Here @ Hotel

Posting from my phone, no internet.

Niagara Falls, Here We Come

Okay, I didn't take that picture, but when I get back, I hope to have some decent pictures of my own. I should be able to post at least some phone pictures of our vacation until I get back.

Because I am internet addicted, I am taking my laptop in case there is no "business office" in the hotel for me to get online and read blogs and update mine. Here's to hoping for available in-room high speed internet access :-) The freaking Mid-Town hotel here in Columbus offers it, so I hope that such a tourist attraction would have it.

But, if not, I can go (gasp!) dialup, thx to SBC. But, I am prepared for wireless and wired highspeed wherever I go.

As for the trip, we are hoping to see all of the typical tourist sites. Our car ride should be fun with 3 little ones, but we have 2 car DVD players and a stack of DVDs, so the 6 hours should fly by. Hey, a guy can hope, can't he?

Busy Day

I've had a pretty busy day today. We went to see Lo's grandad in the hospital this morning, then G and I went on a GAP job for a little over two hours.

While he fixed their laptop, I made them two spreadsheets to keep their church's books on. Each spreadsheet had 14 worksheets in it and were all very interconnected. I did some good work, I think.

Then, we picked up my old wired router and took it over to G's dad's house to try to get it set up. We got it going, but the connection was dropping in and out, so the router could have some issues. It will take some future troubleshooting, I think.

Then, we all went to dinner at O'Charley's, which is always good (rolls and cheesy potato soup, baby!). Now we are home for some last minute preparation before our vacation tomorrow, which I'll tell you all more about tomorrow.

Later.

Mo Clarett

Maurice Clarett is in the news again. This time for something that I think is admirable. He just signed his NFL deal so that he could make it in to camp by the first day and people are very divided on whether or not they think that he did the right thing.

From FoxSports.com in italics

He passed on the guaranteed $400,000 signing bonus he could have taken, instead choosing an incentive-filled deal that could earn him first-round money ... or leave him broke.

It could net Clarett up to $7 million over the life of the four-year deal if he reaches all the goals and triggers a number of escalator clauses written into the contract.

As it stands now, though, he has nothing. He is scheduled to earn the rookie minimum $230,000, but that's only if he makes the regular-season roster.

Since contracts in the NFL are not guaranteed, it makes signing bonuses like the one Clarett passed on that much more important. Instead of what would have been about a $410,000 signing bonus, Clarett's contract calls for him to make that money in workout bonuses that would be spread over the final three years of his contract.

So, the money will work out to be the same if he makes the team for 3 years and only sits the bench, but he can be cut or injured before the season starts (or during this year) and get nothing or next to nothing. But that 7 million upside is the story.

I heard his agent on local Columbus sports talk radio and I agreed with what he said. He said that the $410,000 isn't life changing money. If those bad things happened to him, he would have to get another job and have another life anyway.

But 7 million IS life changing money. And Clarett was willing to risk a little to gain a lot. I don't view it as any different than someone bootstrapping a business. He believes in himself and is only risking his life and his livelihood.

I truly wish him all of the success in the world. I hope that they give him the rock this year and he never gives it back.

You've got to pull for all Buckeye alums. That's just how I see it.

High Falutin'

Today was my company's lunch for everyone who had a birthday in the month of July. It was held at Worthington Hills Country Club and was a chance to get together and meet other consultants and execs and get a free meal.

I'll tell you what, though. To quote Dave Chappelle, "That sh*t is balla, son!". I don't think that I've ever been to a country club before, especially not one as nice as this.

The dining area


A scenic view


The main building


Except for next year's lunch, I think that will be the only time that they let a brotha on the grounds. I don't think the members liked having our kind around anyway.

I did make an effort to fit in, though. My work style usually consists of dockers and a golf shirt. I had to borrow a trendy button-down shirt from G-man that Trin was nice enough to bring by.

Actually, she brought a big ole stack of shirts by so that I could choose whichever one that I wanted. I'll tell you what, though. I think that G wouldn't have let me borrow the shirt if he knew that I was going to look better than him in it ;-) I know that it's a beeyatch to let someone borrow your clothes and then they rock them better than you do. (Read: My entire late teens where my friend Mike would take my gear then get all the ladies.)

I was definitely more confident today at work knowing (or at least feeling) that I was looking pretty good. I took a picture of me with my camera phone in a mirror, but it is such crappy quality that I'm not going to post it.

Better off, anyway. That way all you ladies out there don't get restless ;-) Gotta go now. It is getting waaaaay to hard to sit upright with this huge head on my shoulders. Later.

Impromptu Deposit

I was coming back from lunch today and I noticed a Red Cross Bloodmobile in the back of a parking lot. I didn't see too many cars nearby, so I stopped in, leaving my lunch in the car.

There was only one other donor on the bus, so I stuck around and gave blood. I'm a pretty quick donor. It literally took only 5 minutes once they got the needle in my arm for the bag to be full.

After 9/11, there were lines upon lines of blood donors and I think that people still think that there is plenty of blood. However, there are always shortages during the Summer Trauma Season. The Summer Trauma Season usually begins late May near Memorial Day and runs through Labor Day in September.

Fear of needles really isn't too much of an excuse. I feel that it is a civic duty to give blood. If you are permitted and are able, blood donation is such a worthy cause that makes a tangible impact to those around you.

Racist

I am purposely being explicit in this description.

I walked in to the BP Station on the corner of 5th Avenue and Olentangy River Road in Columbus, Ohio at 4:15pm. There was a man behind the counter named Joe (yes, his real name).

