Blysse

Video for Sophie

2007-02-27T09:13:00.000-08:00


A video for Sophie

ATTENTION - THE BLOG IS MOVING

2006-11-22T21:07:00.000-08:00

OK, I finally set things up on my own server. Check out the new blog (and reset your RSS and bookmarks) HERE

Soft Hands

2006-11-22T19:49:00.000-08:00

I just spent some time getting Tom the Turkey (or... if it was a female... Tom the Turkey) ready for it's 5:30 am appointment with my oven. We have a 24 lb bird this year. I have been told it is good to prepare 1 lb for every person. We actually have 12 people coming tomorrow, but that includes a 1 1/2 year old and a 4 year old. (sorry... 4 3/4... she wants me to make that clear). We are, however, healthy eaters. AND, I LOVE LEFTOVERS! Actually, I think I like Thanksgiving leftovers more than I like the actual thanksgiving dinner itself. We prepare our bird stuffed with apples, onions, garlic and olive oil, then smother it with olive oil on and under the skin. All that means that I now have very very soft hands right now. I spent a good amount of time with the antibacterial soap, but still a good rubbing with olive oil and raw poultry makes for some pretty girly hands.

HAPPY THANKSGIVING FROM US!

Voter Guide

2006-11-02T05:56:00.000-08:00

We have all seen voter guides built around a number of issues. Morality Eductaion The Environment The Family I have finally found a voter guide that REALLY matters. CNet has put together a "Technology Voters Guide" Actually, as I looked through the issues and how the candidates scored, following the high ranking results on this guide, point me to candidates who I would vote for based on OTHER issues that are a part of my value system.

I am torn

2006-10-30T10:32:00.000-08:00

I have always gotten a kick out of websites where you can vote on some aspect of an individuals life ("What will he wear", "What will he eat" etc. ) I am going to put a part of my life out there for you to vote on. Not as some big social experiment, but simply because I am indecisive. You are going to vote on... Tonight! I could 1 - Go play Basketball with a bunch of guys from church or 2 - Stay home and watch the Vikings on Monday Night Football Go ahead and cast your vote in the comments box!

AA Battery

2006-10-11T15:30:00.000-07:00

Cool http://www.usbcell.com/ I couldn't give you a good use for it yet... but... Still Cool.

Christian Music/Piracy

2006-10-11T08:40:00.000-07:00

I found this from the LA Times Check it out

Yikes

2006-10-10T07:00:00.000-07:00

Yikes... 20 days since my last post. Sorry folks... Let's get back into this now. I am putting in a week of getting up early to get to work by 6am. The room I work in has a GREAT view of the sunrise. I am surprised how much variety a sunrise can have. I also love how nice the metro traffic patterns are at 5:30am. I live in a town with a pretty nice sized factory, however and the biggest traffic jam I hit is trying to get on the highway a few blocks from my house. They used to have the large majority of their workforce start at 7am, and the shift changes were quite a tieup, but very predictable. I think they have staggered start times, because I am noticing these bursts of traffic throughout the day. I think I would rather have 1 - 30 minute major tie up each day, that I can schedule around, than 3-4 minor moments of congestion during the day. That said, I have learned to take the back way out of town at 5:30 am.

Early Bird

2006-09-20T04:03:00.000-07:00

The Early Bird... Gets the best leftovers.

5 minutes of "bliss"

2006-09-18T11:51:00.000-07:00

I don't have an iPod (another Christmas idea), but if I did, I would want one of these!!

A Better Christmas idea.

2006-09-14T08:43:00.000-07:00

Here is one I came across while surfing. These are balloons to tie onto your vehicle.

Christmas Idea

2006-09-14T08:12:00.000-07:00

Here is another Christmas gift idea. http://blogs.mercurynews.com/aei/2006/09/nintendo_sets_2.html

Another Blog

2006-09-07T18:46:00.000-07:00

My life musings will still be posted here. However, I am going through a 30 day, self proclaimed "Faith Experiment" that is tied in with my work. It is simply waking up every morning and praying "Surprise me God". It also includes the keeping of a 30 day journal. I will keep my thoughts over there different, and a bit more introspective than the thoughts over here. If you want to follow me over there check out http://surprisedtoday.blogspot.com This is all tied in to Terry Esau's book Surprise Me!

New Look

2006-09-06T18:41:00.000-07:00

Oh, I thought I would mess with you and change the look around a little. Ahh... preset templates. Actually, I am considering taking the entire hosting onto my own server (don't I say this every 6-7 months?), so it may change again soon.

Starting on an early note

2006-09-06T14:44:00.000-07:00

Now that the school year has started, things 2 & 3 need to be picked up at 3 on Wednesday and Friday afternoons. That means, I need to leave work at 2:30 on those days. Last year, I would make up the time by working a couple extra hours on Thursday. Today, I tried something a little different. I work at a place where people often get to work before 5am. I have often had to get there before 5am. So why, I wondered, can't I get there at 6am 2 days a week. I set the alarm for 4:30 this morning. Normally, the snooze button gets a work out as I tend to wait until the last possible moment to start my day. Today, I was wide awake at 4:29. I beat my alarm to the day. It takes me about 30 minutes to be ready to head out the door. That allowed me a little time to reintroduce myself to morning devotions. It was wonderful! I brewed the coffee, showered, dressed and sat in the livingroom and read the Bible. What a treat! I will get into what I read later, but it was so nice. I was actually excited to realize that I had mistakenly read yesterday's scheduled reading. That meant I could start all over again and read TODAY's scheduled reading. I was actually disappointed when it was all over. I literally hungered to keep going. I am actually looking forward to tomorrows reading! I have never had this much desire or excitement over reading the Bible before. I am not exactly sure where it came from. I haven't attended any conferences, read any inspirational books, or been challenged by another brother or sister. This just came upon me today and I am excited to keep going! I have always found prayer and bible reading to be necessary disciplines of the Christian life. For some reason, today, they were more than that. They feel like a privilege. When the time came for me to go to work, I prayed a quick prayer some of my collegues have been challenged to pray: "Surpise me, God". I believe He already did. *********************** What I read today: I have, too often, heard fellow believers semi-quote scripture and say that God will not give us more than we can bear. As if the responsibility we have been given is not any more than we can handle. Today, in 1 Corinthians 10, I read the passage that mentioned that God will not give us more temptation than we can bear. That is a bit different than a workload that is too much. God calls me to live a holy life. That is, quite frankly, more than I can bear. That is why I am utterly dependent on him!

Jammin'

2006-09-04T14:36:00.000-07:00

Start 'em young!!! Thing 3 likes the black keys.

Let it Rain

2006-09-04T14:29:00.000-07:00

A few weeks ago, we had some water front property, as it rain came down faster than the drain could accept it. For those of you who don't know the road in front of my house, the middle of the road is about 2 1/2 feet taller than the side of the road, so this would go across most roads. I don't know that I have ever seen it crest the curb like that. (And this picture was taken after it started to receed). Thing 2, as only she can do, almost jumped in to splash around.

