The good stuff

If you like cinnamon, then you need to run out to your nearest Wal-mart supercenter and purchase some Shedd's Spread Country Crock Cinnamon. It is good. It's the goodness of butter, mixed with the greatness of cinnamon. Back in the day at beautiful Messiah College, I would go to the Falcon Express and order a bagel with cinnamon sugar. They would toast your bagel, butter it, then sprinkle cinnamon sugar on it. This product brings back all those glorious memories (as well as the less-than-glorious grades). So go ye into your local Wal-mart and claim a crock for your own (but do it quickly, cuz it's a limited edition flavor). Go!

And they want people to apply for this job...

I found this job on Monster.com tonight. Weird..

We're looking for a junior nerd to work with experienced senior nerds under the direction of a nerdy manager at a Central Pennsylvania business and technology consulting firm.

Experience with .NET programming, SQL 2000, ASP.NET, Visual Basic, Dungeons and Dragons or other such pursuits is critical to fitting in with our team.

You'll work as part of a project group developing all sorts of applications for our clients under the direction of the senior nerds. People with only 1-3 years experience at acting nerdy are encouraged to apply as are recent graduates of geek-centric degree programs such as Computer Science or Mathematics.

We can provide a nice starting salary which you can use for things like: laughing at the jocks as you drive by in your cool new car, buying the latest Athlon processor, or getting that autographed X-Men #205. Comprehensive benefits and occasional sugary snack items are also available. You might even have the chance to work on a live flux capacitor.

Interested nerds should submit a resume, cover letter or web link to an online resume. Only nerds and geeks that are U.S. Citizens or are already authorized to work in the U.S. should apply.

Heard in NYC on Sunday....

"What do we want? Troops home. When do we want it? Now!"
"Liar, liar, pants on fire."
"Shame on you."
"Say no to Bush."
"Hey hey, ho ho. Bush and Cheney have got to go."
"Fox News sucks."
"Bush, Cheney, Axis of Evil"
"Republicans go home."

All this makes me ask this question: What will Democrats say if WMD's are actually found in Iraq? Besides "The administration planted them there." Hmmm?

Watch for Third Day sharing the stage with the Vice-President on Wednesday night.

Guten Tag!

What's up.

I found this article today. It's kinda weird as if he's writing his own narrative-type obituary. But it was the last two sentences that really saddenned me. ( **Please note that registration may be required to view this article)

The Redskins got pounded last night by the St. Louis Rams. That makes them 2-2 in the preseason with their last preseason game coming up next Saturday against the Atlanta Falcons.

Only 20 more days until Cedar Point! Only six more days until Switchfoot!

I've got a lovely bunch of coconuts......

Link of the day. Tarheel Christians! That sing!!

Why do some married ladies hyphenate their last name? Are they afeared that they will lose their identity if they take their husbands last name? Silly girls.

Big plans this weekend? Baseball game for me tomorrow. I'm also hoping to find a place online where I can park the pictures I take with my camera phone. And maybe Hersheypark.

Why are Apple products so expensive? The cheapest Ipod is like $300? What the deal with that? Anybody got a money tree I can pick?

I made a significant discovery last evening. God is one of my favorite things, if not my favorite thing. It's weird to think of it like that, yet it's true.

Rock on friends.

Confessions and Suggestions

First, a suggestion. This one's for all you Wal-Mart shoppers out there. If you ever find yourself at Wal-Mart and you go the checkout line and they're all a mile long, never fear. You just march yourself back to the electronics section and check out back there. I have never had to wait in line back there. Sure you hafta walk a little, but you get immediate service, and the cashier is usually friendlier because they haven't had a steady stream of customers like the cashiers up front. You can file this one under "Good to Know."

Now the confession. I like a certain type of movie that you may find suprising. I LOVE the Frankie Avalon/Annette Funicello movies. Movies like Muscle Beach Party and Beach Blanket Bingo. I love the beach music and the silly humor in those movies. There was a similar movie on tonight that I watched starring James Darren...and Bob Denver. Yes, THAT Bob Denver. The 60's was a great time for beach-type movies.

And finally, a mad shout out to Chris and Meghan on the birth of Ryan Philip (I think that's his middle name. But the Yankees still suck.

As we wait for the judges scores....

Hello.