As I was walking in, I happened to notice a sign on the door that said that that store did not discriminate against their customers on any basis. Yet, while I am in the store, Joe has a customer come in that he is VERY rude to.

The guy leaves and as the door is closing Joe yells after him, "Some people don't deserve to be in this country if they can't operate a gas pump!" Everyone in the store heard him. But, he didn't leave it at that.

For the rest of the time that I was in the store, he loudly grumbled against foreigners and this man's supposed incompetence.

His big offense was that he had an issue with the credit card machine on the pump that was malfunctioning.

I could not believe Joe's gall. I am definitely going to contact BP's corporate headquarters. That store is right next to campus. There are people of all shapes, colors, and sizes that frequent the store. That guy deserves to be reprimanded.

What do you all think? Am I taking it too far?

STFU

I just heard an OnStar commercial on the radio. In the commercial, a woman buzzes OnStar and tells them that the Check Engine light is on and asks if they can diagnose her problem.

At this point, I am thinking that it is a radio skit mocking OnStar. But, NO! The guy goes, "Yes we can help you with that. Let me just run a diagnostic."

Then we get a voiceover explaining the process. Apparently, OnStar can remotely diagnose your engine error messages and report them to you, like a mechanic would do by hooking up that machine and telling you what was going on (for $50-$70 an hour).

It turned out that they lady had a loose gas cap, but either way, it saved her a trip to the mechanic. It is also handy if the "man of the house" isn't automechanically inclined.

Pretty cool.

The Pacifier

This weekend I watched "The Pacifier" with Vin Diesel. The girls wanted to see it because of all of the endless promotion from The Disney Channel, so I got it.

Trin didn't like it, but I thought that it was okay. It was a bit sappy, and I didn't think that the violence in the movie was too bad. It was all rather cartoonish.

I'm a big kid so I usually give "kid's movies" a pretty easy pass. I also like movies where people get better as the movie goes on. Movies like Major League (all 3), The Replacements, Karate Kid (all 4), etc really tend to keep my interest.

So the fact that this movie had the kids learn discipline while Vin learned to care fit the formula and amused me suitably for the running time of the movie. I don't know if I will watch it again, but if it is on TV and nothing else is on, I will probably watch it, cuz I do that sort of thing from time to time.

Such is life when you are easily amused and out of books to read.

Weekends

Will someone please explain to me why the frick and frack that my weekends go by so quickly? It is killing a brotha.

Friday night, my father in law came over for dinner. After that, we talked and watched some T.V. The highlight of the discussion was a debate over what the Bible had to say about tattoos and multiple piercings. I won't go in to the points or the sides, but that's what happened, so I am recording it here for my faithful readers.

Saturday we went to my wife's cousin's son's (confused? I refer to him as my 1st Cousin Once Removed In-Law)6th birthday party. They live about 40 mins away, but they had lots of food and cake, so it was all good. But, it was freaking 10,000 degrees with 5,000,000% humidity. That is just stupid.

Today we hit church, then Wal-Mart for a little back-to-school shopping. After that, home for some rest.

Weekend gone. Just like that. Where is the love?

What Age Do I Act?

Not too bad. I still act a tad younger than I am. I wonder what Oz would score...

You Are 24 Years Old

24


Under 12: You are a kid at heart. You still have an optimistic life view - and you look at the world with awe.

13-19: You are a teenager at heart. You question authority and are still trying to find your place in this world.

20-29: You are a twentysomething at heart. You feel excited about what's to come... love, work, and new experiences.

30-39: You are a thirtysomething at heart. You've had a taste of success and true love, but you want more!

40+: You are a mature adult. You've been through most of the ups and downs of life already. Now you get to sit back and relax.

What Age Do You Act?

A Quiz About the Best Subject in the World - ME!

Stealing Trinity's Quiz

Do you guys know me?

Take my Quiz! and then Check out the Scoreboard!

Here's a hint. I believe that all of the answers for the quiz have been discussed on my blog. It wouldn't be fair to you if it were not so. Have fun.

Pizza and Planes

Today was a pretty decent day. I got a free pizza lunch at my job. The pizza was very, very good from Adriaticos Pizza on the OSU campus.

Next, we had a paper airplane contest for accuracy. We tried to land our planes on a shuffleboard-like area, with the most points getting a big Hershey bar.

We were under the impression that it would be a distance contest, so most people made their planes to go far, not to a specific spot. I'll tell you what, my plane would have been in good contention for distance, but in accuracy, I came in 4th or 5th out of 10 people.

After that, we had to clean our entire work areas (the real reason for the pizza and the fun), but it wasn't too bad and it was kind of a bonding experience for the team. The reason for the cleaning was that our CIO will probably be walking through early next week for a millisecond.

Like the guy has never seen dust. Whatever. Got me free pizza and some goof-off time, so I guess it is all good.

Family Night

We had a good night out last night, courtesy of my employer. We went to see the Columbus Clippers (Yankees' AAA Affiliate) play the Buffalo Bisons (Indians' AAA Affiliate).

We got there an hour and a half before the game and got a (free) catered dinner of the ballpark's finest food. It was excellent. In addition, all the bottled water, pop, and beer you could drink was free. It was also a nice time to meet the owner and other "players" in the company.

Since we were there early, we watched the players warm up. Kazuhito Tadano of Buffalo gave my kids each a ball while we were watching. I'll be pulling for him now to get to the majors again and stay. Here he is shagging BP balls.


Here is the view from our seats during warmups


Here is our view during the game


The giveaway was either a Tribe, Yankee, or Clippers souvenir baseball, so we ended up with 3 Indians and 1 Clippers ball, plus the BP balls that we got from Tadano.

Here is my middle daughter waiting to get a foul ball.


