As 2007 winds down with about 3 hours to go, I guess I’ll spend a little time reflecting on how the year went.
2007 really was not a pleasant one for me and the rest of the family with a lot of unforeseen circumstances, accidents and sicknesses. It just seemed like it was one bad thing after another. We kept ourselves strong as a family throughout.
This year, I’ve come to realize how powerful family love and unity is. The love and support of family can get one through the toughest of times — it certainly did with me. With the love and support everyone gave me… came hope, motivation and persistence to overcome adversity. I thank God for being so blessed with those who love me and accept me unconditionally for who I am. I’ll never forget how everyone helped me emotionally.
And J, I know that I won’t be here without you. You are my best friend and my soul mate. Thank you for your unconditional love through thick and thin — I love you! You make me the happiest man (and hubby) in the world.
My new year goals/ resolutions:
- finish my MBA
- eat healthy and lose about 5-10 pounds
- be happy and enjoy life!
- get organized!
- spend more time with family
Next year is going to be an exciting one. We’ll be planning to move back to J’s hometown in PA to be closer to family and I’ll be embarking on new pastures of starting a new business. Next year would also be the year I finally finish my MBA and be done with studying (unless I am a sucker and pursue a PhD). For once in a long time, I can see the light at the end of the tunnel and can actually smile as I know our future is bright.
I am not sad to see 2007 go. In fact, good riddance as it’ll probably be the year I want to remember the least! I’m pumped… 2008 can’t come soon enough!
Managed to catch the 15 second new Knight Rider series clip on TV yesterday. It’ll be a 2 hour first episode — testing the waters so to speak. If it is well received, we’ll see a whole season of it.
As a huge Knight Rider fan, I’ll be anxiously waiting for the NBC premiere on February 17th. My first thoughts… they should not have chosen a 2007 GT 500 Mustang to replace the KITT Trans Am of old but instead something more unique (and flashy) like a Lamborghini Reventón, Pagani Zonda, McLaren F1 or Bugatti Veyron. Maybe it wasn’t in their budget to use those expensive cars and the producers wanted to keep it within an American brand (i.e. Ford) but why a Mustang??
Executive Producer Doug Liman (’The Bourne Identity’ Franchise and ‘Mr. & Mrs. Smith’) and Executive Producer David Bartis (’The O.C’ and NBC’s ‘Heist’) have joined together to bring back the 1980’s television classic “Knight Rider.” The two-hour movie event brings KITT and a talented cast of young and seasoned actors into the 21st century with speed, drama, love and triumph. David Hasselhoff as a special guest star returns as Michael Knight.
From NBC’s description above, I can only assume that we will see a next generation Knight Rider crew with Michael Knight stepping aside for a younger crime fighting guy that drives KITT. KITT (from the pictures below) has a makeover similar to the GT Mustang in the Transformers movie and body style reminiscent of a Fast and Furious movie car. The trademark red moving light in the front of the car is still there but not as distinct as in the old TV series.
KITT will be voiced by Will Arnett, husband of SNL’s Amy Poehler. The rest of the cast include Justin Bruening (Michael Knight’s replacement named Mike Traceur), Deanna Russo, Sydney Tamiia Poitier and Bruce Davison.
Update (12/31): Justin Bruening will play Michael Knight’s son
It remains to be seen how many episodes the aging Michael Knight will be written into the script (personally the less we see of “The Hoff” the better!). It’ll be great to have a different take on Knight Rider and hope the producers can take it to new levels in the way the new Bionic Woman and Battlestar Galactica TV series has.
Here is a look at the new Knight Rider car:
(Photos courtesy of Autoblog)
They really could have done a better job in choosing the car manufacturer and model to be the *new* Knight Rider (like the cars below).
(clockwise L to R: Lamborghini Reventón, McLaren F1, Bugatti Veyron and Pagani Zonda)
Here is the 15 second trailer if you haven’t seen it yet.
A touching animated vid by Hanna Abi-Hanna.
Beneath the Rubber Tree from Hanna on Vimeo.
If you are looking for old versions of web software because the new upgrades aren’t compatible with your computer for some reason (like Vista), here is site for you to bookmark. It’s called OldVersion.com.
They currently have about 2388 versions of 179 of the most popular software applications used on the PC.
Some popular apps include Eudora, ICQ, Firefox, Winzip, Norton Antivirus 2002, DivX, Internet Explorer, Opera and Safari.
