Captchaphobia

Yesterday, I was keeping track of what I ate and had consumed 2000 calories by 10 AM. I'm definitely not as skinny as my weight would imply.

Alright, I've got a bone to pick with the Internet. Does the Internet have bones? I don't know. But I'm going to pick one anyway.

Let me preface things with this: I'm pretty good with computers. I understand technology, and I can navigate the Internet like nobody's business. If you need to know something, I can usually figure it out.

However, what I cannot, for the life of me, figure out, are Captchas.

Captchas are this evil invention that keeps spammers from flooding websites with nonsensical dribble about their diet pills that can help you lose 500 lbs in a day. However, they are also so cool that they keep me away from stuff at times. Absurd!

Please tell me I'm not alone in this. Please tell me I'm not the only person who has "failed" a captcha online somewhere. Especially on Facebook. I'm not sure what it is about the captchas on there, but they're meant for space aliens. They don't make any sense! My blood pressure rises a little each time I see that familiar box pop up to confirm that I'm a Homosapien, or at least a really smart monkey. And sometimes, the pressure gets to me.

So maybe I'm crazy, and a little out of my mind, but I'm all for getting rid of captchas. I've had enough of my intelligence being insulted with ridiculous word puzzles every time I want to tell a friend "Happy Birthday" on Facebook. I don't want word puzzles; I just want to use the Internet!

So let's start a petition. Let's get rid of captchas. Until there's a way that people can simply verify that they're human by using a computerized heart rate monitor or blood test, I say... Bring on the spam!

Okay, so maybe I'm being a little facetious. But seriously, am I the only one who has ever failed one of these? Are there any other Internet peculiarities that fluster you? Leave me a comment and let me hear about it! Or e-mail me - I love responding to e-mails! And while you're at it, Share this post with one of those little buttons right there and find a way to follow Life Before the Bucket!

Rejected!

You know what's kind of sad? I had to have my wife explain to me the difference between Memorial Day and Veteran's Day. Please forgive me for my ignorance. (Edit: Apparently I'm not the only one who didn't know what it's about).

You know, it seems like almost weekly that I post something on here along the lines of "I failed" or "I missed a goal." I'm actually surprised at how often this happens while I'm trying to achieve my 111 in 2011, but I'm also surprised that I'm not getting discouraged by these missteps. Usually, when something gets difficult, I throw my hands in the air, roll my eyes very dramatically, and give up. However, that hasn't been the case this year (as evidenced by what I wrote here and here).

I've messed up quite a bit as I've tried to achieve my goals for the year. In trying to live a fuller life, I've probably made more "mistakes" than I ever have before. But that's definitely not stopping me. I'm reminded almost daily of how precious my life is, so I want to make the best of it, even if that means falling short a time or two.

My most recent "failure" came at the hands of the wonderful Pioneer Woman. Now before you start throwing stones, I have to admit that I love PW's site. When I first got my D-SLR camera, I spent hours going through her photography posts, trying to learn everything I could about the art of taking pictures. Because of my admiration for The Pioneer Woman, though, I decided to set a goal this year that is ultimately up to her discretion. I want to have a photo featured on her photography blog!

Every once in a while, The Pioneer Woman runs contests that are themed where you can submit one photo a day to her for judging. She picks the best photos from the lot and the finalists win prizes. Unfortunately, Ree (The Pioneer Woman herself) has millions of photos to glean from every time she puts on a contest. Therefore, the odds of actually getting a picture chosen are ridiculously minuscule. However, that wasn't going to stop me from trying.

More Shameless Plugging

Why yes, we DID have an awesome time celebrating our anniversary this weekend! Thanks for asking!

Ah. I love Sunday mornings. Whether I'm going to church or not, there's something about them that just refreshes me. When I wake up, it seems like I retain the peace I have while sleeping, but I'm awake and enjoying being alive. Maybe I'm the only one who is so fond of these mornings, but they make life a little more worthwhile.

This beautiful Sunday morning, I want to share a few blogs with you that I love, mostly because I'm obliged to by some "blogger curse" that will fall on me if I don't pass on the award that I received this week from Heather at My Husband Ate All My Ice Cream. The award I originally received was "The Adorable Blog Award." However, I quickly protested the award, going on strike and insisting that my masculinity wouldn't allow for such nonsense. Heather, being the wonderful person that she is, altered the award for me, creating a badge for "The Handsome Blog Award."

Much better, Heather. We're making progress. Just kidding!

I'm actually very appreciative of the award, so I will take it with glad pleasure and follow the rules that come along with it... sort of. Here are the rules that Heather posted with the award:

• Thank the person who gave you the award and link back to them in a post (Thanks, Heather!).
• Tell us 10 things about yourself.
• Nominate your bloggers.
• Contact these bloggers and let them know they they've received this award!

I'm definitely going to alter rule #2 here, because I don't have 10 interesting things to say about myself. Instead, I'm going to list 5 and hope you don't stop reading before then!

Everyday Heroes

Every Saturday, I want to feature posts from people like YOU about normal, everyday people that make a lasting difference in this world. If you would like to write something for the Everyday Heroes series, leave me a comment or shoot me an e-mail and I'll let you know what to do! And you don't need to be a blogger or a writer of any kind! You just need to have a hero that you want people to know about!


Today, I want to tell you about a hero that may seem a little odd.


This hero is small in stature, doesn't speak well, and can't really stand on his own two feet.


This hero can't take care of himself, let alone someone else.


Heck, this hero even pees his pants from time to time.


I know you're dying to know. Who on earth could be worthy of writing about that can't even control his own bladder?


The Everyday Hero that I'm writing about this week is...

On Forgetting

My beautiful wife and I are celebrating our 2 year anniversary (June 2nd is our actual date, in case you were wondering) this weekend. Epiiiiic!

Alright. Here's the deal, ladies, gentlemen, and everyone in between.

I have been intending to start a Friday series for the last few weeks. However, I kept forgetting, and this week was no exception. I got up, made my coffee, and went through my blogs that had updated so far this morning, trying to think of what I was going to write about today. And then it hit me as I stumbled over my last blog.

Duh! I wanted to start doing Five Minute Friday!