toddcarruth.com

Aack. I am falling down on the job as far as weekly DVD reviews are concerned. I did not watch any movies over the weekend. Instead I watched TCU beat UNLV and Texas Tech beat Texas.  Wow. What a crazy game. The tech one that is. The TCU game was kind of boring 44-14 Frogs on top. But the Tech game had a last minute finish with the Red Raiders winning.  Texas had stormed back from a 19-0 deficit to take a 33-32 lead before Tech’s QB Harrell found Michael Crabtree, who broke a tackle and made it to the end zone. BTW- Crabtree is the NFL’s next T.O. in my opinion.  This kid is amazing.

Oh and is the loss of Daylight Saving Time messing anybody else up?

• Happy Halloween!
• Ha! I made Tell It To Tim this morning! A few Fox 4 viewers had an opinion on my facial hair.  Feel free to express your thoughts by voting on the right sidebar.
• I could handle 80 degrees for a high pretty much everyday.  Although, it’s those hot 100+ degree temps and those rare bitter cold teen temps that make us appreciate a high of 80. - obvious Todd
• My ex has an iPhone. How do I know? Because every time she sends me an email, it says “Sent from an iPhone” below the text of her message. I replied back with “Sent from a 3 year old laptop that’s about to crash.”  Hey, it made me giggle.
• I created an ad for my company to use in a local charity program event.  I haz photoshop skillz.
• Bell Sophomore team won AGAIN! Go Blue Raiders. That’s right-undefeated with one game to go again arch rival Trinity.  Son 1 of 2 did not get interception this week and the streak is broken.
• Son 2 of 2 is borrowing my original 1982-83 Journey Frontiers Tour T-Shirt for 80s day today at school.  I bought him some fake Ray-Bans and I told him he needed to fold  the legs of his jeans and roll them up a notch.  He looked at me like I was crazy.  Was I the only one that did that back in the 80s?
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• Still loves me some Journey. As well as Giuffria. Does that ring any bells?
• Hopped on the scale yesterday. I am about to weigh more than I ever have in my life. Check that. I am about to go on a diet.
• I haven’t dressed up for Halloween for 3 years.  But next year I plan on going as Beetlejuice.

• It’s getting dark at 7:15. I saw a bunch of peewee football players still on the field practicing at 7:30. Uh, coach, I think it’s time to stop when you can’t see the ball and it hits you in the face.
• Daylight saving time ends on Nov. 2 this year.
• Bell sophomore team won. Go Bell!
• I can’t believe the horned frogs won last night. Go TCU!  My son and I went to Broncos Sports Bar( after his game) in Hurst to check out some of the purple frogs.  30 screens in the place and they were all on baseball or hockey.  And no hostess in sight. No waitresses. Just a bunch of bored patrons drinking beer and smoking cigarettes.   Woohoo.  I’m not even sure I saw a bartender. Hey guys, when you have a TCU banner up on the wall and you advertise yourself as a sports bar, you might want to check and see if a local college thats ranked in the top 25 is playing that night.
• My sister pointed out that it’s Irvine, CA not Irving.  My bad.  Too many years of doing traffic and typing Irving on the TV CG or producer’s report.
• Missed the SNL thursday night show. Was it funny?
• Just got Speed Racer, The Movie in on Netflix. I am strangely psyched to see it.
• Cool weather rocks.  Not cold. Just cool.
• My dog needs a butt operation.  That’s right, I said butt. He’s got a little growth that’s near his bottom and it’s not going away and I think I probably should get it taken care of. ( not cancer- I already spent $185 determining that it wasn’t earlier this year)
• Ordered a year’s worth of contacts for my son thru his eye doctor. I buy a year’s worth and get a 50 dollar rebate.  The company accidentally sent me 4 years worth of contacts.  I got a sheepish call from the eye doctor today asking if I would kindly return 3 years back. I said it sounds like I am in good shape until he goes to college.  There was lots of nervous laughter on the phone.

Hey, it’s Friday. Been one of those weird short/long weeks for me because I was out of town in the middle of the week experiencing a train ride gone bad and a flight back to Dallas involving a 3 year old and a 5 year old who sat right in front of me.

Yea! The words, “My ears still hurt” continue to echo in my head. (that’s what the cute little 3 year old girl kept repeating.)   As a parent, I have sympathy for those with kids- I have been there. But seriously “Lady Who Thinks It’s Funny”, get your kid to stop kicking the seat in front of her, give her some gum and tell her to be quiet and stop repeating the same phrase over and over again. I’ma  grumpy old man! Grady Niblo!

Oh and the train ride? A one hour ride from Wash DC to Baltimore ended up taking about 2 1/2 hours because of something?  Track humping? Huh? Sounds dirty to me.  I kid you not, for about half the ride, I could have jumped off the train and ran faster. And it wasn’t even a nice train like DART or the TRE. It was called MARC. Must Always Ride Congested.  Hah- I just made that up. Genius! Maybe not.  On with the random thoughts!