My oldest sat sleepy the whole game


Here is my middle daughter doing her best (what she called her) Zack and Cody impression


I tried to get another pic of my oldest, but she declined. My middle daughter was dying to get a foul ball. She complained whenever any ball would go into the stands that if it "just bounced like this and this and that, we could have had it!" Very funny.

It would have been a perfect night, except the Clippers lost. They totally blew the game at the end. The manager really messed up switching the pitchers. They had a guy who was doing really well and then they took him out when a .180 hitter was coming to the plate (ostensibly to play the lefty-righty game) and while the new pitcher did get Mr. Sub-Mendoza out, he struggled to the rest of the batters and the other guy they brought in stunk, too. We gave up 3 runs in the 9th to lose 8-7.

But, it was my daughters' first time to a ballpark and we all had a great time. Lo had fun and seemed to be into the game the whole time, while the baby stayed with his grandma for the evening.

Maybe next year my little slugger can go to the game. (Gratuitous pic of him climbing in the McDonald's Playplace tube)


I'm out.

The Moon is Made of Cheese

Google, in honor of the anniversary of the 1st moon landing created Google Moon. It is like Google Earth, except it is the moon. Get it? Good.

Well if you zoom in on it, it looks like this:



But if you get to full zoom, you get this:


Go ahead, try it. Those Google people have such a good sense of humor.

Supporting a Cause

I've decided that I've been hiding it for too long. I have a disease, and I am going to stand up and speak out for a cure. If you are with me, you should proudly display this banner on your website, get the bumper sticker for your car, or the pin for your lapel.

The disease?


Please give generously to the cause so that one day, my pants will not fall down my backside. One day, my wife will no longer refer to my "backum" (a combination of back and bum, since there is no separation). One day, I might actually fill out the rear of a pair of pants so that they no longer sag and look like a full diaper.

Imagine the possibilities.

A Prayer for Dinner Parties

A woman invited some people to dinner. At the table, she turned to her six-year-old daughter and said, "Would you like to say the blessing?"

"I wouldn't know what to say," she replied.

"Just say what you hear Mommy say," the mother said.

The child bowed her head and said, "Dear Lord, why on earth did I invite all these people to dinner?"

Birthday Presents

I know it was 11 days ago, but I'm just getting around to it...

One of my favorite birthday presents that I received was this


My daughters drew me pictures and my wife put them in that frame. They are hanging up right now on the wall where I can see them. I love it so much.

I also got $220.00 in cash ($100.00 from my dad, $100.00 from my grandpa, and $20.00 from my wife's grandparents). My wife got me some Cool Water cologne and a watch. Trin and G-man got me the Harry Potter book and my work gave me the tin of cookies that I mentioned here.

Pretty good haul, I'd say. So, thanks to everyone who wished me a Happy Birthday and everyone who gave me some stuff. I appreciate it, it makes a brother feel loved.

40 Things That Only Happen in Hollywood

Stolen from Jody

1. It is always possible to find a parking spot directly outside or opposite the building you are visiting.

2. When paying for a taxi, don't look at your wallet as you take out a note. Just grab one out at random and hand it over. It will always be the exact fare.

3. Television news bulletins usually contain a story that affects you personally at the precise moment it's aired.

4. Creepy music (or satanic chanting) coming from a graveyard should always be closely investigated.

5. Any lock can be picked with a credit card or paperclip in seconds. UNLESS it's the door to a burning building with a child inside.

6. If you decide to start dancing in the street, everyone you bump into will know all the steps.

7. All bombs are fitted with electronic timing devices with large red digital displays so you know exactly when they are going to explode.

8. Should you wish to pass yourself off as a German officer, it will not be necessary to learn to speak German. Simply speaking English with a German accent will do. Similarly, when they are alone, all German soldiers prefer to speak English to each other.

9. Once applied, lipstick will never rub off. Even while scuba diving.

10. The Eiffel Tower can be seen from any window of any building in Paris.

11. Any police officer about to retire from the force will more often than not die on their last day (especially if their family have planned a party). (Caveat: Detectives can only solve a case after they have been suspended from duty).

12. Getaway cars never start first go. But all cop cars do. (They will also slide to a dramatic stop in the midst of a crime scene).

13. If staying in a haunted house, women should investigate any strange noises wearing their most revealing underwear.

14. On a police stake-out, the action will only ever take place when food is being consumed and scalding hot coffees are perched precariously on the dashboard . . .

15. All grocery shopping involves the purchase of French loaves which will be placed in open brown paper bags (Caveat: when said bags break, only fruit will spill out).

16. Cars never need fuel (unless they're involved in a pursuit).

17. If you are heavily outnumbered in a fight involving martial arts, your opponents will wait patiently to attack you one by one by dancing around you in a threatening manner until you have defeated their predecessor.

18. If a microphone is turned on it will immediately feedback.

19. Guns are like disposable razors. If you run out of bullets, just throw the gun away. you will always find another one.

20. All single women have a cat.

21. Cars will explode instantly when struck by a single bullet.

22. No matter how savagely a spaceship is attacked, its internal gravity system is never damaged.

23. If being chased through a city you can usually take cover in a passing St Patrick's Day parade - at any time of the year.

24. The ventilation system of any building is the perfect hiding place. Nobody will ever think of looking for you in there and you can travel to any other part of the building undetected.

25. You will survive any battle in any war UNLESS you show someone a picture of your sweetheart back home.

26. Prostitutes always look like Julia Roberts or Jamie Lee Curtis. They have expensive clothes and nice apartments but no pimps. They are friendly with the shopkeepers in their neighbourhood who don't mind at all what the girl does for a living.