Fall is Coming

2006-08-29T19:42:00.000-07:00

With my favorite tree in the front yard leafless this year (yeah... It's coming down), and two of our boulevard trees being removed by the city as they pour a new sidewalk, the leaf raking should be at a minimum this year. August is not yet over, so why I am talking about raking leaves? The frantic fall season has already begun at our house. The pretty one is in full gear working with the fall programs at church. My work is rather busy this time of year (compounded by an abnormal number of staff out of the office for various family commitments). "Thing One" still needs to go school shopping (6 days until 1st Grade). "The Pretty One" and I seem to be alternating nights of working late. It would be much worse if there were not an end in sight. I am not entirely sure how far away the end actually is, but I DO see it! Link Fest!!! Here's one for movie buffs For those of us too cheap to pay for travel. This technology looks promising Who says you can't teach an old dog ... The world needs more bored people sitting at home watching webcams! And we worry about them taking OUR jobs?

He's Back???

2006-08-29T11:04:00.000-07:00

Some people don't know when to go-away: http://www.cnn.com/2006/POLITICS/08/29/ohio.kerry.ap/index.html C'mon... if you couldn't win THAT election, you should probably sit down.

Weekend Blog Blank

2006-08-28T16:16:00.000-07:00

I thought of 3 great things to blog about this weekend, but wasn't near a computer at any good time. Come Monday, when I had time to post it, my brain was blank. I lost the 3 topics! I would start carrying around a notepad, but doesn't that just seem a bit old fashioned?

A Heartless Man

2006-08-24T12:29:00.000-07:00

This will probably be one of the most heartless post ever, but I have to vent about another thing that gets under my skin. I am at the State Fair today. Being as such, I am often stuck in crowds of people, shoulder to shoulder moving slowly through whatever food building/sidewalk/sheep barn in which we find ourselves. There are a lot of "not-quite-abled" people around here. They are wonderful people. Just like you and me. Their physical issues are not the problem. The problem is the few folks who, while riding around in their carts that go about 10 mph, feel the need to ask the rest of us to move aside. I would completely understand it if we were standing in the way of a DIFFERENT place they wanted to go. But, they were trying to get to the same place I was (that would be THROUGH the food building). Just because one CAN go faster, doesn't mean they have to. Sorry... This one is going to get me in trouble.

Youth Group Camping Trip Video

2006-08-09T21:09:00.000-07:00

Weather Bugging

2006-08-02T07:13:00.000-07:00

What really bugs me #172 I hate it when the National News leads with news of a heat wave on the east coast. Apparently it is going to hit 102 in New York and D.C. this week. My only question is... Why wasn't this "news" when it happened in the mid-west last week? By the time the East coast gets the weather, it is old news to the rest of the nation.

Chicago Pics!

2006-07-26T13:30:00.000-07:00

I have posted a bunch of pictures from Chicago on my online photo gallery. Check out: http://picasaweb.google.com/cebliss/Chicago

Getaway Week

2006-07-25T16:45:00.000-07:00

The Pretty One and I had a wonderful time out for our 10th Anniversary (or... for my Dad... our 10 year anniversary). We were able to drop things 1-3 off with my parents, and head into Chicago for 3 days of sight-seeing/shopping/swimming etc. I had some fun with photography while there.

It is a hobby I had really forgotten about, but really enjoy.

I have some pictures I would like to post... but I am on the wrong computer now. I will have them in my next post. I just thought I should post this BEFORE the photos are ready, because I am a bit overdue in the post-scheme of things. I actually had 3 particuarly artsy photos of buildings that I had printed at 5x7 and framed. They make a nice display in our front entry way.

For only $15 worth of prints and frames, you can really do a lot with a nice camera and a beautiful day.

In nice black frames, the blue really pops out.

A couple others I have printed, but haven't found a place to hang yet.

Again, I will get some of the "people" pictures up when I am on my other computer.

Beechwood Aged Coffee

2006-07-11T06:45:00.000-07:00

2 identical mugs on my desk this morning. One was yesterday's coffee, the other this morning's brew. I open up my computer to get to work. I reach for the mug and take a gulp. Yup... Yesterday's cold java. I am awake now!

Sonshine Week

2006-07-10T17:42:00.000-07:00

Sonshine week this week. Driving a big truck and operating a t-shirt cannon... Should be a good week.

Weekend Work

2006-07-03T08:04:00.000-07:00

I spent the weekend working on taking down some trees in my yard. I pulled down the spruce in the front yard, and have begun work on taking down my favorite tree... the maple with the tire swing. Sometime between last year and this, it decided to die. There are only 2 branches with leaves. It is sad. If I had to save one tree in the yard, it would be that one. It has a lot of character and memories. We already found a new place for the tire swing, but that particular tree was just plain nice. I spent Saturday on a wobbly ladder pulling down branches. Here is irony... I spent the whole weekend on a not-so-stable ladder, with a chainsaw, but ended up injuring my self doing the dishes on Sunday night. Go figure.

Family Video

2006-05-30T20:33:00.000-07:00

Flight

2006-05-20T08:27:00.000-07:00

Got to go flying last week! It was (sort of) for work too.

Check out the video at:

http://tinyurl.com/na8hc

A week from Wednesday

2006-05-04T18:20:00.000-07:00

In a week and a half, I start my 4th decade of life. I am really going to miss my 20s. A lot has happened since May 17, 1996. I got married Finished college Bought a house Bought a mini-van Sold the house Bought another house Sold the mini-van Bought the SUV Got 2 cats Lost 1 cat Got 3 daughters Got another cat Discovered the Internet Made a career out of the Internet. That's just the last decade. In my next post, I will look back at 30 years of my toys.

My Hotel Requirements

2006-05-02T13:31:00.000-07:00

I found this link on CNN: http://www.thesmokinggun.com/archive/0322061cheney1.html It is a list of Mr. Cheney's hotel requirements. I have decided to develop my own list of hotel requirements. 1 - A floor on the 2nd level or higher. 2 - Water glasses LARGER than a shot glass 3 - Just as areas are designated "Smoking and No-smoking", please designate wings "Kids and No-kids" 4 - Don't tease me with a laptop cable that ALMOST reaches the bed. 5 - Don't tempt me with that $4 bottle of water on the dresser. 6 - Housekeeping must wait at least 3 seconds between the knock on the door and the entry. 7 - Radio must be pretuned to an English speaking station. 8 - Iron must be cleaned after previous guests use it to make grilled cheese sandwiches. 9 - At least 3 extra mini-coffee maker filters. 10 - Tips are placed on my pillow. Loose change on the floor is still mine. 11 - Windows overlooking the pool must open all the way, because I am TOTALLY going to do a cannonball!