I'm talking Olympics today. I got a beef with NBC. Why don't we show other countries playing other countries in team sports? I was looking forward to watching the Australian men's field hockey team play somebody besides the US. Bravo said they were going to show it in the scheduling, but all they showed were the standings in the men's and women's divisions. Very disappointing. I would have also liked to have seen soccer on NBC and not Telemundo, which isn't even offered in Central Pennsylvania (does anyone know if Comcast even offers it?). Oh well, maybe in 2008.

And I also have taken exception to the way that Paul Hamm has handled this scoring controversy. The South Korean gymnast was incorrectly scored because the judges did not use the correct level of difficulty for his routine. This has been acknowledged by the judges. So the South Korean kid deserves it. However, Mr. Hamm feels that the gold is his and his alone. He actually said that he places the blame on the South Korean coaches for not lodging a complaint until after the competition. And he doesn't even want to share the medal. Oi.

Check out the website of diver Laura Wilkinson. She's a Christian. And they actually mentioned on NBC that she likes to listen to Jeremy Camp between dives. Cool yo.

Thank you and good night.

Frietag! Or is it Freitag?

Regardless, another weekend is here. Woo! Not too much on tap this weekend, probably a trip to Hersheypark, my weekly trip to Wal-mart, and who knows what else.

Messiah posted it's fall movie schedule. You can see it here. I've decided not to see Garden State and Collateral in the theater, since they will both be showing on campus. I'm all about the thrift.

Ooh, and you have to check out Everlife. They gots a good sound. Disclaimer: you do not actually HAVE to check them out, I would just encourage you to.

Sayonara!

Modern Medicine

Last night I saw one of the most amazing television shows I think I have ever seen. I was flipping through stations at 11:00 last night, getting ready for bed. And I came across a show on the Discovery Health channel. It was a story about a little girl from Afghanistan named Zubaida. She was severely burned in a fire at her home. Burns covered her arms, her neck, and her chest. Because of a lack of treatment in that part of the world, her skin tried to naturally heal itself. And when that occurred, it literally eliminated her neck, so that that her head was directly connected to her chest. It sounds disgusting and it was. She also lost mobility in her arms because when her skin tried to heal itself, it connected her arms to her abdomen above the elbow, so she lost a lot of movement there. Anyways, somebody found her in Afghanistan a year after the accident and promptly brought her here to the US. They were able to help her out trememdously. She looks like a whole different person now. I was simply amazed. Here's a link.

Today is Wednesday

Hi.

This is a curious blog I found this morning. This guy is in a federal prison in West Virginia. And he has a blog.

More linkage on the music front. This is a list of artists available for college concerts and their asking rates. Only $20,000 to get Pauly Shore!!

Hey! The US men's basketball team won a game!

And finally, a note about a personal issue. I enjoy encouraging people. I feel a particular affinity towards encouraging my Christian brothers and sisters. We have so much to be excited about, but often times our current condition leads us to think otherwise. We're all going to have those days. I just want people to know (friends especially) that a partly cloudy sky is also partly sunny, you just may need someone to point out the sunny parts. I realize that last bit sounds incredibly cheesy, but I'm not deletin' it. So there you go.

See ya.

Just a link

Andy Richter is playing Jesus. Read about it here.

Filming Bourne

When I reviewed The Bourne Supremacy, I mentioned that I didn't like a lot of the camera-work. I found an interview online today with the director, Paul Greengrass. See his thoughts below.

Q: The camera style, especially during the big car chase, made the film feel very fractured and sort of immediate.
A: Yeah, grittier. So you were sort of sitting on Bourne's shoulder, and when Bourne runs we run, and when Bourne jumps into the car we jump into the car. What I wanted to do was bring us closer to Bourne's core character. The interesting thing is that you know very little about him. In the first movie he discovers that he's killed for the CIA, and in this movie you follow him as he tries to grapple with what you can do once there's blood on your hands, which is frankly not very much.

"I wanted it to feel unprocessed and jagged"
But I wanted to have an emotional, physical immediacy. I like that about the Bourne films. There are lots of mainstream elements but you can put random things in that don't really go anywhere and made it unpredictable and interesting. I definitely wanted it to feel unprocessed and ragged and jagged.

Ragged and jagged, eh?

Aren't Mondays fab?

Of course not. Unless it's the first day of your vacation.

