I thought I’d post some comments that I heard (and some that I said) about social networking sites in the office yesterday.

Ron: “MySpace is the cancer of the internet.”

Aaron: “We’ve all got Facebook profiles now.”
Ron: “Yeah, that means we’re 4 beers away from being sexual predators.”

Joel: “I’ve got some friends who only have a MySpace profile. I don’t keep up with them anymore.”

Aaron: “Facebook is a lot like MySpace, except it’s a lot less child molestery.”

Chris: “MySpace is the Wal-Mart of social networking sites.”

Verizon is changing its privacy policy to allow them to sell your personal information.  More information on it here.

Basically, you can opt out by calling 1-800-333-9956.

Thanks to Aaron for mentioning this to me.

We’re finally getting some much needed rain.

If you hear anyone complaining about weather, punch them.  Hard.

If you’ve read this blog much at all, or if you’ve known me over the past 7ish years, you’ve probably heard me say something about the music of Andrew Peterson.

Andrew has a lot going on these days. He’s recording a new album (”Resurrection Letters”), releasing a children’s Christmas book, releasing another book that I don’t know a whole lot about, getting his songs sung by vegetables, and gearing up for his annual (awesome) “Behold the Lamb” Christmas tour.

Earlier this week I was reading Andy’s blog when I came across a paragraph that really stood out. I read it about 5 times. I think that it (other than being very well written) really shows Andy’s heart. Here’s the quote:

What a gift it is to tell the old, old story. Listening to these resurrection letters, seeing the pictures in the book, traveling the country to sing these songs–these are reminders to me that our God is a good king, and that I am most unworthy to be in his kingdom. My sonship is a gift of the highest order, and it is a fine thing to live in light of it.

I don’t want to wear out the name, and I don’t want to preach to the choir (because I know many readers here are also fans of Andy’s music). I want to make sure that if you’ve heard me rave about this guy and have never taken the time to get to know Andy or his music, you really should. I’ll loan my music collection out to anybody who wants to hear it. Just ask.

A good, honest mechanic is hard to find.  This week I found one.

Tuesday morning my wife called me to say that the car had died.  The dash lights came on, and the car just shut off.  I drove out to get her and to see what was wrong with the car.  My past experience with cars (which isn’t a lot, but when combined with my dad’s experience is certainly worth mentioning) said that it was a timing belt issue.

I didn’t know a mechanic out in Hiram.  Towing the car to my regular mechanic wasn’t feasible.  I called the good people at Discount Tire in Hiram and asked for a recommendation.  They suggested I call Pee Wee at Hiram Masterbend.  So I did.  He said he could do the work, and he gave me a contact for towing.

When I got to Pee Wee’s place, I was immediately impressed.  It’s got that “this is my shop and it’s going to look nice” feel that made me feel like they care about the details.  And they have Bibles to give away.  It’s hard to be a dishonest mechanic when you’re giving away Bibles.

Pee Wee told me that fixing the timing belt and replacing the water pump (since they were already in there…) would be about $500.  Gulp.  Well, I didn’t have much of a choice, so I told him to do it.  On Wednesday I went to pick it up.

Pee Wee told me that he was wrong on his pricing estimates.  What he said would cost me $500 cost just over $300.  He could have easily charged me the quoted amount, and I would have never known any difference.  Instead, he chose the honest route, and I really appreciated it.  My checking account appreciated it, too.

So if you’re near Hiram, Georgia and find yourself in need of a good, honest mechanic, I highly recommend Hiram Masterbend.  They’re at 1434 Hiram-Douglasville Highway in Hiram.  Phone number 770-222-0212.

I was watching last night when Stephen Colbert announced that he will run for office.  Press release here.  I, for one, am thrilled at this possibility.

Oh, and if you aren’t watching The Colbert Report, you’re missing some great TV.

I’m not getting on the Rockies bandwagon.  I want to say that up front.  I’m no more a Rockies fan now than I have ever been.

That said, I have really enjoyed watching the Rockies play lately.  They’ve had great defense, great pitching, great (though sometimes just timely) offense, and maybe a stroke of luck.  But wow, they’ve been fun to watch.

Now they’ve got a few days to rest before the World Series.  I hope they keep doing what they’ve been doing this past month.  That’ll make for a fun World Series for sure.

