Fantastic news! The Snook and I are going to be moving! Our lease on the apartment is up and we’ve been looking for a place nearby with more space. On the weekend he spotted an adorable little house a few blocks away, and we both went back yesterday morning to inspect it. It’s soooo nice. All hardwood floors, lovely tiled courtyard in the back, two bedrooms (one of which will become our office), everything renovated and nice. We filled out applications immediately and today we found out that we got it! July 12th will be moving day. I can hardly wait!

Tara D finished her 60-mile Avon Breast Cancer 3-day walk. I am so impressed and proud of her. She actually got a stress fracture in her foot on the first day and continued to walk anyway. It sounds like it was such hell, yet she powered through and finished. I feel like Cher in Clueless, when she realizes that “all my friends [are] really good in different ways.” You guys never fail to impress me and make me proud to know you. Tara D, you’re amazing! (Man, am I spreading the love today or what?)

John pointed me to an article entitled “What We’re Doing When We Blog” by A-lister Meg Hourihan. I agree with most of what she says, but I disagree with the importance of timestamps on each post. Meg argues that seeing the exact time a weblog was updated allows the visitor to experience a sense of being “there” at the same time as the author and of having a real-time conversation. Long-time visitors will remember that I used to have timestamps, and indeed, they’re stored in the database for every post I’ve ever made. It’s a conscious choice not to show them. It started because I used to blog from work, and I decided it wouldn’t be prudent for people within the company to see how often I was doing it. I would guess that this is the case for most bloggers (who aren’t A-listers making a career out of this hobby). Even more importantly, what time zone do I use? I’m located in Australia, my server is located in the United States, and my visitors are located everywhere. Even if a reader hits the site two minutes after I post, what are the odds that they’re going to instantly be able to calculate the time difference? Meg’s idea that timestamps allow for a “powerful connection” only works if author and reader are in the same country. I suppose I could analyze visitors’ IP addresses and try to adjust the timestamps on the fly, but how accurate would that be? For us international types, it’s just more hassle than it’s worth.

Jhames wants us to spread the love today. You all know that I love the Snook (lord knows I talk about him enough!), but I wanted to publicly highlight some of the reasons why.

• He tells me I’m pretty at least once a day. And he means it.
• He always wakes up when I have a nightmare and gives me a hug.
• He tells me he’s proud of me after my athletic endeavors.
• We speak in a secret language of South Park, Buffy, and Star Wars quotes that no one else understands.
• He’s smarter than me. I like not having a dumb boyfriend anymore.
• We’re both slobs. The only nagging about housework is from my own guilty conscience.
• He’s such a good cook. I’m not. Yet he always says what I make is good and eats every bite.
• He enables my Harry Potter Trading Card addiction.
• He never wants to “go out with the guys” by himself. Even if I try to stay home, he insists that I come along or “it won’t be any fun.”
• He understands the things that piss me off (like bad HTML, insulting commercials, and inappropriate baby strollers).
• He’s a very good father to our fish. 🙂
• He’s my best friend.

Okay, yeah, a little cheesy there. But I just wanted to show that there’s more to him than the cartoon-y bits you get here at my site. So go on, celebrate Love Day at your site. Put down the memes and quizzes for five minutes and spread some joy and beauty. Thanks to Michele for drawing my attention to this.

USA JUST SCORED THEIR SECOND GOAL! Man, this is a great game. That was such a sweet header. Of course, we’ll probably get our ass kicked by Germany, but just getting this far is fantastic.

How about them Mets? They finally won a Subway Series! I know some Yankees fans who’re probably pretty pissed right now. I didn’t even realize David Wells was back on their team. I’m happy for the Mets, but mostly just because I like Mike Piazza and loathe that troglodyte Roger Clemens.

Do any of you watch Smallville? Is it any good, besides providing fodder for Clark Kent/Lex Luthor slash fiction? It’s going to be starting on TV here soon. We’re also getting the latest series of Dawson’s Creek and The Osbournes too. How great is Australian television? Answer: very.

My fellow webloggers – do you ever get Blog Crushes? This is a new term I have invented. It refers to the period after you discover a new blog that you love and start visiting daily and then find yourself reading all the archives and commenting on every single item. That’s how I am with Claire right now. It’s like when you make a new friend and just totally click and get momentarily obsessed with them. Her post about skin care products cracked my shit up. (I sound like a Blog Stalker, don’t I?) 🙂

Once again Ebert answers the questions enquiring minds want to know: Who would win in a fight – James Bond or Ethan Hunt (from Mission Impossible)? I think he gets it wrong, personally.

How great are the Senegal team? The Snook and I watched their marvelous victory last night and then headed out to dinner. We were sitting by the window in the restaurant when a parade of Senegalese in six cars drove through Newtown, honking their horns and waving the flag. Everyone on the streets cheered. Later we saw they were having an impromptu celebratory rally by the church on King Street. Man, I love it when an underdog wins!