'Catcher in the Rye' author, J.D. Salinger dies

Growing up I did not read as much as I should have. Sure my father may have forced me to read a book here and there, such as The Hobbit, but I hated every minute of it. Why did I abhor reading so much? As I got older I realized that I do not hate to read, I just had no interest in what I was being forced to read.

I found it unbearably difficult to keep track of the story lines that I was reading and forced myself to move forward. In the pressure to get to the next page I always seemed to forget what had just happened on the previous couple of pages, rendering any surprises meaningless to me. But sit me down with a biography or some other non-fiction piece of literature and now we're in business.

My problem is not that I don't appreciate good writing. How else can I explain my somewhat snobby attitude towards movies and TV shows that seem "beneath me"? I enjoy a plot that is well developed and not just slopped together in order to star Will Ferrell so it will be deemed "the funniest movie ever" by those younger than me who fail to recognize the importance of a good script.

Unfortunately for me my animosity toward fiction has left me out of the loop of so many well-respected authors. Today one of the best in the literary world, J.D. Salinger, passed away at the age of 91. Salinger is best known for his classic novel, The Catcher in the Rye, a book I am sure was required reading material at one point in my high school years that I trudged and stumbled through. Shame on me.

Feel free to share your thoughts on one of the greatest authors to put a pen to a paper below.

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.28.2010 - Living in a Super Mario World

Just another day in my own little personal Super Mario World

I was experimenting with a new background image for the MacBook Pro and came across this nice little Super Mario Brothers wallpaper. I threw in a couple accessories, one old and one new. The Luigi figure was an old McDonald's Happy Meal toy back when Super Mario Brothers 3 was released. The blue mushroom was a stocking stuffer this past Christmas and is filled with blueberry flavored sour candy. Quite delicious!

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next:
Previous: 1.27.2010 Ribs for Lunch

Read more...

Boost Mobile hyping the SANYO Incognito

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Boost Mobile. All opinions are 100% mine.

I may have my eyes set on the Nexus One from Google, but what if you are looking for an alternative that comes with a pre-paid plane? The folks of Boost Mobile recently contacted me to help spread the word about their latest addition to their popular line-up. The SANYO Incognito (model number SCP-6760) is a device that Sprint hopes will carry the company through 2010.

Not having tried my hands on this phone personally I can only base my opinion off of what I have come across online. Here are some of the basic facts about the phone that I find to be important on any decision making process. Of course, be sure to consult your nearest retailer and ask them any questions before following through with any purchase.

• $129.99 (before taxes) for the phone. If you order online you will receive free shipping.
• Unlimited plan for $50/month with no contract required.

So to use this phone you would be looking at a price of about $190 for the first month, including the purchase of the phone. So is the phone worth the cost?

CNET and PC Magazine both liken the SANYO Incognito to the Pantech Impact available on AT&T's network., but when push comes to shove both reviews lean slightly to the Impact. The Incognito was rated Good (3 out of 5) by PC Magazine and Very Good (3.5 out of 5) by CNET last month so there does seem to be some promise here.

Some of the criticism on the phone is directed at the design. From what I can tell it looks to be slightly clunky, but I will admit that I have never used a phone with a pull out keyboard the way the Incognito uses. Perhaps it is just a matter of adjusting, as millions of texting teenagers and celebrities have already done. I still use a pretty standard flip phone.

The Incognito comes with a 2MP camera, which by today's standards seems weak. My wife's new HTC Eris has a 5 MP camera and my almost three year old phone has a 2MP resolution, so I would expect more from a phone being released today when it comes to the digital camera. But in addition to the camera the Incognito also has video recording capabilities (again at 2MP resolution though), music and video playback functionality, and has the ability to browse the web. Naturally it also sends and receives text messages and can make phone calls if you so wish. Syncing the Incognito up to your favorite social networking sites like Facebook or Twitter are no problem either. Just use the EVDO capabilities and the full QWERTY keyboard to get started quickly.

Here is a closer look at the SANYO Incognito from CNET...

