Belated News

Yes, it's true. Just as everyone has suspected....

(hah! made your heart skip a beat, huh?!)

The alumni of Patrick Henry College are definitely superior to the current students. Or something like that.

In an athletic exercise that proved we are too old to be doing these kinds of things, about 14 alumni took on about 35 students in a game of tackle football. And yes, the school made us sign waivers, considering it was played on their property.

The first half saw little offensive action, except for a big play for each side. There were a few turnovers for each side as well, which made it fun.

[Did I mention we had refs, chains, and even mouthguards!]

In the second half, the alums took the lead, only to see it vanish again. With the alums again holding a one touchdown lead, the students began a drive and got down to about the 1 yard line (due to a bad pass interference call by the backjudge). The amazing alum front line held up and on 2nd and Goal, Mark L. stripped the ball out of the running back's arms and Aaron C. pounced on it like a Marine on a...well, whatever a Marine would pounce upon in the line of duty.

Anyway, that basically sealed the game.

Yours truly threw for 2 TDs, caught one interception, threw one interception (it was on fourth down, so just as good as a punt), and escaped major injury.

Props to the front line: Mike H., Jimson, Mark L., and John K. They fought on both sides of the ball for a full hour and won the game for us.

Oh, and the real game ball goes to: The other team, for letting Jesse Brown play - he's not really an alum, but he is a former student and good pal. Jesse ran for a touchdown, caught a touchdown, and laid some hits on the other team that just makes you hurt down deep.

Baking Soda + Vinegar

Q: What do you get when you combine rivalries, human nature, and a few sticks of dynamite??

A: Feuding Miners

Sign of Smart Thinking

Apple Computer thinks of everything.

I pressed the button to begin a videoconference with my family today, and lo 'n behold - iTunes (which had been playing in the background) automatically paused itself. Think about it. Of course you don't want music playing during a video chat. How smart to integrate the programs so well that one thinks for the other.

Another reason I like the Mac OS.

It's all worth it when...

...you walk in the door and get a big smile from your little girl. =)

PhotoBooth

What I received during work yesterday...

"I love you, Daddy!"

I know this guy!!

Matthew went to PHC and was a class behind me. They didn't say this on the show, but he scored a perfect 1600 on his SAT. Makes a little more sense now, eh?

Wheel of Fortune Contestant

Crunch time for Santorum

I thought this was a very insightful column.

Link

Oh yeah- Beach pictures

I forgot to post the link to our pictures from the beach. So, here it is.

Don't you hate when...

...you print a lot of copies of something, only to find a typo or realize it was the wrong document? I feel really bad, like I'm wasting money.

But then I get some weird sort of satisfaction knowing that I'm recycling what I've wasted- like it's okay that I just blew off 25 descendants of a former tree.

Thanks for asking

My astute sister asked a good question: What did I mean when I said that soccer is really called football?

I started wondering where the term "soccer" actually came from. So, thanks to trusty ol' wikipedia and a little thing called "Wikiality" - I now have the answer.

What American Sports Need

What makes European soccer (okay, it's "football," but I'm using soccer to avoid any confusion), and probably all European sports, so wonderful is a dreaded term called "relegation."

For ease of discussion, I'll use English soccer as an example. There's a "top-flight" division called the Premiership. It's the best. Major Leagues. #1. If you play in the Premiership, you're one of the best.

BUT- what happens if you end up at the bottom of the league? Out of 20 teams, if your team is one of the bottom 3 - you get "relegated." Dropped. Gone. You stink once again. No longer do you play in the Premiership, you play in the League Championship - or, in other words, second best. Almost the majors. And we have a term for that - minor league.

On the flip side, if you play in the League Championship, and you finish in the top three - yep, you guessed it - you get to move UP to the Premiership. Your team always has the chance to make it to the big time. You may only stay one year, but you get to play against the big boys: ManUtd, Arsenal, Chelsea, Liverpool, Newcastle, ....

So why do I make such a big deal about this? Because the Kansas City Royals would have a reason to play to win. Right now (maybe a bad example, since the season's almost over, but anyway), right now, they and Tampa Bay are the two worst teams in Major League Baseball. They're horrible. In fact, I often forget that Tampa Bay has a baseball team (they once had Fred McGriff, and that's like the only Devil Ray I could name).

At this point, why should Tampa Bay care whether they win or lose? Why should the Royals play hard when the season is a lost cause? Do fans actually go to baseball games in these towns? However, if they face the possibility of being dropped from the Majors, I think they'd keep fighting. They'd try to be 4th-worst, not THE worst.

Moreover, you'd have a continual change in those teams that stink. You wouldn't have to put up with the Devil Rays every year. Once they're gone, the next year you get to play the champions of the second-division (if there were one). So while they may not be on par with the Yankees, for example, they might at least be better than those horrible Devil Rays and Royals.

You may say to yourself- but Mr. Davis, if your plan were implemented, we might not get to see the revival of such teams as the Tigers and Marlins (to a lesser degree, who seem to vascillate between World Champions and bottom rung at the turn of the tide). The Tigers, for example, had a measely winning percentage of .265 back in 2003- they only won 43 games that year- they've more than doubled that this year. They would be stuck in the "minors" if you're plan were in place. Well, maybe. But it also means that you must fight for the right to play.

No more mediocre sports. Make every game worthwhile. That's why I watch the Premiership. That's why soccer is the best sport in the world.

He can fly

Here's the video I mentioned before. Apparently, they're speaking Czech.

For the Swamster

I was going to comment on your page, but I'm not a team member...hmmmm....

What I was going to say is that I think FSU might lose every game the rest of this season. Say what you want about Drew Weatherford (yes, he's only a Sophomore), but I think it all comes down to the offensive scheme. Could they be any worse than they are now??

Bobby may think his son is doing a great job, but I think Jeffy needs to go sooner rather than later....

Emus on the Elevator

As if "Snakes on a Plane" weren't bad enough, check out the two sequels...

(Be sure to click the image to see it full size.)

 

  

Think past the immediate

Have you seen that great commercial where this guy in Europe (Italy?) has made wings and is standing on the bridge over a river, ready to see if he can fly? The whole town is coming out to watch (the priest on his bike), and he's ready to go. [Very dramatic violin in the background.]

He finally takes the plunge, and swoops down, and.... HE FLIES!!! It's great. The crowd goes nuts: "He can fly! He can fly!" And then some old curmudgeon has to state the obvious: "But he can't swim..."

At that point, you see the man and his wings obligingly glide into the water. Very ironic indeed.

If I find a link to it on YouTube or GoogleVideo, I'll send it over....

PTL, Take 2

Ang's pathology report came back- the mass was a "schwannoma" and was deemed benign. Good news.

Also, she had the drain taken out today, which is a great relief, and the incision seems to be healing well.

We're very blessed and grateful for the Lord's kindness towards us (not saying that His kindness is only shown in health and healing, but I think you understand).

Monkey-ish-ness

I'm sitting here watching the most boring game in the history of Monday Night Football (3-0 after 3 qtrs), so I thought I'd tell you about us cleaning out the dryer pipe (for lack of a better word).

We live in a townhouse (duh) and our dryer is on the top (3rd) floor. Because of its location, the house designer decided it was easiest for the dryer to exhaust through the roof- meaning that's where the lint goes out.

