Sit...Stay

In a bit of Revisionist History, Ubu had to be put down after attacking the mailman.


This is horrifying. I will have no part in this.


We all know Ubu, the lovable Frisbee-playing scamp of a chocolate lab who popped up at the end of our favourite sitcoms in the 90s:


What you may not know is the more tragic tale of Ubu's puppyhood fame and subsequent downward spiral due to an alleged catnip addiction. The end came in an unfortunate series of events, as our hero was going through what one might describe as withdrawal symptoms, and the mailman was more ornery than usual...it was Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue Day. The ensuing scuffle cost the mailman the use of his left pinky, and poor Ubu his life.


I'll prepare the court papers...


Here's a fun bit of trivia. The voice you hear in the above video is in fact not Ubu.


Your use of the word "fact" is troubling.


The bark is actually supplied by famous voice-actor Phydeaux LeBlanc, a Golden Retriever from Quebec most renowned for his performance on that Christmas Barking Dogs CD you see on Infomercials around the holidays.

Stop With Camel Time

As much as I hate Christmas music this time of year, I’m willing to make an exception for "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron."


Well, now that Hallowe'en is over, we're pretty much knee-deep in Christmas time now. Hope you didn't miss planning for Thanksgiving back in June. So who was playing Christmas music?


So the workers in the adorably tiny cafeteria thing at work have an equally adorably tiny CD player that they play during the day. They have a very eclectic mix of tunes they play ranging from Broadway to Big Band to 80's music and even surfer rock. It's all very mild and quite often gets an old song stuck in my head the rest of the morning. The other day, they were playing "Snoopy vs. The Red Baron."


Bold choice.


While Snoopy vs the Red Baron may itself not be Christmas Music, I'm quite familiar with the album, and knew pretty instantly that the final climactic showdown between Snoopy and Manfred von Richthofen occurs on Christmas morning. Spoiler Alert, since we know the real Red Baron was not shot down by a Beagle in a flying doghouse, and because it's a Children's story, neither character gets killed and they fly off their separate ways to continue their saga.


And you know this because...?


I know this because I used to have the record...and it may in fact still exist somewhere.


What's a record?


In hindsight, I probably should have taken a little better care of the record now that I know That It's Selling For $80 On Amazon. Frig.


Is it that good a record?


Absolutely not. The dulcet (read: Dull) tones of The Royal Guardsmen with their formulaic "Let's add drama to the second verse by changing the pitch up by a step" music combine with some of the worst voice acting since "Steamboat Willie" (I actually didn't realize until years later that the guy was supposed to be characterizing different people) to create pure aural crap that must have thrilled my parents to no end when I played it over and over and over and over and over.

But that doesn't matter...it's Snoopy!

Of course, later in life, I downloaded mp3 versions of all of the tracks and continue to enjoy them to this day. To be even more honest...after I heard it playing in the cafeteria, I came back to my office and listened to the entire saga on my computer. Life is good. Who wants some egg nog?

Have Yourself a Merry Little.....

Happy Holidays from Jeremy’s Sametime Status!


Thanks! You too!


So, after today, Jeremy Is In The Office will be out of the office, returning on January 2nd with a whole new year of Status Goodness. Honestly, I'll probably have some crappy messages in there too, but it comes with the territory. I will respond to your messages when I return.

In the meantime, I propose a game.


Count me in!


Great! Here's what you do. Without cheating by looking it up on The Google or Wikipedia or anything, who among the Most Intelligent Readership in the World can name the most people included in the following music video? You get one point for each person correctly named, and lose one point for each incorrect name. The tiebreaker is the person who can come closest (above or below) to the total number of people in the video who have mullets. The game begins now and ends at 8AM on January 2nd. Good luck!

Here's your video: Do They Know It's Christmas?

Password Day - Part MCMXVIII

It’s Password Changing Day! My email password is no longer “gr33nappl3t1ni”


I'm sure this is a violation of something


Actually, no. I do enjoy making light of the fact that I have to change my password on 15 different systems every 90 days, and each of those systems has different rules about what the passwords can contain, how long they have to be, "password quality", and how many iterations it takes to get one that is acceptable. Those of you who have been following Jeremy's Sametime Status for a while now will recognize this as the next in a long series of statuses on Password Day. Usually, the status will have a silly or self-deprecating word that could potentially be used as a password....such as "Appletini." However, and I know this may come as a shock to you loyal readers, but these have never actually been used as my passwords.


That's too bad.


Not really.


So what's new?


Well....if you're like me...


I'd throw myself in front of a train.


...then you probably sit at holiday dinners, enjoying a refreshing cola. Then you look at your beverage and think to yourself, "Hmm...needs ham."


Nobody in recorded history has ever said that.


Well, the Jones Soda company has your answer! Introducing (on their behalf), the 2007 Jones Soda Holiday Soda Pack! Inside are 4 Holiday-riffic flavours for your refreshment. Christmas Tree, Sugar Plum, Egg Nog, and of course, Ham!


Did you just use the word "Holiday-riffic"?


Also available in Chanukah Flavors !

Moving on...

I’ve found myself digressing a lot lately...but that’s hardly worth mentioning.


You really need to stop this.


Digressing?


No.


Okay...so anyway, for today's bit of Blag Edutainment, I'd like to get everyone into the spirit of the season. Granted, since the trees, ornaments, and gaudy 10-foot inflatable Santa snow globes started showing up at WalMart a couple months ago, I may be a little late, but I'd like to think of this blag as your one-stop for holiday-themed goodness. No, I don't feel good about saying the phrase "one-stop."

So, to kick off the holiday season, what screams Christmas better than nerdiness? Normally, just about everything, but when you combine the two concepts, you get the Dance of the Sugar Plum Fairy as performed on a Pair of Musical Tesla Coils.


And what do I do if I don't have a matched set of Tesla coils hooked up to synthesizers? Seems like a specialty item.


If that's not quite your cup of cocoa, you can always run a holiday-themed contest! For example, why not have amateur singers make their own music videos of popular Christmas Carols horrifically altered with customized lyrics based around a theme of holiday driving safety? Surely, nothing bad can come of this. Be sure to check out "The Big Present" and "Holiday Ringtone."


I'll never forgive you for this.


No need to thank me.