Twitter or thinking out loud in 140 characters or less...

A lot of times I think about creating a great post on something I want to say, but I fail to capture in words what I really want to say on this blog.

I am so out of the groove, but enjoying the new deluxe groove I'm in with traveling and talking to clients about search engine marketing on behalf of AT&T. I'm in my element (soon to be Honda Element) out and about in the field rather than being behind a desk all day. Since April, I'm been to Lousiville (caught my 1st sinus infection), New Orleans (saw the Ninth Ward), Baton Rouge (great seafood), Memphis (ribs and wings!), Atlanta (three weeks of traffic) and some other cities lined up.

When I travel, I gotta watch adding tonnage on my carcass, to make sure I'm smart, healthy and still can fit in my suit and tie outfits. But considering I'm walking a lot visiting business, I get some decent exercise on a daily basis.

To the right is my Twitter updates, which is the best I can do in 140 characters or less. If you're not on Twitter, you should be - it's a neat way to follow your friends, pass notes back and forth and find great info to share (like Jim did) such as:

Go to Google first
Type in “Chuck Norris”
Click on “I’m Feeling Lucky”

Other than Twittering, I'm thinking about Google and Yahoo! in my sleep, the 4th of July, fireworks, carpentry, gadgets and GearDiary.com, buying Vandy season tickets, the new iPhone and permanently laying off beef (three weeks not counting the 3 rectum rockets from Krystals).

Have fun ya'll -

Memphis BBQ Ribs

Just when I thought I was done eating ribs, a group of my peers traveled to downtown Memphis to check out the Rendevous Restaurant. Good stuff and friendly service from the long time servers (even though one of them threw a hissy fit over splitting the check six ways - you're rolling the dice on additional tip monies...)



The dry rub seasoning was superb. What I found interesting is the the locals prefer eating at Corky's which says a lot about a chain BBQ restaurant; one Corky's location had a two hour wait.



More rib photos at my Flickr Memphis Road Trip collection

We'll have to see what the doctor says about the pork - more Lipitor may be a daily fixture on the menu.

Buying a Battery - Radio Shack Style

Ok, picture this - I walk into a Radio Shack and ask for a battery recharger for a alarm system lead free battery. It's a small brick that is used for 12 volt applications.

"You don't need a recharger for that type of battery."

"it says on the box that it can be recharged hundreds of times..."

"The alarm system charges it everyday."

"So why is the battery dead?"

"All of the recharges have been used up."

"So you're telling me this rechargeable battery can't be recharged?"

"Nope, it only recharges while it is being used."

$37.00 later, I buy the same battery and just move on...

Reminds me of the guy who ran our IT department in North Carolina - he came from a Radio Shack.

Happy Father's Day (Homer Style)

Father and Son

HAPPY FATHER'S DAY FROM 'THE SIMPSONS"
BART, LISA AND MAGGIE: START COUNTING YOUR D'OH! SUNDAY IS FATHER'S DAY!

With Father's Day just around the corner, FOX asked one of television's favorite dads, Homer J. Simpson, what's on his wish list this year:

HOMER SIMPSON'S FATHER'S DAY WISHES

1. French fries made of onion rings.
2. A time machine full of beer.
3. Not to have to see my father on Father's Day.
4. For someone to take 'cool ranch' flavor to the next level.
5. For Marge not to be mad at me because I didn't get her anything for Mother's Day.

A devoted husband, Homer leaves his wife with few complaints. When pressed, however, Marge did once acknowledge to a marriage counselor that Homer 'forgets birthdays, anniversaries, holidays (both religious and secular), chews with his mouth open, hangs out at a seedy bar with bums and lowlifes, blows his nose in the towels and puts them back in the middle, and scratches himself with his keys.' Despite these few foibles, Homer loves his family, and he'll do just about anything to prove it -- even if that means making himself look foolish.

Homer at peace

Sometimes frustrated at being fat and bald, Homer enjoys flashbacks now and again, which show him fat with a full head of hair. Two things, though, always remain constant for Homer, no matter what happens to him: his happy-go-lucky nature and his love for Marge and his kids."


