Ovaltine Flavored Coffee?!

Sorry about not posting yesterday. I fell asleep while watching a movie and didn't set the alarm clock so when I woke up I had 30 minutes to shower and eat something before going to work. So what do I do? I quickly grab coffee, put some in the coffee maker and ran upstairs to take a very quick shower. I came downstairs and I immediately knew something was wrong because I have Hazelnut Coffee which smells really great as soon as it starts percolating.

Yes, ladies and gentlemen, I put Ovaltine in my coffee maker! But hey! Can you blame me? I mean, look at the two cans?

My evening went much better, though. When my mom was here, she bought my older son a game of "Deal or no Deal" which is like a card deck where you cover the cards with the amounts with another card that looks like a suitcase and you play the game.

We had a great time!!! I was the contestant while my daughter was the one who would "open the suitcase" (turn the card over) while my oldest son was "Howie" the host. Then, my little buddy was the banker. The host would "walkie talkie" the banker who would, in turn, "walkie talkie" the host with the amount he offered me! It was hilarious, crazy, and a LOT of fun!

Bridge to Taribithia

I took my kids to see this movie last weekend and I thought it was a wonderful and meaningful movie. My three kids are all 10 and under and even though there is something very sad about the movie (and I won't say what that is just in case you haven't read the book or watched the movie and want to be surprised), all three of my kids came out saying that it was great and they can't wait for it to come out on video so we can buy it and watch it again.

Just today I downloaded the podcast to "All Books Considered" and listened to it on my daily walk at the park and there was an author interview. The author to this great work is Katherine Peterson and she seemed like a kind and sensitive person. She said that the book was loosely based on an experience that her son had when she was young. He had a wonderful friend, a girl, who died young and was moved by the experience to write a children's book about it. She went on to explain that she thought the reason children liked her books so much was because she acknowledged that they have a full range of feelings that most authors don't acknowledge. This same son, David Lord Paterson, was the screenwriter to Disney's movie adaptation.

Folks, if you haven't already seen it, it's worth watching.

A Very Funny Short Commercial...

I don't know why I find this so funny, but I do! I can't tell you what it's about, it would ruin it, but watch...

"Cold" means different things to different people...

I had some funny conversations with my mom about what "cold" means. For people in Miami, it doesn't take much to be cold, while the folks here in Tennessee think 25 degrees F. is pretty darn cold. The folks in Canada, meanwhile, sniker at the folks in Tennessee.

So here's this:

60 -Californians put on sweaters(if they can find one in their wardrobe)
50 -Miami residents turn on the heat
40 -You can see your breath, Californians shiver uncontrollably Minnesotans go swimming.
35 -Italian cars don't start
32 -Water freezes
30 -You plan your vacation to Australia, Minnesotans put on T-shirts, Politicians begin to worry about the homeless, British cars don't start
25 -Boston water freezes, Californians weep pitiably, Minnesotans eat ice cream, Canadians go swimming
20 -You can hear your breath, Politicians begin to talk about the homeless, New York City water freezes, Miami residents plan vacation further south
15 -French cars don't start, You plan a vacation in Mexico, Cat insists on sleeping in your bed with you 10 -Too cold to ski, You need jumper cables to get your car going
5 -You plan your vacation in Houston, American cars don't start
0 -Alaskans put on T-shirts, too cold to skate
-10 -German cars don't start, Eyes freeze shut when you blink
-15 -You can cut your breath and use it to build an igloo, Arkansas residents stick tongues to metal objects, Miami residents cease to exist
-20 -Cat insists on sleeping in your pajamas with you, Politicians actually do something about the homeless, Minnesotans shovel snow off roof, Japanese cars don't start
-25 -Too cold to think, You need jumper cables to get driver going
-30 -You plan a two week hot bath, The Mighty Monongajela freezes. Swedish cars don't start
-40 -Californians disappear, Minnesotans button top button, Canadians put on sweaters, your car helps you plan your trip south
-50 -Congressional hot air freezes, Alaskans close the bathroom window
-60 -Hell freezes over, Polar bears move south!!

Missing Mom already..

I left my mom at the airport today and when I got home, the house felt so empty. I've been living along in this place since I moved out (due to upcoming divorce, as some of you know.) But mom was here 9 days and it's amazing just how fast you become accustomed to someone's presence. It was nice to have her here when I got home from work and to go out with her on the weekends.