Station Van

2006-04-12T15:24:00.000-07:00

I work for a radio station. Last night, I was driving the station van around. I stopped at a gas station. A nice lady noticed the logos, and asked me if I worked there. Everything in me wanted to say "Nope... just a big fan"...

Early Mornings

2006-04-04T17:04:00.000-07:00

So, one of my youth group students bugged me about not updating this enough... My Bad. I can't promise a daily run, but I will try to make it worth your while, KF. I have been doing some fill in work this week, for our Morning crew. That requires getting to the studio at 3:45 each morning. A 2:30 wake up call comes quite quickly. While I don't like waking up that early, I do love BEING up that early. It is fun to be on the road before anyone else. It is great to beat all the traffic. It is REALLY nice to call it a day by noon!! It ISN'T so nice to have to try to be in bed by 7:30. I missed the NCAA championship, and last night's 24 (actually, I taped 24, and the NCAA game was a blow-out, so all is well). Time now to give my kids a bath, and go to bed (the sun is still up...)

Shoe Hunting

2006-03-28T04:23:00.000-08:00

I went "Shoe Hunting" this weekend. That is always a bit of a task for those of us with size 14 shoes. I first tried Sears, since I have an unspent gift-card for that fine retail establishment. I was thrilled to see the big letters hanging over the shoe department stating their Big Shoe Sale was in full gear. "Sweet", I thought, "I wear big shoes!" Unfortunately, the sale was big, but the shoes stopped as size 13. Next stop was a Payless just down the hall. They had 8 Size 14 shoes, but only one of them was made of real leather, and it was a brown casual shoe that slightly resembled a sneaker. Not TOO bad, but I didn't want to have to settle. I kept walking and saw a shoe store with a beautiful Italian Leather casual dress shoe that was exactly what I was looking for AND in my price range. I asked the young lady if they had that in a 14. She went back to check. When I saw her with a box, my heart jumped! Then she explained that she didn't have any 14s, but she did find the shoe in a 12! WHAT??? Why even bother bringing it out? Should I try to squeeze in to it? Should I visit the cutlery store across the mall and cut off a few toes before coming back??? I smiled nicely and went on to Kohls. They also stopped at a 13. However, I always get a kick out of their pricing. If you know Kohls, you know that everything there is always on sale. They had an All Man Made Material Shoe that appeared to be glued onto its sole, for $24.99 (not bad) discounted from its original price of $49.99. I usually get a kick out of their "Regular Prices", but $50 for a pair of fake shoes was a bit unbelievable. I finally found them at Famous Footwear. Again, I felt a bit like I had to settle, but I was happy with what I picked out and feel really bad for the guys who wear 15s

Saturday's, Snowforts and other Misc.

2006-03-19T14:40:00.000-08:00

Saturdays: We set no alarm for Saturday morning. We still got up at the same time, but there is something blissful about not having to wake up to that noise. I rolled over and asked "the Pretty One" what the day had in store (expecting the usual..."I have a get together tonight and you are watching the Kids" or..."We really have to go get groceries" or... I want to completely clean the house top-to-bottom") Her response was the also blissful: "Nothing". We spent the morning doing some light housework, then bundled "Thing 1" and "Thing 2" up for an afternoon in the snow. Snow Forts For the family out of state, we have had nearly 12 inches of snow this past week, but the temp yesterday was near 40. For my brothers on this Blog, you know that is PERFECT snow fort weather. So "Things 1&2" and I spent the afternoon making a snow fort. "The Pretty One" joined us after "Thing 3" went down for her nap. Usually, our forts come from making large piles of snow and digging them out. We did this snow fort a little differently. We took large clumps of snow and built them around the slide portion of the wooden swing set in our back yard. There is a platform about 4 feet off the ground, with a nice wooden area underneith it. We used the clumps of sticky snow as bricks and built walls around the slide and the platform. We dug a small hole near the base of the slide as the entry (To enter, you crawl through the small hole, through the tunnel under the slide, and come out in the larger room that is made up of the area under the platform.. but don't tell the girls I told you so... it is supposed to be a secret...) Misc We also came across some old walky-talkies I had around the house. I put some fresh batteries in them and had fun talking to "Thing 1" around the yard. The funny thing, however, was that when I first turned them on, I could hear talking. I hadn't put the battery in the other radio yet, so I knew that it wasn't locked on. It turns out that the walky-talkies are on the same frequency as the baby monitor in "Thing 3"s room. Knowing that most monitors approximate the same frequency range, I thought it would be fun to walk up and down the blocks of our town, with the radio, making baby crying noises or saying things like "Hey Spike... there's a Baby in here!" But "The Pretty One" stopped me from reliving my childlike ways.

Telecommuting

2006-03-08T07:12:00.000-08:00

I had to work from 11pm - 3am last night as we did maintenance on a web server. Fortunately, I was able to do it all from home. I watched some evening TV, brewed some coffee then retreated to my basement office to get the job done. So, I found it humerous when I saw this report in the morning. I can certainly say I was in the other 90% last night. Those of you who have ever experienced the temperature of this room on a late winter night can back me up on that.

Down South

2006-03-06T20:29:00.000-08:00

Today's Post brought to you by Wikipedia... Wikipedia... Now, More than Ever... Sitting in West Des Moines tonight. You can tell I am alone on a business trip, because I am actually taking the time to blog. Des Moines is really a nice town. It is kind of like the Twin Cities, without, well... the Twin Cities. Fortunately there was a 2 hour 24 tonight (and a pretty good one too). There was a sad ending to the show this week and "The Pretty One" called me after the show and expressed her sadness. I told her that I too was sad. She quickly informed me that she hadn't actually seen the show yet. We are both pretty big Twins fans, so we each shed a couple tears over the loss of the greatest Twin ever.

Entertainment News

2006-02-26T19:37:00.000-08:00

Sob!

License Plates

2006-02-09T15:29:00.000-08:00

I noticed a few clever license plates in the last few days. On the way to work I noticed one to the effect of: IJHN 47 My first thought was "Hey... 1st John doesn't have 47 chapters!" I quickly realized it was 1st John 4:7 I had my Bible on the car seat next to me (because I am just that type of person), and thought I should look it up. It didn't immediately occur to me that that wasn't a good idea when driving. Then I thought "Hey! I have that one memorized" (Beloved, let us love one another...) So... Scripture memory may have saved my life. The other plate I saw said: SATURN The best part was that it was on a Toyota.

Emulators

2006-02-07T09:47:00.000-08:00

Sorry about the lack of posting. My sister introduced me to the joys of the NES emulator, so I have been wasting time playing "Mike Tyson's Punch Out". Also available... Just plain "Punch Out", released shortly after some of Mike's early "issues".

Why I Stay Home on Weekends

2006-01-30T10:02:00.000-08:00

...because this would be my luck

2006-01-26T09:52:00.000-08:00

This is in response to those who needed something a bit more shallow. Good "guy" fodder.

