Monday, August 15, 2005

Home Improvement

Home improvement is very time consuming, and doesn't leave much time for fun or blogging. I'm remodeling our bathroom and laying new floors in the bathroom, kitchen and dinning room...I'm a busy boy! More to come...and picutres....stay tuned. If you'd like to see some picutres from our trip to the U.P. last weekend click on the flickr link on the right or click here.

See ya.

Tuesday, August 09, 2005

Confusing Sign


Katie and I weren't sure if this sign meant that you could go and look at hadicapped people, or if there was hadicapped access to the lookout point ahead.

Poe Lock - No Joke!!


Taken at the Soo Locks. When I first saw this I thought it was a joke. Turns out that it wasn't! The Poe Lock...that's hilarious!! The guy who named this Lock was a true comedian.

Save Our Prison


How many times in your life are you going to see a sign like this? This picture was taken in downtown Newberry where they must truely value their prison...I'm guessing it's because of the jobs, not because of the prisoners! The disturbing thing about this sign is the shackle that frames it ever so nicely. While we were in the Upper Penninsula there was actually a prisoner that escaped. He was assisted by a food service worker. They were both caught in Wisconsin the next day, at a hotel.

Sunday, August 07, 2005

Happy Anniversay!!!


On this day, one year ago, I said "I do" and married my best friend. Happy anniversary Katie, I LOVE YOU! I hope the rest of our lives together are as wonderful as the last year!

Sunday, July 31, 2005

Podcast Review: Geek News Central

As I have said in a previous post, I have been listening to podcasts since February. I began listening to podcasts almost as soon as I received my iPod. One of the first podcasts that I subscribed to is Geek News Central. GNC is a podcast that is produced by the now infamous geek, Todd Cochrane. Todd has been doing GNC since September of '04. Todd rose to podcasting fame when he published the first ever podcasting how-to book, "Podcasting: Do it yourself guide". GNC is a podcast about tech news/happenings. On Podcast Alley GNC is described as, "...a tech show for the common man...”

Geek News Central is for the common man, however that man must be willing to do some research. When I started listening to GNC I was very, very new to the tech world, and I didn't even know what the blogosphere was. I can remember listening to Todd for the first time thinking, "I have no idea what this guy is talking about!” Keep in mind that since I was new to this world I was not familiar with terms like HTML, Adsense, FireFox, Linux, CCS, and Gnomdex...etc. I kept listening. During each show I would make little notes about things I didn't understand or hadn't heard of. When I would get home at night I would spend a couple of hours on the computer learning about all these new things. After a month or so I could listen to GNC and feel like I had some understanding of what Todd was talking about.

Some things that I enjoy about GNC are: the show is well produced, with a great format; Todd explains things in a way that are easy to understand; by listening to GNC I can stay up to date with new happenings in the tech world; I like how Todd makes you feel welcome and the way he welcomes new listeners to each and every show; GNC is a very honest podcast, Todd always informs you if he is being sponsored or is employed by a manufacturer of a product that he is recommending. There are many more reasons that I enjoy this show, too many to list!! I recommend this show to all of my friends and will continue to do so. For anybody out there reading this - If you have not subscribed to the Geek News Central podcast you are really missing out on an awesome podcast! GO SUBSCRIBE NOW!!!

See ya.

Friday, July 29, 2005

Biker Bash & Born



Thank you to
Born for allowing me to come and take pictures. You guys rocked!! The sound outside was very crisp; I was very impressed!

Wednesday, July 27, 2005

Here's Wyatt!




Patti gave me permission to publish Wyatt's picutures on the blog. These were all take by Katie on 07-26-05, Wyatt's second day in the outside world.

Day 17

Excitement/Disappointment

Excitement: Wyatt was born on 07-25-05. A healthy baby boy, 10lbs 12oz, 22in long. He is a big guy!! Katie and I went to the hospital to see him for the first time and to check on my sister Patti. While we were there visiting Wyatt did what babies do best; he slept. While he slept Katie and I unwrapped him so we could look at this hands and feet and feel his soft skin. I also took advantage of this situation to snap approximately 50 pictures. Katie and I took turns holding him and getting our pictures taken with him. It was all very exciting! It is amazing to me how incredible the miracle of birth is. The whole time we were there Wyatt was calm & cool, but Patti on the other hand was beginning to feel the pain of her C-section.

