The chorus to a Greek rap in English I heard the other day!

Yes, Hello!
Yes, Hello!
I am a Greek Lover
And I love you so!

First off I will admit that yes, Kevin and I are big Geeks, we have been watching Dancing With The Stars every week. With our minimal ballroom experience (compared to the professionals) and with some funny stars competing it has been fun. And it is apparently the most watched summer TV show of the last 5 years. Go figure!

We have been rooting for John O'Hurley all the way through. John and Charlotte had great poise and chemistry and there was nothing better than watching them dance.

Kelly on the other hand - while she should receive the 'Most Improved' award, in no way should have won this competition!! In the last competition - The free style dance - she had her footing off several times, she began to mis-start a step and then look at her partner for a cue to continue the dance and actually mis-landed her final move hitting her knees. She composed herself well, and as a theatre person I have to commend her for her ability to keep going and keep composure. That said - A FLAWED DANCE DOESN'T EQUATE TO PERFECT 10's. I'm sorry, it just does not!!!

Kevin figured out that our couple couldn't win no matter what. The score is calculated by half judges vote and half call in votes. Kelly, being a soap star just couldn't be competed with, and according to the rules - in the event of a tie the audience vote wins. I could do all the math, but i won't, it just comes out that John and Charlotte couldn't win. That still doesn't mean that you score an imperfect dance with a perfect score. I know its more dramatic this way and blah blah, and they had to make it look like the couple that was going to win no matter what deserved to win; but really, could you make how fixed it was more obvious!!!???

Links to Kevin's clips will be coming.

McGuyver is on in the background while I'm working. There is something you just gotta love about that punch noise. The hit sounds so much harder than it looks. You hear it though and you just picture things snapping and you look up and the guy is barely knocked out.

Don't know why, I just love that punch noise.

And to those who of you who have accused me of being a "Lazy Blogger" - You know who you are - All I have to say is wait just a couple more hours, oh impatient one! :b

I had a great time seeing Sith last night with Kevin, Karen, Crystal, Gina and Krissy. It was apparently a "names that start with the sound "Ka" night. Just Gina and I being left out.

Anyway, I really enjoyed the movie. I have to agree with Kevin Smith that "It Doesn't Suck!". Now given, there was the lucus signiture dry acting at flat love scenes. But that has been lucus from the beginning. He is a geek who Kevin and I think has read too many harliquin romance novels.

Most of the plot was a little bit too easy, but we already know the next part of the story, so it has to come together fairly neatly. And some of the overacting by both Vader and the Empirer was quite funny. All that aside I really enjoyed it. It was fun and it moved right through. There were some fun little quirks (I won't give them away) and a lot of great action. Much much better than episodes I & II. And I really enjoyed the evening and the company.

Much goodness last night!!

:a good site for those of us Buffy freaks... made by someone much more freakish than me!! I'm impressed!

Pets are so very funny.

Last night Kevin and Athena and I watched Kill Bill. I won't spoil the movie for those who haven't seen it. However during one fight scene there is ball on a chain and it is being swung all around. The swinging is making this great wosh wosh sound that was moving through the surround sound all around us.

I love surround sound, however this was more than little Miss Nym could take. She kept running around toward each speaker, eyes toward the sky, trying desperately to figure out what it was that was making that sound.

Oh she wanted that wosh wosh thing! Eventually, driven a little crazy she gave up and walked off down the hall, head still pointed toward the ceiling. Keeping an eye out just in case.

It was the funniest thing EVER!!! I need to get a good copy of that wosh noise. Gotta love torturing your cat!

I received a blast from the past today. Driving to my massage this morning (oh was it good) I put on one of the radio morning shows. The DJ's are on vacation so they are playing taped shows from the past. On the show they were re-running this morning the DJ's had gotten ahold of the Fabio CD.

Ahhh... the Fabio CD... the worst piece of music ever recorded and yet...

Susquehanna University, around my sophomore or junior year Amy received a care package from her mom which included the Fabio CD she had picked up at the dollar store. We all rolled our eyes and laughed but we stuck the CD in. Oh its awful, corny background music while Fabio tries to use his sexy voice to tell stories about how he would woo a women in one way or another. The songs are all called things like "Fabio on Slow Dancing".

We rolled around laughing. Jay began strutting around the room mouthing along with Fabio. We did a mini photo shoot where Jay tried out poses that Fabio displayed in the dusk jacket. We just loved the dolphin pose!!

Oh those were good times. I can still picture that whole Fabio day.

I wish that the radio show hadn't been taped... I really wanted to call in!

I'm a good media designer and with that a decent website designer. But you see my current biggest frustration in life is that I live with a UI designer.

Kevin is amazing at what he does. My biased little love struck mind isn't the only one that thinks so, hence he works at Google on Gmail among other accomplishments. He gets asked his advice/opinion by more than just little old me.

On the flip side: WHY DO I LIVE WITH A UI DESIGNER????

Okay, got that out. I feel better. His advice and help is making my new website better and better. And I'm grateful that he gives the advice since its hard to be critical to the face of someone you love. Its just that I really really want to move on to the next stage of my project. PLEASE!!!

*sighs* okay, back to work.

