Madden, meet the whole world.

The whole world, meet Madden.

Nothing celebrates the Miracle of Life and beauty of welcoming your first child into the world than promoting a betting pool on the timing of the event.

The esteemed blogger (and great Indians fan) Uncle Crappy (with support from Mrs. Crappy, no doubt) has been kind enough to get a pool together to guess the birthday of WoyGirl.   You can read all about the rules and conditions here. You don’t have to be a blogger, podcaster, Pittsburgh resident, or U.S. citizen to participate. At least not to my knowledge.   It should also be noted that BBM was involved with genesis of the idea as well.

The winner will not only receive winnings (which I still think they should get all of it), but also will get a free WearPittsburgh shirt of their choice.

Good luck! And seriously, thanks so much for playing. This is a really cool thing!

I want to spotlight some things that my former colleagues are up to at my old workplace: the Pittsburgh Technology Council. They’re getting things going on the social media front, which makes me very happy.

• They’ve formed a LinkedIn Group to connect with other PTC members.
• To notify you about events that are coming up, they’ve set up a Twitter account. I hope also to solicit feedback on programming, public policy, and membership issues! Here’s to making it bi-directional!
• Blogs galore! There’s a forthcoming blog about the Council’s Jonathan Kersting’s trip from Pittsburgh to Washington D.C. on the newly opened bike trail that will debut in September. And, a little bird told me another blog is coming soon about career development. How about some public policy love?

Being involved with and an evangelist of social media for many years now, it’s great to see the Council move the needle and start taking steps to engage individuals in this new medium. I’ve offered some input and have been very supportive of this endeavor. Great stuff!

I think the description of this hysterical website says it all:

“Who would have guessed that when you remove Garfield from the Garfield comic strips, the result is an even better comic about schizophrenia, bipolar disorder, and the empty desperation of modern life? Friends, meet Jon Arbuckle. Let’s laugh and learn with him on a journey deep into the tortured mind of an isolated young everyman as he fights a losing battle against loneliness in a quiet American suburb.”

Perhaps it is a good omen that a sunny day heralded the beginning of July, which also (hopefully) is the month of WoyGirl’s arrival.

It has been a truly amazing last couple of months with Mrs. Woy dealing with all of the ordinary (and extraordinary) issues of a woman’s pregnancy. Baby hiccups. Chewing ice. Having Pelé in your belly. Shots. More shots. Even more shots. None of which are the fun kind. Insatiable desire for McDonald’s fish sandwiches. Actually, it wasn’t that bad. The chewing of ice was and still is pretty intense.

We’ve nearly finished with all the amenities and decorative flourish for the baby’s room. Just a couple finishing paint touches and a window treatment to go. Other than that…

All of the pieces are set. Everything is in readiness. We can’t wait to meet you.

My co-worker pointed me to this website which has elements of Overheard in Pittsburgh and PostSecret. People submit anecdotes about things that make them slightly insane. It’s very fun and interesting to see what freaks people out.

Me? I can’t stand the texture of paper grocery bags. It’s like nails on a chalk board to the Nth degree, and makes me bite my tongue every time I touch them.

I found this several years ago, though I’m not exactly sure how. While I can’t speak to the validity of each condiment’s half-life, I think the Periods and Groups hang together pretty well.

Note that Cheese Wiz does not decay.

I never really got the Rickrolling thang… but I saw it rise to a level of infectiousness/annoyance on April Fool’s Day.

For those of you /still/ being Rick Rolled on a regular basis: protect yourself.