For a long time now, our dryer has had a hard time drying clothes. We thought there was some lint clogged up, so when my dad was in town, we bought a 10' 3/4" PVC pipe and a little cloth duster thing. The thought being, if there's lint stuck up in the pipe, we can stick that duster up and try to get the lint to fall down. That worked for a bit, but didn't solve the problem.

With my father-in-law in town, we decided to tackle it head-on. He and I went in the attic and detached the pipe from where it comes up through the attic floor. We were able to see a lot of lint stuck in the pipe leading to the roof, so we cleaned out lots and lots of lint.

However, having a gut feeling that there was more to be done, I decided to start climbing around and made it all the way up to the underside of the roof.


We pulled the pipe from off the connector that is attached to the roof, and I was able to stick my hand up and feel the screen that keeps birds from coming in from the outside. And what did I find, but the entire screen was plastered with old, stiff lint. I spent about 10 minutes pulling all the old lint off, clearing the path for new air to cleanly pass through.

What an ordeal. But, we should be drying in quick-drying bliss for the next few months, at least.

Recovery

Today I'm part husband, part dad, part legislative aide to the most courageous member of the Board of Supervisors in the fastest growing and richest County in the nation (whew!), and part handyman. Each one has its place:

Husband: Angela is recovering well. She's very tired, and she's now starting to feel some discomfort in her neck. All to be expected. She rests well, and said she misses being able to hug me for real (right now it's a "cautious hug"- kinda like when you barely know someone). She's the sweetest thing, even when she has a hole in her next with a tube hanging out, and has had a nerve clipped.

Dad: Amelia is taking it all in stride. We've been feeding her bottles of stored breastmilk for the last few days. Angela is just now starting to nurse her again, and that's going well. We have to protect the drain so Amelia doesn't accidentally grab it, but so far so good. This has made me appreciate Ang all the more, as I've been the one getting up at 3 and 6 am to feed the baby. Oh for when Angela is feeling better. (shame, shame!)

LA: I've been e-mailing and calling folks from home today, while not on Husband or Dad duty. It was actually pretty busy this morning, and tomorrow is a Business Meeting, with a late night worksession on Wednesday. Back in the swing of things.

Handyman: Our dryer has not been drying well. When my dad was in town, we cleaned out some lint and thought we had fix'd it. Not so, bro. While Dad and I laid the foundation for the solution, my father-in-law and I put the finishing touches on the job. We crawled up in the attic, took apart the lowest elbow of the dryer vent (which goes out through the roof), and have cleaned out bunches of lint stuck between the attic floor and the roof. This will revolutionize our drying experiences. We're not quite finished, but the post-surgical wife is sleeping, and the only attic access is in our walk-in closet.

So, a simple day in the life of me. =)

Quote of the Day

"Two times ain't no hill for a climber."

I'll leave the interpretation up to you.

Praise the Lord

Dear All-

Thanks for your prayers today. Angela's surgery went very well. The surgeon (Dr. Prasad) was great and was very pleased with the surgery. The mass was fully contained and came out relatively easily.

Angela is home resting and doing well (although the 45 minute ride along the Beltway/Toll Road home didn't sit well with her queasy stomach).

We are blessed beyond belief and thank you again for your prayers and kind notes. As Angela was wheeled into the OR, I was trying to think of a good verse to keep in my mind during the surgery and waiting period. The verse/song that came to mind is from a Sovereign Grace (formerly PDI) song:

O Lord You have searched me
And You know my ways
You perceive all my thoughts from afar
Your hand is upon me wherever I go
Before I form each word You already know

Chorus:
If I rise on the wings of the dawn, You are there
If I rest on the far side of the sea
Your love hems me in both behind and before
You have laid Your hand upon me
You have laid Your hand upon me

Where can I flee from Your presence O Lord
If I sleep in the depths You are there
Your day will consume all the shadows of night
The dark cannot hide from Your brilliant light

The chorus is a very comforting, peaceful reminder of God's love and faithfulness, and that He holds us in His hand wherever we are (including the OR, or the waiting room, for that matter).

Two notes: 1) We totally forgot the MRI films for the surgery today. I happened to see someone walking down the hall with films in their hand about 30 minutes before the scheduled surgery time. I gave a quick call to the surgeon's office, who then called the Radiology place and had them start printing the films. I quickly made my way down the street (not far, thankfully) and picked them up, so we were only a few minutes late (could have been real bad).

2) The staff at Suburban Hospital in Bethesda were super-nice and friendly. We couldn't have asked for a better experience. And as I said before, Dr. Prasad (and his staff) are very helpful, super-competent, and very assuring.

More updates to come (and no, Angela is not going to the shower tomorrow....)

Prayer Request

Please pray for us this week, and especially for Angela. She will be
having surgery on Friday morning at 11.

In a nutshell, she has a soft tissue mass in her neck, close to her
coroted artery (its official title is a Sympathetic Chain Schwanoma).
She is having it removed before it causes any problems.

While its location gives cause for concern, the surgery is relatively
minor. Nonetheless, we are a bit nervous as the day approaches.

Please pray: 1) for wisdom and steadiness of hand for the surgeon (Dr.
Prasad) who will perform the surgery; 2) for strength for Angela's
body during the surgery and for a healthy and speedy recovery; 3) that
they mass will not rupture during removal and will be completely
removed; and 4) anything else you'd like to pray for.

We will keep you updated....

Why I Love the South

We just returned from a nice week at the beach. One of the highlights
of my time in Savannah was seeing this sign on a small, sandy alley on
Tybee Island: "No Thru Fare".

I can only imagine they really meant one of three things- 1) "No Thru
Traffic"; 2) "Not a Thoroughfare"; or perhaps the most creative 3) "No
Thru Fare" actually means what it says- they won't charge you to drive
on their little strip of roadway.

Regardless of the intent, the sign was enough to make me chuckle.

You could say that again...

"An irony of Loudoun is that its residents, in choosing to move here, are helping eliminate the qualities that drew them."

Link

"A Freakish Accident"

http://sports.espn.go.com/sports/news/story?id=2572539

powered by performancing firefox

I love Bluetooth

I had a conundrum. Old cell phone- all my contacts. New cell phone- nada contacts.

I found the USB cable for the old cell, and synced up my contacts to my Mac. Then, I turned on Bluetooth on my RAZR V3m, hit "pair" on the computer, and they synced up like a charm.

Wow.

Traffic

Do you ever purposefully listen to the traffic reports, just to remind yourself how thankful you are that you don't have to drive in that kind of traffic? Yeah, kinda sick, huh? But those poor, poor people driving down I-95; they have to deal with it every day....

Driving Cross-Country

Props to Uncle Lamar for his fear of flying, but more importantly for his love of America and its beauty, which resulted in a wonderful "Great Western Adventure" some 8 years ago. For a blast to the past, check out my website dedicated to it (click the link on the left that says "Our Trip"). You will note that some pictures are missing- that is to protect the innocent and internet-sensitive members of our family. And remember, this website was created 8 years ago- it's very basic. =)

But, the reason I posted this in the first place was an article from today's Wall Street Journal. See below.

