Digital Wilderness

Via The J-Walk Blog

There are hundreds of songs associated with Christmas. But only one is associated with New Year’s: Auld Lang Syne.

“Auld Lang Syne” is a poem by Robert Burns, although a similar poem by Robert Ayton (1570-1638), not to mention even older folk songs, use the same phrase, and may well have inspired Burns.

In any case, it is one of the best known songs in English-speaking countries – although, like many other frequently sung songs, the melody is better remembered than the words, which are often sung incorrectly, and seldom in full…

“Auld Lang Syne” is usually sung each year on New Year’s Eve (Hogmanay in Scotland) in the United Kingdom, the Republic of Ireland, the United States, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa and English speaking Canada at midnight and signifies the start of a new year…

The tune to which Auld Lang Syne is universally sung is a pentatonic Scots (or possibly Northumbrian) folk melody – probably originally a sprightly dance in a much quicker tempo.

More from http://wilstar.com/xmas/auldlangsyne.htm:

The song, “Auld Lang Syne,” playing in the background, is sung at the stroke of midnight in almost every English-speaking country in the world to bring in the new year. At least partially written by Robert Burns in the 1700′s, it was first published in 1796 after Burns’ death. Early variations of the song were sung prior to 1700 and inspired Burns to produce the modern rendition. An old Scotch tune, “Auld Lang Syne” literally means “old long ago,” or simply, “the good old days.”

Lyrics:

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we’ll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
And here’s a hand, my trusty friend
And gie’s a hand o’ thine
We’ll tak’ a cup o’ kindness yet
For auld lang syne

What American Accent Do You Have?

Another year come and gone. Where does the time go… Let’s see how I did with the goals this year.

2006 Goal Tracking

Goals Completed

• Learn five origami models
  Completed – I’ve learned/relearned the crane, the flapping crane, the frog, the waterbomb and the iris.
• Redecorate/organize my family room and den and spare bedroom
  This goal is done for the time being. Other things are taking financial priority right now.
• Take a another small business development class
  Completed – I went to the class “Secrets to Starting Your Own Business” in Feb. Attended the Accounting and Financial Management workshop on Nov 30. There are two more I want to go to next year. This goal is complete, though.
• Take a week-long vacation; visit another state/national park on my list
  Completed!
• Run a 5K
  Completed
• Memorize 200 Bible verses
  Completed! Now to keep them memorized…

Goals Not Completed – These I Will Continue to Pursue

• Get involved in a puppet team
  Much more progress on this next year, once I find a church home. I have a decent start on building my own team, though.
• Get A+, i-Net+ and/or SAS certified
  No new progress
• Find a church home
  More on this in a separate post later
• Have a consistent daily quiet time
  Slacked this month
• Be more punctual
  So-so month

Goals Not Completed – These Aren’t An Interest or That Important Any More

• Learn to whistle loudly using my fingers
  I think I’m gonna just buy a whistle
• Learn three five card tricks
  Eh, don’t care about this so much anymore…
• Swing dance once a month on average
  At 5 for the year…no way I can meet this goal now. Oh well…

ForeignPolicy.com: The Top Ten Stories You Missed in 2006

• Hackable Passports
• What’s Worse Than Bird Flu? The Cure.
• Petro Powers Drop the Dollar
• The Gender Gap Gets Smaller
• Iran and Israel Hold Secret Talks
• United States Funds the Taliban
• Russia Fuels Latin American Arms Race
• Bush’s Post-Katrina Power Grab
• China Runs up African Debt
• India Helps Iran Build the Bomb, While the White House Looks the Other Way

