Photo-A-Day #326 02/28/06

Photo-A-Day #326 02/28/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

No pictures of the cool churches of downtown Corning. Didn't get out after the "walk thu" demo today. You can see how it went on my face. And I'm doing this again tomorrow.

Comic Book Creator

So I was in E.B. Games today in the Arnot mall and saw The Comic Book Creator software. A cool thing about this is that you can put your own pictures together to make comics from them. So I whipped one up. I am obviously not a comic book artist and can no way replace the great entertainment that is available out there. Just check out my webtainment links. From time to time I may make a comic with The Comic Book Creator, we will see.

Also I started reading Fluke: I Know why the Winged Whale Sings today on the plane. It is pretty funny.

You'll Have That Vol. 1

Here is a bulletin from Wes Molebash. Don't forget, Wes is coming out this way on July 8th for a Book signing. Get your copy ahead of time and be ready for the signing.

Myspace.com: "You'll Have That Vol. 1 is in this month's Previews, and that means it's time to pre-order, people! To make sure you get a copy, just give the Diamond order code -

MAR06 3473

- to the guy/gal at your local comic shop and they'll know what to do. The book is scheduled to hit store shelves on May 10, so make sure to get your orders in to insure that you'll get your copy on the day it arrives.

Here's the blurb printed in Previews:

'In the first volume of the webcomic strip You'll Have That, Andy and Katie battle noisy neighbors, have an unpleasant restaurant visit, and cope with the everyday struggles of married life. Foreword by Jef Mallett, creator of the syndicated comic strip, Frazz.'

The book collects the first half of 2005's comic strip in 64 pages and will cost $4.95! We both know that is super rad!

So go order the book, people!"

Photo-A-Day #325 02/27/06

Photo-A-Day #325 02/27/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Downtown Corning, New York. This is the facade of the Rockwell Museum of Western Art. As I was driving to the hotel I saw this and since it was still light I ran back over after stopping at the Harding Harley Davidson Shop I found a public parking area and walked over to the museum, but it was closed, however I got this shot of the buffalo making an escape.

I saw Eight Below today. I really enjoyed the movie, it is hard to watch at times for dog lovers but it is also a triumphant movie of epic survival. I'm not the biggest Paul Walker fan but I liked him very much in this movie. This movie was inspired by the true story of Taro and Jiro, two Japanese sled dogs who survived in the arctic. The original movie about Taro and Jiro was called Nankyoku Monogatari. Taro and Jiro are national heroes in Japan. There is a monument to them and a stamp as well.

Bonus Picture from Today

Photo-A-Day #324 02/26/06

Photo-A-Day #324 02/26/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Another day at the house. Oliver and Duncan are enjoying having us around.

Don Knotts, TV's Barney Fife, Dies at 81 - Yahoo! News

Goodbye Don Knotts. Mr. Ferly, The Incredible Mr. Limpet, Barney Fife. We will miss you.Don Knotts, TV's Barney Fife, Dies at 81 - Yahoo! News

Darren McGavin dies at 83 - Yahoo! News

The Bumpesess' dogs will not longer bother him. We will miss you Darren McGavin. Your portrayal of Ralhpie's father in A Christmas Story is part of what makes Christmas special. Darren McGavin dies at 83 - Yahoo! News

Photo-A-Day #323 02/25/06

Photo-A-Day #323 02/25/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Back to Aruba. Today Allison and I worked on and completed our scrapbook from the Honeymoon in Aruba. While we did that we watched A Guy Thing with Jason Lee, (it certainly wasn't an Earl fix but man that guy knows how to deliver lines. He just has a great way of speaking.) We also took a nice walk this morning before the snow and got more time to break in the new boots.

The scrapbook we got from Target and it had premade pages. They are on clearance right now at Target but I couldn't find any online to link to for you. We'll have to see if they have any more tomorrow. All of the things that we saved from the honeymoon were able to be incorporated into the book. As you can tell we are very proud of what we made. It was a great time together working on this project..

The App-Reese-tice

Our Friend Maureen - Mo - of We're In a Fight has set up her own fantasy Apprentice game through Yahoo Games. Here are the details from her. If you enjoy the apprentice and want to play the details on how to sign up are below.

"I've created a fantasy league for The Apprentice and would love for y'all to join in the fun. I got into the fantasy game for Martha's Apprentice a little late in the game last year-but still chose the winner as my final pick...so that was something. Basically every week questions are asked about the content of the show, pertaining to the contestants. It's a guessing game, but I'm sure I'm not going to be working for the Psychic Friends Hotline anytime soon. So if you want to join, just hit the main page at the link "up top." You may have to create a yahoo id...but that's pretty painless. If you already have an account with yahoo, then you are ready to proceed. The following info is also necessary to join the group...
Group ID#: 345
Password: reesie
If you have a problem let me know.
I hope to see you all "in the boardroom!!"

Photo-A-Day #322 02/24/06

Photo-A-Day #322 02/24/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Allison and Oliver spending some quality time together. Aren't they looking cute.

Jimmy Buffett's MARGARITAVILLE.com -- Online State of Mind

Look at what just posted at Jimmy Buffett's MARGARITAVILLE.com -- Online State of Mind!