See America First
Cross-country trips have a long and storied history. Why not continue the tradition?

Read More...

Uncommon Apology (of sorts)

"It turns out that the person who exposed CIA agent Valerie Plame was not out to punish her husband."

http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/08/31/AR2006083101460_pf.html

Ooops

This is funny:

"But it [Lockheed Martin] was blamed for the 1999 disappearance of the Mars Climate Orbiter, which vanished into space or burned up in the Mars atmosphere after Lockheed engineers incorrectly programmed it using English rather than metric units."

You think for rocket scientists, they'd know better....

Addendum

Did anyone stay up until 12:45 (EDT) to watch Agassi's 5-set marathon against Marcos Bagdhatis (sp?). It was an amazing match. Just proves my point (and James' comment from below).

I wouldn't have usually been up that late, but my Fantasy Football draft didn't start until 10:30pm, so it worked out well.

US Open

Does anyone else think that men's tennis is one of the greatest sports to watch on TV??

It makes me want to run out and just hit the tar out of the tennis ball. Unfortunately, when I get on the court, my grand designs take second place to my ineptitude.

Happy is a Yuppie Word

Okay, so I must not have the best hearing in the world. At the Switchfoot concert we went to a few weeks ago, they sang this song, "Happy is a Yuppie Word." Great song. Regrettably, I couldn't understand most of the words during the concert (*no comments, Daddy-o*).

I can't remember right now what I thought they were singing, but it was pretty funny compared to the real words. Remarkably, Angela knew exactly what they were saying.

Nonetheless, there was another song they sang, where the guy kept singing, "I'm standing on the edge..." and he was on the edge of the stage. I was wondering if the song was some weird ballad about almost committing suicide. My mind was a bit fuzzy.

Well, now, I wish I had really listened to their albums before going to the concert. The song is "On Fire" and is a beautiful, almost modern-day hymn of being on fire when God speaks to you, searching the mysteries of God. Now that I've listened (and looked up the words), he's singing, "I'm standing on the edge of me." As in, I'm getting past myself, giving myself up, and I'm burning to understand the mystery of God and who He is. Or, it could be taken to mean, I'm standing on the edge of new horizons, of everything I can be in Christ, those things I've never been but are now possible.

Here are part of the lyrics:

I'm standing on the edge of me
I'm standing on the edge of everything I've never been before.
And i've been standing on the edge of me
Standing on the edge

And I'm on fire
When You're near me
I'm on fire
When You speak
(Yea) I'm on fire
Burning at these mysteries... these mysteries... these mysteries
Ah you're the mystery
You're the mystery


I think you need to just listen to the song. It's one of my new favorites. Another one is coming soon.

Wild, Wild Card

Typically around this time in the baseball season, the Yanks and Red Sox are fighting it out for the top of the AL East, with the loser taking the Wild Card spot in the playoffs. But things are different this year.

Not only is the fight in the AL Central, but it's between 3 teams, not 2. You've got the "Where did THEY come from" Tigers leading the division by 5 games. The reigning World Champs White Sox are 5 games back, and the resurgent Twins are 5 1/2 back (1/2 game behind the Sox). Now, we've often seen division races that are close between multiple teams, but that's when those teams are around .500.

The Tigers, Sox, and Twins all have records about .580, better than the division leaders in the AL West, NL Central, and NL West. Three teams- incredible records- fighting for the AL Central title, with the 2nd place likely getting the Wild Card, and 3rd place left high and dry.

31 games left in the season. It should be fun.

Honk Honk

I'm not one to utilize the horn on my car very often. My preferred method of displaying dissatisfaction with the driver in front of me is to shine my brights in his rearview mirror. It's more subtle (aurally) and yet typically quite effective (visually)- especially when it's dark. And, it focuses the direction of the complaint upon the one causing the infraction (instead of 13 different people wondering if they were being honked at).

So, I'm fresh from picking up Ang and Mia from the airport, and we decide to hit Macaroni Grill for a nice little "welcome home!" dinner. I'm waiting at a stop light, in the right-hand lane of dual-left turn lanes. Once I turn left, I need to make an almost immediate right into the restaurant park. Our arrows turn green, so I begin my turn. Remember- I'm happily conversing with Ang about her cross-country (almost) ventures.

Imagine my surprise...dismay...complete angst (!!) when halfway through my turn, a huge, white-paneled van comes from my right and is also making a left-hand turn. He came from the "straight" lanes and butts his way into my turn lane. Out of nowhere. With no regard for the oncoming turning traffic, nor for me and my precious cargo.

So I let him have it. Horn blasted for about 2 seconds. Then, after recalling my "complete angst" once again, I lay on the horn for another 2 or 3 seconds. Literally, he came out of my blind spot and just turned right in front of me. What made it worse was his New Jersey tags (nothing against you's guys from Jersey, but you have a reputation - b/c you live near NY, supposedly).

Now he's in front of me. And the right-turn lane comes, and I get in it. He doesn't. I start to say, "If he even thinks of..." and before the words finish, he CUTS IN FRONT OF ME AGAIN!!! This time, ignoring the right turn lane and turning from the travel lane.

And boy, did I let him have it. For like 5 or 6 seconds, I just held my horn down.

Excessive? Yes. Required and justified? Definitely.

Quote of the Year

You just have to laugh when you read this:

"People were probably wondering: 'If they take away Pluto, is Rhode Island next?' "
--Richard Binzel of MIT

Ahh, the little ones always get picked on, don't they??

Canal-ed

Yes, it's official. I have now undergone my first root canal. Contrary to popular opinion, it really wasn't all that bad. The worst part is that it was my very farthest back tooth, so my jaw hurt like the dickens.

**WARNING- Graphic Details of Operation Below**

Besides the jaw issue, I thought the process was really cool. He basically took a tool and I guess ground off the top part of my tooth (yeah, it smelled). Once the canals were accessible, he had all these little needles - about 1 or 1 1/2 inches in length - that he'd basically move up and down in the canal - in a sense, scrubbing it clean. Imagine how you'd take a bottle brush (to use a very pertinent analogy) and move it up and down in the bottle. Same idea.

I have some seriously long roots, by the way. The before and after comparison is quite interesting, as the new "filling" (some rubber material) shows up really well on the X-Ray. So, after much scrubbing, he then took these cool little white things (maybe the composite) and stuck them down in the canals. Those were then followed by some reddish looking mini-toothpicks (there's no better way to describe it).

The best part was, after shoving like 5 of those red things in each canal, he then had is assistant fire up some kind of bunson burner, at which time the Doc would heat up his tool and hold it on the top of the red things, which would then stick to the tool and come out. Pretty wild.

Oh, and while he was doing all the digging in my canals, he had some machine that would beep- supposedly telling him if there's any gunk left in there. At one point, I thought he was done digging around, until he tried to shove the white things in, which wouldn't go in one hole. So he had to do some more digging.

But, I'm none the worse for wear. Just ate some grits, and Ang is making me some Jello jigglers. And I'm starting to feel my tongue and lips again.

Next comes the crown, sometime in September.

The new minority...

...take a guess. It's:

MEN!!

Just heard that one study anticipates that 60% of America's wealth in 2010 will be held by women. So my question is, when will the gov't start instituting programs to ensure that men maintain the ability be wealthy?

