I talked to Dan at Woody's last night and I requested a public forum on askingforthirds.org. Not only did he provide that, but gave me my very own website to house my own personal ramblings.
Well done, Fisher!
Yesterday, I volunteered to be a patient for Ed's Brother Dwight's fiance', Kelly during her taking her state board to get certified to practice optometry in North Carolina. Although I enjoyed helping her out, being dilated and essentially unable to focus for the majority of the day wore thin quickly. You ever notice how often you need your eyes? This experience has given me a greater appreciation for my sight. However since both of my parents need corrective lenses, I expect that I will eventually need them as well.
On the bright side, Daredevil hits the movie theatres on February 14th. (A movie about a blind superhero)
Sorry, kids, but I have neglected my weblog for almost a week. Until now I maintained a respectable entry count per day. I do have a good excuse. I joined my father on a trip to Ohio to visit with relatives, which took all week. Since I was sans job, I was able to act as his co-pilot.
Since it takes over 7 hours to get there, Dad and I had some time to kill. Oddly enough, I noticed that I haven't spent much one-on-one time with my father since I graduated from high school. Most of our interactions were during weekend or holiday visits. Each last a small amount of time, and usually shared with everyone else in our clan. Lucky for me, the trip was not filled with awkward silences. I brought up the hole-in-one versus bowling a 300 argument, and that took up most of the trip. Dad loves a good argument, and if it involves his favorite activity (golf), then all the better. Obviously, that discussion wouldn't last 7+ hours, but we did manage to discuss our immediate and future plans, the threat of war, family history, and some of our pet peeves. Although I don't talk to my father on a regular basis, our relationship is such that it doesn't require day-to-day cultivation to be fruitful. But I think we would both agree that a week together book ended by 7 hour car trips is a bit much!
With all of the happenings in the world and even on this web site, one can't help but wonder where is Tejan? For weeks, Tejan has emerged as a cornerstone of this site, posting his comments in response to my ramblings. For some reason, he has gone into hiatus. Now I'm calling you out, Tejan. Ollie Ollie Oxen Free. Oh, where could he be?
While we wait for Tejan's return, I'll give you something to read/think about. Ever wonder the origin of the phrase, Ollie Ollie Oxen Free?
Eric Robert Rudolph, infamous for bombing the Atlanta Olympic Village in 1996, was arrested last night. These events have saddened me a bit. Not because I support his right-wing fanaticsm, but another reason altogether...the chase is over. Let me explain.
Shortly after authorities made connections to the 4 bombings in Birmingham and Atlanta to Rudolph, this mad bomber rocketed up the FBI's most wanted list. When it was suspected that Rudolph, who grew up near Murphy, NC (western-most part of NC) fled to the NC mountains, I remember thinking to myself that it will take years to find him if they find him at all. The NC Mountains are home to some of the thickest wooded areas around. Despite Rudolph's obvious home field advantage in these woods, authorities put out a full-scale man hunt for Rudolph. They conceitedly claimed that they would find him. Find him?!? Are you kidding me? They probably would not see him unless he was within 20 feet. However, the search continued.
Fast forward to present day. The authorities get their man. How did they do it? Not with a search party beating the bushes. Not with a team of bloodhounds that picked up his scent. They found him because he came out into the open, rummaging in the trash outside of a grocery store. Some rookie cop, who was probably bored at 4am and looking for something to do, wandered up to this scraggily man and eventually found out this was in fact, Rudolph. Congratulations. After 5 years, I think I could "eventually" find someone too, especially if they were not really hiding anymore. I just hope they do not mark this up to great police work.
So, I am saddened because this incredible game of chase that parallels Wile E. Coyote chasing the Road Runner, comes to an end. Not because the coyote created a clever trap for his nemesis, but because the Road Runner ran into the coyote by coincidence.
Since Tejan is busting my chops, I will post a meaningless message today. (I hope you are giving Dan and Ed as much crap as me)
I have been in the middle of an email disaster at work. The executive directory of the entire organization lost all of her messages while I was in Charlotte for a technical training seminar yesterday. This problem started with some simple symptoms: no access to the web version of email and a few strange messages in her inbox. This escalated into a full-fledged email corruption. We brought in an expert to try and salvage all we can, while everyone in my technology department is busy updating our resumes, just in case. The funny thing is that everything has come screeching to a halt until this one email gets fixed. Currently, only one person (the expert) is doing any repairs. This leaves the rest of us in limbo, questioning whether our keys will get us in the building tomorrow.
Needless to say it is a stressful time right now. Lucky for me, I have not seen any more Hulk trailers recently.
This past weekend on my return from a short vacation to the Outer Banks, I noticed a sign that will forever cause me to wrinkle my forehead when I think about it. The sign in question was an advertisement for an upcoming event. The event was for a Garden Tractor Pull.
I'll pause for a moment to let that sink in......
This is exactly what you think it is: A competition to test the pulling power of lawn mowers. Not to be confused with the lucrative sport of Lawn Mower Racing, the Garden Tractor Pull must pull in some spectators, or else they would have the event in the first place. Thinking back I wish I had gathered more information on the event, and perhaps done a little free advertising for them. Since I was so enthralled by the concept of lawn mower pulling power, I did some research. I started with Google, and searched on the topic. To my amazement, there were 1,880 results found with Google. Where was I when Garden Tractor Pulls swept the nation?
Feast your eyes on some of the supped up lawn mowers posted on this site. Be sure to check out Garden Tractor Pull Tips and Tricks while you are at it.
Make fun if you like, but I wanted to draw some attention to a competition that I would not have thought of in a million years.
Ever hear the phrase "South Paw" given to someone that is left-handed? I have heard this term all of my life, and always thought that it was peculiar. On several occasions I have asked people, who I consider intelligent, the origin of this term, yet no one has been able to explain it. Reading through an obscure ESPN Page 2 article I found an explanation.
According to the "New Dickson's Baseball Dictionary," the term was coined in the late 1800s to describe left-handed pitchers, who, facing west in most ballparks, had their left arms hanging on the south side of the ballpark. A sportswriter, Harry Grayson, investigated this theory in 1951, and determined that most ballparks in fact placed home plate on the west side of the diamond, on the principle that this would keep the sun out of hitters' eyes during day games. The term has been applied to other sports, including boxing, and obviously came into general use. The term "northpaw" never caught on, though.
For those of you who do not know about this forum that I use to unleash my thoughts on you, allow me to clarify. You are reading a weblog, also known as a "blog". Simply stated, it is my personal journal, which I choose to share with the public. Today I realized that credit for the original weblog should be given to none other than Doogie Howser, M.D. During the television show of the same name, Doogie was given a computer by his father on the condition that he recorded his thoughts in a computer journal. Unfortunately for the Doogster he did not have the luxury of sharing his day-to-day documentaries through the Internet. Instead, he shared his thoughts through a prime time television series. However, I think credit should be given where due.
The next time you post or read an article in a weblog, think about the pioneering spirit of Dr. Douglas Howser. For those of you that are curious what Doogie (Neil Patrick Harris) is doing nowadays, check this out. You might be a bit surprised, especially by this picture.
***Doogie Update***
7/16/2003 - Doogie can be heard providing the voice of Peter Parker and Spiderman in a new animiated Spiderman series on MTV
Over the next few days, we will be bombarded with images of the Iranian conjoined twins who are currently going through intricate surgery to separate them. You will be shown all these pictures on a regular basis, and you will probably not have a choice, except to view them.
I will not be joining you.
At the risk of labeling myself as insensitive, I have trouble looking at them at all. I hate myself for feeling awkward and queasy when seeing conjoined twins, but I cannot seem to help myself from these feelings. I doubt that I will avoid this information with the tenacity of my refrainment from Hulk trailers, but I will certainly put forth efforts NOT to see any pictures of this procedure at all.
Alas, I am insensitive and shallow.
***Update***
Iranian twins Laleh and Ladan Bijani died on July 8th, 2003
In Las Vegas, someone has come up with the idea of bringing hunting to a new level. Instead of hunting wild animals, hunters are hunting NAKED WOMEN! Yeah, you heard me...naked women. They call it "Hunting Bambi". If you read this story and watch the video, you will learn that the women get $2500 if they do not get shot by the hunters, and $1000 if they do. If you were wondering what a person's dignity is worth, I think we found it.
At first I found this extremely funny, but after further analysis this could have set back the women's movement back a couple of decades. While I initially faulted the men for doing this, I realized that these women volunteered. They "chose" to shed their clothes and run around in front of paint gun armed hunters. I hope these ladies are proud of their work, because they have cashed in all their dignity.
However, they did not mention how long each of these hunting expeditions last. Assuming that they take 15-30 minutes, that is quite a pay day for these ladies. So it seems as if I am at a crossroads. Either these women have sold their souls, or they have hit pay dirt with some easy work.
***Update***
Check out this post for an update
I spent this past weekend at luxurious Myrtle Beach, known for its strangle hold on American commercialism. Your dollar can easily find a good time for you, no matter what your personal interests may be. Myrtle Beach is one of the few places where you can have a seafood buffet, a quick wedding, an ice cream sundae, a tattoo, a go-cart ride, a lap dance, a round of miniature golf, and a shot of tequila, all on the same night AND within walking distance. How can you not love this place?
Going to Myrtle Beach this time reminded me of my visits as a kid. Back in the summer of 1984, my family took a trip to Myrtle Beach with my pal, Matt, plus the rest of his family. The hallmark of this visit was the exploitation of Pelican Point Miniature Golf Course's play all day special by a couple of 10 year olds. Little did the folks at PP know that their special would be pushed to the limit. I recall getting dropped off at "the Point", and spending nearly 5 hours on the links.