Okay so those who know us and who are not parrotheads but would like to help us get tickets please go online on Saturday March 11, 2006 and buy as many tickets as you can (we'd prefer the Saturday show if possible.) I will buy those tickets from you at the price you pay for them and you have to know me personally, sorry not leaving Buffett tickets to chance. No making money off of Jimmy Buffett. It is not in the parrothead spirit. If you are a parrothead and we don't know it or maybe we do know it but you want to remind us, let us know. Or if you would like to help wait in line up in NH on the 11th so we can try and buy tickets at Filenes in Manchester let us know.

Buffett Back in Mansfield.

AUG 10 TWEETER CENTER
Boston, MA
On sale Saturday, March 11 @ 10AM8:00PM

AUG 12 TWEETER CENTER
Boston, MA
On sale Saturday, March 11 @ 10AM8:00PM"

Photo-A-Day #321 02/23/06

Photo-A-Day #321 02/23/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Had a 9 hour demonstration today and then a ride home from Rochester, NH in the rain, had no time to get a decent photo. Here is Duncan curious for the camera.

Photo-A-Day #320 02/22/06

Tonight I am in Portsmouth, NH. I have a demonstration tomorrow in Rochester, NH. It is an all day thing. I had dinner at the Muddy River Smokehouse in Downtown. I took a picture of this church before I went to eat and then tried again when I came back out. I liked the dark picture better. There are always protestors in front of that church too. Every single time I've been to Portsmouth, NH.

Photo-A-Day #319 02/21/06

This is Taylor, she is posing for the camera. I've been checking on Taylor at night to take her out. She is such a beautiful dog.

Photo-A-Day #318 02/20/06

Oliver does this thing where he rolls back and forth on his back and stretches. He is very cute.

Photo-A-Day #317 02/19/06

Today Allison and I went for a two mile walk. I had to start breaking in my new boots and new Superfeet for hiking. Allison broke in her new cute hat and thermal underwear. We made another trip to EMS today and this time I got a pair of boots from North Face, they are very warm and comfortable and waterproof. Allison got some thermal underwear top and bottoms and a new hat. We are looking forward to our snowshoe hike with Aunt Cindy and Uncle Wayne in March. Let's hope that some snow falls up in NH before that. So this is Allison's cute new hat, and she looks adorable in her cute new hat and the long hair hanging outside the hat.

Here is a bonus picture. While we were on our walk we saw this X-Box controller hanging from a branch in a tree. Someone either lost pretty bad and got angry or some parent had enough of their kid playing too much X-Box.

Busy Long Weekend...

This weekend has been packed with events and get together and lots of people time. On Friday night Allison had her book club over for the monthly gathering, this past month they read A Million Little Pieces. (The book was chosen before all the controversy surrounding the book came to light.) Allison really disliked the writing style. The guy uses no structured punctuation. So on Friday night I was going to go out and watch Eight Below but decided that I was going to see it on a matinee instead, no full price movies for me unless it is X-Men or Transformers or something huge like that.

I ended up at the mall where I stopped into Eastern Mountain Sports. I'd been checking EMS for the past few weeks because the price of snowshoes had been falling. Well, it fell to well over 1/2 off and I was able to pick up some Tubbs Altitude 30's for less than $100.00. I was very excited. I then debated about getting Allison a pair, but there is one thing I have learned about outdoor sports and my wife, you've got to make sure she likes it first. Allison took to kayaking like a natural but not biking. Guess which item of sports equipment I bought for her back when I was living the charmed life at Saint A's? Yep, a bike, but that is okay because now I ride it all the time (It is a men's bike, I'm not losing another man card.)

Speaking of Man cards (The concept was termed in the TV show Scrubs by Dr. Cox) apparently I lost a couple last night because I knew some answers to trivia questions while we were playing guys vs. the girls in Trivial Pursuit the Pop Culture DVD Edition. I knew a teen book series about twin girls. Sweet Valley High. I have sisters what can I say. And I don't think this one qualifies for a man card loss, but according to Neil, Friends is a girl show so apparently knowing that Ross and Rachel were on a break was grounds for parting with a man card, despite my contributions to our win and all.

Yesterday was also sad because we attended the funeral of my sister Shelby's best friend's mother. She was an outstanding woman, dedicated teacher and athlete, a three time marathoner with a love for teaching science. Our hearts go out to Kaitlyn and her family.

Yesterday afternoon also gave us some downtime and when I got some downtime I played my new favorite game ever, The Bard's Tale. This irreverent send up to traditional role playing games is fantastic. It is also very funny. I've played many role playing games over the years (many before I was married and before I began maintaining a blog. I love you hon! :-) ) But God bless Allison she bought me The Bard's Tale for Valentine's Day, knowing that I would become addicted to playing the game. Cary Elwes from The Princess Bride, is the voice of The Bard, a snarky, lusty character in search of coin and cleavage. He's only doing something if he gets paid or gets ... an attractive barmaid. The Bard has no use for being a hero and going on many silly side trips like killing rats in a basement and flipping levers like you see in traditional role playing adventures. But he ends up doing them never the less. However the outcome is so funny. When killing rats in the basement he figures that he is all done and walks away he gets torched by a giant fire breathing Rat. The characters sing some great songs, like an Ode to Charlie Mops, The Man Who Invented Beer and It's Bad Luck to Be You, in the vein of the oompa loompa songs from Willy Wonka and the Chocolate Factory. So this is my latest addiction. Hence some lack of update recently.

