The New Adventures of Old Jeff

Dawning of a new era

2008-12-10T11:04:00.002-05:00

OK - so Sarah changed her blog theme and I got jealous. I want a cool blog too. Waaaaaaahhhhh.

Go check out the new one. It's got all the same posts but it's way cooler. I'm gonna try to get this thing forwarded over ayutomatically, but I dunno if it's gonna happen. Either way, you should probably add this address to your Feed Readers, Bookmarks and lists of other Happy Places: http://clickyclicky.rezer.com.

Budget Crunch

2008-11-24T13:13:00.002-05:00

Sarah and I finished our first "budget cycle" and actually did fairly well... We budgeted for bills, set aside money for gas, food, eating out, etc and even left in some "play money". Due to the expense we had to incur to fix our brakes, we ended up a little behind, but since I'll be receiving some money from a client in a week or so, plus the fact that we actually BUDGETED for the expense, we're coming out much better off than we would have. Hooray!

Sarah and I both have a difficult time keeping up with expenses, paying bills, etc so now we've got a new system... I'll be the one doing most of the up-front budgeting (with input from her, of course), plus I'll be keeping up to date with bills, etc. The new part that we're adding in is the fact that I'll be meeting with Sarah weekly and BOTH of us will decide if we need to make modifications to the budget, borrow from other categories, etc. It just works so much better if we're both aware of what's happening. Surprises are never good. We've found a bunch of links, spreadsheets and calculators that can help us do the tracking and calculations, plus we're now using the old "Envelope System" for most of our regular expenses, like Gas, Groceries, Eating Out, etc. We ONLY use cash, and once the money's gone, the money's GONE. It actually worked out really well except for the gas category -- it's a lot harder for Sarah since she needs to go inside and pay with cash, which means taking E out of the car, etc etc.

We've also broken out the bills by the week they're due with a spreadsheet created to simulate the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace University worksheets that do the same thing, so now we can see how much we'll have each pay period and be able to gauge accordingly. Very cool. Also very helpful for adjusting the budget numbers before settling on the totals -- saves a lot of erasing!

Another very cool thing that I found out -- almost 2 years ago, Sarah and I had ordered Microsoft Money online, but we lost it when our computer crashed. BUT -- because it was a digital download, plus I paid for the extended download service, we were able to figure out our old account user/password and download it again FOR FREE!!! Very cool... and also nice especially cause we're on this budgeting kick. I'm sure it will really help us out once it's time to do taxes in 2009 as well! It will automatically download our transactions from the bank and we'll have a permanent record of them, plus we can even use it to do my client billings! Can you say "ORGANIZED"???

More to come another time --

PS: if you want copies of the spreadsheets and other tools I've found, let me know. I may even post the links here when I get the chance.

A little bit on the "Worst Football Game Ever Played"

2008-11-21T13:04:00.001-05:00

A little something from one of my favorite SI contributors, Bill Simmons...

You know how Mike Holmgren is retiring after this season? I think Andy Reid retired three years ago. That's the only explanation. He just didn't tell us. Our friend Mike Lombardi did a nice job breaking down the epic "Four Two-Minute Drills" debacle Sunday in Cincinnati; that game was so unbelievably bad that NFL Films should be working on a one-hour documentary about it. I'm not even kidding. That was the worst football game ever played. We need to spend a solid year interviewing people and breaking down the key moments so we can place it in its proper historical perspective.

(Note: I was forced to monitor it for fantasy purposes, which reminds me: Congrats to Donovan McNabb for throwing 58 times in a five-quarter game against a 1-8 team, ending up with just 17 points and officially ending my West Coast season once the Bills' D and Marshawn Lynch somehow combined to make up a 26-point deficit on me, marking the fourth time this year that I lost in heartbreaking fashion on Monday night. I wish I had the heart to write a "Goodbye to Fantasy Football" letter like when Joey wrote his "Goodbye to Drugs" letter on the "Real World: Hollywood." Dear fantasy football, I'm saying goodbye to you because you've done nothing but trick me and disappoint me. You told me you were my friend, but all you did was let me down. You wasted my Sundays, you wasted my Sundays …)

So, what would the Bengals-Eagles documentary be called? I vote for either "Four Hours Of Life That Nobody Will Get Back" or "The Longest Turd." Either of these will do. I don't care. And, yes, I wanted this show even before McNabb pushed the epicness (epicity? epiciousness? epicism?) of such a memorably putrid game by admitting he didn't know the overtime rules. I thought Warren Sapp summed it up well:

"Donovan, your legacy will be throwing up in the Super Bowl, Rush Limbaugh and now -- not knowing there were ties!!!"

I'd also throw in Campbell's Chunky Soup commercials, but, yes, that's probably it. I have watched far too much of the Eagles this season (again, for fantasy purposes) and would evaluate McNabb's 2008 performance like so: out of shape, careless, semi-competitive and uninspiring. The fact that Philly can't run the ball in short-yardage situations but McNabb never, ever, EVER runs QB draws or sneaks should tell you something. I think he just doesn't want to get hit anymore. He seems like a guy on his way out of the league to me.

(Funniest e-mail of the week, from a Philly fan calling himself "Andy Reid": "So, I pulled into my local drive-thru. After analyzing the menu for 25 minutes I quickly placed my order. As I pulled to the first window I was shocked to see Donovan McNabb working the register. Unfortunately, I pulled a foot away from the window. I had no idea how to get my money in there. Do I hand it in or try and throw it? I decided it would be better to waste five minutes backing out and pulling back in. After I handed Donovan my money, he threw my change five feet over my car. After receiving my food, I double-checked to make sure I had the right order. I checked for three minutes and knew they messed it up. I pulled back to the window to complain. After giving the employee a stare of mild confusion, he informed me that I had received what I ordered. I pulled away stunned.")

Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci - wikiHow

2008-11-11T23:14:00.000-05:00

Think Like Leonardo Da Vinci - wikiHow

Great. Now all I have to do is figure out how to invent all that crap, learn to write backwards and infiltrate the Priory of Sion.

Hands-On: Digital Praise's Christian-Themed 'Guitar Hero' Clone | Listening Post from Wired.com

2008-11-05T13:47:00.000-05:00

SERIOUSLY???

Hands-On: Digital Praise's Christian-Themed 'Guitar Hero' Clone | Listening Post from Wired.com

"There's no place like home..."

2008-10-29T11:48:00.002-04:00

Getting ready for a quick visit... it's been too long since we've seen Mom and Dad. It will be quick, and jam-packed, but still nice.

If you're a friend living in the Philly area, I probably won't have much time at all apart from family things, so please forgive me if I don't get a chance to visit. Just sayin'...

Now that's what I call political support!

2008-10-23T14:24:00.001-04:00

Something tells me this guy's gonna have some problems at home, even if McCain DOES win the election.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/offbeat/2008-10-14-baby-politicalname_N.htm?csp=34

ELIZABETHTON, Tenn. (AP) — A new father has secretly named his baby girl Sarah McCain Palin after the Republican ticket for president and vice president. Mark Ciptak of Elizabethton put that name on the documents for the girl's birth certificate, ignoring the name Ava Grace, which he and his wife had picked earlier.

"I don't think she believes me yet," he told the Kingsport Times-News. "It's going to take some more convincing."

Posting to blogger can be fun

2008-10-23T13:55:00.001-04:00

Jsut checking to see if this still works...

The Phillies won GAME 1 LAST NIGHT! Yahoooooo! I was reading Shane Victorino's blog (Phillies CF) about how/why he got thrown out at the plate...

"Oh, and on my trying to score on that shallow fly ball. That was a miscommunication between Steve Smith and myself. I heard, 'go.' He said, 'No.' B.J. Upton made a great play and has got a great arm. I don't know why I tried to test him there. But we got the win, and that's all it's about. We were able to overcome some things tonight and pull out a win."

Here's what Dad has to say...

"From my blog" . . . Good coaching would be to position yourself to be in sight of the runner and then drop your upraised arm at the moment of the catch (if you want to try to score the runner) - or give the stop sign if you're not going to have him break. We all learned in school that the speed of sight is faster than the speed of sound.

I tell ya, I learned from the best! Go Coach Rezer!

Those Phightin' Phils!

2008-10-16T12:59:00.006-04:00

Wowwwweeeee! I'm so excited I can scarcely contain myself. Those of you who know sports know that this doesn't happen for Philadelphia fans very often... so you'll need to excuse our complete and utter ecstacy right now!

It's been a lot of fun watching the games over the past few weeks, and one thing that's been even more fun is being able to watch parts of some of them with Sarah. While I can't say that she's a baseball fan AT ALL (she would rather watch football if given the choice), she knows quite a bit about sports in general, including knowing retired player names and things like the fact that the Dodgers used to be from Brooklyn. How many non-NYer women know that? Very few, I expect.

While watching the games, recently she's come up with a few comments recently that had be rolling. Let the quoting begin:

S: "Is that the manager?" (referring to Phils skipper Charlie Manuel)

J: "Yep."

S: "He looks like HE's had a few beers... look at his belly! It's all pointy..."

and referring to Manny Ramirez, Dodgers OF:

S: "Whooooaa -- what's up with HIS hair?"

and the best of all, referring to Manny's helmet...

S: "What's up with his batting helmet? It's all full o' crap..."

J: "Probably just pine-tar. They use it on their gloves to keep the bat from slipping."

S: "Well it looks like someone took a crap all over his helmet... it's NAAAASTY!"

(Sorry this is an old picture... apparently he liked spreading pine tar all over his helmet in Boston too!)

Just keep winning...

2008-10-13T09:30:00.003-04:00

This is all I have to say...

Michigan, OSU -- here we come!!!

Since my last post...

2008-10-11T22:14:00.003-04:00

I have lost two straight games. Hopefully we can turn that tide this week with a win and improve to 4-2. I've had some tough luck, leaving some guys on the bench that played well and at the same time having my stars get shut down unexpectedly... but "Them's the breaks..." I also tied a game last week and ended up losing on the tiebreaker, which was Fantasy D points allowed. What can you do? I won a game the same way earlier in the season, so I figure it's all karma, baby.

More to come... but first, a video of Ethan's 3rd birthday! We had a blast. Make sure you check out the photo gallery on Picasa!

http://picasaweb.google.com/jrezer/Ethans3rdBirthday

Just to pat myself on the back...

2008-09-23T14:20:00.003-04:00

Yes folks, the Gridiron Gurus are in first...

No thanks to ToOrry Holt and Ryan Grant.

But many thanks to my brother Rich.

:-)

Hannah is moving Eastward...

2008-09-03T15:20:00.000-04:00

The updated storm track has our lovely Miss Hannah further off Florida's Atlantic coast than previously expected... so that's GOOD. Keep praying she stays out there in the water where she can't hurt anyone.

Hannah cometh

2008-09-02T12:44:00.003-04:00

Oh, perfect.

Disney Time = Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun, Mon, Tue

Hannah Time = Thu, Fri, Sat, Sun... who knows?

Better start praying now... :-(

Fun with ladders

2008-08-29T09:52:00.004-04:00

Got a prayer request for someone from our church who recently fell off a ladder and broke his pelvis. What's up with all this ladder falling?

So, during my search for a graphic that I could use to create some Facebook Flair touting the importance of doing tandem-ladder-thingy-stuff, I came across this page. Somehow I don't think this is what was meant when they say "Never climb a ladder alone..."

View all the latest entries for the OSHA-sponsored Darwin Awards here. The pictures speak for themselves:

http://onemansblog.com/2007/09/05/wheres-osha-when-you-need-em/

And if you want to climb a ladder... PLEASE... CALL ME! :-)

IT SHALL BE MINE AGAIN!!!

2008-08-26T09:09:00.002-04:00

Muaaahahahhhhaaaaahaha!

Unlike the winners from 2005 and 2006, I am returning to play this year and will allow the league to TRY and win some of their money back. How generous am I?

Ethan strikes again

2008-08-25T09:17:00.003-04:00

He is now singing the alphabet... BACKWARDS. No joke. Daddy and Mommy started singing it to him cause he thought it was funny, and now he has memorized it after hearing it only 5 or 6 times. I believe there's a video coming...

We were over hanging out with Charlie Hines (our Music Pastor) and his wife Traci, and we told them about it and they didn't believe us... until he actually did it. I love watching the look on people's faces when he does it. If I get this much enjoyment out of little things like this, I can't imagine what it's gonna be like when he hits his first homer or scores his first touchdown... :-)

The kid is FREAKY. I love him!

Medical Update 2

2008-08-25T09:14:00.002-04:00

Just to update you all...

Rich came home mid last week... the doctors were amazed that he wasn't more injured than he was. No memory loss, and no muscle/nerve damage, etc etc... he does have a cracked sinus plate, but they are fairly sure at this point that it will heal within 6 weeks without the need for surgery.

I believe he is taking some time off from work and then continuing with vacation plans the following week. The key at this point is to keep his 100lb+ dog from jumping on him... needless to say that has the potential to hinder the recovery. :-)

He seems to be in good spirits... I want to thank everyone for your prayers!

Medical update

2008-08-19T14:10:00.003-04:00

For anyone checking here, just wanted to let you know that so far Rich is doing well. He's a bit banged up with a broken left forearm (BOTH bones), a cracked/chipped tooth, black eye and some other scrapes and bruises. Other than the pain, he's doing quite well... and seemed to be in good spirits when I called and spoke with him the other day. He was hoping to be released today if all goes well, but they are still monitoring him for a possible cracked sinus plate. They are hoping to be able to treat with antibiotics, however if there is any leakage of sinus fluid they'll need to operate. We DON'T want that -- so please keep him in your prayers.

For those who hadn't heard about the accident -- Rich slipped off a ladder while cleaning his gutters at home and landed HARD on the driveway. Compund fracture of the left arm. OWCH. He was taken to U of Penn Hospital and he's hanging in there. There is a 4-6" plate in his arm with a bunch of screws that will need to be there for at least 12 months...

Things my son does that really freak me out...

