First and foremost, Fantasia Barrino is NOT the best Idol contestant ever. I had written out a long, drawn out argument as to why this is so, but I realized I was attacking someone's character that I don't even know, which isn't really fair. Let me just say that the way she carries herself is not necessarily what I have in mind for the winner of a glorified popularity contest. She deserves a lot of credit for her talent and ability to showcase that talent on such a large stage. But living in Hollywood, working with a vocal coach, and singing in front of a "journey" man musician, a successful-but-past-her-prime pop star, and a grumpy Englishman doesn't qualify as "working so hard to get here". Talk to people like him who have just as much talent as you do who work hard for their own money to spend on their self-financed recording sessions and then tell me what hard work you've done. And don't get me started on what normal people do everyday while dreaming of superstardom.

Oh, right, I think I'm bordering on "attack" mode again. Before I stop though, I have to ask. What kind of person, after winning a contest voted on by any kind of large audience, thanks themselves first before thanking those who voted for them? Who even thanks themselves at all? I just can't believe this. Does this not bother anyone else?

...

If you've been watching PTI the past couple of weeks, this is hardly an original thought, but I enjoy their comments about the Lakers "not giving everything they've got every night". And being a Michael Jordan fan, I like how they compare it to how Jordan's Bulls (yes, they were his Bulls) played hard every night and played to win each and every game, each and every quarter. I agree the players themselves don't owe us anything. It is enough for them to win 4 out of 7 each series if they want to win the Championship. But that's not enough if they want to be revered as one of the greatest teams of all time. And though none of them care, that's why they'll never stick out in my mind as some of the greatest players and competitors of all time.

Oh, and the point of all this is to tell you Thunder has written a new column which I encourage you to read, cause there's a nice little "homage" to thedustin at the end. Well, sort of.

...

The last two weeks (the past couple of days excluded) I've made really good progress on my thesis work and the unspecified but horribly overdue side project I've been working on. Unfortunately, I think there's an additional project that I'm gonna have to help out with coming up which is related to a piece of software created by my bossman. Since I started working for him, I've been helping out with updates/bug fixes related to this piece of software. But now that I have my own big project to work on, it's not quite as enticing working on someone else's stuff. Hopefully it won't turn out to be that big of a deal.

...

Big race this weekend. The Coca-Cola 600. That's right, 43 cars, 1.5 mile track, 600 miles of racing. Luckily only half of the race will be spent under the hot sun; the rest being suffocated by the humid North Carolina night. Lookin forward to enjoying a southern tradition, though, in the company of Thunder and JohnnyH. Anybody want us to bring 'em back a practice tire?

...

Don't forget to read Thunder's new column.

Twas a close call with lunch today. A combination of ground beef that was on sale and perhaps eating a little too much led to some not-so-good feelings right after, but I think the tidal waves of regurgitation have subsided ... for now.

It wasn't my intention to gross you out so let me get on with what I really want to talk about. So even though I've been to the site hundreds of times to watch videos and such, it was only after reading her post about Launch that I realized this is the cure for the bad radio playlist disease that seems to be plaguing Triangle radio.

Being "confined" to my computer all day with all the various projects I must work on leaves me searching for some sort of non-stop background noise/entertainment. Given the fact that the only kind of radio I can stand to listen to in the car anymore is country radio, buying a radio for my room isn't really an appealing option for me. Country radio, at least around here, is the only genre that plays a nice mix of older songs (hits from, say, the last 10-15 years) and newer stuff. Unfortunately, I like to have a little bit more variety than country when I'm listening for long periods of time.

This is where Launch fills in nicely. You can choose the genres you want to listen to and it plays stuff you've heard and stuff you may not have heard. You can't beat the mix that it gives you. I got a song by Sheena Easton the other day. Sheena hasn't had a hit in 15 years. And commercials only come up every 4-5 songs, and even then it's usually only like one 30-60 second commercial.

Al Green just came up. Al Green, ladies and gentlemen.

I could go on and on about this, but seriously, if you have the opportunity and a need for something like this, definitely try it out. The premium version is $3.00 a month, I still use the free version which only requires that you register (or have a Yahoo! account). You can decide for yourself which version is best for you. Happy listening to you all.

Work, Dustin, work!