Tonight Allison is going to a Pocketbook party and I am going along to hang out with the husband of the woman hosting the party. Also a transformers and movie geek like myself. Should be fun.

Photo-A-Day #316 02/18/06

Tonight Allison and I hosted a game night with Neil and Andrea and Derek and Michelle. We got Chinese food from Fortune House. Thanks for picking that up Derek and Michelle. Andrea and Neil brought a great cake that we had for dessert. We played two games of Scene It Sequel Pack and one game of Trivial Pursuit - Pop Culture DVD edition.

Random comments:
Your joystick has no pie around it.
Schmuckles!
Sweet Valley High
You have a 50/50 chance you make get it right or not.
Kill two stones with one bird.
Pointing, Stone One, Stone Two.
At exit 1.....

Opinion Page

Just wanted to let everyone know that my letter to the editor appeared in today's paper (Friday). I've already gotten some feedback about it. Also one of my sister's friend's saw the original article and told my sister about it right away. She got a weird vibe from the article too. Well, I've done what I can do.

Photo-A-Day #315 02/17/06

Photo-A-Day #315 02/17/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

This is the makings of a jambalya that Allison is putting together for her book club meeting. Or rather her eat and have wine meeting, and maybe mention a book or two. It smells really good and will of course taste fantastic once she has completed the meal preparation.

So Book club is at our place tonight. We have spent most of the week making the place presentable. The new slipcovers and all this cleaning makes the place look really good. Those items that we bought at the home show are also very useful. We're pretty satisfied with our purchases.

And that is steam because it is pipin' hot!

Photo-A-Day #314 02/16/06

Photo-A-Day #314 02/16/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Took a walk with my sister Tara today. As we passed the old jewelry factory I snapped this shot of the old water tower. I liked how the sky was looking.

Speaking of walking. I am trying to get my wind up for the Disney In-Line 1/2 Marathon. Check my progress on the turtle ticker above.

The Sun Chronicle's MySpace article....

If you notice the message I posted on the 13th then you know that there was an article in my hometown newspaper, The Sun Chronicle, about MySpace. My profile was shown in the article, however it had nothing to do with the article. I ranted and raved on the 13th and then decided to exercise my right to free speech in a more constructive way. So I sent an e-mail to the editor.

Dear Editor,

In Sunday's Edition of The Sun Chronicle there was an article about MySpace and the potential dangers that it poses to teenagers. The overall tone of the article describing how teens can say safe on the Internet was good. The tips for teens was also very good.

However there was a screenshot of a MySpace search using Attleboro as the keyword. This brought up a list of users who had Attleboro as their location in their MySpace profile. My profile was one of those that was pictured. In the overall context of the article this screenshot seemed very out of place. Had the journalist contacted the people who were listed in the screenshot for quotes or something then it would have made a little more sense to have that screenshot in the paper.

It made me very uncomfortable to read an article talking about the dangers of being online and the access that sexual predators have to teenagers and then to see my picture from my MySpace profile up in a random screenshot. I concede that there was a caption that read here is a list of some residents of Attleboro who have MySpace accounts. I would have appreciated being contacted about my profile and my MySpace Account and Blogging on the Internet in general.

I have been blogging for the past 2+ years and I blog every single day. I have been working on a personal project to take at least one photograph each day. These photographs are then posted to buzznet.com and from there I post them to my MySpace and my Blogger accounts. I keep a list of other Photo-A-Day enthusiasts whom I have met online and in real life.

My main blog, http://benspark.blogspot.com, is where I post messages about TV, movies, books, I am reading, plans for my recent wedding, pictures from my wedding, favorite web comics, favorite folk and acoustic musicians. I host a daily trivia game and I even have many affiliate links to amazon.com and various other businesses. Through blogging I have met some very nice people including one web comic who created the wedding gift that my wife gave me. We are hosting him in July when he comes here to promote his first published comic book. I am proud of my blog and my dedication to maintaining and improving it each day.

I feel that by having my profile on that screenshot in the paper portrays me and my profile in a rather creepy way. I have had many good experiences online. Then again I am 31 years old and have been online since I was in college so the main gist of the article doesn't really relate to me because I am not an impressionable teen.

I just feel very uncomfortable with my profile in the paper associated with the subject matter of the article. Had I been contacted to contribute in some way to this article I could see why my profile would be relevant. I understand that I was not portrayed as a sexual predator or deviant, however the image was randomly inserted and there I was. My profile is the one of the person in the Kayak. And I would be most happy to talk to someone from the Sun Chronicle about blogging, MySpace, Internet dangers and the Internet in general.

Respectfully,
Drew

Opinions editor of The Sun Chronicle, Mark Flanagan was great, he called me right after the message and left a voicemail for me saying that he would forward my message along to the News section and did I want to submit my message as a letter to the editor for the opinion page. The more I thought about it ... yes, I did want to submit something to be in the paper. So I cleaned up what I had written and I submitted this.

Dear Editor,

In Sunday's Edition of The Sun Chronicle an article was featured about the Internet site, MySpace, and the potential dangers that it poses to teenagers. The overall tone of the article describing how teens can stay safe on the Internet was good. The tips for teens were also very helpful. Making parents aware of potential dangers and giving them something to talk
about with their teens was a service to the community.

However there was a screenshot of a MySpace page of search results that used Attleboro as the keyword. This brought up a list of users who had Attleboro as their location in their MySpace profile. My profile was one of those that were pictured. In the overall context of the article this screenshot seemed out of place.