I filled up the gas tank in my car for the first time yesterday. The gauge was sitting on E and I dropped in 13.78 gallons. I was floored. It was the first time I had ever put more than $20 in a car for gas. I better get some serious mileage out of those thirteen gallons.

On Saturday I went down to watch a practice at the Baltimore Ravens training camp. It was cool to be able to watch millionaires beat up on each other from a hundred feet away. It was sad the way that the fans were clamoring for players' autographs. I won't speak too much to this now, because I use to try and get autographs myself when I was younger. Suffice to say, I don't do it now.

Also watched a healthy dose of Olympic coverage this weekend, but not the opening ceremonies. Sports I've watched so far include basketball, swimming, gymnastics, cycling, badminton, table tennis, and beach volleyball. Oh, and I also watched Men's synchronized diving.

Had a real good ride on the Great Bear at Hersheypark on Friday night. It may have been my best ride on it EVER. That's how good it was. I'm not sure why, but it was.

Ciao.

Come and knock on our door...we've been waiting for you...

Hi!

Big news. I got myself some new wheels. A 1998 Honda Accord EX to be exact. It's neat-o. Let it never be said that I am not blessed. Cuz I am.

I got a funny email from the Kerry/Edwards campaign today. Check it out:

Dear Stephen,

I'm interrupting John Kerry's dispatches from the road to tell you about something that will make you angry, but which is important for you to hear.

We knew it was coming: the Bush campaign and several allied right-wing groups are using August to launch a vicious smear attack against John Kerry. They think we're vulnerable this month because while George Bush is still able to raise money for attack ads, Kerry had to stop fundraising at the Democratic convention last week. They're taking this opportunity to go for the jugular.

We need you to join us in this fight today by supporting the Democratic Party.

https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html

The worst of the current wave of attacks is coming from a Republican-funded group called "Swift Boat Veterans for Truth." (I'll call them by a more accurate name: Swift Boat Veterans for Bush.) The group is led by a longtime Republican operative and financed by GOP contributors with strong ties to George Bush. Its function in the overall Republican strategy is this: tear down John Kerry since Bush has no record or vision to run on.

The swift boat ad is full of lies. Thirteen men who never served with John Kerry lie about knowing him and viciously attack his record. It is a new low for the Republicans.

Every time they have attacked us like this, it has only made us stronger. When they ran dishonest attack ads (like the unbelievable new one on the air right now), thousands of new supporters flocked to our campaign to give us the resources we need to fight back on the airwaves.

Now that the general election has begun, they're hoping things are different. They're going to be sorely disappointed because we are not alone. The Democratic National Committee is well prepared to take on this fight.

And therefore I'm asking you: everything you did for our campaign, please do now for our Democratic Party. Give the party the resources it needs to fight against these right-wing attacks:

https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html

The Democratic Party is responsible for putting organizers and volunteers into the field and turning out the millions of votes we need to win. We literally cannot win this election without the party.

https://www.democrats.org/support/kerry.html

You and I know that if we so much as yield an inch to George Bush and the Republicans this month, we'll live to regret it. In fact, we may live to regret it for four long years. Join with me in supporting the Democratic Party today.

Thank you,

Mary Beth Cahill
Campaign Manager

Yea, I'll get right on that.....

Programs.....Get your programs here....

Wednesday is newsday here at Mind the Gap. Here's a short article about what Pepsi is up to this fall and winter:

AUGUST 05, 2004

PEPSI TO LAUNCH LIMITED-TIME SPOOKY, JOLLY LINE EXTENSIONS
Pepsi-Cola North America

Capitalizing on the success of its first limited-time soft-drink offering, Mountain Dew LiveWire, Pepsi-Cola North America (PCNA) today announced that it will launch two new soft drinks this year for brief, "in-and-out" plays. The first, Mountain Dew Pitch Black, will launch in late August and stay on store shelves through Halloween. Then, just in time for the holidays, Pepsi Holiday Spice will hit stores November 1 for an eight-week appearance through the end of the year.

Both products come at a time when consumers are seeking variety. More than half of all soft-drink buyers purchase six or more different brands and more than 80 percent of soft drink buyers purchase three or more brands.

Mountain Dew Pitch Black, which follows in the footsteps of Mountain Dew LiveWire, features a blast of black grape flavor. According to PCNA, LiveWire grew the Mountain Dew trademark more than 10 percent during its inaugural six-month run in 2003. Building on that successful strategy, Mountain Dew Pitch Black will capitalize on excitement leading up to Halloween with a shorter, 10-week on-shelf stretch beginning Aug. 21.

