I upgraded my WordPress to version 2.6 tonight using the nifty automatic update plugin found at techie-buzz. The only glitch was not with the plugin but with the WordPress login application - if you upgrade and then find you have trouble logging back in to your account, just delete the WP cookie(s). Works like a charm.

I found that if Mitch mentions you over at Fort Wayne Observed, you get a helluva lot more hits (in regard to the Everett White copyright scandal). The day after Mitch’s mention, my stats more than doubled. I hope some of those visitors keep coming back!

Lastly, my digital world just got 24″ bigger and brighter with thice as much RAM:

Beauty. Brains. And now more brawn.

I could have a three way
Chat with two women at one time
I’m so much cooler online
Yeah, I’m cooler online

I met up with Josh and Amanda briefly Thursday night and happened to notice this Miller Lite ad:

Are they aiming for product recognition, clientele or both?

Oh, and by the way, clientele is one of those words that I have always found to sound nice … pretty.

I like beer.
It makes me a jolly good fellow
I like beer.
It helps me unwind and sometimes it makes me feel mellow

I came up with another custom t-shirt: The Everett White t-shirt:

This is to commemorate Everett becoming a recent victim of copyright infringement!

“They made more money off my artwork than I ever have, without compensating me or even asking. That’s what I find supremely disappointing.” - Everett White

Check out Everett’s blog for the details. It’s a good tale of internet-highway robbery!

Hanes or Fruit of the Loom be the
Name of my white tee
I gotta’ change man
It’s a stain on my white tee

Just in case anyone cares, I still want cut-and-paste capabilities on my iPhone. Even if Apple doesn’t think it’s a top priority.

“There’s nothing against cut-and-paste, it’s just that other features were determined to be more in demand.” - Apple VP Greg Joswiak

Maybe I should start a Facebook group, “Let’s petition Apple for Cut-And-Paste on iPhones!”

The first cut is the deepest, baby I know
The first cut is the deepest

I can’t seem to ever stop at zero.

It’s almost become a game when I get fuel … at today’s prices, I guess I am trying to transform my gas station experiences into some sort or recreation!

Hey I read a sign on the pump
At my favorite gas station yesterday
It said “He who expecteth nothin’
Ain’t gonna’ be deceived”
We got the crude oil blues.

I’ve had a lot of my friends ask me “Did you get the new iPhone?” after Friday’s somewhat problematic debut.

No, I did not upgrade … well, I didn’t upgrade my physical phone but I did upgrade to the new software which is itself, in my opinion, the biggest thing about iPhone 2!

The main reason I decided not to upgrade to the phone is unavailability of AT&T’s 3g network in the Fort Wayne area. If I lived in Indy, I would have been in line Friday but with AT&T identifying the delivery of this high speed network to northeastern Indiana “sometime this year”, I decided to sit tight for right now.

Don’t get me wrong, I could cave at any time, but for the moment I am enjoying the new App Store, the enhanced software, and a phone that has been fun and unproblematic for over a year now. I’m anxiously waiting for WordPress to finalize and release WordPress for iPhone app … and in the meantime, I’m finding a lot of fun stuff to fill my empty ones and zeros on my phone!

Call me (call me) on the line
Call me, call me any, anytime

After leaving a comment on a fellow blogger’s post regarding faith, I received an email from him and in replying I found myself referencing a line from one of my favorite country-gospel songs, Me and Jesus … which in turn got me to thinking about country songs of faith … and what I would consider to be the best - or the most important - songs released as singles in this genre.