Big News from Hollywood

2006-01-24T09:05:00.000-08:00

Lord of the Rings was wonderful. I waited years to see The Chronicles of Narnia. But NOTHING can match the excitement over this upcoming release!

2006-01-23T10:22:00.000-08:00

Snow?

2006-01-17T07:09:00.000-08:00

A nice new, overdue, batch of powder on the ground this morning. I stayed up late watching 24 with the pretty one. We thought it best to tape it and watch it after the kids were in bed. We exercised our viewer discretion as advised. The one thing I love about watching that show on tape is that you have a good idea how much time is left. We started it at 9:15pm and got excited when the minutes on the show caught up with the real life minutes (we fast forwarded through the commercials, except for the American Idol commercials. Those are usually pretty funny). I am finding my self quoting a verse to my children that was often quoted to me. "Be sure your sins will find you out" I got an oversized Hershey's Kiss for Christmas. It has been sitting on the side of my bed. One of my youngn's has been snitching some of the candy. It wasn't hard to determine when comparing the teeth marks. (I will protect their identity, but you can be pretty sure it wasn't "thing 3... that would have been a tooth-mark"). Her sins found her out pretty quickly. But, that doesn't nearly compare to the lady in this story.

Wowsers

2006-01-16T12:13:00.000-08:00

Now HERE is a marketable skill!

A weekend prone to prone

2006-01-16T05:19:00.000-08:00

Great intentions for the weekend. Saturday night was supposed to be a birthday party for Thing 1. However early in the day on Saturday, I felt that something was not quite right. By lunch time (or lack thereof), I was getting to know my porcelain friend. So we had to call 16 little girls and tell them they could put away their princess costumes for a week. The "ball" had been postponed. That made me feel worse than my illness. Sunday morning, things were starting to feel better, but I was just weak and didn't have much of an appitite (as you may not after reading this entry thus far). I felt bad about wasting a day in bed, but then remembered that the day was filled with 2 play-0ff football games and the season premier of 24. Not a bad day to be ill. 24 didn't fail me, with its 2 hours of unbelievable (as in "there is no way this would ever happen") action. In the first minutes of the show, one of my favorite characters was gunned down(spoiler link here).

Budding Young Bob Woodwards

2006-01-13T08:28:00.000-08:00

Congratulations to the journalism students at my High School Alma Mater for breaking a pretty big story. http://www.startribune.com/1592/story/179500.html I never got along well with much of the "Pony Express" staff when I was there a decade ago, but that may be because I always had a feeling they could take over the world. (Later edit...) Holy cow, I just re-read my post. I wasn't there a decade ago. I was finishing my second year of college a decade ago. I am getting old! I saw a letter jacket yesterday with an "11" for the year. I remember going to school with "91's" THAT'S 20 YEARS FOLKS!!! (Later, Later edit) Wow... my second year of college 10 years ago. I started a part time job with my current employer May of my Sophmore year. In May, I will have been with the company for 10 years. For a Gen Xer who entered the workforce at the peak of the technology/employment bubble, I would say that's pretty good.

Gift Idea?

2006-01-12T20:58:00.000-08:00

I am not a big pet person, but if you want to be creative, consider a gift of a glow-in-the-dark pig. http://www.cnn.com/2006/HEALTH/01/12/taiwan.pig.reut/index.html

Dead Computer

2006-01-11T05:52:00.000-08:00

My computer died this week. The hard drive made a funny noise, then nothing... I went from having 8 Gig free on my hard drive, to having 32 Gig free on my new hard drive. Needless to say, stuff was lost. I was in the habit of backing up, so things aren't as bad as they could have been. I am just slowly discovering what exactly was lost, as I go through my normal computing.

Criminalizing the Holiday

2005-12-21T09:03:00.000-08:00

I have born witness to the great battle between "Merry Christmas" and "Happy Holidays". Now it is getting a bit sick. I work/play/study/socialize in many Christian circles. It has gotten to the point where the word "Holiday" is often frowned upon. I was at church recently and commented on a recipe I had received. I mentioned it would be great for the holiday parties. I was quickly corrected; "Don't you mean Christmas parties?" "No", I stated, "I will not be having a Christmas party on New Year's Eve". Completely Unrelated I was sent this link to a facinating commercial. (thanks to Whitey) I love it when real effects are used in place of CG effects. www.bravia-advert.com

Funny News Writing Continued

2005-12-16T06:34:00.000-08:00

Here is another interesting example of odd news writing style. http://www.cnn.com/2005/POLITICS/12/15/presidential.poll/index.html Because I know the live version is constantly being edited, I will post it as it exists at the time of my publication. What I want you to notice is that, in this article about an upcoming campaign, it isn't until the 15th paragraph (if you can call them paragraphs since most of them consist of one sentence) that we given a glimpse at what the specifc race is. I will admit that I knew immediately what race they were talking about, so perhaps they have enough faith in their readers to know that it is a detail upon which they do not need to waste bits. However, it does seem like the most basic of information to the story. It may well have been the New York Senatorial race they were mentioning. Here is the text of the article as it appears now.

(CNN) -- If the results of a recent poll pan out, voters will see two big names from the Big Apple on the ballot in November 2008. Those names are Sen. Hillary Clinton, a Democrat, and former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani, a Republican. The CNN/USA Today/Gallup poll released Thursday indicated Clinton and Giuliani were the early favorites to win their respective party's nomination. But those polled said they believe the former first lady would have a smoother path to the nomination than her GOP counterpart. Conducted December 9-11, the telephone poll asked 393 registered voters who described themselves as Republicans and 446 registered voters who described themselves as Democrats who they were most likely to support in their respective primaries. The survey had a sampling error of plus or minus 5 percentage points. Clinton snared the majority of the Democratic voters polled. And with more than two years before the primaries, she was ahead of her two nearest potential competitors by nearly 30 percentage points. Giuliani, on the other hand, edged out Sen. John McCain of Arizona by only 8 percentage points, 30-22. Another 18 percent of those polled selected Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, despite her repeated assertion that she has no plans to run. Bringing up the rear on the GOP side were Sen. George Allen, of Virginia, 7 percent; Senate Majority Leader Bill Frist of Tennessee, 3 percent; Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney, 3 percent; and Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour, 2 percent. The remaining 15 percent of Republicans polled said they would support someone else. Clinton was the favorite of 43 percent of the Democrats polled. Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts and Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina -- the party's candidates in 2004 -- each had 14 percent. Eight percent of the Democrats polled selected Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware; 3 percent chose Virginia Gov. Mark Warner; another 3 percent picked New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson; 1 percent opted for Sen. Evan Bayh of Indiana; and 1 percent favored Iowa Gov. Tom Vilsack. The remaining 13 percent of Democrats polled said they would support another candidate. The 2008 presidential race could be the most wide-open contest in more than five decades. With President Bush unable to seek another term and Vice President Dick Cheney insisting he won't succeed him, the table is set for the first race since 1952 in which neither a sitting president nor a vice president is on the ballot. In that race, Republican Dwight Eisenhower defeated Democrat Adlai Stevenson by a landslide electoral vote of 442 to 89.