While that is partly in jest, it does raise a good question. How do the courts define equality? What happens if a minority (whether race, nationality, gender, etc) becomes a majority? Does the former majority class now get minority status? Does it swing back and forth until it is split 50/50 (or whatever the appropriate breakdown is)?

Me, Myself, and ..... Us??

Today's fortune cookie (thanks to China King):

"There is a true and sincere friendship between you both."

I'm still trying to figure out who it's talking about. Me and the lotto numbers?

Batting .714 ...

...wouldn't be so bad for a baseball player.

But in my case, it's the percentage of days last week that I was at Dulles Airport. For the mathematically challenged, that's 5 out of 7 days.

Quick run-down (hey, another baseball metaphor!):

Monday (the 7th)- due to weather and mechanical, Ang's flight is delayed interminably. I also made a wasted trip back to the airport later that evening, hoping to get her bags back (but they went on to MEM).

Tuesday (the 8th)- Ang and Mia back to Dulles, make the flight fine and connect to Memphis

Friday (the 11th- day after British foiled terror plot)- I arrive at IAD almost 2 hours early, only to find my plane delayed 90 minutes (it's 11:30am, and the flight now doesn't leave until 2:30pm). I stick around until 2:45pm, at which time my 1:11pm departure still had not left (the plane hadn't come in from ATL yet), and things were looking bad.

Sat (the 12th)- Arrive at airport at 4:45am, make my flight and connection to Memphis

Sun (the 13th)- Depart Mem for ATL, leave secure area to hang with my folks for 45 minutes, leave for IAD while Ang and Mia stay in ATL with my folks. And I barely made that flight (3rd from last person to get on).

All in all, I went through security 6 times (twice in Sunday), and probably spent about 13 hours in airports, over those 5 days.

Outtakes

These are some of my favorite "not-so-frameable" pictures.

"But I'm tired of smiling..."

"So, I'll just stick my tongue out instead..."

Mother Theresa in training

I actually did frame this one- it's in the basement (my sports room)

Where's Daddy?

I'm supposed to be landing in Memphis right now. But, due to storms in ATL last night that caused flight delays, thus causing crews to need additional hours this morning for rest (it's an FAA reg), thus causing delays today, my 1:11pm departure took off at 4:07pm today. I gave up about 2:30, when the it was clear that the 2:30 departure wasn't going to leave until 6pm or later.

Oh, and this wasn't related to the new security measures. In fact, security at Dulles was a breeze today. Better than I've ever seen it.

Maybe I'll make it in the morning to see my two beautiful girls.

Multilateralism

"The U.S. and France said Friday they have agreed on the text of a deal to end fighting between Israel and Hezbollah. As Israeli forces massed along its border with Lebanon, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Mark Regev told AP that Israel was still open to a negotiated solution. CNN understands the deal would create a 400-square-mile zone from which Hezbollah militia would be excluded." (link)

I think the fact that the US and France agreed on anything is more amazing than the fact that Israel and Hezbollah could come to a cease-fire.

Oh yeah, and isn't it funny how the US and France have decided how best to end the fighting b/t Isreal and the terrorists? It's kinda like some random adults you don't even know coming up to your soccer game as a kid, and telling the two teams how they can agree to tie.

Deja vu, all over again....

Remember my blog a while back about our difficulties flying back from Memphis on United Airlines?

Well, consider this part deux - except on Delta.

Ang and Mia were headed to Memphis yesterday, and we dutifully showed up early. I was able to get a TSA Security Pass to help Ang through security and to the gate.

And so there we sat. And sat. First, it was a minor mechanical. Then, a monstrouse thunderstorm with serious lightning. Read: ramp shut down, can't fix the maintenance issue. Storm stops, supposedly fix the problem, and plane boards.

Now, at this point, it's about 6:15pm (for a 4:30pm departure). Ang's connection is 8:15pm in Atlanta, so we're getting a bit concerned. In the mean time, the 5:3opm departure is also boarding, and it turns out they push back from the gate first.

Being the good pilot's son, I decide to wait at the gate until the plane pushes back, just to make sure there aren't problems.

Well, problems there were. Some "other" issue popped up, so they deplaned. While 140 people lined up at the counter to get rebooked on other flights, I quickly asked a gate agent if we could just get Ang's bags and go on home (she was flying standby, and there was no way she'd get to ATL, much less MEM). The gate agent told us to see the baggage services, ask them to recall the bags, and we'd be set.

So, off we head to baggage claim, do our duty, and we decide to bring Ang and Mia home and I'll go back to the airport to fetch the bags.

To keep a long story from getting longer, the bags were sent to ATL (and subsequently on to MEM), so we were without her stuff last night. Thankfully, today's flights were wide open, no storms, and no mechanical issues. And Ang and Mia are happily in Memphis.

Whew.....

Get off it, Eric Wynalda!

Did you happen to see the MLS All-Stars take on EPL powerhouse (and yours truly's fav team) Chelsea??

Nice little "friendly" match, a simple preseason warm-up for our friends from across the big pond.

But, blasted Eric Wynalda couldn't keep talking about how the MLS players were really stepping up against the $200 million team, how you'd expect a lot more from a $200 million team, how even though it's preseason they should have scored a goal, BLAH BLAH BLAH! He couldn't let go of the fact that Chelsea is good, the players cost a lot of money, and they might not have been in top form.

Eric- get off it! They've been practicing as a team for a week. ONE WEEK! The MLS stars are in the middle of their season, fully fit, half the team was from DC United, which has lost something like two (!!) games all year (out of 22 played)!!

You think the Chelsea guys are going to approach this like a ManU match, or Liverpool, Arsenal, etc.???

It's like watching the Redskins scrimmage the Ravens- are we going to criticize either team for playing poorly and mainly with backups??

I guess I wouldn't have minded him bringing it up once or twice, but that was the theme of the commentary, and it really got old.

Obligatory Sunday Blog

For my favorite fan out in KC, I figured I'd have to write something so he wouldn't be bored at work on Monday morning.

So, I started thinking- you know, having a baby is a really good ice-breaker. Anyone can just walk up to you, say, "What an adorable baby!" and a conversation has started.

Now, we don't often walk up to people and say, "Don't you think our baby is adorable!" and a new friendship has blossomed. But, people aren't shy to come up to us.

In fact, at a picnic we attended yesterday, we couldn't keep a 4-year old named Betsy away from 'Mia. I'm not implying she was our only company (that would have made the entire post pointless), but she was persistent: grabbing 'Mia's legs, pulling out her pacifier, putting hands to her face, etc... It was a mess.

But, other than li'l Betsy, we met some good folk, much to Amelia's credit.

Delta

Delta Files to Cancel Pilots' Pension Plan

Ouch....

Gforce blackout - model of bravery

Don't try this at home.

Bring your own sand...

So, who wants to go to the beach?

Hangin' by a thread

Amelia has some exciting news to share.....

["Hey everyone! Guess what? Mommy and Daddy have made an entire wall ...

...all about ME!"]

Yes, it's true. This wall has been bare since the day we moved in, and after getting some professional photos taken by our super-great next door neighbor, we printed them up, framed them, and hung them on the wall. I'm very happy with the outcome (it's hard to get a good perspective from this picture). 

