What? Where Am I?

Huh. After wandering around all this time in the dark, I've finally managed to stumble back onto my own blog. Yep, I'm still around and out of the funk brought on by the end of the football season. With the end of the year rapidly approaching, it seems like a good time for a sampling of what's been going on.

- If you're a regular visitor, you'll notice that my banners have disappeared. This happened a while ago, when my hosting company discontinued their service, the second time that's happened to me this year, I think. I've found a new host, though, and the banners will be back. I'm in the process of deciding whether to simply upload the old ones or create a bunch of new ones.

- I'm also in the process of contemplating, at least mildly, moving on from cable television and switching to a dish service of some sort. I've had DirecTV before and had a ton of problems with it; but, to be fair, the system wasn't professionally installed. My dad has it now and has occasional issues, but nothing like what I had. At any rate, I feel like a dish service might be able to offer a better deal for a comparable package, and I also like some of the features they offer (remote programming of DVR, onscreen score guide, more HD channels, etc.). But, on the flip side, I don't really want to get locked into a contract, and I'm still leery of dish performance, especially in adverse weather. So we'll see.

- Christmas was good. I took a couple of days off work last week so Brandi and I could travel up to her hometown to spend some time with her family. We had dinner and spent some time with her mom on Wednesday, then spent Christmas Eve with her dad and stepmom. Normally we spend Christmas Day with my parents, but my mom has been under the weather, so we just had a nice, low-key day here by ourselves.

- When iTunes started charging $1.29 for some more popular songs, I thought the tradeoff was going to be that some other songs would be reduced to $0.79. Where are the $0.79 songs?

- I went to the bookstore tonight in hopes of picking up a novel or three. I'm quite fond of my local independent bookstore, but I have to admit that my last several trips there have resulted in me leaving emptyhanded. Tonight was no exception. Apart from the big-ticket writers (King, Grisham, etc.), their selection is pretty limited. They might have a book or two from a lesser-known writer, but it's a crapshoot. And it's disheartening to finally come across something you are looking for, as I did a couple of times this evening, only to find that the cover is bent, or there's a section of pages with mangled corners. I'm admittedly a little bit of a snob about such things - I want a new book to look like a new book.

- I actually haven't been to any sporting events since Troy's football season ended in disappointment (as I referenced above). That'll change this weekend, as I'm planning to make my first trip of the season to Anderson Arena to see the BG Falcons men's basketball team take on the St. Louis Billikens (and Coach Rick Majerus). Basketball season doesn't even feel like it's started since I haven't been to Anderson yet. I'm really looking forward to seeing the Falcons in action, and I have to soak up that atmosphere while I can - just one season remains at Anderson after this one, and then the Falcons will move into the shiny new Stroh Center.

- While I won't be attending, BG's football team plays tomorrow afternoon at the Humanitarian Bowl in Boise (4:30 ET, ESPN). They'll be taking on the Idaho Vandals on the blue turf. Should be a good one if you like offense. BG's main threat, wide receiver Freddie Barnes (a Biletnikoff Award finalist), will likely set a new record for most catches in a season.

- Of course, the topic of BG football leads to the topic of Urban Meyer. He's an amazing coach, and college is football is better with him in it; I just hope he isn't risking his health by continuing to coach. I really enjoy watching his teams play (especially back when he was on BG's sideline), and I don't think there's anyone else even remotely like him out there. Of course, that's largely due to his intensity, which apparently isn't doing his heart any good. Hopefully a leave of absence will be enough to get and keep him on track in that regard.