• I wish we had a Legal Seafood Restaurant in DFW. Awesome crab cake.  Just wow.
• Heroes on NBC is fun to watch but I don’t really get into it like I used to.
• I went to an acting class last weekend and I really had a good time.
• I am afraid to look at my 401(k) from my last job. I have yet to transfer it to my new job.
• Somebody advised me 2 years ago that I should buy gold. Wish I had listened.
• I really really love Tina Fey’s impression of Sara Palin.
• I don’t want my blog to get political.  So there you go again, Joe! You betcha!
• I have watched every Scrubs episode at least 4 times.
• Who had Pacman Jones would get in trouble by the 4th game? I missed it by two games. Dang!
• I grew my goatee back. If I fill in for Chip again, I am not going to shave unless somebody at Fox asks me to.  That’s right, I am sticking it to the MAN! Take that establishment!
• One of the big VPs at my company has a goatee so I don’t have to worry about them saying anything.
• There is a chance I might be in LA, Chicago, Baltimre and Miami in the next 2 months.
• I need to buy one of those cool little “I’m a “business traveller” rolling suitcase thingie that fits in the overhead bin.
• My 2 year old iPod can’t hold a charge if I watch videos. It only lasts about an hour. I know, life is rough.

Okay, cool website to visit is here: Lifehacker
Rock on and have a safe weekend! Oh and a new poll on the right side. Take 2 seconds and pick an answer, would ya?

Warning: The following thoughts are EXTREMELY random and may or may not be connected in any way.

• A friend of mine is about to start helping her relative raise a young (7 or 8 yrs old) boy.  We went over some scenarios and she was very quick with the answer on how she would handle certain situations. I guess some people are just cut out to be a Mom no matter what.
• My niece is pregnant. I called my sister to give her a hard time about being a grandmother but she spoiled my fun because several of her friends already have grand-kids.  Why is everybody getting older? Stop it!
• Friends at Fox asked me if missed working in the morning.  I miss the people and the camaraderie but good God, do I NOT miss the early mornings.  Fill-in work is perfect for me now.
• My son and I watched Good Eats on Wednesday night and Alton Brown made omelets.  At the end of the show, he made a frittata.  Thursday morning, we made a frittata and it was awesome. And I like saying frittata.
• There is a chance I might go to Miami beach in December. Twist my arm.
• MOSS now means something completely different to me than it did 2 weeks ago.
• Hospital bill is finally finally getting wrapped up. I will share on Monday. Promise.
• I try to keep my Facebook profile limited to friends I have actually met. Myspace is a free-for-all.
• Twitter is starting to annoy me a little.
• I would like to try my hand at starting up a business some day.  I think.
• I need golf lessons. Played this past weekend and I was really not very good. Worse than usual. Disappointed in my performance.  No wait, that was what my date said.
• My answer to almost any concert that is coming to town featuring a band I like: “I would go if somebody gave me free tickets.”
• Somebody is giving John McCain some bad advice.
• Joe Biden needs to be quiet and do some research.
• Go Frogs. Beat OU!

• I love big weather events and I was bizarrely excited about the possibility of Ike coming right towards DFW. (I don’t want anybody hurt)
• Have you had a stomach ache and you try to back track what you ate that might have possibly upset your delicate intestinal system? Yeah, that’s what I was doing yesterday.  Sandwich? Taco Bueno? Oatmeal? That’s it. Oatmeal. I don’t know why but my tummy just doesn’t like it anymore.
• Son 1 of 2 played QB, safety and punt returner last night. Recovered a fumble and Bell’s defense held Burleson at the last second to win their 2nd game.
• I was gonna go to the TCU game on Saturday but the time has now changed to noon cuz of the weather. If it’s not just pouring down rain, I might still go.
• The internet has leveled the playing field for the idiots and the intelligent to spout off on whatever subject they want.  People, please do your research before you believe everything you read in an email or a website. snopes.com
• Can’t wait to see what SNL can come up with this season.
• Updates coming next week on how much my final emergency room cost is going to end up being.
• And another big surprise set for Thursday. As they say in the TV business, stay tuned!
• I really like tomatilla hot sauce.  Mmmm green.
• Supposed to be 63 on Tuesday night. That is awesome town.
• I want a purple iPod Nano.
• But I would rather have a new iPod touch.  Or iPhone.  Okay, I’m having a serious case of the iWants.
  

  So many colors

Why have I been so tired this week? Anyway, it’s about over and so let’s crack my skull open and see what falls out.

