General

Near our house, on Baltimore Drive, there is a roadside memorial honoring a lost loved one. Once when walking by, I stopped and briefly looked around. I noticed the other night that someone has decorated it for Christmas ... flowers, wreaths, and Christmas lights. The Christmas lights are strung along the back of the makeshift memorial. It's a simple reminder of life's priorities. Those sorts of things always send chills up my back. In a good way.

Just a quick blog while listening to the open mic at Cosmos ... it's good stuff. A bunch of newbies tonight, which is always a nice break -- when they're good. One dude ripped through some old Jackson Browne stuff and it was awesome. Well ... it's time to clap.

"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.…