27. A single match is usually sufficient to light up a room the size of a football stadium.

28. It is not necessary to say "Hello" or "Goodbye" when beginning a telephone conversation. A disconnected call can always be restored by frantically beating the cradle and saying "Hello? Hello?" repeatedly.

29. One man shooting at 20 men has a better chance of killing them all than 20 men firing at once (it's called Stallone's Law).

30. When you turn out the light to go to bed, everything in you room will still be visible, just slightly bluish.

31. Plain or even ugly girls can become movie star pretty simply by removing their glasses and rearranging their hair.

32. Rather than wasting bullets, megalomaniacs prefer to kill their enemies with complicated devices incorporating fuses, pulleys, deadly gases, lasers and man-eating sharks.

33. All beds have special L-shaped sheets that reach to armpit level on a woman but only up to the waist of the man lying beside her.

34. Anyone can land a 747 as long as there is someone in the control tower to talk you down.

35. During all police investigations it will be necessary to visit a strip club at least once.

36. You can always find a chainsaw when you need one.

37. Most musical instruments (especially wind instruments and accordions) can be played without moving your fingers.

38. In Middle America, all gas station attendants have red handkerchiefs hanging out of their back pockets.

39. All teen house parties have one of every stereotypical subculture present (even people who aren't liked and would never get invited to parties).

40. Trucks use their horns at random (no hang on, that happens in real life too!).

Fantastic Four

Friday evening, I got to go see the Fantastic Four movie with my co-workers. We were going to go see War of the Worlds, but because someone messed up getting the film schedules, I ended up seeing Fantastic Four. That actually made me pretty happy, since I didn't really want to see War of the Worlds anyway. Since my boss was buying and we were going during work hours, I was down for anything. This just really worked in my favor.

Anyhow, the movie was very good. I had seen the Fantastic Four cartoons when I was a kid and had never read one of their comic books. So, I was not coming from a super-geek perspective on this.

I like the movie. I didn't mind the acting. Some critics have complained about Jessica Alba and the guy who played Reed Richards, but COME ON, it isn't Shakespeare - calm the freak down.

They did end up fighting the bad guy for only a few minutes and most of the conflict in the movie was actually internal to the team. I didn't mind that so much, but I would have enjoyed some more bad guy butt kicking. I also didn't like how The Thing's wife just left as soon as he got transformed, when they were supposed to be so in love. She didn't even let him tell her that he had a chance to be returned to normal. I was told that that is how it went down in the comics, but that still didn't make it right.

Like I said, though, all in all a good movie and a decent waste of time. Definitely worth seeing for free during work time, I'll tell you that.

Done!

Well, it took some determination, but I have finished the 6th Harry Potter book that Trin and G got me for my birthday. Just as I had finished the 5th book in less than 24 hours, so I've finished this one less than 24 hours after getting it.

I started reading it about 1am this morning, shortly after Trin dropped off the book. I ended up not going to bed, but instead reading. I ended up passing out at 6am for an hour and snapping awake right when I needed to be up to head out for the day.

I met up with G and his dad to take G's grandparents their first computer ever. We set it up and gave them a tutorial and left around 2pm. After eating lunch, I got home at around 3:45.

So, working dinner in there and not too much else, I just finished up at about 10:30 tonight. Not too bad for a 650 page book.

Now for a little review. I liked this book very much. I am very sad at which character dies and how they die (and who is involved), but I expect that there is going to be some things that were not fully explained yet surrounding the events.

The story was good and I am glad to see some hope for Harry to survive the 7th book (which the author has said that she is still undecided about). After the 5th book, that prospect was starting to look bleak, but in this book we now have a VERY good understanding about Voldemort, where he gets his powers, why he didn't die, and all that jazz.

I'll be curious to talk to other fans that I know and see what they've thought after they've read it and what they suspect the answers are to the remaining mysteries.

This is a very worthy book to be in this series and as with all of them, I highly recommend it.

Forgive me if this is nonsensical, I am freakin' beat!

Just Gross

When asked, 95% of people say that they wash their hands after using the restroom. But, I can tell you that in practice, less than half of men do.

If you are in there and can see them, they will often at least wet their hands in the least sense of the word. But, if you are in the bathroom, but hidden from view lets say, you can hear them not wash their hands. The worst part is that you then don't know who the heinous perpetrators are.

I've even heard people finish doing their #2 and then just walk out without even rinsing off their hands. That is just too gross. When I worked at Bank One, I know of one co-worker (Todd), who just about never washed his hands. Not after peeing, not after pooping. It was disgusting. Dirty mother sucker.

Look. I can understand. It is time consuming. If you wash too often, it can dry out your hands. Whatever. I even understand that it is possible to (as a man) do # 1 without touching anything "down there". But what is the excuse for not washing after #2? How do you live with yourselves?

Does anyone out there own up to not washing? Why do you do it?

Too Far?

As a good Buckeye Parent, have I gone too far in teaching my kids to dislike M*chigan?

Whenever my oldest daughter sees anything Blue and Yellow, she says, "Oh, the bad colors!" or "Yuck, M*chigan!". She turned down a frisbee because it was blue and yellow and today she wanted to give her toy back at McDonalds because it was blue and yellow.

My younger daughter constantly reminds me that she knows the deal. She asks me, "Whenever the Buckeyes are in a game, we root for them, right?" and "Whenever M*chigan is in a game, we root for the other team, right?".

Today, when my oldest was protesting her M*chigan toy, my wife asked me what I'd done to them and if I think I'd gone too far.