Perching

My dad used to tell us about his college days at Georgia Tech (limited though they were), where he would head up to the top of the football stadium seats and just "perch." Sit high and ponder. Maybe he'd study, maybe he'd just stare. But nothing could beat being up high.

That's why I love my office. Sure, it's only Leesburg, and sure, it's only 5 stories tall. But I'm on top, have a huge window, and I can just watch all the little goings-ons down below.

Maybe that's why I also don't mind living in a 3-story townhouse.

"You can't Big Dig yourself out of a hole."

http://www.opinionjournal.com/cc/?id=110008742

Think of what Loudoun County could do with $14.7 BILLION ...

You've been pink-ed...

AOL to cut 5,000 workers

CEO Jon Miller says 26 percent of employees unlikely to be employed within six months.
August 3 2006: 12:36 PM EDT

NEW YORK (Reuters) -- Time Warner Inc.'s AOL online division said Thursday about 5,000, or about 26 percent of its 19,000 employees, will not be employed by the company within six months as a result of its restructuring.

"At a company meeting this morning, Jon Miller (AOL CEO) told AOL's worldwide work force of 19,000 people that within six months, it was likely that around 5,000 employees would no longer be with the company," the company said in a statement.
 
AOL, which is in the process of selling its European Internet access business, employs about 3,000 employees in its access business in Europe, one source said.

Time Warner (Charts) is also the parent company of CNNMoney.com

http://money.cnn.com/2006/08/03/technology/aol_layoff.reut/index.htm

My tennis star!!

'Mia's 2-month check-up:

Weight- 10 lbs., 25% percentile
Height- 23 inches, 75% percentile
Head- 14 3/4 inches, 15% percentile

Watch out, Maria Sharapova!!

All in a day's work

"County Government Center evacuated due to bomb threat. Will not reopen for business today. May reopen on a "non-business" status later today after building is secured."

And to think, I was 10 minutes from having my massive mailing ready to send. Oh well, there's always tomorrow.

Good or Bad?

Soriano stays with the Nats. Good or bad? My opinion comes later.

See story/Boswell's opinion: Nats Make Right Move

I need a gun

Low recoil Baretta

Watch the video. Need I say more?

Watching and Waiting

Part of my duties at work today is making 420 double-sided copies for a mailing. The duplexer on the copier has decided to give me fits, so I'm babysitting it.

Thought you'd appreciate an introspective look into my life.

Hack-ed

As part of renewing our 2 yr contract with Verizon, our Wireless provider, Ang and I updgraded to new phones- the Motorola RAZR V3m. Ang got pink, I got silver.

Well, as with most Verizon phones, they decide to disable a number of features that are available under most other CDMA carriers.

So leave it to the power of the internet to find all the information you need to bring your phone back to a fully-functional device. With a bit of trepidation, I ventured into this realm, and the results have been amazing.

Hacks:
1) Enable the "Vibe & Ring" function, which was noticeably missing
2) Disable (replace) startup and shutdown VCAST animations (simply annoying)
3) Replace startup and shutdown sounds (which were too long and loud and annoying)
4) Change banner that says "Verizon Wireless" to say "Danny Davis" on inside and outside of phone
5) Change picture that shows up on outside LCD when the flip is open.

It no longer feels like one big advertisement for Verizon, but instead it is my phone, with my photos, my name, sounds, etc etc. Here's to hexadecimal bit editing.

Soccer

Yes, the World Cup is over. But, it's almost August, which means the English Premier League (EPL) starts in less than a month!!

Call me a bandwagon jumper-on-er, but I've enjoyed watching and following Chelsea, the champion of the EPL the last two years. There is an amazing dominance in their play and a real sense of team, even though it is built of super-stars.

Give all the credit to Jose Mourinho, the Portugese manager of Chelsea. He must have some amazing skills and leadership qualities, b/c his team is stout.

This year, they're adding two more superstars- German Michael Ballack and Ukrainian Andriy Shevchenko. People have speculated that Ballack and current midfielder, scoring machine Frank Lampard will have troubles sharing the midfield together. Let's see how they handle it and share the wealth of goal opportunities.

So, the point of this post is not to bore you about soccer- it's to set the stage for today's Davis family story.

For our anniverary, Angela decided she wanted to get me a soccer jersey. I currently have one (David Beckham's England National Team jersey), and I've thought for a while about getting a Chelsea jersey (for about a year, now). Once Angela gave me the go ahead (and blank check!), I decided to start looking around.

The three most popular EPL teams - Chelsea, Manchester United, and Arsenal - all changed either sponsors or jersey styles (or both) for 2006/07. Which to buy??

I immediately ruled out Man Utd. The new sponsor's logo isn't really cool (it's AIG), and what player's jersey would I choose??

I then checked out Arsenal's new jersey. Drooooolll..... Wow, it's sweet looking.

I'm becoming a fan of Thierry Henry, the French star who plays for Arsenal. He is quite a finisher, and he plays much better with Arsenal than he did with the French team in the WC.

It's also a new phase in Arsenal's storied history, as they are moving out of their Fenway-esque stadium and moving into new place....


But I finally decided to stick with Chelsea and get one of their new jerseys. First, they've moved from Umbro to Adidas, and I've always been an Adidas fan (especially over Nike). Second, their sponsor is pretty cool - Samsung Mobile. Third, they just signed a contract with both Samsung and Adidas, so the jersey will be pretty much the same for a number of years (meaning it won't look too obsolete next year).

And finally, Frank Lampard. The aforementioned midfielder is the up and coming star of English soccer. He scores a lot, sets up a lot of other goals, and really controls the tempo for Chelsea. So, I've ordered a #8 jersey and will be wearing it on August 20th to cheer on Chelsea in their opening match v. Manchester City.

Dad, close your ears

Last night, Ang and I went with Mike and Sarah and my former boss Ron Robinson to a Switchfoot concert, held outside on the lawn at Belmont Country Club. All I can say is- WOW.

It was loud.

Not to mention we were 10 rows back from about 36 speakers.

As we were driving up, about 3 minutes away, the heavens opened and it rained buckets for about 15 minutes. It kept raining off and on for another 15-20 minutes and then finally stopped. The concert was delayed almost 2 hours, but once it started, it rocked on until about 10:30pm. I just found out that the rain actually destroyed the main sound board, and the sound guy had to build one from scratch in order for the concert to go on. He must have great talent, because it went off without a hitch.

Did I say that it was loud?

Anyway, it was fun to get out, hear some cool music, and hang with the Brewmeister for a while. I'll try to write more later about the band and their songs....

A First of Firsts

or something.... Anyway, here's the first time she's sucked her thumb. We're still working on technique, but not bad!

 

I'm all smiles...

SNEEZE - God Bless You!!

 

7 weeks...

Mom and Amelia at the Mall- all alone!!

I'm a looker. Keep those boys away!

Dad, you're just taking entirely way too long!!!

Bzzzzzzzzzzzzz

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BAM!
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz
Bzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

That's what happened on the way out of the coffee shop last week. I step out the door, and this flying bug just waps right into me. Almost dropped my coffee. Whew!