2008-08-17T21:24:00.003-04:00

Sometimes it's scary. Like really freaky scary... not BOO scary. :-)

I'm going to start a list here of things he does that make me stop and ponder how crazy his memory really is... prepare yourself... and remember that the kid is 2 and a half.

Today we were counting stairs at church. Not "1, 2, 3..."mind you. We got up to 22... cause there were a lot, of course. And he likes to count. He can go up to 100 by himself. And sometimes he'll do it by himself in bed just to pass the time... but that's not the freaky scary part.... After getting up to 22, we walked around the corner, stopped for a chat with someone, etc, and then there was another set of stairs -- but he didn't start over at 1. He picked up right where he left off a few minutes earlier... "23, 24, 25.... 31, 32..." Seriously, kid...

The other day I made up a stupid little verse to the classic kiddy song "The Wheels on the Bus"... and sang it ONCE about 3 days ago. He started singing it today all by himself, unprompted.

I planned on teaching him "Take me out to the Ballgame" for Pop's visit in July as a surprise and planned ahead by a week to make sure we had enough time. Ethan learned it COLD after singing it 3 times in one night.

He also learned the Lord's Prayer and can recite it all by himself...

Methinks he's got his mommy's memory and his daddy's affinity for numbers and patterns. I think it's gonna prove to be a scary situation for his teachers... when he finally gets into nursery school. I really am frightened for them...

What do I Need?...

2008-08-14T14:48:00.004-04:00

So a bunch of friends of mine have started this little internet experiment... just type your name and "needs" into Google and post the results if you want to play along... you might want to put both items in quotes for better results.

Here are my top 10 answers:

10. Jeff needs a nap.

(ZZZZZZZZzzzzzz....)

9. Jeff needs to stay away from high profile...

(apparently whoever wrote this needs to learn how to finish their sentences)

8. Jeff needs a drink!

Don't we all?

7. Jeff needs to remember the tiny size of the Kindle market in the grand scheme of things.

HUH? I don't need to steeeenkin' firewood!

6. Jeff needs people in Myanmar.

Again?

5. Jeff needs a tan.

Burn baby, burn. They don't call me the Human Lobster for nothing, you know. You gotta EARN that nickname.

4. Jeff needs to see some movies [apparently]...

I only wish I knew what they were.

3. Jeff needs to Dance!

Too Bad SYTYCD is over for this year

2. Jeff needs YOU!!!

I'm gonna send this slogan to the US Army and see what they can do with it. It has potential...

...and the NUMBER ONE thing Jeff needs...

1. Jeff needs to fix my ^&*!er!!!!!

I'm NOT retyping this one. Google it and YOU find out what it says!

The words I use...

2008-07-16T12:35:00.004-04:00

Sarah sent me a cool link... this online program called "Wordle" actually generates a map of all the words you use on your site in their relative weightings... larger words appear more, smaller words appear less. Pretty cool.

Glad to see Ethan and Sarah are two of the biggest words on there... although I AM surprised I don't see BEER anywhere! :-)

(click for a larger version)

Ma and Pa Re

2008-07-16T12:23:00.002-04:00

Mom and Dad are coming tomorrow! We can't wait! It's been 3-4 months since we've seen them, and this visit will be a little longer AND over a weekend, so I'll actually get to spend more time with them than just the evenings! Last time they came it rained almost the whole time as well, so hopefully we'll be able to do some things outside this time!

In other news...

I rescued a little white dog yesterday... she was very cute, and very friendly, but had no leash and no dog tag. Nada. We live one house in from a busy street, and this doggie wouldn't have had a chance if she decided to take a stroll a bit past our yard...

So I scooped her up and Ethan and I trekked off down the street looking for the owner. Asked about a half-dozen people and nobody knew who she belonged to. Great.
So I headed home, put the doggie in the backyard and went inside to tell Sarah. After an attempt to get her to drink something (she didn't), we all set off down the street again, this time with the doggie on a leash. I was not about to give her another 30-minute-long "free ride". Luckily the first person we asked on the street saw the dog and said "Oh, yeah... she's mine..." Nice. Glad you were so concerned.

Time to blog again

2008-07-11T12:16:00.003-04:00

Things have died down at work recently, as we're in between projects, so I decided it would be a good time to blog while having lunch. I am quite the multi-tasker.

Ethan scares me.

Seriously.

I think his brain might explode if he continues learning at this pace.

You may laugh, but it really does concern me that he's getting so intelligent -- it's going to be difficult for his teachers (once he starts going to school) to challenge him since he's already doing things that 4 and 5 year-olds are learning. His most recent accomplishment is that he pretty much can write ALL of his letters by himself, and now he's starting to write words. I've even seen him sound out words that peopls asked him to write and then come up with the letters that matched the sounds and then write them down. Are you kidding me?

He learns SO quickly -- in most cases, we give him something and after 3 or 4 tries, he pretty much has it down. I was planning on surprising "Pop" the other day by getting E to learn how to sing "Take me out to the ballgame". I figured I'd give him a week or so.

He learned it in ONE night.

So Mom and Dad are coming in a week! WE are super excited here, and are already thinking of ways we can spend the time together! This time we're not doing anything special at church, and they're able to come over a weekend instead of during the week, so I'll have much more time to spend with them... which is way cooler! I'm glad that Ethan will be able to spend more time with them, and even though our webcam sessions are great, a camera can't give a HUG!

Still struggling through finances. I put this out there not as a request for help but more of a way to honestly document my feelings and not hide from it. Sarah and I really don't spend money on frivolous things or things for ourselves -- it's more about spending money on "life" things... bills, house, etc... and there isn't ANYTHING left over at the end. We've tried everything short of something MAJOR like selling a car or something... but even selling the Van would put us in a hole cause we owe about $8K more on it than it's worth... if not more. We can't refinance to take advantage of low interest rates cause we don't have enough built up in equity to qualify. Even the extra money I'm making from web design clients and hosting ends up being spent on groceries and things.

I struggle with the idea of taking a second job cause I know it will really run me down, and I don't want to spend even more time away from the family, but it's getting to that point where I might just need to do it for a while to help dig us out and build our reserves back up again. Sarah is also looking into opps for employment, but having Ethan at home, needing to find and pay for childcare, and really needing weekends off for church really digs into most of the employment options (read: "retail") that would really fit our schedule. She's looking into AVON at this point and we may go that route... it seems like it might be a better alternative than PartyLite considering our home situation and schedule. Please say a prayer for us as we continue working through it all.

Ok - work calls. Thank goodness for Fridays and early dismissal at 3pm!

Long time, no blog

2008-06-16T12:37:00.008-04:00

As usual, a lot of news to report... first, the most recent...

Sarah, E and I had a chance to get away this past weekend and get "back to nature". My supervisor at work has a cabin in the Hocking Hills area that is absolutely GORGEOUS and we were blessed to be able to spend a few days there relaxing, spending time outdoors, adventuring and all kinds of other fun stuff. The cabin looked to be only a year or two old and was beautiful -- a real log home, all wood, but outfitted with modern conveniences like electric, A/C, plumbing, stove, fridge, the works... we had an awesome time! I'm sure we'll be blogging and posting pix, but I wanted to at least get this bit up here ASAP.

Another fun thing I got to do this past week was FINALLY surprise my wife. I've been trying for YEARS without much success... Sarah is the QUEEN of surprises and always seems to figure things out before they actually happen. Usually it's my fault cause I do something stupid like leave my Email up so she can see it, or say something incriminating... but this time, it WORKED! We got a chance to go see James Taylor at Riverbend, an outdoor venue outside Cincinnati, and I was able to get the tickets and everything without her knowing. I even made her drive. AWESOME! She thought we were going to go stargazing at the Cincy Observatory (another gift I'd promised), so the fact that we needed to wear cool clothing and bring a water bottle and blanket made sense. There was even an overhead blinky roadsign on the way that said something about "Concert Traffic" that she totally missed... thank goodness. Needless to say, it was a great evening, and the weather was PERFECT. I told her she'd better remember this night cause I might not be able to pull something like it off again for another 5 years or so. :-)

This week's gonna be nuts cause my boss is out and we've got a ton to do -- new product releases and website launches -- so I guess I'd better get back to it... pix to come.

I've been tagged

2008-05-27T14:55:00.001-04:00

Deb tagged me in a blog cause I whined last time she didn't tag me, so
I guess that means I've got to play along this time. Bummer I already
posted for the day... I coulda sued this post instead. :-)

Rules:
The rules of the game get posted at the beginning. Each player answers
the questions about himself or herself. At the end of the post, the
player then tags five people and posts their names, then goes to their
blogs and leaves them a comment, letting them know they've been tagged
and asking them to read your blog.

Ten years ago:
1998. I was rockin' the east coast in one of the area's premiere cover
bands, Flip Like Wilson. Just started dating a girl who I'd date for
close to 5 years, and I was still living in Philly. Had started my own
consulting company and really was just working weekends with the band
and taking an occasional job.

Five things on today's "to do" list:
1. Figure out why the crap Google Analytics isn't tracking storefront
item detail pages
2. Work with Sarah on upcoming work assignment.
3. Do Dishes. Feed Dogs. Change Diapers. All that other house nonsense.
4. Go through music for tomorrow evening's Shareholders event at Vineyard.
5. Figure out how to prioritize all the other things from my to-do list

Three bad habits:
1. Too much TV and not enough one-on-one time with Sarah
2. Eating out way too much
3. Too much time on email

Five places I've lived:
1. Havertown, PA (SW Philly suburb)
2. State College, PA (Go Nittany Lions!)
3. King of Prussia, PA
4. Montgomery Village/Gaithersburg, MD
5. Cincinnati, OH

Five jobs I've had:
1. Drive Thru Convenience Store Clerk
2. Asst. Title Clerk
3. Web Designer
4. Director of IT
5. Manager of Online Advertising

I will tag:
1. Keith
2. Dan
3. YOU!

Memorial Day fun

2008-05-27T11:54:00.001-04:00

Had a great time this weekend... a lot going on, and a lot not going
on. Just the way I like it.

Got a chance to go spend Memorial Day picnicing and playing at a local
park. Sarah and I got a picnic lunch together the day before,
consisting of sandwiches, fruit salad, hummus (Yummus!) and pita chips
and some Orangina. Mimi accompanied us and we sat underneath a big
shade tree and ate lunch, Ethan ran around like a crazy man and
learned a new game -- Duck Duck Goose. Thanks Mimi... he won't stop
saying it now. :-)

There was a "thank you" party at church for all members of the tech
team, so we also got a chance to go and hang out and eat free food.
Nothing wrong with that... They also had a Wii setup on a large screen
and had Rock Band running in another corner of the room. I think Ethan
is obsessed, and although I'm not sure right now if he's gonna be a
singer, keyboardist, guitarist or drummer in the future Rezer Rock
Band, I do know that he may go the Jimi Hendrix route and play
left-handed... it was all I could do to get him to hold that guitar
controller the "right" way... he kept wanting to hold it like a lefty.
On another "note", he is starting to match pitch, and his songs now
have a distinct melody and his relative pitch is SPOT ON! It's
amazing...

Speaking of amazing, Ethan is up to like 50 words now (or so it seems)
and is starting to recognize words INSIDE of other words... the best
examples are seeing ETHAN in "Ethan Allan" and NO inside of words like
"KNOW" and "NOT". He also knows the difference between TO and TWO (as
in "T-O- that spells 'to'... not the number..."). Crazy. I got him to
also start counting backwards... and not just 5-4-3-2-1. He's starting
at TWENTY. Yipes. There may be a future for him as a NASA launch
operator. "20-19-18... BLASTOFF!"

We served in the band all weekend as well, so all in all it was a full
weekend. Glad to be back at work (I think) cause there's a lot to do,
but I wish I coulda had another day of doing a lot of nothing. :-)

I used to have cool musician toys...

2008-05-22T10:25:00.001-04:00

I recently decided that in order to make some extra money for
vacation, I would start selling stuff that's now not being used
anymore and sitting on my shelves and laying around the house. A 19"
flat panel digital monitor, some powered speakers, and... my theremin.
(GASP!)

Seriously though, I can't say that I ever really used it... it was one
of those cool music toys that I bought when I had money. Now I don't
have money... and I need money... so I sold it. End of story. I am no
longer cool. :-)

Can I just say that I love CraigsList? I posted this (and some other
items) last night and by morning I already had 3 inquiries! We sold
our couch and love seat earlier in the year and now I think we really
need to purge and start getting serious about what we need and what we
DON'T need -- and then spend the time and energy to list the items and
sell them.

Remote Blogging can be fun

2008-05-20T11:21:00.001-04:00

This is so much easier that logging in to my blog and then posting.
Most times the page doesn't even load all the way, and then I have to
refresh and do all kinds of other adjustments because of the bandwidth
shortage and firewall issues here at work. But this is much happier.
Yay for Email blogging.

Sarah and I started working on a new site for the Moms group she's
going to be involved with again -- same group, only now our friend Amy
is taking over the leadership role, and Sarah is thinking that this
new direction is going to be a welcome change and will appeal to her
much more. She's really been getting into the web stuff, and is doing
quite well. Most of the changes she's making herself, including
designing graphics, etc. Check out the coolio logo she made (while we
are getting the site set up). She's really quite talented!

http://morethanjustmoms.com

Words to live by

2008-05-19T12:03:00.002-04:00

I sure am glad I can post this way now.

Posting remotely

2008-05-18T16:38:00.001-04:00

I love technology. I love the fact that I could post to my blog from
my phone if I wanted to. I just don't want to right now.

Today we're in post-party-slowdown-mode. Sarah V stayed over last
night, we took her to Skyline for her first Cincinnati-style chili,
and we'e getting ready to head out to Ikea for some window shopping
and Swedish meatballs after finishing a rousing game of Ticket To
Ride. Ah... Sundays.

My Little Brainiac

2008-05-18T00:28:00.002-04:00

Ethan's getting so FREAKING smart. I'm not sure if he's actually just brilliant or if he's got a photographic memory, but he's doing some things that are really freaking me out.

