Pretty Unique

Was pointed to a website that tells you how many people in the United States share your name. I don't know if they just use statistical models based on the commonality of the names or if they use some database.

HowManyOfMe.com

There are: 78 people with my name in the U.S.A. How many have your name?

At only 78 people, that means my name is only shared by 0.000026% of the population of the U.S.

Insomnia

While I'm waiting to get sleepy, let me make a few recommendations:

Book: The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. I finished it a couple of days ago. It sort of gets weaker toward the end, but after years of reading fiction, I have come to the conclusion that ending a book might be one of the hardest things out there.

Film: Thank You for Smoking. Rented this one from Blockbuster and thoroughly enjoyed it.

TV: "Heroes". I have really liked the first three episodes of this show. I'll have to catch episode four on NBC's website tomorrow. I had a meeting tonight and forgot to set the VCR.

Music: Altar Boyz Off-Broadway Soundtrack. I purchased this one from iTunes. I appreciate the humor, and quite honestly, some of the lyrics are great.

"Everybody Fits"

Somedays, you just can't begin
You feel, outside looking in
It's like, you're the odd man out

Let me, help you
End your doubt

It doesn't matter
If you're different and out of place
It doesn't matter
If there's acne upon your face
It doesn't matter
Take my hand and then
You will see
Everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay

Strangers
Seem to, stop and stare
Wonderin'
Why you're, even there

Feeling
So left out and wrong
I'll show
You that
You belong

It doesn't matter
If you have a gigantic nose
It doesn't matter
If you're born with eleven toes
It doesn't matter
You can trust and
Believe in me
Everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay

In the family of God you'll learn
That there is no such thing as others
All the woman and men on Earth
Can be your
Sisters and your brothers

Sisters and your brothers!

It doesn't matter
If you're wrinkled and old and grey
It doesn't matter
If you face Mecca when you pray
It doesn't matter
Won't you listen and
Here my plea, everbody fits
It doesn't matter
If you're yellow or white or red
It doesn't matter
If you're pregnant and you're unwed
It doesn't matter
'Cause the truth it can
Set you free, everbody fits

Everybody fits!

It doesn't matter
Every murderer on death row
It doesn't matter
Every prostitute that you know
It doesn't matter
Welcome to the
Fraternity, everybody fits in God's great

Fam-a-laay, you and maay
We fit into the fam-a-lay... yeaaah!

Our State Fair is a Great State Fair

Don't miss it. Don't even be late.

Today, well actually yesterday since it is after Midnight, I ventured into the world of the State Fair of Texas. I was accompanied on this journey by my wife, our four daughters, my wife's cousin and her husband, and their three children. We only spent four hours there, but it seemed like more. It wasn't bad, really, it just seemed like it was more than 4 hours.

I ate two Fletcher's Corny Dogs and a Funnel Cake. Not too bad when I think about it. I didn't get any deep-fried Oreo's™ like I did last year, but that's mainly because I didn't see the place to get them.

I highly recommend going to the fair on OU/Texas gameday. The only bad time was when we had to buy some more fair coupons, which are required for riding rides or buying food and beverage. We were trying to get some at about the same time that all the football game attenders were arriving at the park. They were all, it seemed, trying to get coupons to buy their lunches and probably a beer or two or twelve before they entered the Cotton Bowl (you can't buy alcohol in the stadium for some inexplicable reason). Once the crowd started making its way into the game, the fair was great. No wait for rides. You could walk the Midway without ever touching another person. It was the most empty I've ever seen the fairgrounds on a day the Fair is open.

After we got home, I was pretty tired, and I almost fell asleep on the living room couch, but when I finally tried to go to sleep in my own bed at 10:30, all of a sudden, I was wide awake. It goes back to my weird sleep patterns.

I'm gonna go back upstairs and read a little to see if it will help put me to sleep. I'm reading The Time Traveler's Wife by Audrey Niffenegger. So far, I am really enjoying it.

Celebrity look-alikes

There's a fun website where you can see what celebrities you look like. My brother mentioned this on his AOL Journal once, but I stumbled across it again recently. I decided to upload a pic of two of my friends from Kiss Me, Kate, Tyler & Josh.



According to the My Heritage site, Tyler (left) looks like:

Jesse Metcalfe (61%)
Clark Gable (57%)
Tom Welling (57%)

Actually, there were more, but they were either folks I had never heard of or women. In fact, his top match was Britney Spears, but I thought I wouldn't embarrass him by mentioning it . . . OOPS!

Josh (right) comes back as:

James Van Der Beek (74%)
Ron Howard (67%)
Joe Rogan (67%)
Hal Sparks (62%)
Rob Schneider (60%)
Tom Cruise (59%)

I don't have a recent enough photo of myself to get a good reading.

Waiting with Breath Abated

Along with millions of others, I am anxiously awaiting the release of Book 7 and Movie 5 (Harry Potter and The Order of The Phoenix) in the Harry Potter franchise. In the meantime, I regularly listen to PotterCast to keep abreast of the latest in Harry Potter news. The recent Broadway FilkCast was right up my alley. As I've posted before, I am a huge fan of Broadway Show Tunes.

If you're a Harry Potter fan, you owe it to yourself to check out PotterCast. I would recommend listening to as many of the past episodes as you can as well. There is a veritable gold mine of information in that more than a year's worth of offerings from Melissa, Sue, & John.

Related to my enjoyment of all things Potter, I took one of those quizzes you can find on the web to tell me which HP Character I am most like.