I think that maybe I've done it just about right :-)

Pictures

I have a very common e-mail address that I've had for 9 years now and I get a lot of e-mail intended for someone else, usually foreign. Well, here are a couple of pictures that I got that were mildly amusing.

Home Run Derby

I wasn't planning on watching the Home Run Derby last night. Not even in the slightest. But, I happened to be flipping through and for whatever reason, I stopped to watch for a second.

Bobby Abreu batted first and he was just LAUNCHING shots. I couldn't believe what I was seeing. By the time the first round was done, he had hit a single round record 24 home runs. He even broke his bat and still hit one out. Most of his HRs were pull shots, but he did go opposite field for at least one and to center for a few. By the time it was all over, he had hit a derby record 41 HRs and won the contest.

When they would cut to the other major leaguers watching his show, you could tell that they were in awe. The crowd in Detroit broke out a number of times in chants of "Bobby! Bobby!" It was really something.

Unfortunately, Jason Bay of my Pirates was the second batter in the first round and he hit exactly ZERO out of the park. We'll get 'em next year. (The Pirates' rallying cry after the first week of every season!)

What was also special was that Ivan Rodriguez (from the hometown Tigers), not considered to even be worthy of competing because he only had 8 HRs on the year, made it all the way to the final round to battle Abreu for the title. Even ESPN knew that Ivan shouldn't have been there because they kept putting his career home run totals up on the screen when everyone else had their season's numbers put up. But, in spite of that, he proved his worth and gave the hometown crowd a thrill.

What a great night of baseball!

Xlerator

Like I told you mofos here, I went to Magic Mountain on my birthday.

What I didn't share with you was the joy that is the Xlerator.



I am usually a paper towel man when it comes to dewetifing my hands post wash and post potty. I find dryers to be a slow and tedious way of doing business. But not with the Xlerator. According to their site, they dry your hands in 10-15 seconds (and with 80% less energy). I think 10 seconds is not being fair to the product. That sucker moves some air and gets you dry in a hurry.

If I ever have a business that requires me to maintain a restroom, it is only Xlerator dryers for me, baby. I am a man who takes his bathroom VERY seriously.

Okay, so I'm weird. Sue me.

Troy

As I mentioned here, I got some movies from the library. I already reviewed Wimbledon in the above-linked post and now I will review the other movie, Troy.

My expectations for this movie were very low, since many people bashed it when it came out and it was not a commercial success. But, I will say this - I thought it was a great movie. It dragged a little bit in the middle, but was still very captivating and told a good story.

I cared about Achilles and I cared about Hector. I liked how the warriors respected each other and I liked how Achilles grew as a character during the film.

I'll tell you what is worth the price of admission, though. The scene where Achilles fights the champion at the beginning of the film then taunts the opposing army. That was bada$$. Also, when they are dragging Polydora in to the tent after Achilles has offered her protection and he says to them something to the effect of "I have no quarrel with you, brothers, but if you do not let her go, you will not go home to your wives." BADA$$!

If you can dig epic movies, by all means, check this out. Go with low expectations as I did, and you are sure to be rewarded!

Outraged!

Man. Wendy's is making moves. Not only did they raise the price on many of their food items, they have also made the combo meal come with medium fries instead of biggie fries by default. And upsizing the combo only results in biggie fries, not great biggie.

They also bumped the Jr. Bacon Cheese burger to $1.29 from $.99. I understand raising prices and cutting portions, but ALL AT ONCE?

That is not a nice way to treat a guy who ate there for lunch 38 out of 40 work days? I think not. I should be some sort of VIP by now, I would think. Or maybe a VFP (very fat person).

I'll have to think about that.

Good Birthday

Well, I had a pretty good birthday. I won't go too much in to the presents, as I am not done collecting them yet, but I will talk about my day and one gift that I received.

At work, I got most excellent cake and ice cream and good birthday wishes. My Dad called and he took me out and bought me lunch. When I got home, I found that my employer had sent this:


Cheryl's Cookies in a tin that plays "Happy Birthday" whenever you take the lid off. A very nice gesture. Plus, the cookies are super good.

After getting presents from my family, my wife and I dropped the kids off at their Grandma's so that we could go out. We ate dinner and then I had originally planned on going bowling again, but she suggested Magic Mountain. I didn't want to mini-golf, but I did want to hit the batting cages. We ended up buying a 3 activity pass for both of us and we set out to the batting cages.

I went in to the baseball - fast because the medium was broken. I was a little nervous about embarrassing myself, but I did really well. I didn't swing and miss at any in there. Then the fast machine ran out of balls because they were all lined up in the very fast machine's hopper, because no one was using that one.

Well, the guy and I who were taking turns on the fast machine switched to very fast. I'd say that it is aptly named. Those balls were coming in very quickly. But, I did very well in there as well. In all of the turns that I took in the cage, I only missed one ball (which incidentally came out the machine a little funny and had a wicked curve). I hit some strong line drives and a few towering fly balls, but mostly choppers. A few of them felt so good when I hit them that I just knew that I had taken a perfect swing. It was a good time.



Then we used our second activity to go go-karting. I ended up passing three people, including my wife, so that was a nice birthday ride. After that, we used our third activity to get game tokens and Lo played skeeball while I threw a football through two holes. Then we both played a game called "Cyclone" that won us a bunch of tickets. We ended up with well over 200, which we brought home for the littles to use next time they go.

After that, we hit another place that I won't go in to much detail about and then picked the kids up and went home. It was a good night and a very good birthday.

Birthday Me!

Thaaaaat's right. I'm 28 years old today. Don't ask me too quickly, though, because I've found that I really don't know how old I am at any given second. I always have to do the math in my head.

