This summer, through the wonderful thing that is guerrilla advertising, I was introduced to a show called Keen Eddie on Fox. From the very first episode I was hooked. The show had an interesting premise, a new kind of setting (London, England), the necessary hot girl, competent writing, and an "edgy" (buzz word alert!) production style that I grew to love after some initial hesitance. Unfortunately, the powers that be at Fox deemed the show unworthy for my eyes (or perhaps my eyes unworthy for the show?), and won't even let me gaze upon the next four episodes which have already been completed.

I'd like to go off and try to guess why this show, which I've found to have quite a following, couldn't make it, why it couldn't survive in a summer of repeats and reality shows, and why Fox couldn't just give it a small chance in the prime Fall lineup. However, since I'm not an industry insider and since I'm too wrapped up in my emotions right now, I thought I'd share an article that I found to be quite helpful and the slightest bit comforting. Who knows, maybe they'll release the 8+ episodes they have on DVD.

Oh, and let me just add here that Fox has almost ... I said almost ... redeemed themselves with The O.C.. But now that Smallville has moved to Wednesdays, Tuesday night would make a great night for a Keen Eddie / O.C. double header. (Incidentally, I hear Fox is moving The O.C. to Thursdays opposite C.S.I. ... Are they mad?). Oh well, I guess thems are the breaks.

I used shaving cream for the first time ever today. No, this doesn't mean that before I shaved I looked like the second coming of the Wolfman. It means I'm young enough that by the time I hit the age where the peach fuzz wasn't "mature" anymore, companies had developed the best thing since sliced bread, shaving gel.

Now, being my first experience with the stuff, it's understandable that I made a couple of mistakes. First of all, the white top that looks like the button you press to dispense the shaving cream must actually be removed in order to reach the real button. It's worth noting here that it only took me one failed attempt to realize this.

Secondly, the "portion size" required for shaving cream is much much different than the portion size required for shaving gel. This goes hand in hand with my next point that with shaving cream, the more you rub, the less lather you get. Conversely, with shaving gel, the more you run rub, the more lather you get. This is an important point that will not be lost on me in the future.

Finally, it seemed to me that the shaving cream actually made the shave a little smoother. Not so much the finished product, but the actual act of shaving. It felt wonderful, but it may just be a matter of doing something different. I don't know, perhaps you have an opinion on the subject.

You're all grown up. You can drive, you have credit cards, you've been to family members' funerals. You're 22 going on 23, you've been through 16 years of school, you have a bachelor's degree, and now you want more, so you go to graduate school.

Then, you're sitting in an 8 o'clock class, dead silent except for the teacher and someone farts out loud. Suddenly, you're 5 years old again. You try, but you can't hold back the laughs, and listening to your buddy sitting right next to you trying to do the same isn't helping at all.

Do we ever really grow up?

I have to admit, my day of sitting out on the patio to watch the Jimmy V Classic was a little disappointing. Apparently they have the celebrities spread out over all of the courses meaning we weren't guaranteed every celeb passing by the 9th hole on the course that our apartment sits on. The weather was nice, though, and it's only 3 o'clock, so I didn't exactly "waste" my day.

There were several highlights. Vencie Green, allegedly a former NFL player was the first to wave to 3234Q, so while I didn't know who he was before, I'm going to look him up and become a fan. (By the way, one of the employees/volunteers waved before Vencie but obviously they don't count.)

It took a while before we got to our first "A-List" celeb (some notables that came before him: almost every member of the Carolina Hurricanes, including owner Peter Karmonos and coach Paul Maurice, former Canes teammate Bates Battaglia, Third Watch star Eddie Cibrian) but eventually we got to gaze upon sportscasting great John Saunders. It was truly a joyous time and led to numerous cheers among the members of 3234Q.

The highlight of the day had to be when T-Rav, wielding the binoculars, spotted Charles Barkley on the 7th green. Unfortunately, Chuck turned out to be Stuart Scott, which was almost as exciting because Travis really wanted Stu to sign his Bobblehead Stu (no relation to Bobblehead Dan). We weren't able to get Stu's autograph, but I got a picture that didn't really turn out very well.

More B-List celebrities made it through, including Gonzo/Matt Doherty. Doherty, sporting his patented silver top, didn't manage to hit any fairways from what I could tell, but I could be mistaken. Repeated attempts to get Gonzo to wave to 3234Q failed. I think he saw us but somehow knew we were State fans.