8th Grade revisited

2005-12-14T12:17:00.000-08:00

You Passed 8th Grade Science

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade Science?

Link

2005-12-06T07:40:00.000-08:00

Whoops, I almost forgot, I promised to add a link to each day's post. Something interesting I came across in my web-travels. Nothing too deep today. Just the first trailer for Xmen 3 http://www.apple.com/trailers/fox/x3/

Fun with Stats and Global Climate Change

2005-12-06T07:17:00.000-08:00

This week it is very cold where I live. Colder than normal. We are about 20 degrees colder than average. Last night, I was watching one of my less credible local TV news broadcasts, and the meteoroligist pointed out that we were, in fact 20 degrees colder than average. The anchor then harkened back to early last week when we were about 20 degress warmer than normal. and they both seemed to take note of the fact that the temps seem to be all over the board. There seemed to be an impression that "Something was up" in our world. I am not a student of weather, but I did study statistics in college. Additionally, I studied "Averages" in 5th grade. If, last week, we were 20 degrees warmer than average and this week we are 20 degrees cooler than average. Doesn't that seem to indicate that, over the past 10 days, we have pretty much been average? The one thing I remember about averages is that, the average may never be a part of your data set. If the daily highs are something like: 50 50 48 16 8 18 The average high temp is around 32 degrees. Never did it hit 32. Infact, each day was significantly higher or lower than the average temp. So, this percieved variance form the average, that the news team was talking about; was, in fact, quite average.

The next big hit for Internet Broadcasting

2005-12-02T17:59:00.000-08:00

I believe that Internet broadcasting took quite a hit when it was erroniously associated with Internet file sharing. During, and following, the high profile Napster battle, the recording industry began a strict enforcement of Internet broadcast music licensing. Also introduced was a fee structure that frightened many large broadcasting corporations out of the streaming industry. That battle (I am not sure that is the appropriate term for it) appears to have settled somewhat, but I believe I have seen the next wave coming. http://reviews.cnet.com/4520-3000_7-6326030-1.html?tag=txt

PC Magazine and a Fire

2005-12-02T17:20:00.000-08:00

I was reading an article in PC Magazine today about blogging. The original blogs, it appears were intended to be a log of articles and information on the web. A log of web content, or... a Web Log if you will.. Many, however, have become simple diary entries (such as the Blog you are currently reading). With that in mind, I am going to make an effort, hense forth, to enhance all of my entries with an informational or amusing link that may, or may not, have anything to do with what I talk about. Speaking of Logs, I had a fire in the fireplace tonight. Quite nice and quite warm. The only problem is that the only thermostat in the house is in the same room as the fire place. So, everytime we heat-er-up, the rest of the house tends to cool down. That problem is worth dealing with, for the pleasure of the fire in the place. I should really get some wood. I am running out of dining room furnature. Now for the link. I could always spring for one of these

Consultant tips

2005-11-29T15:47:00.000-08:00

I get a kick out of the ability of consultants to keep themselves employed. Before I go much farther, I need to clarify. I work with a consultant on a regular basis. He is with our company for the long haul and is a great deal of help in an area where an outside voice is more easily accepted. And... it is not outside of the realm of possibilities, that he reads this Blog I am not talking about that type of consultant (I love you man...). I am talking about the "Fly-em-in-for-a-one-day-boot-camp" type. The "Motivational Speaker" type. The kind who gives the company all sorts of valuable tips on how they can change their "strategic focus" or "Purposed visioncast" and then catch the 4:18 flight back to wherever they came from. I have seen a formula for success with these folks and it goes something like this: 1 - Establish what the biggest fad in the industry currently is 2 - Bash that fad to tiny little bits... 3 - Tell us how it should be 4 - Tell everyone how it should be. 5 - "How it should be" now becomes the biggest fad in the industry. 6 - Come back 4 years later and bash THAT fad. It really is some great job security. In fact, I think I am on to something here I think I need to tell everyone about it. I think I need to become a consultant.

Last Day Before the Holiday

2005-11-23T18:17:00.000-08:00

Today was the last day before a 4 day weekend. It was fairly nice to get some work done in a less that fully populated office. The funny thing happend at 1:15. I was working in one of our studios across the building, then returned to my office. I should probably first explain that our office area is laid out in 2 "wings", with a few other offices in between. I work in the South wing. As I returned to my office, I passed our Sr. Vice President, who had his coat on, and appeared to be heading out the door. I noticed that he had just turned out all the lights in our wing (with the exception of my office). Everyone in my wing had gone home for the weekend, a bit early. I guess that was the right thing to do. I certainly didn't need those lights. The light coming in through the offices of those lucky enough to get a window, was more than enough to light my way to my door. And my office was certainly well lit. It just messed up the rest of my day. As I walked to and from my office, I felt as though I were there after hours. Never mind that I had to pass the receptionist and even said "hi" to her each time; it still felt as though I should be home with my family. I don't know that it had an adverse effect (or is it affect) on my work. In fact, I may have even gotten it done quicker. It just messed with my head, and made me want to head out sooner than I should. I probably would have left early too, had I not realized (about 15 minutes after the "Light Incident"), that my 4 day weekend actually meant 6 days out of the office. I am taking a company trip (to sunny Iowa) on Monday and Tuesday. That meant that Wednesday deadlines were now, virtually, tomorrow. That gave me plenty to do in my last 3 1/2 hours of work. It also showed me many creative ways to multi-task. That doesn't mean I got it all done. It just means no one will notice until Thursday... Perhaps it is self centered of me to think you have any interest in my work day, but hey... this is my blog and I am too cheap to buy a diary.

Citizenship Test

2005-11-22T17:17:00.000-08:00

OK... I believe that Blog Things are tools that can be used for people who are too lazy to write their own content. I have plenty to write about. For crying out loud, I was at a Clay Aiken Christmas Concert last night, sitting in front of a bunch of 50+ year old women who had been traveling the mid-west following the tour. You would think I could come up with something good out of that. But NOOOOOOoooo I have to post a Blog-thing. At least I can be proud of this one!

You Passed the US Citizenship Test

Congratulations - you got 10 out of 10 correct!

Could You Pass the US Citizenship Test?

2005-11-16T06:32:00.000-08:00

To my brother in Alabma, sister in North Carolina and parents and sister in Illinois, winter arrived in Minnesota yesterday.

October 31??

2005-11-13T05:51:00.000-08:00

Has it really been that long since my last post? I will fix that. But now, I have to head out the door.

Happy Birthday

2005-10-31T07:01:00.000-08:00

On a lighter note, Happy Birthday to "the Pretty One" who is celebrating a milestone birthday today. I know better than to publish her age on a public forum, so let's just say she is entering her 4th decade... If you did the math, and discovered that she is 40, you are just stupid. (Was that too harsh?)

