Don, Version 2.0

Astounding first-hand account of the Phuket Tsunami.

Mind-blowing. Beyond comprehension.

If you like Bonnie Raitt's music, you'll love the music of Susan Tedeschi. Susan's music is great.

Zombo.

Enjoy.

All The Best,

-- Don

So I'm listing to an All-Christmas music station on my Winamp media player. The station is from Germany, but they play english-language music.

So on comes Macy Gray, singing "Winter Wonderland". Except ... check out the title that is scrolling across the screen: Mary Gray?

(you can click on the picture to enlarge it)

The Mercedes-Benz M-Class is a truck. No way around it.

But for 2005, the tri-spoked maker has really upped the ante. Check out the 2005 Mercedes-Benz M-Class.

Nice. Very nice.

All The Best,

-- Don

I wish I had Rod Stewart hair.

Apple (the computer/consumer goods company) has long had a loyal, enthusiastic, evangelistic following.

Recently, an iPod mini fan created his own ad.

Amazing. It's great stuff, too. Funny ... you don't see Ford owners or Windows users doing this type of stuff.

It will be interesting to see how this plays out.

All The Best,

-- Don

Patti wants a digital camera.

I want to get her a kayak.

Comments welcome.

All The Best,

-- Don

Just a thought: If you press Ctrl-Z often enough, will you end up back in the dinosaur age?

Just wondering.

Things that make you go "hmmmmm ...".

All The Best,

-- Don

NBC5.com - Irresistible Headlines - Parents Go On Strike, Move Out To Protest Messy Kids

Sorry, folks ... but if you've gone this long with introducing the discipline, work ethic and morality (yes, "morality"!) required to have your children carry their fair share of the load, then you failed long ago at this whole parenting things.

My two cents, anyhow. Of course, our children are so terrific, it's quite unfair for me to take any credit.

All The Best,

-- Don

A few years back, I paid $320 for a shiny new pair of Mephisto dress shoes. Gorgeous, high quality, and very comfortable when I put them on.

Next day, I wear them, and get blisters. So now I have a pair of semi-expensive shoes that I wear about three times a year when appearance is more important than comfort (funerals, weddings, Celine Dion concerts, etc).

(Did I just admit to going to a Celine Dion concert? IT'S A LIE, I TELL YA ... A LIE!)

Don't you hate it when that happens? It's not like a $10 roll of double-sided sticky tape that doesn't work as you expect ... we're talking a $320 pair of shoes.

At least I look good! :-)

All The Best,

-- Don

If Guinness plays their cards right, they could coin the next pop culture catch phrase.

"Brilliant!"

All The Best,

-- Don

So I'm surfing the internet doing some research on Tuesday afternoon when I view the web cam at Ocean City Maryland's boardwalk. What do I see? A guy who is standing in view of the camera, calling someone on his cell phone.

Ahhhh ... so this is what the "Interweb" was invented for ... okey-dokey.

On January 11, I'll be presenting a 90-minute class to some local residents. It's a service of our township's recreation department.

My class is about Phishing, Spam, Virii (etc.) and how to protect your computer.

If you have any papers, links, etc. pertaining to any of these subjects, I'd appreciate if you'd send it along.

I can be reached via email at don.schenck at gmail dot com.

Thanks, and All The Best,

-- Don

Get some new wallpaper at InterfaceLift.com.

My wife's dog. Psycho, sure ... but still fun.

Remember the First Rule of Negotiating: The first person to mention a number loses.

Those who know me know that my favorite food isn't mussels, lasagna, or even hog maw. It's mustard. A food so great, even the Beatles sang about it!

Mustard. Yum. Good, ol' yellow mustard. Love the stuff. I eat it on my egg sandwiches, I dip my hamburgers in it ... Just love it.

I think it dates back to when I was about 18, and my friend George Kroll would make us American cheese sandwiches what would literally drip with mustard. I fell in love with that tiny seed and haven't looked back.

Here's to life's simple pleasures ... Covered with French's.

All The Best,

-- Don

It's a thing like this that enables the euthanasia of alzheimers sufferers. Just give it some time.

Okay, Panic gets my nod for The Web's Coolest Home Page. Ever.

Are you ready for this?

My children -- no father is prouder or happier.

My parents, brothers, sister -- best family in the world.

My health -- can't buy good health.

All The Best,

-- Don

Here's your chance.

What software would you like to see written? What software do you use that could be improved or made easier to use?