When you are younger, it is a big deal how old you are. Since everyone in your grade in school is (pretty much) the same age as you are, it was a big deal when you hit your birthday and became older than the rest of the class. Of course, I always had a summer birthday and was among the youngest, but that doesn't matter now.

Now, I'm hardly ever asked my age. It isn't that important. I still feel the same way that I did when I was 16. But, I've graduated high school, so I must be 18. But, I have 3 kids, so I'm 25 then, right? Nope. Do the math. Hmmm. Born 7/7/77, I am . . . 28!

I was 10 when my mom was 28. That is strange that I am getting to ages that I knew my parents at. I guess I'm an adult now. Who knew?

FWIW, I am not bummed about being this age. I won't care when I hit 30, 40, or 50. Those numbers mean nothing. What matters to me in regards to aging is my health and how I feel. And for the record, I feel great.

So, ON WITH THE BIRTHDAY CELEBRATION! While you are celebrating, I need to get ready for work. Later.

Answers to Prayer

I had two great "yes" answers to prayer yesterday (cuz there are always answers, some are just no or wait).

The first one was silly and only meaningful to me. I was having a crummy day yesterday and when it was time for lunch, it started POURING down raining. I didn't have my umbrella with me and my car was a good five minute walk away.

I stepped outside and hid under an awning for a moment, contemplating my options and sort of asked God half heartedly if it could let up raining just so I could get to my car without getting too soaked. Well, about 30 seconds later, it all but stopped raining. I got to my car and before I was out of the parking lot, the rain came POURING down again. Silly, maybe, but I felt very loved and cared for at that moment.

The second answer has to do with Oz's father in law. His FIL was taken to the hospital on Monday for a heart attack. After a quick look at him on Monday night, they feared major damage to the organ.

I prayed Monday night (as I'm sure many others were for this situation) that the FIL would make a huge recovery, not only for himself, but for Oz's family. Oz had lost his MIL about 2 years ago and losing his FIL right now would kill his wife, his son, and him.

Well, I talked to Oz on Tuesday and it turns out that there was NO damage to the organ and he should be out in a couple of days and make a full recovery. That is GREAT news!

Bad Habit

I have a horrible habit of chewing on the headphone cord of my work headphones. Fortunately, I haven't done this to the headphones that I got for Father's Day, because it is really quite destructive.

I have chewed the shielding away from the wires in a couple of places on the old headphones, exposing the wiring and probably shortening the life of the headphones by like 500%.

I can't complain about the performance of the headphones (I got them with a cheap Walkman years ago and they are taking the abuse well), but it does drive me nuts that I do it.

Wimbledon

Over the weekend, while the girls were swimming, my son and I went to the library to get some movies for some family entertainment. One of the movies that I picked up was Wimbledon. I am usually not a Kirsten Dunst fan and I didn't have high hopes for this movie. But, as I was making selections, this looked like the most promising "chick flick" there to balance out my "manly" selection. It also couldn't have been more timely, as the "real" Wimbledon finals were taking place this past weekend.

Much like For Love of the Game, this movie focuses on a washed up player who, in his last action in his sport, is doing something remarkable.

I was actually quite surprised that I liked this movie. The tennis scenes were good, the plot held together pretty well, and I actually didn't hate Kirsten Dunst in this movie. In fact, I actually ended up caring what happened to her character, if you can believe that.

All in all, I'd say that this movie is a pretty good choice if you have to get a chick flick, but you'd like to appease a guy, too. It is pretty funny and as I had mentioned, there is enough good sports action and story to keep even the biggest "chick flick hater" occupied for the film's 98 minutes.

Some trivia about the movie

• Hugh Grant was originally supposed to play the male lead. (Would have made this a top 5 Trin chick flick for sure, then ;-) )
  
• Reese Witherspoon was supposed to play the female lead
  
• Scenes for the film were filmed during the Wimbledon tournament 2003. The actors would walk out on court at the beginning or end of a match as though they were really competing. The officials and spectators were actual tennis officials and spectators, rather than extras. It is the only time in the history of the tournament that this has been allowed.
  
• Getting the actors to play professional-looking tennis proved much more difficult than anticipated. Eventually, it was decided to film them performing the strokes and digitally add the ball afterwards.
  
• The actors actually did their own serves with real tennis balls.
  

And now you know, and knowing is half the battle. (GI Joe!)

Hollaback Girl - Decoded

From here.

Uh huh, this my sh*t
Gwen is introducing us to her sh*t.

All the girls stomp your feet like this
This talk of sh*t and stomping has nothing to do with actually stepping on feces. But what does it mean? From a reading of the later text, we can conclude that the song takes place in the world of high school athletics, and that Gwen is apparently leading the girls in a calisthenics exercise. The "sh*t," we surmise, is what she calls the exercises she's teaching the other girls.

A few times I've been around that track
So it's not just gonna happen like that
Here, Gwen exhorts the girls to try harder as they jog around the track, reminding them that physical fitness is "not just gonna happen," but must be worked at.

Cause I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl
These lines are the most confusing, but their meaning will become clearer later.

Oooh, this my sh*t, this my sh*t
Gwen repeats this four more times. She wants to make sure that we are well acquainted with her sh*t.

I heard that you were talking sh*t
And you didn't think that I would hear it
Gwen has been the victim of some slanderous high school gossip, and she doesn't appreciate it. Gwen is 35 years old sliding into MILF status at this point, but we'll grant her some poetic license.

People hear you talking like that, getting everybody fired up
So I'm ready to attack, gonna lead the pack
Gwen is going to round up a "posse" of her girlfriends and retaliate against the person who's been talking "smack" about her.

