Several weeks ago, I was at Charlestowne Mall in St. Charles, IL, with Katie to do some shopping and see a movie.

While there, I was checking in via Gowalla to both the mall and all the stores that we were hitting up. I remember leaving a comment about the sad state of the mall.

I can't believe that 25 years ago today, we were mourning the loss of the seven crew members of the Challenger space shuttle.

I remember being in fifth grade at the time and having some sixth grader pop his head in the door of our classroom in Bristol, CT, and informing us that the space shuttle had exploded. And later, at my karate class, nobody was practicing kicks or blocks or even sparring. Instead, everyone was sitting around a little 13-inch television watching the news coverage the entire class. How could you not? This was the most emotionally jarred my generation had ever been.

I wish I knew what the hell happened last night.

I went to bed just like any other night. Maybe a hair earlier than normal, in all honesty. I was on my right side covered with the sheets, a thin blanket, and the duvet. I also had a pillow between my knees (chiropractor's recommendation that I've been employing for quite some time now) and my right arm out in front of me but cocked at the elbow so the hand and part of the forearm were under my pillow to provide a little additional support for my head.

I have not done a meme in nearly two years. I'm having trouble with that fact. Wow.

What time did you get up this morning? 5:15 a.m. like every normal weekday morning.

How do you like your steak? Medium well. I get sick on anything less. Before I discovered this and was eating everything rare to medium rare, I nearly gave up eating red meat entirely.

I really do not like the New England Patriots.

Actually, let me rephrase that... I don't dislike the Patriots as a team or as individual athletes, for the most part. But I despise their quarterback, Tom Brady. And, as a result of this Brady distaste, I root against the Patriots almost any time they play. Sure, Brady has already secured his place in the Hall of Fame, but I'd rather he finish his time in the league on a sour note -- one so sour as not winning any playoff games in the last four seasons -- even if it means the rest of his team suffers as a result.

Sorry guys. Just the way it is.

Welcome to my second installment of Snippet Wednesday for the new year!

Second?
Yes, it should be number three, all things considered, but I just wasn't happy with several posts I had created over the last week and never bothered to publish them. That ever happen to you? If it does, do you publish anyway, delete them, or let them sit unpublished in your blogware?

I'm not very good at spreading the love for special events and holidays on my blog. Sometimes I remember, but most times I don't.

I think I remembered Thanksgiving and Fourth of July this past year, but did squat on Christmas. I dunno why it is, but it is.

Yesterday, I completely forgot about the Martin Luther King, Jr., Day remembrance. Now that I think about it, I don't believe I've ever really used my blog to pay homage to one of the greatest civil rights leaders in the history of humanity. Considering I like to think of myself as a student of history and social studies and a big proponent of equality regardless of race, religion, ethnicity, sexual orientation, etc., this is pretty sad.

I've been trying to whittle down my online presence a bit.

No, I'm not bailing out on all of you. I just feel that with years of experimentation with different online and social media services, the time comes when you realize you've gone too far. Your name is everywhere with this registration and that service and this site and that... well, you get it.

So I've been picking and choosing those which I use most regularly and attempting to ditch out several others.

Disclaimer #1: I know this has been written about many times already, but I'm weighing in late. Tough.

Disclaimer #2: This is about sports. Although I try to make it understandable for all, if you're not a sports fan, you may not want to read.

Disclaimer #3: This is not a slam against the Seattle Seahawks. Not at all. Really. Just a rant about a broken system

If you're an NFL fan, then you probably had an interesting weekend's worth of wildcard playoff games to watch. Ravens trounce the Chiefs, Packers eke it out against the Eagles, perennial powerhouse Colts lose, defending Super Bowl champion Saints bite it. Wow, it was a fun one.

This came through my inbox today:

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Greetings from the Amazon Associates Program:

We regret to inform you that the Illinois state legislature has passed an unconstitutional tax collection scheme that, if signed by Governor Quinn, would leave Amazon.com little choice but to end its relationships with Illinois-based Associates. You are receiving this email because our records indicate that you are a resident of Illinois.

Welcome to the first Snippet Wednesday of 2011!!

365
I wrapped up my first full-year photo-a-day commitment. Almost anyway. As you may recall, I committed myself to doing a Photo365 challenge in which I take a picture a day for the entire year. I started it a week late into the year because I didn't know about it right away. I missed one or two days. I mixed up my labeling a little bit, which may have resulted in missing one or two additional days inadvertently. I relied on too many sources (cameras) for my photos. The excuse list goes on and on as to why it’s not 100% complete. But I'm going to do it again. And this time I'm making it a bit more focused so I can keep to it a bit better. Hence I give you...

This is it! The time has come to bring the Kapgar Photo Scavenger Hunt to a close. And I've got several prizes to draw names for as a result.

First, the drawing for the winners in Week 3 and Week 4! Actually, upon looking at the comments for both posts and at the Flickr group (unless I missed something), there will be no drawing as Nat was the only person to enter all week. Um, so, yeah, congrats Nat! Looks like you got a lot of music coming your way.

Happy New Year everyone! To help welcome in 2011, here's our list of top movies of 2010:

10. Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows, part 1
9. Secretariat
8. Unstoppable
7. True Grit
6. Easy A