if you happen to be in the Denver, PA area and come across a W2 Form with my name and yearly earnings on it, do pick it up and mail it to the address listed on the form. You see, I grabbed my stack of important papers from the pocket of my car door today on my way in to H&R Block and realized that there was one missing. Arguably the most important one. I guess it could still be at my house, or somewhere in my neighborhood, but I’m pretty sure it blew out of my car at work. And let’s face it, what could be better than everyone at work knowing exactly how much you make? I’d rather them post a picture of me in tighty-whiteys on the bulletin board in the break room.

The good news is that the HR department is going to get me another copy so that i can get my refund before the Summer Solstice. And I guess losing a W2 is better than losing cash, right? Right? Is this thing on? Hellooooo?????

~why is it that words we use to describe temperature have all seemed to take on alternate meanings in today’s culture? ‘Cool’ is the obvious one, to the point now where using it to describe the temperature of something might be the alternate meaning. But what about ‘cold’? Like if you treat someone really badly: “oh man, that was cold, bro.” or what about ‘hot’? something that is hot could be very trendy or it could be stolen. Warm? well, if you’re warming up to something it means the idea is growing on you. I don’t really have a point here, in case you were wondering.

~Love it or hate it, American Idol is a great show. I’d argue that it’s entertainment value wanes as the season progresses, but you can’t argue with its success. By parading these folks out there week after week and subjecting them to obnoxious judges, they create sympathy and a following. So by the time they announce a winner, they’ve already got what separates known artists from unknown artists: a fanbase (and you thought i was going to say talent?).

~Next time you’re bored, watch sports on TV in a mirror. Use the door to your microwave or a window at night. Maybe I’m the only one who enjoys watching Tom Brady throw lefthanded and batters running to third base from home, but i doubt it.

~If right now every establishment that does not accept credit or debit cards was wiped off the face of the earth, you wouldn’t see me shedding any tears. I’d say the same thing about people who don’t have call waiting, but in that case I’d lose a good friend…WHO REALLY NEEDS TO GET CALL WAITING BECAUSE I’M SICK OF GETTING THAT BLOODY BUSY SIGNAL.

~Have you ever taken the Jeopardy questions and answers and reversed them? On the show they give the answer, then the question. But if you try flipping them around back to what you normally encounter, a question then an answer, you can see how little sense it all makes. Here’s some recent examples from a show, flipped for your enjoyment. Imagine asking these questions to someone and getting these responses: (again, these are actually from the show)

Q: “What is a Camel?”
A: “in some asian countries, the chess piece we call a bishop shares it’s name with this desert animal.”

Q: “What is a liver?”
A: “This organ of the basking shark may yield up to 200 gallons of oil.”

Q: “What is Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price?”
A: “MSRP is short for this.”

Try it next time you watch the show, it almost fun (but not quite).

~I want to have major plastic surgery just so a doctor can write all over me with a permanent marker. that looks fun, doesn’t it?

~Why do they ask me if i want my gallon of milk in a bag? I don’t care, I really don’t. Stick it in the cart, stick it in the bag, stick it in a huge treasure chest with fake gold coins and a hermit crab. I don’t care and I don’t want to be asked. Same with my receipt. Just stick in in the bag. If i want it in my pocket, I am perfectly capable of locating and retrieving it from the bag, thank you very much. I don’t have time for irrelevant questions. Perhaps i should start asking the cashiers if they would like me to hand them my credit card with my left hand or my right hand. Maybe then they’ll get the point.

…and now time for a long weekend.

a few quick notes as i sit here drinking mediocre coffee.

1. there’s this guy next to me at work who always says “that’ll work nicely”. he says it 5 times a day. noone else says that. not the way he does. i only mention it because as i began to type my first point, he said it again.

2. went to see caedmons call this weekend in frederick, MD. it was a great time. got to check out sound check, mingle with the band a bit, meet up with some good friends, meet up with some new friends, had a great dinner, saw a phenomenal show, and made it home safely. i’ve been a fan of this band for 8 years now, and they have become a part of my life more than i ever thought possible. its almost like a cult, only without most of the bad cult things. we dont have our own religion, we don’t hole up in compounds for standoffs with federal agents, and we don’t try to get you into our pyramid schemes (ooh that reminds me that i need to post about this real soon). it’s cultish in that being a die hard fan affects many areas of your life and because it is something that people who arent a part of it sometimes don’t get it. i guess what it comes down to is community. being a fan of 99% of all bands out there just means you’re a fan. but from the beginning, this band has gone out of their way to foster community. it all started with their first manager kirby, and the grassroots effort he put into growing the fan base. and from the first show in 1993 until now, the band remains accessible after shows to talk like normal people, because they are normal people, not affected by the fame and the accolades. and their music is good music. it draws you in. the music draws you close, and then the community traps you and suddenly you are driving 3 hours to a show and not even blinking an eye. suddenly some of the people you consider your closest friends are folks you’ve never met, youve only spent countless hours conversing with them in cyberspace, occasionally about this great band you both like.