The last couple of days there has been a rant brewing in my head. So many news papers are now requiring that you sign up and log in every time you want to read one of their articles. Sorry guys, but I am not the only one who is getting more and more pissed about this. I don't really mind giving you some info about me, though with all the people who just make stuff up I don't know how accurate you can say the data you collected is. And if I'm a member of a site its because the site needs to be confidential, or its a place that I need to go to do some specific job - like when I log in here to write on my blog.

Last night I had this discussion with Kevin, Rick and Ammy. We know that these companies marketing departments have latched on to this idea and they aren't going to let go, but it doesn't really benefit them that much and they actually lose readership this way.

In the past my habits have followed a path of: Oh, I would like to read that - I have to sign in? - oh fine - then i read. Or: Oh, I would like to read that - I have to sign in? - yeah, maybe later.

It's annoying, I get frustrated and I move on in one fashion or another. Today the New York Times did it to me and it was the last straw. I signed up a while ago for their email list that gives me the headlines every day. And so I get my email and read the headlines. Most times I don't end up wanting to read the rest of the article. I did today though, so I clicked on the link in the email and low and behold... THE LOG IN PAGE!

They sent me an email, can't the email tell the page to check my old cookie and be done with it? I mean really, I'm coming from my email that they sent to me - I'm quite obviously already a member. Lets not put a requirement on how determined you are and how many places you have to remember which login combination for in order to be an informed citizen.

*sighs* This time I was annoyed enough not to log in and not to read.

Anyone want to tell me about the situation in Colorado where the bishop is denying religious rights to anyone who votes for a politician or policy that doesn't support the churches desires? (hee hee - this one is another rant all in its self!!)

Randompixel.com has been getting a lot of attention lately! Its so very cool. Last Wednesday it was listed as one of USA Today's Hot Sites and this week Kevin was interviewed by the San Jose Mercury(Registration may be required) for an article that appeared in the paper yesterday.

Kevin was even sweet enough to mention the Random Pixies: Ammy, Rick and I.

In some ways I can't believe I'm doing this since just a week ago I was on the other side of the table, but I've had the time to adjust and the rest of the world hasn't, so even though my little blog doesn't get too much traffic I'm going to say my peace to defend google.

Wired Magazine among other news distributors have moved from their reports of - Gmail would be cool if its not a April Fools Joke - to - Gmail is going to invade your privacy, run away run away!

In addition those same fears were recently brought up in the comments of a post on fury.com, and I felt the need to comment very simply because as a usability tester on this project I voiced these same fears directly to Google.

I didn't notice the ads right away when testing Gmail. Gmail ads look very much like a normal google site were the ads appear discretely along the side of the window; next to, but not in the content of your email.

When I did notice though I did a double take; there they were, these ads about hair dye down on the side of my window. In my email I was discussing dying my hair with a friend. How the $%*&&#! did they get there? I felt violated. But the thing is we get violated by the internet every day: yahoo and hotmail searches your incoming email to sort out spam and there are a million other examples. The difference here is the glaring reminder on the side of your window. To begin with it's a little freaky - kinda like that horror movie always checking your back feeling. BUT IT DOESN'T LAST!

I understand where anyone who is a bit freaked out is coming from, but also I think if I'm going to trust someone it's going to be Google. It took me a little bit, but I got over it. I had the added motivation that I really wanted to be able to use the product that I'm so very proud of Kevin for designing. I also had the added benefit of being able to tell the Google testers exactly why I felt violated. Regardless of that I think that the rest of the world will get over it too. Poor Kevin and Google are going to have to ride out the adjustment period (it happens with things that are different - I doubt everyone trusted cars - those odd motorized contraptions - when they first came out) just like they did with me and I'm sure other testers too; But I think in the end the world will realize its not the boogie man lurking in their closet, its just some friendly dust bunnies happily folding your socks for you.

(As a side note I just want to congratulate Kevin and Google on a job well done. And also give thanks to Zhaneel for for being willing to voice her concern; It really gave me a chance to respond to feelings I know that I just had.)

I trust Google and they value the trust the people have for them enough work very hard to keep it.

So its possible that there is still hope for good TV. Last night Kevin and I watched the re-aired pilot of the new show Wonderfalls. The show had been recommended to us as a must see for Joss fans. Apparently one of the main minds on the project also worked very closely with Joss (was supposed to take over guidance of Firefly for him among other things).

So we sat down, unsure what we were going to be watching. Much to my amazement, I still don't know what it was I watched, but I loved it. I haven't really laughed at a tv show like that since Buffy or my intro to Firefly.

I don't know if I could tell you exactly what its about. Their is a girl who works at Niagara Falls (One flaw: they claim to be on the American/New York side - However if you grew up only an hour and a half from the falls you can tell quite easily that they are on the Canadian side. I mean why would you want to tape on the American side, Canadian side has much better views) and is kind of depressed because her life isn't really going anywhere. She works in a gift shop, blah blah... that is till a deformed wax lion begins talking to her and telling her to do odd things.

That is really about all I could tell you about the show. It's hilarious and has promise and the second episode is on Fox tonight at 9pm. I recommend setting your TiVos, tape recorders or being in front of the tv tonight. I know it’s a Friday night, but this show may be worth it.