I was alerted to this article and the picture by one of my friends from MySpace who is also an Attleboro area resident. She left a comment on my MySpace profile that said, "So the Sun Chronicle had a 3 page report about MySpace and how it gives pedophiles easier access to their victims. They showed Attleboro profiles and right on the bottom's is YOU! I kid not!"
Immediately I thought the worst. An article about pedophiles and somehow my picture is in the article. Why was it there? How did it get there? All the rest of the day I was anxious to get home and read the article. When I got home I read through the article and could not see the relevance of my profile, including my picture, and the profiles of other MySpacers and their
pictures inserted in a random screenshot.

It made me very uncomfortable to read an article talking about the dangers of being online and the access that sexual predators have to teenagers and then to see my picture from my MySpace profile up in a random screenshot. I completely understand that by having a public profile on sites like MySpace my image could be used without my permission. I concede that there was a caption that explained that many residents of Attleboro have MySpace accounts. However, I would have appreciated being contacted about my MySpace profile and my picture being used before it went into the paper.

Had the journalist contacted myself or the other people who were listed in the screenshot for quotes or their experiences with MySpace then it I could see why my profile would have been relevant. However, none of the people from the screenshot were part of the article aside from their profiles and images being posted. This image was very out of place. I understand that I
was not portrayed as a sexual predator or deviant, however my image was randomly inserted into the article. My image really had nothing to do with the context of the overall article. Anyone who may be glancing through the paper and not reading carefully could draw their own conclusions.

I have three blogs and I have been blogging for the past 2+ years and I update and improve my blog every day. I have one main blog through Blogger (http://benspark.blogspot.com). This is where I post messages about TV, movies, books I am reading, plans from my recent wedding, pictures from the wedding & the honeymoon, my favorite web comic artists and their online comic strips, and my favorite musicians (I have discovered many new artists through MySpace). I also host a daily trivia game and maintain my own online bookstore. I have also been working on a yearlong personal project where I take at least one photograph each day. These photographs are then posted to my Buzznet blog and from there I post them to my MySpace and Blogger accounts, where readers can comment on the pictures.

Through blogging I have met some very nice people including one web comic artist who created the wedding gift that my wife gave me, a custom comic strip about our wedding day. I also met nine other Photo-A-Day bloggers who posted photos for me each day while I was on my honeymoon so that my readers would get their Photo-A-Day fix while I was gone.

I have spent ten years online, I taught myself html, designed websites in my spare time and professionally. The Internet is a great place and there are many nice people there, but like anything else there are those who turn the good things into bad. The Internet and the technology available to users have grown exponentially and have made access to advanced technology easier for all users. With this new technology it is easy to forget that there are
still dangers to be aware of. You have to protect yourself because what you do online can have very real consequences in real life. I appreciate that the Sun Chronicle printed an article making readers aware of what can go on and how to protect themselves and their privacy. I certainly learned something from this article.

Respectfully,
Drew

Well what I didn't realize is that a letter to the editor for the opinion page needs to be no more that 350 words. Verbose, me, never. So I cut it down and here is my final submission. I don't know when or if it will make it into the paper.

Dear Editor,

In Sunday's Edition of the Sun Chronicle an article was featured about the Internet site, MySpace, and the potential dangers that it poses to teenagers. The overall tone of the article and tips for staying safe on the Internet was good. Educating parents of potential Internet dangers and giving them something to talk about with their teens was a service to the
community.

However there was a screenshot of a MySpace page of profiles that had Attleboro as a keyword. There was a caption that explained that many Attleboro residents have MySpace accounts. My profile was one of those that were pictured. It made me very uncomfortable to see my image in an article about the access that sexual predators have to teenagers. I understand that I was not portrayed as a sexual predator; however, my image had nothing to do with the content of the article. Anyone who may be glancing through the paper and not reading carefully could draw their own conclusions.

I completely understand that by having a public profile on sites like MySpace my image could be used without my permission. Had the journalist contacted me or the other people who were listed in the screenshot for quotes or their experiences with MySpace then I could see why my profile would have been relevant. However, none of the profiles pictured were part
of the article aside from the keyword, Attleboro.

I have spent ten years online, I have designed websites in my spare time and professionally. It is good that Internet technology available to users has grown exponentially and has become easier for all users. With this new technology it is easy to forget that there are still dangers to be aware of. You have to protect yourself because what you do online can have very real
consequences in real life. I appreciate that the Sun Chronicle printed an article making readers aware of what can go on and how to protect themselves and their privacy. I certainly learned something about my privacy from this article.

Respectfully,
Drew

I do not want to make a huge deal out of this whole issue but rather bring to light what came up and how it was dealt with. As you can see I paired things down to a more constructive and respectful tone. Oh and I took out my full name which I did sign to the letters.

Soda Club Flavor of the Week

This week's flavor Orange & Mango. Okay so I'm not strict about when the 'week' actually begins or ends. I figured it was time for a flavor change.

Allison really likes Orange & Mango. I'm not the biggest fan of the two fruit mixes. I like Orange and I like Grape but not really either of them mixed with another flavor. That is my personal preference.