So, yeah, I’m pulling for the Rockies this October.  Beyond the fact that they’re just fun to watch, they’ll be playing the Red Sox or the Indians.  I’ve never been crazy about Cleveland, and I’m morally obligated to hate the Red Sox, so maybe the Rockies will come through for me this year (since the Yanks didn’t…).

I spent the day in Birmingham yesterday. It was a long day, but it was a good one. I got all the work done that needed to be done, and I even got to eat lunch with one of my internet friends. And I accidentally ran into another old internet friend while at the office.

A few thoughts from my day…

• (while still in Georgia) “‘Matthew Perryman Jones -> All’ is an excellent playlist.”
• (while entering Alabama) “Whoever came up with the phrase ‘Alabama the Beautiful’ must have never seen Tennessee.” (I know there are some former Alabamians [Alabamites?] reading this, so please don’t be offended. I really do like your state.)
• (while on I-20, east of Anniston) “This has got to be the worst stretch of road ever…the constant ka-du-ka-du-ka-du is mind numbing, and the pot holes are really small canyons.”
• (while near Talladega) “Wow…rednecks sure do love their NASCAR.”
• (while on I-459) “Alabamans! That’s what people from Alabama are called.”
• (while in line at McDonalds) “Alabamans are an interesting group of people.”
• (while in the car heading out of town while trying to find some decent talk radio, when I heard Arkadelphia Road mentioned in a radio traffic report) “I’ve heard there’s a laundromat on Arkadelphia Road.” (it’s from a song on an amazing CD.)
• (while coming back through Talladega) “Those people are still here?!”
• (while on I-20, east of Anniston) “Yup. This really is the worst road ever.”

Dear woman in the white SUV,

When you run a red light you risk lives.  More specifically, you risk mine.  If you can’t text message your girlfriends, apply lipstick, pass out Happy Meals to the kids, and drive that monster SUV all at the same time, maybe you shouldn’t be driving.

Sincerely,
The guy yelling at you from the Mountaineer

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Dear moron in the red Chevy truck,

Don’t pull out in front of people who are going 60 MPH when they’re 20 yards from you.  It’s just not smart.  Dale Jr. would be disappointed in your driving skill.  I’m going to tell him about you the next time I see him, and he’s likely to revoke your redneck bumper sticker privileges.

Sincerely,
The guy yelling at you from the Mountaineer

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Dear idiot in the blue Accord,

I’m sorry that I didn’t realize how much more important you are than me.  Please forgive me for honking at you when you nearly side-swiped me on the way to work this morning.  I know being 10 feet farther down the road will make a difference in getting you to work on time, and I’m sorry I wasn’t more considerate of your life when you nearly took mine.

Sincerely,
The guy yelling at you from the Mountaineer

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Dear Georgia Department of Motor Vehicles,

Maybe you should be more selective in who gets to have a drivers license.  There would be fewer people trying to kill me, and it would help lighten rush hour traffic.

Sincerely,
The guy yelling at people from his Mountaineer

Last week I was due for my first free rotation and balance from Discount Tire.  Here’s how it went:

I walked in and was immediately greeted.   I told the guy that I was due for a rotation and balance.  He ran out and checked the mileage on my Mountaineer (took 2 minutes, at most).  He came back, took my key, and said they’d get it through as quickly as possible.  I told him to just call me when it was ready because I needed to get back to work.

They called about 2 hours later and said I could pick up the car anytime I wanted.  My friend/coworker Chris drove me up there to pick it up.

I walked in, and the guy recognized me.  He grabbed my paperwork, handed me my key, and thanked me for doing business with them.  That was it.  No waiting, no listening to suggestions for repairs I didn’t need…nothing like that.

So I went back outside where Chris was talking to one of the Discount Tires employees.  Chris had asked for a quick air check on his tires, and the Discount Tire employee stopped to do that (for free).  While he was checking the tires, he mentioned to Chris that the unidirectional tires on his Mustang were on the wrong side of the car.  Apparently the guys Kauffman Tire don’t know how to recognize a unidirectional tire because they were put on backwards when Chris had his tires rotated.

So now Chris is a Discount Tire customer as well.  He has joined me in the stress free club of the “We’ll never go back to Kauffman Tire again - ever” people.  It’s a good place to be.  You should come join us.

(and, if you haven’t read it already, make sure you read my post about my experience with Kauffman Tire.)