Check out this neat site, where you can type in a name and see where it ranks in popularity by decade in the U.S. My name, Barron, was ranked 928 in the 1960’s. Not sure what that means, actually. But the scale on the right side says that 19 babies out of a million were named Barron.

[link via Karen]

I really need to bring a jacket in to work, and leave it here. It’s so damn cold in here. I closed the door so that the computers/monitors will heat up the place, and I’m also sipping on a hot cup of tea. My right hand, which rests on the mouse is frozen. I am contemplating moving my halogen lamp to that side of the desk to work as a heat lamp.

Koa and I are spending the day at home today. He had a fever of 102 yesterday, but today he is getting better. This weekend is rainy, so it will be a nice time to relax at home.

Last night I was searching the online stores for “Parallel Lines” by Blondie. This album is so great. I used to have a tape of it a long time ago. Debbie Harry’s voice is one of the best, IMO. She can sound sweet and innocent as in “Sunday Girl”, or mean and nasty as in “Rip Her to Shreds”. I think I was in Jr. High when “Heart of Glass” was popular. And to a Jr. High boy, Debbie Harry was pretty hot, or should I use the term “foxy”. Those were the good old days. My favorite songs on the album are “Hanging on the Telephone” and “Pretty Baby”. Anyways, the album is not available at this time digitally. I checked iTunes, Napster, MusicMatch, and the Walmart online store, but to no avail. I was so bummed. I was all ready to buy it and put it on my mp3 player! At least I see that Best Buy has the CD for $11 or so. I might stop by and pick it up…

I am so excited about Baseball season starting soon. I got in my car the other day to go home, and I turned on the radio (AM 1300 The Zone) and heard the final inning of a UT Austin vs. UT San Antonio game. It was great. I don’t like UT, or college sports in general, but it was great to hear the baseball lingo again.

Today the Fantasy Baseball leagues at Yahoo! opened for business, and I joined two leagues. One is a pickup league, with a Rotisserie style format, and the other is the normal Head-to-Head league that I normally play in with my bro and a couple friends. Last year I was the champion of the Head-toHead league, and this year I am hoping to repeat. I have never played in a Rotisserie league before, but I heard it is pretty fun, so I am looking forward to that.

A small metal figurine that I took to test a lighting setup. I really want to try to do some still-life photography. I saw some really neat macro photos of seashells, so I would like to try that. The problem is that there aren’t many seashells here in Texas. 

Ok, so it’s not the regular season, but the first Dodgers spring training game will be on March 2nd against the Marlins. And of course, the regular season will begin with a battle by the bay: Dodgers at Giants, on April 5th. In July, the “Big Blue Wrecking Crew” will be in Houston to play the Astros. My friend Ryan and I might try to go to one of those games. I haven’t been to Minute Maid Park, but I hear it is pretty awesome.

While I was reading The Da Vinci Code, I kept thinking about who I would cast in the movie version of the book. For Langdon, I imagined that Kevin Spacey would be good. And for Sophie Neveu, I imagined Sophie Marceau. Now I hear there is a chance that she might actually get the part. Another actress reported to be in line for the part in Julie Delpy. I like her too, but she seems a little too soft for this role. As a side note, when I looked up Sophie Marceau’s name in IMDB, I learned that she was in one of my favorite movies, “‘Round Midnight”, as “(uncredited) .... Girl on street, finds Dexter Gordon slumped over car (non-speaking)”. But yes, that is her for sure. I thought she was great in the James Bond film, “The World is Not Enough”, too. Oh, Robert Langdon will be played by Tom Hanks… bummer. I always think of Kip from “Bosom Buddies” whenever I see Hanks.