Radio Shack Fires 400 By Email

You've got mail!

Imagine learning you've just lost your $90,000 a year job via e-mail. That's just what happened to some Radio Shack employees, apparently.

Does that strike anyone else as an underhanded method of managing difficult personnel conversations?

Count Me Among The Fallen

Men, in particular, are abandoning watches in droves. I'm not surprised.

The culprit? Cell phones.

When's Parcells Going To Blow?

We all know it's coming.

I'm surprised Parcells has kept his infamous anger in check as long as he has (I thought Owens' Discovery Team episode would have proven a worthy trigger, actually). But no.

Meanwhile, the Parcells-Owens matchup is proving a more intriguing pairing than a Cowboys-Redskins game.

This Is It

Next week starts it all. The official end of summer (as is traditionally marked by Labor Day weekend) arrives, and the college football season (is there any better?) kicks off. Right on its heels is the NFL's opening week, followed soon after by MLB's World Series.

Temperatures will begin cooling, meaning my logo'ed work shirts won't be soaked in sweat by noon. I welcome the change of season.

In addition to the respite in weather, everyone begins gearing up for the holidays. Halloween serves as a distinct marker. Time will seemingly pass slowly until then, when it'll accelerate like nobody's business.

Each New Year I look back longingly to the point at which all the fall's greatness began. This year I'm taking just a moment to enjoy all that'll transpire before Thanksgiving parties, holiday lights, Monday evenings spent watching football with thick french fries spinkled with hot spice and dipped in con queso cheese and the bowl season complete.

Who knows where the New Year will find us. It's possible Louisville could play in a New Year's Day bowl game, possibly even a BCS tournament matchup. I'm thinking I'll need to be there, if they do. The same's true for the Reds, who are thick in the playoff hunt.

Should be a good fall.

Is Hockey In My Future?

I could be talked into joining this league.

Seriously. Rank me a two, I don't care. At least I'd be back out there playing the game I arguably loved most (and we played them all) as a kid.

What Makes The Internet Great

It's videos like this that make the Internet great.

PowerBook G4: One Year Later

One year ago today I purchased my Macintosh PowerBook G4. Rexworld told me too wait; I think I remember Smorty71 questioning my manhood.

But that's all good and fine. Although the new Intel-based MacBooks and MacBook Pros will smoke my G4, my PowerBook still manages all the tasks (photo editing, Web surfing, Web-based apps, e-mail, etc.) I toss it without so much as a hiccup.

This thing's just awesome. I had to reboot my Windows systems more today than I've had to reboot the PowerBook all year. That is not an exaggeration, my friends. Straight scary truth, I swear.

When I launched two companies at the beginning of this year, I just wish I would have had the balls to do so using the Mac as my main business system. QuickBooks issues and phone/Outlook synchronization were the two elements that scared me off.

By now I've discovered QuickBooks' Web-based edition probably would have worked fine for me. And, given a small investment in The Missing Sync, I could have likely overcome the phone issue, too. Oh well. Hindsight's always 20-20.

Here's to another great year with the PowerBook, which remains my favorite every day machine (having already relegated my brand new, four-month-old widescreen Compaq Presario to the bottom of a desk drawer). I should probably sell the Compaq and use the proceeds to buy more RAM for my Apple; that's about the only way the Presario will continue to add any value to my business endeavors. And it'd only be appropriate that the Apple obtain fuel for its performance from a victim of its prowess.

The Hummers Are Back

Hummingbirds are back in force. After painstakingly maintaining a feeder since May (with a single noted visit in June), ruby-throated hummers are visiting several times throughout the day, now.

They're fascinating creatures. Lightning fast and animated in voice, they're a unique species. Though small and seemingly fragile (I thought my dog caught one in her mouth Saturday, but it turned out only to be a locust), they're actually territorial.

You'd think they'd be bashful, but the other day I witnessed one repeatedly jabbing a squirrel sharply in the ass. Apparently the rodent strayed too close to the hummingbird's feeder and the ruby throat was letting the squirrel know who was boss. This after a squirrel (likely the same one) destroyed a similar feeder in July (simply seeking fluids, I believe), forcing me to purchase a replacement. Needless to say I enjoyed the moment.

And don't fret, squirrel lovers. We've been placing a dog bowl with water in the yard for the squirrel. I see him out there drinking from it occasionally, too. I just make sure it's far enough from the hummers' feeder to prevent fisticuffs.

I Love My LeMond

It's old. Seven years, now. Several thousand miles. The paint's fading, too. But I love it.

A couple times this summer, including today, I took my LeMond Zurich out for simple 20 mile rides. Most of the time I run or load up the mountain bike. But on a couple road rides I chose to head out Wolf Pen, around the Ford plant and back through Anchorage. The weather's been so hot, and it's felt so good to climb the Wolf Pen hills, roll the Anchorage flats and just sweat.

Running's easier. You need not find the helmet, gloves and air pump. You just lace up the shoes and go. But every time I run my body reminds me the next day I'm no longer 20. I don't get those next-day-aches on the bike.

Today I had one of those rides on the Zurich that remind me why I bought it. I didn't hammer the flats, I didn't jump on the hills and I didn't sprint for any green signs. Not today. I just rode. Smooth efficiency. That's the road bike.

Sure, new models are probably five pounds lighter. I could likely add two more gears, as well. But I don't need them. The LeMond's Reynolds 853 steel will likely outlast me. The Zurich's components are well-tuned, and today was just one of those days to enjoy a lazy road ride. Get out the door for a coffee ride, we used to call it. And that's just what I did.

Maybe The Steelers Should Add A New Contract "Rider"

I'm talking about prohibiting its players from riding motorcycles. First they almost lost Big Ben (and this after the Browns' Mr. Winslow was lost for a season due to a motorcycle accident). Now one of the team's running back's been arrested for trying to elude law enforcement officials on his motorcycle (among other charges).

I don't know about you, but it seems to me that these gentlemen athletes earn an incredible amount of money to perform athletic feats for their teams. If the athletes are injured/incarcerated because of accidents/offenses committed on motorcycles, doesn't the organization have the right to request that its players refrain from the potentially dangerous activity while under contract or at least forfeit their pay?

I remember when the Reds players couldn't sport facial hair (the same is true with the Yankees, I believe, even today). Attempting to protect your players' physical health doesn't appear any worse an inhibition to me, yet any time we're talking about restraining one's freedoms it makes me nervous.