This golf Mecca consisted of 2 full courses, each demanding in its own way. Course A was for the marksman, requiring the most intricate of shots to stay in the hunt, while Course B was for the long ball hitter. Having several holes where the cup barely in sight from the tee would be the template for the B side.
However, Matt and I would tame this savage beast with our putters over and over again. After the first few rounds, we managed to come closer to boredom through repetition, but these clever young lads would not be foiled by convention. Novell tactics were put into place. The "left-handed" round proved difficult, while the "hit the second shot on the fly" round tested both our sprinting speed and our accuracy. Since most intelligent people do not like to spend "all day" playing miniature golf in the 90-degree plus heat, we had the place to ourselves. Of course, this begged for the speed rounds. We would see how fast we could play a round of miniature golf. In this variation, accuracy and low scores were nowhere to be found. This turned out to be one of the most fun days of my youth.
Alas, this past weekend I saw the ol' Pelican Point in shambles. Now squeezed between a Wings discount store and yet another seafood restaurant, Pelican Point has been neglected. I am not sure how long it has been closed, but the 4 foot high weeds and algae filled ponds lead me to believe it has been several years. I wish someone would bulldoze that property, because no one should see the Point in such a state of disarray. Although, seeing this dilapidated monument brought back a forgotten memory that I was able to relive one more time.
I was about ready to go to bed Sunday night, when I realized that I did not post at all this weekend. I could not go a full weekend without posting something, especially since I did not go out of town this weekend. So I sat down at my computer, contemplating what to discuss. Soon the area where my entry usually goes was not filling up with my usual witty repartee. Instead, it was being filled by inane double talk that had no point other than to fill the blank section with some much needed text. Line after fruitless line continued, bringing to mind my attempt in the 4th grade to orate a book report without actually reading the book. Eventually, typing this meaningless prose caused me to sink further into my own exhaustion. Ultimately this drivel completed its task of filling the void. Success! I can now go to sleep.....
You may have noticed that we are amidst a crisis. There is a resource shortage, and we become frantic when it is not available. People are wandering the streets without direction now that their precious resource is unavailable. Everyday operations are more difficult thanks to this shortage.
You may think I'm talking about the huge power outage up north, but I'm not. Folks in London are facing a much larger problem
This past weekend, I stayed with Matt and Erica in Greenville while Abby was coordinating an event for work. Since I have no coordinating abilities, or coordination for that matter, I was not called upon to assist Abby. In the meantime, I accompanied Matt to play basketball on East Carolina's Student Recreational Center. As soon as I walked into this building, I was awestruck. This place looked like something between a cathedral and a health club. Even though Ed had mentioned the lavishness of this place, its beauty was truly something to behold. While playing basketball, I could not shake the feeling that I was ruining this sanctuary by actually using it. If you have the opportunity, I highly recommend going to ECU's SRC, if for no other reason than to admire the architecture.
Abby and I joined Ed and Kristin for a Durham Bulls baseball game last night. Unfortunately, the Bulls are a bunch of wusses and cannot play in a little rain. After a 2 hour rain delay, we finally were able to see some baseball. The Bulls trailed the entire game. Most of the time they trailed the visiting Charlotte Knights 6-1.
In the 7th inning, Ed and I went head to head on the obstacle course. He beat me twice this night, but not without a fight. Ed dusted me in the first heat, but the second heat was a physical battle. Although I maintained a lead going into the final hill, Ed slithered his way out of my wrestling holds to take the victory. I'll have to wait until next season for a rematch, but I'll have to get into obstacle course shape by then. I was definitely not physically prepared for this gargantuan competition.
Our attention quickly turned back to the baseball game, when the Bulls, formerly down 8-1, came back within a run in the 9th. In one of the best comebacks ever, and the best Bulls game I have ever seen, the Bulls stormed back to take the victory and clinch the South Division title.
I also put my photojournalism skills to the test with a pictorial of the night's events.
"Hi, Steve," responds my support group in unison.
No, I'm not addicted to pain killers like Rush Limbaugh. I am addicted to EA Sports NCAA Football 2004 on Playstation 2. Over the past few weeks, I have squandered what little free time I have with controller in hand. As you may already know, I took the NC State Wolfpack under my wing and attempted to turn this much maligned program into a dynasty, ironically in Dynasty Mode. I took the Pack to 3 National title games, with 2 championships to show for it. Going into the 2008 season, I started to see changes. I lost touch with the game, and focused on the computer led opponents. No longer were the opponents mere drones that barely phased my juggernaut squad, but a manipulative, opportunistic, cheater. Yeah, I said it. The computer cheats.
On way too many occasions, advantages were given to my opponents at key moments in each game. I persevered through most of these adversities, but there's only so much injustice that one man can take. Tonight, I hit bottom with both my addiction with playing the game and my obsession with its fair play (or lack thereof). Ed and Kristin stopped by while I was finishing a game between my #2 ranked Wolfpack and the #25 ranked Louisville Cardinals. The first half filled with Louisville's bamboozlement at the hands of the gaming system. The Cardinals could do no wrong throughout the game. Their quarterback completed an astounding 82% of his passes, compiling 350+ yards passing. They turned my #1 ranked defense into Swiss cheese, serendipitously on mostly 3rd and long. I can take losing, but this was not an even playing ground. As my game tying drive was cut short by an unlikely interception by Louisville, I turned the Playstation off prematurely (before the game could be saved). Of course, this was witnessed by Ed, and is sure to be a sore spot for weeks/years to come. I'm a weak man, I admit. But there is only so much Playstation based injustice a man can take.
I took this as an awakening. This game has changed me into a monster, and I do not like what I have become. Although I enjoyed playing this game, I believe that I must take a much needed hiatus for an indeterminate amount of time. I still believe I was cheated, though I do not believe that I deserve to continue playing. Therefore, I have been suspended from playing Playstation football until further notice.
The Fall television lineup certainly looks bleak. There does not seem to be that "break out" hit of the season. No show that picks up a big following and turns into a cornerstone of television viewing. Instead of trying to create a new creative show, some folks "across the pond" have come up with a new idea for a television show. They plan on having a few blokes sitting around commenting about what else is on television at the time. What type of audience are they aiming to get? The folks that have no interest in watching any of the current shows at that timeslot? Those people are not viewers at all. They actually turn the television OFF. Remember that concept?
The other type of viewer that they get will be the people that want to watch every show at the same time. Congratulations, you have focused on a demographic that does not leave their collective couches. Television is primarily used to get advertising to viewers, and to entertain second. If they reach out to this group, do advertisers really think that these couch potatoes will run out in droves to buy their products? Not at all, they are shut-ins or anti-social. Not exactly who you want as your target audience.
Perhaps they should look for another demographic.
I am currently in the middle of a two week hiatus from my wife, Abby. For the past week, I have had to fend for myself, which I have not had to do for a couple of years. Although my days of being single were fun, I do not think that I could go back to that now, and these two weeks are proving it. I realized that I can barely even dress myself in the morning without Abby. Not that she controls every aspect of my life, but rather I can no longer think for myself, unless I have to. I have managed to get through this week without setting anything on fire, or causing serious harm to anyone...barely. Lucky for me, I have had several events to fill up my time to distract me from trying something that needs serious supervision. If I was just hanging around the house for long periods of time, I would end up like Tim "The Toolman" Taylor from Home Improvement and either get electrified, burned or decapitated with hilarious results. Hilarious might be a bit of a hyperbole, especially for an ABC sitcom. She returns this weekend, so things should return to normal.
I no longer have to meander through my days like a mindless drone, Abby has returned from her 2 week departure to Louisiana. As I have mentioned before, I have been a temporary bachelor in her absence. You know how men that enjoy being a bachelor get extremely nervous on their wedding day? Well, the opposite is also true. Those of us that enjoy being married do not function too well when faced with a (temporary) change in our marital status.
Now that I can function properly at home, I no longer have to put forth extra thinking power at home. Abby can now dominate share all decision making at home. This will allow me to put more thought into my work, which has been suffering as of late. Hopefully, things will be a little more normal now.
This post marks the first of 4 parts in the Disney series. For those of you that did not know, Abby and I went to Disney World over Christmas. We had a great time and I plan on sharing some of my thoughts about the trip, as well as some pictures.
Both Abby and I had been to Disney several years ago, but remember only vague bits and pieces from it considering we were so young during those visits. On the first day, we did not make it to Orlando until 2pm and did not reach the parks until almost 5pm. Let me index a few of the memorable things from Day One of our trip.
-When we got to Orlando International Airport, we had to wait for a shuttlebus to take us to the hotel. While we waited, I witnessed a child, presumably with Tourettes Syndrome, in an all out profanity doused tirade. Although I felt sorry for his parents, I was also amazed at this spectacle. I had heard about Tourettes before, but had never seen it in person.
-Another thing that I finally saw in person was a Segway. The gyroscopic powered one man mode of transportation was being used by a park employee in front of the ticketing area and monorail station assumingly to herd the crowds of people. You don't get to see these everyday.
-Animorphic story telling. This is a reoccurring theme throughout our stay in Disney. At the Hall of Presidents, which was our first ride/attraction, we we amused by the American presidents prattling on about history and whatnot.
-Nautical story telling. Another repeated theme is to tell a Disney-esque story by means of a boat. Put several people in a boat, and cruise them in front of colorful landscapes and lip-synching marionettes. The old skool classic, It's A Small World, provided the simple entertainment we were looking for.