Gonna get a touchdown, gonna take you out
Gwen is going to beat up the person who wronged her, after she completes the cheerleading routine that will inspire the football team to score a touchdown. Gwen has interesting priorities.

That's right, put your pom-poms down, getting everybody fired up
It seems the entire cheerleading squad is going to beat up the person who spoke ill of Gwen; they have put down their pom-poms, and they are now "fired up" to exact swift and terrible vengeance on Gwen's behalf.

A few times I've been around that track
So it's not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl
Gwen is apparently the captain of the cheerleader squad; she is the girl who "hollas" the chants, not one of the girls who simply "hollas" them back. Given that the squad is preparing to beat somebody up on Gwen's behalf, she's picked a strange time to remind them that she is their leader and they are her sheep-like followers. Gwen obviously rules her squad with an iron fist.

Oooh, this my sh*t, this my sh*t [repeated four times]
Again with the sh*t.

So that's right dude, meet me at the bleachers
No principals, no student-teachers
Both of us want to be the winner, but there can only be one
So I'm gonna fight, gonna give it my all
We learn that it was a "dude" who gossiped about Gwen. She challenges him to a fight at the bleachers. If he imagines it will be a fair, one-on-one fight, he is sadly mistaken. Gwen and her aforementioned "pack" will pounce on him like rabid wolves.

Gonna make you fall, gonna sock it to you
That's right, I'm the last one standing, another one bites the dust
Gwen's pack of furious cheerleaders leaves the boy a quivering, bloody heap behind the bleachers for the groundskeeper to discover the next day.

A few times I've been around that track
So it's not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl
Having completed their ghastly work, Gwen's squad members return to the field and resume their cheerleading activities, as Gwen reminds them once more that she is the boss and they are all her b1tches.

Oooh, this my sh*t, this my sh*t [repeated four times]
By calling her exercise routines "sh*t," Gwen is showing us that for all her bravado, the character in this song secretly suffers from profound self-esteem issues. She is a complex antiheroine for an age of changing gender attitudes and expectations.

Let me hear you say, this sh*t is bananas
B-A-N-A-N-A-S
Here, Gwen steps away from this bloody spectacle for a moment to comment on the madness and ugliness of what we've just witnessed, and, by extension, the petty rivalries of high school in general. This sh*t is bananas, Gwen tells us, and we can only agree. And lest we miss the point, she spells it out. And repeats it another three times.

A few times I've been around that track
So it's not just gonna happen like that
Cause I ain't no hollaback girl
I ain't no hollaback girl
Back on the field, Gwen is still bullying the squad to carry out her routines. But now we see her in a new light, as the sad, lost creature she truly is.

Oooh, this my sh*t, this my sh*t [repeated four times]
As the song fades out, Gwen is left only with her "sh*t," the mindless exercises that bring her no comfort from the raging emptiness within. As much as she "hollas," no one hears her cries for help.

Ah, the depth of the song has no end. Now you, my loyal readers, know the truth behind the hit.

Fireworks

As Lolo has mentioned, we went to Red, White, and Boom on Friday night. I have been VERY anti-going down there, but Lo really wanted to take the kids there to make a memory - and I see the logic in that - so we went.

Lo had a really strong memory of going downtown, eating at the Spaghetti Warehouse, then viewing the fireworks and she wanted to recreate that for the kiddos.

We did get fortunate and got to sit in the trolley inside the restaurant (which was the best place to be if you are trying to impress kids). Getting inside there did take some doing. Roads were closed all around and then when we got there, they wanted a $20.00 cash deposit to park in their lot. If you got your car out of the lot by 9:30, you got your money back. Sounds like a good deal, but we didn't have the $20.00 cash. Lo ended up going in to the restaurant and getting the manager to come out and let us park in exchange for Lo's license.

Well, back to the food. It was crappy. The pop was flat and watered down and the food was average. In fact, I've thought that it was average the last 3 times that I've been there (which spans something like 3 years). But, the kids liked their meals, so I am not complaining too much.

After that, we went and found a spot to watch fireworks. Like Lo said, we couldn't see the low ones, but I was pleased with the access to the place and the ease with which we got in and out. We probably won't scope that spot again unless we have to, but I was thankful for it on Friday for sure.

Last night, we went to a church member's house to see some more fireworks. Their house is right by where Pickerington's fireworks are set off, so it is a really great view. They also spring for LOTS of food and pop, so the eats are ON.

They also have a backyard playground that the kids ADORE. They have a giant trampoline, a playset, lots of room, a basketball hoop, volleyball, and horseshoes. They also had some Little Tykes stuff for the little kids to climb on. All of my kids had so much fun, even my 14 month old son, who played in the grass and on a swing for over an hour.

There was a bit of a scare when some fireworks started going off in a spot that we couldn't see them. It turned out that that was someone just setting off their own, because about a minute later (and simultaneously for a bit) the real fireworks started going in the perfect viewing spot.

Crisis averted, good time had by all.

Live 8

I am sorry that I am a poopy pants about this, but I am.

Live 8 is a series of concerts that happened all over the globe this past Saturday. It is another event in the LiveAid tradition. Supposedly the goal is to show the leaders at the G8 Summit that the people want them to give to the poor in Africa.

How are they showing that? By attending free concerts. That's just great. By going to a free concert, I am showing the world leaders that I want the poverty and hunger situation fixed. How ever will those 8 leaders withstand the onslaught?

Here's an idea. Some of these rockers have been doing Live Aid concerts for 20 years. They have gotten richer and the situation in Africa has gotten worse. Maybe music isn't the cureall for world problems. This isn't Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure.