Via americatopten.blogspot.com

1. Phone conversations are over in 30 seconds flat.
2. You know stuff about tanks.
3. A five day vacation requires only one suitcase.
4. Monday Night Football.
5. Your bathroom lines are 80 percent shorter.
6. You can open all your own jars.
7. Old friends don’t give you crap if you’ve lost or gained weight.
8. Dry cleaners and haircutter’s don’t rob you blind.
9. Your [butt] is never a factor in a job interview.
10. Guys in hockey masks don’t attack you.
11. You don’t have to lug a bag of useful stuff around everywhere you go.
12. You understand why Stripes is funny.
13. Your last name stays put.
14. The garage is all yours.
15. You get extra credit for the slightest act of thoughtfulness.
16. You never have to clean the toilet.
17. You can be showered and ready in 10 minutes.
18. Wedding plans take care of themselves.
19. Your underwear is $10 for a three pack.
20. The National College Cheerleading Championship.
21. None of your co-workers have the power to make you cry.
22. You don’t have to shave below your neck.
23. If you’re 34 and single nobody notices.
24. Everything on your face stays its original color.
25. Chocolate is just another snack.
26. You can be president.
27. Flowers fix everything.
28. You never have to worry about other people’s feelings.
29. You can wear a white shirt to a water park.
30. Three pairs of shoes are more than enough.
31. You can eat a banana in a hardware store.
32. Michael Bolton doesn’t live in your universe.
33. Nobody stops telling a good dirty joke when you walk into the room.
34. You can whip your shirt off on a hot day.
35. Car mechanics tell you the truth.
36. You get to jump up and slap stuff.
37. Hot wax never comes near your pubic area.
38. You never have to drive to another gas station because this one’s just too skeevy.
39. You can sit with your knees apart no matter what you are wearing.
40. Same work… more pay.
41. Gray hair and wrinkles add character.
42. Wedding Dress $2000; Tux rental $100.
43. If you retain water, it’s in a canteen.
44. The remote is yours and yours alone.
45. People never glance at your chest when you’re talking to them.
46. You have a normal and healthy relationship with your mother.
47. If another guy shows up at the party in the same outfit, you might become lifelong buddies.
48. If something mechanical didn’t work, you can bash it with a hammer and throw it across the room.
49. You don’t have to remember everyone’s birthdays and anniversaries.
50. Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with: “So… notice anything different?”

Finally! I’m trying not to get my hopes up too much, though. That’s what I heard in 2004…and 2005…and 2006…

‘Indiana Jones’ to Begin Filming in 2007

Woohoo! The UK football team won it’s first bowl game in 22 years today, beating Clemson 28-20 in the Gaylord Hotels Music City Bowl. Yes!

My cousin Connie took a short video of my cousin Steve and I as we played boxing on the Nintendo Wii. Now you can see why I wasn’t so good at it

At the beginning of the video, I’m getting up from a knock down, then I just flail around after that, hoping to land some punches. I did hit the ceiling fan once and the tree a couple times.

Haha, these are funny:

From MIT Admissions: Everybody LOVES a math joke

50 Things We Know Now (That We Didn’t Know This Time Last Year) 2006 Edition

Here are the first 10:

1. U.S. life expectancy in 2005 inched up to a record high of 77.9 years.

2. The part of the brain that regulates reasoning, impulse control and judgment is still under construction during puberty and doesn’t shift into autopilot until about age 25.

3. Blue light fends off drowsiness in the middle of the night, which could be useful to people who work at night.

4. The 8-foot-long tooth emerging from the head of the narwhal whale is actually a type of sensor that detects changes in water temperature, pressure and particle gradients.

5. U.S. Protestant “megachurches” – defined as having a weekly attendance of at least 2,000 – doubled in five years to more than 1,200 and are among the nation’s fastest-growing faith groups.

6. Cheese consumption in the United States is expected to grow by 50 percent between now and 2013.

7. At 68.1 percent, the United States ranks eighth among countries that have access to and use the Internet. The largest percentage of online use was in Malta, where 78.1 percent access the Web.

8. The U.S. government has paid about $1.5 billion in benefits to thousands of sick nuclear-weapons workers since 2001.

9. Scientists have discovered that certain brain chemicals in our tears are natural pain relievers.

10. FBI chief J. Edgar Hoover wrote a drooling fan letter to Lucille Ball in 1955 to tell her how much he enjoyed an episode of “I Love Lucy.” “In all the years I have traveled on trains,” he noted, “I have often wondered why someone did not pull the emergency brake, but I have never been aboard a train where it was done. The humor in your program last Monday, I think, exceeded any of your previous programs and they have been really good in themselves.”