-Aerial story telling. Every conceivable method of story telling transportation was used in this short day. Peter Pan's Flight took us on a journey through London and Neverland to see Pete's adventures with Wendy and her siblings against the vile Captain Hook.
-Our evening was capped off nicely with Dumbo the Flying Elephant ride. Two things made this special. First, when I was here at age 6, this ride was closed so I got my second chance 23 years later to finally ride it. Second, the nightly fireworks display started as soon as our ride started. We could see the fireworks above Cinderella's Castle from various angles. A nice way to end the evening.
-Fireworks causes everyone to freeze in their tracks. You would think that a nightly fireworks display would lose its luster with some of the people, but this night caused everyone to stop what they were doing. When we attempted to leave the Magic Kingdom, we were met by every single person stopped in Main Street USA to gawk at the fireworks. Luckily, the fireworks stopped and everyone flooded out of the park. We should have had our surfboards to ride the waves of people.
We finally made it back to our hotel, and crashed for the night. Although we had to decipher the shuttlebus schedule for the morning.......
Day 2 started off with us figuring out the shuttlebus schedule. Some buses went to multiple parks, while others only went to one. Fortunately, we finally understood that we could get to any park, then take yet another bus to our desired park. On the down side, it took us up to an hour to get where we needed to go each morning.
Since we had limited exposure to the Magic Kingdom, we decided to return. First on our list was Space Mountain. This is where we were quickly educated about the Fast Pass system, and strategies that lie therein. If you obtain a Fast Pass, that means you can return to the line at a designated time with little to no waiting. However, if you have nothing to do in the meantime, you essentially are waiting longer. For example, we wanted to ride Space Mountain, and it had a 45 minute wait. We could get a Fast Pass which would allow us quick access to the ride, but about 2 hours later. Therefore, we decided to wait it out. Unfortunately, we experienced some technical difficulties and the ride was shut down momentarily. After a few safety checks Space Mountain was back in operation in less than 15 minutes. This ride is a classic, and well worth the wait.
A list of the other attractions we experienced at the Magic Kingdom:
the fast and furious Thunder Mountain Railroad with picture, the dizzying Mad Tea Party with picture, a motorized raft trip to Tom Sawyer's Island also with picture, the new 3D movie extravaganza known as the PhilharMagic which was more exciting than expected, a Johnny Depp-less Pirates of the Carribean, the lame but air-conditioned Enchanted Tiki Room
, and the pedestrian Swiss Family Robinson Treehouse. Pleased with our thorough canvasing of the Magic Kingdom, we ventured on to EPCOT.
Epcot surprised us with long waits and closed up Fast Pass ticket booths. Instead of getting on the bigger thrill rides, we moseyed over to the more international attractions of the World Showcase. In our first stop in the Mexico area, we helped ourselves to some nachos and quick cruise on El Rio Del Tempo, which apparently means very slow river ride with little marionettes explaining the culture of Mexico, or something like that. Disney can tell a story with a slow boat ride better than anyone. In nearby Norway, we continued the nautical story telling theme on the Maelstrom. This provided a little more excitement with multiple death defying drops of 5 feet or more, one of which you go down backwards! We quickly waltzed through China, Germany, Japan and Italy. Once in USA, we found a outdoor orchestra about to begin featuring readings by Gary Sinese. We were there too late, so we skipped it. A quick layover in Canada brought us into a 360 degree movie featuring clips from 1982, and more mountainous landscape shots than you could ever imagine.
We left the World Showcase and headed to Future World, where we could hit the big rides. First off was Test Track brought to you by the good people at General Motors. While waiting a long time for this ride we were bombarded with GM propaganda. Once on the ride, we were prepped by John Michael Higgins, known for his work in Best in Show and A Mighty Wind. He taught us about the rigorous testing we would go through on the Test Track. After several demonstrations of the Antilock Breaking System, we were sent into the high speed test, which honestly was quite a thrill. Next on tap was Mission: SPACE brought to you by HP, which was a space flight simulator, not for those with weak stomachs. For some reason, everything in Epcot had a corporate sponsor. I was comforted once in the Mission: SPACE prep area with the friendly voice of none other than Gary Sinese. What a surprise, since I had to dismiss my last opportunity to interact with Gary earlier in the evening. Serendipity! That was a fitting end to our day, however our adventures were just about to begin...
Epcot closed at 9:30pm, and our bus was to pick us up at 10:10pm. For some reason, our bus did not get there for another 20 minutes. By this time, there was a borderline mob awaiting the tardy bus. Everyone was anxious to get out of this place. Due to some confusion and language barriers, we ultimately got on the wrong bus, which we discovered a little too late. After everyone else on the bus had gotten to their destination, our driver indicated to us that he was heading back to the park. *gasp* We quickly jettisoned the bus and found ourselves about a mile or two from our hotel. After a stop at the grocery store for a cheaper breakfast alternative, we finally made it back to our hotel at 11:30pm. Exhausted, we crashed for the evening.
Once again we start our day with the confusing shuttlebus schedule. We wanted to go to Animal Kingdom first, but no buses went there until 11am. Much later than we wanted. So, we started off by going to MGM then jumping on another bus to Animal Kingdom.
Outside of the usual wait time, we got to Animal Kingdom without a hitch. We started off by going to the
Kilimanjaro Safari. (You can see pictures of the animals we saw here) We saw zebras, antelopes, elephants, giraffes, wild boars, worthogs, alligators, and all sorts of birds. A very enjoyable experience which I found better than your average zoo. Upon leaving the safari, we encountered the Maharajah Jungle Trek, which led us to see tigers, bats, monkeys, Komodo dragons, and other assorted wild animals. Our animal observation skills were honed to a deadly sharp edge after these two attractions.
Next, we jumped aboard the Wildlife Express Train, which took us to Conservation Station and Affection Station. Despite their engaging titles, these were nothing more than a left wing tree hugger group pushing their propaganda and a sheep filled petting zoo. Since the train was the only access to this dead end, we had to endure another train ride (with nothing to see) back. A wasted trip.
Feeling adventurous, Abby convinced me to take a ride on the Kali River Rapids, a water ride.....in December! Luckily we donned our anoraks and left relatively dry. Later we gambled on the Fast Pass system yet again, by getting a ticket for It's Tough To Be A Bug, staring all your favorite characters from A Bug's Life. While we waited for our show time, we hit Primeval Whirl located in DinoLand USA. The Whirl was reminiscent of the classic Mouse Trap style roller coasters, full of unbanked sharp turns, and abrupt hills. Maybe not worth the hour wait, but we have the time to kill before the show. It's Tough To Be A Bug was a 3D movie extravaganza, highlighted by characters spraying water, authentic stinkbug smells, and creepy crawly things that you could feel moving in your seat. It entertained all of the senses. We finished off our stay in Animal Kingdom with the best meal we had at any of the parks. The Flame Tree Barbeque provided us with a huge slab of Kansas City style ribs with all the fixin's. With our tummies full, we ventured to MGM, where ironically we had begun our day.
We started our visit to MGM Studios with another parade. These parades happen all the time, and do little more for me than to slow down my progress. After swimming through the crowds like a couple of salmon heading upstream, we made it to The Twilight Zone Tower of Terror. We took advantage of the Fast Pass yet again, but would not return to the Tower until 8pm. Close by we found the Rock 'n Roller Coaster starring Aerosmith, a one hour wait and the University of Georgia football team. The Dawgs were in town practicing for the Citrus Bowl against Purdue, and had some time to kill at the parks. I got to see future NFL players, quarterback David Greene and defensive end David Pollack. Barely halfway through our long wait we were given some unused Fast Pass tickets for this very ride that could be used immediately. We had a decision to make. Wait it out and get our turn in another 30 minutes, or change lines with these unproven FP tickets. After negotiating with some British chaps behind us, they insured a safe return to our spot in line if the tickets were bogus. All went as planned and we trimmed an extra 30 minutes off of our wait, and were ready to get on board the coaster. As with most Disney rides, we had to be "prepped" by a quick video describing the ride and the scenario. We were greeted by all members of Aerosmith who were late for "the show". They invited us to join them on the limo ride provided by their manager, actress Illeana Douglas. (You've seen her in a bunch of stuff) This ride was Space Mountain on steroids. An indoor steel roller coaster in the dark full of loops and unexpected turns. Simply awesome!
We continued through MGM with a series of disappointing attractions. Star Tours, The Great Movie Ride, The MGM Studios Backlot Tour, and the Indiana Jones Epic Stunt Spectacular all seemed a little lame in their own respective ways. Ultimately, I'm glad that I experienced each of them, but none of them made me want to see them again. We snuck in a quick bite to eat, and headed back to the Tower of Terror. A ride that sends you up and down 13 floors on a wild elevator was the perfect choice as the last ride of our stay in Disney. Totally Kickass!
We reflected on our Disney stay, and decided that we had accomplished everything we set out to do. We called it a night, and headed back to the hotel.
The past few weeks at work have been slow to say the least. I have my day to day routines, but I did not have any larger projects looming overhead. That all changed quickly. We got some new laptops in which require some special customization. Not only do I have to focus on the new laptops, but integrating the old laptops into our checkout pool. So now I will be living and breathing laptops for the next few days/weeks.
