Happy 14th birthday, Dad.Why I love amazon.com (and I don’t really care about this whole associates patent issue that everyone is griping about): I placed an order last night at 10 p.m. and received notification less than 12 hours later that my two items had been shipped. Happy face.

Why I hate eddiebauer.com (notice I didn’t even provide a link to them since I think they’re so lame): I placed my order on Sunday, February 19, via their web site. I even provided my email address so they could contact me should problems arise with my order. Yesterday, in the mail, I received notification that they couldn’t charge my Visa. So scrap that order. Today I receive another piece of paper in the mail that says my order has been cancelled. Well, duh. Some of these online ordering services just don’t get it.

Happy birthday to me. And to Jason Kottke’s mom, too.

Did you know that Helvetica is the gayest of all the fonts? Who says so? Just Jack.Today there are four daffodils pushing their little heads up through the snow outside of the WCAL radio building.

Reasons I am not a web celebrity, according to Wren at the Junkbox:

• I don’t power my web log by Blogger. (Yes, I code this all by hand.)
• I have no idea what my Dopewars score is. In fact, I don’t even know what Dopewars is.
• I have yet to have my blog listed on the Eatonweb Portal. (Well, silly, that’s because you haven’t asked her to list it there yet.)

I’m suddenly getting the urge to own my own domain name.

Today’s word from dictionary.com: venal \VEE-nuhl\, adjective: 1. Capable of being bought or obtained for money or other valuable consideration; held for sale; salable; purchasable. Today’s Strib Variety section feature: Fox cancels “Who Wants to Marry A Multimillionaire”

I’m so jealous. I mean, what kind of a web designer was I at age 20? Nothing like Shaheen, whose site I stumbled across today. (Stumbled? Is that right language to use when describing how one surfs the web? I mean, do you “log on” to a web site, or “surf on over to” a web site? Or to you “go to” or “click on?” Tell me how you navigate the web. Navigate. There’s another one.)

Only Martha Stewart would dare to sell one of these.

There’s something wonderfully quirky about the Canandian Broadcasting Company’s radio show As it Happens, a program telling stories of ordinary people in extraordinary situations. Last night’s airing detailed the experiences of an elderly couple crossing an icy street outside of a Calgary hospital. Mr. Pollard fell and injured his shoulder; his wife, Nella, fell and broke her hip. A nearby tow-truck driver was able to block traffic and comfort Mrs. Pollard (in the 15 degree weather) while her husband walked to the hospital, seeking assistance for his injured wife. Despite that the woman lie only 200 yards from the emergency room entrance, authorities at the hospital were required to call 911 — and send an ambulance. Forty-five minutes after falling Mrs. Pollard was finally able to receive treatment.

Yes, quirky indeed.

I can’t believe they killed off Lucy Knight! Now I feel bad for disliking her so much last season.

And really, I’m not a misfit or a loner for spending so much time on the Net. Thank goodness. I was worried there for a minute.

Congratulations, T.J.; your recent Oscar nomination predictions weren’t too far off base. So sorry Matty D. didn’t make it for Ripley. The poor boy: came too far too fast too young. And I guess I’ll just have to be satisifed with two measley nominations for my favorite flick of the year, Being John Malkovich.

The YWCA boasts an education program to bolster girls’ computer skills — it’s called TechGYRLS. (Side note: why is it that whenever one uses the word “girls” in some technology framework, it’s always spelled “gyrls?”) Anyway, there’s no program in Minneapolis-St. Paul yet, but I’ve sent away for info …