Orange & Mango is featured in many recipes for The Soda Club. Like these:

Cranberry Orange Holiday Fizz
Submitted by Denise G. of Chicago

1 liter Soda-Club Cranberry-Raspberry soda
1 liter Soda-Club Orange-Mango soda
2 cups cranberry juice
2 cups gin or orange vodka (optional)
2 cups frozen whole cranberries
2 oranges, sliced

Add all ingredients to a large punch bowl
To keep punch cold throughout the evening, replenish frozen cranberries (they act as miniature ice cubes) or make an ice ring by freezing water, cranberries and oranges in a gelatin mold and let it float in the punch.

Red Sangria
1 liter of Soda-Club Orange-Mango soda
1 bottle of rioja or other red Spanish table wine
1/2 cup of sugar
1 cup of Spanish brandy
Lemon, lime, orange, strawberries

Cut fruit into bite-sized pieces and mix with brandy and sugar in a medium bowl. Allow to macerate for several hours or overnight.
Just before serving, combine fruit mixture, wine and Orange-Mango soda in a large glass pitcher.
Stir with a wooden spoon and pour into wine glasses to serve, being sure to include bits of fruit in each glass. Makes 8-10 servings.

Parrothead
6 oz. Soda-Club Orange-Mango
2 oz. Coconut rum

Pour rum over ice and add Orange-Mango soda
Stir gently to mix
Garnish with a wedge of pineapple or a slice of mango
For variety, try using mango or pineapple flavored rum

Hawaiian Chicken – serves 6
Submitted by Don S. of CA.

6-8 chicken breasts
(or 6-10 of your favorite pieces)
2-4 cups of Soda-Club Orange-Mango soda

Place chicken in non-reactive bowl and pour soda over to cover
Allow to marinate overnight
Grill over medium-high heat until cooked through
(internal temperature should register 165F.)
Hint from the chef: Marinated meat cooks faster than non-marinated meat so you should adjust your cooking time accordingly.

Photo-A-Day #313 02/15/06

Photo-A-Day #313 02/15/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Allison made a nice purchase for the apartment today. Some new slipcovers for the couches and some new pillows. The living room looks great. Good job Allison.

Photo-A-Day #312 02/14/06

Photo-A-Day #312 02/14/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Happy Valentine's Day. Allison and I had a great meal at Rancho Chico on Route One. It was a very nice meal. Much better than the last time we went there.

For dessert we had a sampling of SparX Spicy Cookies. We tried one of each flavor. I've got to say, SparX Spicy Cookies are such a great concept and they were a nice little treat.

Happy Valentine's Day

Today is Valentine's Day. Last night Allison and I exchanged out Valentine's Day gifts. Allison got me seven Kathy Reichs Books and something else that is en route. For Allison I got her The Notebook on DVD. So that means that at some point I am going to have to watch it. Oh well, I am a fan of Ryan Gosling. But that was not all, in addition to that were some nice chocolates and all five flavors of SparX Spicy Cookies.

What are SparX Spicy Cookies? They are gourmet cookies with spices like cayenne, jalapeno, chipotle, and ancho. The five flavors are Chipotle Chocolate Chip, Ancho Oatmeal Raisin, Cayenne Toffee Pecan, Chipotle Double Fudge, and Jalapeno Peanut Butter. We tried the Chipotle Double Fudge and the Cayenne Toffee Pecan last night. The Cayenne Toffee Pecan was awesome. I just wasn't feeling the love for Chipotle Double Fudge, I'll have to try a few more with a fresh palate to make a final decision on those ones. I can't wait to try the rest of the flavors.

I ordered the SparX Spicy Cookies by calling the number on their order page. They have been very busy since a segment on them aired on the Food Network. They've been so busy that my order was taken by the president of the company himself Richard Saslaw. He was very nice and got me the cookies in plenty of time for Valentine's Day. Even with our day early exchange of gifts. Check out SparX Spicy Cookies.

Some side notes:
Notice the Kid's 180s Ear Warmers. I have a pair in the adult size and they are great. Ever since the big snow on Sunday I've been wearing mine and it makes going to the cold car in the morning so much better.

I finished reading Christ the Lord by Anne Rice. This was a very good book, I suggest that if you are interested in a faith filled interpretation of what Jesus as a young boy may have been like that you read this book.

Photo-A-Day #311 02/13/06

Photo-A-Day #311 02/13/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

We got whalloped with snow on Sunday, but doesn't it make everything look nice.

MySpace ... fear/scare/panic

Okay so this morning I checked out to see if I had any messages on MySpace and there was a comment from my friend Carolinegray. It said "so the sun chronicle had a 3 page report about MySpace and how it gives pedifilers easier access to thier victims..they showed Attleboro profiles and right on the bottom's is YOU!..i kid not!!"

WHAT!!!

My first thought was "great I am lumped into an article about slimy sexual predators and other worthless garbage of that same ilk". Fantastic, what a great way to start the day. I missed the article yesterday because I didn't snag my parent's paper. (Why buy two since it gets read by everyone?) So all day I didn't know exactly what the context of the article was or why my profile or picture appeared there. The Sun Chronicle did not contact me about my views of MySpace or anything like that. I am annoyed.

The article was about how sexual predators, weak useless wastes of space, are now using sites like MySpace to contact teenagers and lure them. The article goes on to talk about the ways that teens can protect themselves online, not giving out their information and the like.