My own personal highlight came when Darrell Green, Redskins Great and fastest man ever to put on a football helmet, made his way through the course. I told Travis I wish I could see him run. Travis suggested I challenge him to a race, but I didn't have the courage to do it. He didn't hit a very good shot, but that didn't matter to me. I tried to get him to wave, but he never looked up. My mom would have been proud.

All in all I'd say it was a fun day. It was nice to take a day out to just relax and enjoy some good weather and bad golf. My eyes hurt a little from viewing the world magnified 40x for so long, but it was definitely worth it. Next year, though, I think I might have to buy tickets so I can catch the elusive Charles Barkley.

Well, I'm writing to you live from the patio of 3234Q, where T-Rav and I are watching the practice round of the Jimmy V Celebrity Golf Classic. Unfortunately, it appears we've seen our last group tee off here at the 9th hole, but we're gonna keep a close eye out for more groups.

We're not sure if we caught any celebrities because we couldn't locate a set of binoculars, but we made a lot of guesses. I think we "saw" Stuart Scott about 5 times and the funny thing is at least 2 times Stu turned out to be white.

Anyway, the big day is tomorrow. We'll have binoculars, a cooler full of sodas and ice, and possibly a wireless internet enabled computer to keep everyone updated on the action. Stay tuned for more.

This post brought to you by the makers of IBM's Thinkpad, and Cisco Systems' Aironet wireless ethernet

The beginning of the school year always ignites a philosophical fire inside of me, so strap yourself in and hold on tight, I've got some things to share ...

I know I've mentioned this before, but spending your entire undergraduate career avoiding the dreaded 8 o'clocks with a 95% success rate only means you're sure to get a class that starts at 7:40 a.m., with 95% confidence ...

It is my feeling after two days of classes that graduate school for our generation is what college used to be for all generations before us ...

Universities are becoming unrecognizable as centers for learning and enrichment. Instead they are looking more like companies with cut-throat CEO's called "Chancellors" ...

Lord of the Rings: The Two Towers is out next week ...

I said it in an "away message", and I'll say it again, weathermen can't predict yesterday's weather, why do we expect them to predict tomorrow's? ...

Have "away messages" officially entered our daily life as a form of "expression"? ...

Sales figures, places of origin, and simple majorities don't determine the best sodas, personal tastes do ... I like Coke, not Poopsi, get over it ...

The Simpsons: Season 3 is out next week ...

And finally ...

"There's no crying in baseball!"

Oh, and I just caught Ione Skye of Say Anthing fame in an episode of The Dead Zone.

Spencer vs. Busch? Who do you cheer for there? I gotta say I'm leanin towards Spencer, just cause I dislike Kurt that much. But how about good ole Robby Gordon comin through for Jimmy offerin to pay Spencer's fine and sayin Busch "had it coming for a while." Ahh the wonderful soap operatic world of NASCAR.

One-sided IM conversations with johnnyh ...

johnnyh: what kidna footu ball we talking
Auto-response sent to johnnyh: futbol w/ the collins'
johnnyh: ?
johnnyh: th aot su tpid eroupe football
johnnyh: i m against scoooer
johnnyh: bu 8ty joi i m for pohillpo winnnning eht ghiewosman
johnnyh: ogh ye3qh
johnnyh: toq pqdk

Now, maybe you can do this yourself, but if you can't, I have a lot of experience in this territory, so I'm gonna translate for you ...

johnnyh: what kind of football are we talking about
Auto-response sent to johnnyh: futbol w/ the collins'
johnnyh: (read previous statement as a question)
johnnyh: that stupid european football
johnnyh: I'm against (don't like) soccer
johnnyh: but I am for Philip [Rivers] winning the Heisman
johnnyh: Oh Yeah!
johnnyh: Go Pack!

It may be pathetic, but I consider myself one of the luckiest people in the world to have access to such humor.

I think all is back to being fairly normal. This weekend I'm gonna try to work up the courage to install XP Pro on the laptop which has now found its way back home. Cross your fingers.

Note to self: Don't go on an "upgrade computers" kick while trying to finish major initial release of major web development project!

I imagined this conversation between Redskins owner Dan Snyder and then-Florida head coach Steve Spurrier during contract talks a couple of years ago.

