We lost a vice president and the alarm and door lock codes have been changed. The alarm code changes when somebody who has it leaves the company. The door code changes when somebody is "evicted from service". This brings us to one of the company maxims here:

The door code is only changed when somebody is fired. If you get here in the morning and the door code doesn't work, it was you.

Anybody have an amusing company maxim to share?

Posted by: Jim at 10:49 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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I pretty much agreed with Trey about this. Although it would have been a pretty stupid manuver for us regular folk, it's a bit different when Steve Irwin is carrying the baby. That was before I thought about it from the animal's point of view.

Animal rights campaigners criticise Steve Irwin baby stunt

Posted by: Jim at 10:32 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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I've got a black belt in tung-fu.

Posted by: Jim at 10:23 AM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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A flame about three feet high.

Posted by: Jim at 10:00 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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Dopple-G sent me this story today and I almost pissed my pants it's so funny. You have been warned.

Inches before impact, the squirrel flipped to his feet. He was standing on his hind legs and facing the oncoming Valkyrie with steadfast resolve in his little beady eyes. His mouth opened, and at the last possible second, he screamed and leapt! I am pretty sure the scream was squirrel for, “Banzai!” or maybe, “Die you gravy-sucking, heathen scum!” as the leap was spectacular and he flew over the windshield and impacted me squarely in the chest.

Put your coffee down and read it all here.

UPDATE: Just realized this is also the Letter of the Day. "T" is for Terrifying. What could be more terrifying than traveling 80 mph down a residential street with an enraged squirrel in your helmet?

Posted by: Jim at 08:32 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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...and rather difficult when firing on full auto.

A few weeks before the holidays I had the pleasure of going to one of the local gun ranges with Dopple-G and The Godfather. That's The Godfather of child #1, as opposed to the Godfather of child #2, who would be Dopple-G himself.

It was a blast. I haven't done a lot of weapon firing in my life. In fact I believe there were a total of 3 occurences before this trip to the range. The first was as a youngster, maybe 9 or 10, while down at Uncle Namesake's farm. One day everybody loaded up into the Suburban and went to the firing range. I had a fun time with the .22 rifle and then a very painful time with the .30-06 rifle (which I fired exactly once and nursed a sore shoulder for the next couple of days). more...

Posted by: Jim at 08:21 AM | Comments (2) | Add Comment
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Trey Givens went patriotic with his redesign, working in a very nice scheme of red, white and blue that only a commie could dislike. Give it a look and let him know what you think.

My favorite aspect of the new look? That sweet stylized "TG" you see at the picture at the top of the site and the lead-in for the post titles. Anybody care to work up a fancy "JP" for me?

And yet something's missing. Trey, if you're serious about "perpetuating the stereotypes that homosexuals battle on a daily basis" then where are the ferns?

Posted by: Jim at 08:44 AM | Comments (4) | Add Comment
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With the unprecedented success of the 3 Lord of the Rings movies it was pretty much a no-brainer that director Peter Jackson would get the chance to make the prequel to the LOTR storyline, The Hobbit. What isn't well known is Jackson's concerns over making The Hobbit, the movie.

As readers of the books can easily attest, The Hobbit is by far the weakest of the four books. This will put the pressure on Jackson to create a movie on par with the 3 already completed. He is going to have to do it with a greatly reduced budget as well. The special effects that were such a grand part of the blockbuster movies will not be much of a factor in the rather pedantic Hobbit storyline and the movie is budgeted accordingly.

Added to this is the problem of characters. Both the Bilbo Baggins (played by Ian Holm)and Gandalf (played by Ian McKellen) characters appear in The Hobbit but that storyline occurs many years before the time of the other movies. Jackson has resolved this issue by recasting the parts. Leonard Nimoy has been cast to play the younger Gandalf. At the time of this writing it is unknown who will play the lead roll of Bilbo Baggins.

Despite his difficulties and concerns, Jackson remains upbeat and optimistic over his new movie project.

I'm happy that Peter Jackson remains optimistic but if you're a fan of the first three movies and you've seen The Hobbit advanced teaser trailer you might agree with me that there is some definite cause for concern. If you haven't seen it yet you should probably take a minute to do so and form your own opinion.

Posted by: Jim at 08:17 AM | Comments (9) | Add Comment
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Well, I'm "protected" now. Lovely Wife went out last night and bought me a 12 pack of the little plasticine things. It's not that I didn't want to use them earlier, honest. It was more a question of price than anything else. I mean, you don't "need" them so it's really just wasted money, right? And why are they so bloody expensive anyway?

I put the first one on as soon as she got home last night. That was a bit wierd, let me tell you. Fortunately the fit wasn't off by as much as I'd feared. Almost a perfect fit, actually. They make these things in a bunch of sizes but Lovely Wife has a good eye and matched them up very well. more...

Posted by: Jim at 07:07 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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This week's Carnival is being hosted by American Realpolitik. Holiday dropoff is a thing of the past but this Carnival is put together in clean style with excellent post descriptions so it's an easy tour.