So what do you think? Is the SANYO Incognito a good fit for you or a friend or family member? Feel free to discuss your experience with the phone in the comments below. Not being a true cell phone geek I will not likely be able to answer any questions you may have about this particular device, but I am confident that the customer service staff at Boost Mobile would love to help you out. Contact them through their customer support contact form, or check out their frequently asked questions.

If you have used this phone please let my readers (and me!) know what you think! To close, here is a slide show of photos of the SANYO Incognito.


Photos courtesy of Boost Mobile

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.27.2010 - Ribs for lunch

See that steam coming off my lunch?

For lunch today I had a delicious braised rib in a red wine sauce. I received it as a free sample to test through one of the survey sites I belong too. Look for a review in the coming days about my mouth watering lunch.

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: 1.28.2010 - Living in a Super Mario World
Previous: 1.26.2010 - Save the Date

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.26.2010 - Save the date

Today our Save-the-Date for my sister's wedding came in the mail. Who would have thought that it would be in blue and white? And yes, it is a magnet to put on either our refrigerator or my magnetic dry erase board in the home office.

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: 1.27.2010 - Ribs for lunch
Previous: 1.25.2010 - Rainy Monday

UPDATE: So apparently my friend down in Baltimore received a Save the Date with cookies! My sister has clearly come up short in this department...

Read more...

Tech Giveaway from Tony's Pizza

This is a Sponsored Post written by me on behalf of Tony's Pizza. All opinions are 100% mine.

I was recently given an opportunity to take a trip down memory lane. The folks at Tony's Pizza came to me and asked if I would be interesting in some free pizza?

Stop right there. Free pizza? Yes please!

I responded to them that I would be a fool to pass on a chance to fill my tummy with free pizza, so they sent me some coupons that I could use at the grocery store to purchase some crispy pizza. Last night my wife and I split one, not expecting much form a pizza you can buy for less than $2.00. Boy were we surprised!

I picked up the pepperoni topping variety, but you can also get plain cheese if you care to. For full disclosure, we added a little bit of extra mozzarella cheese to the pizza before placing it in the oven. After opening the package it looked a little skimpy in the cheese department, but I did not have to add too much to it. While my wife did not add any extra toppings, I sprinkled on a dash of red pepper as well.

Just look at that picture to see what I was able to enjoy! Mouth watering, isn't it?

Before sinking my teeth in to this FREE pizza, I was expecting to eat something that tasted like cardboard, reminiscent of what I had eaten in elementary school or in college. Not the case. The pizza we had was very enjoyable and left me sort of wishing I had not shared this with my wife! Does that make me a bad husband? This all could have been avoided if I had just picked up more than one pizza on my latest grocery trip excursion!

In exchange for sampling some free pizza the Tony's Pizza people asked if I would share a coupon with a lucky reader, so here is where I follow up on my side of the deal. I am going to offer one coupon for a free pizza to the person who leaves a comment about the best pizza they have ever had. Where did you have it? What was the topping of choice? I will select one commenter at random to receive a free pizza coupon, which I will arrange to mail at a time to be determined.

In addition, Tony's Pizza is having a great contest to fulfill your tech needs, and readers of THIS SITE are eligible for a prize worth $500! I am excited to join some great sites in this contest and hope that the winner comes from my site. Here are two ways to enter!

1. Leave a comment below. To be eligible you will need to use your e-mail address (will not be viewable to anyone reading the site but me)
2. Use Twitter to tweet a message to your followers, containing a link to this post and use the hash-tag "#TonysPizza" - You could also just retweet my announcement about the contest.
   

I will be responsible for selecting one commenter at random, and I am excluding family members from being eligible. This contest ends February 16, 2010 at 11:59pm so do not delay! For detailed rules on this contest click here (I will soon be added to the blog roll in the rules).

Good luck!

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.25.2010 - Rainy Monday

A look outside the home office this dreary Monday morning gives you a glimpse as to how this day will go. I was especially fond of the way the car light (that red streak that resembles the old FOX tracking of a hockey puck) came out while the photos was being taken.

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: Project 365 1.26.2010 - Save the date
Previous: Project 365 1.24.2010 - Toilet repair

Read more...