Ethan's got this little puzzle with cut out pieces of race cars, all with their own numbers from 1-10. They are out of order on the puzzle, and are alos all different shapes. I was handing him the pieces the other day and he was putting it together SO fast -- hardly even looking at the pieces -- that I decided to test him. First I picked up each piece and asked "Where does this go?" and he promptly took it and placed it in the spot. Then, I actually held the pieces BACKWARDS (so the BLANK side was showing -- just the car outline) and asked what numbers they were.... and he got 8 out of 10 right. Then -- I asked him where the pieces went -- BACKWARDS again -- and he got them ALL right. So basically this means that either he has memorized the shapes and the numbers and the positions on the board, or he's got some sort of crazy spatial recognition ability of some sort. Either way, it floored me.

He also reads about 30 words now. Every night he's reading flashcards like RUN, STOP, GO, YOU, etc as well as recognizing the diff between GOD and DOG. He also has a number of CAT-HAT-FAT books that he blows through in about 30 seconds. Crazy. I want to encourage him to continue on this path, and Sarah is doing an amazing job, but I am seriously frightened that at some point he will be smarter than me. Like maybe even next year.

Well, at least he still poops in his pants. I've at least got THAT still over him. :-)

Birthday Parties and Backyard Swamps

2008-05-18T00:18:00.006-04:00

So we got to celebrate two events this week... Mother's Day and Sarah's 30th! Needless to say it was made a little stressful by the fact that I was participating in a conference at church (2 all day sessions, one of them being on Sarah's actual Bday), we had way more things that we needed to purchase than we had money for, and E was a little out-of-sorts. We made it through thanks to some help from friends and family, a few well-times phone calls, Emails and visits, and a nice party that we managed to have today. Sarah V came down from Indy, and Headoo & Co. came up from KY, along with Benji & Liz from IL. We made all kinds of yumminess, including some creme brulee ice ream in our ice cream maker! We also had a great cake made specially for S by a woman from church who just started her own business.

Ethan had a great time playing ball with Uncle Benji and Aunt Lizzie outside, and they even got to play ring around the rosie too!

During the week, we got to go out to eat at a new place near church, plus we escaped on Thunight to go see a 2nd run of "Vantage Point" at the Dollar Saver theater near our house while Mimi watched E. All in all, I think everything came out great.

Oh -- and I got a chance to cut the grass! Finally! Now I can actually see the dogs when they go outside... and they don't get swallowed up in the Bog. It was a bit tricky, since our backyard kinda resembled a minefield with the puddles of water, dog doodies and tree roots every 3 feet or so. I had to keep the lawnmower on its back wheels just to be able to push it around... but eventually it all got completed. Not looking forward to the next mow....

Ethan's Noggin

2008-05-05T21:31:00.004-04:00

Ethan is quite the active child, and yesterday's experience only goes to prove that fact...

About 5 minutes from the end of the last service at church, I looked up on the screen and saw Ethan's number on the "kid call" monitor... the digital sign where they post numbers of the children that are in need of parental assistance. Since Ethan never has had a problem like this -- EVER -- I figured that something out of the ordinary must have happened... and I was right.

Apparently he fell and hit his "noggin" and ended up with 1/2" long split in his forehead over his right eye. He was absolutely fine, but we ended up having to go over to get 2 stitches at Children's Hospital. After talking with him about the incident, we found out that he fell because
"David pushed him" and David pushed him because "I took his drink". Well there... that settles it.

He was gret at the doc, and they were very good with him -- told him that when they put him in the restraints, it was like he was going to be getting a big "hug" and that he could have a lollipop afterwards. He did, and all was good.

I'm so glad E has Sarah's pain tolerance -- and that he's so chill about everything. It was a long afternoon, but yet another instance of E performing well under pressure... :-)

This. Is. SICK.

2008-04-29T13:49:00.003-04:00

Jordan Rudess from Dream Theater playing a "fretless" keyboard, called the Haken Continuum. There's another video on the HakenAudio.com website that shows the performance LIVE. So cool. I want one.

Duct Tape - the stuff of legends.

2008-04-22T14:45:00.007-04:00

Saw something funny today on SlashDot today and thought I'd share:

There are only 3 things needed to fix anything in the universe:

Duct Tape

WD-40

A Hammer

If it moves and it shouldn't - use Duct Tape...

If it doesn't move and it should, use WD-40 ...

If neither of those work, use the hammer.

Garden Gnomes

2008-04-21T09:40:00.002-04:00

Well, we're off to a flying start. We dug up the old nasty "decorative" grasses and planted 4 new mini-azalea bushes, and they're starting to bloom. I also dug out the "nasty trees" (mini decorative evergreens that had dried to a beautiful shade of brown). and we planted our first flowerbox. In a mad frenzy of gardening exuberance, Sarah and I went over to check out the local gardening place and MAN IS IT COOL. My mom would love it... and the people there seem quite knowledgable. A nice lady talked Sarah through everything that needed to happen for planting a flowerbox, the types of flowers to put in there, and how to arrange it. Luckily, we already had the flowerbox mounted on the front side of our house, so all we had to do was fill it up! We bought some really nice things, and are looking forward to them starting to fill out. I believe Sarah has some pictures posted in her Picasa gallery, so I will only include a few snaps here.

One word or warning: Never try to water delicate flowers using a garden hose -- one of our gorgeous Dahlias bit the dust... stupid Jeff. Sorry Sarah. :-(

Luckily the grass is also actually starting to come up in our back yard (formerly known as "Lake Rezer") and its filling in the doggie-made mud path. It's nice to not really need to worry about hosing down the pups every time they come in from a trip outside... now all I have to do is actually mow the grass. Thanks for the lawnmower Dad!

Some other notes of interest:

We've been grilling out a bit as well and it's nice to be able to take advantage of our grill and back deck.

Jeff almost burned the house down when attempting to burn off some accumulated tree branches etc in our firepit on a semi-windy day. Good thing I had a hose handy... Moral of the Story: Even Eagle Scouts occasionally do stupid stuff with fire.

Sarah and I started dieting (HerbaLife) and are doing well. It's going to help a lot to have a routine, not have to worry about what we're eating all the time and it will also save us money! Yee haw!

Looking forward to Sarah's 30th... we'll probably go to King's Island for the day, go to a nice restaurant and then have a little family party... She's got a wishlist on Amazon under sarah@rezer.com if anyone wants to get her a little "You're Old Now" gift.

All for now...

March Madness

2008-04-15T09:17:00.003-04:00

So, it's been a while since I posted... but not so long as my friend Dan... :-)

(Hey Dan, I'm still waiting for "Part Trois")

March was a crazy month full of nice tax returns (HOORAY!), promotions/raises, some unexpected bargains, grand opening of IKEA, visits with family, etc etc etc. A lot actually happened that won't get written about - I'll try to be better next time.

After much CraigsList hunting (basically all by Sarah), we were able to purchase a sectional for the basement and finally get rid of that old futon we'd been using. The problem with our basement is that it's real hard to get larger pieces of furniture down there due to the angle, door width, etc... so a sectional was a good deal. The only problem -- it was MONSTROUS. After a trip to Louisville (2 hours away), a U-Haul rental and multiple trips to the ATM to get cash, we finally got all the pieces set up in the basement except for one -- which now sits sadly in our shed outside. If it wasn't the size of Long Island, it might have all fit...

Another fun thing we got to do last month was get really involved with "Ticket To Ride", a board game we fell in love with at a visit to travelingirl76/bulldogslair's place. They have multiple versions of the game, so we ended up purchasing the European edition so we could trade with our friends Dean and Amy, who have the US version. The game is really cool -- you build train routes between different cities in an attempt to connect cities and fulfill your "destination cards". The longer the route, the more points you get... but you only have a limited number of trains, and there are only a limited number of tracks, so you need to plan carefully! It's a great game, and we've been able to introduce a number of family members to it. Best of all, it's something Sarah and I can play by ourselves and still have fun!

We also got a chance to visit with Mom and Dad (and Token!) when they came for a visit the week preceding Easter... it was great to have them FINALLY see the house, and Dad and I got a chance to tackle some house projects, even though the weather was nasty. Because I wasn't able to take too much time off of work, Dad even decided to take care of some projects on his own... and it was much appreciated! We are looking forward to another visit soon -- as soon as we can -- and can't wait to see everyone back in Philly again!

I got a promotion and raise as well, and am very excited about my future here at F+W. I'll be working with my boss Larry a lot more in the years to come, and will also be assisting a team of people in our Wisconsin office that will take care of the reporting and campaign management that I had been working on. I also get to assist in hiring a new business analyst that will help us look at our web advertising campaigns, review their effectiveness, and assist in finding new ways to generate and maximize our online revenues. (If you want more of a description, feel free to call or Email... but I figured most people's eyes would start to glaze over if I kept talking any more about ROI, sell-through percent and clickthrough rates!)

More to come...

To Philly and Back Again.... a Rezer Tale

2008-02-27T09:04:00.000-05:00

Well, vacation #1 of 2008 is over and done. It was quite the adventure, and I know that we all had a fantastic time. Got to spend some quality time with Mom and Dad, visited friends for an overnighter in MD, went out to a SUPERB restaurant in Philly called POD (thanks Christine!) and got to spend time with cousins and other family.

Sarah drove the whole way cause we took her stickshift (and I can't drive it yet), but it really wasn't too bad a drive. We stopped half-way on the trip there, but did the whole journey on the return trip in one day. It would have been totally uneventful if: #1 Ethan hadn't wet through THREE pair of pants during the trip and #2 we hadn't left the first set of wet clothes at the Cracker Barrel in Washington PA. Ugh. Luckily they are sending them back to us via US MAIL. Hopefully they're not too nasty when they arrive. :-)

Our night out at Christine's restaurant POD was phenominal. She's a server there and knew exactly what to order and not only did we get a few free dishes, we also got the 20% discount! We ate, and ATE, and ATE... it was easily one of the top 3 meals I've ever had, and possibly even higher. The food was all fantastic, and I even had an eye-opening encounter with FANTASTIC sushi. Seriously. I had it once or twice before and it was BAD, so I swore I'd never eat it again. But this was DARN GOOD. It was prepared specially for us and was "off-menu", and man was it tasty! Even my non-alcoholic drink was good -- White Peach Soda with Mint. MMMMMMM.

Time down in MD was good as always -- Mandy made a superb roast with all kinds of yumminess, and we got to spend time hanging out with she and Keith as well as the Cunninghams. After dinner we played a great game called Ticket To Ride -- kind of like RISK meets connect the dots. Awesome! :-)

The next morning Keith made soem KICK-BUTT specially-made omelettes and then after some hugs, we headed over to the Vaughns for lunch -- home made chicken soup, veggies, cheese and crackers. It was good to see them and spend some time, even if it was only a few hours. During the visit, I even got to visit Ken's private bar in the basement and sample three homebrews - an English bitter, a real ginger beer and an American Porter. What a TREAT! It's something I'm really interested in getting into, and hopefully this time I'll actually do it!

It was sad to leave them all, espcially our friends in Maryland, but nice knowing that we'll be seeing them again in April or May, and my parents will be coming for a visit in a few more weeks! That definitely makes parting such less sweet sorrow... :-)

Well - back to the grind...

What Time Am I?

2008-02-15T09:12:00.001-05:00

You’re the time of day right around sunrise, when the sky is still a pale bluish gray. The streets are empty, and the grass and leaves are a little bit sparkly with dew. You are the sound of a few chirpy birds outside the window. You are quiet, peaceful, and contemplative. If you move slowly, it’s not because you’re lazy – it’s because you know there’s no reason to rush. You move like a relaxed cat, pausing for deep stretches that make your muscles feel alive. You are long sips of tea or coffee (out of a mug that’s held with both hands) that slowly warm your insides just as the sun is brightening the sky.

The carnage continues

2008-02-01T11:59:00.001-05:00

Our dogs are either:

1) The unluckiest canines ever
2) The biggest clutzes ever
3) Have a death-wish (or at least have some sort of sado-masochistic streak)
4) All of the above.

We had to take Marie to the emergency vet last night because she ripped the dew claw on one of her front legs. Blood. Nasty. Limping, whining. And she NEVER whines. EVER.

Greyhounds have a tremendously high pain tolerance and almost NEVER show pain unless it's pretty severe. They are so "ho-hum, la-de-da" about medical procedures -- so much that they are the donor of choice when blood is needed for another animals.

Just last month (on my birthday) we had to take Donny in because he stepped on something outside and punctured his front paw between the toes. Now Marie. And these animals have had a history... Donny's had shoulder and leg problems before, plus had some teeth extracted -- greyhounds have notoriously bad teeth. And a few years ago Marie had some surgery and stitches and stuff to repair a gash in her chest. Maybe some of you remember... ugh.

Well, we got lucky cause the vet tech was able to fix her all up by trimming up the nail and getting the bleeding to stop, and it wasn't as bad as originally thought... although still quite painful. We are going to have to do something about our backyard. I don't know if this is all happening because they're tearing around like crazy back there, or because of all the exposed tree roots, frozen ground and lanscaping rocks... who knows. Anyone know a good landscaper?

My kid is cute

2008-01-29T09:14:00.000-05:00

Maybe some of you have seen this, but I thought I'd bump it again...

Two days in a row?

2008-01-26T13:47:00.000-05:00

Yes, it's true. The child is in bed for his afternoon nap, Sarah's on the couch reading, and I'm just hanging out. Sure, there's tons to do... but why do it all when there's blogging to be done?

I'm going to be moving the old Rezer pic gallery from rezer.com over to my Picasa Gallery cause I'm running outta space on my server. Seems like my host decided to change their hosting plan, so I'm unfortunately going to have to downsize in order to stay within their storage limits. This means removing files, pix, music, etc... Not horrible, but still a pain in the butt. The main issue, however will be that it will also affect my clients, and I'm starting to look for a new host... which means eventually changing all the DNS, moving sites and files, setting up Email addresses, etc... and, oh yeah, paying more. Ugh.