I read about Jamie Lynn Spears (Britney Spears’ 16 year old sister) announcing that she is 12 weeks pregnant yesterday. Wasn’t at all surprised, considering her big sister isn’t exactly a good role model. Ok, maybe that statement was a little harsh but she is a Nickelodeon girl, of *squickly clean* Disney… what in the world was she thinking?
It is reported that her 18 year old boyfriend is allegedly the father. Correct me if I’m wrong here but if an 18 year old guy gets a 16 year old girl pregnant, isn’t that a sex offense? Regardless of whether both of them had consensual sex.
Personally, I’m afraid of what it might look to the millions of kids who are fans of her show. Will they now think it’s ok to have a baby that young? How would you even explain to your kid about her pregnancy? To have young kids look up to someone like that is a little worrying. Britney Spears is causing enough trouble. If I had kids, not sure whether I would like them to watch Nickelodeon, especially her show. This is something that makes me so nervous if I had a daughter.
Disney is also not having much luck in the controversy department too. This is the second controversial incident this year — High School Musical star Vanessa Hudgens had nude pictures circulating on the internet not too long ago.
And to think … she looks so angelic, so innocent! I guess looks can be deceiving.
I love the idea of Time Vault Letters i.e. you write a letter or record a DVD to someone or yourself, post date it, after which the company will mail it on the specific date. They will store it in their fire/ waterproof vault up to 5 years from the day you post date it.
There is a lot you can write on in a vault letter … e.g. a momentous event in your life, a life changing event, personal or business goals, leaving your legacy or a love letter to that someone special.
The idea came from the creator’s weekend at a community church:
My first year of college I attended a search weekend hosted by a community church located close to the University of Montana. We were locked up within the church, disconnecting from the outside world. The weekend was an opportunity to spend time journaling and sharing with others the things that were happening in our lives. On the last day we each spent time writing a personal letter to ourselves about how we felt, and what our plans, dreams, and hopes were for the year to come. I placed my letter into an envelope and addressed it to myself.
The minister of the church was to then send the letters back to us in order for each of us to evaluate whether or not our year progressed the way we envisioned. What a surprise it was to receive this letter a year later. My perception of myself had changed, and so had my thinking. The issues I was dealing with at the time did not seem so distressful, and I understood I had the ability to conquer some obstacles in my life. I realized how much a person may change in just a years time.
The service does costs you $10 for a letter and $15 for a DVD. That buys you the safeguarding of the letter and timely mailing of it. Not bad for something that you can cherish. Post dating it as far into the future as you can makes it more priceless for that someone special receiving it. Reminds me of time capsules but with a shorter lifespan.
I might actually buy a letter, write to J and post date it 5 years from now. It’ll be great to see how I’ve progressed, how technology has changed and where we are in that time. Stay tuned, I’ll write about it in 5 years if The Foo Logs is still around.
Saw this on TV last year. One of the few videos that will make you smile when you’re down. Just too cute… happy little one, isn’t he?
With Elfster, using pen & paper to exchange Secret Santa names is now a thing of the past.
Using it is as easy as 1-2-3 …
1) Create a Secret Santa group
2) Invite the Friends, Family or Colleagues to join the group
3) Elfster will then pick and choose names at random, sending everyone their assigned Secret Santa
Creating a Secret Santa group allows you to specify a deadline when everyone needs to sign up and offers reminder services to those who have yet to accept the invite (see pic below). There is also an integrated facebook invitation option.
Once the group is created, a main page displays all your information and those invited.
When getting the invite, the person has the option to accept or decline the invitation. Once accepted, he will be given an individual page with the options to include his wishlist items. People who accept invitations become “Santas” with a Santa cap icon by their name. Those who decline are labeled “Scrooges” getting a lump of coal by theirs. Funny!
The wishlist area allows you to add a “wish list” and a “do not want wishlist”. That saves you from getting unwanted items or items you already have.
The beauty about Elfster is that you are not limited to creating one exchange, multiple exchanges can be made with the ability to interchange/ share contact information. Other features include search options (from Amazon) for that particular item you want and a random browse option for those who don’t know what they want.
Online equivalents include SecretSanta.com, amgoinginvisible.com, TopsecretSanta.com and Drawnames.com - none of which matches up to the features included here.
When it comes to fun, organizing and simplifying an exchange, you shouldn’t look any further than Elfster. Using this tool will definitely save time and better yet, the dread of pestering people to hand in their wish list for the exchange. It’s a pity I found out about this so late… nevertheless, I look forward to using it with the family next year.
Couldn’t help but buy a miniature version of Charlie Brown’s pathetic Christmas tree from A Charlie Brown Christmas.