Nuclear X-Ray - D'oh!

Bonus: Homer sings:

Radar Love
Space Cowboy

(Fox Broadcasting)

Overheard in Public Today

Stuff I hear in public today because I'm a good listener. Mrs. WonderDawg says I'm Chinese and nosy.

"So you're telling me you don't recycle and you shop at WalMart? What is wrong with you???"

Man walking out of Lowe's at mad wife who is leaving him behind; "You better get back here and pay for this stuff you dumb ass!"

He walked back in and paid for the stuff himself. Not sure how he was getting home.

Bonus: Courtesy of Busy Mom:
"If a man comes to your front door and says he is conducting a survey and asks you to show him your boobs, do not show him your boobs.
This is a scam. He only wants to see your boobs."

...and best question of the day: If every job paid $15.00 bucks an hour, would would you like to do?

My answer: be a LEGO designer or at least play with them all day.

Ronald and the clowns at McDonalds

Ordered 5 bacon egg biscuits; got 5 sausage biscuits instead...



Ronald is not the only clown working at McDonalds this morning. Dude!

What Work Looks Like...

Last week I was in Louisville, KY working away sick as a dawg with what turned out to be a sinus infection. Dang! I've never been so miserable, taking medicine like DayQuil and NightQuil and everything in between.



Chicken soup and hot tea didn't help - neither did a big quart size of gumbo soup from Jason's Deli.

I was pretty proud that I packed less gadget stuff on this particular trip... although two laptops seemed kinda silly - one for work (Dell XP) that was strictly work stuff only like email, reports, Google Adwords... and a MacBook for the personal stuff like Flickr, GearDiary.com, blogs, GMail, Twitter and all of the other distractions that help deny that I'm really, really sick...



If I was feeling good, I would be eating like I did in New Orleans...



Lobster, filet and grill oysters from Dragos' Restaurant

Apple Hard Drive Relic

Once every five years, I make a trek to the attic (or Mrs. WonderDawg makes me) to declutter and investigate "what's in that box?"

There's nothing better than to sit on the kitchen floor, listening to Annie Lennox and bagging up old cords, USB cables, telephone wires, RCA cables, and the like...



Check out this relic:



It's a monster DataFrame 10 MG hard drive for an old Mac 512 that ran on a addon SCSI port connection. I tried Googling the price, but I'm sure it was around $800 in the old days. I'm tempted to hook it up to see what kind of data is still on the drive, assuming it still spins. I can't even do the math on how many songs the 10MG hard drive would hold!

Freaking Busy - but loving it!

Having started a new job marketing the big bad world of internet marketing solutions with AT&T, three weeks of training in Atlanta, one week in New Orleans, and back in Nashville... I'm settling into a new routine. The old days of going to bed by 2 am and waking up at 7 are gone.

Having a birthday, new routines, the elation of a new corporate job with the perks, great people at work, wearing a suit and tie, and loving what I’m destined to do is a real blessing indeed.

In due time, I’ll settle back into blogging, taking photographs, building LEGO stuff, writing reviews for GearDiary and much more once I get a groove going…. Doing a lot of Twitter these days, only because 140 characters is within my current brain capacity output.

I’m cherishing my weekends with my bride, cutting grass, doing the honey do lists, and fitting in an occasional carpentry and handyman fixes. Strange to say, but replacing a bathroom faucet and hanging new window blinds are good diversions from being so intwined with technology. Power tools rock!

More later…

The Ninth Ward

Kevin just took us on a tour of the Ninth Ward. Homes have been washed away leaving entire streets empty... I saw the broken levee... New homes dot the landscape like settlers in the new frontier...



I am saddened to see the slow recovery here in the New Orleans; the week that I have been here, people refer life in New Orleans as pre- or post Katrina. It is a defining point in time as many struggle with rebuilding their lives (and livelihood). With rising gas prices, concerns about job security along with the increased costs of maintaining a pre-Katrina lifestyle, it has been a challenge.



Here's the sun setting in the Ninth Ward behind the rebuilt levees.