This was my Dad’s Jeep.

This IS my Dad’s Jeep.

Someone decided to jet out infront of my Dad, thinking they had enough time to make it past, only to STOP SUDDENLY IN THE MIDDLE OF THE LANE.

My mom called me last night around 7:30 and the first thing she said to me was “Ok, I want you to know Daddy’s OK.” This sets off my internal alarm (which is very sensitive due to too many heartbreaking family emergencies in the last few years) and I had to ask her to clarify since she refers to my Dad as well as her father as “Daddy”. She didn’t have much info at the time, but we knew he was OK. The airbag had done it’s job and saved my father from any life-threatening injuries. Only his arm and hand is banged up from hitting the door/window because of the blast of the airbag.

I’m incredibly beyond thankful that he is alright. I love you Dad!

So Dad, you said you liked the Scion xB right?

Well since I don’t reside in Ghana, Togo, Libya, or Kazakhstan (or any other area where the eclipse is viewable) I had to wait until people from those areas, and other areas where you can view the eclipse, posted photos to Flickr.

Here are a few of my favorite photos of the eclipse;

Taken by Summ99

Taken by lavitta in Jerusalem

Taken by Édipo in Brazil

Taken by Mucahid Zengin in Turkey

Newsweek has an awesome article, “New Wisdom on the Web” on a collection of websites that are innovating the way people are communicating on the web – featuring the creators of a core group of my favorite sites; You Tube, MySpace (it’s a favorite for everyone, you can’t deny it), del.icio.us, and of course, Flickr.

Some of my favorite quotes:

On MySpace:
“MySpace in the 2000s is what the malt shop was in the 1950s—if the malt shop could hold 65 million adolescents, many of whom had no qualms about showing pictures of themselves half drunk in their underwear.”

On Flickr:
“What was once the digital equivalent of a shoe box became a vibrant community built around photos and a vast collaborative effort to produce an infinite scrapbook.”
– I remember during the beginning of Flickr, you’d log on and the interface was closer to IRC. You’d join a ‘chat room’ and beneath your window(s) would be your “shoebox”. This is where you’d upload your photos and be able to click and drag them into where you were chatting, to share with others. This feature was taken away as the rest of the site was developed. Many people hope it’ll come back, but I have a feeling it won’t be for quite awahile. Considering the user count has gone up significantly, I wonder if it’d simply crash Flickr with so many people accessing such a dynamic part of the site.

On the growth of the web:
“Less than a decade ago, when we were first getting used to the idea of an Internet, people described the act of going online as venturing into some foreign realm called cyberspace. But that metaphor no longer applies. MySpace, Flickr and all the other newcomers aren’t places to go, but things to do, ways to express yourself, means to connect with others and extend your own horizons. Cyberspace was somewhere else. The Web is where we live.”

Last night Matt had a little videogame get-together at our apartment. After a few hours of kickin’ some bad-guy ass in X-Men Legends II: Rise of Apocalypse and then getting my ass kicked by the boys in Halo 2, Guitar Hero made an appearance. Sunny and Stephen brought their guitars and plugged them in.

Now, a few weeks ago, Sarah told me about Guitar Hero and it sounded pretty damn sweet. You hold a guitar (instead of a controller) and in a style like Dance Dance Revolution, you hit the specific chords as they pass a bar on the screen. The more you hit at the right time, the more badass rockstar you become.

Just look at these two rockstars in action! (hahaha)

I played a few rounds.. no I played a LOT of rounds and I am officially hooked on this game. Even if you’re not a regular video game player, I think you’d like this game. Now, while I’m listening to my ipod, I find myself thinking “this would be an awesome song for Guitar Hero” … hmm… maybe some retail therapy will help cure this craving I have right now…..

*Update* Yup! The retail therapy helped!

While my parents and I were lost on an adventure in Knights Ferry this weekend, we drove up a hill and passed a ranch that featured these two. I jumped out of the car and they were eager to have their photo taken, coming up close to the fence.