Being busy at work sure beats being bored. However, it seems like everyone has rediscovered the IT department and is looking for help. I have turned into the most popular person at work, and I don't know why. A bigger question is why could they not have given me these tasks last week when I was bored, instead of this week when I have plenty of my own crap to do. It comes in waves, I guess
We are currently in the process of selling our home. We have a contract on our current house, but does not mean that its a done deal. After an inspection, we have some odds and ends that need addressing before we can get rid of sell our house. Oddly enough, most of things that we are to fix were not priorities on our list while living here. However, the inspector gives me the impression that neglecting anything on his list will summon demons of the macabre from the lower depths of hell giving them free reign to torch the skies and bring famine and pestulance throughout the world as we know it. I don't agree, but I will do my best to placate him even though he's a bit dramatic.
I spent Saturday checking items off of the punch list. Surprisingly, I was able to do fix these things myself. I repaired insulation in the crawl space, replaced an interior door, and repaired two toilets. Prior to this handyman weekend, I had no clue about any of these tasks, but now I feel educated in the finer arts of house maintenance. Hopefully I can apply my new found knowledge to my new house, which is less than a month away from our ownership.
As you can tell, I have not related to the written (typed) word in a while. I am amidst my transition to a new house. This process has proven a worthy foe, which is odd because the worst part is yet to come....the actual move. While I have made strides towards evacuating the current abode, in the grand scheme of things I think I have barely scratched the surface.
Last night, for example, was to be the true beginning of the packing phase. But due to fatigue and self-imposed distraction, I postponed packing phase one. Tonight, however, I will embark on packing something in a box. Not quite sure what, but something will get done. In the meantime, until this move is completed, expect a scarce few entries here. Wish me luck.
We are finally in the new house. Hooray!
It seemed like it took blood, sweat and tears to get to this point. However, at the risk of speaking for Abby, we are extremely happy with the results. Unpacking will be the focus for a while, but it will help us to reassess all of our possessions, since not everything was packed by us. (Many thanks go out to the family and friends that helped make this possible)
Now we get the exciting long term task of turning this house into a home. Right now, its just a location that has our stuff in it.
Since college, the hair on my head has been retreating as if it were under attack by my forehead. I have embraced this part of my masculinity as opposed to fighting it with alternative measures (rugs, ointments, etc.). Its not a big deal to me anymore. I might have to put on a little more suntan lotion on my expanding forehead area or even wear a hat more often, but nothing drastic. Styling on the other hand has been a bit of a chore. Since I can grow hair on the sides of my head like I was farming it while the top of my head remained barren, my "style" looked more like Bozo or Krusty the Clown, especially when I went too long between haircuts. However, I have decided to forego any future hairstyling by shaving my head. Although I did not go down to skin, its a big difference for me. (a #2 guard all around) This was the best decision I have made in a long time, and I'm not sure why it took me so long to do it. I never understood why a follicly challenged person like myself would pay the same amount to get my haircut as someone with a long flowing mane. Well, no more....I'll just do it myself.
I know its Halloween and not Thanksgiving, but I am giving thanks today for the fact that I did not feel the peer pressure of dressing up the last business day before All Hallow's Eve. Last year at this time, I was duped into dressing up during my work day. I was new, weak, and naive'. This year I work in a true business envirnoment where costumes are not encouraged. There's not as much of a touchy, feely atmosphere here as my last job and they don't influence me to wear costumes.
Another issue I have is with Halloween is why a town would discourage Trick or Treating on Sunday. (I know why, but I'm just not going to address it) In the town where I live, they did not decide which was the official designated Trick or Treat day, so I would not be surprised if I get some kids on my doorstep on October 30th. Since Halloween is on October 31st, that is the day when candy will be distributed from Chez Eman. Anyone begging for candy on any of the other 364 days of the year will be consided panhandlers and sent off on their way.
You would think that Halloween would be a straight forward concept, but invariably, there's someone to screw up the most simple aspects of life.
Last week I had both a roller hockey game and a youth basketball draft schedule for the exact same time. Assuming that I would not be able to attend both events, I focused my efforts on the basketball draft. Once at the draft, I noticed that I was to pick 19th out of 20 teams. However, the second round would go in reverse order, giving me 2 out of my 3 picks rather quickly. I also learned that my 3rd and final pick would be a "hat pick", where you pick a name out of a hat (which avoids defining a "worst player" available). Great news, I can make it to my hockey game now. I left the draft early so that I could get in some much deserved hockey time, but unfortunately I did not have my equipment. After a detour back to the house to get all my gear, I sped to the hockey game. I got half dressed while in transit and was able to get in the game at the beginning of the 3rd period.
On my arrival, my team was down 4-3. Three straight goals later, and the Fury ended up with a 6-4 victory. I would like to think that it was due to my appearance, sort of a "Willis Reed" type of scenario. However, it was just a coincidence.
Quite the hectic sports filled evening for me. You would think that the only things I had planned for the week would be able to be scheduled at different times.
I had originally decided that I was going to ignore the latest NBA fiasco in this weblog, but reading commentary from across the country has my juices flowing. I doubt that I need to relive the incident that occurred between Indiana's Ron Artest and Stephen Jackson, Detroit's Ben Wallace, and several over ambitious fans that were in The Palace in Auburn Hills, because every media outlet has done this for me.
In the wake of this event, the first response is to paint Artest as a villain, but I think that we need to delve a little deeper than him. After watching HBO's Real Sports last night, Bryant Gumble shed a different light on this subject to which I have totally subscribed. Gumble claims that the NBA has created the environment for these types of transgressions to occur. To paraphrase, he says that the NBA is like someone that owns pit bull and trains it to be aggressive, then is surprised that the dog would bite someone. With the NBA promoting individuality in a team sport, embracing the "thug life" hip hop culture, and ultimately utilizing younger, less educated athletes due to high school draftees and players leaving college early, the end result is a more aggressive, immature, less tempered athlete. Do not be surprised when these dogs bite the neighbors.
This in no way resolves Artest of any blame. He should have been the bigger man to walk away from the conflict, especially since it meant breaking the 4th wall between athletes and the fans. Artest is a problem child, most of us knew this fact before the melee. Throw him in a hostile environment, and you will get consequences similar to this big fight.
Finally, with episodes like this, the NBA loses its already diminishing fan base. Although the younger crowd may feed off of this aggression and identify with these types of players, they usually are not the fans that are buying the big tickets. Floor seats and sky boxes are typically purchased by an older crowd, who already had difficulty relating to this younger, hip hop athlete. The aftermath of the Malice in the Palace will be a larger disconnect with the high dollar ticket purchasing public, which puts the NBA in a tail spin. The NBA might even be in a worse situation than the NHL. Although the NHL is split between players and owners, the NBA is split between the players and the fans. Which one do you think is worse?
This New Year's weekend took Abby and me to Cincinatti, Ohio to visit
with loyal COALM readers, Patrick and Ginger Starnes. (Don't fool
yourself, I don't make it a habit to make personal visits with each of
my readers. Well, on second thought I think I have.) Patrick and I
had worked together for years during my stints in both Charlotte and
Raleigh, and have remained friends throughout.
I have a pseudo-photo documentary of the weekend here if you are
interested. Our weekend consisted mostly of eating, drinking and being
merry. Most of that was due to the holiday weekend closing so many
local establishments, but we made the most of our time and ended up
with a successful fun-filled visit.
Interesting Things from the weekend:
-Live nativity scenes on city property require legal waiver signs.
-Learned New Year's traditions from all over the county, such as burying 10 pennies for good luck
-No bottle of wine is safe when we visit with the Starnes.
-Saw the Wake Forest women's basketball team in the Cincinnati
airport. Judging by the number of people wearing Wake Forest
basketball outfits, I would guess there are 27 women on the team.
-Vanilla martinis taste like wedding cake
In preparation for his inauguration, President Bush made some time with
the 3 major television network news outlets (Fox News ain't major) to
field some softballs. Without even really trying, I noticed that
President Bush gave the exact same interview. When I say the
exact same, I truly mean it. On CBS, John Roberts interviewed the president while NBC's David Gregory was given the same opportunity. (Barbara Walters
had a cuddly couch session for her softballs). From both watching
the interviews and reading the transcripts, it became painfully obvious
that the questions were planted, or else they would not have been so
similar. Hell, even the backgrounds were identical. They
just switched interviewers, and they probably left the script of
questions behind in the interviewer chair. Bush was given a
runway paved with gold to take off from so that he could illustrate his
"talking points". Social Security reform and "successful"
Iraqi elections seem to dominate the interviews, no matter the
question. And according to Bush, we have him to thank for
spreading freedom. C'mon. Imposing your will on another
nation is hardly freedom. And neither is leveraging a Republican
majority Congress to further your own agenda. I wish Bush would
stopping trying to paint himself as a hero.
The Triangle area (that's Raleigh, Durham, Chapel Hill for you out of
town folks) got about an inch of snow last night. Usually, even
for this southern state, we can handle a little snow. But in the
strangest of circumstances, this area was absolutely crippled
yesterday. The snow began to fall about midday on Wednesday,
which sent people home early from work and closed schools early.
Due to a some recent frigid temperatures, the roads turned into a safe
haven for the newly fallen snow, and the influx of commuters packed
said snow into a glistening ice rink resulting in some severely
dangerous driving conditions. Car accidents multiplied and
traffic came to a complete stand still in many parts of the
Triangle. Horror stories of students stranded at school or extreme travel times
kept rolling in. Watching the news last night caused me to
perpetually shake my head in disbelief. One inch of snow.
