I tend to see viral videos either right after they get posted and the Internet has yet to notice, or months (or years) later. I'm sorry I missed this for so long. Any response from Pixar yet?

Last night, the word for the final round of NYCMidnight's "Tweet Me a Story" contest was provided: BELOW. Here are my entries, all 140 characters or less (titles added afterward for fun):

Keeping Your Spirits Up

"Still below the weather, hon?"
"Much better now."
"The nap helped?"
"No, finding the poison you used on me and dosing your tea did."

Finding Your Inner Freak

“Huh. We tried abuse, vinyl, shoes, nothing.”
“Can't I just not have a fetish?”
“C'mon,” she said, lashing me from below, “that’d be weird.”

The Final Battle

“I’m a wizard,” he cackled, from his room below our stairs. And maybe he was. But it turns out that the wizard’s natural enemy is the Taser.

Results will be posted January 7th, and I'll be sure to harangue… um, ask nicely for your vote, if I make it that far.

Today is the last day to vote for the "Tweet Me a Story" first-round finalists, of which I are one. Actually, I are two.

Recap: NYCMidnight's "Tweet Me a Story" gives contestants 5 hours to write a story of 140 characters or less which must include a supplied word. My word was BETTER. Entrants could submit up to 3 stories, and 25 finalists were chosen. Two of my stories made the cut. Now the judges will select the top winners, but there will also be a reader's choice winner and that's where my shameless begging comes in.

If you've got a mind to, please consider going here and voting for my stories. They are:

From my blanket, I watched the surf. "It doesn't get any better than this."
From his time machine, me from 2023 sighed. "No, it doesn't."

"That's it, I have to know. You've been with me and with Mike. Which one is the better man?"
I smiled. "The one who didn't have to ask."

Both are marked as BY CHRIS BRIDGES. You can vote for as many as you like, but only once. No registration required.

VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE VOTE or not, you know. Up to you.  You can see the rest of the finalists in the other groups here. Voting ends 6 p.m. EST tonight.

Thanks.

It started out as  a simple little poll…

AfterElton posted a poll looking for Man of the Decade, and with an impressive lineup the race between Neil Patrick Harris (How I Met Your Mother, Dr. Horrible) and John Barrowman (Dr. Who, Torchwood) was within 20 votes of each other.

Then Twitter got involved.

First NPH posted a low-key appeal. Then Barrowman, new to Twitter but enthusiastic, responded. And then the battle was on, as the titans of Twitter began marshalling their forces to support their allies.

UK host Jonathan Ross supported Barrowman. Nathan Fillion and Felicia Day threw in between NPH. Comedian Chris Hardwick and actress Alyssa Milano also rallied to NPH's side which should have been it, but author and Twitter Lord Neil Gaiman cast his lot for Barrowman ("Captain Jack asked first.").

Follow #biggaybattle to see the soldiers fighting to rally other big name Twitterati as they battle for Man of the Decade! And go vote yourself. For whichever one; I'd be happy if either man won. Or if they tied, and had to fight it out with some sort of oil.

Shuttle sky

Originally uploaded by CABridges

One of the best things about living on the east coast of Florida: watching a shuttle launch on the TV at Appleby's and then stepping outside in time to watch it sail across the sky.

Just found this again, browsing through pictures. This is Discovery's STS-119 flight, launched on March 15, 2009.

I'm really going to miss living near the world's only operating spaceport once the shuttle series winds down, and I hope a suitable replacement comes along. And not just for my dinner entertainment.

Not content with making the biggest, most detailed Serenity model to date, QMx is also working on the smallest. Just promo-ed at FireflyShipworks.com, the yet-to-be-released Firefly Keychain.

Cast is solid metal, the keychain has real heft to it. We used the studio CG effects files, shrunk down to a ridiculous extent, to capture the design, but obviously had to make many tweaks along the way. But our designers love a challenge, and we just couldn’t resist the idea of a Serenity that fits in your pocket and that you can carry around with you, where ever you go.

No word yet on when this will hit your pocket, but I'm ready to buy one now. Check out the post for more pics.

Somewhat to my surprise I got through Holidailies, wherein bloggers vow to blog at least once daily for the month of December. I don't think I contributed much to the universe, but it was a fun way to force myself to be more regular. When you get older, that sort of thing becomes important.