Spurrier: 5 years, $25 million. That's a pretty good offer, but I'll only accept it on one condition.
Snyder: I know, Steve, we've been over this. You want to run the Fun N Gun. I told you, that's alright with me.
Spurrier: No that's not it-
Snyder: Well what then?
Spurrier: If you'd stop interrupting me, I'd tell you.
Snyder: For $25 million, I can interrupt you whenever I darn-well please. But what is the final condition?
Spurrier: Fine. The final condition is that no matter how much it costs you, we have to have Danny Wuerffel on the roster.
Snyder: Danny who?
Spurrier: Danny Wuerffel. He played for me in college. He won the Heismann. Greatest quarterback I've ever seen besides myself.
Snyder: Wow. So what team is he on? Must be one of those west coast teams that I don't hear much about. How much will he cost me?
Spurrier: He's not on a team right now.
Snyder: (confused) Well, I guess he won't cost me much then. Fine, get him then. He's yours.
Spurrier: Now let me just warn you. He might play all 16 games and it will look horrible, but I promise you it's the players around him, not him. He's the greatest.
Snyder: Right.
Spurrier: Besides me.
Snyder: Sign the contract. I'm in a hurry to shove this team into the ground.

And in more sports related news, I think Thunder should check this little mishap out over at espn.com.

I overslept and didn't make it to my first game of the season. Guess it'll have to wait till next week. Missing the game, however, did give me the opportunity to bring back the old days.

As I dragged myself out this evening for a late night jog for the third time this week, I found myself growing more and more frustrated by the fact that I can't find the form I had when I was 13-20. And while the tail end of that time period was only 2 and a half years ago, I can't help but long for days gone by.

I don't understand why I'm in such bad shape. I mean I do - I'm a lazy butt that sits in front of a computer all day and eats entire boxes of pierogies - but I don't understand why it has to be that way. Why can't I get myself to just "go outside and play" like I used to. Why can't 1 hour of shooting hoops be "not enough" anymore? Why do I have to pretend like I have work to do and then not do it?

Tomorrow, weather permitting, I'm hoping to go out and kick the soccer ball around. Saturday, at 9 a.m. sharp, I'll be playing in my first Filipino Basketball League game of the season (the season started last weekend). This is it. The time is now. I should have spent the last 8-9 years building myself up to this point. I should just be entering my physical prime.

Consider this me just motivating myself ...

.. by writing another post.

ScribNotes has ruled my life lately. I know that sounds stupid, but I really have to get this thing done before school starts up or else I won't be able to concentrate on my school work.

Right now I'm stuck on the image gallery. Well, not really stuck, but it's taking me a lot longer than I thought it would. I'm just trying to write the code thoroughly and carefully because I think it will probably be one of the best features that ScribNotes has to offer. And because it inherently deals with file management it needs to be as efficient as possible so as not to bog down the server.

Anyway, I'm also a little hungry for some "design" time. I haven't really spent a lot of time working on the creative side of web development lately so it'll be really nice to start working on the template feature. And I think I've been neglecting thedustin.com. I mean I'm usually good for about three or four redesigns a year around here, so I certainly need to pick up the pace.

Enough of my rambling, I hope you're all enjoying the final stretch of the summer. Later.

According to a count that T-Rav and I conducted the other day, the song 21 Questions by 50 Cent does not live up to its name.

(We did it all by ear, not by looking at the lyrics and didn't count repeat questions, i.e. the chorus. Our counts yielded 28 and 29.)

All my knowledge of web programming, all my ideas, and still nothing to match the creator of the Fly Guy

I feel it is my solemn duty to direct you all to this.

And also, Chapter 2 of The Fallen is now available.

Over the last couple of weeks, I have had the great privilege of being among the first few readers of a very special book. Now, by special request from the author, I will be able to share a small taste of what I have thoroughly enjoyed reading.

Ladies and Gentlemen, boys and girls, thedustin.com proudly presents The Fallen by Jeffrey L. Mikell.

I'm sure JDawg is open to comments and suggestions, so feel free to leave them on the site. The release will be limited to the first three chapters and the prologue. The prologue and chapter 1 are already available and chapters 2 & 3 will appear in the coming days. I hope you enjoy it as much as I have.

Robert Duvall, Gene Hackman, and Dustin Hoffman all roomed together while they were trying to make it in Hollywood. What is the probability that all three of them would go on to be successful actors? These are the kinds of things you learn while watching daytime TV. And they say TV is bad for your brain.