That's all. However, this time that was all it took to paralyze
the region. Although the roads I took to work this morning were
crystal clear and dry as a bone, I can't say the same for the rest of
the area. As of writing this post, all the local school districts
were either closed or delayed 2 hours as well as having 259 assorted closings. I have scoffed at over-reaction to the weather
in the past, but this was a rare case of under-reaction and being
unprepared. We'll see how unprepared we are for the next snow
(predicted for tonight and this weekend)
According to some science type guy with too much time on his hands, January 24th is scientifically proven
to be the most depressing day of the year. Not sure if I agree
yet, but so far it could go either way. Watching my Pittsburgh
Steelers get crushed
at the hands of the New England Patriots certainly placed me in the
doldrums, but that would technically be a January 23rd issue carrying
over into the 24th. This morning's bitter cold 10 degree
temperatures kept me from being my usual bright and cheery self, but
since I work in a centrally heated office building and not outside, I
can't see becoming blue over that. However, hearing about Johnny Carson dying
certainly saddened me. I think that I will be able to
bounce back from that news after watching a virtual avalanche of "best
of" flashback clips of the Tonight Show over the next couple of days.
All in all, this scientific "most depressing day of the year" is
totally up to the individual. Although the environmental
variables do not favor a chipper attitude, it becomes an issue of mind
over matter. A person might be more susceptible to the onset of
depression at this time of year, but putting more weight on one day of
the calendar year over any other seems a bit arbitrary to me. So
buck up little camper, and cheer up.
February 9th 2005 turned out to be a really crummy day. I will
save you the boring minutia of my daily work routine, but most of you
know that I do "computer stuff". Well, yesterday it seemed as if
I had no answers. Every problem that made its way to my desk was,
in turn, handed over to someone else to address, usually due to my
incompentence. Some of these situations were out of my control,
while other seemingly mundane tasks morphed into monumentally difficult
labors. I ended my work day with the feeling that I accomplished
nothing.
I spent the evening without screwing anything up, mainly since I spent
the evening on the couch. Very few disasters begin while lounging
on the couch. Later, I go to my youth league basketball team's
practice at 8:30pm. I get to the predetermined location to find
out that the gym closes at 8:30pm! Not only did I have to cancel
practice, but I had to wait for the parents to return back to pick up
their kids. Of course, this caused me to miss some of the
UNC/Duke basketball game, which could warrant its own verbose
posting. (Duke over UNC 71-70 due to UNC not attempting a game winning shot)
Today while I was wallowing in the anguish of yesterday's disasters, it
occurred to me that there might be an explanation to all of this.
When I was a kid, I remember my dad reading a book on Biorhythms.
Although this seems like astrological rubbish at first, I could not
help but notice that the daily charts could predict "good days" versus "bad
days", which is why Dad used it to predict how he would act/feel during
upcoming events (usually golf related). Anyway, I used the handy
dandy Internets to find a free online personal biorhythm reading for yesterday. Low and behold, according to my reading
it was proven that I was an idiot yesterday. My intellectual
reading was at its absolute lowest yesterday. I'm not saying that
this validates the use of biorhythms, but it helps me get over
yesterday's cruminess by blaming something completely arbitrary.
For most of you that know me on the personal, social level, you know
that I enjoy a tasty malt beverage (read: beer, you twit).
Usually, I like to expand my horizons, drink all different types of
beer from all different regions and countries. It usually depends
on my mood for the day. If I am looking for a strong flavor, I go
with a dark lager or stout, if I'm looking for something lighter, a
Hefeweizen would be in order. Location also plays a major factor
in my beer selections. I love to partake of the local brews,
simply to get a feel for the area. In Seattle, I drank from the Pyramid brewery, when in Pittsburgh, I'll drink an Iron City; Burlington, North Carolina equals a Red Oak. You get the idea. Maybe this is why I enjoyed the Beer Festival so much.
Although I enjoy beers of all types and origins, it drives my father
crazy that I don't have a "brand". In Dad's social circles, you
would know what all of your buddies drank so you would have it on hand
the next time they were over for a visit. See, Dad is a Budweiser
man. Has been for as long as I remember. He always has some
Bud in his fridge, because according to him, Budweiser is everyone's
second favorite beer. If a place doesn't have your favorite, you
can always order a Budweiser. His dad, my grandfather was a Genesee
guy. Grandpa would buy it by the case. It became part of
his signature. When I finally became old enough to drink, I knew
that I would always have a Genesee with my grandfather, which made it
taste better than usual. Some might say that its unhealthy to use
alcohol as a focal point, but they can all go to hell, since looking
back it meant so much to me. Genesee is a tough item to find in
North Carolina, but like I already said, it was plentiful at Grandpa
E's. Now that Grandpa is gone, I can look back fondly on the
Genesee's that we shared. Kind of makes me want to have a brand
of my own.
What an afternoon! I have been juggling my work and my play for
hours. Oddly enough, my play was much more difficult than my
work. The Tar Heels began their ACC Tournament run today in a
midday match up with the Clemson Tigers. Since the game was not
expected to be close, I did not make any special provisions in order to
watch it. I stayed in my cubicle and was satisfied with updates
from GameTracker
between my work duties. Much to my surprise, not only was this a
close game, but by the second half, Clemson was in the driver's seat on
the road to the second round of the tournament. Then tragedy
stuck. Heels go down 71-58 to the Tigers with about 9 minutes to
go, AND GameTracker stops updating. I scramble around the
Internet trying to find another outlet for updates. I signed up
at WBT in Charlotte in hopes of hearing Woody Durham
by getting streaming audio from their web site. However, I was
rudely greeted with a message stating that their broadcast has been
disabled. Sigh. I go to my old standby, Yahoo!, which kept
me going for a while. Then Yahoo! stops updating with less than 4 minutes to go. I move on to ESPN, which stops with less than 2 minutes to go. I felt a little like Typhoid Mary.
All the while, I get bits and pieces of the Heels comeback.
Finally, I find some nice ladies in a nearby department who brought in
a 3" TV to watch the games. Huddled around a mini television,
squinting all the while, I witness the final stages of a 30-10 run by
the Heels to finish the game and move on to the second round.
Whew! I hope the rest of the tournament (ACC or NCAA) is a lot
simpler.
This weekend marked the end of my beard. I had grown it out
during the winter, which gave me a Phil Jackson type of authority while coaching.
After enjoying temperatures in the 70's yesterday, I decided that the
beard had to go. Before I went totally clean shaven, I decided to
get creative. What resulted was a mustache plus connectors
equaling a sinister looking Steve. Little did I know that I had
an evil twin. Due to overwhelming disdain for this look, it was short lived.
I am now without any facial hair for the first time in almost 5
years. My signature Van Dyke is now gone. I know what you
are thinking, "I thought he had a goatee." Au contraire mes amis.
Anyway, we'll see how long this look sticks around. Knowing the
way my hair grows (everywhere except the top of my head), I might grow
a full beard by the end of the day.
I had previously alluded to my difficulties
in watching the ACC tournament with hopes of not running into
additional viewing problems continuing forward with post season
activities. Alas, my hopes of a hitch-free basketball viewing
weekend were crushed.
In the first regional final game between West Virginia and Louisville, I watched a significant portion of the game which showcased the Mountaineers shooting an ungodly percentage from three point range. Their pinpoint accuracy prompted a 20 point lead, causing this viewer to forgo the rest of the game in lieu of some tasty Mexican fare. Upon my return, I notice that the Cardinals constructed a spirited comeback, forcing overtime and a subsequent victory. Well, at least the Mexican food was good. Anyone could have made the same mistake. I call Ed to give me his take on the comeback. After his update, I was ready for more basketball. Lucky for me, I watch Illinois and Arizona in a very similar matchup. The Wildcats enjoyed a 15 point cushion over the Illini with only 4 minutes remaining. I recall hoping that Illinois "makes this interesting". And did they ever!. Stifling defense led to loose balls, which resulted in some quick points for Illinois. Shortly thereafter, I was lucky enough to watch a comeback victory that had eluded me earlier in the evening. Sunday allowed me to leisurely view the North Carolina Tar Heels move on to the Final Four with a victory over the Wisconsin Badgers. After the game, I decided to head back home from my parents house. (I was 2.5 hours away) Considering the time between games, time-outs, television time-outs, time-outs and time-outs, I figured that I could probably catch the last few minutes of basketball from the luxurious confines of my couch, or at the very least the local sports radio station. Once again, I was the victim of some sort of cruel fate. I was soon joined on I-85 with every college student returning from break. Travelling at speeds not exceeding 10 miles per hour did not get me very far, but I was able to listen to the Michigan State - Kentucky game on the radio up to 7 minutes left in regulation. At this time, I find an Applebee's to watch the end of regulation and get some much needed dinner. We finish dinner and settle up just before the beginning of the first overtime. In one of my worst "bird in the hand" moments, we leave Applebee's and the televised overtime game for the road and some AM sports radio. Unfortunately, the combination of bad weather, weak night signals and leaving civilization caused me to hear about every thrid word from the play by play announcers over 5 different radio stations. Finally, I was able to solidify one station for the last overtime as the Spartans outlasted the Wildcats. Three out of four Regional Finals took overtime to decide a winner. I cannot remember a more exciting NCAA tournament. Let us hope that the Tar Heels can continue on to the National Championship.
Last night began a new chapter in the book of Steve. I played on
my first organized basketball team in several years. I have
joined up with friends, Ed and
Robbie, in a local adult basketball league. I had previously
played in high school and even some rag-tag intramural teams while in college. More recently, I played in XBL
(which is a bit of a stretch for "organized"). Each effort was
met with varying degrees of success. This latest endeavor got off
to a rocky start. Playing basketball last night exposed my recent
penchant for roller hockey over the
hardwood. Although our game was an overall success (winning 69-30
something), individually, I need some work. Netting only 2
points, a couple assists and a few rebounds, I hardly had any impact on
the game. On the bright side, if playing at my worst can reap a
30+ point victory, its hard to imagine what the outcome would be if I
had positive contributions.