The Unending Cycle

From the Washington Post, a week ago:

The apartment market in the Washington area has become one of the tightest in the country, and rents are rising briskly as some affluent residents decide to rent rather than buy in what they fear is an inflated real estate market.

So here's a question about supply and demand. If the rental market is so hot, and rental prices are going up, wouldn't that lessen the gap between rental prices and mortgage payments? Thus, wouldn't that incentivize renters to consider leaving the rental market to buy a house? And, thus, with the greater demand for houses, wouldn't that help lift us out of the "slump" that we are currently experiencing in the housing market?

So, in fact, these renters, by entering the home-buying market, will protect themselves from their fear of a housing bubble. Maybe?

I'm no economist, but one of the most intriguing aspects of the free market is that anticipation/fear of a certain result will acutally bring it to pass. I.e.- anticipating a stock to go up causes more people to buy it, which with the additional demand causes the price to go up.

In this case, the fear of a bloated housing market causes renters (who would normally turn to buying a home) to not buy a home, which artificially lowers the demand for houses, which causes housing prices to lower (making the renters think they actually made a right decision). However, once the demand returns (maybe speculation comes back) and prices begin to go up, more people will jump into the market as quickly as possible to get in before the costs get too high, which merely increases demand even greater and causes prices to go up even more quickly. Follow?

All this to say- I'm glad I own a home. While the market has taken a slow down/slight reduction, our time will come....

Link to WashPost article

Do I have a sign on my forehead?

Random:

I was walking down the sidewalk between the gift store and Starbucks, and these teenage kids were sitting around a table talking. I hear one kid say, in the midst of a larger conversation, "That [bleep] is [bleepin'] crazy."

I sort of look over, kinda wondering what the deal was to arouse such language. He looked up and saw me, and then quickly said, "Oh, sorry- sorry," not necessarily looking at me. The whole group, which had been rather boisterous, was all of a sudden very quiet. I heard one member ask the aforementioned kid, "What are you sorry for."

And by that time, I had passed them by.

I started pondering what made the kid feel so guilty about cursing in front of me. Was it the suit and tie? Did I look like a preacher? Did I have a condescending look on my face? Do I have a halo over my head that screams, "Christian!" ??

Maybe it's that while cursing frivolously is in vogue, those evoking such expletives realize that there is something intrinsically distasteful about their actions. Food for thought.

Situational Dilemmas

It's 8:55am, I'm watching Mia while Ang gets a few more minutes of sleep. I'm minding my own business, drinking coffee, watching Wimbledon, and reading the Wall Stree Journal - when all of a sudden, there's some more business that I need to mind. (If you know what I mean ;-) ).

Here's the problem- our silly cat, Dido, has decided that the pack 'n play is a great thing to scratch and attempt to jump in, especially when the dear little one is asleep in it. And, she has just emerged from the depths of our basement.

So, how do I, needing to visit the loo for a few minutes, keep our cat out of the pack 'n play?? I bring the cat with me into the bathroom. She seemed okay with that (actually, she often tries to pry open the door when you're in there anyway), but I wasn't able to close the door (my paper was in the way- you know, reading material).

Well, a few minutes in, Dido leaves. And as I poke my head out the door, what do I see?? SHE'S STANDING OVER THE BABY! Dilemma time - do I hobble out of the bathroom; do I hope that even if Dido snuggles next to the baby, it won't cause any harm; do I grab the roll of toilet paper and throw it at the cat???

Well, many silent curses towards our kitty ran through my mind, and in a hushed but firm voice, I yelled her name a couple times. She managed to understand that I was upset (and maybe she thought I was on my way, which I was nowhere close to leaving the porcelain throne), and she jumped down, only to walk back into the bathroom like nothing had happened.

Whew! Semi-crisis averted. And Ang will never know (unless she reads this, which I don't think she does....). =)

Men - Buy this for your wife!!!

For the last year/18 months, Ang has been talking about the "Southern Living Ultimate Cookbook." My sister-in-law just raved about it, and I think Mom got one for Christmas one year. I had planned to get Ang a copy, but got her other things instead.

So imagine our (!) excitement when a notice came in the mail about a special- the new, updated Ultimate Cookbook for half the price!!! And I quickly caved.

Needless to say, it has been worth every penny. The very day it came we went to the store, got ingredients, and made three dishes that were phenomenal. The most impressive was a blue-cheese spread/sauce/topping for our grilled filet mignons and baked potatoes. It was amazing.

But possibly even better than grilled steak were the BBQ Ribs we made for the Fourth. They were the most tender, most flavor, and best ribs I have ever had. I don't think I could ever order ribs from a restaurant again. I probably shouldn't post the recipe here for fear of copyright infringement, but if you're interested, e-mail Ang (you're allowed to share recipes with friends, right?). Warning, it took a bit of preparation. But maybe that made it taste even better.

Miscellaneous

I can't remember everything I was going to post, but here's a rundown of our lives as of late:

• I played golf on Monday with Mike and Mark (my next door neighbor). We had fun in 94 degree/85% humidity weather- I actually did very well. Crushed the pitooey out of the ball and shot a 108- should have been about 100, but I had two 10's (I can explain later).
• Amelia has been sleeping better at night. She actually went 6 hours between feedings the other night. We think it has a lot to do with putting rice cereal in her bottle to help the food stay settled and not creep back up to cause pain.
• Did anyone see the Germany heartbreak? They played well for 118.5 minutes. And then they couldn't clear a corner kick. Wow.
• Wimbledon Finals are this weekend- should be exciting.

And the big item of the day- well, you'll have to look at the next post.

Oh- ps- about the most important person in our household- Ang has been doing well. She's been venturing out more with little 'Mia (don't ask if this is a permanent nickname, but it's easier to txt msg to each other). In fact, she just couldn't wait to go to the mall with her little girl. It's good to see them having fun together already!!

Break our hearts

ESPN is claiming that the Redskins will be the third best team in the NFL this season (and the top three teams are NFC teams). Much of this is due to a new offensive coordinator and four #1 wide receivers, as well as the consistently strong defense.

Who'll wager the Redskins go 7-9 and finish one game out of the playoffs? Wouldn't surprise me.

Beef 'n Cheddar

mmmmm....Arby's is now open in Leesburg. Previously we had to travely 30-45 minutes for a good Roast Beef sandwich.

We welcome you with open arms. And I will say again- mmmmmm.....

You know you're having a bad day when...

Pic(s) of the Day

So, I couldn't decide which picture would be the "Pic of the Day," so I'm putting up some Pics of the Day.

Tired Tummy Time

Animals from "Baby's Ark"

Notice who isn't watching the World Cup

Isn't she a cutie!!

Resting in our bed- she's not going anywhere

She's gets it from her daddy

Well, yes, she does get her good looks from me.

But, I was thinking of something else this time. We had our 1 month checkup today. Little Amelia is doing great- gaining weight (8 lbs, 8oz), getting tall (21 1/4 inches- above average!), and getting a big head (no, she didn't get that from me- no way).

The one thing we talked to the Dr. about today was her fussiness as of late. We now think she has reflux- just like her daddy. So, we're propping up the bed, trying to thicken her milk (when we feed her with a bottle), and overall helping the burps get out. So, she has her daddy's tummy. Let's hope it doesn't last long.

