to and even cooler when some of that music is really intriguing and "fresh", but its just a smoke screen - believe me. If you have doubts, the next time you find one of these people try making them sit down to a little SlipKnot, NSync and Yanni thrown in for good measure. Believe me, you won't even make it to the chorus before you see them go "bye, bye, bye".

Random Link . Welcome to the Movie Revolution

Half Mast. I was in the mall the other day when I noticed a 20something in front of me who appeared to be pulling up his pants. At first it appeared that it was becoming a relatively difficult chore and I couldn't understand why - pull up, snap button/cinch belt, you're done, right? Well, not in this case. I watched in amusement as the entire episode took about 10 minutes. It seemed that the aformentioned youth had a "sweet spot" he was aiming for. A mystical place somewhere on the surface of his buttocks that would allow him to hang his pants down, but not too far down that they'd fall off on their own...

As I watched I began to wonder where did this fashion statement start? Can anyone tell me? Did it start with poor kids who's parents get deals on big clothing? Maybe its some closet cousin of the hand-me-down syndrome. I just don't get it. Please, I don't need to see what color boxer shorts you have on and I certainly don't need to see you struggling to keep your pants up. Even more bizarre is the fact that these "Lord of the Flies" wanna-bes have girlfriends. I guess women lower their expectations early nowadays. In any case, if you'd got problems with your pants there's a pair of Levi's with your name on it - do us all a favor and buy them... Thank you, The Management.

Are you Sirius? I spent some time over the weekend wondering what the fascination was with Satellite Radio. For those of you who have it, I just hope you had a good enough reason to be paying what you're paying. I'm just not sold on the concept and here's why: I'm going to pay you $10 a month to listen to a possible 101 stations; crystal clear and commercial free? Well, it sounds good so far... the only problem I see is that I'll probably only listen to 6 channels out of the entire line-up (I mean, even if you had a clear country station would you even bother?), reception is spotty at best (plus you get a jacked up antennae for your roof), and its not as commercial free as they say it is. After thinking about it (10 minutes tops) the whole concept seemed pretty worthless to me. Needless to say, my new Alpine MP3 headunit will not be XM Ready and if I can save you $10 a month then here's my 2 cents...

New Diggs. Well, here's the breakdown - No pager, no on-call, no status reports and I'm enjoying the view from my new office... You tell me if I'm enjoying myself. My new company is small but I like the people and even though I don't like The Spectrum all that much, it looks like I'll be spending a lot of time there for lunches. So far so good. Now, if I could only get my phone to work...

The circle of life. Karen and I officially became Godarents @ 10:10pm tonight. My partner in crime, Keoni and his wife Kymmie are the proud parents of a baby boy. Keoni Jr.'s 411 is as follows: 8lbs 3.5oz and 20 inches in length. "Junior", as he's being called (much to the chagrin of Karen), and his mom are doing well and now we all look forward to watching him grow and develop over the coming years.

The birth of children stil amazes me and it serves to remind me that Karen and I will be there someday soon. We still don't think that we're ready but we're going for it anyway. I think I believe my friends now and I agree that there's no way of preparing so I've given up hope that I will "be completely ready" when the time comes.

Anyway - I'm tired and headed off to bed, but this was too good to pass up. Pictures are being edited as we speak and you'll be able to see the highlights soon.

Take this job and shove it. Well, this is my last post from Ingram Micro. In retrospect it is ironic that a 7 year stay here translates into 2 cardboard boxes of equipment, toys and memories. Did I expect anything more? I guess not. As I'm telling everyone, this decision is bittersweet. I'm glad to be leaving the political drama and lack of ldeadership but it is costing me friends that I've known and worked with for the last 7 years.

Its hard to believe but I've changed a lot while being here. I surrendered the latter half of my twenties to this company, and with it, it has seen me be married, divorced and married again. I've seen friends through weddings, divorces, separations and childbirth... somehow, these things give everything meaning. This company has been more than just a job at times and that is what I take with me.

To everyone that I leave behind, I won't say good-bye because I will see you again in the future. I will say this - I have learned a lot from everyone and I wouldn't trade my years here for anything. I feel blessed to have met you all and I wish you all spiritual and financial success.

Peace

Flirting with disaster. I recently had the opportunity to have an all car weekend - Donut Derelicts in the morning and a BimmerForums get-together in the afternoon. This was topped-off of course by being able to drive the new Mitsubishi Lancer EVO. I must say that I was thoroughly impressed with the car and in some ways I did miss it once the opportunity was over with. It does what its supposed to very well and it makes no compromises about its racing demeanor. For all of you that have interest in the car, you won't be disappointed!

Musings. This past weekend Karen and I had the opportunity to celebrate a birthday with a good friend of ours. In retrospect, we have to admit that we had a lot of fun and we enjoyed the company of everyone that attended. It is a special thing to celebrate another year of life and we both wish Mr. Vickery another year of happiness and accomplishment.

How bout a shot of Espresso? After months of waiting and hoping that EspressoBlog would work with my blog my wishes have been granted. For whatever reason (maybe I was bored) I downloaded the latest version of this program and it finally worked as promised. Of course some of this may be related to the recent acquisition of Pyra by Google. In either case I am now able to post updates from my favorite Operating System. Thanks Interalia.

I want one. You'll never believe something like this exists, I know I didn't...

Flashback. This was too good to pass up. Any of you remember the breakdancing movement of the '80s? Well, Meg reminded me that I used to be part of this crazy sub-culture. If you're still curious about breakdancing check out the goods here.

The final days. So here I sit as I wait for one minute to turn into the next. I can honestly say that I am bored and wish I wasn't here. I do admit that I will be taking some strategically planned "sick days" soon though... And so my final days here at Ingram Micro (as an ACS employee) dwindle into yesterday's news. It will be weird not driving here in the morning, as I've been doing it for the last 7 years, but I'm looking forward to new opportunities, new experiences and new doors being opened. I'm still not feeling remiss but I am feeling a bit nostalgic. I don't think it will be a permanent "good-bye" but I will miss the daily grind that has become my love/hate relationship with this place. Is it Friday yet?

Random Link . Black People love us!

Cradle 2 the Grave. Basically, its a rehash of your typical martial arts flick - all fight and no plot. The movie ressurects all the graduating cast members of Exit Wounds, minus Steven Seagal but adds Jet Li and Mark Dacascos (Of Brotherhood of the Wolf fame). So did I like it? Of course I did. But then you have to remember that I'm a Kung-Fu flick junkie. Would I recommend it? Yes, just remember the caveats. If you're looking for some "eye candy" then this flick is for you.