I know, I know but last night I had this weird dream where I went to watch a movie, saw a preview for a live action Transformers movie, went to see the Transformers movie right after the movie I originally saw and the Transformers movie turned out to be a live-action (with some weird short sequence that was actually animated) G.I. Joe movie. Well when I woke up this morning, it got me thinkin about who I'd cast in a live-action G.I. Joe movie. I checked out my good buddy Greg's Previews to see if there had been any castings, and found that I may not be alone in generating such a list (though I wouldn't consider myself a hard core fan). Anyway, I found a list of "confirmed" characters, like anything in a movie not yet being filmed can be confirmed, so I'll use that as a starting point.

Here it is, my wonderful cast for a knockout G.I. Joe movie ...

Hawk: (Denzel Washington)
Duke: (Hugh Jackman/Brad Pitt)
Flint: (Will Smith)
Dusty: (Ashton Kutcher)
Snake Eyes: (Jet Li)
Cobra Commander: (Willem Defoe)
Destro: (Vin Diesel)
Stormshadow: Christian Bale/Guy Pierce
Baroness: (Famke Jansen)
Scarlett: (Keira Knightley/Kate Beckinsale)
Lady Jane: (Halle Barry)
Quick Kick: (Jackie Chan)
Doc: (Samuel L. Jackson)

Travis is at home still licking his wounds from a few weeks ago and Eric doesn't really live here anymore. This has left me practically roommateless for the last week or so.

That is, until she came along.

First of all, the cons: she doesn't cook or clean (in fact, she makes quite a mess and starts to smell after a while). She's constantly running into things or hiding under the covers. Which isn't so bad for me, I guess, except all the racket she makes when she's runnin into stuff.

Now the pros: she's a great listener, doesn't turn away right away when I get close to her, and I've always been a fan of brunettes. (Hmm, I'm digging a hole here).

But, alas, Dillon is still a rat (ok ok, she's a hamster) and she's Beth's so I've only got her for a short while. Here's to the best roommate a guy could ever ask for!

I know most of you hate it when I revert to talkin about computer/internet/webpage related stuff (ok, all of you do), but I spent an entire day away from my real "work" to do a couple of things around here and for my boy across the pond. Therefore, I have to spend some time talkin about it.

First of all, a couple of people have been complaining about the links in zero.4 being too far down the side because of the intrusive JohnnyConvo. And because I truly believe JohnnyConvo is the only thing that brings the regular visitors around, I know I can't get rid of it entirely. Therefore, I made it "collapsable". Yes, it is there when the page first loads, but then goes away after a few seconds. You can control it yourself by clicking on the logo. And no, if you start trying to type something in there, it will not automatically collapse. I have to thank this guy for his help developing and testing this idea.

The work I've done for Dan is still pending his approval, so you'll have to wait and see what that was. I guess if you happen to be crafty enough or happen to be him, then you'll be able to sneak a peek. Otherwise you'll just have to hold your horses.

TheDad has cancelled the big tennis match for tomorrow. I guess technically he "withdrew" due to sickness. I hope he feels better. Regardless it will give me some extra time to make up for what I didn't do today.

I hope.

Is Google mad about all the haters out there trying to steal their thunder? Or did someone make a boo-boo?

Ok, so it's only about 110 hours later than expected, but summer research/thesis work has officially commenced. Though my work is funded by the fine folks from the Industrial Engineering Department at North Carolina State University, I am also now accepting donations from you, my faithful readers, for all my hard work. Donate now by clicking on the button below! And thank you for your contributions.

[Edit: There were some issues previously with the button link. Those issues have now been resolved. As compensation for my error, please feel free to deduct 10% of your original planned donation amount.]

Is it a good idea for people to "inspire" me to work on my numerous web projects when it is absolutely imperative that I work on my thesis this summer? Well it's not their fault I'm such a slacker. In any case, here's a new column from Thunder available over at TheDustin Daily.

It appears Yahoo! sees Google's wager and raises them ... -900 ??? Well, honestly, I applaud Yahoo! for at least stepping up to the plate and takin a swing. For the purposes of not turning my back on the grand ideal of American excess, I'll keep my Yahoo! Mail account. But only because I like clicking the "Empty" link on the Bulk folder.

I have to admit the last couple of days haven't gone originally as planned. After finishing up exams and final projects on Tuesday, I had planned to get right to work yesterday on finishing a side project that's been nagging me since October/November. Of course, in typical, thedustin fashion, I spent the day relaxing a little more than I should have.

