Southern Expressions

For whom the bell tolls

brad73 — Tue, 06 Feb 2007 14:39:00 +0000

Okay, the phone company that serviced most of the south when I was growing up was South Central Bell, which before the breakup of the telephone monopoly was a division of AT&T. At some point South Central Bell was renamed BellSouth.

My first cellular telephone from many, many moons ago was through BellSouth Mobility, a division of BellSouth. At some point, BellSouth Mobility was spun off into its own division called Cingular Wireless.

You dig so far?

Cingular Wireless purchased AT&T Wireless and became the largest provider of wireless networks with the most customers. This company retained the name Cingular.

In the meantime, SBC Corporation (a company comprised of some of the old western Bell companies from the breakup of AT&T) purchased what remained of AT&T. They named this “new” company AT&T.

Recently it’s been announced that BellSouth and AT&T will merge. The surviving name will be AT&T. Cingular will be renamed AT&T Wireless.

Okay, so in the span of 20 some odd years we’ve gone from breaking up the AT&T monopoly to the formation of a bigger, stronger AT&T. (Though not technically the same company, I suppose, they darned sure kept the name.) This means AT&T will once again be providing the land line and wireless phone service in my area.

It’s no wonder I don’t know whether to scratch my watch or wind my ass…

Souper Bowl Sunday

brad73 — Mon, 05 Feb 2007 15:06:00 +0000

I’m back and I’m staying here at Blogger. I researched my options over the weekend and none were better than just staying put. If I ever do move, I think I’ll set up my own web page for the blog. That would be sometime in the distant future, though.

Normally we have a party for the Super Bowl, but since I haven’t been feeling so great with stomach issues, we decided to cancel the little get-together. We still had Gene over though, and as is the tradition for Super Bowl, I made homemade soup. Hence the name, “Souper” Bowl.
Typically, I would make two or three varieties of soup, but yestersay I just made Italian wedding soup, a favorite of Justin’s.

I thought it was a really good game and I was happy to see the Colts win. Had the Saints been playing instead of the Bears, though, I would have been in a bit of a quandry. Although Peyton Manning played for the University of Tennessee and he’s kind of like a “home state” boy, I couldn’t have helped but root for the Saints because New Orleans could have really used a win. If a whole city ever needeed a feel good ego boost, The Big Easy would be the one.

Oh and a big hell-yeah to Prince for the half time show. You don’t know this, but I’m a Prince fan. He even performed my favorite song, “Baby I’m a Star.” I did a little boogie while seated on the couch. Get down with your bad self, Brother Prince!

Anyway, here’s hoping you have a great week

Short hiatus

brad73 — Sat, 03 Feb 2007 23:57:00 +0000

I’m thinking really long and hard about this whole Blogger thing over the weekend. I’ve been really frustrated with the whole experience this week due to malfunctions and growing pains with the switch to a Google/Blogger setup. I was even chatting with my friend Mo about all of this tonight. We’re both big Blogger fans and some of the first to convert to Beta. We’re both feeling frustrated and a bit let down.

I’m researching my options and giving a lot of thought about where I go from here.

Have a first rate weekend!

Comment problem resolved

brad73 — Fri, 02 Feb 2007 00:20:00 +0000

Instead of waiting for Blogger to resolve the comment problem, I took the initiative upon myself and switched all of my comments to Haloscan, the old reliable standby. The bad news is that it erases the comments that you’ve all left over the past year or so from my posts. I really hate that, because your words sometimes make up the biggest part of the story, after I have posted.

I do have all of your comments archived in Gmail, though. The words that you’ve typed have not gone away, they’ve suddenly become much more private, though. I will be the only one with access to the archives, I suppose.

I remember Mush making a post some time ago about how strange and upset she felt when her blog was down or not operating correctly. I didn’t understand at the time, but I do now.

I couldn’t have been more upset when I couldn’t receive your comments today. I don’t like feeling like I’m somehow disconnected from you. My friends.

I’m better already.

Nothing doing

brad73 — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 21:13:00 +0000

Well, I went so far as to set up a blog at WordPress. I then read about importing my posts from Blogger to WordPress. It’s easy as long as you’re a regular Blogger user, but once you’ve switched to Beta, it’s damned near impossible.