You scored as Albus Dumbledore. You are very wise, observant, and analyctical. You have a very "well-organized" mind, which makes you function in a calm and fair manner. Though you get angered easily, its rare of you to ever act our of temper. You are constantly seeing the good in people and are naturally forgiving because of it. You're easy to please and a great person to learn from. Albus Dumbledore 78% Oliver Wood 69% Hermione Granger 66% Lord Voldemort 63% Sirius Black 59% Remus Lupin 56% Luna Lovegood 50% Ron Weasley 47% Bellatrix Lestrange 47% Percy Weasley 44% Harry Potter 41% Severus Snape 38% Neville Longbottom 31% Draco Malfoy 9% Harry Potter Character Combatibility Test created with QuizFarm.com

I am pleased with the top slot, but how on earth did I wind up more like Percy Weasley than Harry?

Are We Not Men?

De over at The Thinklings has written:

I’ve been thinking about [I Corinthians 13:11] a lot lately. It’s time I posit my theory of manhood. It’s very simple:

We all need to grow up

Go read the rest of it.

Lost and Found

I previously wrote about losing my good nail clippers during our move to our new house. Today, I found them. They were in the cup holder of my car under a pile of business cards and pens. In 6 months I hadn't cleared out that stack.

I guess they had made it to the new house, but they never made it in the new house.

I'm just glad they're back. I've attached them to my keyring, so I'll always have them with me.

I Should Be in Bed

I routinely get into odd sleep cycles. Some nights, I'll climb into bed before 10pm. I usually wind up waking up between 3 & 4am when I do, but I can usually get back to sleep with little difficulty. Other times, I'll do what I've done tonight—stay up way too late. I've been drowsy for more than an hour, but I just haven't ascended the staircase to get to my bed. I'll be pretty tired in the morning.

I Knew I Could Count on My Brother

He nailed the reference in the previous post. Here's the exchange:

UNCLE BILLY
Well, good morning, Mr. Potter. What's the news?

He grabs the paper from Potter's hand.

UNCLE BILLY(CONT'D)
Well, well, well, Harry Bailey wins Congressional Medal. That couldn't be one of the Bailey boys? You just can't keep those Baileys down, now, can you, Mr. Potter?

POTTER
How does slacker George feel about that?

UNCLE BILLY
Very jealous, very jealous. He only lost three buttons off his vest. Of course, slacker George would have gotten two of those medals if he had gone.

Lost three buttons off [my] vest

Yesterday was Report Card day for Calvinatorettes I & II. Eldest is in Second Grade. Younger is in Kindergarten. Calvinatorette I obtained straight A's and was named Student of the Six Weeks for her class. Calvinatorette II got all top marks (they don't assign letter grades in Kindergarten) and was also named Student of the Six Weeks for her class.

I am glad to see that my girls have adjusted well to the government school. Deciding to enroll them was one of the toughest decisions that my wife and I have made.

Bonus points if you can properly identify the reference in the Post Title.

I Have Been Immortalized

My good friend, Moose, drew me in a cameo over at Casey and Scotty. Even though the voters of Kaufman County didn't make me a Judge, Moose has.




UPDATE: It has been pointed out to me that this strip isn't very funny if you don't know the context, so you can check out the previous strip HERE.

At a Loss for Words

Well gang, I'm not bleeding in a ditch. I've just been busy and distracted. I also haven't had anything I particularly wanted to write about, so I have neglected this place. I'll try to be better.

Getting in Shape Update 76

Last week was not good because of a Wednesday trip to a minor league baseball game. Much better this week. My wife did a great job cleaning up around our exerciser, so maybe I'll finally climb back up on there.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Update's Weight = 237.5

Today's Weight = 235.5

Weight Loss in the Past 2 Weeks= 2.0 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 31.5 pounds

More Prayers Requested

My former Pastor, Tom, has had some heart problems. I just got an e-mail telling me that he had two stints put in a couple of weeks ago. Please keep him, his wife Mary, and his family in your prayers.

Good Advice

There are always at least two sides to every story.

Don't believe everything you hear.

Two wrongs don't make a right.

******************

And one that is one of my dad's favorite sayings:

There's always something you don't know.

K-Bob Still MIA

Happy Birthday Kristi!

Wherever you are.

Getting in Shape Update 75

Ate after dinner too often and snacked a bit too much during the day.



Starting Weight = 267.0

Last Update's Weight = 236.0

Today's Weight = 237.5

Weight Gain in the Past 2 Weeks= 1.5 pounds



TOTAL WEIGHT LOSS
= 29.5 pounds

Help a Friend

One of my friend's pets is in contention for Pet of the Week at The Dallas Morning News. I would appreciate if you would go vote for Dori HERE.

Look for the "Vote For This Week's Favorite" Image and click it. Vote for Dori.

Voting ends Thursday August 10th, so don't dawdle.

Oh, Please

Let it rain, and rain, and rain.

Thunder and lightning right now and a few sprinkles.

We need rain . . . desperately.

Six Flags

My oldest three girls, my wife, and I all went to Six Flags over Texas yesterday. A family friend and her daughter went along as well. Long day. HOT. Lots of fun. The girls actually made it all day without any major fits. Somehow, I avoided getting any sunburn despite not having put on any sunblock.

The lines were not bad at all. Made it from queueing up for the Titan to off the ride in 30 minutes. Batman was about the same. My only real complaint of the day is that they charge $15 for parking. Come on, you charge almost $50 to get in the park. Do you really have to tack on the outrageous parking fee?

I was exhausted by the end of the day. Thankfully, my wife let me sleep in this morning.