Have you ever had a sort of mixed blessing kind of relationship with your mom? My mom is really great; she's very caring and compassionate, takes care of you any chance she gets, etc... She also doesn't seem to think I'm capable of taking care of myself! hee hee Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying this in an angry or bitter way. It's just funny how she'll call me from Miami (I'm in Tennessee) and say, "I just saw on the weather channel that it's going to be cold up there tomorrow. Make sure you dress the kids warmly." I feel like saying, "well, I'm glad you called because I was thinking of having them wear tank tops and shorts. OH, and sandals!"

rofl

Moms... It's like while she was here, she had to make my bed and wash my clothes. As if the washing instructions on my clothes said this:

Again, I'm not upset about it. It's really great to have someone love you and want to take care of you. It's just funny. I kept telling her that she was on vacation and didn't need to wash the dishes and cook every day, which she did anyways. I'm not sure she knows how to relax!

Love you, mom...

Still hanging out with mom...

...though not for much longer.

She's leaving on Sunday. Sorry for not keeping up the daiy blog entry, but I've been having such a good time with mom. It's nice to have her around and I'll miss her when she leaves. She's a good mom, I tell ya...

By the way; some folks really enjoyed that video I put in the last blog entry and I'm glad. I also found it inspirational so I thought I'd put this next one which is also very inspirational. In fact, I wouldn't mind watching it every morning before leaving my house...



But what if you're already a very happy, very inspired person and you don't need to see something inspirational to start your day? Well, how about the coolest card trick you'll ever see?



There... I'll be posting on a more regular basis after Sunday when my mom goes back home, so don't abandon me, people! hee hee

Need to watch something inspirational?

Then watch this!


Everyone Must See This! - video powered by Metacafe

Close your eyes (after you read this)...And go back...

....Before the Internet or PC or the MAC......

....Before semi-automatics and crack....

....Before Playstation, SEGA, Super Nintendo, even before Atari...

....Before cell phones, CD's, DVD's, voicemail and e-mail....

....way back....

....way.....way.....way back.....

I'm talkin' bout hide and seek at dusk

Red light, Green light

Red Rover....Red Rover.....

Playing kickball & dodgeball until the first...no...second...no...third

Streetlight came on

Ring around the Rosie

London Bridge

Hot potato

Hop Scotch

Jump rope

Duck....duck....GOOSE!!!

YOU'RE IT!!

Parents stood on the front porch and yelled (or whistled) for you to come home - no pagers or cell phones

Mother May I?

Hula Hoops

Seeing shapes in the clouds

Endless summer days and hot summer nights (no A/C) with the windows open

The sound of crickets

Running through the sprinkler

Happy Meals

Cereal boxes with that GREAT prize in the bottom

Cracker jacks with the same thing

Ice pops with 2 sticks you could break and share with a friend

Watchin' Saturday Morning cartoons

Fat Albert, Road Runner, Smurfs, Picture Pages, G-Force & He-Man,

Schoolhouse Rock (Conjunction Junction whats your function?)

Watchin' Sunday morning oldies (Abbott & Costello, Three Stooges, Mighty Mouse)

Wonder Woman & SuperMan Underoos

FONZIE.....AYYYYYYYY

Playing Dukes of Hazard

Catchin' lightning bugs in a jar

Christmas morning

Your first day of school

Bedtime Prayers and Goodnight Kisses

Climbing trees

Swinging as high as you could to try and reach the sky

Getting an Ice Cream off the Good Humor Truck

A million mosquito bites and sticky fingers

Jumpin' down the steps

Jumpin' on the bed

Pillow fights

Sleep-overs

A 13" black and white TV in your room meant you were RICH

Runnin' till you were out of breath

Laughing so hard that your stomach hurt

Being tired from PLAYING

WORK: meant taking out the garbage or doing the dishes

Your first crush

Your first kiss (I mean the one that you kept your mouth CLOSED and your eyes OPEN

Rainy days at school meant playing "Heads up 7UP" or hangman" in

The classroom, Remember that?

