This is not how I want to start out my Wednesday, but I will be at Lowes in about 15 minutes to get the needed parts to finish a shower repair before we all need to get ready for school and work. I will be my optimistic self and say that it should be interesting.

Of course I may be wrong about that.

Central Florida, and by extension me, is in some desperate need of a bit of global warming.

The two hours before dawn Wednesday will be the coldest, perhaps the coldest on record in Central Florida.

Forecasters are predicting lows just below freezing with some cold spots in the mid 20s. The wind chill will make bare skin feel like the temperature is 6 to 8 degrees colder.

When sun peeks above the horizon at 7:19 a.m. when many people are heading for work, the cold will be a shock. The wind will make it seem colder.

Central Florida residents are already preparing for another night of chilly weather in the Sunshine State. Don’t expect much improvement in the temperatures until Friday.

It is 30 degrees right now, the same as it was when I took the dogs outside a little while ago. We get cold weather in central Florida — a day at a time. This is the third day (and the coldest) and there’s no warming forecast for another few days.

I can only imagine what those of you are going through where it’s supposed to be cold.

Brrrrr.

For unto us a child is born, unto us a son is given: and the government shall be upon his shoulder: and his name shall be called Wonderful, Counsellor, The mighty God, The everlasting Father, The Prince of Peace.

Isaiah 9:6 KJV

In those days Caesar Augustus issued a decree that a census should be taken of the entire Roman world. (This was the first census that took place while Quirinius was governor of Syria.) And everyone went to his own town to register.

So Joseph also went up from the town of Nazareth in Galilee to Judea, to Bethlehem the town of David, because he belonged to the house and line of David. He went there to register with Mary, who was pledged to be married to him and was expecting a child. While they were there, the time came for the baby to be born, and she gave birth to her firstborn, a son. She wrapped him in cloths and placed him in a manger, because there was no room for them in the inn.

And there were shepherds living out in the fields nearby, keeping watch over their flocks at night. An angel of the Lord appeared to them, and the glory of the Lord shone around them, and they were terrified.But the angel said to them, “Do not be afraid. I bring you good news of great joy that will be for all the people. Today in the town of David a Savior has been born to you; he is Christ the Lord. This will be a sign to you: You will find a baby wrapped in cloths and lying in a manger.”

Suddenly a great company of the heavenly host appeared with the angel, praising God and saying,
“Glory to God in the highest,
and on earth peace to men on whom his favor rests.”

When the angels had left them and gone into heaven, the shepherds said to one another, “Let’s go to Bethlehem and see this thing that has happened, which the Lord has told us about.”

So they hurried off and found Mary and Joseph, and the baby, who was lying in the manger. When they had seen him, they spread the word concerning what had been told them about this child, and all who heard it were amazed at what the shepherds said to them. Luke 2:1-18 NIV

Santa Claus has always been on the cutting edge and it’s no different in the age of the internet. Gone are the days of mailing letters and schlepping to the mall. Amy-Mae Elliott has posted 5 Ways to Connect With Santa on the Web at Mashable.

Today’s kids have a wealth of online options for hooking up with the Claus.

We’ve scoured the ‘Net for the five best ways to connect with Father Christmas, from the iPhone version of a letter to Santa, to some sleigh-tracking GPS tools.

If you have kids (or are just a big kid yourself), we think you’ll enjoy sharing these holiday web treats.

My favorite is the NORAD Santa tracker, although the email from Santa was a big hit.

Have a great Christmas Eve.

Join me for a very special one hour, non-political, Christmas Eve Eve edition of bRight@Night.

No talk of politics tonight, there will be plenty of time for that in 2010. Tonight will be all about Christmas — in particular, Christmas memories. I’m lining up some guests to share their favorite memories of Christmases past, and your invited to share, too. The call in number is (718) 664-9725. I encourage you to go to the show page and set a reminder. See you tonight!

It’s not often that you get to combine so many tasks in one post.

Natalie White was the winner of Survivor: Samoa

Natalie White won the $1 million prize Sunday night by outwitting, outplaying and outlasting an oil company owner and a doctor in the final episode.

Of course that’s only part 1. Part 2 is turning this into a Rule 5 post.

And if you look at the beginning of this post you’ll see a thumbnail image of our winner completing the trifecta.

. . . and I’m a Zengaholic.

My crops are withering in the field. I’ve neglected my jobs from New York, Cuba, and Moscow. All I have on the stove is a pot roast and ginger bread houses that won’t be ready to serve for another three days. And don’t even get me started on my apartment and job in the sweets factory.

I gave up on my pirate empire weeks ago. The others have to go too. I’m gonna have to do this cold turkey. My Facebook games are taking up way too much time.

Don’t let this happen to you.

Not much available, but I just read that Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a car crash as I was scanning the news during lunch.

Professional golfer Tiger Woods was seriously injured in a car accident early this morning, the Florida Highway Patrol just reported.