I've been online heavily for 10 years. 1996 was the major year that I had serious internet access in college because I could get on our network from my dorm room. That was when I learned how to program HTML. And that is why my life took the direction that it did that year. But this rant is not about me per-say it is about the Internet and the latest fear/scare/panic problem of the week. This week it is MySpace. Many incidences recently had some tie to MySpace.

That nutjob in New Bedford that went into Puzzles Bar and attacked people with a hatchet and gun had a profile on MySpace. So because some whack job loser had a profile on MySpace and then committed an evil act then we must investigate what is happening on MySpace. So now in order to stir the pot with fear/scare and of course panic reporters find out other things that make the Internet a scary place.

You know what is scary, the lack of common sense that people have.

Teens posting scantily clad pictures on their profiles so people can 'rate' them on their hotness. Yeah, that isn't inviting a sexual deviant to look twice at your profile. Kids, "Cover up!"

Don't meet someone from MySpace or a dating service or anything like that, alone. There is safety in numbers. If you must meet someone online that you have never met before but have formed a 'relationship' with you still do not 'know' this person and you should take steps to protect yourself. Daytime, Public Place (Not your house), with friends (People that you trust and will stick with you and help you keep your head), let people know where you are going and when you are expected to be back, (I know, It is not 'cool' but tell your parents what you are doing). And if the vibe from someone 'IRL, In Real Life' is bad, leave.

Parents, have some clue how to use a computer and protect your child. Your child is a child until they are 18 years old. They live in your house and you provide for them. If you do not want them using certain websites than smarten up and get some software with parental controls. Learn how to use the computer and that software. Also put the computer in a central place in the house.

So, what did my MySpace profile have to do with this article? Absolutely nothing except the reporter Lauren Carter did a search for Attleboro on MySpace and took a screenshot of the first page of results. I just so happened to have been on that first page of results.

MySpace, can be a good place. I have discovered many great new musicians through it and it even got me reconnected with some old friends from back when I was a kid. It is another place that I post my Photo-A-Day so that I can get more people to see my pictures and it is nice to be able to contact friends and post messages. But me, I'm 31 years old, I have been on the Internet since 1995/1996. I've seen many forms of online communication. I've even used some of the dating services from back in the day. So what I am saying is that I have experience with what can be out there. Anything online that can be used for good can also be turned around by bad people to be something bad. Take care of yourself out there.

Photo-A-Day #310 02/12/06

Photo-A-Day #310 02/12/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Allison and Oliver sleep peacefully during the weekend Nor’easter. The local news loves it when we have major snow. They stay up for hours telling you that it is snowing out.

Today Allison and I were quite domestic. We roasted a chicken that we prepared yesterday. The recipe comes from the Everything One Pot Cookbook. It was called Sticky Fingers Chicken and man was it good. The recipe calls for roasting it for 5 hours at 250 degrees. Basting every 1/2 hour. When the bird was done at 1:30 I cut it apart for our lunch and then we began phase two.

We are now making chicken stock for a chicken soup. We took the rest of the bird and divided it into two pots because we do not have a stock pot. So we are using two 5 quart pots on the stove. Using a modified version of Alton Brown's Chicken Stock Recipe we also cooked up a bunch of wing tips that we have had on ice for the past year, they were vacuum sealed in our food saver from when I last made chicken wings. Those were cooked up and divided between the two pots also. So we have had some great smells in the apartment all day long.

Also I mentioned that yesterday we bought a few things at the home show with Neil and Andrea. We picked up the Mr. Sticky Roller which was actually a set of three. One telescoping roller, one hand roller and one travel roller. I took the travel roller so that I could be cat hair free on the road. It is a pretty neat product. Allison did all the blinds with the medium Sticky and got tons of cat hair off of them.

We also bought a micro fiber mop that is like a Swiffer but you don't throw the pads away you can reuse them after washing them in the washing machine. I also like this product. We actually got the deluxe model with 3 pads, 2 eyeglass cleaning cloths, two micro fiber towels and a gizmo and pad to clean the ceiling fans. Between the use of both products last night and today we've been able to pick up tons of cat hair that our regular cleaning has missed. So we are happy with the purchases..

Photo-A-Day #309 02/11/06

Photo-A-Day #309 02/11/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Happy 70th Birthday Uncle Fred!

Today we had a surprise 70th birthday for my Great-Uncle Fred. Fred is on my Dad's side of the family. So the whole Bennett clan got together to party the afternoon away at The Moose Cabin in Attleboro. Again Al and his family took great care of us. If you are around the Attleboro area stop by The Moose Cabin. Try the Portuguese Pork and Potato dish, it is fantastic.

My cousin Scott made custom candy bar wrappers and some great metal placards with a recipe for Fred's 70th Birthday Party, with the history of Fred's life on the back. Great-Uncle Fred spent many years as a chef. He can make the best pastries. He even had his own bakery for a time and spent many years at the Pomfret School in CT. Grandpa Bennett opened with some great words about Fred and the celebration of Fred today. Fred is also Tara's dance partner because she is the only one who can really keep up to him. Fred is a fantastic dancer also and he and Tara do some fancy swing dancing at the family parties.

After the party Allison and I went to the North American Home Show with Neil and Andrea. We spent more than we anticipated on some stuff for the house. I'll talk about that tomorrow when we get more of a chance to try the things out.

After the home show we stopped at Target to pick up a couple of spray bottles and we decided to hit Chilis for a little bite. We split an appetizer and on our way out we ran into Marybeth and Damian. We stopped and chatted with them for a bit and then headed home.