• I thought that Palin did a very good job on her speech.  It’s interesting watching both sides create their spin of what was said.
• It’s kind of sad as well.  Sometimes, I feel like this country is splitting apart and just getting wider.
• I want a new laptop but mine continues to defiantly keep working.
• I am ready for the heat to go away.
• I am almost ready for football.
• The more I work at my new job, the more I like it. Just got a promotion and a new office.
• But now I have to wear a tie every day. Hey, it’s not like I don’t have about a thousand already in my closet.
• I am lucky to have Chip Waggoner as a friend.
• My body has adjusted too quickly to staying up late. Now I can’t even move before 6:30am.
• There are too many social sites out there. Facebook, linkedin, myspace, blah!
• A friend of mine gave this sales guy my phone number and he called me trying to sell me on using his financial services.  I told him to email me the information.  He called me back two weeks later saying that the email wouldn’t go thru. I asked what email he was using and he spelled my last name wrong.   The evil voice in my head said, “Don’t you know who I am?” in a very over-the-top indignant way but I just laughed and told him that I had two “r”s.
• It must be tough making a living by cold calling people.
• My son played in his first game for LD Bell (sophomore team) last night.  Quarterback. No injuries. We won. I’m happy and proud.
  

  Go Radiers

• Went to the dentist this morning. That’s the first time that flossing my bottom teeth hurt. Hey little miss hygenist, take it easy. I have to chew with those things.
• I may go to a comedy club this weekend.  Make me laff joke boy.

Here we go…

• Finally felt a bit like fall this week. I really enjoyed going outside and not being instantly covered by sweat.
• You may remember that I had a $399 electric bill last month. I checked my electric bills of yore and lo and behold, I had a $389 whopper during the same time period! (July-August) I guess It’s just one of those things. I should probably look into rounding out my bill over the year. They still do that don’t they?
• High school football season starts soon. First scrimmage is tonight.  Here’s to my son staying healthy all season.
• I ran track and field in high school. Specifically, high jump and long jump. I should have done pole vault because I had decent upper body strength.  Still love watching it on TV during the Olympics.  I could watch Yelena Isinbayeva all day. And I am not saying that because she’s easy on the eyes.  Even her competitors and coaches have said she has almost perfect form, better than most men when clearing the bar. Amazing.
  
• Finishing up The Watchmen comic. It’s pretty good and makes me more excited about the movie. (which is now apparently delayed because of a legal fight about who owns the rights.WTG Suits!)
• My grass is green. Thank you rain.
  
• Got some good feedback on my job, yesterday. Feedback is good. Todd need feedback. Codemonkey like fritos.
  
• I really want to see Tropic Thunder this weekend. And get a massage. Wait a minute! I just had a brilliant idea. A massage parlor/movie theater! You could put a screen on the bottom of the floor so when you are getting a massage you can look through that little hole and watch a movie! Awesome. Note to self: Call Cinemark and Lulu’s Massage Hut.
  

My sister asked me if my mind is really this random when I write these notes. Robyn, the answer is yes. Scary, isn’t it.

• Got my windshield replaced on my Honda. About 6 months ago, I walked out to my car and noticed a small crack on the left side. By the end of the day, the crack had creaked to right in front of my nose. By last week it had ambled to the middle of the windshield and when the sun was at high noon I was blinded by the reflection. Not a good a situation.  Plus it looked a little too redneck for me.  Here’s a hint: Shop around for auto glass repair. First place I contacted said $380.  Second one said $189 but they sounded a little fishy. Third guy said $219 total tax, warranty, even coming to my office.  Guy did an awesome job from Absolute Auto Glass.
• Laptop monitor died. My little laptop that I have had for almost 4 years is still going strong but I noticed the monitor getting darker and darker every day. However, I bought a 3 year warranty thru Sam’s Club. And if I’m right, the 3 year warranty didn’t kick in until after the 1 year manufacturer’s warranty.  So we’ll see.
• Remember I said I was afraid of looking at my electric bill? Yeah. $399. Yeah, that’s not good. It’s beans and peanut butter sandwiches for the rest of month for us.
• Had a blast filling in for Chip in the afternoon (although I couldn’t be as goofy as I wanted to. After all it IS the NEWS!) LOTS of email and very nice comments about my “return.”  Made me feel all warm and fuzzy inside. Thank you!
• Sang karaoke last Friday night.  Rick Springfield’s Jessie’s Girl. (I still sing Rick Astley better) Had a blast and thank you to everybody who came out.
• I forgot to bring my tie to Fox 4 yesterday afternoon. I walked around the newsroom trying to find somebody who had a tie on that matched my purple shirt I was wearing. (It’s the same purple shirt that is at the top of this page!) Shaun Rabb had on blue and Baron James was already on the air. I remembered that Evan Andrews used to keep a box full of ties behind the weather center but no luck. Somebody had “cleaned house”. I wandered casually over to the mail slots and checked the coat rack. BINGO! I found a red tie with “purple-blue” dots hanging around a blue shirt.  I grabbed it and walked over to Shaun. “I forgot my stylish purple tie this afternoon. Do you think anyone will mind if I borrow this one?” Shaun glanced around the newsroom and then lowered his head and said “I think that’ll work fine.”