There you have it. I’m stuck here. Maybe the comment thing will be fixed sooner, rather than later.

Of course, I’m always available by email: southernex@gmail.com

Have a groovelicious day, my friends. I think I’ll just remain pissed off the rest of the day…

The age old question…

brad73 — Thu, 01 Feb 2007 18:56:00 +0000

…Blogger vs. WordPress

So, I’m a die-hard Blogger fan. But now they’re messing with the comments. On some Blogger sites you can comment and on others (including mine) you can’t. I don’t get it and it makes no sense to me. I’ve tried republishing my blog and checking my comments settings all to no avail.

So, I’m reading about WordPress at the moment. Am I switching? I don’t know. It all depends upon if Blogger can get this stuff fixed in let’s say… an hour.

I hate it because I finally got my template and banner worked out over here just the way I like it. Damn it!

No one can complain to me about the switch either. Why? BECAUSE NO ONE CAN COMMENT! That’s why.

Excuse me while I do a slow burn in my own head and read about what WordPress can do for me.

Damn again, I say.

Another chat with Justin

brad73 — Wed, 31 Jan 2007 21:05:00 +0000

An actual chat Justin and I had on gmail today:

Justin: Are they keeping you busy today?

me: Yep. And I don’t feel good, my stomach is all effed up.

Justin: Why? The beer?

me: I doubt that.

Justin: Food?

me: I don’t know.

Justin: Hmmmmmmmm. Sorry baby.

me: It’s embarassing when I’m in a closing.

Justin: Is it like anxiety?

me: Oh, hell no.

Justin: OH MY GOD is it GAS?

me: It’s a not so good thing.

Justin: Rumbley in your tumbley?

me: I feel like I might just shat myself at any given moment.

Justin: Ewwwww!

me: My last client said, “Damn maine, you alright?” when he heard my stomach.

Justin: LOL! You actually made me laugh when I read that!

me: It’s not so funny on my end.

No drops in the bucket

brad73 — Tue, 30 Jan 2007 18:21:00 +0000

Normally, this time of month is extremely busy in my line of work. Many times I won’t make a post at the end of the month due to time constraints and because I don’t even get a chance to breathe.

Today, I’m making a post.

I’ve been in this line of the real estate business for fifteen years. I have never, ever seen the market as slow and sluggish as it is. If things continue the way they are now, not only will my world be turned upside down, it will have strong repercussions within the rest of the economy.

Okay, I’ll get back to my nail biting. Have a fantastic day.

Joke off Monday 24

brad73 — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 18:22:00 +0000

Reasons why it’s great to be a guy…

- A guy’s butt is never a factor in a job interview.
- A guy’s orgasms are real. Always.
- A guy’s last name stays put.
- The garage is all his.
- Wedding plans take care of themselves.
- Chocolate is just another snack.
- He can wear a white shirt to a water park.
- Foreplay is optional.
- He never feels compelled to stop a friend from getting laid.
- Car mechanics tell him the truth.
- He doesn’t give a rat’s ass if someone notices his new haircut.
- The world is his urinal.
- Hot wax never comes near his pubic area.
- He never has to drive to another gas station because “this one’s just too icky.”
- Same work … more pay.
- Wrinkles add character.
- He doesn’t have to leave the room to make emergency crotch adjustments.
- Wedding Dress $2,000; Tux rental $100.
- If he retains water, it’s in a canteen.
- People never glance at his chest when he is talking to them.
- The occasional well-rendered belch is practically expected.
- New shoes don’t cut, blister, or mangle his feet.
- Porn movies are designed with him in mind.
- Not liking a person does not preclude having great sex with them.
- Your pals can be trusted never to trap you with: “So, notice anything different?”
- One mood … all of the time.

Sunday quickie

brad73 — Sun, 28 Jan 2007 18:06:00 +0000

We were discussing fried chicken in our office a few months ago. You know, who had the best you could buy, which relative made the best, etc. A co-worker walked up and joined in our conversation. After listening for a moment she said, “I don’t like fried chicken. It’s all greasy and nasty!”

Stunned silence all around.

I turned and looked at her a bit incredulously and said, “Just what in the hell do you eat on Sundays, then?”

As my buddy Lemuel is fond of writing: “That’s a wrap!”