If I had a million dollars

Recent lotteries (including the $360 million dollar powerball) have caused me to ponder how my life would change if I won. You hear the stories, that people are unhappy or broke after winning the lottery (which I question, here's some research that doesn't necessarily prove this, it's probably a toss up).

I imagine I would be just as happy as I am now, although I wouldn't worry about money as often. Things I would do (in no particular order):

• Pay off my house
• Pay off my car
• Pay off my mom's and sibling's houses
• Take a vacation somewhere that I haven't been before like Italy, Germany, Sweden or Switzerland.
• Invest most of my money in safe investments like bonds and invest a smaller percentage in high-growth sector like small caps or foreign caps.
• Give a decent amount of money to charity
• Hire a personal trainer
  

Things I wouldn't do:

• Quit my job
• Change my personality
• Let people take advantage of my newfound wealth
• Buy any huge extravagant item... mansion, exotic car, etc

If I ever won the lottery (which, by the way is extermely doubtful because I rarely play, and even if I did play every week, the odds are stacked against me, you and everbody else -- they don't call it idiot insurance for nothing), I think I would try to keep my life as similar to it is now as possible. What would you do?

New Look

Until I have some time to redo the look, I'm going back to a template. I was getting sick of the over-designed technical look thing I had going on. I find elegance in simplicity. I delight in nothingness. (I am full of crap.)

I like Scott's idea of using a template and incorporating your own pictures and tweaking it. Until then, template it is.

Weird Cause of Traffic

For some reason I am getting a lot of traffic to my website for a post I made about how Windows occassionally sucks. The reason I made the post was I received some weird message after an update that said: "Windows Genuine Advantage Validation Tool (KB892130)"

Apparently this is some update to windows that ensures you are using a real licensed version of the software. Extremely annoying. I'm sorry, but I don't know what it does if your copy isn't licensed, mine is, so I didn't have any problems.

To you, the poor souls who found my site looking to find some info on this 'tool', I wanted to help you out (I'm a nice guy and all), so I searched Microsoft Developers Network (MSDN) (As a sidebar conversation, I really love parantheses, have you noticed? ANYWAY, I used to be a developer, so I know where to look for this sort of stuff, back to my moderately coherent rambling) and found what at first appeared to be a helpful page. It gives the search results with the following description:

Description of the Windows Genuine Advantage program
Describes the Windows Genuine Advantage program and discusses validating your copy of the Windows XP or Windows 2000 operating system.
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;892130

Unfortunately, as of time of this post that page that the results directs you to (which is linked above, I'm sorry, hopefully no more parantheses) is dead. You get this nice message:

The Knowledge Base (KB) Article You Requested Is Currently Not Available

Who knows, by the time you read this the page may be available. Until then, we have to wonder what the knowledge base article actually was about. It could have been about Microsoft's plan to buy the moon, or maybe some conspiracy involving iTunes, XBOX 360 Bill Gates and Steve Jobs... But that is merely conjecture by me, because the page is down and I don't have any inside info.

Anyway, to those of you who made your way over to my humble blog because of a search for this knowledge base article, take a look around, see if anything grabs your interest. I've posted on the past on the St. Louis Cardinals, Mizzou Tigers, Float Trips, How Much I hate Sallie Mae and other weird stuff. I didn't try to draw you here and wish I could help more.

Hope you enjoy your visit. Good luck with that whole Microsoft thing

Nice Passage

Just reading the Bible and a scripture (2 Peter 1:16-18) popped out at me:

16 We did not follow cleverly invented stories when we told you about the power and coming of our Lord Jesus Christ, but we were eyewitnesses of his majesty.
17 For he received honor and glory from God the Father when the voice came to him from the Majestic Glory, saying, "This is my Son, whom I love; with him I am well pleased."
18 We ourselves heard this voice that came from heaven when we were with him on the sacred mountain.

I'm not sure why this stood out so much, maybe because I don't spend enough time in the general letters? But it's always nice to read confirmations, especially when they are outside the Gospels. This may be useful in conversations with non-believers (or seekers) who question anything in the Gospels.

Quin Snyder, we already knew ye (unfortunately)

Good riddance Quin!!! Let's hope you drag down Mike Alden with you.
Great article by Greg Doyle at cbssportsline about the demise of Quin Snyder.
(By the way, Greg Doyle has to be on the best writers about college basketball in the land)
This great picture is courtesy of firequinsnyder.com. You know it's a bad sign when you have a website dedicated to trying to get you fired.

UPDATE: Nice picture and links on the 'The Gruesome Last Days of Quin Snyder' over at Deadspin.

Best Spam Ever...

I just received a spam email... The subject line is: "Former President Bill Klinton uses Voagra!". (Of course, it is all mispelled to try to get past those pesky spam filters.)

Everybody knows the great sexual scandal known as "Klinton-Levinsky".
After the relations like this Klintons popularity raised a lot!
It is a natural phenomenon, because Bill as a real man in order not to shame himself when he was with Monica regularly used Voagra.
What happened you see. His political figure became more bright and more attractive.
It is very important for a man to be respected as a man!

See our Voagra shop to enter upon the new phase of your life.

Nice? They would never do this with any of our other presidents.... Can you imagine: "Former President Reagan uses Viagra" Would that compel you to buy it? Maybe if its said: "Nancy says no to drugs, but yes to Ronnie using Viagra..."

Long time no post

Don't worry, (for the two or three people who regularly read this blog) life's good, I've just been busy trying to get my house ready to put on the market. I've also been spending a lot of time working on my work blog.

I'll be back soon with some witty (hopefully) banter.