Keep in mind that this is coming from a Nobel and Pulitzer prize winning author, who was also an alcoholic, and who eventually committed suicide. Happy Wednesday everybody!

As an added bonus, my friend Dave sent me this and I had to share. Now I want to try it!

And finally, I bring you my song of the day. An oldy, but a goody, which always inspires me to rock out. Enjoy.

While I appreciate that this is illegal and may pose a hazard to some drivers (especially the exceptionally naive) it still makes me laugh. I'd try this if I wasn't so morally driven to heed traffic laws... out of respect for Nick's new job at MDOT of course!

On an unrelated note, my friend James pointed me to this, which is a great DIY project for any techie with a rodent problem.

So naught but a month later and here are the Christmas 2008 pictures! Enjoy everyone... and hey, Merry January 26.

Watching history happen can be under appreciated. It's difficult to realize the moment you're in is the first of its kind and never can be repeated. Martin Luther King Jr. fought for this moment, and President Barack Obama has seen it realized.

It's hard to imagine a world where blacks and whites lived in separate realities, yet it's just as difficult to comprehend true equality. We are one step closer, and we just watched that step being taken.

It's hard to quantify how much weight has been lifted off the shoulders of so many who've gone before us. It's impossible to measure the hope that's setting those departed spirits free.

"...When we allow freedom to ring, when we let it ring from every village and every hamlet, from every state and every city, we will be able to speed up that day when all of God's children, black men and white men, Jews and Gentiles, Protestants and Catholics, will be able to join hands and sing in the words of the old Negro spiritual, Free at last! free at last! thank God Almighty, we are free at last!" Martin Luther King Jr., Washington, D.C., Aug. 28, 1963.

So I was a little sad that I was going to miss the Inauguration ceremony as it is in the middle of the day and I have to work, but the owner of the company I work for was nice enough to let us set up a projector in the auditorium so that everyone can watch without having to miss work. Cool! That just saved me half a vacation day.

In other news, I think it's so cool that the new President, who I am quite fond of, is keen on my favorite President as well. I was pretty happy when I read this.

My good friend Steve Smith stopped by for a visit this weekend as he was in town. He is working on a new business as a distributor for Herbalife. They sell all sorts weight-loss, nutrition, and skin-care products, so check it out if you get a chance. And hey, there's free samples!

And finally, happy Martin Luther King Jr. Day! I think on the eve of the Inauguration of our first African-American President it is appropriate to quote Dr. King's last speech, given the day before he was assassinated:

"I just want to do God's will. And He's allowed me to go up to the mountain. And I've looked over. And I've seen the promised land. I may not get there with you. But I want you to know tonight, that we, as a people, will get to the promised land."

Well I hope you're looking down now Dr. King, because tomorrow, we as a nation will take a giant step towards cresting that mountaintop. Fire up America, fire up.