Greetings and welcome to another set of Random Thoughts from yours truly. I have a lot of thoughts for pondering this week, so let's get to it. Enjoy.
- For the first time in a while, I'm feeling alright. It may be because my sleep schedule seems to be back on track (let's see how long that holds up) and that I've been getting out just a little bit. It could also be due to stuff coming up that gets me going, like football season. In any case, even though I've still got stuff to deal with and face, at least for right now I'm feeling okay.
- The reason this is called the "family" edition is that my mom's side is having a reunion next weekend. It will be the first time in I think 15 years that my mom and all her sisters will be in one place at the same time, along with other relatives. Even though I keep in touch with a lot of them I haven't actually seen them in a long time, some for years. I don't know if I'm gonna be able to make it to the reunion because of a lot of stuff going on here in Columbus, but I'm hoping I can.
- For those of you who use Firefox, I have put up a collection of the add-ons I use on the Firefox site itself. You can find them at https://addons.mozilla.org/collection/djaddons. Some of them might be useful to you.
- There is a new football league that will debut in October called the United Football League. It is a professional league that will play its games during the week on Thursdays and Fridays, I believe. There are going to be teams in New York, San Francisco, Las Vegas, and Orlando. The teams don't have names yet, but they do have some former NFL coaches and is run by a lot of ex-NFL personnel. The rules are generally the same with a few exceptions and it is a short season until they decide to expand. Unlike other efforts at establishing pro leagues (XFL, anyone?), I think this one has a decent shot of succeeding, for a couple of reasons. One, there are rumors that with the demise of NFL Europa (that is not a misspelling) the NFL is looking for a "minor league" and the way the UFL is set up, it may become that one day. The big reason I think it may succeed is because of something going on in the NFL. The 2010 NFL season will be an uncapped season, which means that there will be no salary cap. That means no maximum on salaries, but due to the collective bargaining agreement there is also no minimum. With that in mind, there is the big possibility of a lockout by the owners unless a new CBA is reached. That means the UFL could be the only pro football going on in the fall of 2010. On top of that, even if they do play with the uncapped season, the UFL will be paying more than the minimum the NFL gives right now, so there will be players who may elect to go here for financial considerations and also a higher likelihood of actual playing time. The games will be aired on the Versus channel and it might be worth checking out when it starts up.
- Speaking of football, I'm not forgetting about my Cleveland Browns. I will be joining the Westerville Browns Backers once again this season to watch the games. We have found a NEW and potentially permanent home to meet up at. It will be at the new Jimmy V's Sports Bar and Grill at the corner of State and College Streets in Uptown Westerville. The place really wanted us to be there, so for me personally I am excited about this. I'm just happy we're not going to be nomadic any longer. Now if we can only get to working on our website....
- There is a movement by several companies who make software to have "online" versions of their programs available as online tools as opposed to having them as applications to be installed on personal computers and laptops. The next version of Microsoft Office is supposed to be available like this for a subscription fee as well as a standalone version, but there are some programs out now as installable applications that may be only offered as online apps in the future. Now, I don't know about any of you, but even though it might be nice to have some stuff that clogs our disk space placed online instead, there is something to be said for having actual ownership of programs where you don't have to rely on being online to access it. Let's say I wanted to fix something in a document like a mistaken spelling or something that just needs tidying up...should I have to go online just to fix minor things that I am more than capable of doing if I had the actual program on my own computer? Also, for the financially conscious, having a subscription fee might be good for the companies themselves but it might not be as feasible on the user end because it would just be another "bill" that would have to be paid along with whatever else users have to pay for (home, food, and utilities, anyone?). For my document needs I use OpenOffice on my computer, so why would I want to pay for such an online service when I already have a program I can use anytime I want on my own computer without that hassle? I think there needs to be more discussion between these companies and regular and casual users regarding this before they start "offering" their proposals.
- My church home: Crossroads World Christian Center.
- Starting sometime in November tentatively, there will be a remake of the TV mini-series "V" on ABC as a regular series. I loved the original mini-series and it's sequel "The Final Battle" (the following series had its ups and downs) and from what I've heard about it and seen so far this new series might surpass the original, like with Battlestar Galactica. It has some name actors in the show including Morris Chestnut, Scott Wolf (Party of Five), and Morena Baccarin as the alien leader "Anna" (a riff on the character from the original mini named "Diana"). Along with other stuff coming out on TV in the next few months, I'm particularly looking forward to this show when it airs.
- Song on repeat: "Don't Know What You Got (Til It's Gone)" by Cinderella. Despite the title and what's been going on with me the past few weeks, this one isn't about me but about some others I know...that's all I'm gonna say about that.
- SLP to the following: my mom and dad (happy anniversary), Tracy, Marcia, Dave (happy birthday), Griff (happy b-day), Corey (again, happy birthday), Steve, Mario, Bob & Lynn.
That's it for this entry. I've got a somewhat eventful week ahead of me so I might not be as available as I normally am...just thought I'd get that out now just in case. Until next time, America (there I go with the Maury Povich signoff again...). Take care and God Bless.
DJ