"Don't cry over spilled milk"

Quote from a reliable source:

"The person who came up with this never pumped breastmilk."

PKs

No, not Pastor's Kids; Penalty Kicks.

We finally saw our first match of the World Cup decided by penalty kicks. And poor Switzerland couldn't put a blessed shot in the goal. It's supposed to be easier than that.

Also of note- Switzerland is the first team in history to be eliminated without conceding a goal (the pk's don't count as "goals," per se).

One final note- after the group stage, there were 16 teams left. I correctly picked the 8 teams that would advance to the quarterfinals. (*patting self on back*) I'm pretty amazing, huh!?

Bend it like...

...the only man who can bend it like that. England held off Ecuador for a 1-0 victory today, thanks to a huge save by Ashley Cole (not a woman, and not the keeper) and a massively unfathomable direct kick by Beckham that sneaked in the near post.

[Not to take anything away from the shot, but the keeper was playing WAY too far to the far post- put too much faith in his defenders' wall- ahh, you silly little keeper with Ecuadorian flags painted on your face.]

Here's to England. You'll have to step it up a notch next week against Portugal.

Supersize

Only in America can you buy a bag of 115 fish sticks for $7. Mmmmm, maybe I should buy stock in Heinz ketchup!

US doesn't win World Cup

Big surprise, huh?

Reasons:

1. Not the refs. Sure, they blew some calls and were over ambitious with the yellows, but they don't lose a game for you. They can swing momentum, but that's about it.
2. Bruce. As an amateur, I have no place to talk. But isn't that what a blog is for?? Bruce played a status quo team- solid, but not impressive. Donovan made no impact, Beasely was wretched in the 1st match and played better in the last 2. McBride tried his best but got few crosses to deal with accordingly. Where was Eddie Johnson? Brian Ching? Maybe some fresh legs to bring some momentum.
3. Defense. Poor clearances and overall mediocre play left the US in a hole from the beginning. Having to play each match a goal down and not being able to take the lead was a killer. The first goal they gave up - in minute 5 of the first match - was our first clue that it would be a long World Cup (long, as in - we'd stink). Pope and Onyewu looked horribly confused with Koeller running freely through the box.
4. Lack of a national chant/song. What do we plan to do, jump up and down singing America, The Beautiful?? We need some crazy, blood pumpin' song to get our fans and players riled up (and none of this Ole Ole Ole junk that is so overused).
   

[Tangent- have you ever been to a European futbol match. Or an Australian footie game. Or anything with international competition? They always have a "club song"- like a fight song. And they sing it loud and hard. For an easy example, did you see how the Dutch showed up in the Winter Olympics to cheer on their speed skaters? Phenomenal support just to watch two people going around in laps 320 times (and no, this is quite different from NASCAR). ]

So, the US has some growing up to do. 2002 was - not a fluke - maybe just lucky. We were underrated, underestimated, and we ran the pitooey off the pitch (the soccer field, for you Yankees). We just ran. And ran. And ran really hard and fast. And got lucky to score. This year, we are 4 years older, slower, and people watched us much more cautiously. (It's like Ronaldinho - probably the best player in the Cup. But has he scored? Nope. B/c everyone is watching him like a hawk. But he knows how to open up opportunities for his team. The US seems to only know how to blow direct kicks from 20 yards out.)

So another 4 years until we get to agonize over every match. Until then, let's start working on that fight song....

It's good for the lungs

So, I think the following anecdote would fall under "Tales of a Sleep-Deprived-Daddy, Part Deux."

As has been the custom lately, the baby monitor is on my side of the bed. During the night, we both hear Amelia, though I sometimes think I wake up first. Nonetheless, Ang will go to the nursery to, well, nurse (imagine that, you nurse in a nursery!).

Ahem- sorry- got off track. So, when Ang leaves the room, I'll turn the monitor off, so I can continue resting. Then, upon her return, she will turn it back on (or tell me to turn it on).

After the 2:30am feeding this morning, she came in, turned it on, went to the loo (for all our British readers out there), came back in the room, verified the monitor was on, and went to sleep.

Imagine our surprise - dismay - concern ("why don't we spin the wheel of adjectives" - or nouns, as it would be in this case) when I woke up at 7:20 this morning - AND THE MONITOR WAS OFF!!

I jumped out of bed, and poor little Amelia was tiredly crying in her crib. Who knows how long she had been crying, but it had been 5 hours since her last meal. Needless to say, she chowed down.

So, we're not quite sure what happened ("wur happened"), but I think the monitor will reside on Ang's side of the bed from now on. Amelia seems none the worse for wear (is that the right expression?), and as it turns out, Ang and I got some really good sleep! =)

Geometry Lesson

Only in a game like hockey can a straight line be called "the point."

Nonetheless - the Stanley Cup Playoffs are over - Angela is sick of hockey (mixed in with soccer, basketball, racing, etc...).

Edmonton played phenomenally for a number 8 seed- I was rooting for them (props to Kelly Massie, my canuck friend from just outside Edmonton). They started the playoffs by quickly dropping two to Detroit, the clear favorite to win it all, and then swept them four straight.

In fact, Edmonton could have easily won the series- save for a hurt goalie and a HUGE mistake by a backup goalie in Game 1 (lost after leading 3-0 and gave up the winning goal on a mistake behind the net). Needless to say, that goalie didn't play again, and the other backup- Markkanen- played brilliantly.

And for those of you not to terribly into hockey- a quick lesson. The Stanley Cup is one trophy. You don't get the cup and keep it in your team's trophy case for ever. Your team has it for the year (or so)- and then you give it back. That's why winning it is so precious. Each member of the team gets his "time" with the Cup to take it to his hometown, climb mountains with it, etc. Check out Wikipediafor more.

Now that hockey is over - good thing the World Cup is on for another three weeks. =)

HOCKEY!!!

Game 7. On. Now. Get off the computer.

out

NASCAR on the brain

So I was driving to work the other day, and I noticed that the passenger side rear bumper of the car in front of me was wobbling in the wind. The exact phrase that went through my mind in that split second was: "He must have blown a right rear tire."

Yeah, so I've been watching a bit of NASCAR as of late. But, it could have happened. Really.

Maybe....


[This blog entry sponsored by Jamie Cartledge - speaking of which, dad just forwarded us pictures from our trip to Cleveland in '96. Man, did I look 12 years old, or what! Thanks for watching out for me at LCS.]

You know the feeling...

...when something warm runs down your leg?? =)

Little Amelia enjoyed her first bath very much, and I think the warmth got to her. Without going into details, my shirt ended up in the dirty clothes basket. Nothing but a warm feeling....

  

Priceless

  

Baby Duty

Who said that taking care of a newborn was a tough job??

 
 
  

Tales of a Sleep-Deprived Daddy

I do not recall the following events, but they come from a reliable source.

Situation 1, ~2:30am, Baby's Room:

Mom (M): "Can you come help me?"
Dad (D): "Sure."
M: "I can't see what time it is. How can I tell on the phone?"
D: Mumbles something about the Coca-Cola 600 (which was run on Sunday night).
M: "What are you talking about!!??"


