nice to be on top

Well, here is yet another post about my bracket! It's pretty exciting to be in the lead right now. I think it's funny joking around with the other guys in the bracket about their position only to hear, "what, I'm where...I really wasn't paying any attention...it really doesn't mean anything to me" HA! WHATEVER! I know you guys are all watching these games with your laptop in your lap checking on where you are in the bracket. Anyway, I'll just enjoy it while I can.

a nice moment

Each year some of the FBC team puts on their basketball thinking caps and fills out a NCAA bracket for March Madness. It is a crazy few weeks as we watch games with our laptops in our laps updating the latest scores and standings. We have some pretty competitive staff members so needless to say there's some major smack talk that goes around during these games. Last night I enjoyed a moment at the top. Check it out!

The Home of Tiger Woods

take the test

See how observant you are...

The Power of Xbox … It's an Xbox Baby!

As quoted from the xboxlive website::
"We recently received word from an appreciative community member with a unique story which we thought to share with the rest of you. Plus, we're just suckers for an adorable baby picture … atop an Xbox. Congratulations from the Xbox LIVE® team, Stacy and Mike!"
And then from the happy new couple::

"My soon-to-be husband and I thought we were the first … but haha, we were wrong. I just thought you might be interested to know that Mike and I met playing Tom Clancy's Rainbow Six Lockdown™. Funny thing is, we hated each other at first, but somehow ended up falling in love. I was from Georgia and he was from the Bronx. On a leap of faith we met, and we have been together ever since. If it wasn't for Xbox LIVE, our paths would have never crossed. :) We had our daughter—who we thought to be the first Xbox LIVE baby—on September 24, 2007. Maybe she's the first Xbox 360® baby, at least. :) Her name is Victoria Marie Figueroa! I AM SO THANKFUL FOR XBOX AND THE ONLINE COMMUNITY! If it wasn't for that, I wouldn't have the man of my dreams and a beautiful new baby! —Stacy Simpson"

Internet Speed Test

Ever wondered how fast your internet connection was downloading and uploading content? Well dslreports is for you. You can choose a server (I normally choose 'speakeasy' in NY). Give it a try.

These are my most recent results. Green is download speed while red is upload.

Tiger Cub Derby Car

Well, it's time for Joshua's first Derby Car race for Tiger Cubs. We joined the Tiger Cubs (pre-Cub Scouts) this past fall. Joshua has had fun making things, camping, fishing, and now building his first Derby Car. We will be racing tomorrow. No matter what happens in the race, Joshua is a winner for competing. Good luck Joshua, and great job!

Open Office

In 2000, Sun Microsystems founded the Open Office Project. In a nutshell, it offers a FREE office suite to users of Windows, Linux, Solaris, Mac OS X, as well as on many other platforms. That's right...and with no strings attached!!! It offers all this functionality in more than 100 languages, many of them professionally supported. Try out the free download here, and see for yourself how close the programs come to the Microsoft products you are already familiar with.

Oh, just in case you were wondering, you can open regular Microsoft files in Open Office and vice versa.

Praise and Harmony

I spent the better part of last week in Tulsa, OK with Keith Lancaster recording the newest Praise and Harmony project. I had a GREAT time getting to know new folks and spending time doing what I love doing...making music. Keith did a great job leading the crew, and I had a blast just doing whatever I was asked. I also made some new friends on the trip. From the group Acappella, Allen Brantley, and JJ... from Durant, Anthony Lancaster...and from The Vocal Union, Gary Miller. We had a great time driving up to Tulsa from Nashville, playing Tiger Woods golf and Guitar Hero in the van.

Enjoy some of the pics from the event...


From left to right...Me, Anthony, Allen, JJ, Gary


Here's the crew...I'm in the front next to Keith.


Fine tuning the mic placement.


Giving instructions to the singers.


Looking on as Keith leads the session. Props to my wife for an excellent hair line...

Google Calendar

Google has always, since its inception, been the leader in simple. Google offers several simple but useful services such as gmail, blogger, product searches, etc... One of the services that I have found very useful is the Google Calendar. One of my favorite things about the calendar is that I can edit the calendar from work (with my office computer) while Christy is also editing the same calendar from home with our laptop. We see real-time changes as we are editing and can keep up with each others schedules with ease. Another advantage to online calendaring is that we can be anywhere in the world on any computer and still see/edit our personal calendar/schedule/todo items. Here are the latest features of Google Calendar.