Sometimes I drift off at work a bit. It’s not like I actually fall asleep or anything…I just let my mind wander. But sometimes on a break or during lunch I’ll hear or read something online that sticks with me.

It’s been awhile since I’ve had enough downtime during the day at work to actually write down some random comments, but today is the day.

What I usually do is just jot something down and then finish these thoughts once I’m home. And for whatever reason, people seem to enjoy my random take on the world…

• I gotta be honest…
  

  Gen. Larry Platt

  I’ve watched both episodes so far of American Idol and I have yet to be impressed. Sure, there are a few good singers…even a couple of great ones. But there isn’t a single one thus far that jumps out at me as having “star power” or even “star potential”. Good lord, the most popular thing to come out of those two shows is Gen. Larry Platt’s original song “Pants on the ground”…which has turned into an internet phenomenon to the point that the dude was on The View on Monday! Seriously, people…when a sixty-something-year-old retired general is getting more press than any of the singers, is it time to either re-edit the show or start to call it a day?

• I found something very bizarre. Just look at the final two of American Idol over the past few years: Kris Allen & Adam Lambert, David Cook & David Archuleta, Jordin Sparks & Blake Lewis, Katharine McPhee & Taylor Hicks, Bo Bice & Carrie Underwood. Do you see a pattern emerging? Strange, eh?
• Is it wrong that I don’t feel too badly for Conan O’ Brien? I mean, sure…he got screwed out of the job he had dreamed about all of his life. And sure…NBC gave him a ratings bomb each and every night of the week during his eight months on the air (oh yeah…that ratings bomb was The Jay Leno Show). But with O’Brien about to receive a $30 million buy-out package, I think I’ll hold off on the “Save Coco” groups and events on Facebook for now. C’mon peeps…the latest is that everybody who works on his show, from the head writer all the way down to the janitorial staff, will be compensated and taken care of as if Conan’s full contract was played out in full. And on top of that, Fox wants him to be their flagship jump into the late night talkshow wars. So while it’s funny to make fun of both NBC and Leno for this whole screwjob (and I refuse to watch The Tonight Show until Leno’s permanently replaced…I just don’t find him that good), I think we can hold back our tears for poor Coco and just let this whole thing unfold. That being said, I may have to stay up late this week to see how O’Brien finishes out his tenure. Should be fun!
• Oh…here’s his best quote from the week:

“I received a letter from the adult film company Pink Visual offering me a role in one of their porno movies. In the movie I’d be having sex with a beautiful woman and just as we’re about to climax I get replaced by Jay Leno.” – Conan O’Brien, 01-14-10

• After complaining on QT Mama’s blog that I wasn’t a “real life friend” on Facebook, she totally caved relented and added me a couple of weeks ago. I gotta say…I’ve got a lot of good looking blogger friends out there. From QT to T to Amira to Mindy to Rachel to Nicole to the many, many others I just don’t have time to list at the moment…I’m quite impressed by the attractiveness of the female blogging population. And y’know what’s fun? Sunshine can appreciate their beauty, too…which makes me love her even more.
• Ummm…who thought it was a good idea to write more about Octomom? Oh yeah, that’s right…TMZ.
  

  No video here. Head on over to TMZ.com for all your Octomom news!

  Apparently, Octomom was banned from working-out at her favorite gym because she fell behind on the gym fees on three separate occasions. I guess one’s 15-minutes of fame doesn’t get one as far as it used to. Of course, it could have everything to do with the fact that she’s got no job and FOURTEEN CHILDREN to take care of. Well fear not, faithful readers…late last week an anonymous benefactor plunked down enough coin to cover her gym fees for the entire year. Ahhh…the news can just be so riveting at times. And don’t get me started on the whole “Octomom bikini pic” scandal. I’ve seen the pics, kids. She looks AMAZING for a woman who has had fourteen children….from the neck down, that is. I’m sorry, but she is the very definition of “butterface“. Damn.

• How does a long-distance parent keep in touch with a child who doesn’t really like talking on the phone too much? In addition, she’s not exactly chomping at the bit to use MSN with her old man, either. I’m currently trying to send one card/package a month to make sure Rugrat never feels as though I’ve abandoned her in any way. Other than that, is there anything else I can do to keep in touch when she isn’t really the most communicative kid?
• I told the guys at work that the New York Jets were going to win their game in San Diego. The guys at work didn’t believe me. Well…the Cinderella team of 2010 in the NFL playoffs is, indeed, the New York Jets. With a rookie quarterback who is prone to mistakes and a banged-up offense, the Jets weren’t expected to make the playoffs at all much less win their first two games. Cincinnatti can be chalked up to a fluke, I think. But yesterday’s performance against a team on an 11-game winning streak was extremely impressive. Can they do it just one more time against the Indianapolis Colts this weekend and actually make it to the SuperBowl? Good question. I’ve spent my adult life looking for a team to lay my hat on…one I could become a fan of that wouldn’t appear to be me jumping on the bandwagon. As soon as they announced Mark Sanchez as their first-round draft pick, I became a fan of this team. I’ve enjoyed Rex Ryan as a coach and have been thoroughly impressed at the tenacity this team has displayed through some pretty down times. That makes this past few weeks even more gratifying because nobody expected the Jets to advance…and here they are one win away from the SuperBowl. This, kids, is why I love the game.
• I feel really bad as I just found out yesterday that PostSecret was coming to the area (Sunshine’s city, actually) tomorrow night.
  

  Frank Warren from PostSecret

  It sucks because I never thought Frank Warren would come to the area, so I never checked his live event schedule. If Sunshine and I had known ahead of time, I could have taken a day or two off from work to travel and see him and spend the night. BAH…

• There have been some changes at work and two people who sad next to me for the past two + years are now somewhere else.  Don’t get me wrong, I like the people who are sitting next to me now, but it’s a little odd to have that happen.  Your comfort zone gets a little thrown for a loop.
• Through all of the horror and death and destruction that has come out of Haiti within the past week, it’s extremely heart-warming to hear about survivors. There was a particular group of three people were buried alive inside of a supermarket in Port-au-Prince. Luckily, the 5-story building didn’t crush them and they were able to be pulled to safety. I read that one of them lived on peanut butter for the four days they were in there. My hope is alive that more and more stories like this will emerge over the coming days. I’ve donated a bit to the Red Cross. It wasn’t a lot, but I knew that my money would be put to good use with them. If you haven’t donated yet, even a $5 donation can do a great deal of good.

In Canada:
http://www.redcross.ca


In the United States:
http://www.redcross.org/


In the United Kingdom:
http://www.redcross.org.uk/


In Australia:
http://www.redcross.org.au/


Red Cross International:
http://www.icrc.org