Anyone know of a good VPS hosting company? Don't care if it's Linux or Windows... but I think Linux is preferred since I have a few clients using PHPList and PHPForms. Lemme know... and the cheaper, the better...

Got a new webcam, too, courtesy of GeGwe and Pop (the Logitech Fusion). Quite nice. We got hooked up over Windows Live and have already made 2 or 3 video calls to them. The quality is not bad at all, and audio is pretty clear. It's not like "being there", but it's probably the next best thing. If anyone's out there with a similar setup, lemme know... we'll chat. Windows Live ID is jrezer at live.com.

PS: My buddy Erik is launching his second new product, Pizza Box Baseball, on Feb 17. Check out the site for Pizza Box Football (designed by me, of course) and look for the Pizza Box Baseball site soon!

And we have our first post of 2008...

2008-01-25T11:35:00.000-05:00

Yes. I am lame. I say it often. So does Sarah. But that's OK...

Some notable items worth a mention...

#1 -- We had a major plumbing leak. Still trying to put the kitchen back together, but basically we needed to rip out the sink, garbage disposal, countertop and a cabinet so the plumbers could replace some old rotted-out copper pipe. It took me the better part of 4 evenings, doing a little at a time. Unfortunately the previous owners made it almost impossible to just remove the little piece of countertop I needed to without pulling out the stuff it was attached to. And to make matters worse, they used screws that were way too skinny for the job... so when trying to take them out, all the heads snapped off. Nice. This basically meant that I needed to do use a combination of a 2x4, hacksaw, hammer and tire-iron to pull out the cabinet. All while trying NOT to wake up Ethan. Let me tell you, it was QUITE the undertaking.

Anyway, it all got completed, they fixed the pipe, and luckily it was all covered under our Homeowner's Warranty, so we paid a grand total of $100. Not bad.

#2 -- Our TABLE is here! For those of who who remember the saga of the missing table, you'll recall that we needed to order a new one and it was taking 12 weeks to build and then ship. Well, it;'s here. The delivery company didn't bring it inside like they were SUPPOSED to, so Sarah and I had to muscle it off the pallate in the driveway and bring it up the stairs and inside, where we assembled it. And man... let me tell you... that table is SOLID. Freaking heavy. It's actually deceptively heavy. At least we know it's real wood... or mabe concrete. :-)

Ethan "helped" us put it together, and now it's positioned nicely in our dining room. We "retired" the highchair, and now Ethan has taken his place at "the big people table". Sarah has him sitting on pillows to eat... I haven't witnessed it yet, but I'm sure it's cute!

#3 -- We found our video camera bag, old tapes and charger! In the middle of a cleaning/purging frenzy upstairs, there it was... nestled right inside a box of old shoes. Why? I don't know... but there it was. It had been missing since we left MD in May... SO glad it's back. Now we can start filming again... although our digital camera did quite a nice job in its absence.

That's all for now... more later...

Tree roots and skin staples

2007-12-31T11:32:00.000-05:00

Ah... an intriguing title... no? Well, read on...

Donny and Marie were out for their afternoon chase the other day and Donny apparently cut his foot on something. No biggee, we thought... just cleaned it up a little and put him in his crate for the evening at about 5:30 since we were going out for my birthday dinner at Red Robin. By the time we came back, his foot had swollen up and he was limping pretty badly. After taking a look at it, it seemed like he had a small hole up underneath the toe on his front paw.

Now if you know anything about greyhounds, they do not show pain AT ALL. For him to be limping the way he was, we knew he must have really been in pain. So... off to the emergency vet we go. Sarah and I are old pros at this by now, what with Marie's frequent trips back when she needed her chest sown up multiple times after having the skin ripped open during a Christmas stay at a border... but that's a story for another time...

I called the place the vet recommended, and luckily they were open 24 hours. No appt necessary, and it's the largest facility in the tri-county area. We decided that Sarah would stay with Ethan while I took The Dons with me, so Sarah grabbed Donny's pillow, while I grabbed the Donster -- man is he heavy! -- in a cradle-carry and we went out to the car. He didn't squirm or anything, so I know he was really hurting. It was 10:30pm on my birthday. Happy Birthday, Jeff... so much for that Chimay chillin' in the fridge.

After an examination by the vet, he told me there was a puncture wound about 1/4" wide under the toe (which I had seen earlier), and they would need to sedate Donny, clean out the wound, and then staple it shut. He also recommended an X-ray, which I agreed with... just to make sure nothing was broken. It was now 12:15a...

Luckily there was nothing broken -- which would have been a whole 'nutha ball-o-wax. Donny came through with flying colors, and although he was a bit disoriented from the drugs, he limped out to the car and we headed home 1:40a...

2:15a... back home. Carried the dog inside. He didn't want to eat... just wanted to lay down somewhere. I obliged. And then went to bed myself. Whoopie... and now it's no longer my birthday. Oh well.

So we think that we're gonna have to do something in the backyard. Marie cut herslef the other day while outside, and my guess is Donny did something similar by stepping on an exposed tree root or stick or rock or something. The ground is really uneven out there, and we might have to resort to having a landscapre come in and even everything out, re-sod, etc. -- most likely a $1000+ proposition. It's either that or keep spending hundreds of dollars on doggie foot therapy. Yuk. There's no good option...

Happy New Year Everyone. For all my "animal lover" friends out there...

May your furry friends be in perfect health
And may every day in 2008 and forward
Be a reminder of what joy they bring to our lives.
Despite the hardships, vet bills, messy feet and accidents on the floor,
Despite the late night walks in the cold and incessant barking,
Despite their curious nature that often causes more harm than good...
We wouldn't trade it for anything,
Our lives are better for having them here with us.

Christmas update 2007

2007-12-27T14:29:00.000-05:00

Returned yesterday from Tuscola IL where we spent Christmas with Benji, Liz & Mimi. It was a nice visit, and we had ample time to hang out, eat, and just chill. Ethan was really pretty good, all things considered, and the doggies got along with Sampson (again). All is right with the world. We ended up not leaving until Sat AM (actually, it was more like "Noon-M") since both Sarah and I were asked to play for the big Christmas drama "A Cat Named Bruce" at VCC. Sarah also got to sing "Here With Us" (Joy Williams) with Benji on Christmas Eve and I accompanied... only after finding out that Sarah had mistakenly sent the ORIGINAL song instead of the track. DOH! Benj learned some bg strings and sang harmony while Sarah did the lead, and I pianoed. It was loverly. Sarah even had a request to sing at someone's funeral... and they weren't even dead yet. That was one of the all-time weird moments in my history as a musician... seriously.

Sarah and Liz cooked up a scrumptious Christmas feast complete with Honeybaked Ham, mashed taters, Sarah's baked apples, Cauliflower gratin (an Ina Garten recipe we saw on Food Network), rolls and a yummy salad. And dessert... whoa. Sarah made the Chocolate Hazlenut Mousse Torte again and it was freaking awesome. I'm stuffed just thinking about it.

Packed everyone up and hit the road for Decatur to visit with Sarah's aunt and uncle and cousins. Donny & Marie got to spend most of the evening in the upstairs room -- where we were going to be sleepnig -- and actually got to go crateless for the whole vacation. They did really well... perhaps that's a sign of things to come? Are they settling down perhaps? Either way, I sure am glad I broke down their crates and bungeed them to the car and then got to set them back up again after I got back... :-)

I left early Wed AM for a 5 hour drive back to Cincy with the dogs, took a shower and headed off for work. Sarah actually stayed on for another night and returns later today with Mimi & Ethan. It was nice to be a bachelor for a night (which happens rarely) and I thought I'd take advantage of it and set up the PlayStation, watch some TV or something... but what did I end up doing? Cleaning. Yep. Did the dishes, straightened up a bunch and before I knew it, it was 12:15 and time to go to bed. I invited the puppies to sleep in the bed with me sort of as a reward for their good behavior over the vacation, and I think they were kinda happy... wish I coulda taken a picture. It was a sight to behold I'm sure... :-)

Christmas pix to be posted as soon as Sarah gets abck to town. Love to all of you this Christmas season!

Now that they have Santa, all they need is a vowel

2007-12-26T17:45:00.000-05:00

Kyrgyzstan touted as ideal delivery hub for Santa

Oh, THAT's where he lives. Silly me, I thought he lived at the NORTH POLE!

It's that time of year again...

2007-12-17T14:31:00.000-05:00

Christmas music. Crazy malls. This year, however, I am actually DONE shopping! Gotta love Amazon.com!

There are still one or two things I would LIKE to have completed if possible, but for the most part I am done. Since Sarah took care of most of the family shopping already, I only really had to concentrate on getting some things for her. I LOVE BEING MARRIED!

Sarah's really good at the whole "present thing" -- perhaps that's because she loves Christmas so much and loves getting gifts and little "special somethings" for people. I'm truly grateful for that... and I wish I were better at it, honestly. But I'm trying...

Went to go see "Christmas in Lights" up in Mason... perhaps you've seen a video of it from past years online. It was actually featured in a Millier Lite commercial a few years ago (or was it Bud Light?), and for all you doubters, let me tell you it is 100% REAL. Check it out online here... http://www.snopes.com/photos/arts/xmaslights.asp

The display had gotten so popular that they had to move it out of this guy's neighboorhood and now it's in a local park. There are actually 4 songs that are choreographed complete with a live broadcast of the music that you tune your car radio to in order to watch the show. It was really quite cool -- and they take cars in groups, and everyone turns off their headlights... so it's really a nice viewing experience. It was definitely a fun thing to do..

We're also involved in the original Christmas play they're putting on at church -- check it out here: ACatNamedBruce.com. We'll be playing in the band Thu and Fri nigths, and then it's off to Illinois Sat AM with Mimi and the doggies to spend Christmas with Benji and Liz (and Sampson!)... we're looking forward to it. Because Monday the 24th is technically a holiday for our company, I'm taking the morning of the 26th off and will be returning to work that afternoon. It will be a nice break and a good visit, I'm sure.

Cool Stuff: 30 Years of LucasFilm Christmas Cards | /Film

2007-12-14T16:04:00.000-05:00

Cool Stuff: 30 Years of LucasFilm Christmas Cards /Film

This is WAY cool. Yoda ROCKS.

Christmas in LAME-son (... I mean "Mason")

2007-12-08T10:28:00.000-05:00

I thought it would be fun to go and do something as a family... and there's this event called "Christmas in Mason" that's about 45 minutes north of us. There were supposed to be carolers and a parade and Santa Claus and all kinds of fun events... even a parade where the doggies dressed up in Christmas outfits. I thought it would be fun.

"Thought" is the key word.

Can you say "Over Promise and Under-Deliver?"

It. Was. ROTTEN.

And I do not use the caps unsparingly. If there was a "Caps-Cap" I would use it here. Maybe this will give you an idea of how I feel about it...

HORRIBLE.ROTTEN.STUPID.POINTLESS (.com)

They should get that as their web address next year --
http://www.horrible.rotten.stupid.pointless.com

(I actually think I'll suggest that.)

It was raining a little, so I'm sure that took away from the festivities.... but it was really just a whole bunch of stores that stayed open later and a lot of teenagers walking up and down the street (4 blocks or so) throwing snowballs at each other. When the highlight of the evening is a 5-minute shuttle rider on a school bus, that's saying something.

Yeah, something ROTTEN. :-0

Slashdot | MP3 Format Still Gathering Momentum

2007-12-04T09:31:00.000-05:00

Slashdot | MP3 Format Still Gathering Momentum

Quote of the Day...

"I'm just gonna go ahead and wait for MP48's, so I can play them on my HHDDVVDDBVD player."

Chris Farley lives?

2007-12-04T09:15:00.000-05:00

Who said there's no such thing as reincarnation?

I think this baby was born in a van... DOWN BY THE RIVER!

My pet peeves, Volume 1

2007-12-03T13:12:00.000-05:00

Here is a list of my pet peeves, in no particular order. I'm sure I'll post more later, but here is what I've come up with so far...

People who make their smiley faces upside-down (:
The fact that there's no official playoff system for NCAAF. Division II schools have one... so why can't Division 1? Could it be... oh I don't know... GREED?
People who pull into the left-hand lane before making a right-hand turn (except for Trucks -- they're allowed).
Christmas decorations going up before Thanksgiving.
People who don't throw their trash away when in public places (like sports arenas, movie theaters, etc).
Stereos (and subwoofers) turned up so loud that you can't hear your OWN stereo inside your car when your windows are CLOSED.
People who say they can "probably come" or something like that when they already know darn well they're not going to attend and just don't want to say No.
The NFL blackout rule.
People that won't try new types of cuisine... at least once. (Weird stuff that you'd only see on Fear Factor or Bizarre Foods doesn't count here...)
Rude patrons.
Form letters that don't answer the original question.
Newspapers and other circulars that you never asked for which are delivered in little plastic baggies and that sit on your front steps until YOU have to pick them up. I wonder if we could fine their distributors for littering?
PEOPLE WRITING IN ALL CAPS FOR NO GOOD REASON.
People using the "Reply To All" when I don't care what they have to say, especially when I'm on a mass distribution list.
People that let their dogs roam the neighboorhood, pooping on anything they darn well want to.

That's all for now... more to come.

I'm with Stupid...

2007-11-29T17:33:00.000-05:00

Man arrested after trying to pass $1M bill

Contrary to popular opinion, there are WAY MORE IDIOTS in the world than first believed.

There are"Yes, Virginia... there is a Santa Claus."

And he pays for his sleigh-fuel with counterfeit bills...

When cows fly...

2007-11-08T16:04:00.000-05:00

This is rather unfortunate. Especially for the cow...

Cow plunges off cliff onto moving minivan

The Green Monster is gone!

2007-10-30T09:06:00.001-04:00

And before all you in the Red Sox Nation start worrying about what those enraged Rockies fans did to your beloved Fenway... don't call the cops. Call off the search party. Everything is cool. I'm not talking about THAT Green Monster...

