This is a writing exercise, and a random post about what I did today. Nothing deep or meaningful or witty. Just practice with headlines and MarsEdit. Besides the beginning and ending routines of getting kids to school and driving to work, then home to dinner, bath and bed, the following events transpired in-between, in no particular order.

• Took a meeting with a marketing professional about a web 2.0 startup idea.
• Took several headshots of staff and myself for our website redesign (the company section).
• Saw a cow in the parking lot of the Whole Foods near our office. It was from Clover Stornetta Farms, a dairy known for its organic dairy farming leadership, as well as tasty milk.
• Did some YomoMedia and Digg surfing during lunch
• Sent a polite letter to a client declining to work on their project. But I did recommend someone very good as an alternative.
• Got the news that one of our employees is relocating to Alaska, where he hails from originally. He will continue to work for us remotely.
• Added 5 people to my LinkedIn network.
• Successfully submitted an application to have one of our Powerbook G4 batteries replaced for free, as part of an Apple recall program.
• Corresponded with the tech committee for my son’s grammar school.
• Wrote a draft of my bio for the aforementioned website.
• IM’d with my cousin about the impending birth of his first child (any day now).
• Helped my cousin’s wife to setup the co-sleeper we gave them (via phone, they are in Texas), and wished them the best for the birth.
• Read a few more pages of The Four Hour Work Week before bed

It’s Sunday night, the eve of my birthday… let’s get started, shall we?

The latest Tim Burton/Johnny Depp movie is coming this December: Sweeney Todd. I am a big fan of anything Burton, and I know I can get my wife to go with Depp as the star (and he sings in this one). Burton’s movies are a visual treat, delightfully dark and unexpected like Terry Gilliam films.

My high school put on a stage production of Sweeney Todd. I wasn’t in that production —it was before I got involved in such things, but I do have many fond memories of doing theater up through junior college. I wanted to follow in my father’s footsteps. He was in community theater shows, and when I was a kid I thought he was so cool being onstage.

I freely admit that I like theater and musicals (and I am a straight male). Last night my kids watched Fiddler on the Roof with us, and I was singing along with Tevye to ‘If I Were a Rich Man.’ Now my 3 year old daughter wants me to sing it to her repeatedly. I am not great, but I do my best. Tonight I sang her to sleep with it. Riches, indeed.