I'm looking for ideas, and Xceeda, Inc. (my company) will decide whether or not we can make a profit. Then, our team of developers will crank it out in short order. You can have the software for FREE, and we'll go on to sell it.

Got any ideas? Project Management? Document Management? How about a web site where people can post pictures, and the top X number of pictures each week are selected and featured on MSNBC.com?

Come on, folks ... gotta be something you'd like to see.

All The Best, and Happy Thanksgiving (my favorite holiday),

-- Don

I'm writing this on Friday night, late, as I'm watching the end of the now-infamous Pacers-Pistons basketball game.

This was a riot. Drunken fans hurling things, players into the stands to fight ... wow.

I'll stick to the NHL, thankyewverymush.

All The Best,

-- Don

Come on, laugh a little.

Dear Tech Support:

Last year I upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0. I soon noticed the new program contained the module Baby 2.0 which unexpectedly began child processing. This module requires significant space and valuable resources.

In addition, Wife 1.0 installed itself into all other programs and now monitors all system activity. Applications such as Poker Night 10.3, Football 5.0, Hunting and Fishing 7.5, and Racing 3.6 no longer run independently. When attempting to run the programs outside of Wife 1.0, the system crashes. How can I keep wife 1.0 in the background while running my favorite programs?

I'm thinking about going back to Girlfriend 7.0, but I cannot find the uninstall module for Wife. 1.0.

Please Help!

Thanks,

A Troubled User


The user received the following reply:

Dear Troubled User:

What you are experiencing is a very common problem. Many users have upgraded from Girlfriend 7.0 to Wife 1.0, thinking that it is just a Utilities a…

I use FreeMind (it's Mind-Mapping software) to do everything from design software to manage my to-do lists to just brainstorm. It's great. I highly recommend it.

Written in Java, it'll run on just about any platform; Windows, MAC OS, Linux.

All The Best,

-- Don

This is the legacy of the Bush Administration. It continues to grow.

God help us ... and especially our children.

All The Best,

-- Don

Okay, go here and watch this show. It won't be available online until Friday (Nov. 19), but it's one hour you DO NOT want to miss.

I watched it last night on TV and got so angry!

I absolutely hate Wal-Mart.

All The Best,

-- Don

I swear, I couldn't buy a break.

So I decide to re-dedicate myself to personal growth, self-improvement and being more assertive.

So what happens? I'm down for the count for six days -- the flu and a sinus infection.

Sheesh ... I really can't win.

Oh well ... I did have a really good conversation with my forceful wife (between her complaining about money and nagging me to do some paperwork for my business while nursing a fever, flu, etc etc). I explained to her that I'm going through my mid-life crisis and that I'm going to start doing more things for myself. That I cannot lead my life based on her fear. That I need to be stronger. That I need to establish myself as a man who stands on his own.

She says she understands and is glad I explained it. Time will tell.

All The Best,

-- Don

I love the music by the group "Cake" (I also like "The Dandy Warhols").

From Cake's song entitled "Wheels" comes this gem of a stanza:

In a seedy karaoke bar by the banks of the mighty Bosphorus
Is a Japanese man in a business suit singing Smoke Gets In Your Eyes
And the muscular cyborg German dudes dance with sexy French Canadians
While the overweight Americans wear their patriotic jumpsuits

Oh, to be able to write like that!

All The Best,

-- Don

After being registered as a Republican for 27 years, and after voting Libertarian for 20 years, I broke stride -- after waiting in line for three hours and 15 minutes last night -- and voted for a Democrat for President. I wanted to vote Libertarian, but I felt too strongly that we needed a new administration.

Total bummer. Is a one trillion dollar deficit in the future? I wouldn't be surprised.

I'm generally conservative, but I do see changes that need to be made. We can make progress without surrending the Constitution. It can be done.

Hurry up 2008.

All The Best,

-- Don

I closed my former blog and started this blog because, well, I'm trying to "re-invent" myself (the latest buzzword to replace "new and improved").

I'm attempting to break for the bad habits of the past ... bad eating habits ... bad exercise habits ... bad relationship habits ... etc, etc.

I'm dropping the things and people that are working against me, and surrounding myself with success.

I know ... sounds corny. But I have to move forward. I have to address the "shadows" of my personality ... embrace the ones that I've been secretly longing for ... discard the ones that are toxic.

Read Jung for more information.

Given that, I'm starting now ... here ... November 2, 2004.

Don, Version 2.0.

All The Best,

-- Don