I took into account sales, impact, message, chart positioning … and just a little person preference:

1. I Saw The Light - Hank Williams (1948) The only song on the list not to hit #1 ends up topping my list: The song, about looking eternity right in the face, was not a commercial success until after Williams died and then became the one most closely associated with his tragic life.
2. Why Me (Lord) - Kris Kristofferson (1973) A self-penned musical examination of self worth and grace from his critically acclaimed album, Jesus Was A Capricorn.
3. Believe - Brooks and Dunn (2005) The most awarded song on the list, it’s story is how one person’s life and beliefs can change your own.
4. One Day At A Time - Cristy Lane (1980) Also written by Kristofferson, it became the best selling song on the list thanks in great part to heavy TV advertising.
5. When I Get Where I’m Going - Brad Paisley with Dolly Parton (2005) With joyous harmony vocals the song lifted spirits as well as Parton to the status as the oldest woman to have a #1 country hit (at age 60).
6. Me & Jesus - Tom T. Hall (1972) An individualized spiritual relationship is the basis of this campfire revival type song.
7. Three Wooden Crosses - Randy Travis (2003) Sinners can be winners, including the surprise survivor of a bus crash told in Travis’ first #1 record in nearly a decade.
8. Peace In The Valley - Red Foley (1951) The first gospel song to sell a million copies and the first gospel song to be inlcuded in the Library of Congress’ National Recording Registry.
9. On The Wings Of A Dove - Ferlin Husky (1960) Of his 41 Top-40 hits, this became his biggest hit, remaining number one for ten weeks.
10. Daddy Was An Old Time Preacher Man - Porter Wagoner & Dolly Parton (1970) The song that catapulted the duo to super-stardom was written by Parton about her grandfather.

Me and Jesus, got our own thing goin’.
We don’t need anybody to tell us what it’s all about.

Dan (and his other half, Ryan) came back to Fort Wayne for a brief visit Friday. A group of us gathered at Club Soda to catch up on each others lives. If one word had to be used to sum up the evening, it would have to be Tanyarita!

“As for the drink, in three equal parts add Cuervo Gold, Cointreau and Rose’s Lime Juice to the shaker and give it a go. Then pour the whole thing into a chilled, salt-rimmed, lime-garnished martini glass. It’s sweet, tart and a lovely, sparkling shade of green …” - Tanyrarita, Club Soda martini menu

So much laughter - the kind of stories and life experiences that an “our gang” can relate to. Good friends who already know the paths you’ve walked and have listened to the dreams you still have. A few tears - most from happiness combined with silliness but some from realizing how changes in time and distance affect relationships and those paths and dreams mentioned above.

… and did I mention our Tanyaritas? Cheers!

Good friends
Close together like they’re bookends
Feeling what the other one is feeling
They never seem to be without
Those little things to laugh about

Soon after I got home from work Thursday, my doorbell rang. When I opened my front door there was a gentleman standing in my doorway and behind him a guy with a camera, a woman writing on a clipboard and one or two other people standing there. Smiling. All of them.

I thought I had won the Publishers Clearing House Sweepstakes! Honest to God, that’s what I thought!

Then, about the time the man at my door began to speak, I recognized him.

“Hello, I’m Tom Henry and I’m your mayor.”

I don’t often have the mayor ringing my doorbell and when he explained he was just going door to door to get input from Fort Wayne citizens, what they liked or didn’t like, concerns and suggestions, I told him that had I known he was going to come visit, I would have had a list for him.

His visit was brief, pleasant and he seemed nice enough in person.

After he left, I began making a mental list … just in case McCain or Obama ring my doorbell next.

You don’t seem to come around
Point your finger and make a sound

“What time does the parade start?”

I was walking in to Target when I got the confirmation text from Scott: He was definitely going to have a Three Rivers Festival Parade party at his West Central home this coming Saturday morning. He had decided that since he will not be living there next year, it was a good idea to have one last final parade celebration.

Front row seats to the kick off to the Three Rivers Festival. Works for me! He wanted to know if I knew exactly what time the parade started. I did not. I wandered on through Target while he checked out the parade details.

About the time I was leaving the parking lot he called me with the bad news: They had changed the parade route starting point and it would not pass directly in front of his Main Street home. It would, instead, return to it’s original starting point on West Wayne and end up missing his house by one block and one house.

I started thinking of alternate Saturday morning plans and Scott went for ice cream. That’s his big comfort food.

Oh, and by the way, the parade starts at 10AM at Rockhill and Wayne.

Who told you you’re allowed
To rain on my parade

July is National Cell Phone Etiquette Month.

What’s next, National Use Your Turn Signal Month?