Nope -- we sold our couches last night! Major kudos to my wife who is becoming quite the internet shopper now turned internet seller! Sarah found some old pictures we had from the house in MD and posted them on CraigsList. Then after a weekend and a day, we had a guy come over last night and just like that - bing bang boom - we were $400 richer and 2 couches lighter. SUPERB! It stinks that we're still paying on them, but you might remember from an earlier post that the monster couch was never able to make it down into the basement, no matter how hard we pushed, pried, prodded and perthwuddled (OK, I made that last one up... there was no perthwuddling). With all the other furniture, not to mention the color of the monster, it just wouldn't work in the living room.

Now we have the sleeper sofa with slipcover in the front room, all the boxes have been temporarily moved from the living room to the guest room, the rug has been put down and we are waiting to see if the sleeper sofa is gonna sell. I kinda like this CraigsList thing. Much more immediate than eBay, and a much better option for larger items. I'm sure a lot of you have heard of it, but for those who haven't, CraigsList is a free consumer-focused garage sale basically. Since it's all locally-based, people look things up by area and then negotiate with the seller. It's strictly a cash deal, and unlike eBay, CraigsList assumes no responsibility for financial transactions. The reason I like it is cause it's immediate, it gets searched a ton, and offers some quality USED stuff. As long as you heed the old "caviat emptor", everything's hunky dory. So anyway, I think I might be putting some more stuff up there for people. If they want them -- great. If not, oh well.

Oh yeah -- and we got a piano! We were visiting friends in Indianapolis over the weekend and they offered us their spinet Wurlitzer. We actually took the legs off and got it to fit in the back of the van, and now it's sitting in our living room awaiting its final resting place. Luckily our awesome neighbor and his brother in law (who just so happens to be the previous owner of our house) came over to help Sarah and I get it into the house. I was stupid and tried to do it with Sarah by ourselves on Sunday evening, but wasn't thinking clearly -- since it took SIX of us to get it INTO the van. Gravity is cool and all, but seriously Rezer... what were you thinking?

After all of the movin' and shakin', we put together the old trusty futon in the basement (since we were now couchless (loveseat, actually) and it's just like old-times. Man we got a lot accomplished yesterday. Sarah did a lot of work on her own, and she deserves some serious rest today... but unfortunately she's not going to get much. Now we have to start packing for our big trip east for my cousin's wedding. Hurray! Looking forward to visits to both Philly and MD, and it will be nice to see everyone. It's been too long...

It's official!

2007-10-29T10:39:00.000-04:00

Nothing like a holiday weekend to open up spots on a team and offer a chance to serve! Sarah and I are scheduled to play Nov 24-25!

We're psyched to be part of the VCC worship family! Now all we gotta do is write a bio... :-)

Treasure in the Attic

2007-10-29T09:32:00.000-04:00

Sarah and I enjoy watching shows from time to time like Anyiques Roadshow and Treasure in the Attic. My guess is that they've never experienced a motherlode like this one!

Piles of old coins found in Pa. home - USATODAY.com

They like us... they REALLY REALLY like us!

2007-10-26T10:03:00.000-04:00

Sarah and I got a chance to sit in on a rehearsal for the Vineyard Cincy band last night with Charlie Hines and the crew and had a blast! It was so great to be back in that environment again, and playing with GREAT players to boot! It was also nice to be able to roll into a rehearsal and not set up any GEAR since the church provides everything, including the tech crew, house sound, lights, etc for REHEARSAL. Whoa. Very nice. They also use the Aviom monitor system which we were looking into getting for JC, and I must say it's quite cool. Being able to set individual levels for all the players in the band in my mix, and even have them even pan L-R if I want, was WAY cool. We jammed on 3 of the 4 songs with the team (including another drummer who was auditioning), Sarah go a chance to sing lead and harmony on a bunch of songs, and then we turned it over to the full team so they could finish their rehearsal for the weekend.

Afterwards a bunch of us (including some of the tech staff) went over to Chili's for some "Mango Tea." Side note: It was kinda funny cause I thought he said we were going for "Mango Time", referring to everyone's favorite SNL character -- although I didn't quite get the reference or understand WHAT we were actually going to be doing there if we were indeed going for "Mango Time"... but I digress...

We socialized for a while and then Charlie said -- "Well, congratulations! We'd love to welcome you to the team!" WAHOOO! So it looks like Sarah and I will probably serve the same week (once per month) so we can continue serving on the tech team as well -- we're actually running cameras tonight at Cincinnati Worships which should be quite coolio. Love it!

It's going to be so nice to serve this way again. I'm really looking forward to playing, experimenting with new keyboards and sounds, and getting to know the different team members and meeting some new friends. REALLY looking forward to it.

Now from the mind of Jeff

2007-10-25T09:19:00.000-04:00

I've been posting articles and other things lately, so enough of that. Here's the real news:

We got a settlement on our table, etc lost by one said moving company ("They Who Shall Not Be Named"). The furniture company, Little's in Frederick MD, is replacing the order for us and we should have it in about 12 weeks. At least that part of it is over. Unfortunately there's still that matter of ALL OF OUR MISSING STUFF! We're finding out new things that are missing every day... like our Christmas Tree stand, a box of clothes, etc. There will probably be new revelations every week or so. Ahhh, moving. The gift that keeps on taking. :-)

We're gonna try to file in small claims court to get the payment for services not rendered by They Who Shall Not Be Named. Don't know if it will work, cause our CC company won't dispute the charge since we actually SIGNED the delivery form stating that everything was received. Lovely. One of those things you don't really think about until it's too late.

We're going to Philly next weekend for my cousin's wedding and are really looking forward to it... seeing family, etc. It will be a great time I'm sure, and we've scheduled just enough down-time to allow for a real vacation, I think. Also planning on taking an evening to head down to DC, staying over with djcunnin et al and going to JC in the morning. It just so happens that it's HarvestFest, so we'll be able to visit with a lot more people than we would be able to normally, which is cool. Bummer of it is that TravelinGirl76 and bulldogslair will be in New England for a wedding... but we're gonna try to catch up with them on their way back down I-95.

Sarah and I get to audition with the Vineyard band tonight. REEEEALLY looking forward to it. Music is my true passion and it will be great to experience it again in an intimate setting like this, plus I'm sure we'll forge some new friendships. I'm really excited we're finally gonna be able to plug in this way.

OK - that's all for now... more to come (as usual). And I promise to make sure I write more from me and less from others. Honest. :-)

'Space diving' to be latest extreme sport - Telegraph

2007-10-24T16:55:00.000-04:00

Forget bungee jumping. Sign me up for this! Sure, I'd be scared out of my britches, but it would be SOOOOO cool... that is, if I survived the fall...

'Space diving' to be latest extreme sport - Telegraph

Return laptop, get a lifetime of beer - USATODAY.com

2007-10-19T15:41:00.000-04:00

"I gotchure lapptop riight heeeeeere [hiccup]..."

Return laptop, get a lifetime of beer - USATODAY.com

Myvu Universal Virtual Headset - New York Times

2007-10-19T10:19:00.000-04:00

Myvu Universal Virtual Headset - New York Times

Look out Jordy -- now I've got some cool glasses too!

Great song...

2007-10-18T17:18:00.000-04:00

Heard this at a night of music at Vineyard last night... it's been running through my brain today and I thought I'd share. Anyone interested can download it on iTunes (the guy on this actual recording is the worship leader at Vineyard Cincy)...

ALL I HAVE
Tim Dobbelmann, Gabriel Brennan, Nate Brennan

What have I in this life
But the love in Your eyes
This empty world will one day fade
Only Your truth will remain

Jesus, all I have is You
You're the hope I'm holding to
I might weep but still my faith
Rests in You...

As the heavens hold the skies
It's Your hand that holds my life
And Your love will lead me on
When all else is gone...

Ah, my dark and steamy mistress...

2007-10-18T09:23:00.001-04:00

Java.

Joe.

Black Gold.

The Elixir of Life.

Mud.

and my personal fav...

Jamoke.

Mmmmm.... cofffeeeeeeee........ Is there nothing you can't do???

You know you are addicted to coffee if ...

You grind your coffee beans in your mouth.
You sleep with your eyes open.
You have to watch videos in fast-forward.
You can take a picture of yourself from ten feet away without using the timer.
Your eyes stay open when you sneeze.
The nurse needs a scientific calculator to take your pulse.
You're so jittery that people use your hands to blend their margaritas.
You can type sixty words per minute with your feet.
You can jump-start your car without cables.
You don't sweat, you percolate.
You've built a miniature city out of little plastic stirrers.
Instant coffee takes too long.
You channel surf faster without a remote.
You have a picture of your coffee mug on your coffee mug.
You can outlast the Energizer bunny.
You short out motion detectors.
You don't even wait for the water to boil anymore.
Your nervous twitch registers on the Richter scale.
You help your dog chase its tail.
Your first-aid kit contains two pints of coffee with an I.V. hookup.
You ski uphill.
You answer the door before people knock.
You haven't blinked since the last lunar eclipse.
You can thread the needle on your sewing machine... while it's running

New 'Metamaterial' Brings Scientists Closer Than Ever to a Cloaking Device

2007-10-17T16:45:00.000-04:00

New 'Metamaterial' Brings Scientists Closer Than Ever to a Cloaking Device

Can you say "Star Trek" anyone???

And there was much rejoicing!

2007-10-17T09:56:00.000-04:00

Jeff posted in his blog! There's been a lot going on... so here's a brief (and I mean BRIEF) recap:

Traveled to IL to visit Benji & Liz. Doggies got along well with Sampson... we'll be going back for Christmas, so the fact that they were able to hang out with each other in close quarters was a good thing.

Big E had his 2nd Bday party! He's getting older every day... (duh) and is learning things at an incredible rate. He knows shapes, colors, numbers, letters, instruments, notes of the scale, sings songs with Sarah and even can tell you his favorite "fa-tah" (football) team -- "EAGLES -- Yay!!!!" Yesterday he learned numbers 11-15 in about 5 minutes. It's really scary how quickly he's learning!

We're giving up on the moving company and ordering a new table and filing an insurance claim. I don't want to talk about it. Tried filing a police report and we need to travel to MD to appear, so that's not reasonable. There's no regulating agency that can help us, and I had assistance from 2 or 3 difft consumer-run groups trying to track them down. Apparently they are GONE. No phone number, no forwarding address -- NADA. I may decide to hire a lawyer to send registered mail to that address, but haven't made the decision on that yet. Soooo... we're filing an insurance claim. Yet ANOTHER reason why you shouldn't always go with the lowest quote when hiring a mover... :-(

Getting ready for a trip East for my cousin's wedding... and an extended vacation and trip back to JC and to visit friends. Really looking forward to it. I'm sure there will be plenty of people to see and places to go, and hopefully we have time to squeeze them all in.

We FINALLY moved everything out of Mimi's place -- Sarah and I disassembled the crib and packed all the remaining items in the car and Mimi's place is officially "Rezer-free" -- with the exception of a few toys and whatnot for when Ethan visits. Now we REALLY have to clean the house and find places to put all this stuff...

Got an Email the other day from the lead worship guy (Charlie) over at Vineyard and he wants Sarah and I to come to a rehearsal! YAHOO! Apparently the audition a few weeks ago went well, and we really are looking forward to connecting with some new people there and will heopefully be able to start serving, if even on an interim or substitute basis. I know Sarah misses it and she's really excited to be able to just SING and not to have to lead. I think it's ashame she hasn't been able to use this gift much at all for the last 6 months or so, and I know it's something we need to plug back in on. Hopefully things will work out and we'll be able to get involved in some level with the band. They already have full teams, but you never know what might happen -- and it's always good to be ready to step in when asked.

We've also had a chance to join a small group at church with a few friends and meet some new people too... we've been participating in a church wide series caled 4Ward, and it's all about serving others and being outward-focused. One reason we decided to come to Vineyard was their passion for serving and outreach -- something Sarah and I are also passionate about. In fact, the term "servant evangelism" was basically coined by the folks here at Vineyard... and now you can probably Google it and find a bazillion mentions. Cool.

Tonight we're going to an event being put on for this series... it's an all-worship evening at church, something we haven't been able to participate in for a LONG time. Really looking forward to being a little selfish and not leading, serving, managing, organizing or playing... just BEING. Should be an awesome time to "quiet down our busy minds and find a resting place..."

Money's been stressing me out more than normal these last few days... it's been hard trying to predict what our expenses will be, and we've been spending more money on eating out and other things like that than we really should have. One of our vices is eating out -- and we LOVE to do it... so that's something we probably need to cut back on. Well, not probably. DEFINITELY. It's a convenience and a vice at the same time, which makes it EXTREMELY difficult to pass up. I'm sure some of you have been there...

I tell myself that there are good reasons for why we've been spending more lately, but the truth is that there will ALWAYS be things like this, and we're going to have to make an adjustment to either our lifestyle, income level or the way we manage our finances -- cause we're lurking on the edge of falling right back into the hole we were trying to climb out of before when we were in DC. I have to keep reminding myself that money shouldn't control us and that it all belongs to HIM anyway, but honestly that doesn't help very much most times. We still have to pay bills and would like to enjoy our lives at least a little.

It's been difficult to settle in to a new routine as of yet and I still don't feel like we've "settled". There's always too much going on and we seem to fall behind on keeping up with things -- laundry, dishes, finances, cleaning -- you name it. There's still junk all piled in our "living room" and it's really quite a mess. And it's not going to get any better with the holidays coming up... ugh. I like to think that if I "just had a few days" I could get it all straightened out, but that's never the case... the truth is I really need a few days of "a few days" in order to make a dent in the chore that lies ahead... and that usually comes at the expense of something else -- time with Sarah, Ethan, work, the dogs, "down-time"... you name it. Ugh.

So this post has gone on for longer than it should have. And now I'm starting to feel a little depressed, so I'm going to stop and remind myself of the good things.