There are several more games to play, so I have room for
improvement. I doubt that an offensive juggernaut as myself could
be held to a single field goal in future contests. I still have
some rust on my game, but the biggest problem was "first game
jitters." Once I get comfortable with my teammates, the new gym,
and having actual officials making calls, I think I can get back into
the swing of things.
Here's a tip from your Uncle Steve:
Don't traverse time zones on a weekend that involves a time change.
I spent this weekend in Tennessee, just north of Nashville, which
happens to be in the Central time zone. Although an hour's
difference is not that big of deal, it does affect the normal daily
routine. Bed and meal times seem to have the largest
significance. After only one day of my own personal time shift, I
wake up on Sunday morning to yet another time shift thanks to Daylight
Saving Time. (After some quick research, I found that it is called Daylight Saving Time, not Daylight SavingS Time. Based on the information I found,
the whole reasoning for time shifting is based on energy
conservation. Still seems strange for everyone to move their
clocks forward an hour in the Spring just to change it back in the
Autumn.) By the end of Sunday, I had to go back to Eastern
time. Within 2.5 days, I had 3 time changes. Although I
feel caught up with sleep and so far I get hungry at the appropriate
times, I still feel a little "off".
**Looks like we may have a longer Daylight Saving Time period. Congress is looking into extending DST to start in March and end in November.
As a high school graduation gift back in 1992, I received a gold
necklace from my parents. I enjoyed wearing that necklace,
eventually working it into the everyday ensemble. Not only did I
wear it everyday, but I never took it off. I liked what it
represented, both my family and my accomplishment of graduating high
school. Looking back, I don't consider finishing high school as
all that prestigious, considering that even the knuckleheads from my school
graduated. I wore that necklace everyday until this past
week. I can't even remember why I took it off, but for some
reason I had decided that I wasn't putting it back on again.
There used to be a feeling of incompletion whenever I was not wearing
the necklace, but those feelings are gone too.
I am totally aware that this post serves no other purpose than to allow
myself to hammer out the intricate details of accessorizing , but that
is the beauty of a web log. You can write about whatever you want
to write about. Ta-da! That is what I did today:
entertainment be damned. Come back to read my series on "what I
had for breakfast". May Sweeps, baby!
I have been catching myself falling into the downward spiral of
laziness lately. I have an impending project deadline on some
documentation that I need to complete, but I am subconsciously (and
even consciously) avoiding working on it. This project is no
where near "mission critical", but it is a task that has a deadline
looming on the horizon. Although I cannot put my finger on the
explicit reason, I obviously have an aversion to this project. If
I would sit down and focus on it, I would probably finish it within a
few hours. However, anything that could be construed as a
distraction becomes one as I shift my attention to the next bright
shiny object, and away from the task at hand.
Oddly enough, I have seen this method executed in the exact same manner
when I was in school. Normally, I would always have "just" enough
time to finish my projects in the nick of time, to the point of
sacrificing food and sleep if warranted. If there was a research
paper due, I would wait until the last minute to finish it instead of
completing ahead of schedule with the more than ample time
available. I assume I work best in "last minute desperation"
environments.
Once I got out of school and into the workforce, I thought I had
outgrown this behavior. Obviously not, since I have devoted time
to this blog (and everything else under the sun) instead of my little
project.
Tuesdays are turning into one of my favorite days of the week. It
has a rigid schedule for me, which translates into a fast work day but
a leisurely time for myself. At work, my usual work related
routine keeps me occupied for an hour or so. Every Tuesday we
have a staff meeting at 10am that lasts for an hour. Right after
that meeting we unwind with the usual water cooler talk and whatnot,
then without much warning, lunch is upon us. For me, a creature
of habit, I go to Panera Bread on
Tuesdays for their Pick Two lunch special, which usually consists of
Broccoli Cheese soup and one of their tasty sandwiches, like Frontega
Chicken or Pepperblue Steak.. (The special is available every
day, but I have deemed Tuesday, "Panera Tuesday" which has caught on
with the rest of my department) In the time between the staff
meeting and lunch, you have plenty of time to catch up with any missed
communique'. Typically, there is a planning meeting in the
afternoons, which breaks up the afternoon hours. In what seems
like no time at all, its quitting time. Tuesdays just fly by at
work.
Once at home, Tuesdays turn into a day of nothing. I try not to
schedule workouts on Tuesdays, leaving it for my recovery or rest
day. So until Abby returns from her hard day of work, I spend my
Tuesday afternoon on the couch; reading, or playing a video game of
some sort.
Obviously I feel recharged after Tuesdays. Its like a second
Saturday for me, except with less yardwork. I highly recommend
claiming some day of the week as your recharging day. Tuesdays
are already taken though.
Way back in February, I concluded
that unexplained outside forces had rendered me, shall I say, less than
my usual pseudo-intelligent self. I found it somewhat
coincidental, but also eerily accurate. Remembering this
discovery, I applied this knowledge to my latest intellect slide.
Yesterday seemed to be the worst of several absent-minded, mistake
filled days that had plagued me lately. My troubleshooting skills
at work seemed a little dull. I had forgotten key ingredients to
prepared dinners. Several details were either ignored or
forgotten. Basically, I seemed dumber than normal.
Recalling my previous run-in with temporary stupidity, I looked up my biorhythms.
Lo and behold, my "Intelligence" levels were at rock bottom.
(Biorhythms are broken down into several levels, the three most basic
are Intelligence, Physical and Emotional). I flirt with stupidity
on a regular basis, but my two lowest points intellectually were later
confirmed by these biorhythm readings. Here is yesterday's reading for August 22nd, 2005
I do not live my life according to biorhythms by any stretch of the
imagination. On the contrary, my interaction with biorhythms only
follow a perceived "stupid" day. Think of it as the equivalent of
reading your daily horoscope at the end of your day to see if it was
accurate. What I am finding is that these biorhythms predict my
intelligence levels fairly accurately, although I have not ruled out my
good friend coincidence. I realize that testing this only on my
perceived stupid days does not lead itself towards a valid scientific
analysis. I can only go with what I have seen so far. I will check again after my next "stupid" day.
Perhaps I only check my biorhythms when my intelligence is low, which
tells me that intelligence prevents subscribing to this theory.
However, if that is true, wouldn't the biorhythms have proven
themselves accurate?
I had an awesome post prepared for today, but instead you will be
treated to a fleeting description of an nonexistent post. In
response to the astounding landing of the JetBlue flight
in Los Angeles with the skewed landing gear and the fireball
accompaniment, I had planned to point out how the media omitted any
reference to the true hero: the pilot. I went on and on about the
typical money shots of the reunions with loved ones, the travelling
pets and emotionally overwhelmed passengers. It was quite a
stirring piece of literature. Then after dutifully researching
the story a bit further, I found this:
JetBlue spokeswoman Jenny Dervin declined to release the names of the pilot and first officer pending the airline's joint investigation with the FAA and National Transportation Safety BoardThanks for ruining my beautiful blog post, Jenny. How could Jenny do this to me? However, I do blame most of the media for not disclosing this information in the national news releases. I had to find this blurb on SignOnSanDiego.com. Not exactly mainstream, in comparison to the major networks. I hope this pilot gets the hero treatment he deserves. Unless of course, he manually turned the front wheel 90 degrees and got it stuck that way. If that is the case, then he is no hero in my book, just a cover up artist. (In the meantime, I'll call him a hero)
I know what you are wondering. What did Steve do for his
vacation? Lucky for you, your questions are about to be
answered.
Thanks some half-assed planning on my part, I was able to fall ass
backwards into a mountain cabin for the week. After telling co-workers
that I did not have a plan for my week long vacation (read: not at
work), I was fortunate enough to be offered a place in Blowing Rock,
North Carolina for the week. Abby and I drove to BR on Tuesday
afternoon. We were able to travel via the Blue Ridge Parkway, which is
one of the nicest drives in the state. We even stopped in at the Craft
Center at Moses H. Cone National Park for some window shopping and some
minor hiking. We settled into our new quarters, then walked into town
to find some grub. The next few days were filled with walking around
Blowing Rock, driving to Boone, shopping at Tangers Outlet and lounging
around the cabin. Quite the relaxing visit.
On Thursday afternoon, we pampered ourselves at Crestwood Inn for some
massages. After our second dinner in a row at Storie Street Grille, we
retired for the evening, quite satisfied and relaxed. Friday morning we
began our trip back home. Instead of returning via Hwy 421 through
Winston-Salem, I decided to go "old skool" and traverse Hwy 321, which
was my method of going to and from the mountains back in the day.
About halfway down the mountain it dawned on me that best man/best
friend Chuck had recently purchased a new home in Charlotte that I had
yet to see. After giving him a call, we detoured through Charlotte to
pay him a visit, but not before trying to see my dad. Assuming my dad
was playing golf, we stopped by his favorite golf course to see him.
Oddly enough, he was not there so we continued to Chuck's where we got
to see his new crib and join him for lunch. A meat, two sides, and a
trip to Home Depot later, we were on our way home. Just before getting
home, we stopped in Chapel Hill to shop at A Southern Season for a
gift. Finally, we made it home. This had turned into one hell of a
return trip home. I felt like Odysseus.