All of our cars are backed into the driveway and off to one side in anticipation of the big snow that we should be getting tonight.

Photo-A-Day #308 02/10/06

Photo-A-Day #308 02/10/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Oliver likes Bode Miller. Or at least he likes it when Bode skis. Oliver is fascinated by the flags on the downhill course and he tries to catch the racers. He has not done this before.

Allison and I are catching the Olympics tonight. Quiet evening in. Gotta pay attention so that we do well tomorrow with RewardTV. So far we have been doing pretty well with it. Even remembering the commercials.

Photo-A-Day #307 02/09/06

Photo-A-Day #307 02/09/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

The weather today was so crisp and clear that I was able to see the moon out. It is resting on the edge of our church. This week ground was broken for the addition on our church. We are looking forward to the renovations. This beautiful building is getting an elevator and some meeting rooms and some more space for the ever expanding congregation.

This Day in Music....

What was #1 on the Charts on the Day you were born. Mine was Benny and the Jets - Elton John. Scary that sometimes Derek calls me Bennett and the Jets. What was #1 when you were born? This day in Music ::

Photo-A-Day #306 02/08/06

Photo-A-Day #306 02/08/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Got myself a haircut today. Wanted to take a picture of the haircut because I can never get it to look like it did the day it gets cut.

Photo-A-Day #305 02/07/06

Photo-A-Day #305 02/07/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

The Gillette Fusion is out. I bought the powered one to tackle my unruly facial hair. Now it looks so futuristic that I think we need to redo the bathroom. However Oliver and Duncan have taken to redecorating the bathroom by tearing up new rolls of toilet paper. The little troublemakers.

Photo-A-Day #304 02/06/06

Photo-A-Day #304 02/06/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Duncan and Oliver love to have some of the tuna water after I have drained the tuna fish when I make it for lunches. So tonight I prepped some tuna for lunches tomorrow and as soon as the can opener popped the can they came running. And they share very well together. Such nice brothers.

Sign Up for RewardTV

Sign up for RewardTV. This is a cool site where you can answer questions about TV shows that you may watch throughout the week. Quizzes come up the day after a show airs. You can play about 6 games a day and earn points that can be used to redeem for Gift Cards and you are entered into sweepstakes through the site.

I signed up today after learning about it from my friend Autumn. It looks like the site has the purpose of gathering information about TV watching and advertisements because some questions about each TV show have questions about ads interspersed throughout the quiz. Each correct question gets you 100 points. There are also other surveys that you can take for extra points. So far it seems pretty fun.

RewardTV.com Sign up.

Photo-A-Day #303 02/05/06

Photo-A-Day #303 02/05/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

Superbowl Sunday. Spent the Superbowl with Mom and Dad and Allison and Jen and Tara and Taylor. Had a great meal of Chili, Stromboli, Chicken Wings and Sausage. Some great commercials this year and the game was exciting.

Don White at Tupelo

Last night Allison and I and Marcia and Dan and Erin and Bart and Dick and Vivian went to see Don White and The Loomers play at Tupelo Music Hall. The Loomers were the best I had ever seen them. I think that getting their CD at the last show and listening to it a few times made this show even more enjoyable. It was fun to hear Dead End Street. The Loomers played about 4 or 5 songs and then Don White came on stage (after a five minute intermission).

Don started with Rascal, that always gets the crowd going. And I could tell that he had been honing his stories even more since the last concert. Yes they were the same stories but he had added certain embellishments to each that made each story new and refreshing. After Rascal Don told the story of the accordion door and played the song Brown Eyes Shine. Then he told the story of the cantankerous old man society and played Be 16 With Me. You would think that 3 songs would have been over in about 15 minutes. Nope not with Don. With Don you get fantastic stories between during and after each song. The uninitiated (Dick and Vivian) got a huge kick out of the show. They were laughing and laughing all night.

Don brought up his son Lawren and the bass player from The Loomers and played an old old song called One Meatball. After that all of The Loomers came up and they played with Don. The songs played (if I am remembering correctly) were Project Girl, Not Scared Anymore, The Lumper Song, Angle in Pieces and I know Exactly What Love Is. Such a great night of music and a great time with good friends and family.

We picked up a CD for Neil and Andrea (Live in Michigan) and we bought the latest The Loomers CD called Shine.

Here are some Pictures from the Show.

The Loomers


Don White and The Loomers. Don with his Joey Ramone Hair.


Dan, Marcia, Dick and Vivian


Allison, Me, Bart and Erin (Sorry we got your eyes closed on this one Erin.)


Okay one more of Clyde because he is so dang cute. Here he is exhausted.

Photo-A-Day #302 02/04/06

Photo-A-Day #302 02/04/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

We are up in NH today to see Don White with Marcia and Dan and Erin and Bart and Dick and Vivian. But before the show, when we arrived we played with Bonnie and Clyde. Clyde doesn't know when to stop playing and will play till he drops. If he gets to tired and excited he pants like a dog. I captured him at rest.

Photo-A-Day #301 02/03/06

Photo-A-Day #301 02/03/06
Posted by: abennett96 on Buzznet

This is a window at the Richard's Memorial Library in North Attleboro. I dropped off Firestorm by Nevada Barr. The library was closed and I dropped it in the slot. I guess you can drop donations there too. Too bad the moon wasn't bigger.