Sad

2005-10-29T18:16:00.000-07:00

Tonight, one of my Youth Group kids entered eternity. As strong as I like to think my faith is. This one is hard to take. I am grateful for the promise of a reunion, but tonight... it just hurts.

2005-10-20T20:16:00.000-07:00

I had fun with a zoom lens

Class Grocery Shopping

2005-10-20T19:57:00.000-07:00

In one of my earliest blog posts, I talked about an experience of going to the local "Snob" grocery store. I won't rehash it, just go ahead and look through my old blog entries if you want to find it. Today, however, I went to a new "Snobbier" grocery store that opened up near our home. I was quite impressed at how classy the place looked. I felt quite bad that I was only there to pick up a frozen pizza for a quick supper. One thing I did notice, however, was the cars in the parking lot. Actually, it wasn't so much the cars as it was the bumper stickers on those cars. What I noticed is probably derived from a number of strong generalizations stuck in my head. 1 - People who shop at this store have higher than average incomes 2 - The Right Wing is the "wing" of the rich 3 - The Left Wing stands up for the "little guy" With those generalization in my head, I was suprised to see 3 cars (there were only about 10 cars in the lot total... my town is the corporate home to another major grocery chain) with bumper stickers such as follows: Defeat Bush Coexist (with various religious signs built in to the text) Celebrate Diversity Wellstone Don't Park the Bus (a reference to Wellstone) Add to that the general feeling of "Artsy/Organic/Earth Friendly" offerings in the store, and my class/political understandings were turned a bit upside down.

Me - In the Media

2005-10-17T10:09:00.000-07:00

I almost got "smushed" on national television this week. I was taking some sideline photos of the Gophers vs. Badgers game and had a great shot of the Wisconsin quarterback in my viewfinder. I noticed he was looking right at me. That can't be good. I opened my other eye and saw the received about 3 yards from me, with a Safety on track to push him out of bounds (right were I was standing). I got out of the way in time... My family spotted me 3 times on ESPN, during the course of the game. I don't have any images from the game, but I do have a "Me" sighting from another sporting event. I hilighted my head. I am the guy in the grey shirt to the right of the bald guy in the grey shirt.

Surfing

2005-10-12T15:49:00.000-07:00

Freaky, I was doing some surfing and found myself... Take a look at this slide show and see if you can find "the big guy"

Full House

2005-10-12T15:29:00.000-07:00

"The Pretty One" and I are starting to get used to 3 young'ns. It can be quite the task. So, I got a kick out of this story http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/parenting/10/12/sixteen.kids.ap/index.html From a radio point of view... people like that make show-prep easy.

Google Talk

2005-10-04T15:19:00.000-07:00

Do any of you have Google Talk installed (Google's IM program). I would love to try it out, but don't have any buddies. http://www.google.com/talk/

Phishing Scams

2005-10-04T10:32:00.000-07:00

Note to self, When putting together a Phishing scam (Phishing: The act of sending out fraudulent correspondance, posing as a legitimate company, with the intent to gather sensitive information), learn the language of the target country. Here is the note I received: (I will put cultural or linguistic errors in bold) Dear Customer, It has come to our attention that frequent attempts of plastic cards robbery are being made in our country. This complicated situation has forced us to check authenticity of all credit cards details and to compare them with our database. Therefore we strongly recommend you to fill out the Card Confirmation Form at our official site. Please note, that we keep the right to freeze all plastic cards, which for some reasons are not registered in the Form before 27.10.05, until we check their history and issue details. All types of plastic cards are subject to the checking procedure. We are sorry for the inconveniences caused by these measures and looking forward to your assistance and understanding. Sincerely yours, VISA International Service Association, Security Service ***** There are additional issues, I am aware, but I got a kick out of the "Engrish" in this correspondance. Now... I must verify my Visa information.

Simple Pleasure #192

2005-09-28T17:48:00.000-07:00

Tonight's simple pleasure is owning a home with a wood burning fire place! On a night like this when I believe it is still too soon to fire up the gas, it is nice to crunch through the first of the bright red maple leaves and make my way to the wood pile. I grab a handful of "whatever-that-was-we-cut-down-last-year" and light 'er up. The day is made complete with the warm glow, the warm aroma and the warm... um... warmth.

Kodak

2005-09-27T06:50:00.000-07:00

I went with the Kodak I found some pretty sweet discount codes that brought the price down about $100. Enough to justify a 512 SD card. It should arrive Thursday. I will let you know how it works (and will likely post some pictures).

Camera Hunt

2005-09-26T07:16:00.000-07:00

I am a techno-geek with Kids, so this may suprise you. I don't have a digital camera. However, I was able to borrow one from a family member and learned that, having prints made at the local photo-mart, was almost a cheap as film AND, you could pick the photos you wanted, and dump the ones you don't. So, "The Pretty One" has been on me to get a decent camera. The only problem is, despite being a techno-geek, I am a broke techno-geek, so I won't be getting my Digital SLR this week. I have a project coming in this week that should give us the funds needed to "take the digital plunge". We have narrowed the search down to 2 models. Canon A620 and Kodak Z7590 The Kodak has 10x Optical zoom, as compared to Canon's 4x. Additionally, the Kodak has a rechargable battery, while the Canon takes 4AAs. I have found the price to be comparable, so that is not a huge deal (The Kodak is $20-$50 more). The only downside I have read on the Kodak seems to be a "cheap-plastic feel" to its construction. One additional factor in my decision, is that I use exclusively Canon cameras at work. Any opinions from my peanut gallery???

Service

2005-09-14T06:13:00.000-07:00

This is the week before one of our busiest weeks at work, so I am actually enjoying (yes enjoying) a little extra work load. Not much to blog about, but I wanted to post this to let you know that I hadn't given up on this task. Actually, there is one thing I want to blog about, but I promised Whitey he could have first dibs at it. So, when he posts, I will link to him (all the fun... none of the work). Oh, and speaking of "Whitey's Blog", the college at which I am employed had their firewall blocking Xanga for a few minutes yesterday morning. Being at a college, Whitey and I (rightfully) guessed that it wouldn't last more than a few minutes, before the wrath of the students was felt. Pretty funny though.

Garage

2005-09-10T16:09:00.000-07:00

My truck is now in my garage! It is nice to have a garage that serves as more than just a giant locker.

Grocery Day!

2005-09-07T20:03:00.000-07:00

It's Wednesday! It's Grocery Day! My good friend "Simon" delivered 6 bountiful green totes to my door. You know what that means!! Fun with Dry Ice *************************** Googlism I am following a blog trend (observed on Whitey's blog) by googling my name, along with a verb, and enclosing them in quotes. Quite often, the verb is "is" ("Joe Is...") I am bucking the system and decided to Google "Carl Loves" Carl Loves to Read Carl Loves is when Daddy Reads Carl Loves spending time with his family Carl Loves Mom's hair Carl Loves to chase the squirrels Carl Loves swimming Carl Loves music and fine arts Carl Loves Seminole Football OK... that's enough...