Snooze Button Dreams is proud to host the 69th edition (no I didn't finagle that, it just worked out that way) of the Carnival of the Vanities next week. Submissions for the January 14th Carnival should be sent to carnival@jpeacock.net.

On the subject of submissions, get your Bestofme Symphony submissions in to Ilyka for next week's edition. These still get submitted to bestofme@jpeacock.net.

Posted by: Jim at 06:37 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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The Letter of the Day is "S".

"S" is for Sanity. That's what Jack over at The People's Republic of Seabrook is pleading for from what has been an increasingly vehement Democratic party. Unfortunately the majority of positive responses are coming from the right so I don't know if the message is getting through.

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I've had 989 comments since moving here to Munuviana*. 11 more to the magical 1000. That's pretty cool and will probably happen tonight or tomorrow morning. I think I'll commemmorate the occasion with a 2 point gift to the poster of the magical 1000th comment.

* I have no idea how many comments I had back on Blog*Spot.

Posted by: Jim at 09:59 AM | Comments (16) | Add Comment
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1 I should hit my 2000th comment in the next few days. Feels cool, doesn't it? 10 more to go...

Posted by: Helen at January 06, 2004 10:28 AM (nYt9w)

2 I'll be back later--I need the points! (Sort of feels like one of those radio shows where you have to be the 11th caller or something...)

Posted by: Susie at January 06, 2004 10:33 AM (0+cMc)

3 Wow!

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:04 AM (EGVPL)

4 That's pretty cool!

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:05 AM (EGVPL)

5 Would this be considered cheating?

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:06 AM (EGVPL)

6 You know - like repeatedly calling the radio station when they make an announcement about being the 100th caller... Are you paying attention Susie? Editor's note: Yah, it's a definite naughty maneuver. Now cease and desist or you will be struck repeatedly with an undercooked spaghetti. I'll count that montage of posts as a single unit.

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:09 AM (EGVPL)

7 If I'm counting right - there were 4 other comments below this thread - this is it! (Or maybe the prior one...) In any case - Happy 1000th comment!

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:14 AM (EGVPL)

8 I actually did stop to read everyone elses posts - there is clearly a 5 minute gap between tpost number 999 and 1000. You can't argue with the database when it says that the record count now exceeds 1000 and record ID number 1000 belongs to me!!!! Muh ha ha ha ha!!!

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:17 AM (EGVPL)

9 Man, a girl goes out into the sub-zero weather to take her popper doors to be replaced and she comes back to find she's been out commented by a non-blogger! The outrage! (Clancy, did you count the comments I made on the other posts on this page?

Posted by: Susie at January 06, 2004 11:20 AM (0+cMc)

10 Susie - yeah I did. There were 3-4 below that came after the 9:59 AM post of this thread. And as for being a non-blogger - that will change soon. I've had a domain for a while (thanks to a post by Kevin @ Wizbang) and I downloaded MT over the weekend, I just haven't gotten it set up yet. I have so many hobbies I reluctant to start something and not keep up with it, but I do enjoy writing so I'm gonna give it a go. I have a couple of ideas, and I want to set the blog up a bit non-standard (I'm sick like that) so it may take a couple of weeks but the world will learn about the guy behind the Clancy moniker (assuming they have any interest whatsoever).

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 11:30 AM (EGVPL)

11 Okay, let's see here...if we count the first four Clancy's as one post...carry the three...adjust for the cost of living increases... The big winner is either Clancy, Susie or me. I'm already a winner (you read the post about my Lovely Wife's bundt, right?) so I'm going to handle this the French way for Clancy and Susie. We'll split the prize and give 'em each one. (That's not the "royal WE" there, I have a mouse in my pocket.) And Clancy, when you get that sucker up and running be sure to give me a holler. I'll be happy to help you get some starter traffic.

Posted by: Jim at January 06, 2004 11:51 AM (IOwam)

12 Cool. But don't do it the french way - that way would involve just giving us all your points, and your site and everything else, but only after Susie and I threatened you with physical harm. I think you could call it the Dutch way - where we split the bill, err, winnings that is. But of course that begs the question - why in the heck do we call that "going Dutch?" Where did that expression come from? As for the site - I'll definitely let you know once it's up, relatively bug free and I've got some content...

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 12:40 PM (EGVPL)

13 There's a question for "Ask Jen", Clancy!

Posted by: Susie at January 06, 2004 01:00 PM (0+cMc)

14 Wow - it's nothing like vocalizing that you're going to do something that makes you do it. Movabletype 2.65 installed and functioning. Now I just have to figure out how to make everything purdy! And no - I won't post a url until I'm good and ready...

Posted by: Clancy at January 06, 2004 09:48 PM (6HLyB)

15 So I guess I'm too late in all this then?

Posted by: Simon at January 07, 2004 02:03 AM (GWTmv)

16 Just a bit, Simon. I'll try to put the next point opportunitity up at an ungodly hour of the morning here so it's afternoonish for you.