Then again, maybe it's good that I gave myself a chance to just chill and not feel like I had stuff to do. Plus I am doing my mom and step-dad a favor by housesitting and taking care of their princess (whiney beagle). So instead of doing productive things like thesis and side project work, I'm going to do helpful things like give the other dogs a bath and play basketball. Maybe this evening I'll get some work done.

Or maybe I'll just read.

Or probably I'll just watch T.V.

Semester done. Let playtime ... err ... I mean the research begin.

This is a few hours late, but I couldn't think of a better way to celebrate Mother's Day here at thedustin.com than to give a short retrospective of musical tributes to mothers that I've always been particularly fond of ... in no particular order, here are my favorite three.

Song for Mama by Boyz II Men: I think there's a Boyz II Men song for every important moment in a young man's life. Song for Mama is like the keystone of all of those songs. Without your mom, you wouldn't be here. Without this song, there would be no collection of Boyz II Men songs for every moment of your life.
Favorite Line: "Mama you're like food to my soul."

For Mama by Matt Monro: I know for certain there are two American citizens who know this guy, me and my dad (yes he's an American citizen). Actually, there are probably tons of people who know Matt Monro, but they were all likely born before way before 1980. There's a story to go behind this one, but you would probably find it funnier than I would want you to. Not that I don't think it's semi-humorous myself, but it's more sentimental than funny and I don't want to ruin that.
Favorite Line: "She said my son I beg of you, I have a wish that must come true. The last thing you can dooooo ... For mama."

And now for the all time greatest mama tribute song ...

... drum roll ...

Dear Mama by Tupac Shakur: No lie I actually had my mom buy this CD for me on (or around, I can't remember) Mother's Day so I could "dedicate" this song to her. Seriously. I think the part I found especially touching was the line, "And even as a crack fiend, mama You always was a black queen, mama." Describes my mother to a T. Give me a break, I was young and innocent then. Instead of paying attention to the petty details, I liked to focus on the overall symbolism of things. I mean Mom was a "poor single mother [but not on welfare] tryin to raise a man."
Favorite Line: "And even as a crack fiend, mama You always was a black queen, mama."

Editor's Note: Special thanks to Google for their powerful search engine which helped me find links to lyrics for the songs. Also, unless you have a powerful pop-up blocker or are just really curious about the lyrics to these songs, I would advise you not to click on the links to lyrics because lyric websites usually have tons of pop-ups. Sorry if it's too late for that disclaimer.

Me: Knock knock!
You: Who's there?
Me: Sarasota.
You: Sarasota who?
Me: Sarasota in the fridge?

Just a little humor I learned when I lived in Florida 15 years ago. If you were an Orlandoan and you met someone from Sarasota either you were telling it to them or they were telling it to you.

I should be studying by now, but I want to take what might be a brief window of opportunity to just ... share.

American Idol has gotten boring. Not necessarily the show, but the performances. I still have my favorites (LaToya, George), but it just doesn't seem like any of them really have the same "It" qualities of previous finalists. T-Rav seems to share my opinion, what do you think?

My first impressions of Gmail are ... it's pretty awesome! Like I said earlier, I don't know if I email enough to be able to give a fair assessment of it, but I'm trying to get some "conversations" going so I can make use of Gmail's full arsenal. I don't really have time to write a full review, but expect something longer by the middle of next week.

Studying is the pits. I don't think I've studied as much for an exam as I have for the one that's looming in the shadows of tomorrow. If I hadn't done so bad on the second exam I probably wouldn't be dreading this so much, but c'est la vie. What can you do?

That's all for now. For those of you who make daily use of rallepoint.com and/or its associated sub pages and email, I apologize for the problems that have been occurring lately. I don't think we're completely out of the woods yet, but it appears things are moving in the right directions.

Oh, and don't forget to gmail me

Server problems and studying obligations have prevented me from being able to post lately, but thanks to Laura I have a new net toy to play with. Problem is I don't do a good job of keeping up with my email so, of course, people don't email me. [Edit: If you've got my address, gmail me. I'd love to hear from you!]

I've got more to say (lots more!) but the method I'm using to post isn't very efficient so I'll just stop now and get back to studying.

Well Reba beat me to it in JohnnyConvo, but Happy Birthday, JDawg!