Kool-Aid was the drink of the summer

So was a swig from the hose

Giving your friends a ride on your handlebars

Wearing your new shoes on the first day of school

Class Field Trips with soggy sandwiches

When nearly everyone's mom was at home when the kids got there

When a quarter seemed like a fair allowance;

and another quarter a MIRACLE

When ANY parent could discipline ANY kid, or feed him, or use him

to carry groceries...And nobody, not even the kid, thought a thing of it.

When your parents took you to McDonalds and you were COOL

When being sent to the principal's office was nothing compared to

the fate that awaited you at home.

Basically, we were in fear for our lives but it wasn't because of

drive by shootings, drugs, gangs, etc.

Our parents and grandparents were a much bigger threat! And some of

us are still afraid of em!

Didn't that feel good? Just to go back and say, "Yeah, I remember

that!"

Decisions were made by going "eeny-meeny-miney-mo"

Mistakes were corrected by simply exclaiming, "do over!"

"Race issues" meant arguing about who ran the fastest.

Money issues were handled by whoever was the banker in "monopoly"

Catching fireflies could happily occupy an entire evening

It wasn't odd to have two or three "best" friends.

Being old, referred to anyone over 20.

The worst thing you could catch from the opposite sex was cooties.

Nobody was prettier than Mom

Scrapes and bruises were kissed by mom or grandma and made better

It was a big deal to finally be tall enough to ride the "big people" rides at the amusement park.

Getting a foot of snow was a dream come true.

Abilities were discovered because of a "double-dog-dare"

Spinning around, getting dizzy and falling down was cause for giggles.

The worst embarrassment was being picked last for a team.

Water balloons were the ultimate, ultimate weapon.

Older siblings were your worst tormentors, but also your fiercest protector

If you can remember most or all of these, then you have LIVED!!!

Pass this on to anyone who may need a break from their "grown up" life......I TRIPLE DOG DARE YA!!!!!!

Sorry for the delay in Posting...

My mom flew in from Miami late Thursday evening and I've been kind of busy cleaning house before she got here and now that she's here, I've been spending some quality time with the Ma...

Poor lady, she left Miami when it was about 80 F. and when she stepped off the plane late Thursday night it was 12F. When I picked up my kids the next time she got to see them do this:



It was a very good time that was had by all. Actually, it was also a very cold time, especially for my mom...

Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Has anyone studied a bit of Chemistry?

The following is an actual question given on a University of Washington chemistry mid-term.

The answer by one student was so "profound" that the professor shared it with colleagues, via the Internet, which is,of course, why we now have the pleasure of enjoying it as well
Bonus Question: Is Hell exothermic (gives off heat) or endothermic (absorbs heat)?

Most of the students wrote proofs of their beliefs using Boyle's Law (gas cools when it expands and heats when it is compressed) or some variant.

One student, however, wrote the following:
First, we need to know how the mass of Hell is changing in time. So we need to know the rate at which souls are moving into Hell and the rate at which they are leaving. I think that we can safely assume that once a soul gets to Hell, it will not leave.
Therefore, no souls are leaving. As for how many souls are entering Hell, let's look at the different religions that exist in the world today. Most of these religions state that if you are not a member of their religion, you will go to Hell. Since there is more than one of the religions and since people do not belong to more than one religion, we can project that all souls go to Hell. With birth and death rates as they are, we can expect the number of souls in Hell to increase exponentially. Now, we look at the rate of change of the volume in Hell because Boyle's Law states that in order for the temperature and pressure in Hell to stay the same, the volume of Hell has to expand proportionately as souls are added.
This gives two possibilities:

1. If Hell is expanding at a slower rate than the rate at which souls enter Hell, then the temperature and pressure in Hell will increase until all Hell breaks loose.

2. If Hell is expanding at a rate faster than the increase of souls in Hell, then the temperature and pressure will drop until Hell freezes over.

So which is it?

If we accept the postulate given to me by Teresa during my Freshman year that, "It will be a cold day in Hell before I sleep with you," and take into account the fact that I slept with her last night, then number two must be true, and thus I am sure that Hell is exothermic and has already frozen over. The corollary of this theory is that since Hell has frozen over, it follows that it is not accepting any more souls and is therefore, extinct......leaving only Heaven thereby proving the existence of a divine being which explains why, last night, Teresa kept shouting "Oh my God."

THIS STUDENT RECEIVED THE ONLY "A"

What life is like for computer techies...

