PSoTD

If Bigfoot did, that would make it easier for Kathy Strain to find him or her.

I wonder how many of the creators of these web pages were confused by that rule.

I'm always curious to see the traffic numbers of celebrity's web sites, particularly the section in which they post "personal" photos of themselves and their lives. Is there really demand to see the special moments and highlights of last year for Suze Orman? Her web developer seems to think so...

Check out Jim Gaffigan's Hot Pockets spiel...

I did not know this:

“Idiot,” “moron,” and “imbecile” are now just insults, but early last century they were legitimate medical classifications. Morons were said to have the emotional and mental capacities of 9-year-olds; imbeciles, 5-year-olds; and idiots, 2-year-olds.

Next time you're called this, remember to ask the name-caller if they have the proper medical training to make these determinations.

Sometimes I feel like I'm the only person that remembers this show.

A scientist both wise and bold set out to cure the common cold
Instead he found a power pill which he said most certainly will
Change a lamb into a lion like an eagle he'll be flyin'
Solid steel will be like putty it'll work on anybody.

Then it was found this power pill made the strongest men quite ill
So the secret search began to find the one and only man
Who can take this power pill specific?
And turn into the most prolific, terrific, Mr. Terrific!

What they found made them squeamish for only Stanley Beamish
A weak and droopy daffodil can take this potent power pill
That sent him soaring through the skies fighting foes and fighting spies.
When he took the pill specific, He became the most prolific, hydrolific,
Mr. Terrific!

"D.C. needs to shape up its tummies."

C'mon, you know you want to click on this link.

Anyone out there ever been to a Great Wolf Lodge - one of those hotels with an indoor water park included? We're thinking of taking the kids for a weekend sometime this winter, and just wanted to see if anyone has any experiences to share.

There's a post over at The Smirking Chimp, worth reading on its own merits, called "Dems, We're Citizens, Not Consumers". It's also a handy excuse for writing about my disdain for the term "consumers".

The term is used by the news media too much. It's used when the term should be buyer, or user, or customer, or subscriber, or marketplace, etc. It applies to individuals and groups. We're all consumers of something or another. We're also all breathers, water-drinkers, and excreters. That's about how basic the term is.

I don't mind the use of the term so much when it is explicitly defined, such as "corn consumers" or "Listerine consumers". It's the generality I despise. Look at these headline examples:

Consumers warned about online mortgage scams (No, that was the public)

Will a federal monopoly suit against Apple be good for consumers? (No, that would be for buyers or sellers)

Consumers win holiday price war (No, that was buyers)

Stamford Volvo Partners With Ask Patty to Market to Women Consumers (I'm sure they meant audience or marketplace, although without reading the article you might wonder if it meant people who consume women)

I won't even link to these articles because the use of this term is so overdone. I'd like to see a writers backlash against the use of the term to provide more precision. Sorry about being so anal about it, but it's been bugging me.

I have few positive feelings for the year of 2006, exceptions being the Congressional election result and the progress made on our house remodeling. Other than that, there were too many disappointments - my Dad passing away, our forced rescheduling to some future later date of our vacation to Yellowstone, and my company's struggling financial performance this year (especially after how well things went in 2005). I gave 2006 a figurative boot in the ass out of my life last night.

I'm not a resolutions kind of guy, but I do think it is time for some changes in my life. None that at this point, at least, impact blogging, but some may show up in content more regularly. I'm 47, and I'm feeling it. And yet, I'm also feeling that I'm not forcing enough living into my days as well. So I have two desires for the upcoming year that I want to accommodate: to "slow down" my aging by taking better care of my physical being, and to "speed up" my wisdom by experiencing more that life can offer.

Should be an interesting balancing act. We'll see how it goes. I think I'll start with something silly today - a Polar Bear dip at City Island.