Things I learned:
-We travelled a LONG way. (Not counting a quick trip to Fayetteville on Monday)
-The mountain area gets cold. Always bring a jacket, no matter what time of year it is.
-I'm too big to ride in the Flintstones' car.
-Eating fatty foods is fine if your hike home includes a hill with 35 degree slant
-I miss Backyard Burgers
-Chuck is a silly bitch
-Don't eat an omelet bigger than your own head.
-I should be massaged more
I talk to a lot of people from different types of backgrounds.
Just like anyone else, I will categorize people as I meet them.
We all do it, simply to organize our contacts within our own
heads. If I tell you to think of the name of your funniest
friend, you can probably come up with a name quickly. These are not
negative stereotypes, its labeling for mental organization. I
find it fairly easy to categorize people I meet into opposite binary
groups such as Optimistic/Pessimistic, Aggressive/Passive,
Tense/Relaxed, Male/Female. When I think of Happy/Unhappy people,
I noticed a common trait. The unhappy people have constrained
themselves in some way.
I have found that among the people I know, the fewer self imposed
obstacles that they have for themselves, the happier they typically
are. For example, if Person A decides that they only like to go
out to Italian restaurants on Friday nights, while Person B will go out
to any restaurant on any night, Person B would probably fall under my
Happy category instead of the Unhappy category. Taking that a
step further, those people that are willing to take themselves out of
their comfort zone tend to be more adventurous, more ambitious, more
outgoing, and ultimately happier. I do not have cold hard
evidence of this statement. I have merely made my own personal
observations with friends and aquaintences. Still, I find this
difficult to dispute. While there are exceptions to this rule,
such as someone that can never be satisfied with their job so they
change jobs regularly, I still think there's some truth to this
observation. Although, you could also argue that the nomadic "job
changer" in this example has created unnecessary rules/regulations on
each job, therefore, they prevent themselves from being happy with any
position.
My point is that allowing life to happen to you seems to cause more happiness than trying to control it.
Thanksgiving brings opportunities to visit with family. Over the last
5 days I have seen almost every member of my family and half of Abby's,
but at what cost? This does not imply any anomosity towards any
family members, quite the opposite. I thoroughly enjoyed family time
over my extended Thanksgiving weekend, however it required me to travel
great distances to do so.
I began my journey by swinging down to Fayetteville (NC) on
Thanksgiving day for a day trip with Abby's family. First thing Friday
morning, we departed for an Ohio tour. First stop: Cardington, Ohio
for a huge family reunion/feast and stay over. Second stop: Canton,
Ohio for a visit with my aunt, uncles and cousins. After leisurely
beginning our return trip, we returned to Cary, NC on Monday evening.
It was great to see everyone, but I am completely exhausted from all
the traveling. I have no one to blame but myself, since I drove most
of the way, but it was a small price to pay to see the "fam". I have
no problems going through this again, although I will plan frequent
naps next time.
This weekend marked the end to Project: Rug Hang. As many of you
know, Abby and I have been dealing with the vacant space represented by
an alcove about 10 feet above our living room. Months ago, we
bought a decorative carpet to hang in the aforementioned empty
space. Great idea at the time, except for the detail of HOW it
was going to hang. Over the passing months we came up with
several ideas on how to hang the carpet. Nailing it directly to
the back wall was eliminated as an option due to how deep the alcove
was. We then ventured into the hanging elements of this
project. We decided to affix the carpet to a wooden dowel and
hold the dowel up with curtain rod hooks. The detail of
"affixing" was overlooked this time. The original plan of staples
was quickly scrapped once we lifted the carpet a measly couple of feet
before all the staples were pulled out. We had a brief encounter
with using heavy gauge wire for our "affixing" purposes (Thanks,
Lisa). However, this proved to put too much strain on individual
points on the carpet, which would surely result in ripping.
Finally, we moved to sewn on nylon straps, which provided functional loops
for holding on to the wooden dowel. The stitches became
difficult, but well worth the labor (Thanks, Abby). No single
point of failure or unsightly cinching or gapping. Thanks to
amateur decorative carpet hangers, Ed and Harper, we were able to hang
the carpet this weekend during several lulls in college football games
(were any games remotely close this weekend?). This project has
been deemed complete!
We went out to dinner last night with a few friends to the local
Carraba's Italian restaurant. Being in a festive mood and feeling
outgoing, we struck up some good conversation with our waiter. During
our dining experience, someone requested a straw for their water with
lemon. The waiter then informed us that Carraba's has a policy
enforced from their corporate offices, that the wait staff is not
allowed to present straws to patrons that order drinks with lemons in
them, unless explicitly requested. This policy protects Carraba's from
lawsuits that could result from a patron sucking up a lemon seed and
choking. We all assumed he was joking. However, the waiter was
adamant about this, so we were quickly convinced that he was not
kidding.
I really don't have a response or any commentary about this, but I just found it so odd that I should share it with you.
Thursday began my long weekend with a trip down to Charlotte. Eric joined me in my travels to visit my friend Chuck and to see one of my favorite bands, Son Volt at the Visualite.
The SV show was one of the best I had ever seen. While at the
show I saw a visually impaired gentleman being led around the
venue. When he walked past me I overhead him say, "its really
crowded in here." How did he know? Did it smell
crowded? (No offense to those who are visually impaired. They
typically do not read my web log) It was cool to see him near the
front of the stage later, shaking his cane above his head in approval.
Friday morning, Eric and I get a quick start up the North Carolina
mountains. After a quick stop at his friend's mountain house
where we stayed the weekend, we hit the Beech Mountain
slopes for my snowboarding foray. We were met with 50 degree
temperatures and slushy, sand-like conditions. Lucky for me my
experience in skiing helped me pick up snowboarding fairly
quickly. Although snowboarding required much more effort than
skiing, I enjoyed it. Two things to remember about snowboarding:
1. Your back foot does most (if not all) of the turning
2. When you fall, the mountain comes to meet you quickly.
A full Friday of skiing led into a leisurely night of eating, drinking and watching hockey.
Saturday was a little disappointing due to some rainy weather, but
allowed us to recharge. Instead of sitting on the couch all day
in my pajamas, I leaned that I was actively sitting in my yoga
pants. Saturday's weather began with rain, escalated to sleet,
and ultimately to snow. This wintery combination resulted in some
treacherous driving conditions, which left us stranded in the
house. Our CR-V with All Wheel Drive was the only vehicle in our
group that could get out of the neighborhood. Therefore, we made
a trip to the local pizza place to feed our masses. The rest of
the time was filled with poker, Apples to Apples, and Catchphrase.
On Sunday, we were met with freezing temperatures and inches of snow on
the ground. An upgrade to Friday's slushfest. However,
Beech Mountain, taking advantage of the cold and hoping to extend their
season, made as much snow as humanly possible. Every inch of the
slopes were being covered in man-made snow, which provides a personal
blizzard, limiting visibility. I had almost every inch of my body
covered, so I was in good shape. However the lower part of my
face not covered, so was not so lucky. My van dyke
was used to catch every icy particle in the air, leaving me to chip ice
out of my beard. After a half day of snowboarding, we went back
to the house and our yoga pants.
A few hours later, after waiting for the roads to melt off a bit, we
headed back to Raleigh. Oddly enough, the snow was limited to a
25 mile radius around where we stayed. So, the trip back was not
nearly as difficult as the escape from the mountain house's
neighborhood (which prevented the other members of the group from
leaving in their 2 wheel drive cars)
The luck continued for me since I missed the 1st quarter of the Super
Bowl, which people have told me was the worst Super Bowl quarter
ever. My Pittsburgh Steelers overcame a boring game and controversial calls to emerge as Super Bowl champions! Hooray me.
Thanks to the snowboarding, my calves are killing me. (Leg muscles, not livestock)
Sorry for the hiatus, kids. I have been in Las Vegas for a week. I
was attending, and more importantly, presenting at an IT conference for
the EPA. I had 4 presentations on existing and new technologies in the
agency. I became one with the infamous Power Point slides. I will not
bore you with the details of the conference other than I got through
it, even with some accompanying praise.
One of the highlights of this Vegas trip included attending Cirque Du
Soleil's presentation of "KA" at MGM. I highly recommend going to see
CDS in any form after learning that this show would rank about #3 on a
list of available CDS shows in Las Vegas. Maybe someday I will see "O"
or "Mystere", which according to a co-worker would rank #1 and #2
respectively.
Another feature event was the seafood buffet at the Rio hotel and
casino. For a flat rate, I was able to gorge myself full of fish in
every imaginable form, including sushi, crab legs and lobster tails. I
attended this feast with 8 other EPA employees from New York, Boston
and Raleigh. A good time was had by all. I also had a meal at
Wolfgang Puck's restaurant. While the food was high quality and tasted
great, the portions were entirely too small for my buffet trained
appetite. Had a drink at Toby Keith's I Love This Bar, which was a thinly veiled excuse to charge higher prices for drinks.
While I gambled at the Mirage and MGM, I came a little shy of beating
the house. Blackjack is a fickle game. Although I was up after my
first night of gambling, I ended up a little behind for the week.
Can't win 'em all.
Most of my days were spent at the conference, so I only experienced
Vegas after dark, which if you had to limit yourself is the right time
to do so.