At least some times, it looks somewhat like the following video.

Some of you already know that I am a computer technician (also known as the "help desk") and I help all kinds of people at different levels of computer knowledge.


It seems most folks under 50 years of age can more easily grasp the idea of moving around in a computer environment. (Please note that I said MOST and not ALL.) The over 50 crowd, however, seems to have a bit more difficulty and to a computer nerd like myself, this video is how the questions seem like to me some times...



Don't get me wrong. I'm not one of those computer geek snobs that think that people who don't know how to use a computer proficiently are below me or something. I know of a few of those. I just find it amusing how some people are afraid of the computer as if it were a poisonous spider, or if by pressing one key they'll erase everything.

I understand it, though. I'm the same way about cooking...

Happy Valentine's Day!

I hope you all have a wonderful Valentine's Day with your significant other. May there be lots of romance tonight and may some of you, who knows, even get lucky!

Cabbage always has a heart;
Green beans string along.
You're such a cute tomato,
Will you peas to me belong?
You're the apple of my eye,
You know how much I care;
So lettuce get together,
We'd make a perfect pear.
Something's sure to turnip
To prove you can't be beet;
So, if you carrot all for me
Let's let our tulips meet.
Don't squash my hopes and dreams,
Bee my honey, dear;
Or tears will fill potato's eyes,
While sweet corn lends an ear.
I'll cauliflower shop and say,
Your dreams are parsley mine.
I'll work and share my celery,
So be my valentine.

A Work of Art and a Human Statement

If you have a few minutes, watch this. You won't regret it. It is such an incredible work of art.

A Quick Joke

Woman goes into labor yells, “Shouldn’t! Wouldn’t! Couldn’t! Can’t!”

She was having contractions.

A Guy's Thesaurus

Okay, time for a little stereotyping and (possibly) a little truth. Whatcha think? How much truth is in this?
--------------------------------------------------


"IT'S A GUY THING" Translated: "There is no rational thought pattern connected with it, and you have no chance at all of making it logical."

"CAN I HELP WITH DINNER?" Translated: "Why isn't it already on the table?"

"UH HUH," "SURE, HONEY," OR "YES, DEAR" Translated: Absolutely nothing. It's a conditioned response.

"IT WOULD TAKE TOO LONG TO EXPLAIN" Translated: "I have no idea how it works."

"TAKE A BREAK, HONEY. YOU'RE WORKING TOO HARD." Translated: "I can't hear the game over the vacuum cleaner."

"THAT'S INTERESTING, DEAR." Translated: "Are you still talking?"

"YOU KNOW HOW BAD MY MEMORY IS." Translated: "I remember the theme song to 'F Troop,' the address of the first girl I ever kissed, and the vehicle identification number of every car I've ever owned... but I forgot your birthday."

"OH, DON'T FUSS -- I JUST CUT MYSELF. IT'S NO BIG DEAL." Translated: "I have actually severed a limb but will bleed to death before I admit that I'm hurt."

"HEY, I'VE GOT MY REASONS FOR WHAT I'M DOING." Translated: "And I sure hope I think of some pretty soon."

"I CAN'T FIND IT." Translated: "It didn't fall into my outstretched hands, so I'm completely clueless."

"WHAT DID I DO THIS TIME?" Translated: "What did you catch me at?"

"I HEARD YOU." Translated: "I haven't the foggiest clue what you just said and am hoping desperately that I can fake it well enough so that you don't spend the next three days yelling at me."

"YOU KNOW I COULD NEVER LOVE ANYONE ELSE." Translated: "I am used to the way you yell at me and realize it could be worse."

"YOU LOOK TERRIFIC." Translated: "Oh, please don't try on one more outfit. I'm starving."

"I'M NOT LOST. I KNOW EXACTLY WHERE WE ARE." Translated: "No one will ever see us alive again."

"WE SHARE THE HOUSEWORK." Translated: "I make the messes; she cleans them up."

Facing the Giants

No, this isn't another post about my little buddy's struggles with his size. It's about a movie with that same title. I went to Blockbuster yesterday and was looking at the back of the dvd when a guy standing next to me said. "You HAVE to rent that movie! In fact, I'm going to find out if I can buy it." And with that he walked away.