In addition to Mountain Dew Pitch Black's spooky package graphics and in-store displays, a theatre commercial - parodying "B" horror movies - will support the new brand in 4,000 movie theatres. Additional marketing support includes an Internet "Dewsletter" and product sampling at General Growth Properties malls and at this week's ESPN X Games in Los Angeles. Mountain Dew Pitch Black will be available in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans.

Pepsi will launch Pepsi Holiday Spice - Pepsi-Cola with a spicy finish of ginger and cinnamon - to give consumers a new seasonal treat during a time of celebration. Featuring nostalgic package graphics, Pepsi Holiday Spice will be available in the US from Nov. 1 to Dec. 31 in 20-ounce bottles, 2-liter bottles and 12-packs of 12-ounce cans.

"People like new products - they're much more interested in variety nowadays than they were just a few years ago," said Dave Burwick, SVP and chief marketing officer of PCNA. "By introducing new flavors for a short period of time, then taking them away, we're meeting the wants and needs of soft-drink consumers while playing directly to their purchasing patterns."

Those crazy Pepsico folks. What will they think of next? Oh wait, I didn't mention that they were doing this.

Also, it appears that Blockbuster is going after Netflix. Read about it here. Then you can go to the Blockbuster website to read more about it. I tried out the Wal-mart version of Netflix and I was pleased with their selection. However, I often found myself having to make time to watch the movies. Sure, you can keep them as long as you want, but you're not going to get another one until you've returned one. And you need to watch at least four movies a month to make it profitable.

Sayonara!

Hail to the Redskins!

Yes my friends, the Redskins won last night. It wasn't pretty and it doesn't count for anything, but they won. And that is exciting.

Check out this blog. It belongs to Scott Goldblatt, who is a swimmer on the US Olympic team. And if you follow swimming at all, his training partner is Michael Phelps.

I may have a new old automobile by the end of the week. Stay tuned....more details as they become available.

Word on the street is that Michael Owen is headed to Real Madrid. Uh oh.

Ciao.

Today is the day...

...before tomorrow.

Link of the day number one. Apparently some mothers in Maryland are having problems at Starbucks...

I took a civil service test this morning for a state position. The test was multiple choice, and it was administered on a computer. I think I bombed it. The way they worded their questions left a lot to be desired. I found myself having to reread questions several times. And as in any good mulitple choice test, you're supposed to select the "best" possible answer. Oi! Because they test on computers, they can test 40 people at once and they can administer 40 different tests if necessary. So some people had math on their tests and because of that everyone in the room received scratch paper. And because this is the state, you have to turn in your scratch paper when you're done. So all I did was write the word "scratch" five times on the paper and turned it in. Me smart.

Second link of the day. And this one is actually good. It's like eBay, but you don't have to pay for anything. It's just people getting rid of stuff. Kinda like the FREE listings in the newspaper when you're just giving away something. Except you're doing it online. Cool, eh?

And for the record, I now know how to play Gin Rummy. Yea, go me!

Weekend Update

Hiya kids.

Saw I, Robot Friday night. It was better than I thought it might be. The story takes place in Chicago in the year 2035. Robots have a presence in everyday society as "helper robots." Well, as you can imagine, something goes wrong and the robots go bad. Will Smith plays Detective Spooner, (who is not a big fan of robots to say the least). He stumbles on a suicide case that's not quite cut and dry. And the fate of the robot world (or at least the United States portion of it) hangs in the balance. I enjoyed the movie. Will Smith seems to shine in most everything he does, and I like to think it's because he picks good roles. This movie was no exception. He wasn't makin' jokes all movie long, but he had some great one-liners that made me chuckle. For those people who think this movie is based on Isaac Assimov's book by the same name, it's not. The movie makes sure to mention that the movie was only "suggested" by said book. I'm not familiar with the story, so I can't speak to how close the movie was to the book. But it was good enough to be entertaining. I gave it an "8."

Happy belated birthday to Jason Thompson.

My friend Jonathan started an entertainment-themed blog. Check it out here.

I'm makin' snickerdoodles this week. They're break and bake from Wal-mart. We'll see how good they are.

In other news, I got some new shoelaces for my tennis shoes. Be sure to check 'em out the next time you see me.

