Mike Rowe

Does that name sound familiar? Yep, he's the guy from "Dirty Jobs". We happen to be Mike Rowe fans. We got a super dose of Mike a while back when we were on vacation traveling the west. He seems like a good guy and he is funny. Did you know he used to be an opera singer?



Why do I bring this to your attention? Well HP has made a pretty good move using him in a promotion. Those of you who know me, know that I am not a shill for HP but I am giving credit where credit is due. Click on this LINK to go to the web site. Make sure your speakers are on and don't do anything for a minute or so, then check out the little movies. They are pretty funny - not your usual product commercial, there is much discussion about poo

The Darjeeling Limited

yes, I have been a major slacker when I comes to updating in April. Perhaps it all those showers or somehow Spring related. I thought I might mention a movie we recently saw. It's not the best or the worst but did rank high on the interesting scale. I will warn you, it's not for everyone. the terms "quirky" and "offbeat" leap to mind when trying to describe the film.

If you have ever seen the movie "The Royal Tenenbaums" you know exactly what to expect . . . or not to expect. Both movies were made by the same writer/director and have many of the same actors. If you like one, you should see the other.

The first time I saw TRT, I said to myself, "what is this?" I wasn't sure if I liked it, but I had to watch it. Then I had to watch it again. By the 3rd or 4th time, I really liked it! It grew on me. Because of TRT, The Darjeeling Limited had a head start.

Anyway, it has Owen Wilson (a product of Houston) in it so it's big time enough to find as a rental but obscure enough that no one has probably spoiled it for you. I would be interested to hear what you think.

The Latest Mean Green

The soul searching is over. The pros and cons have been weighed. Deposits have been sent in and we have received "the final answer" The University of North Texas has scored a huge victory in successfully recruiting our very own Katherine Allison.

It wasn't an easy choice. Scholarships were offered, programs were evaluated and teachers test driven. Soon we will hear the "Ca Caaaw" reverberating though the house as Katie prepares for the role of Mean Green / Eagle supporter. Officially they are the Eagles and their color is green but they had a famous football player pass through their program and now their unofficial name is the Mean Green. Can you guess the famous players name???

Oh, and they have one of the best music programs in the country. North Texas was the first university to offer a degree in Jazz Studies in 1947. The College of Music is noted for building a world-class jazz program. They also have had their share of successful people attend the university including; Roy Orbison, Thomas Haden Church, Bill Moyers, Dr. Phil McGraw, Ann Sheridan, Pat Boone, Don Henley and Norah Jones to name just a few.

Hopefully one day some dad will be writing about the school his child will be attending and he will include my kid in his list of impressive graduates.

Do you need to be Hacked?

hack - verb, to hack - to modify from it's original state to improve functionally. In the early days of computers hacking was something done by nefarious denizens of the geek underground, usually to allow access to something that was not paid for.

Now, "hacking something" has less negative connotations. There is an interesting site with a lot of helpful and thought provoking information called LifeHack.org. One of the recent "hacks" was a gathering of responses to a question - "what advice would you give a younger you" the resulting compilations is called 34 Tips for Your Younger Self It's an interesting question. What nuggets of wisdom would you pass on to yourself if you go back in time. Turns out most of the suggestions would be good advice for all of us. What would you say?

There are a lot of other kinds of posts, like how to tell if your hard drive is dying or how to put on a fabulous Sunday brunch.

We can all use a little hack once in a while.