Brokeback to the Future

Mo found this. Clever and funny.

Brokeback to the Future

Finally a New Transformers Series..

Transformers Infiltration is the new comic series by IDW. This series is doing a very good job of slowing introducing a new Cannon to the Transformers universe. They have even set up a website from within the comic called. Mechatopia which is supposedly written by one of the comic book characters. I look forward to more issues, at least something to tide me over while waiting for the movie in 2007.

Photo-A-Day #300 02/02/06

Back home in Rhode Island. My home airport of T.F. Green. Not in the most creative mood today. Finished Blind Descent. Another solid outing with Anna Pigeon. Good read. Glad I am home. Kinda sad that this is the 300th picture. Well they can't all be winners.

Mentos and Coke

Have you seen any videos around the web about putting Mentos, the freshmaker, into bottles of Coke. Here is a website that sets this up like an experiment. ghost.

Here is a video of what happens when you add mentos to coke.

And another one from some college kids.

Out behind the Gas and Sip.

Photo-A-Day #299 02/01/06

I demonstrated in Paris today. When demos were done I headed back to Nashville to rest up to head out downtown. So why is today's photo of Ruby Tuesday curbside pickup? Well, today's word is precision people. I say it again, precision. I was going to go and meet another demonstrator in the lobby of our hotel and go to dinner downtown. We are both staying at a Courtyard by Marriott. However, we both assumed it was the same hotel. Nope. Hers was downtown and mine was by the airport. So I'm picking up some take out and going to hang at the hotel. This is fine, because I have been fighting a cold and need to get some rest. If I has asked and made sure of the hotel I would have tried to get over to the Opryland hotel earlier to see if I could see the hoopla around the President's speech today. I'm certainly not into politics as Neil and Derek can attest to. However I'm in the same state as our President is visiting and I can try to see what's happening. That and check out the Opryland hotel. I hear it is awesome inside.

And maybe I don't feel much like driving tonight because I got pulled over on my way up from Paris. Okay here is what happened: in Tennessee and other states Big Rigs can drive in any lane. This is a problem because many Big Rigs drive too fast. They also cannot slow down when coming down hills and you had better get out of the way if you find yourself in front of one on a downhill haul. Had they been driving the speed limit this wouldn't be such a problem. However the speed limit here is 70mph. Couple that with many hills and tight highway lanes and many, many, many of these trucks all over the highway barreling along well above the limit makes for some scary driving.

So, I tried to drive the speed limit of 70mph because states that have that speed limit are a bit tetchy about people driving above that limit. In Mass, hitting 70 mph in a 65 zone isn’t even a blip on the radar but you go over the 70mph in a state with that limit and they don’t like it. I was ahead of a Rig bearing down on me and so I ramped up to 80 to put some distance on me and as I came around a bend there was a speed trap set up in the median. I slowed down and moved to the slow lane and coasted by the trap at about 68mph. The damage was done. I continued on and watched my rear view, no movement by the police. I continued on till I was out of site and got back to 70mph. Next thing I know the police car came up behind me and followed for a while and then pulled me over. Apparently when I moved to the slow lane I didn’t use my directional. I can’t believe it either, it is one of my biggest pet peeves about other drivers and I use my directional EVERYWHERE. Ask Allison she will vouch for my driving skills. Anyway the police officer was very nice and let me go with the understanding that I use my directional when changing lanes. So, thanks Tennessee highway patrol.

Trivia Game Standings

Janunary '06
Standings for Trivia

60 players played during the month.

1. roller74 (348 points, 0 wins)
2. abennett48 (341 points, 4 wins)
3. Mo (328 points, 0 wins)
4. Jim (323 points, 6 wins)
5. ekstaron (298 points, 3 wins)
6. pinkpiratepants (294 points, 2 wins)
7. ArubaHM (293 points, 4 wins)
8. samjan (263 points, 3 wins)
9. angel11 (258 points, 1 wins)
10. autumnblue (251 points, 1 wins)


New Tournament starts today. Don't forget the other trivia games out there too.

Here's how I did with Mo's Trivia.

43 players played during the month.

1. Drewbie (206 points, 8 wins)
2. Mo (184 points, 10 wins)
3. vtek33 (151 points, 1 wins)
4. lizfwiz (116 points, 1 wins)
5. jovifan (107 points, 1 wins)
6. reverand_aldern (101 points, 0 wins)
7. HotFudgeWig (85 points, 1 wins)
8. Eoj (59 points, 0 wins)
9. Slovac (58 points, 0 wins)
10. CheapSal (51 points, 2 wins)

And Autumn's Trivia

14 players played during the month.

1. autumnblue (33 points, 12 wins)
2. parkstreet (16 points, 1 wins)
3. Jessi1126 (9 points, 0 wins)
4. kevinzo (7 points, 0 wins)
5. mo (7 points, 0 wins)
6. kbergeron (6 points, 0 wins)
7. Laura (5 points, 0 wins)
8. elizab (5 points, 0 wins)
9. cherielane (5 points, 0 wins)
10. mc (4 points, 0 wins)

And Jo-Jo's Trivia

3 players played during the month.

1. auntiejojo (5 points, 5 wins)
2. mtblogger (5 points, 4 wins)
3. autumnblue (2 points, 0 wins)

Check out the trivia offerings around the web.