So. How to continue it?

One thing I would like to try doing in 2010 is taking more photos. I'm not going to commit to one  a day – frankly, most days I don't go near much of anything interesting (when Adam Levermore was here for the @nasatweetup it dawned on me, as I was driving him around Daytona, that I was going the way I always go to avoid traffic and hassle  and was consequently showing him only the most boring and industrial parts of one of the most famous tourist towns in the world. Sorry, Adam). But this is Florida, after all, and I should be able to find something to point at.

I'm also going to keep trying the daily posts, and we'll see how that goes. Be warned.

And happy new year!

Posted at my 24/7 blog at GO386.com:

'So Fox decreed that they should be paid more for their programming based on the innovative business model "We Want More Money For The Same Product Because We're Pretty Sure We Can Make You Do It."And Time-Warner (and locally, their Bright House partner or affiliate or henchman or whatever the relationship is) is resisting, based on their own tried and true business model, "We Ain't Paying You Jack."

Meanwhile, millions of affected customers are fearfully watching the two monsters battle, crushing buildings in their wake, with only one terrified thought: "Am I going to miss the Sugar Bowl because of these idiots?"

In a nutshell, Fox wants money for its previously free programming. Time-Warner (and locally their partner Bright House) doesn't want to pay. Both mega-companies have been flooding the local airwaves, TV and newspapers with ads claiming the people are on their side and demand that the other party to back down.

Personally, I'm not too bothered by the Fox/Time Warner smackdown and wouldn't be affected if Fox disappeared from my TV. I'm not a football fan, most of their programming actively bothers me, and I can watch the last episodes of Dollhouse on Fox.com, Hulu.com, or get 'em from iTunes a day later. Worst case scenario, I have to wait til summer and buy the DVD set. That's about it for me and Fox-owned shows these days, although I have plenty of friends who would miss Glee and Fringe. (Note that FOX News would not be affected, dammit)

But hey, guys? The people are not on your side. Honest. We distrust both of you more or less equally. We know that you are not providing us with entertainment out of the goodness of your hearts, and that you need to stay profitable to do what you do. However you work that out is fine by us, but we know already that no matter what happens, our rates will go up. We are not your friends or your grassroots army. Please stop trying to rally us as a way to bully the other guy. Just work it out, let us know what the hike will be and let's move on with our lives.

Be sure to read the rest of my column, which suggests ways to make do without Fox. It's surprisingly easy, something both companies might want to think about.

I forgot my cellphone today.

It doesn't happen often, I'm pretty good (read: obsessive to an alarming degree) about keeping track of my phone and keys and iPod. But I'd plugged it in to charge and I left earlier today and, well. I was almost to work (45 minutes away) when I noticed.

So? No big deal. I'm a big boy, I can live without a phone for 9 hours.

Only a friend called and wanted to get together for dinner, and I needed to call home and coordinate it, and it's all long distance from my job, and then I was supposed to meet everybody at the restaurant and had no way of letting them know I would be on time or late or early or broken down somewhere on I-4…

It is truly amazing how quickly and totally I have become dependent on having immediate access to everyone I know. Years have gone by since I really sweated out having my car break down, since I can always call for help. I barely use the thing, really, rarely more than a call home every day to make sure nothing needs picking up. But it's there if I need it.

Little scary, really, as I have reservations about becoming dependent on any external device or system. But I also notice I rarely see anyone stuck on the side of the road anymore. Used to, fairly often, and I've given rides to more than a few, especially if people with kids were stranded. And the few times it does happen now, they're almost always standing there talking on a phone so I can drive by with a clear conscience.

Whatever else the last decade has brought us, instant and clear communication from almost everywhere is one of the best things ever.

Unless you forget your damn phone, that is.

Most of a Moon

Originally uploaded by CABridges

Beautifully clear night tonight, after several days of heavy cloud cover. Perfect for long hours of night time photography of black nights fading into violet over the trees, sparkling stars and a 3/4 moon presiding over it all. A sturdy tripod, some careful metering and timing and waiting for just the right moment, just as I've been wanting to do for days.

Instead I'm going to bed early. Getting chilly out there and a warm bed calls. But I did take a pic of the moon from the parking lot at work, leaning on the roof of my car for support. Have I mentioned I like my new camera?

I like my new camera.