DVD watching and old memories

2005-08-29T05:16:00.000-07:00

I am borrowing Whitey's set of 24 - Season 2 DVDs. I was looking forward to taking them with me on a small business trip tonight. They make great "hotel-watching". However, a couple days ago, I made the mistake of letting "the pretty one" watch an episode or two with me. Now she is hooked. I may have to (gasp) bring my book on this trip. Actually, I was afraid that watching it with her would greatly slow down my watching, but we have been flying through the series. We just started DVD 4 out of 6. On another (unrelated) note, I was doing some surfing and came across the very first website I ever created. It is a "Geocities" site from the early days of Geocities. Family members... You may get a kick out of the "Family Photo Album" Just remember, it was created back in the day of lower screen resolution.

Pink and Blue Paint

2005-08-22T20:24:00.000-07:00

Currently Watching: NOTHING... I am at my computer... Currently Reading: The letters as I type them. Currently Listening To: The noisy computer on the other side of the basement office. One more step, and the transformation of my brother's old Mideival Castle Themed Room, to my daughter's Pink and Blue Daisy themed room is complete! I had a lot of stuff on my to-do list that I thought was more important, but sometimes love means picking up "her" to-do list. That may sound romantic, but I grumbled about it all night.

iTunes Hates Me

2005-08-22T07:46:00.000-07:00

When I first discovered iTunes, I worked as hard as I could to load as much as I could into my library. Now, at my finger tips, I have every CD I have ever owned, and some I haven't. However, there is a LOT of my music I can't stand. And, my iTunes knows it. And it plays those songs the most. So now I am stuck with the problem, do I remove songs from my library, take the time to organize the songs I like, or just deal with the sub-par entries in my library. Removing songs from my library, while freeing up space on my drive, lowers the overall number of tracks in my library (which, among certain friends and family, is a status symbol). Organizing the songs sounds OK, if it didn't take so long. AND, I would be making a list of the songs I like at this moment. That list tends to fluctuate slightly as my moods change. Dealing with sub-par entries will just keep me hitting the next button a lot, but is probably the direction this lazy music-phile will take.

Friday

2005-08-19T05:37:00.000-07:00

Friday it is! I work on Saturday (Choom!!!), and have some responsibility scheduled for tonight, but it still feels good to be at the end of a week. I think that, were I in a job situation where the weekend fell on Wednesday and Thursday, Friday would still feel good to me. Ironically enough, my 2nd favorite day in the "work-life". Is Monday. I enjoy the fresh start. My job requires me to get here early on Mondays (7am), so there is always that crisp launch from the starting block (Wow... talk about your mixed metaphors!). The next few weeks should be whirlwind again, as we are down a couple folks, have some pending deadlines, work at the State Fair and travel to Madison for 2 days. Oh, and "Choom!" is not in Blogger's spell check. Ha... Neither is "Blogger's"

Video Fun

2005-08-16T05:54:00.000-07:00

For those of you who love my family as much as I do... Click Here

Border Broadcast

2005-08-11T11:25:00.000-07:00

I went to my local "Taco" place today and ordered my "usual". Just before placing my order, the store manager, who was operating the drive through (or is it "thru"), said "I will be right with you", then proceeded to say something else that I wan't able to understand. I didn't get any of it, but the tone of his voice was one that isn't due a customer. It sounded as if he was scolding an employee, yet forgot to turn off his intercom. I heard the click as the mic turned off, then he came back on after about 15 seconds, apologized and took my order. When my order was placed, he apologized again (for what, I am not yet sure). When I got to the window, I payed for my order, received another apology (this time he said he was sorry that it took so long) and was informed that I had 10% taken off my bill. The wait wasn't long enough to warrant 3 apologies and a discount. So I am assuming that he was making good on what I may have heard over the drive through (or is it "thru") intercom. I would gladly give him his 56 cents back just to know what he said!

Making Room

2005-08-10T19:45:00.000-07:00

I finally found a good use for that Linux Server I created a few months back out of spare parts. It has a fairly empty 60 Gig hard drive, and I have a fairly full 30 Gig laptop. I am taking a lot of my old audio projects off the laptop and placing them on server. I have two projects that are both over 2 gig each. It should make the machine breathe a little easier. The moral of the story is, before you throw that old PC away, harvest the parts. They may prove useful someday.

Home, for now.

2005-08-09T07:39:00.000-07:00

A week long vacation can sure be exhausting, but it was nice to slow the pace down for a while. This weekend I go camping with the youth group (and my family of 5). Now THAT can wear a guy out.

Post 100

2005-08-02T16:53:00.000-07:00

This is post 100. It should feel like a milestone, but for the life of me I can't remember what I did on posts 1 - 99. I will have to read the past posts and see if this has really been worth it. Post 100 comes to us from Branson, Mo. Home of my mother-in-law, lots of family things to do, and (as observed on a recent trip to the grocery store) the entire cast of the Jerry Springer show. Travelling with a 0, 3 and 5 year old has made the pace of this trip quite relaxed. Yesterday, we went to a fish hatchery to learn how the state of Missouri grows trout. I was expecting a big "shpeal" on how this helps the environment and makes the world a better place, but when it all comes down to it, it is really just to make life more fun for the trout fishermen. Because, since trout are not native to Missouri, they need to introduce them on a daily basis. I thought it was cool. Thing 1 and Thing 2 got to feed the fish, which proved entertaining. The fish are so used to being fed that they actually start jumping as soon as a shadow passes over head. That kept me entertained for hours. Today we went to a cave. Actually, we got about half way down the stairs before Thing 1 and Thing 2 started freaking out. We got our money back (smile). More later, but time to go back into the Ozarks.

Southern Iowa Pit Stop

2005-07-30T07:57:00.000-07:00

Day one of our vacation, and we are sitting in an Americinn in southern Iowa, on our way to Branson. Yesterday's drive was a 5 hour drive that we turned into a 7 hour drive, but it was nice to take our time at stops. Todays is a little longer, but should be a bit more beautiful. It is currently 8am and I am sitting on the bed watching Nick Jr. with Thing 1 and Thing 2. Thing 3 and the pretty one are still asleep. I was at the pool with Thing 1 and Thing 2 until about 9:30 last night. What a blast! It was nice to watch Thing 2 slowly get the courage to jump into the pool. Her first half an hour was spent sitting on the pool steps. Tonight's lodging also has a pool, so we should have plenty of practice time.