so it was really cool for me to meet Patrick this weekend and watch as he was pulled headlong into the cult community that is the fans of caedmon’s call. i remember when i was at that point, and i was happy to give him an experience he will never forget before and during the show. when he came in the back door of the venue, i was there to meet him with Cliff, the founder of this band he had traveled 6 hours to see. he got to meet most of the band before the show and talk with them a bit. he got to meet some other great fans of the band. i even pulled him down into our front and center row from his balcony seats because not all of the comp tickets the venue provided were used. it was so much fun for me. now he’s going to go home and tell all his friends about the incredible experience he had. some will be impressed, some won’t care, and most just won’t get it. but that’s ok because he’s found a bunch of people who do get it. and that’s what will probably bring him back to the Rumor Forum and back to another CC show, no matter how far he has to drive.

And as the guy who started the dotnet, i makes me smile. I’m happy to be a part of this community. I’m by no means the leader, but i enjoy playing an integral role. Just don’t call me Koresh.

3. how about these new cell phones that take videos? how useless is this? i’ll tell you how useless. have you seen the commercial? some guy at a party knocks over a statue that crashes into an outdoor fish tank. the party’s host says “my insurance company is not going to believe this” and the girl next to him says something like “oh yes he will” because she’s captured the incident on her video phone. so that’s it. that’s the best they can do. it’s their first commercial for their video phone and the impression they want to leave you with is that ‘you might need this phone in case something breaks at one of your parties’. i cant make a better argument for why this is ridiculous. the people who came up with the technology cant think of any good uses for it, so good luck doing that yourself.

John Clayton’s article on the Super Bowl this morning is very interesting. Particularly the quote from LJ Smith, “I don’t know what happened”, he said. I also read a quote from McNabb where he said something to the effect of “we could have blown them out”. You could have, but you didnt.

It seems these Eagles can’t figure out how they didn’t pull out that game. They were sloppy with the ball in the first half and with the clock in the second half, and still had a chance to win. That was nothing new to this team. But the fact that they didn’t win, that’s what has them puzzled.

Them maybe, but not me. I completely agree with Bill Simmons, who compared the level of competition in the AFC and the NFC to different levels of difficulty on a video game. On friday he said:

Think of it like a game of “Madden.” If I spend four months playing at the “Madden” level, and you spend four months playing at the All-Pro level, who has a bigger advantage when we finally go head-to-head? Here’s a hint: It’s not you.

You can read his entire article to understand just how different the competition was this year for the Pats and Eagles, but the bottom line is, the Eagles just werent used to this type of competition. I’ve seen alot of Eagles games over the past 2 years and they have had plenty of games like this. Ugly. Sloppy. You name it. Yet they always seemed to come out on top.

I guess that is what they expected to happen on Sunday, except they forgot that they were playing the best team from the best conference in the league. You can’t throw up 4 or 5 ducks in the first half. You can’t take your time scoring a touchdown when there’s only 6 minutes left in the game. You might get away with that against the Vikings, Packers, or Falcons, but not against the Patriots.

The bright side for Philly fans? Chalk it up as a lesson learned. If you can stay healthy next year you’re the clear favorites to get back to the Super Bowl. Maybe next time, if there is a next time, they’ll be ready to elevate their games and take home the Lombardi Trophy.

But for now, the Patriots are king. I could care less about whether or not they are the best team ever. To me that title is too subjective to care about. The things that are indisputable are the team of the decade titles. They are cut and dry and indelibly stamped in history. 60s - Packers. 70s - Steelers. 80s - Niners. 90s - Cowboys. And the team of the Zeros? 00 to 09? it will likely be the Patriots with wins in the 01, 03, and 04 seasons. Even if they dont win another title in the second half of the decade, the chances of another team winning 3 titles in 5 years is about the same as Freddie Mitchell becoming a mime.

But at this point i don’t see why the Pats can’t keep winning. Injuries on defense couldnt slow them down. What can? New coordinators? Injuries on Offense? The Colts? The Steelers? The Eagles? In 7 months we’ll find out all over again.