The Leap Dump

I almost forgot today was a leap year day. And not only that, it's a once every 400 years occurrence...if you pay attention to the rules around leap years. So this is the last Leap Dump ending in a year evenly divisible by 100. Or something like that.

I won't point out that those of you on salary had to work an extra day this year that you weren't compensated for in any way, shape or form.

Rick and Darva, True Love Always

I'm following the Mr. and Mrs. Multimillionaire story very very closely. If I had any energy at ALL I would build a tribute page. But there is so much out there on them that you don't really need me.

Just today there is a story that the Center for Defense Information is on her tail about her claim to be a Gulf War veteran because she was never in the Gulf during the war.

As I commented in a Delphi forum where the show was being discussed, these women had a 1 in 50 chance of being married at the end of the show. If any normal human entered a lottery where they had a 1 in 50 chance of winning their dream vacation, they would have already been shopping for film and suntan lotion because those are really really good odds. But without fail, whenever one of the contestants was interviewed on TV or radio, she said she never thought she'd have a chance. Wow, if there was a 1 in 50 chance that I'd be struck by lightening if I was outside, I'd never leave my house again.

So Darva and Rick, good luck kids. I haven't heard that the annulment has gone through yet so you can still bask in the glow of being newlyweds. Oh, and I was just wondering where you registered. I was going to send you a set of monogrammed hankies.

Authors Named Jody

I had to update the CGI that runs my Amazon.com search, so to test it I entered "Jody" in the keywords field and looked up books.  My general feeling from looking at this list, is that people named Jody tend to write for little girls. Now I know some of the books are not for kids, but I was just skimming. I think most of those hits can be explained by one children's book illustrator hitting the list numerous times, but she isn't the only one. Of course, my favorite title is Hanna Meets a Mud Wump, as opposed to what I'm sure you were all going to guess, Figure Skating for Dummies.

The Sims

Look, if you don't own it yet, and you are the type who becomes easily obsessed with things, do NOT buy this game. I can't begin to explain how it invades your life. Perhaps you'll understand when I tell you that I couldn't sleep one night because I was awake in bed trying to figure out how to change things so that my Sim, Hugh Kissimmee wouldn't be depressed and could attempt to find another job. You see, he lost his when he got depressed over his social life and chose to play basketball two days in a row instead of going to work.

The good news is that with suggestions from web friends and a peek at some of the fan sites gave me enough ammo to get Hugh a couple of kisses from one of his neighbors, Chris. Of course, I did have to take away Hugh's free will, but I'll give it back eventually. And, I'm proud to say, I did it without resorting to cheats of any kind!

And once you get the game and play with it obsessively like the rest of us, conversations like the above example will all make perfect sense to you.

Email down but back up

My email was down, oh, only three times in the past 2 weeks. And of those three times only once did my mail server tell everyone that I didn't exist.

If you tried to mail me during my 24 hours or so I was without mail, I am sorry, and yes, I do really exist.

Welcome March!

I think it's safe to say that we're all DARNED HAPPY that February is over and we've basically put another one behind us. Can I put the ice scraper back in the trunk soon?

Oh, and I only used one jug of washer fluid this winter!

Best Things About March

• Dirty snow piles melt
• The earliest of spring flowers (crocus) will bloom if it's warm enough
• Better gas mileage because you aren't blasting the heater any more
• Maple sugaring season begins
• Shamrock Shakes (hate 'em, just wanted to type it.)

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So this is a link to my Amazon.com wish list. Shop early for Christmas 2000! 

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What I'm reading and listening to this week:

   My dear friend Mary Shomon's book is due out in March, but you can pre-order it today from Amazon.com and get your copy as soon as it's available!

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