Here is what's on the back of the DVD:

"In his six years of coaching, Grant Taylor has never had a winning season. Even the hope of a new season is squelched when the best player on his Shiloh Eagles decides to transfer schools. After losing their first three games of the season, the coach discovers a group of fathers are plotting to have him fired. Combined with pressures at home, Coach Taylor has lost hope in his battle against fear and failure.
However, an unexpected challenge helps him find a purpose bigger than just victories. Daring to trust God to do the impossible, Coach Taylor and the Eagles discover how faith plays out on the field … and off."

Folks, I gotta tell you, and I'm not making it up. I laughed, I cried, I jumped up and down with joy. This movie was great entertainment and should be seen by all. Now let me say this: it's a movie about the Lord and the fact that with him, all things are possible. I'm not saying only believers will find this movie rewarding. I've seen high school and college football movies that were exciting because they usually involve a struggling coach or an under dog team coming back and winning a championship, so if you just watch the movie for the football, you'll be pleased, but the movie is about the Lord.

Now go out and rent it; you won't be disappointed. I'm going to Blockbuster right now to see if I could buy a copy.

Sometimes little guys have to stand up for themselves!

When you're small in size, sometimes people pick on you and it seems safer to just hide or play it safe:



But sometimes you have to take a stand, though, and stand up for yourself!



What's this all about, you ask? My youngest child, whom I usually refer to as my little man, is six years old but he's rather small in size. He disarms people by talking with such a varied vocabulary and very complete sentences because he looks like he's four years old. Cute kid, really. But smallness sometimes means people will try to pick on you or take advantage of you, and he has experienced this before.

Yesterday, my little man and I were playing Lego Star Wars on the Playstation when he says to me, "Dad, do you know why Yoda is my favorite character in Star Wars?" I asked why and he said, "because Yoda is smaller than me and yet he is the Best Master Yedi and can defend himself."

My heart broke for him at the thought of what he goes through because of his size. I remember childhood being a pretty tough time; people make fun of you, you have to try to be cool, lots of peer pressure, etc... But I wasn't small in size.

"I also like Yoda the best, buddy", I said. "And you know what? Being small has its advantages. You can go places where big people can't go and you hardly ever get hit on the head if someone leaves the kitchen cabinets opened."

He giggled and said, "watch out, Dad! There's some storm troopers coming!"

People, be nice to my little buddy. Eventually he'll become a Jedi Master and you'll wish he was your friend.

Recognition!

Wow! I just started this Blog so imagine my surprise when I was watching Wheel of Fortune last night:

Okay, okay. I cannot tell I lie, or some such thing. It's a word generator. (smile)

My Expresso Machine tried to Kill Me!!!

I'm serious! It did!

Let me tell you what happened. I went home for lunch yesterday because I had prepared some lunch to take to work with me, but somehow left it sitting on the counter. After eating, I decided a little Cuban Coffee would be nice; it's cold and I'm sleepy so a little concentrated hot caffeine would be rather nice. So I put some on and then I started doing the dishes, a few feet away from the machine, when suddenly I hear a loud explosion and hot liquid on my back. Thank goodness I was wearing a thick sweater because it's cold. I turned around and the expresso machine literally threw up, barfed all over my kitchen, the ceiling, everywhere!

My poor white sweater was now the colour of coffee, but thankfully, I wasn't burned. I threw away my expresso machine, though, so if anyone has an expresso machine sitting around collecting dust, can I give you my address? It would be a shameful waste to let my can of Cafe Bustelo coffee get stale, after all, there are sleepy children in Africa...

A Joke, Anyone?

A Polish immigrant went to the DMV to apply for a driver's license. First, of course, he had to take an Eye sight test. The optician showed him a card with the letters:

'C Z W I X N O S T A C Z.'

"Can you read this?" the optician asked.

"Read it?" the Polish guy replied, "I know the guy."

Mad World

A long time ago in an altogether different blog, I put up this wonderful video of Michael Andrews singing "Mad World." It's a beautiful, yet sad song, but what struck me the most was the "choreography" found in the video.



Why am I bringing this up again? Well, because it's amazing just how creative people can be and how they can look at things differently and make new art with the same thing. Kind of like music: there are only 12 tones in a Western Musical scale and yet we can make an infinite variety of songs with it. Or like our alphabet...

Check this interpretation out, all done with emoticons!