Have a great day!

Funny man

Here's a link to an article about a fella named Brad Stine. He's a Christian who just happens to do comedy. Good story.

Look for an I, Robot review this weekend.

Bis Spater!

Lunch Blog

Hello everybody.

Lots of links in today's post.

First link is this one. It posts regular updates on the production of The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe. And while I'm tossing up Narnia links, check out the Narnia Fans page.

Did you know that the kid who played "Wesley Crusher" on Star Trek: TNG has a web site? Well, he does. It's right here. He's old now.

There is a new store opening in the Colonial Commons this weekend. It's called Five Below. Everything in the store is under five dollars. And they have good stuff there. I once got a Bell bicycle pump (for the bike I don't have) at one of their stores for $5.00. What they have a lot of is candy. They have all the varietys of Mike and Ike's, plus lots of other hard-to-find candy. AND they carry Arizona Iced Tea in the big cans. Not those small silly bottles. So check out the link and print out that coupon for free stuff.

And what's up with the US Men's basketball team? It looks like we got kinda lax and the rest of the world has progressively gotten better. Athens should be interesting.

Ya know what bugs me? Losing ebay auctions at the last minute. I lost an auction today with six seconds remaining. Yes, six seconds. One-tenth of a minute. Grrr. Oh well, there's always another auction coming along.

Ciao!

Be Thou My Vision

Be Thou my Vision, O Lord of my heart;
Naught be all else to me, save that Thou art
Thou my best Thought, by day or by night,
Waking or sleeping, Thy presence my light.

Be Thou my Wisdom, and Thou my true Word;
I ever with Thee and Thou with me, Lord;
Thou my great Father, I Thy true son;
Thou in me dwelling, and I with Thee one.

Be Thou my battle Shield, Sword for the fight;
Be Thou my Dignity, Thou my Delight;
Thou my soul’s Shelter, Thou my high Tower:
Raise Thou me heavenward, O Power of my power.

Riches I heed not, nor man’s empty praise,
Thou mine Inheritance, now and always:
Thou and Thou only, first in my heart,
High King of heaven, my Treasure Thou art.

High King of heaven, my victory won,
May I reach heaven’s joys, O bright Heaven’s Sun!
Heart of my own heart, whatever befall,
Still be my Vision, O Ruler of all.
-Eleanor Hull

I remembered something..

It's not much, but here's an interesting link. Ahhh, the wonders of the internet.

If you, would like to tell me maybe, just go ahead now.

Hello. I have this problem where I have some good thoughts to share on this very blog, but I don't write it down and I pretty much forget about it. Doh!

So anyways..

I think I need to go to IKEA. It's been quite a while since I've been. Maybe in a few weeks. Gimme a shout if ya wanna come along. I would like to go to IKEA because I'm looking to change some things up in my apartment. Like a chair or two. Or some storage-type stuff.

Ya know what? I'm thinkin' that it's about time for the Olive Garden's "All You Can Eat Pasta" promotion. I'm also excited about the Macaroni Grill that's coming to Harrisburg. That's gonna be fun.

So yeah, that's all I got (and what I wrote I just came up with). So I'll see ya.

I shop at Wal-Mart.

Today, I thought I would wow you with what I purchased at Wal-Mart today:

Viva Paper Towels
Mardi Gras Napkins
Thomas' Whole Wheat Bagels
Kashi Oatmeal Raisen Go Lean Bar (4)
Cherry Pop-Tarts 12-pack
Swiss Premium Skim Milk Half-gallon
Wal-Mart brand Cinnamon Waffles (2)
Wal-Mart brand Salsa con Queso
Breyers Orange Creamsicle Yogurt (3)

All that cost me $16.01. I would also like to recommend the Wal-Mart Cinnamon waffles. They are dy-no-mite! They blow Eggo cinnamon waffles out of the water. if you like waffles, try 'em out. They're only a buck each (pack of eight waffles).

I went to Kohl's today. I bought a shirt. I also went to the mall to return my faulty Ocean's Eleven dvd. Well, I got one semi-decent viewing out of it.

Mad props to my friend Missy who has raised over $2000 for her three-day breast cancer walk later this month. Check out more details here.

Dr. Musser gave a good message in church this morning. Good word.

Finally, what you've all been waiting for. Psuedo-proof that Ben Affleck was actually in Harrisburg on Friday night.


Ciao!