I am 69% addicted to Twitter

Created by Oatmeal

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.24.2010

Did a household repair today. Replaced a broken toilet seat!

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: Project 365 1.25.2010 - Rainy Monday
Previous: Project 365 1.23.2010 - Toilet Paper Poll

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.23.2010

Which way do you set up your toilet paper?

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: 1.24.2010
Previous: 1.22.2010

Read more...

The Rock before he was emasculated

I'm sorry but I am not buying "The Rock" as the "Tooth Fairy." Perhaps if they had stuck to the Disney idea to rename him the Molenator, but that is not the case.

Today in movie theaters across America Dwayne "The Rock" Johnson will star in his latest Disney film, Tooth Fairy. While I am positive that his financial earnings with his Disney film, much like Race to Witch Mountain, will be more than welcomed, one must wonder if he feels like he sold his soul?

His loud-mouth, butt-kicking, arrogant soul that is.

I remember a time when "The Rock" was the reason I snuck in some wrestling on television when it was socially unacceptable within my family (truth is it probably sill is - but I do not regret hiding this form them). I remember watching The Rock electrify the crowd in arenas, and the dorm rooms at Shippensburg on Monday and Thursday nights (Smackdown used to be on Thursday nights).

I know I do not strike you as a wrestling fan, and that is because I am not. But I do find myself drawn in by good entertainment, and when the Rock was with a microphone in the WWF/WWE arena, there were few as captivating as him. So it amazes me that today The Rock is now a Disney star making movies geared for kids.

Hey, more power to him. I do hope he will make some movies again with a little more juice to them, like Walking Tall or The Rundown. Check them out. the try to picture the guy with fairy wings and tights.

In honor of the release of Tooth Fairy I decided to take a dip through the archives and share some classic Rock moments, so we can remember just how cool he used to be*.

Here is the Rock rocking State College, PA











* If Dwayne Johnson really is reading this then he should know that I still totally think he is cool and would love to hang out with him just once. He could even call me a candy-ass and pour me a nice tall glass of shut-up juice etc. etc. etc. Because I still smell what the Rock...is cooking.

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.22.2010

The last drip of milk form the morning breakfast.

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: 1.23.2010
Previous: 1.21.2010

Read more...

Flyers rough up Rangers in 2-0 win

Ring the bell: Flyers slug their way past Rangers - Tim Panaccio, CSNPhilly.com
Flyers show some fight in shut-out of Rangers - AP report via Philly.com
Two hot teams on ice, Rangers riled up by Carcillo - Rich Hoffman, Philly.com
What happened? New York Rangers lacking punch, fall to Philadelphia Flyers 2-0 - Michael Obernauer, New York Daily News
Flyers Notes: Mixed ideas on Carcillo fight - Tim Panaccio, CSNPhilly.com
Thursday's three stars [Emery is third] - Sean Leahy, Puck Daddy, Yahoo! Sports
An old fashioned beat down at the Wach - Matt P, The 700 Level
Flyers win 2-0, Rangers delusional in defeat - Travis Hughes, Broad Street Hockey

Any time that a Philadelphia team beats a New York team, it is a good day. This was the case last night down on Broad Street as the Flyers shut out the Rangers 2-0. To make it even better, the Flyers beat them up in the process.

I love a good tight hockey game enough as it is but when you get some good fights then you are in for a treat. Dan Carcillo drew the ire of Rangers coach John Tortorella by fighting Marian Gaborik, who has one career fighting major to his name. Later Scott Hartnell and Sean Avery got into it.

Tempers were flaring during and after the game. Tortorella had some stern words directed toward the Flyers bench during the game and again in his post game press conference, but the bottom line is the Flyers won 2-0 and this rivalry is as heated as it has ever been.

Or so you would think. The Flyers have outscored the Rangers 8-0 in their last two meetings. The Flyers are still out of a playoff spot right now (one point behind eighth seed New York Islanders) but they have games in hand and are only two points behind the sixth seeded Rangers.

AP photo

Read more...

Jersey Shore: Super Mario Brothers Edition

Perhaps this show should be called Koopa Beach?

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.21.2010

Don't trip down the stairs!

