I got a welcomed surprise in the mail today. I pre-ordred Linkin Park’s Minutes To Midnight a couple of months ago, and it came this morning. It’s not out in stores or available on iTunes until tomorrow.

It’s a different sound for LP. So far, I like it a lot. Well, aside from they’ve started cursing in some songs. I’ll be downloading the clean version tomorrow. LP’s previous albums have had no foul language, which was a nice touch.

Also, to show you how cute our little girl is, I was listening to MTM on my iPod this morning. She came over to me, took out one of my earphones and put it in her ear. She then started bouncing to the music! This cutie isn’t even 15-months-old yet, and she’s already picking up on everything.

I love my life!

Before I forget (and I’ll take some serious grief from some of you for this), my man Jeff Gordon is beatin’ all y’all so far this year.

I’ve been following him since the early 90s, and it looks like he’s going for that fifth Cup championship a little early. Reminds me of days gone by.

And… I really hope Dale Jr. goes with RCR and gets into that #3. That’d be sweet…

We’ve been away all weekend at Mom’s house, so this is a little late. Better late than never, and we had a great time down in Enterprise.

It’s the first time I’ve been back down there since the March 1 tornado. Mom’s church is on the opposite side of the side from the high school. Man, it still looks rough.

I also learned the shortcuts we take from Enterprise to Opelika save us about 20 minutes from the normal route. Thanks to Garmin GPS for that help!

Here’s to all you moms out there. Especially my beautiful wife. Happy Mother’s Day!

I’m simply amazed! Star Trek: The Next Generation replicators are on the way! Check out this 3-D printer that will hit the shelves soon.

Awesome!

I read several newspaper web sites every day, and I commend print reporters for being able to put so many details and well-written stories together. There are plenty of times, as a television reporter, I wish I had more time to fill in details.

That being said, we all do what we’re trained to do. So, I offer this piece of advice for the newspaper sites I read (especially local):

Just because you have a video camera doesn’t mean you should put video stories, or briefs, on your site.

I’ve seen some newspaper webcasts, and you don’t look comfortable on-camera. I’ve watched daily “here’s what’s coming in tomorrow’s edition” spots, and they’re not easy to watch.

I know newspaper circulation is dying off because attention spans aren’t that long any more. A lot more people are turning to the web for news and video, but print reporters have a special touch they lend to stories. I’m trained for on-air camera work, and I’m trained to write brief stories for the web.

Stick to what you do best.