Woods, 33, pulled out of his driveway in the Isleworth community about 2:25 a.m. when he struck a fire hydrant, and then drove into a tree at his neighbor’s property, FHP reported.

Woods was transported to Health Central Hospital in Ocoee in serious condition, FHP said. No other information about his condition has been released.

UPDATE: Reports are now saying that he has been treated and released. It would be good news to find out that the “seriously injured” originally reported was an over statement of the facts.

Besides, he has always had trouble with his drives being off line. Too soon?

I wish everyone a very Happy Thanksgiving. I hope you all have a great day.

A Thanksgiving story:

Every so often, like today, my birthday falls on Thanksgiving. When I was young we had a family tradition where the person having the birthday got to pick the evening meal. At that time I didn’t like Turkey. That’s not true today, and I fully plan on putting away my share of the bird, but back then I just didn’t care for it at all. My meal of choice was always meatloaf. It’s still not a bad choice.

Well, when I was 7, 8, 9 or so (I haven’t done the research. Does it really matter?) my birthday fell on Thanksgiving, but I wanted to choose meatloaf for my birthday dinner.

Mom, of course, came up with an acceptable option. While the rest of the family enjoyed the traditional Turkey and fixings, she made a meatloaf just for me. And it wasn’t a regular meatloaf. She took the time and shaped it like a turkey, complete with hamburger drumsticks on either side!

It has been more than 40 years since that meal and I can still picture the day. That’s a memory that’s made an impression.

Here is President Lincoln’s address from 1863:

The year that is drawing toward its close has been filled with the blessings of fruitful fields and healthful skies. To these bounties, which are so constantly enjoyed that we are prone to forget the source from which they come, others have been added which are of so extraordinary a nature that they can not fail to penetrate and soften even the heart which is habitually insensible to the ever-watchful providence of Almighty God.

In the midst of a civil war of unequaled magnitude and severity, which has sometimes seemed to foreign states to invite and to provoke their aggression, peace has been preserved with all nations, order has been maintained, the laws have been respected and obeyed, and harmony has prevailed everywhere, except in the theater of military conflict, while that theater has been greatly contracted by the advancing armies and navies of the Union.

Needful diversions of wealth and of strength from the fields of peaceful industry to the national defense have not arrested the plow, the shuttle, or the ship; the ax has enlarged the borders of our settlements, and the mines, as well as the iron and coal as of our precious metals, have yielded even more abundantly than heretofore. Population has steadily increased notwithstanding the waste that has been made in the camp, the siege, and the battlefield, and the country, rejoicing in the consciousness of augmented strength and vigor, is permitted to expect continuance of years with large increase of freedom.

No human counsel hath devised nor hath any mortal hand worked out these great things. They are the gracious gifts of the Most High God, who, while dealing with us in anger for our sins, hath nevertheless remembered mercy.

It has seemed to me fit and proper that they should be solemnly, reverently, and gratefully acknowledged, as with one heart and one voice, by the whole American people. I do therefore invite my fellow-citizens in every part of the United States, and also those who are in foreign lands, to set apart and observe the last Thursday of November next as a day of thanksgiving and praise to our beneficent Father who dwelleth in the heavens. And I recommend to them that while offering up the ascriptions justly due to Him for such singular deliverances and blessings they do also, with humble penitence for our national perverseness and disobedience, commend to His tender care all those who have become widows, orphans, mourners, or sufferers in the lamentable civil strife in which we are unavoidably engaged, and fervently implore the imposition of the Almighty hand to heal the wounds of the nation and to restore it, as soon as may be consistent with the divine purpose, to the full enjoyment of peace, harmony, tranquility, and union.

In testimony whereof I have hereunto set my hand and caused the seal of the United States to be affixed.

A very happy day to you all!

Please go visit Wyatt. I know he will appreciate your prayers and encouraging words.

I look at this picture, and my first thought is that he looks like one of my uncles. He could easily pass for one of my mom’s brothers. His name is Norbert P. Szurkowski, and he was 31 on September 11th, 2001. Eight years ago he was working in the offices of Cantor Fitzgerald hanging wall paper.

A tribute that appeared in the New York Times on December 30, 2001 said,

Norbert Szurkowski, the son of a bicycle racer, was on his first visit to New York when he met Ursula Lesniak. It was 1992 and she was a student at Fort Hamilton High School in Brooklyn. “We just enjoyed seeing each other,” she said. Three years to the day after they met, Mr. Szurkowski — always attentive to such details as proper timing — proposed.

The City Hall wedding two weeks later was a prelude to the festivities in their native country, Poland: three days of visiting and feasting with relatives.

Back home in Bensonhurst, Mr. Szurkowski walked right up and faced his future without the slightest doubt that he would do well. This past year was bearing out his confidence. His wife was graduating from nursing school and pregnant with their second child, and he was about to be promoted to full-fledged mechanic. “This was the year,” Mrs. Szurkowski said, “that we were supposed to get everything back.”

