The stadium-packing Brit-rockers Coldplay are currently distributing the first single from their upcoming album for free on their website. An e-mail address is required, and you will receive a download link at the address you provide them.

The song, Violet Hill, is enough of a departure from the typical Coldplay sound to invite interest and enthusiasm for the new album, Viva La Vida Or Death And All His Friends, from more than just their die-hard fans (say, people who bought the Japanese import version of the single Talk--ough-cough, ME). The single will actually be up to buy Tuesday, May 5th, with the full album being released worldwide on June 12.

Welcome back, fellas! We're looking forward to hearing the whole thing.

Posted by Jonathan on 30 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A while back, my loverly wife surprised me (as she so often does) with a handmade gift:

A great, handmade crotched robot box! Designed all on her own, and so lovingly made with her two beautiful hands.

I love that the antenna are a heart. Seriously, people, my wife really loves me, and I totally don't deserve her, or her wonderful love. (Click on the picture to enlarge.)

Look at the stitching! It's so great! I don't know exactly how long it took her to make this, but to tell the truth, it actually had a present inside it, too, (which I'll feature later)!

The inside is lined with this very fun fabric, which I love. I really like items that conceal a luxurious feature on the inside, like a lined suit jacket that has a printed silk pattern inside the arms. This surprise inside, the thing that only you may know about even, gives it an extra charm, I think.

I am the charmed one, to have such a loverly wife. You may notice that 'Etsy,' is one of the tags to this post, and that is because my wife is just about done with a surplus of items that she is going to be selling on her soon-to-be-opened Etsy store. And quite honestly, you'd better be on your toes, because they're going to sell out fast.

...and you know you want one...

Posted by Jonathan on 27 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

Posted by Jonathan on 20 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

Bubby and Marmee.

Yeah, Jenni nixed Mexican food (wtf?! we're in San An-Mexican-food-capital-of-Texas-tonio!!! =^) for lunch, so we wound up at The Republic of Texas, burgers and such...

We WILL be eating Mexican food...

Posted by Jonathan on 19 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

We're on the road for our fun trip to San Antonio with Marmee, and our first stop (well, first after the initial Sonic drink stop) was at Denny's, where Bubby (and Daddy, cough-cough) scored this sweet rocket ship cup!

He also had alien pancakes, which were quite groovy.

Posted by Jonathan on 19 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

It's here! We've waited all year, and Bubby has been anxiously awaiting his favorite part, The Yo-Yo People. Good news for Bubby's who love good news: this year, he got to be part of the show!

Posted by Jonathan on 18 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)

A couple weeks back, I tricked my friend Brad into taking a job with the energy company I work for. I say trick because I promised him half-days of work for a full day's pay.

Well, as W says, "Fool me once, shame on me, fool me twice, uh--er--uh...you cain't fool me twice...!"

Yeah, 4 weeks of 12-hour work days and a couple Saturdays later, don't think I'm going to be able to fool Brad again. I think if he were to go back in time to when I offered him the job, he would quicky find the nearest blunt object and jam it into my eye.

And I don't know that I would blame him. As it is, though, I don't think he would be able to leave if he tried, having so quickly become an invaluable part of our organization and so quickly endearing himself to the dozens and dozens of people who daily benefit from his patient help and kind spirit--a sharp contrast to my standard knee-jerk reaction: "Get out of my office."

So welcome, Brad. We definitely need you, and I really do myself. I have been so blessed already in the short time you've been here. And the respite's coming, friend.

(P.S. Interoffice fun fact: Brad's new cards actually read:

Brad Stanford - Putting the 'Mr. T' back in I.T.)

Posted by Jonathan on 16 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

...well, not really, but I was playing LEGOs with the Bubby a couple days back, and I decided to challenge myself to see if I could make the robot Wall*e from the upcoming Disney film of same name, without using a visual aid. I'm normally quite bad at working without visual help, in any media.

Here's how it turned out:

(Not bad, if I say so myself! And seriously, it's not always robots at our house...sometimes it's spaceships and other sci-fi stuff...=^)

• Wall*e trailer in HD


• Wall*e Official Movie Site

Posted by Jonathan on 14 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (2)

The company I work for has about 200 employees, operations in Fort Worth (3 offices), North Dakota, and Pennsylvania, and active projects in Japan, New Zealand and every energy play in the United States. I was one of three of our directors responsible for moving our main office (approx. 150 employees) to our new digs in downtown Fort Worth. Not much had to be moved. Just people, furniture, computers, files, server stuff, data lines, phone lines, phone systems, more people, more computers, all the executives and finally myself.

We're done now...I think...After two weeks of 8AM-11PM hours, and working on Saturday and Sunday, I sure hope we are done. It was an exhausting process that I do not wish to repeat soon. We did have professional help, but it was still a monumental undertaking. And I'm just coming out of exhaustion back into my normal life. My wife and my bubby are happy about this, as am I.

Sorry for the interruption. Thanks for sticking around. We will now return to our regularly scheduled broadcast.

Posted by Jonathan on 12 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (1)

Okay, so here are all the pins I picked up at SXSW this year (with the disclaimer that I was not trying to pick up many pins):

1,000 points for each correct guess as to which pin goes with what Vendor/url. Make sure to provide the URL of the vendor/service/whatever that you think goes with the pin when you comment.

...winning answers will be revealed Friday. Have fun!

Posted by Jonathan on 1 April, 2008 | Permalink | Comments (0)