Random Thoughts 4/10/06

• Tanner often puts his shoes on the wrong feet. When Shannon asked him why he gets so confused, he protested, "They're the same color! They look the same!" Obviously we need mismatched shoes for Mr. Tanner.
• Kansas ranks 32nd in taxes per person ($2039.60) while Missouri ranks 46th ($1645.49). That's great for Kansas but it almost makes me yearn for the days when I lived in the "Great State of Misery."
• Speaking of Missouri, I ran across a list of Mizzou alumni and found both Kenneth Lay (of Enron infamy) and Randy "Duke" Cunningham (recently sent from Congress to prison). So… who exactly is teaching ethics at MU?
• Our neighbor to the North has moved and is selling her house. It's an old, needy house like ours but smaller. They wanted $130,000 but have quickly come down to $99,000. They might have to go even lower (ours was less than that) because anyone who moves in is going to have to do a lot of work. On top of that, the house is so close to the main road, I'd worry that if the road is ever widened (which could happen) that imminent domain would claim the house and all your work would be for naught.
  
• Apple has added a new feature to their computers that may seduce the reluctant Windows user to try a Mac for the first time. What is it? The ability to run Windows. Yes, this is akin to being able to listen to 8-tracks on your iPod but still, it just may work as a draw to those people who have Windows applications that they just can't live without. And if you're a skeptical IT person, read this little article.
• The movie Basic Instinct 2 is doing terribly at the theater. Ice Age 2 has earned some $116 million in two weekends, in contrast to Instinct's $5 million with only 15-25 people per showing (Ice Age is averaging hundreds per show). Even Larry the Cable Guy's movie is doing better than this trashy thriller, begging the question: why do they even make movies like that in the first place?
• I've been feeling melancholy lately but Sunday afternoon I did some yard work, listening to Christian music like Third Day and Rich Mullins on my iPod. I mowed, trimmed, cut branches, and got some sun, worshipping while I worked. I feel a lot better.