Meanwhile, Mr. Szurkowski, 31, was earning extra money by wallpapering the Cantor Fitzgerald offices. The best part about it was the hours — by shortly after 9 a.m., he was usually out and on his way home. (Source)

Another story, originally on Newsday, but now only found on a Digg archive, said,

The young newlyweds settled in Szurkowski’s house in Bensonhurst, where they began working toward his dream. “Basically, what he wanted was to have a family, to live a normal life,” his wife said. “He just wanted to buy a house, move to New Jersey, go on family vacations, make sure our kids grow up as they’re supposed to.”

By last year, it all seemed to be running on track. Szurkowski, 31, finished his apprenticeship at a wallpapering company; his wife graduated from nursing school. They were enjoying their 3-year-old, Alexandra, and Ursula was pregnant again.

Szurkowski loved his job and spent his free time playing tennis or riding his bike. Alexandra was becoming bilingual, speaking Polish at home and English outside. On camping trips upstate with other Polish families, the men would fish and the women cooked what they caught over an open fire.

“He was happy with what he had,” his wife said. “He just wanted to keep everything the way it was, and make sure it didn’t get any worse.”

But everything got worse on Sept.11. Szurkowski was touching up a wallpapering job at Cantor Fitzgerald, on the 104th floor of Tower One, when the plane hit.

Ursula is scheduled to deliver her baby, already named Claudia, by Caesarean section in May.

Alexandra should be 11 now. Claudia, who has never met her father, seven.

We remember these people, Norbert and the thousands of others, who lost their lives eight years ago today.

As I’ve said before, in the days and weeks following 9/11 most of us vowed, if only to ourselves, to always remember that day. The 2,996 Project is dedicated to that task. We hope that you will take time today to read the tributes and information that bloggers, writers, and others from all over, who are each taking the time to remember those who died as individuals. Individuals who deserve our remembrance.

In 2006 I wrote a tribute to another person who died in the same building, Neil Dollard. The two men were from vastly different backgrounds, with vastly different lives. It’s possible that they had the type of nodding relationship that we have with people we don’t know, but who work near us. Whatever the reality, they both were killed that horrible day. To them, and all the others, we pledge to remember.

Tweet, Read, Post. Oh wait, that’s not all. Clothes in the dryer, Fantasy sports teams, and kids to get ready for school. At least the coffee’s already made and half a days supply put where it belongs. The dogs need to be walked? Do I need gas this morning? What do I need to do at work? Someone is thinking of paying me to design their website. Should I work on some mock up designs? At least I can multitask. Or can I?

The people who multitask the most are the ones who are worst at it. That’s the surprising conclusion of researchers at Stanford University, who found multitaskers are more easily distracted and less able to ignore irrelevant information than people who do less multitasking.

It’s what a former pastor used to call chasing rabbit trails. I’ve told this story before, but it applies here, and most of you probably didn’t read it.

Some college friends were sitting around the student center in our Arkansas school looking at a long weekend. In what seemed like a good idea at the time, they decided to take a road trip to California. The fact that they only had enough gas money and enough time to make it into Arizona and back seemed irrelevant at the start. But that’s another story.

As they were traveling along the long, straight stretches of Arizona freeway late at night they were tired and a bit bored. Fortunately(?) there are some pretty big jack rabbits that will scamper across the road. So they did the logical thing and decided to chase some of them. When one would cross in front of them they would follow it off into the near-empty land along the highway. They weren’t trying to run them over, just keep it in their headlights until they lost it. Then (bump bump) back on their way home. Wait, what was I talking about. Oh yeah, that article on multitasking.

For example, ability to ignore irrelevant information was tested by showing them a group of red and blue rectangles, blanking them out, and then showing them again and asking if any of the red ones had moved.

The test required ignoring the blue rectangles. The researchers thought people who do a lot of multitasking would be better at it.

“But they’re not. They’re worse. They’re much worse,” said Nass. The high media multitaskers couldn’t ignore the blue rectangles. “They couldn’t ignore stuff that doesn’t matter. They love stuff that doesn’t matter,” he said.

Perhaps the multitaskers can take in the information and organize it better? Nope.

“They are worse at that, too,” Nass said.

“So then we thought, OK, maybe they have bigger memories. They don’t. They were equal” with the low multitaskers, he added.

Finally, they tested ability to switch from one task to another by classifying a letter as a vowel or consonant, or a number as even or odd. The high multitaskers took longer to make the switch from one task to the other.

This particularly surprised the researchers, considering the need to switch from one thing to another in multitasking.

I’ll finish this in a minute. The dogs really need to go out.

Where was I? That study – right.

“High multitaskers just love more and more information. Their greatest thrill is to get more,” he said. On the other hand, “exploiters like to think about the information they already have.”

I wanted to get at least two more posts written, but it’s time to get in the shower and get the kids going.

At least I have an excuse.