Tretakoff Musings

Just a quick update: - Amy & I spent the weekend in Mendocino. Stayed at the John Dougherty House: Yep, that's the room we stayed in. Relaxing weekend: we needed it. - Looks like all goes well for Retail Presents: looks like funding is just about set, and we are pushing hard to deliver the prototype. That's where I've been all of this time...8 people, and a lot of work! - bGon Enterprises has added Frontgate and Smith & Hawken to the mix! Check out our eBay auctions! Going to sleep...

It had to happen: they gave my guru, The Sports Guy, his own Super Bowl Blog. Folks, even if you don't like sports, check out the man's writing. No one...NO ONE...captures the essence of what it was like to be raised in New England in the 1970's and 1980's. The cultural touchstones are eerie. I may look like Kevin Smith's long lost brother, but Bill Simmons and I are very close to being the same person...just he has more talent.

If ever a movie personified what era I wanted to live in, it looks to be this summer's Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow . Angelina Jolie, Jude Law, and Gwynth Paltrow. Art Deco heaven. Basically, it looks to be Crimson Skies, brought to the Silver Screen. Movies like The Shadow, or The Phantom, hinted at this; Dare I hope? See for yourself!

A little tidbit from my guru, The Sports Guy: : "I think I need to mention something about coffee here -- in honor of Mr. King -- so let's go with this one: Did you know that the closest Dunkin Donuts to Los Angeles is in Sacramento? Or as our Governor says, Sockdrahmentoe? I wish I were kidding. When I went home for the holidays, I practically started crying upon my return to D & D -- the familiar stench of coffee, unemployed locals taking up tables, angry foreigners behind the counter, insanely-hot coffee scalding my gums. It was just like old times. Life is a little less complicated when a coffee cake muffin is involved. (That reminds me: When you order a large coffee at Starbucks here in sunny California, and the smarmy wanna-be actor behind the counter corrects you and says 'You mean venti?' -- well, is it legal to lean over the counter and punch him in the face? Can I get a ruling on this? Sooner rather than later?)" Thanks to Mom, I have some D&D th...

Cell phone news: I recently switched my cell service from Cingular to AT&T . First, the good news: I was one of the few who, when taking advantage of the new rules that let you keep your number, it worked for…too well. You see, I ordered it from AT&T's website, 2 days before my Cingular contract was set to expire. Knowing it would take a couple of days to get the phone, I knew the timing would work. Except it didn’t. AT&T transferred my number to the new phone in 30 minutes. Trouble was, the phone it transferred it to was in Ft. Worth, TX., awaiting shipment to me. Worse, it canceled by Cingular service immediately. That means those wonderful $300 early termination fees: early being 2 days. Luckily, between waiting on hold for both AT&T & Cingular, we got it straightened out, and 2 days later, all was fine. The new service is actually great: much better coverage than Cingular, and no dropped calls. The mMode is actually quite usable, and MMS'ing with other A...

If you are not a football fan, pass on reading this entry. It's January, which means that, like 3 years past, it's time for me to mourn the passing of my beloved Cowboys. Funny thing happened this year; my condolences are a week later than they used to be! My 'Boys made it to the Playoffs! My beloved Cowboys are the 2nd casualty of the NFL Playoffs. Truth to tell, I never have liked Bill Parcells . I hated him when he was with the Giants; I especially hated him that he won the only SuperBowl I have been to, Superbowl XXV (Whitney Houston sings the anthem, Buffalo vs. The Giants, Tampa, the first Gulf War...remember?). I was still living in Boston then, and he came to coach the Patriots, and I still did not like him, despite the results. He went to the Jets, and I said good riddance. Then he came to the Cowboys. Now, after 3 straight 5-11 seasons of the world's greatest team, you would think I'd be happy, right? After all, a Hall Of Fame coach, with an owner who fina...

An interesting idea: Blogging from your cell. My friend Rachel enters the new frontier...