Look. If you are an American, the best way to let your voice be heard is to call your congressman and senator, not attend a rock concert. Have your neighbors call their congressman and senator. Raise awareness and have everyone you reach to call their congressman and senator. Do you know that for most issues before congress, representatives only get a handful of calls to tell them what their constituency wants? Make your voice heard.

Independence Day

I am so happy that I was born in this country at this time. I have so many opportunities available to me. I have the freedom to do all manner of things. I can worship God openly with my family at our church or in our home. I am free to disagree with the government or to praise it without fear of retribution.

I am not saying that other countries are inferior or that we are necessarily the best country on the planet, but I am being thankful for what I do have. Many people exist on less per year than I make in a week. I eat more in a day than some families eat in a two week period. I enjoy more freedoms daily than some people will ever have in a lifetime.

I really like this picture. I salute the bravery of all servicemen and women around the globe, especially Cpl Andy Rice over in Iraq right now and I pray for his safe return.


Originally from Web_Loafer

Happy Birthday, America!!! You don't look a day over 210!

Finally Got Closure

Okay, so it isn't some big deal, but I finally got a breakdown of my grade from my Women's Studies class. I got an A- in the class and figured that I had to get a B on my final paper and must have lost some points elsewhere to get that grade. My teacher gave me back my paper and here were some of her comments:

• What support? This is a strong statement, you need to support it.
  
• A weak argument here
  
• Contradictory to your thesis in the 2nd part
  
• I think that you take this metaphor at a superficial level. That's why your whole argument about immigrant mothers is problematic and shaky.
  

And that got me a B+ on the paper. I wonder what the red ink would look like for a C paper.

I do happen to disagree with a few of her complaints, though. I just think that I may have insulted her a bit by disagreeing with her analysis. I also may have insulted her as a person since she has much in common with the immigrant mothers in the stories (but she isn't an immigrant, she is only here for school).

It is of no consequence. An A- isn't so bad. I ended up with a 91%. I hate writing and I did do the paper at the last possible minute, so I cannot complain. I just am dreading when I have to take my English courses. I am gonna hate life.

A Night Out

Okay, so it was on Tuesday and I am just getting to write about it now. I know, I'm horrible.

Well Trin offered to watch my two older kiddos overnight and also watch my 14 month old son for awhile while Lo and I got to go out. That was nice, especially since I don't know when the last time that she and I got to go out somewhere alone, probably the Destroyers game.

We went to eat at O'Charleys first, because Lo really wanted some of their bread and also their potato and cheese soup. Since I love both of those things, she got no argument from me.

Then, we decided to go bowling. It had seriously been over two years since we had been, and it is a horrible time trying to go with a squirmy 14 month old, so we needed to seize our opportunity.

We did okay, but not great. My score REALLY picked up once I was able to locate a ball that fit my fingers and my grip. I can't believe what a difference it made.

Here is my best game. Notice the string of four spares sandwiched between two strikes. I was really on my game. I wish I had had that ball the entire time.


Lo had her best game during our second game. She was on fire! You might notice her two strikes and three spares. I don't think she ever did find a ball that she was crazy about.

All good things must end, however, and after our fourth game, we went and picked up the baby and went home. All in all, it was a good night and I hope that it isn't over 4 months until our next night out.

Onestone

From Lindsay

"There once was a Native American whose given name was "Onestone". So named because he had only one testicle. He hated that name and asked everyone not to call him Onestone.

After years and years of torment, Onestone finally cracked and said, "If anyone calls me Onestone again I will kill them!" The word got around and nobody called him that any more.

Then one day a young woman named Blue Bird forgot and said, "Good morning, Onestone." He jumped up, grabbed her and took her deep into the forest where he made love to her all day and all night. He made love to her all the next day, until Blue Bird died from exhaustion. The word got around that Onestone meant what he promised he would do.

Years went by and no one dared call him by his given name until a woman named Yellow Bird returned to the village after being away for many years. Yellow Bird, who was Blue Bird's cousin, was overjoyed when she saw Onestone. She hugged him and said, "Good to see you, Onestone."

Onestone grabbed her, took her deep into the forest, then he made love to her all day, made love to her all night, made love to her all the next day, made love to her all the next night, but Yellow Bird wouldn't die!

What is the moral of this story?????............................

You can't kill two birds with one stone!!!"

Heh, good old fashioned testical joke... ;)

Buckeye Basketball

The Buckeye basketball program has always (and probably will always) lived in the shadow of the football program. But excitement is building this week for my beloved Buckeyes' chances in the 2006 basketball season.

Many of us were already hopeful for good things to come from the program after this year, Coach Thad Matta's first. Matta made the team play way beyond its ability, even when they had nothing to play for (no postseason because of self imposed sanctions).

Matta is also a great recruiter. Jim O'Brien hated recruiting and made no secret of it. Hence, we end up where we are. But now, Matta has landed four of the top 20 players in the nation, creating one of the top recruiting classes of all time.

He got guards Daequan Cook of Dayton and David Lighty of Cleveland, the two top rated players in all of Ohio. We were happy. Things were looking up. Columbus was talking Big Ten Championship.

Then, he got Greg Oden of Indianapolis and his teammate, Mike Conley, Jr. Oden is 7 feet tall and being a high school junior, would have been considered the top pick in next year's NBA draft. In addition, Oden has a 4.0 GPA and Conley a 3.7. We were very fortunate to land them. Now the town is thinking NCAA Final Four.

The campus and the school had a lot to do with that. Conley said, "When we visited the school it just blew me away. I just pulled him (Oden) over to the side and I told him this was a place that I could see myself playing at."

GO BUCKS!