I complain about retails stores on occasion, quite recently in fact. Taking umbrage from the saying "If you want something done right, do it yourself", Abby
and I delved into the exciting world of garage/yard sales. (Still
not sure what to call it, since it was not in our yard nor our
garage. It was more of a driveway sale, but that doesn't have a
nice ring to it). There not a whole lot to running your own
garage/yard sale. We bought some signs, which were too small to
get noticed. We had lots and lots of ones and fives, which we did
not need to use since most of the garage sale patrons had small bills
anyway. We bought some stickers for pricing our items, but any
thing worth selling was worth haggling over. All in all, our
planning did not seem to make a difference. What made the
difference was having our sale the same day as two other people in our
neighborhood. Lucky for us, we live near the entrance of our
neighborhood, so any traffic going to the other sales had to pass by
our sale to get there. (Their signs were more visable and more
effective than ours)
Interesting things I learned from our garage sale:
-People are ready for your sale at 7am, whether you are ready or not
-90% of our traffic came before 9am
-Items still in the original packaging scare people away. (They assume something is wrong with it.)
-Used, smelly sporting equipment can be sold
-Fake flowers and small wicker baskets sell surprisingly well.
-No matter how useless your items are, there's probably someone out there that wants to buy them.
For a couple of years now, I have bounced between Bob & Sheri and Bob & Tom on my radio dial during my morning commute to work Bob & Sheri are good story tellers. They make even the mundane, day-to-day activities seem interesting. Bob & Tom provided me with some decent comedy, especially when they bring stand up comedians into their studios. Their show was like a free sampling of stand up comics. I could seamlessly switch back and forth between the two morning shows because while one program went to commercial, the other had just returned from commercial and vice versa, minus about 2-3 minutes. I had this routine down.
However, recently I have developed an aversion to both programs. Bob & Sheri's stories became less interesting and more mudane/trivial. Not to mention that I lose their radio signal all the time. Bob & Tom seemed immature to me. Their "songs" and "cameo guests" delved into potty humor a few too many times.
The Raleigh area does not have the best radio options to begin with, so finding a new morning program has become a difficult task. In the meantime, I have dabbled in some local sports talk radio, which seems to be working for me. Although, I can get burned out on sports talk since it occupies all of my "drive home". I guess I'll have to rediscover my iPod or some of my new and exciting kickass CDs.
I have not posted in a while, mainly due to the fact that most events that may warrant a blog post later seem routine to me. I get myself geared up about the latest/greatest event only later during proofreading I realize that I have written on the exact same topic previously.
Most of the events revolve around hockey, either the Canes or the Fury. I assume you all have grown tired of that, so I try to limit hockey posts to truly historic occurrences (Stanley Cup wins or when I score a goal, which happened in my last game by the way).
Other events that begin with a bang but end with whimper due to other factors. The most notable factor is some event that I have photographed, however I have not uploaded said pictures to Flickr. Therefore, I postpone the post involving that event until the pictures are available, but after the pictures are available I rarely return to document that event.
I have even put on the brakes when talking about Myra Grace. Mainly because talking about my daughter is a slippery slope. I can see myself giving weekly updates in no time. Next thing you know I have to dedicate this blog to her. So I will limit those posts to monumental events such as first words or first steps. Neither of which have happened yet.
The other posts that start off as good ideas in my head but rarely make it to COALM are trendy, popular news stories. I may comment on a story that strikes up debate, but I do not want to get caught up in posting a link to a story, albeit an interesting story, which gets forgotten within the week.
I have not given up on posting. Currently I'm in a bit of a rut with COALM, which has happened a before. I usually bounce back from these minor setbacks. Be patient.
I did my civic duty this week by going to the Wake County Courthouse on
Monday for Jury Duty. It was a typical slow day at the courthouse to
be sure. I arrived at 8:30AM, 30 minutes prior to the time I was
instructed to arrive so that I could a) find the courthouse and b) find
a parking space. I achieved both without issue. I was directed to the
Jury Lounge, a place that I became all to familiar with throughout the
day. We started off our day with a dated orientation video. How do I
know it was dated? Charles Kuralt hosted it.
Following the video, small groups of potential jurors were called to
assorted court rooms for interviews. The interviews were set up for
the lawyers to insure they had a qualified jury as well as a jury that
would improve their own chances for winning their case. I was not
called during the morning sessions, so I stayed in the Jury Lounge reading and iPoding.
Due to one case being thrown out and another case being settled out of
court, the jurors were dismissed, but only until 2:30PM. After hanging
out with some former co-workers at SmartStart and my wife at her work, I returned to the Jury
Lounge once again.
This time I was among the pool of potential jurors called into court.
By this time I was curious about the process. Then lo and
behold, I was called to the jury box as Juror #11. The district
attorney and the defense attorney went back and forth interviewing
jurors with their questions. Some jurors were dismissed due to
conflicts of interest, but mostly the attorneys were giving people with
scheduling conflicts the benefit of the doubt and mercifully excusing
them from the jury. This ended up hurting both attorneys in the end.
After the defense attorney used his last jury dismissal, the defense was left
with the final juror who could barely speak English. Since so many
jurors had been excused, the jury pool was too shallow presenting quite a problem. If the non-English speaking juror is allowed to sit on
the jury, understanding the facts of the case could not be insured.
However, if he is dismissed, the remaining two potential jurors would
have to be assigned to the jury without any questioning (one as the final juror and one as an
alternate). Since the defense had used up his dismissals, the judge
had to make this decision. Ultimately, the judge decided to dismiss
ALL of the jurors and start new in the morning. I waited all day in
the jury lounge fighting off boredom, made it to the last jury of the
day, actually sitting in the jury box only to be dismissed at the last possible minute. While I was pleased that I did not have to return the next day, I was a little disappointed that I did not get to serve after waiting so long to get there.
Last weekend, Abby and I took Myra Grace down to Abby's hometown of Ponchatoula, Louisiana. We met up with several of Abby's friends to introduce them to MG. Check out the pictures.
Louisiana is rich in its culinary traditions, typically seafood distributed in a multitude of ways, mainly fried. We ate like kings on our visit. As a whole, our trip was relaxing and entertaining. We saw just about everyone we wanted to see and ate about everything we wanted to eat. Except for our return flight from Atlanta to Raleigh getting canceled, leaving us in Atlanta's airport for an extra 7 hours, the trip was a success.
Things I learned from our trip
-The music in the Atlanta airport is horrible. I would categorize it as "adult non-contemporary". The sappiest, crappiest love songs from the 70's. It would have been tolerable if the same music was instrumental.
-Locals come out of the woodwork for the Ponchatoula Strawberry Festival, no matter the weather.
-Myra Grace does not care where she is, as long as she's entertained, fed and wearing clean apparel. (Not necessarily in that order)
-Seat assignments on a new flight to cover a canceled flight do not get assigned "first come, first serve". (Still don't know how they decide who gets seats)
-You can never have enough surrogate grandparents
-It is not uncommon for complete strangers to pick up the check for traveling military personnel eating at a restaurant.
-The entire country was extremely windy on April 15th.
-Even the simplest of actions done by toddlers in tandem is extremely cute.
Last week, we packed up everything we owned and made a trip to Ohio. Both sides of my family are from Ohio and most of them are still there. Most of them had not met Myra Grace, so we decided a visit was in order.
We split our time between Canton and Cardington. I think we saw everyone we had intended to see and we had a great time overall. Traveling that far (9hours) with a toddler is difficult, so we made adjustments to counter and obstacles an 11 month old could create. On the trip to Ohio, we split the trip into 2 easy installments with an overnight stay in Charleston, West Virginia. That made the trip up a snap, since MG slept at least 6 of those 9 hours. The return trip was a late night affair going from 5:30pm to 2:30am. Exhausting, but worth it. Few stops for food and bathroom breaks, so the trip went much quicker.
Things I learned on my trip:
-Swenson's reigns supreme on my best burgers list. I recommend the Galley Boy.
-It is always nice to meet a Star Wars Podcaster
-In the battle between a coffee table and an 11 month old, always bet on the coffee table.
-The Tampa Bay Devil Rays are capable of losing any game they play for a multitude of reasons.
-Never underestimate the creativity of physical education teachers with a lot of people and a lot of land.
Recently, I discovered a web site that claims that anyone can do 100 pushups by following their aggressive program. I have decided to give it a try. So based on their 6 week schedule, I should be able to do 100 pushups by August 2008 if I follow their program.
I was already in "fair" to "decent" shape. Before starting this regimen, I could crank out 30 to 40 pushups in an ideal environment (rested, motivated, awake, sober) I'm a fairly active guy, but I don't have a lot of disposable time to work out. I have some time in the evenings after I get the kids to bed, but I rarely have enough energy at night to go work out or go on a run. However, I was looking for a way to stay in shape, get stronger and so forth without going to the gym, buying equipment or most importantly requiring a lot of time. This program seems to fit the bill.
Knowing that sticking to an exercise program would be difficult, despite being only 6 weeks and only requiring 30 minutes a week, I had to insure I would stick with it. My first step was telling people at my office that I was starting this program. Some co-workers were interested and some even claimed to start it themselves. But that just didn't seem like enough. So I decided tell as many people I can through my blog (all 3 of you). Finally, I decided to track my progress. The final motivation is making this progress publicly available, which makes me accountable for my progress.
Track my progress
I traveled to Ohio this weekend for a wedding. I wanted to share some pictures I took with my phone. I forgot to bring a real camera.
| # -The happy couple. Meet Mr. and Mrs. Pete Nadel. (Krissy there in the white is my cousin)  |
#-The Minister's parking space at the church... |
#-From an Arby's in Marietta, OH |
#-Sorry for the poor picture quality, but that says $2.69 for unleaded.
Taken at the corner of Everhard and Whipple in North Canton, Ohio. |