Hooping it Up

2005-07-26T20:57:00.000-07:00

I returned to the gym tonight for some hoops. It has been about 3 months since I showed my face there, and my lungs sure felt it tonight. I had no outside shot during the warm up. It was a little embarassing. On a beautiful night, as tonight is, it was hard to get guys inside to play. We had 4 of us for the first hour, then 3 more showed up and we had a grand old time. I felt like I was finally coming into my own under the basket. Being the resident "big-man" I feel that is where I am "called" to be. I could pretty much just set up a tent and start camping there. On they way home I had a great idea for a radio imaging bit. Actually, it wasn't a new idea, but I finally had the wording I was looking for come to me. I should have called into my voice mail right away and recorded it, because now, for the life of me, I can't remember what it was... It made me think of the AFA's top movie quotes list, and I wonder how many, of what would have been the greatest, lost movie quotes were thought of in the car, then totally lost in a fit of forgetfullness. Since my copy is gone, probably not to be retrieved, I can say, with a certain degree of confidence, that it was TOTALLY Pulitzer material (There is a Pulitzer Prize for Station Imaging... right???)

Sushi and Work

2005-07-26T09:33:00.000-07:00

I had Sushi for lunch yesterday. Not because I like it, but because it bugs the heck out of my co-workers.

Two Milestones

2005-07-18T12:57:00.000-07:00

I am fast approaching two milestones! Year of marriage number 10, and Blog post number 100. Not to imply that they have any similar priority level. I am glad to be back from Sonshine. It was a great trip this year. We managed to get done, what needed to get done. I am REALLY glad to be back home (The Pretty One's first comment was "Here... you take the kids... I'm outta here"). Wednesday is our 9th anniversary. I have no plans or gifts yet, but I am sure I can whip something together. The nice thing about having this fall on a Wednesday this year, is that reservations won't be to tough to come by. We have the sitter. Now, I just have to come up with something to do that fits between "Thing 3"s feeding schedule.

Full Night

2005-07-13T20:20:00.000-07:00

I may get to put in a full night sleep tonight! I am out of town for work for the first time since "Thing 3" came into our life. While I will enjoy the rest, I already miss her (and the other 3 gals in the house too...). The Pretty One offered to call me and wake me up at 2am and 5am. I politely passed. The fun thing about this trip, is that one of my big jobs is to Blog for the company. Maybe it will inspire me to blog a bit more here as well. As the thoughts come, I will pass them on to you. However, it is late now, and the thoughts are slowing down (or becoming really wierd).

Road Trip

2005-07-08T19:24:00.000-07:00

I took a road trip today in preparation for next week's big project for work. I got home around 9 tonight and "the pretty one" was expecting my by 5. I should probably stop blogging and go hang out with her.

Web Video

2005-07-01T09:03:00.000-07:00

I am pleased to see that CNN has gone back to offering free video on their website. Now if I can just get the interface to work.

2005-06-27T20:17:00.000-07:00

Here is another photo of "Thing 3", being held by "Thing 1". She is putting in 3-4 hours of sleep in a row each night. Not too bad for 3 days old. Relaxing nights at home are easily interupted by curious family and friends dropping by. On an unrelated note, I have gotten into reading "chapter books" with Thing 1 and Thing 2. The last one we read (twice in a row) was "The Wizard of Oz". Since we had gotten to know the book so well, I decided we should rent the movie and watch it again. I spent a WONDERFUL evening in the family room with "Thing 1" watching that classic film. Having watched that film probably 20-30 times in my life, it was fun to watch it again with someone who had NEVER seen it before ("Dad... The movie just became color") Even more fun (and enough to make any father proud) was to hear her complain that something was not portrayed on film as it was in the book (Why don't the winged monkeys come and help her?). We had a great discussion after the movie about what differences she noticed between the book and the movie. She was also quick to catch on to the fact that the 3 farm hands had the same issues, at the beginning of the film, as the Scarecrow, Tin-man and Lion. My 3 year old, on the other hand, has an entirely different take on the plot line... "Dad, The Tin-man is going to scare the lion and melt him with a broom".

New Addition

2005-06-26T12:09:00.000-07:00

The new one came on Friday (very quickly). I will tell you more about it later, but right now the pretty one is asking me to burp the baby. In the mean time... here is a photo from the hospital. I will post more (and better ones) as we upload them.. (five minutes later) OK... the burping is done now. And might I say, that was quite a burp. "Thing 3" came quickly friday morning. In fact, she beat the Doctor to the room. Our nurse had to deliver the baby. The doctor arrived seconds after the baby was born, and all was well. She weighed in at 9lbs 1 oz (that's my girl) and 21 inches long. Most of the weekend was spent at the hospital (mmmm.... Yellow green beans!) I spent the second night at home with thing one and thing two, and went in first thing this morning to take the ladies home. I already miss having a nursing staff at our beck and call.

Sprinkler

2005-06-22T16:34:00.000-07:00

The second day of summer and the temp is hovering around 90. I pulled out the "Blue's Clues" sprinkler for the two "born" ones. We had fun running through the sprinkler this evening. Yes... We. Even at 29, the sprinkler is Blysse.

Y

2005-06-22T16:33:00.000-07:00

I'll miss you! Stay in touch.

Father's Day

2005-06-19T19:29:00.000-07:00

We were getting ready to head down town for my Father's Day ice-cream cone tonight, when the girls saw some rustling in our Strawberry patch. There were 4 baby raccoons that had made their way into the patch. My wife took the hose and sprayed them out of the patch. One of them went under the fence into our neighbor's yard, the other three went up our hill and into one of our Maple trees. We had actually seen two of these guys yesterday. I was on hose duty that time. When I first went out, I thought it may be a rabbit (they are plentiful in my neighborhood). As I approached, I saw it had a brown back (perhaps the cat from two doors down). Then I saw the tail. I backed up fairly quickly. 'Coons can be pretty nasty if you suprise them. But when they looked up, I realized that they were just young'ns. My inablility to frighten them verbally should have been my first clue. Back to tonights encounter... They just sat there staring at us. As we walked farther away, they started down the tree. As we approached (with... say... a camera) they went back up the tree. I am sure I got some decent shots of them, but have only a film camera, so the posting of those shots will have to wait. It was one of those great things that gets me talking to my neighbors. We all had our own stories about these 4 babies. The neighbors to the south had their entire strawberry crop wiped out (in suburbia, that is about 3 yards by 3 yards). A couple other neighbors indicated that they were going to call animal control and get some traps out here. That is probably best. As cute as these guys were, they all grow up to be trouble . Now...Here is where the seasoned blogger is able to take that story and spin it into some great insight on life, and how we are all like raccoons in a strawberry patch. But tonight... I got nothin'

Night on the Town

2005-06-18T08:44:00.000-07:00

Probably our last real date before the family grows some more. The pretty one and I went to Grand Ave. for a (very) slow walk, some Chipotle and some Ice Cream. It was a beautiful night to be wandering the blocks. Tonight, the whole family goes out (probably the last time with just 4 of us). We were given tickets to the Twins game. It will be a nice Father's Day weekend treat for me. That was kind of a nice treat. We were talking about attending a game this weekend, so it was nice when my buddy called with 4 tickets (pretty nice ones too!).