I thought it was cool!

Superbowl - The Day After

You know what? Prince didn't do a bad job at all. He can bring the house down!



Yeah, it's just a little part of the show, but I didn't think you'd want to sit through all 12 minutes. If you do, though, go here.


Except for that thing on his head, there didn't seem to be any equipment malfunctions. (I understand the need to protect the doo in the rain, though.)

How about them commercials? My favorite was the Blockbuster one with the mouse.



What was your favorite?

The Superbowl!

It's finally here! So what do you actually watch it for? The actual GAME? Does somebody actually watch it for the game? I suppose there are a few of us left, but you know, the entertainment with "equipment malfunctions" (wink wink) and the commercials usually do promise to provide some decent entertainment.

Who's doing the half time show this year? If you don't already know, it's Prince, the dude formerly know as, well, heck, I don't know, but he's back to Prince now.



Hopefully there won't be any equipment malfunctions because I don't really want to see his but cheeks or any other nasty part.

Who are you going for? I'm having a hard time with this one because I live in Tennessee and I do like the Colts and Manning, but I also lived in Chicago a few years, back during the Refridgerator Perry days, and the Bears hold a special place with me.

I don't know yet....

Here are a few good Superbowl jokes:

POST GAME PARTY



After the big Super Bowl party, Doug figured he better spend some quality time with his wife. He climbs upstairs, walks in the bedroom and crawls into bed.

"Alright honey," he says, "Give me a play you want me to run."

"How about foreplay?" his wife replies.

"What's the foreplay?" says Doug.

"You know," the wife says, "It happens before the two minute warning."



ANIMAL SUPER BOWL



During the Super Bowl, there was another football game of note between the big animals and the little animals. The big animals were crushing little animals and at half-time, the coach made a passionate speech to rally the little animals.

At the start of the second half the big animals had the ball. The first play, the elephant got stopped for no gain. The second play, the rhino was stopped for no gain. On third down, the hippo was thrown for a 5 yard loss.

The defense huddled around the coach and he asked excitedly, "Who stopped the elephant?"

"I did," said the centipede.

"Who stopped the rhino?"

"Uh, that was me too," said the centipede.

"And how about the hippo? Who hit him for a 5 yard loss?"

"Well, that was me as well," said the centipede.

"So where were you during the first half?" demanded the coach.

"Well," said the centipede, "I was having my ankles taped."

--------

Have a good time with family and friends, then come back and tell me all about it!

To Be or Not To Be?

I've chosen to continue being a Blogger.

Hello everybody! Yes, it's me again and I had a choice to continue blogging or not and I've chosen to continue. It probably makes no sense that I discontinued my last blog, just to start again, but there were good, legitimate (and legal) reasons.

So how is this blog going to be any different than my last one? Well, I have to make it slightly less personal. Well, actually, it's a little more than slightly since what I need to do less of is talk about the most important thing in my life: my children. I hope everyone will understand.

But this NEW blog is about new beginnings so I'm not going to dwell on anything but New Beginnings. I will continue the tradition of finding new, exciting, or interesting things that will hopefully do a number of things: brighten your day, cheer you up, reflect on stuff, etc... I'm hoping to make it more personal somehow, though I'm not sure how yet.

Let's get it started!

What would you get if you were to clone six Bobby McFerrins and have them all sing together?

You would get this:

I love showcasing talent and this is absolutely amazing. This is a group called "Vocal Sampling." Have you heard of them? They are an acappela group comprised of six Cuban guys who play all kinds of music, making the sounds of an entire band or orchestra, a la Bobby McFerrin! They are astoundingly talented!

Here's their rendition of "Hotel California" and if you close your eyes, you'll hear guitars, durms, synths, etc...



Check out this "vocal" drum solo!



Makes my mouth tired just hearing it! You really ought to go out and buy their cd! Watching the live YouTube feed shows how amazing they are, but it doesn't do them justice until you hear a cd recording of them. Until you do, however, do yourself a favor and go to youtube and watch them do their thing because there are tons of clips of them.

So there's my first post in my new blog. Wow! That was actually exciting... Please help me a little by reminding me of who I need to put in my link list that was there before, or heck, let me know me of any cool new places while you're at it.

Oh, If anybody asks where I am, could you let 'em know? Thanks!