Disappointment: The birth of Wyatt went well. Patti did not experience any pain during the process except for the initial spinal that she was given to basically numb her bottom half. She told me that the pain meds she was given during the procedure contained some amount of morphine. The meds did their job...and then they began to wear off. (I should interject here and let you know that of my two sisters, Shelly received all of the genes for pain tolerance. Needless to say, Patti is not good with pain. Now I don't want you to think that I'm insinuating that what Patti went thru was not painful. I understand that a C-section is major surgery and is/can be extremely painful; I'm just saying that Patti doesn't handle pain well.) It is my understanding that after a C-section has been performed, the woman is supposed to be up and walking 6-8hrs into her recovery. This is supposed to be done to help with fluid removal, keeping the skin around the wound stretched out, and to reduce gas build-up. On this particular point, the nursing & doctorial staff dropped the ball. When we arrived at the hospital (around 7:30pm) one of the nurses came in the room and in passing, mentioned to Patti and my Mom that she [Patti] should have been up and walking by now. Due to the fact that she hadn't been cared for properly her belly (which is now void of the baby) is so full of gas bubbles that you would never know she had delivered the baby. Her doctor came to check on her yesterday and was pissed that the nursing staff hadn't cared for her properly. I guess he should have taken better care to keep track of his patient! Anyway, her doctor informed her that she will have to stay at the hospital for an extra 2 days due to the problems created by their lack of care.

See ya.

Monday, July 25, 2005

Bubbly Toes


Welcome to the world Wyatt!!

Baby Bigfoot


That's a big baby foot!!

Wyatt's Birthday


Wyatt will be born today around 9:00am. We can't wait. More pictures to follow...

UPDATE: Wyatt was born today at 9:35am. He weighed an amazing 10lbs 12oz. and was 20in long. Wyatt was born via C-section because of his gigantic size!

Rita

Happy Bithday Memie. We love you, we miss you!

Saturday, July 23, 2005

Bate or Bait


Bate: to reduce the force or intensity of
Bait: something used in luring especially to a hook or trap
Somebody needs a spelling lesson!!

Duke


We are dog sitting for the weekend. This is Duke. He poops in the basement and has a wicked case of separation anxiety.

Vacation

Dragonfly

Dahlia Backside

Monday, July 18, 2005

Day 16

I hate shaving! - I can remember waking up one day, looking in the mirror, and coming to the realization that it was time that I start shaving my face. I talked it over with my Dad and he showed me what to do. I used a normal disposable razor, probably a Bic, and was worried the whole time that I was going to cut my face wide open and begin hemorrhaging into the bathroom sink. Luckily, I finished my first shave with no injuries. Had I known what was to follow, I probably never would have begun shaving. What followed was more shaving (at first it was every 4 or 5 days, now it's every other if not every day), and irritated burning skin. After years of shaving with shitty disposable razors, I switched to the trusty Mach3. The Mach3 was an improvement however; it still gave me irritated skin and ingrown hairs (ahhhhhh!). Then I noticed that my Dad had been using an electric razor as opposed to a disposable. So like every good son who wants to be more like their Dad, I decided that I should try an electric. Now, you might ask, "doesn't the electric razor burn you skin more?" My answer is, yes much worse, that is at least for the first 3-4 weeks with new heads. With a little conditioning though, my face has become used to this irritation and long gone are the ingrown hairs and most of the burning itchy skin. Until lately the electric razor has been great, but ever so gradually shaving has been working it's way closer to being put on my "Things I hate doing" list. On this list are tasks such as: laundry, cleaning the basement, filling out thank you cards (wedding, shower, graduation...etc), and urinating. I have to shave my face every day mainly because if I don't I look ridiculous. My facial hair seems to grow in patches and my "mustache" grows in such a fashion that if I were to let it grow out, it would look like I have patches of alopecia affecting my lip. There are actually spots on my lip that completely refuse to grow any hair. For years women have been using a much better alternative to shaving...Wax! Some women wax their lips and they don't have to do it again for weeks or even months. I'm not sure if that's because their facial hair grows slower, or if waxing is just awesome and totally removes the follicle. I've begun to think that maybe I should try waxing; if not my whole face, maybe just the "mustache". What's stopping me is the fact that I would probably end up burning my lip and getting huge, nasty blisters, or actually ripping the skin right off my face. I think that I will settle for my electric razor and shaving every day. I will just mark it down as something that I will always have to do along with: laundry, cleaning the basement, filling out thank you cards (wedding, shower, graduation...etc), and urinating.

See ya.

Sunday, July 17, 2005

Day 15

I love the beach! We decided last night that we sould get up "early" and head to Caseville for the day. After a somewhat late start, we were finally on the road. The weather looked a bit questionable, but we kept on going. When we arrived at the Sleeper State Park beach it was overcast but very hot and humid. Then it rained like hell for ten minutes and soaked all of our beach gear. The great thing about the rain was that everybody packed up and headed home. We however decided to stay, and we had the beach to ourselves for a little while. I'm glad we decided to stay because the sun came back out and the day became beautiful! Any day at the beach is a good day!

Thank you agian to Chaco for making such a grat product. You helped keep our feet safe today even on the slippery, wet rocks. I love your product and will continue to recommend it to all my friends!!!

See ya.