In a bit of random surfing, I managed to find a web site which purported to tell me how popular my name is in the US, in all variations: whole name, first, and last. Not surprisingly, not a lot of parents name their kids "Erwin".

While I can't vouch for the accuracy of the data, it sure did reveal some interesting items. The screenshot you see above is how "popular" my first name is in the US. I'm a bit peeved that "Smith" came ahead of my name. Who would rather use a common last name as a first name than a real bonerfide first name like mine? Are there parents out there naming their kids "Smith John"?

In a big win, my name came out ahead of "Roosevelt" which perhaps signals to the world that names relating to wartime US presidents are finally on the decline in popularity. I'm also ahead of "Nordbert" which is a name I assume just means you want your kid to get his ass kicked in school everyday. Surprisingly, my name is more popular than "Gus" which I would have never guessed.

Go look up your own name and see what you find.

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As expected, with more than a week off from work, my sleeping habits have gone back to their natural rhythms, meaning I go to bed in the early morning and don't wake up until the early afternoon. At one point I was waking up at around 2pm each day and I realized that going to easily slide into 3pm. As such, I drawn a line at noon and I sorta force myself to get up at that time no matter when I go to bed.

I'm probably going to be a mess on the first day back at work.

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I was fortunate enough to receive several Christmas cards this holiday season. They came from all over the world from Canada to Australia. I want to thank everyone who sent me a card, it was nice of you to include me in your joyous correspondence. I especially enjoyed the cards where people wrote a lengthy message to update me on the recent news in their lives. I appreciate the extra time and effort that went into that.

I sheepishly admit that I did not send out my own cards this year, nor have I ever really. I don't really send out paper correspondence any more as I find electronic correspondence to be much easier, timely, and cheaper. That said, I didn't really send out Christmas e-mails to everyone either. I guess I just suck at sending out Christmas greetings. Then again, how many single dudes do you know who send Christmas cards? I can't think of any.

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The fire alarm in my building went off today at 11am as I was still asleep. It's done this before and usually, it goes off for about two minutes and then it stops. I just assume it's a false alarm since no real fire situation would resolve itself in such a short amount of time.

As I was still in bed, I just hoped this morning's alarm was the just another false one. Five minutes went by and it still hadn't stopped. I still refused to get out of bed. Then another five minutes passed and the alarm was still going. By now I was fully awake so I just decided to get up. As I stumbled around in my PJs, I tried to determine if there was indeed a real fire in my building. Then I heard the wail of sirens from fire engines nearby, which made me think this was perhaps serious. Resigned to leaving my apartment before even having breakfast, I had one sock on when the alarm suddenly stopped. I could no longer hear the fire engines. I guess it was a false alarm after all.

I admit that in the interest of being safe, I should have left the building during the first five minutes of the alarm. Since I live near the top of the building, I have less time that those below me should an actual fire be present. That said, we have way too many false alarms and I think that makes me and everyone else complacent. Also, and this is probably the most important thing, the fire alarm isn't annoying nor loud enough. I've lived in other buildings where the fire alarm is near deafening. The volume is so loud that it's actually painful to stay in your place, no matter what room you go in. The alarm in this place is just a loud but not painful ring-ring. So not only is it not loud, it isn't even a continuous shriek which would be annoying.

Ok, I promise to leave a bit sooner next time.

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