Posted by: Jim at January 07, 2004 04:10 AM (fkewd)

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Washington (Reuters) - Britney Joins the Nation of Islam

Pop sensation Britney Spears has become the most recent celebrity to join the ranks of the african-american-centric Nation of Islam. Spear's conversion to Islam follows on the heels of her two day long marriage and subsequent annulment to childhood pal Jason Alexander.

The black separatist religious organization has a longstanding policy of accepting only non-white members. In a prepared statement, spokesman Louis Farrakhan explained the exception was made for Ms.Spears "Cause the girl gots soul. We're talkin' Aretha Franklin soul."

Spears was unavailable for comment but her press agent Schreck Menteur explained that "It was a joke that just went too far. Britney will be getting an annulment...that is, Britney will be getting rebabtized in the Christian faith...as soon as the churches open on Sunday."

Menteur stronly denied that this was yet another publicity grabbing stunt intended to cast some sort of attention on the flagging pop star's career. An insider to the Spear's camp confirms this, saying that it is merely the next in a series of "Britney thinks it's a joke" jokes. Having completed the "Britney thinks marriage is a joke" and "Britney thinks Islam is a joke" stunts, the anonymous insider says that Spears is now planning "Britney thinks pregnancy is a joke" and "Britney thinks terrorism is a joke" gags.

Posted by: Jim at 07:49 AM | Comments (5) | Add Comment
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Will this ever get put to rest? Apparently not.

Congress To Investigate Heightened Terror Alert

Critics Say Lack Of An Attack Indicates White House Deception

Ryan's got the scoop. Blogger archive isn't working well but it's just one post down the page (January 02 entry).

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...when you don't realize that the top button of the shirt is buttoned until after your arms are already starting into the sleeves you may rest assured that you look like a total dork.

Posted by: Jim at 06:19 AM | No Comments | Add Comment
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What's better in the morning than a hot cuppa coffee and a handful of my wife's bundt? Nuthin, that's what.

It is firm yet yielding to the tongue. By the nibble or the mouthful you just can't beat that moist delicious bundt.

Mmmmmmmmmm...

Posted by: Jim at 06:17 AM | Comments (3) | Add Comment
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It's been always burnin' since the world's been turnin'. The best we can get is somebody to watch over it and make sure it doesn't get out of control. This week the Bonfire of the Vanities is minded by Boots and Sabres. Feel free to go and warm yourself by the flames. It's safe.

Points: 2 points to the first person to source the title & first line of this post. No googlin', just grey matter searches please.

Posted by: Jim at 04:25 AM | Comments (6) | Add Comment
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Fifteen entries from a dozen participants makes this Symphony a delightfully easy listen read.

The Bestofme Symphony will be going on tour starting next week. The concert schedule is in the sidebar to the right. Would you like to host the Symphony? Send me a note.

Submit to the Symphony: Want to be a part of next week's edition? Check out this post for submission info. Entries may always be sent to bestofme@jpeacock.net regardless of who the Symphony host is.

Spread the word: Webloggers, all I wanted for Christmas was your immortal souls Bestofme Symphony link love. Now is your chance to make my dreams come true without spending a dime!

Email Reminders: If you'd like to be sent a reminder about the Symphony, drop me a line at this address. It's not a mailing list, just me sending out friendly little reminders. There'll be one on Thursday or Friday to remind you to submit for the next Symphony and one on Monday when the new Symphony is posted.

Without further ado, I present the fifth edition of the Bestofme Symphony: more...

Posted by: Jim at 08:20 AM | Comments (7) | Add Comment
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The numbers are in. Thanks to everybody who linked to me in December. Special kudos to the top dogs:

Top 10 Referers for December
Everyday Stranger
Electric Venom
Anger Management
Rachel Lucas
XSet
Phillip Coons
Madfish Willie's Cyber Saloon
Wizbang
Wetwired
Jennifer's History and Stuff

I'm going to work this into the sidebar. Of course I said that last month too so no breath holding, please!

Posted by: Jim at 12:24 PM | Comments (1) | Add Comment
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Get those submissions in for the Bestofme Symphony! Submissions received through midnight on Sunday (Eastern Standard Time) will be included in Monday's Symphony. Anything received after the cutoff will go into the following week's edition.

It's another holiday week and that means another week of light submissions. Last week saw a late rally to bring the Symphony up to snuff and I've got my fingers crossed for a repeat performance. This will be the last Symphony held at Snooze Button Dreams for a while as the Symphony will be going on tour the week following. Help me to send it off in style!

Submission Address

Submission Guidelines & Symphony Info

Host a Bestofme Symphony. Be the envy of your neighborhood and get on the Leader Board at the same time!

Symphony Archives

Webloggers: Link to this post and you'll get a tiny bit of good karma. This can be redeemed for valuable prizes in the afterlife.

All y'all: You can submit any post, whether it's yours or not and whether you're a blogger or not. It only has to be good (in your opinion) and 2 months old.

Thanks for your support!

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