SARAH - ETHAN - FAMILY - DOGGIES - MUSIC - GOD - My JOB - Our HOUSE - LIFE - oh, and FOOTBALL... :-)

These are all more important than anything else that comes our way. I just have to keep reminding myself of that... OK, I'm back in my happy place.

Thanks for listening...

Yes Virginia, there is a T-Rex

2007-10-04T08:58:00.000-04:00

Some of you who know me REEEEALLY well know I have a bit of a fascination with Dinosaurs. Loved them as a kid, and was really quite enamored with the whole idea of these huge creatures walking around the earth before mankind was even there. As I've grown older, I still believe in dinosaurs, although thinking about them doesn't take up most of my day. I used to love watching LAND OF THE LOST, and now I'm a sucker for a good program on the Discovery Channel like "Raising the Mammoth" or even that animated documentary series they ran about dinosaurs that used John Goodman as the narrator. It was cool. (Name, anyone?)

So -- now when I see an article or headline in my RSS aggregator about dinosaurs, I am always compelled to go read it... and this one's funny.

"T-Rexes weren't named Rex" -- by Lore Sjoberg

I recently discovered that there is serious scientific evidence that velociraptors had feathers, which, as world-shaking discoveries go, is somewhere above "trilobites had more flexible dorsal axial structures than previously thought" and below "iguanadons created a backdoor pilot for a gritty crime drama set in Minnesota."

This should create some serious debate and consideration in the paleontology community, which would be a perfect time for a supervillain to capitalize on the confusion and take over. Imagine the unparalleled might of an evil genius -- possibly wearing some sort of powered armor -- with a vast army of tenured paleontologists and paleoclimatologists at his disposal. I don't think I need to point out that the ensuing chaos and carnage would be nifty.

That's why I'd like to help this hypothetical overlord along by presenting some of my own intensely scientific discoveries concerning some of the higher-profile prehistoric vertebrates out there. While my discoveries will be extensively detailed in the prestigious Quarterly Bulletin of the International Society for Academic Mendacity, I give you a preview here.

Apatosaurus Had Wings
For decades, nobody knew how apatosauruses supported their massive weight except for the people who studied them. This seems silly to me. If a person has to be smart to understand a dinosaur's physiognomy, then how did the dinosaurs, who had brains the size of various edible legumes, manage it? According to my calculations, apatosauruses would be far too stupid to figure out how to stand up. That's why I'm fairly certain that they had huge, feather-covered, pink wings, which they flapped constantly. That's pretty easy to understand, right? Just flap, you big stupid lizard.

All Dinosaurs Were Big
Countless dinosaur picture books start out by saying, "Not all dinosaurs were big. Some were only slightly larger than a chicken." I have applied the scientific method to prove this wrong. Hypothesis: The idea of a tiny dinosaur is just ridiculous. Experiment: Say the following out loud: "Hey, look at that tiny dinosaur!" It sounds stupid. Conclusion: Dinosaurs were so huge. I suggest that eventually researchers will discover the existence of "prehistoric shrinkweed," a poisonous plant that shrank various dinosaurs before killing them, thereby giving the false impression of chicken-size dinosaurs.

There Were No Tyrannosaurus Rexes Named 'Rex'
These huge predators may have been designed by nature to be unstoppable eating machines, but they also knew a trite name when they heard one. Thorough investigation of late Cretaceous wedding registries indicates that the most common name for male T. rexes was "Jayden," followed by "Palmer." The three most popular female T. rex names were "Ashley," "Ashlee" and "Ashlie," in that order. There was one T. rex named "Dex," but he had no friends.

Dinosaurs Were Not Huggy
If you go to the gift shop for any museum even remotely related to dinosaurs, you'll find disturbingly inaccurate scale models of the giant lizards covered in fuzzy, velvety skin and stuffed not with massive bones and organs but with some sort of synthetic plush material. Even more disturbingly, if dinosaurs looked as they are depicted in these models, they would not have been able to survive, hobbled as they would have been with soft, rounded teeth and claws. I hate to think of our nation's cribs and strollers containing such startling apocrypha. I'm sure that once my paper is published, gift shops and toy stores will quickly throw away all their obsolete dinosaurs and replace them with accurate models, ones with bony limbs; harsh, scaly skin; and razor-sharp teeth and claws that slice open soft tissues at the slightest touch.

Iguanadons Created a Backdoor Pilot for a Gritty Crime Drama Set in Minnesota
The show is called Twin Smittys, and it's about twin cops named Smith, one of whom is upstanding and lives in Minneapolis, and the other of whom is crooked and lives in St. Paul. Or vice versa. Each week, they solve crimes and clash with each other, caught between personal morals and family loyalty. The show has some mafia guys and some polygamists and some ladies who always want sex -- it really has HBO written all over it. Everyone swears a whole lot. The iguanadons have chosen me as their sole representation; give me a call.

Captain Ridiculous strikes again

2007-10-04T08:44:00.000-04:00

I'm all for inspections and regulations. Really, I am. It's the only way to police a lot of businesses that could really do some harm if left unchecked. Restaurants... airlines... moving companies (see one of my previous posts). But not companies that take computers OUT of landfills. Check out this link.

Local Recycle & Reuse Hits A Bureaucratic Roadblock

No left turns allowed...

2007-10-02T10:08:00.000-04:00

I got this in an Email the other day from my grandfather... and it was definitely worthy enough to post. Enjoy... it's a great read.

This is a wonderful piece by Michael Gartner, editor of newspapers large and small and president of NBC News. In 1997, he won the Pulitzer Prize for editorial writing. It is well worth reading, and a few good chuckles are guaranteed.

My father never drove a car. Well, that's not quite right. I should say I never saw him drive a car. He quit driving in 1927, when he was 25 years old, and the last car he drove was a 1926 Whippet. "In those days," he told me when he was in his 90s, "to drive a car you had to do things with your hands, and do things with your feet, and look every which way, and I decided you could walk through life and enjoy it or drive through life and miss it." At which point my mother, a sometimes salty Irishwoman, chimed in:"Oh, bull----!" she said. "He hit a horse." "Well," my father said, "there was that, too."
So my brother and I grew up in a household without a car. The neighbors all had cars -- the Kollingses next door had a green 1941 Dodge, the VanLaninghams across the street a gray 1936 Plymouth, the Hopsons two doors down a black 1941 Ford -- but we had none.
My father, a newspaperman in Des Moines, would take the streetcar to work and, often as not, walk the 3 miles home. If he took the streetcar home, my mother and brother and I would walk the three blocks to the streetcar stop, meet him and walk home together.
My brother, David, was born in 1935, and I was born in 1938, and sometimes, at dinner, we'd ask how come all the neighbors had cars but we had none. "No one in the family drives," my mother would explain, and that was that. But, sometimes, my father would say, "But as soon as one of you boys turns 16, we'll get one." It was as if he wasn't sure which one of us would turn 16 first. But, sure enough , my brother turned 16 before I did, so in 1951 my parents bought a used 1950 Chevrolet from a friend who ran the parts department at a Chevy dealership downtown. It was a four-door, white model, stick shift, fender skirts, loaded with everything, and, since my parents didn't drive, it more or less became my brother's car. Having a car but not being able to drive didn't bother my father, but it didn't make sense to my mother.
So in 1952, when she was 43 years old, she asked a friend to teach her to drive. She learned in a nearby cemetery, the place where I learned to drive the following year and where, a generation later, I took my two sons to practice driving. The cemetery probably was my father's idea. "Who can your mother hurt in the cemetery?" I remember him saying more than once.
For the next 45 years or so, until she was 90, my mother was the driver in the family. Neither she nor my father had any sense of direction, but he loaded up on maps -- though they seldom left the city limits -- and appointed himself navigator. It seemed to work.

Still, they both continued to walk a lot. My mother was a devout Catholic, and my father an equally devout agnostic, an arrangement that didn't seem to bother either of them through their 75 years of marriage. (Yes, 75 years, and they were deeply in love the entire time.)
He retired when he was 70, and nearly every morning for the next 20 years or so, he would walk with her the mile to St. Augustin's Church. She would walk down and sit in the front pew, and he would wait in the back until he saw which of the parish's two priests was on duty that morning. If it was the pastor, my father then would go out and take a 2-mile walk, meeting my mother at the end of the service and walking her home. If it was the assistant pastor, he'd take just a 1-mile walk and then head back to the church. He called the priests "Father Fast" and "Father Slow."
After he retired, my father almost always accompanied my mother whenever she drove anywhere, even if he had no reason to go along. If she were going to the beauty parlor, he'd sit in the car and read, or go take a stroll or, if it was summer, have her keep the engine running so he could listen to the Cubs game on the radio. In the evening, then, when I'd stop by, he'd explain: "The Cubs lost again. The millionaire on second base made a bad throw to the millionaire on first base, so the multimillionaire on third base scored."
If she were going to the grocery store, he would go along to carry the bags out -- and to make sure she loaded up on ice cream. As I said, he was always the navigator, and once, when he was 95 and she was 88 and still driving, he said to me, "Do you want to know the secret of a long life?"
"I guess so," I said, knowing it probably would be something bizarre.
"No left turns," he said.
"What?" I asked.

"No left turns," he repeated. "Several years ago, your mother and I read an article that said most accidents that old people are in happen when they turn left in front of oncoming traffic. As you get older, your eyesight worsens, and you can lose your depth perception, it said. So your mother and I decided never again to make a left turn."
"What?" I said again.
"No left turns," he said. "Think about it. Three rights are the same as a left, and that's a lot safer. So we always make three rights."
"You're kidding!" I said, and I turned to my mother for support.
"No," she said, "your father is right. We make three rights. It works." But then she added: "Except when your father loses count."

I was driving at the time, and I almost drove off the road as I started laughing. "Loses count?" I asked.
"Yes," my father admitted, "that sometimes happens. But it's not a problem. You just make seven rights, and you're okay again."
I couldn't resist. "Do you ever go for 11?" I asked.
"No," he said " If we miss it at seven, we just come home and call it a bad day. Besides, nothing in life is so important it can't be put off another day or another week."
My mother was never in an accident, but one evening she handed me her car keys and said she had decided to quit driving. That was in 1999, when she was 90. She lived four more years, until 2003. My father died the next year, at 102. They both died in the bungalow they had moved into in 1937 and bough t a few years later for $3,000. (Sixty years later, my brother and I paid $8,000 to have a shower put in the tiny bathroom -- the house had never had one. My father would have died then and there if he knew the shower cost nearly three times what he paid for the house.) He continued to walk daily -- he had me get him a treadmill when he was 101 because he was afraid he'd fall on the icy sidewalks but wanted to keep exercising -- and he was of sound mind and sound body until the moment he died.

One September afternoon in 2004, he and my son went with me when I had to give a talk in a neighboring town, and it was clear to all three of us that he was wearing out, though we had the usual wide-ranging conversation about politics and newspapers and things in the news.

A few weeks earlier, he had told my son, "You know, Mike, the first hundred years are a lot easier than the second hundred." At one point in our drive that Saturday, he said, "You know, I'm probably not going to live much longer."
"You're probably right," I said.
"Why would you say that?" He countered, somewhat irritated.

"Because you're 102 years old," I said.

"Yes," he said, "you're right." He stayed in bed all the next day. That night, I suggested to my son and daughter that we sit up with him through the night. He appreciated it, he said, though at one point, apparently seeing us look gloomy, he said: "I would like to make an announcement. No one in this room is dead yet..."

An hour or so later, he spoke his last words: "I want you to know," he said,
clearly and lucidly, "that I am inno pain. I am very comfortable. And I have had
as happy a life as anyone on this earth could ever have." A short time later, he died.

I miss him a lot, and I think about him a lot. I've wondered now and then how it was that my family and I were so lucky that he lived so long. I can't figure out if it was because he walked through life, or because he quit taking left turns."
Life is too short to wake up with regrets. So love the people who treat you right. Forget about the one's who don't. Believe everything happens for a reason. If you get a chance, take it. If it changes your life, let it. Nobody said life would be easy, they just promised it would most likely be worth it.

Off to the races...

2007-09-25T11:00:00.000-04:00

Greyhounds are fast. REALLY fast. I however, am NOT.

Yesterday Donny decided to go for a stroll without permission...

As I was taking some cardboard boxes outside to put them in the car, I placed them in front of the back gate as I opened it slowly... only about 6-8". Now mind you... the boxes stand about 3 feet high and are approximately 2-3foot wide. The door is open about 6-8".

Ahhh... But greyhounds are skinny.

Seizing the moment, and hearing the clatter
Donny sprung from his perch to see what was the matter...

Although nothing was really the matter. He just wanted to get out.

So he did.

So the Punk Trash Dog vaulted the boxes and in one motion, squeezed (squoze???) between the gate and the fence and took off like a shot. There he goes...

It took me all of about 10 seconds to throw my stuff on the ground, lock the gate (so Marie couldn't join us on our leisurely stroll) and run around the corner.

And Donny was nowhere to be seen. I start running down the hill in the direction I think he went. I quickly call Sarah to let her know Donny's on the loose (she's at Mimi's place with Ethan, so she really can't help anyway) and I hang up and continue running.

Stupid dog. This is NOT good. We've been at the house with the dogs for no more than 24 hours, so there's no POSSIBLE way he'll know how to get back. And although the road outside our house isn't a highway, there's some pretty decent traffic. And he's nowhere in sight.

Quick prayer. (huff, puff) Stupid doggggg (huff, puff)...

At this point, I'm thinking to myself that there's no way I'm going to catch him. I should have gotten in the car, but at this point I've already committed. So I keep running... and I'm already gasping for air.

Then a guy in a blue truck calls out to me... "You lookin' for a dog?"

"Yeah..." (gasping for air)

"He went WAAAAAY down there (motioning down the road). I'll see if I can stop him for you... does he bite?"

"No..." (even if he did, I wouldn't have told him)

So nice blue truck man drives on down and I see him pull over. I'm yelling to Donny, and from past experience, I know the Donn-meister hears me but is just ignoring me... I can only imagine his thought process...

