Ken

"Will it play in Peoria?" Why they selected Peoria as a testing ground for viability, I'm not sure. Peoria's other claim to fame was being the world headquarters for Caterpillar Tractors. Go Cat diesel power!Through the years, Peoria did give birth to a fair number of celebrities. Dan Fogelburg, Sam Kinison, and Richard Pryor. For those who don't know, Richard Pryor passed away today from a heart attack.Read more at The New York Times.

I'm finally blogging again from my trusty Dell laptop. After chatting with Dell support online, they decided to send a tech out to replace my motherboard. The tech arrived, deconstructed my laptop, took out the old motherboard, put in the new motherboard, reassembled my laptop, and left. It's working like a charm. It's the tech equivalent of getting a new engine.

Every so often there is a news figure that is so quirky and unconventional. Steve Doocy from Fox's "Fox and Friends" is one of those characters. I get a kick out of his comments and faces. Unfortunately, the show is on East Coast time and goes off out here about the time normal people wake up.Official bio:"Steve Doocy joined FNC from WCBS-TV in New York, where he co-anchored "Early Morning Newscast." Prior to his stint there, Doocy served as the co-host of "Parent's Helper," and "Wake Up America," daily programs on America's Talking. Prior to joining America's Talking, Doocy was host of NBC's nationally syndicated program "House Party" from 1989 to 1990 and "Not Just News," FOX's children's news magazine from 1990 to 1994. Throughout his career he has received 11 local EMMY Awards for various feature coverage as well as the Associated Press' Feature Reporter of the Year Award.…

It's been several days since I last blogged; a major disappointment to the three people who need my blog to survive. The main reason is that my laptop is out of commission -- a major body blow. It's not getting AC power and the battery drained out. Without AC, it's not able to recharge the battery. At first I thought it was a bad cord and searched all over town (figuratively speaking) to find a compatible replacement. Bought one at Fry's that didn't fit. Then went to CompUSA, Office Depot, Wal-Mart (I was desperate), and finally to Circuit City. At Circuit City I found an adapter kit that had the right size plug. And it would work with the universal adapter I bought at Frys.So ... with anticipation building, I plugged it in last night and ... nothing! Nothing happened. I did notice I could get a green light when…

We contacted Amvets about donating some furniture to their store. "No problem, we'll send out a truck." Later that day the chairs are still on the porch with a note attached that reads, "We don't take furniture." Not to fear, Craigslist is here. I snapped a few digital pictures, logged on to CL, uploaded the pictures, and waited. Within an hour we had received over 80 responses from people wanting to pick up our chairs. Since it was Friday night, we arranged with the first responder to pick them up the next day. They were gone by 9:30 AM. We've used CL in both Atlanta and San Diego to give and receive things. In Atlanta, we gave away via CL a piano and riding lawn mower. Here in San Diego, we gave away all our moving boxes. In addition, we've picked up free patio furniture, a bookshelf, desk, filing cabinet,…