Now that I see that in text, I am thinking that there might be a correlation: perhaps it’s all those people yapping on their cells phones that causes them not to use their turn signal. One hand on the wheel, one hand stuffing a mobile device into your ear - they obviously have no way to reach their turn signal!

In recognition of this communication celebration, I thought I would share the InfoWorld ‘Ten Commandments of Cell Phone Etiquette’ - not so much to point out what we need to do, but to remind us of what all those rude cell phone users do on a regular basis that aggravates us to no end:

Thou shalt not subject defenseless others to cell phone conversations. People around you should have the option of not listening. If they don’t, you shouldn’t be babbling.

Thou shalt not set thy ringer to play La Cucaracha every time thy phone rings.

Thou shalt turn thy cell phone off during public performances.

Thou shalt not wear more than two wireless devices on thy belt. With plenty of techno-jockeys sporting pagers and phones, Batman-esque utility belts are sure to follow. Let’s nip this one in the bud.

Thou shalt not dial while driving. In all seriousness, this madness has to stop.

Thou shalt not wear thy earpiece when thou art not on thy phone.

Thou shalt not speak louder on thy cell phone than thou would on any other phone. If your signal cuts out, speaking louder won’t help, unless the person is actually within earshot.

Thou shalt not grow too attached to thy cell phone. Unless it’s an iPhone.

Thou shalt not attempt to impress with thy cell phone. When it is used for that reason, said user can be immediately identified as a neophyte and a poseur.

Thou shalt not slam thy cell phone down on a restaurant table just in case it rings. This is not the Old West, and you are not a gunslinger sitting down to a game of poker in the saloon.

… and while you’re abiding by these commandments, please remember your turn signal. It misses you!

Call me on the line
Call me call me any anytime
Call me my love you can call me any day or night
Call me

Tonight I was carrying a plate and two coffee cups in from the living room to the kitchen and I almost stepped on an Invisiblur. I damn near dropped a cup!

It was on the floor, slightly off to my left but close enough that I knew my left foot was going to come down and make contact with it -

- what? You don’t know what an Invisiblur is? Sure you do … you just probably have a different name for it.

invisiblur:
-noun

1. something you think you see on the floor that really isn’t there; often caused by shadows, changes in colors or other optical illusions.
2. the quick, semi-panicked movement made when someone real almost steps on something not real.

Invisiblurs don’t show themselves too often, sometimes as seldom as once or twice a year. They tend to be more prevalent when you’re walking barefoot over questionable terrain such as a beach at night - but every now and then … they’re right there in your house with you.

And yeah, tonight I almost stepped on one.

I go out walking after midnight
Out in the moonlight

I’ve always been aware that my friend, Donnie*, had a past (more recent than distant) checkered with the recreational usage of various substances. Ok, to be honest, he was to “recreational” what Disney is to “amusement parks”. I never preached, pointed or protested though. He lived far away and our interaction had dwindled down to the occasional email or phone call. The passage of time had matured him and eased his interest in partying.

You can imagine what went through my mind when he called the other day and started off the conversation with, “I fell off the wagon.” His voice was cheerless and I just knew he was waiting for some vocal confirmation of my disappointment.

“Ok … what happened?”
“I fell off the wagon!” he reiterated.
“What was it, crack, pot, coke?” My mind was filled with visions of Amy Winehouse.
“No-o-o-o!” he protested, “I fell off the effing wagon! In the pride parade. I fell off a parade float and broke my effing leg!”

He found my laughter a little irritating and while I sympathized with his painful predicament, there was a lot of relief in my chuckles.

* Names .. well, his name, has been changed to protect the not so innocent.

No more naggin’, I ain’t braggin’ …
I ain’t fallin’ and I’m jumpin’ off the wagon

With my interest in Bonnie and Clyde and appreciation of good vampire movies, can you see why I might not be standing in line to see this soon to be released feature film starring Tiffany Shepis, the “princess of scream”?

I think I will just patiently wait for “Lost Boys: The Tribe“.

People are strange when you’re a stranger
Faces look ugly when you’re alone