No way I'm coming back there... First you leave me at the house in MD for 2 weeks with almost no human contact, then you ship me off to Philly, and now where the FREAK am I??? I've been that stupid crate all day and there ain't no way I'm coming back yet...

Now blue truck guy and another man has reached the fleeing canine and, true to form, Donny approaches (after making his 20th "pit stop" of the trip) and jumps up to try to sniff the guy's face... basically how he greets all humans. Helper-guy grabs Donny's collar, and the journey is over. I thank him and blue truck guy as he drives past, and start the long huff-puff journey back up the hill toward home.

I have decided to wire the gate shut. We will no longer use it. End of story.

No more happiness...

2007-09-25T10:57:00.001-04:00

In Fantasy-land, that is. My team lost, despite only needing 6 points from 2 players combined. And to top it all off, Deuce is out for the year, which means my top 2 RBs are now out with injuries. It's a wonder I've even won a game at all... I SO shoulda won that game. Stupid Saints.

Fantasy Football Happiness...

2007-09-24T09:29:00.001-04:00

I wrote this in an Email to my bro this AM, and thought I'd just put it up in a post.

Good thing I decided to play Westbrook [Eagles RB] and McNabb [Eagles QB]yesterday. I got a total of 76 points from them, plus another 25 from the Dallas D, who is now on my good side again. :-)

I've got one more player (Cris Brown) going into tonight and it's already over. 124-108.

In my JC league, I need a TD from either Colston or McAllister, or some combination of 150 Yds rushing/receiving between them. If one of them goes over 100yds, that'll
seal the deal right there as we get 1pt/25 yds and 3pt bonus for +100.

It's always nice to come home to a weekend without football (minus the part where we watched Penn State lose to [shudder] Michigan... (you know, the team that lost their first game to a Division II school? ) and find that your home team wiped out the opposition and your two fantasy teams played well enough to pull out the victory. Now I haven't won my 2nd matchup yet, cause I still am losing, but I do have two players going tonight for the Saints on MNF and it looks like I'll be able to pull out the W. Good times... that'll make 3-0 in my JC league and lookin good.

Got the puppies this past weekend and things are starting to come down the homestretch to normalcy. We met GeGwee and Pop in Washington PA... "Why Washington...?" you may ask? Well it's not cause we're a little homesick for good old Montgomery Village... although we are. It's actually about 1/2 way between here and Philly, and it was a great way to meet them and have them deliver the pups without too much trouble. Pop managed to tie their crates to the roof, the puppies hopped in the back and we had a grand old time. Stayes at a Red Roof Inn for pretty cheap -- they accept pets with NO weight limit, so that was happy. They really behaved well (the DOGS, that is), and although it was a whirlwind 24-hour visit, it was a great time.

We'll get to go back again in Nov for my cousin Kristen's wedding, so it's only another 6 weeks till GeGwee can get another dose of the mighty E. We'll try to post some pix from the visit soon... God knows we took enough of them!

Later Shpater.

Die Hunde kommen!

2007-09-20T15:13:00.000-04:00

Yes, that's right -- the dogs are coming home this weekend! We've missed them terribly. Going to meet GeGwee & Pop about 1/2 between here and Philly, spend some time with them and have a nice little visit since they won't be able to attend Ethan's 2nd Bday coming up soon.

Here's a picture of Marie and Colin just chillin'... they've been getting some serious "puppy love". No doubt my nephew's gonna miss them... not to mention GeGwee and Pop!

It's been great knowing they've been getting some attention and love they deserved after the DC Debacle. Hope they enjoy their new digs in Ohio. Sarah and I have decided they'll be sharing the Master Suite with us... it's really the only place we can put their HUGEMUNGOUS crates that makes any sense.

We'll be sure to post more pix after they get settled in... although I doubt it's going to be as comfortable for them as it seems to have been in Philly...

Woof.

Donovan Diatribe

2007-09-19T12:55:00.000-04:00

OK. I'm a little disturbed by something... I heard some comments made by Eagles QB Donovan McNabb the other evening on some HBO show, talking about how African-American QBs are criticized more than other QBs... I don't know whether that's true or not, and I'm not making excuses. I don't even pretend to know what his personal/professional life is like. I know he rushed his recovery from a torn ACL to come back way sooner than the norm, and I know he hasn't been able to get near enough time on the field to work out the kinks and get ready for the start of the season. I am pretty sure of one thing, though...

After losing in week one to GB, and then losing the other night to Washington while displaying a pathetic looking offense that couldn't even muster a single TD, don't you think there should be less time spent on politicking and more time spent on PRACTICING?

Do I sound like a ticked-off fan? Maybe. Am I insensitve? Perhaps. I'll grant him the fact that this may be a legitimate issue, but I'd rather have him focusing his energies right now on continuing to be the excellent performer he has always been. He is the consummate professional in my eyes, and is definitely a role-model. He has taken every insult, commentary and resounding BOO that the most-times-less-than-understanding Philly fan or member of the media can dish out... and he's always been top-drawer. I admit I was ticked off the other night while watching the game... but I've been thinking about it more and more in light of these comments he made the other day and want to send out my support to #5. Hang in there.

And for all you other McNabb haters out there, I say... "Well at least he's no Kyle Boller..." :-)

Just my $.02.

Could this be the year?

2007-09-19T12:46:00.000-04:00

Probably not... but it's worth raising the question. I can't count the number of times the Phillies have raised my hopes with the possibility of making the post-season, and now they are doing it once again. They are ABSOLUTELY RED HOT and are beating every team in sight -- including winning the last 8 games in a row against the Mets (Aug and Sept). Meanwhile, the Mets are tumbling, have lost 5 (or 6) straight and the Phils are now just a game and a half away from the division lead. They're also either a game and a half or just a half game away from the NL wild card lead (depending on how San Diego did last night) and with only a few weeks left (if that), there's a distinct possibility they might actually get to the playoffs for the first time in like 10 years. Now don't get me wrong -- I don't EXPECT them to do it. That would be just plain silly... :-)

Nothing up my sleeve... PRESTO!

2007-09-11T17:17:00.000-04:00

As quickly as it disappeared, the table has now been found (see previous post). Should be delivered by the end of the week. I'm sure there are other things that never made it to us, but nothing that seems so important that I'm going to lose sleep over at this point.

Spent the evening over at the house by myself the other night working in the basement... "Why the basement?" you ask? Cause that's where the TV is! Can you say "Monday Night Football"???

Yes folks, I got to experience not one but.. count 'em... TWO Monday Night Games. I could only hope for this to continue throughout the season, but I doubt it will. And it will be tough to keep up with those West Coast games if they don't start till 10:30pm.

So my FF teams are 1-1. I won in the JC League, but lost by ONE POINT in my work league. Can I jsut say how much I really hate Dallas? I should have known better selecting their stupid defense... I lost a point when they allowed the Giants offense to run rampant and score a bazillion points. And in the end, I was undone by Tony Robo-QB hooking up with TO for 2 scores, throwing for 2 more and running for a 5th TD. Can you say MEGA-POINTS scored against Jeff? Oh well... at least the league is free. :-)

High School Nude-sicle

2007-09-11T17:15:00.000-04:00

Oh, Vanessa...

Disney backs star after nude photos revealed

First you see it...

2007-09-07T13:06:00.000-04:00

Then you don't. It's nice for magicians, but not so nice when you're moving cross-country. Let me just fill you all in a little...

We moved in Wednesday. The movers broke the foot on an antique, the sofa won't fit down the basement stairs, and they can't FIND our dining room table. An expensive one. No idea where it is. We are ticked.

Besides all this, I get the sneaking suspicion that there are more things missing... nothing too terribly important (except for the table),... but missing nonetheless. My 2 keyboard stands? no idea where they are. Other missing items include misc. gardening equipment (lawnmowers, weedwhacker, rakes, etc) and probably a bunch of other stuff we didn't need anyway... ugh.

Luckily, we have Ethan's room almost set up, our king bed made it up the stairs, and things are starting to take shape. It's gonna take a while, but we're on our way. Luckily Benji and Liz are in town this weekend for Debbie's 60th -- so we drafted them to help. Good thing too -- I'm gonna need help getting our extra Queen bed back to Debbie's to replace the busted air mattress. It was a lovely way to wake up this morning... poor Sarah. I know for sure she can't WAIT to be back in our own comfy bed... Ahhh.....

We're in!

2007-08-30T10:11:00.000-04:00

I realized I hadn't posted, so just wanted to fill everyone in. We closed on Monday -- happy day! The previous owners are really cool and as it turns out, they're living right next door! Now, it's only temporary cause they're building a new home close by, but the woman's sister is our neighbor -- no doubt we'll be seeing a lot of them. But it is kinda weird to see their kids and have them watch us do all kinds of things to their house... but at least they're cool about it.

Sarah and I started painting (well, priming -- haven't got to the paint part yet) and we have 2 rooms to go. Thought it would be a good idea to get all this done before the movers showed up, but it doesn't look like we'll finish. If we can at least get some of it done, it will help a lot, I'm sure. There are only 4 rooms to paint, including a bathroom, so it's not that bad. The only problem is that we have a limited amount of time to do it, since we're away this weekend in Chicago for a wedding and won't return until late Monday. That leaves tonight (Thu) and next Tue to finish up... hopefully we can get everything at least primed and perhaps get one or two rooms totally finished. Cross your fingers!

Nothing to lose your head over...

2007-08-30T10:10:00.001-04:00

Or is it? This is just disturbing...

Man loses top of his head in brain operation

Tomorrow's the Big Day!

2007-08-26T20:54:00.000-04:00

We're closing tomorrow. So psyched.

Sarah and I went over with Mimi and Ethan tonight to do the final walkthrough, and were pleasantly surprised when we found not only the big screen TV and speakers (like we were expecting), but also 2 tuners, a CD changer, a DVD player, a component switcher and a bunch of other things! So cool! Now we don't need to fix our stuff!

The pool table is gone (as expected), but that's good cause it means we won't have to deal with it. We would have sold it regardless, but it's one less thing we need to do. We will need to purchase some patio furniture to enjoy on our nice big deck, but most of the other stuff we already have. Sarah wants to purchase a few chairs for the living room since most of our furniture will be downstairs in the basement, and we have some painting to do in the rooms upstairs, but everything else is basically ready to go -- move in condition, clean and smelling all purdy. NICE.

I am so thankful that this is almost done. And before I forget to mention it -- we're basically paying NOTHING at closing. We asked for $2000 back from the sellers bringing our costs down to $750 -- but we're getting a $750 rebate from USAA for using their services. How cool is THAT?!?!? Looks like we'll owe something like $.53... Love it.

The movers don't come until next week, so that gives us a little time to get things together (painting and whatnot). Really looking forward to finally having a place of our own (again)...

"Our house, in the middle of our street..."

Great article

2007-08-24T12:53:00.001-04:00

Dad sent me this article by one of my favorite writers George Will. It's a great look at a great umpire, Bruce Froemming. In a time where many professional umpires opt for the easy way out, here's one who unfortunately is considered a throw-back. He actually CARES about what he does. He calls them like he sees them... not like he's EXPECTED to see them. INTEGRITY PERSONIFIED. I guarantee that if there were more Bruce Froemmings in pro sports, we'd have a lot less of the headline-grabbing nonsense that the rest of them are generating. But, I digress...

Read on -- Diamond-Hard Integrity -- Bruce Froemming.

Enjoy.

A 6-pack a day...

2007-08-24T08:28:00.001-04:00

I started this little advenuture about 6 weeks ago at Jungle Jim's where I decided I would choose a variety of individual brews to create a custom 6-pack, and then sample and review them over the course of a week or two. Well, needless to say I DID finish them all (no doubt!) but I haven't had a chance to review them yet.

Now, mind you, I'm not really a beer connoisseur, but I do enjoy all the difft flavors you get across the variety of different IPAs, lagers and stouts. I plan on getting up my "6-pack review" soon -- that is, if I can find the list where I wrote down all the different kinds I tried.

The one I do remember a brew by the Great Lakes Brewing Company in Cleveland OH called Eliot Ness, an amber lager if I remember. Very nice smooth feel, slightly toasty (and no, I was not "TOASTED"!!!) and not much of a hoppy aroma to it... I remember a bit of hops in the finish, and it was quite drinkable, despite the strange name -- actually the reason I chose to try it. Apparently he loved to frequent the brewpub and got a beer named after him. Maybe I should ask the folks over at Dogfish Head to consider renaming their Belgian Dark -- perhaps the "Rezer d'Etre"???

Ethan's musical genius

2007-08-23T22:39:00.001-04:00

OK - so I took this video with my camera the other day cause I had to share with the world the musical genius that is Ethan Rezer. Nevermind the fact that he's only 23 months...

In case you can't hear real well, Daddy is calling out the names of the notes of the scale -- OUT OF ORDER -- and Ethan is playing them on the piano! He rocks! Look out Liberace!

Click on the video to bring it up in the player. Enjoy!

I hate the Braves

2007-08-21T09:01:00.000-04:00

Isn't it about time for the Phillies to dominate the NL East? Haven't I waited long enough? Just when you though the Braves were headed downhill, here comes the newly acquired Mark Teixiera, hitting 9 homers in 18 games and revitalizing the Braves offense. Oh, and Smoltz is still as nasty as ever, proving so by striking out 12 in his most recent outing. The Phils are hanging in there, scoring a ton of runs and leading the NL in that category, but it seems like they just can't seem to push it over the top. The pitching has been pretty steady, and a once inept bullpen has really been top-notch as far as I have been able to see in the limited amount of games I've been able to track. Is it too much to ask for a little post-season activity? There's still hope... but it's never a given with the Braves hanging around.

Oh yeah -- I hate the Mets too.

I've been waiting...

2007-08-17T08:49:00.000-04:00

For a Blo - - og post...
To go on-to Jeff's site...
Yeah, waiting...
For a Blo - - og post...
To see if he's alright...

