Finally. It was a long road, but hello to post #800.

And also, hope your 2006 was a great year, and I hope 2007 is even better for you. Happy new year.

4 AM + having to pee + pajama pants drawstring tied too tightly = a recipe for disaster

No, I didn't wet myself. But I felt like a contestant on some sadistic reality show.

I've had a bit of a cold and its been getting worse and worse over the past few days. I'm hoping its at its peak right now.

I think my immune system has something against me having time off. Or maybe its being considerate and getting this out of the way so I can be well during finals. Or maybe that's wrong and its just being an ass towards me.

One of my favorite comedians, Demetri Martin, is appearing in a series of short films that look like they're sponsored by Microsoft to promote Windows Vista. The Vista appearances so far have been pretty subtle, so I'm not too sure how they plan to go about advertising with these shorts.

There are only three days left until next year. I think I might have to make multiple posts a day to hit 800.

Worst fight scene ever.

We're almost to 800 posts.

Have you ever used the words "cute" and "inbred" in the same sentence?

If this isn't geeky, I don't know what is.

I'm making a blog post from my Wii. Typing is hard.

Merry Christmas.

There are probably a few people reading this who are having/have had a very stressful few days. If you're one of those people, remember: it could be much worse.

I'm testing sending a post

I'm testing sending a post from my phone. I am at Mustards and I am waiting for some pizza to come. Ah, technology is so exciting.

I know a lot of you find him weird, but Emo Philips might be the best comedian alive.

Hooray to Blogger for moving out of beta.

Anyway, I'm in photo class right now and I think that if this school offered a papercutting class, I'd take it.

Speaking of photos, note this really amazing photo taken over Saylorville Lake in Iowa of a really strange aurora occurrence.

My stomach hurts in a really strange way. So I'm not at school today.

With the release of the PS3 and the Wii, another old friend seems to be dead for good. (You'll probably need a bit of knowledge of games to understand it.)

Now if you'll excuse me, I have a huge meal of peanut butter and toast to eat.

Christmas shopping can be a bit crowded and hectic, but little kids are always a good source of amusement.

There was a little boy trying to get an XBox 360 working at Best Buy. Eventually he shouted to his parents, "Mom? Dad? Can someone get it on?"

On second thought, maybe it's not little kids that are the best source of entertainment, but my immaturity instead.

This article about popular (and dangerous) Christmas toys is not only a fun read, but reminds me of a Christmas from a few years ago.

My sister got the carnivorous Cabbage Patch doll mentioned in the article - only a few days after she got it was it recalled after some girl got her hair stuck in the doll and a team of firemen had to help her get it out (or so I remembered hearing - my memory from age 6 or 7 might not be too reliable). Everyone was supposed to return it to receive a refund, however, my parents didn't return it. It's probably still in a box somewhere in our basement - and who knows? Maybe it's worth something on eBay.

I'm at school and I don't have much to do.

I'm passing the time with StumbleVideo. Think of it as channel surfing meets YouTube.

This is post number 786. Maybe we can reach 800 by 2007.
And by we, I mean I.

Anyway, chemistry teachers around the country are panicking; it's now really illegal to melt pennies and nickels. Did you know that the material you get from melting the coins is actually worth more than a cent or five cents?

I also learned that Elijah Wood is set to play Iggy Pop in the upcoming movie about Iggy's life.
Really, though. Do you see a resemblance between Elijah Wood and this guy?

I can't seem to find my phone. It's either been stolen or lost (probably the latter). I doubt its stolen as selling it would get $10 at the most (if the seller was really lucky).

Anyway, if you desperately need to text me, send a text to my email address. It works on all phones with texting capability and costs no more than a regular text message - and it's free for me to receive it too.

Anyway, as a mime (and fan of watching cool mime skits), this is one of the more astonishing mime skits I've ever seen. On second thought, it's not totally a mime skit, but it doesn't stop it from being really neat.

Old template is back. Hooray.

Anyway, here's an MP3 comparing a standup performance by Lewis CK and Dane Cook. Lewis CK's act was recorded and performed long before Dane Cook's...but make your own conclusions after listening to the MP3.

Hint: The very subtle file name might help.

You may notice that the blog looks a bit different right now. Don't worry - the changes are by no means permanent and I'm only experimenting a bit.

Wow. Just a few moments ago, I made a post about Blogger's new beta program that I wanted to upgrade to, and then I got an invitation to join. Awesome.

Anyway, if you get the chance to upgrade, I really recommend it. The little publishing spinner is no more, and that's very good news.

For the rest of you who don't have blogs: thanks for reading this post. Welcome to zombo.com.

Today in newspaper I was writing an article about Santa Claus. It spiraled out of control when I realized that not everyone celebrates Christmas.

Here's the rejected beginning:

Think about Christmases of your past. Remember those Christmas Eve nights, lying in bed without moving or making a sound for fear that Santa would know you’re awake? Of course you don’t. You’re Jewish. Jewish people don’t celebrate Christmas. And that's okay.

Brett recommended I add to start the next paragraph, "Anyway, for those of us going to Heaven..." Then we got all offended. The end.

Over the past 5-ish years I've maintained this blog, I've made 779 - make that 780 - posts. I've also started on a pen-and-paper journal to see if I can keep one for a year or 100 pages (whichever comes first).

Anyway, if you feel like you or a loved one spends too much time writing in their blog/journal/diary, you can always click here to feel like an underachiever.

Hello.
I hope you like your Monday.

And always remember that mishearing someone can really ruin your day.

19 days until break begins.
Hey, a number. Numbers remind me of stats checks...oh, yeah. About October's stats post...

(A Very Late) Stats Check
October 2006
Views This Month: 687
Visits This Month: 351
Difference In Views Between September: 195 less viewers
Difference In Visits Between September: 91 less viewers
Possible Reasoning for A Fairly Abnormal Difference: Insanity of 1st quarter ending, many readers were really busy with The Laramie Project.

Most Viewed Day: 10/12 (62 views)
Least Viewed Day: 10/2 or 10/17 (5 views each)

Method That Brought Most Visitors: Direct visits
Site That Brought 2nd Most Visitors: Yes Maybe's Blog or MySpace (tie)

In case you don't know, "direct visits" are when the visitor types in the address into their browser - thus directly viewing the page.

Number of Times I've Underestimated My Visitors Knowledge of Google Analytics Info In The Past Paragraph: 1
Number of Apologies I Owe: A few

Approx. Number of Days This Post Is Late: 33
Apporx. Number of Days November's Stats Post Should Arrive: Very soon

So while I was home today, I attempted to make a mashup.
For those unfamiliar with the term, a mashup is a song made up of bits and pieces from other songs. They can range from the simple yet effective (The Beatles + The Monkees = Paperback Believer) to the amazingly complex (40 Beatles songs in one) to the really bizarre (Cake + Gorillaz = Never Feel Good)

Anyway, it didn't go well. From the experience, I learned that my computer gets overwhelmed and slow and that I don't have very good software for editing. I'm not saying it can't be done on my computer - I'm just saying it'd be like making a beautiful mosaic with Microsoft Paint.

I also learned that other than sharing an E minor chord, "Take Me Out" and "Eleanor Rigby" have very little in common.

Then again, if someone can combine The Doors and The Muppets...and the Macerena, I guess anything's possible.