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: 1.22.2010
Previous: 1.20.2010

Read more...

Help Haiti Blog Challenge: Help me help Haiti

The people of Haiti need our help

One of the great things about the blogosphere is that there is a tight knit community of bloggers who search for ways to utilize their blog for good. With the recent tragedy in Haiti many bloggers are finding ways to help in any way they can.

Jenny from Working on a Ramp brought one such initiative to my attention recently. Kelly Diels of Cleavage has organized the Help Haiti Blog Challenge, in which bloggers across the globe donate money in exchange for a sale of a product or service.

While I may not have any physical product or e-book to sell like some bloggers I know, I will take a page from Jenny's book and offer my writing for any website, business, or organization. Whatever you want to offer to pay me will see 50% will go towards the American Red Cross. I am open to any writing opportunity you may have so please do not hesitate to get in touch with me to coordinate a plan. Leave a comment below, which will be forwarded to my e-mail inbox automatically if interested.

With your help I can help victims in Haiti in a unique way. I do not have much I can donate out of my own pockets and feel this is a tremendous way to get involved. Even if you do not contact me please take the time to browse the 80+ bloggers on Cleavage to see what they have to offer.

Read more...

Sam Dalembert has long day as Sixers lose

Dalembert sees real loss, then another Sixers loss, to Trail Blazers - Bob Cooney, Philly.com
Haunting past: Miller burns Sixers in Blazers' win - Dei Lynam, CSNPhilly.com
Andre Miller leads Blazers past Sixers - jsams, Liberty Ballers
Two things I can't question: Sam Dalembert's heart and hustle - Matt P, The 700 Level

Sam Dalembert, a native of Haiti, made the long trip down to his home country the other day. Yesterday he flew back to Philadelphia and arrived in town around 6:00. About an hour later he was playing basketball for the Sixers, taking the opening tip.

Sure, the Sixers lost yet again, but you have to appreciate what Dalembert is doing, especially after a second earthquake rocked Haiti yesterday. Dalemebert, I will not say a negative word about you for the rest of he season.

Read more...

How the Chinese report Conan vs. Leno

If you are like me you love this new trend of Chinese news reports using CGI technology to explain their story in detail. Our eyes were opened with the Tiger Woods story being told through the use of CGI, and now the recent late night talk show battles are being illustrated for the Chinese viewers.

HT: BagofNothing

Read more...

Project 365 - 1.20.2010

Noticed some dust above the light on above the stairs.

Project 365 One Day at a Time
Next: 1.21.2010
Previous: 1.19.2010

Read more...

Jeff Carter leads the way for Flyers in win

Does Carcillo have a face only a mother could love or what? Getty Images

Carter's quick shothelps lift Flyers over Blue Jackets - Frank Seravalli, Philly.com
Face forward: Carter, Flyers knock off Blue Jackets - Tim Panaccio, CSNPhilly.com
Pronger contains Nash in Flyers' victory - Bill Clement, CSNPhilly.com
With win, Flyers bail out petulant captain - Bob Ford, Philly.com
Former coach Hitchcock supports Flyers captain Richards - Sam Donnellon, Philly.com
Richards learning his lessons the hard way - John R. Finger, CSNPhilly.com
Flyers outlast Umberger-led Blue Jackets, 5-3 - Travis Hughes, Broad Street Hockey
Jeff Carter... SCORES! Right off the face off - Enrico, The 700 Level

Certainly nice to see Jeff Carter with the scoring touch. Hopefuly that continues for the rest of the season.

With Ken Hitchcock back in town I had a feeling there would be some entertainment down at the Wachovia Center last night. Hitchcock is never afraid to answer questions to the media and is known to speak honestly about a number of topics. I found it interesting to learn that the former Flyers head coach voiced his support for Flyers captain Mike Richards, who has recently reignited his battle with the local media.

I have made clear my opinion on Richards. I do not think he is mentally ready to be the captain of a hockey team. Maybe pressure is getting to him, maybe he is just too young. The fact that Sidney Crosby has already lead his team to two consecutive Stanley Cup Finals appearances and won one makes it a little more frustrating to watch Richards go through what he is going through right now.

Read more...