OK. Lou Gramm I'm not.

But neither are you - so leave me alone.

Seriously... the first 2 weeks of work have been jam packed. Things are going well. I jumped in with both feet and hit the ground at a quick jog and haven't had time to look back yet. I hadn't even realized that there wasn't a post about my first week until I started getting reminders from TravelinGirl76 and djcunnin. Sorry folks.

I like my office, the people I work with and the stuff I'm doing A LOT. I've had to dust off some of my analytical skills as well tidy up the cobwebs on the math side of my brain. I've been working at compiling online ad stats (pageviews, visits, CTR and more) using a variety of different tools for about 50-60 sites that F+W owns. More on that later. Suffice it to say it's a great way to learn about everything going on here.

I helped prepare the monthly reports the first week I was here, got to send them out to everyone and already got my feet wet answering questions from some of the online marketing managers. I think this is going to be a great match for my skillset... analytical thinking, web experience, some programming and some people-skills. There's also a good bt of "why isn't this working" brainstorming going on with my boss, which I highly enjoy. My mom can definitely vouch for that -- I started at a very young age by always asking her... "Mom, ask me a hard question."

Well, these are definitely some difficult ones. But I'm up to the challenge. I started practicing a long time ago.

More later...

Ethan and Daddy

2007-08-11T16:04:00.000-04:00

New job starts tomorrow

2007-08-05T14:49:00.001-04:00

I'm a little excited.

A little bit nervous.

Sort of anxious.

A little frightened.

a LOT grateful.

Start at 9:30 and I'll be jumping right into orientation, lunch with my boss and afternoon meetings. He called it "orientation with a purpose". I don't care what it is -- just glad to be getting my shot. Finally.

Househunting

2007-08-03T16:14:00.000-04:00

Sarah narrowed down about a million listings down to a few that we've been checking out with our new USAA-Approved realtor. She's great... very knowledgable, likable and even from one of the target areas. I still can't believe what $150K gets you around here. It's ridiculous. Our $350K townhouse in DC would be about a $600-700 house here. LOVE IT.

We are torn right now between 2 great possibilities -- one is a fantastic space, ready to move in, gorgeous finished basement and beautiful... the other has a lot of potential and has a great master suite and a TON of room. So do we go for the gorgeous no-work required house with less space and no master bath or do we go for the one that has a ton of room but will need carpet and paint right off the bat? Argh! Choices...

Opinions would be welcomed...

More soon.

Playing Catch-up

2007-07-31T11:16:00.000-04:00

And while I'm on the subject... what's with all the spellings of that word anyway? Catsup? Ketchup? Catchup? Sheesh... :-)

I GOT MY JOB! I interviewed last Thursday with F+W Pubs and it went really well... I was expecting to hear something more in about a week and a half, plus thinking I would come back to meet with the head of the department, but I got an Email the next day with an OFFER LETTER! God is good! Not only was it a great offer, it was MORE than I asked for. AWESOME!

The position will be a great mix of business and tech, and I am looking forward to being able to contribute to this fantastic team. It seems like a great opportunity and a great match for me all at the same time. I'll keep you all posted in the weeks to come as I start as ONLINE ADVERTISING SPECIALIST next Monday, Aug. 6. YAHOO!

Now, on to finding a house!

House, Job and PotterMania

2007-07-23T10:45:00.000-04:00

OK, we finally closed on the house last Friday, July 13. Yes, that's right -- Friday the 13th. We didn't have much of a choice. After a long arduous process of fixing it up, cleaning, painting, renovating, etc... it's OVER. You can check out the pix on the Rezer.com Photo Gallery. Honestly, I didn't know if I had it in me when I started, but since we didn't really have a choice, we were able to get it done with A LOT of help from our friends. We've received our settlement check (A LOT lower than we wanted) and now are just waiting for our final escrow amounts to come back. Goodbye MD. We'll miss you.

I was potentially interviewing for the Online Advertising position last Friday (the 20th) but it got postponed to this week because the department head was out of the office. Hopefully I'll hear early this week. Heard back about the CSR job in Dayton and although I passed the interview with flying colors, there are no open positions at this time, although from the sound of it they are expecting more openings as soon as the parent company authorizes the hiring process for the department. This is still a fallback, but I'm holding on for a better opportunity. Also a possibility of working for a company called PowerNet Global as a helpdesk specialist. That one is pending approval from the company, and I'm not the only one being interviewed.

Sarah is a little sad these last few days because the final Harry Potter book was released and she has already read it (within 24 hours, I might add). She and I went to Borders for the midnight release party and picked up the book, then we went home (after a McDonald's stop for "brain food") and started reading around 1am. She read for about 4 hours and took a short nap, got up at 9:30 and read the rest of the day, stopping only to eat for about 5 minutes each time. She finished shortly before 7pm... insane! She sure does love Harry Potter. I consoled her by mentioning that there would still be 2 more movies coming out, but she said "honey, it's not the same..." I agree. But at least it's something...

More to come

Behold the new Rezer.com!

2007-07-22T18:49:00.001-04:00

Sarah and I got creative and started putting together a new home page. Lots of good stuff to come, but check it out. It's now ready for PRIME TIME!!!

http://www.rezer.com

Many possibilities in the works...

2007-07-19T10:06:00.001-04:00

So after a week of feeling very down, now I'm feeling cautiously optimistic and actually excited. I had a phone interview with a company for the position of Online Advertising Specialist yesterday for a media company, and it went REALLY well. They want to have me in on Friday afternoon to meet some other folks from the company. This opportunity would be great cause it's a nice blend of business and tech, and I think would really allow me to flex my people-skills. The company sounds very team oriented and I think it would be a great fit for me... please keep this situation and opportunity for me in your prayers.

Secondly, right before this phone interview, I got a call from a tech recruiter for a HelpDesk position that would pay fairly well that's right in my location target area, the same area that I had been working earlier in the month. It may be a bit over my head, but I could most likely do the work if given the opportunity. The pay is not as good as the job mentioned earlier, but it's still higher than the third opportunity...

...which is with the company I'd been interviewing with for the last few weeks. This company is HUGE and they're located up in Dayton, about 45 min from here. The pay is low, and the hours are horrible, but it's at least a job with an opportunity to advance and make a little money. I know this is something I don't want to do full-time, but if I need to take it while I continue looking elsewhere, I will... but only if the others don't pan out.

Now, in the meantime I'm continuing to apply for some positions and am keeping my options open, but I'm hopeful that the first opportunity mentioned here will actually work out. They are looking to hire within 2-3 weeks, and have a few candidates already, including one from inside the company. This makes me a little nervous, but I can only do my best and hope they see me as the best fit for their company and the position.

"I'm holding on..."

Shock the Monkey...

2007-07-16T21:33:00.000-04:00

For some hysterical reading, check out the latest adventures of Monkey Rezer.

"Watch the monkey get hurt... monkey."

Now on to some job-related news... in bullet-point fashion:

Interview with Robert Half Technologies went well, although I bombed the Windows XP help desk test (did well on the hardware test). My rep there will be back to me once they have a position for me... may be a while, but who knows...

Took some MS Office proficiency tests this AM with Adecco (the same company I've been temping with at Tom Raper RVs) and scored +90% on all of them. They were pretty easy, but if this is any indication of the talent level out there, they should be paying me hundreds of millions -- as soon as I can land a job...

Sent a resume/coverletter to a company that I heard about through my networking group. It's for an online advertising specialist and I already got a call back on it... will be interviewing (phone) with the HR manager on Wed. This is probably the hottest prospect yet, so please say a prayer...

Have my followup interview with LexisNexis Tue AM -- part Q&A and part tech simulation. I should do well, and if all goes as expected I hope to have an offer from them by the end of the week. The question is... do I hold out for something else or go with the sure thing? Decisions, decisions...

So that's it for now. Please keep me in your prayers...

Kobeyashi gets squashied

2007-07-12T15:37:00.000-04:00

Yes, folks, it's old news, but I was watching a re-run (no, not Freddie Stubbs from 'What's Happening') of the Nathan's Hotdog Eating Contest and the mighty Kobeyashi has fallen. An American (Joey Chestnut) finally beat him, eatng 66 hotdogs AND BUNS within the time limit. Let me just tell you it was disturbing in that "I can't bear to watch this but for some reason can't avert my glance" kind of way. What a feat.

OK, that's all fine and good (and slightly sickening), but the reason I mention all this is because of a comment the one announcer said. Let me see if I can quote him so you can get the full effect...

"If Chestnut can hang on here, it would be [one of] the greatest moments in American sports history..."

Are you freaking kidding me??? That statement has got to me one of the most ridiculous and assanine statements ever uttered by a "sportscaster". Greater than Willie Mays' famous over-the-shoulder catch? Greater than the Miracle at the Meadowlands? The Immaculate Reception? US Beating the Soviets in the 1980 Winter Olympics? Chamberlain scoring 100 in a single game? Puh-lease. It doesn't even top Gus Frerotte's famous endzone headbutt celebration...

This idiot should lose his sportscasters license. What kind of credentials does this buffoon have anyway? It's people like this guy that make some ESPN'ers the laughing stock of knowledgable sports fans everyway.

Dipstick.

Last day at Tom Raper

2007-07-12T09:53:00.000-04:00

Well, maybe. It was supposed to be yesterday, but I came back for a few the morning to make another $.99. Whoopee. Well, at least it gives me some time to write in my blog. It doesn't get busy till later in the day.

Sarah and Big E come back today from Illi-no-ah. I'm SO ready for them to be back. You can only watch so many episodes of Flip This House before it starts to get old. I almost put in a Veggie Tales DVD the other day cause in a weird way I almost missed watching it. ALMOST.

We're getting excited about the new release of the Harry Potter movie. I can only imagine that Sarah is going out of her mind. And not only does the movie come out this weekend, the 7th and final book is not far behind. She's already got her reserved copy ordered and will most likely polish the entire book off in a night or two. Seriously.

Looks like Momma R is now in the land of Gmail and IM. Got her hooked up yesterday and upgraded her from her old JUNO acct. There's no need for that old dialup acct anymore since she's on the church's LAN. It will be nice to chat with her on a regular basis without needing to be near a phone. And I'm sure Dad is not far behind in the IM world... I can almost hear Sting now...

"I want my, I want my, I want my Instant Chat..."

And now... Paula Cole!

2007-07-11T14:42:00.000-04:00

Silence.

Chirp.

Uncomfortableness.

You would think that during a major multimedia event like the All-Star game that they'd have this wired a little tighter. Is there a sound issue? A cable not plugged in? What's up? Where's the sound engineer? The roadies? AAAAHHHH...

At this point we see her keyboard player hunched over the keyboard trying frantically to either select a sound, see the display or figure out why it's not working. I have an incredible feeling of deja vous. Know the feeling. Don't envy her right now.

More silence. The long-distance TV camera pans the crowd. Still nothing. I can't believe it. Wondering if she's going to start singing acapella. She probably should. Start Paula. Please start. Why can't they figure this out. This is embarrassing...

I can almost hear the sound of James Adams in the background "Down-time, Down-time...let's go guys..." But Flip Like Wilson never played to a crowd like this... even at the Bottle & Cork in Dewey Beach.

Ok -- finally. She says something about the country, men and women fighting... very nice. I don't remember exactly. She starts singing. You can hear the nervousness in her voice as she sings. No wonder. She just had a couple hundred million people watching (or not watching) her sing.

Ok... sounding better now. Actually, this sounds quite good. Nice version. I'm glad... nice recovery. I'm happy for her. And me. My blood pressure is returning to normal... as normal as it could be, I guess...

All-Star Extravaganza

2007-07-11T14:16:00.000-04:00

OK. If you didn't see the game last night, the finish was fantastic. Bad in a baseball sense, but good for thrill-seekers.

*** SPOILER ALERT!!! READ NO FURTHER IF YOU TiVO'd the game ***

OK... so for those of you who either don't have a DVR or don't care about the outcome, here we go...

It was a rather uneventful game, except for a few cool moments. Ichiro hit an inside-the-parker. He rounded the bases like it was nothing. By the time the outfielder retrieved the ball, he probably could have gone half way around again. That guy is ridiculous. And if I could say it in Japanese, I would, just so I'd be sure he could understand how I feel. Suffice it to say that he is probably the best pure hitter in the game right now -- (yes, including BARRY) -- and don't even get me started on the fact that the guy can plain out FLY on the bases. Silly good. And he's a pretty good fielder as well.

Speaking of "Fielders"... I know there's a lot of emotion and hype and all for the game, and the players probably have the an equivalent amount of adreneline in their systems as if they had just downed a case of Red Bull, but what's up with Prince Fielder dropping a simple throw to first? That was plain out sad. Coming from an ex-first baseman, there was no excuse for dropping that ball. And I wasn't a perfect "Fielder" either, but I feel like I should be able to throw some stones here. Maybe Prince should think about dropping that last name of his and just going by his moniker... oh wait, that name's already been taken by the Purple One. :-)

OK, so a lot of stuff happened blah blah blah and then as usual, the American League pulls ahead and is leading 5-2 going into the final inning. Then a 2-run shot by another ridiculous hitter Soriano.. so it's 5-4. (Side note: I find it funny that he hit it off a reliever whose last name is "Putz" -- even if he does have 24 saves and a sub 1.00 ERA)

There are 2 outs. They bring in Francisco Rodrigez. He proceeds to walk the bases loaded, and if it weren't for some fine defensive catching by Posada it would have been tied. Finally Rowand flied out to end the game, but the NLA almost pulled it out... almost. Oh well. It's been 10 years... they've got to be due SOON.

I read an interesting stat the other day... the starting salaries of the NLA -- $52mil. The ALA -- over $120mil. No wonder they always win.

"Take me out to the ballgame..."

Interesting web fodder...

2007-07-10T21:31:00.001-04:00

New dictionary includes 'ginormous'

OK, fine. But do they also list 'hugemungous'? I think not.

So there. :-)