Scenario 2, ~2:45am, Mom & Dad's Bedroom

Background- we're using our telephones as baby monitors until ours arrive. Same difference.

M to a sleepy D: "How do I make the phone a monitor?"
D: "It's easy. Just do this," and proceeds to press the number 1 repeatedly [which is NOT the way to make it a monitor].
M: "You're just pressing #1. How do you make it work??"
D: Proceeds to press #2 repeatedly.
Flustered M: "Sweetie, I need you to wake up. What do I need to press on the phone?"
D: Continues pressing #1. "Like this"
M: After a bit, M finally wakes D up.
[The only part D remembers is the rest of the story]
M: "Honey, I need you to help me here. How do I make the phone a monitor?"
D: "Just like this," and D saves the day by making the phone a monitor. D doesn't understand why M is so frustrated.

Needless to say, I was really enjoying my sleep. =)

Life Changing

I have now been a witness to one of God's greatest miracles: childbirth. After "only" 3 hours of hard labor in the hospital, Angela gave birth to our beautiful daughter, Amelia Laine. Click here for pictures.

Patrick Henry

I'm not going to address any of the issues surrounding the latest
changes at Patrick Henry College. However, I will simply state that
Drs. Noe and Stacey were my two favorite profs at PHC, and future
students will lose out on not being able to study under them.

My name is guy...

http://theologica.blogspot.com/2006/05/case-of-mistaken-identity.html

England wins the World Cup!!!

In a feat of soccer strength, England convincingly beat Ecuador (who'd
have guessed?) 2-1 to win the 2006 World Cup.

But before you run over to ESPN for the stats....

....this was on my XBOX. =)

Anyone want to take on the reigning champion??

Uncle D

We are super-excited for my brother Chris and his wife Rachael, as they just adopted an adorable little girl, Sophia. We thought there might be a race to the birth-day, as Sophia's birth mother was due June 1st and Angela is due June 2nd. But little Sophia had other thoughts, and she came on April 30th.

Check out the pictures here.

Crying over Cheerios

Have you seen the new Cheerios commercial? Get your Kleenex ready...

Go here.

ps

"Stanley Cup, what's that?"

"Hockey"

"Oh yeah, I remember hearing that a few weeks ago."

If....

Granted, I do like to watch sports. Anything and everything, pretty much (except boxing).

So dear Angela mentioned today, "If we were a quid pro quo couple, then I'd have many hours of TV time to catch up on."

Regardless of the point she was trying to make (there's a Gilmore Girls marathon on, and I'm stuck watching it instead of the Stanley Cup), we both had a really good laugh at her choice of phrases.

Guess you had to be there- it was funny, trust me.

On the money....

Say It With Me: Supply and Demand

By Charles Krauthammer
Friday, April 28, 2006; A19

If you thought the Dubai port deal marked a record high in Washington cynicism, think again. Nothing can match the spectacle of politicians scrambling for cover during a spike in gasoline prices. And this time the panderfest has gone all the way to the Oval Office. President Bush has joined the braying congressional hordes by ordering the Energy and Justice departments and the Federal Trade Commission to launch an investigation into possible gasoline price fixing.

What a disgrace.

Precisely 10 years ago (April 29, 1996) as gas prices reached a shocking $1.27 a gallon, President Bill Clinton ordered his Energy and Justice departments to launch investigations to find out why. In my column that week, I offered a wild guess as to why: "supply is down and demand is up." I offered Energy Secretary Hazel O'Leary and Attorney General Janet Reno a $100 bet (I roll high on sure things) that their million-dollar probes would do nothing more than confirm my hunch.

No takers. Even Cabinet secretaries don't throw away C-notes. Sure enough, months later these perfectly pointless investigations discounted charges of price gouging and attributed the price hike to . . . increased demand and decreased supply.

Today, every time an Iranian mullah opens his mouth about nukes, the risk premium for Persian Gulf supply interruptions jumps again. Crude oil prices alone account for about $1.70 of what you pay for a gallon at the pump. So 10 years later, I'll wager again. Here's what the Bush search for price gougers and profiteers will find:

· Demand is up. China has come from nowhere to pass Japan as the number No. 2 oil consumer in the world. China and India -- between them home to eight times the U.S. population -- are industrializing and gobbling huge amounts of energy.

American demand is up because we've lived in a fool's paradise since the mid-1980s. Until then, beginning with the oil shocks in 1973, Americans had changed appliances and cars and habits and achieved astonishing energy conservation. Energy use per dollar of gross domestic product was cut by 30 percent in little over a decade. Oil prices collapsed to about $10 a barrel.

Then amnesia set in, mile-per-gallon ratings disappeared from TV ads and we became "a country of a million Walter Mittys driving 75 mph in their gas-guzzling Bushwhack-Safari sport-utility roadsters with a moose head on the hood, a country whose crude oil production has dropped 32 percent in the last 25 years but which will not drill for oil in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge for fear of disturbing the mating habits of caribou."

I wrote that during the '96 witch hunt for price gougers. Nothing has changed. Except that since then, U.S. crude oil production has dropped an additional 12.3 percent. Which brings us to:

· Supply is down. Start with supply disruptions in Nigeria, decreased production in Iraq, and the continuing loss of 5 percent of our national refining capacity because of damage from hurricanes Katrina and Rita. Add to that the mischief of idiotic new regulations. Last year's energy bill mandates arbitrary increases in blended ethanol use that so exceed current ethanol production that it is causing gasoline shortages and therefore huge price spikes.

Why don't we import the missing ethanol? Brazil makes a ton of it, and very cheaply. Answer: the Iowa caucuses. Iowa grows corn and chooses presidents. So we have a ridiculously high 54-cent ethanol tariff and ethanol shortages.

Another regulation requires specific ("boutique") gasoline blends for different cities depending on their air quality. Nice idea. But it introduces debilitating rigidities into the gasoline supply system. If Los Angeles runs short, you cannot just move supply in from Denver. You get shortages and more price spikes.

And don't get me started on the missing supply of might-have-been American crude. Arctic and outer continental shelf oil that the politicians kill year after year would have provided us by now with a critical and totally secure supply cushion in times of tight markets.

In March 2000, the price of gas hit $1.80 per gallon. Scandalized congressional Republicans shamelessly pushed for repeal of Clinton's whopping 4.3-cent gas tax increase. Now that the president is a Republican, what do you think Senate Democrats are proposing? A 60-day suspension of the federal gas tax. It would cost $6 billion and counteract the only good thing that comes with high gas prices -- the incentive to conserve.

George Shultz once said, "Nothing ever gets settled in this town." But even Shultz, who has seen everything, must marvel at the perfect regularity, the utter predictability, of the bottomless cynicism of Washington in the grip of gasoline fever.

Link

A brief history...

...of modern man.

Well, more like- a brief recount of our travels over Easter weekend. First, I'll state that we decided not to fly standby so that we could be assured of our schedule. Seeing as how United provides the only non-stop to/from Memphis, we chose their services (although our "to" flight was not non-stop, but that's an even longer story).

Be warned. This is long, but here goes:

Friday
7:00am- get out of the shower for a 10am departure.
7:01am- get a phone call that I've been rebooked on a later flight out of Chicago. After listening to the message, I realize that our morning flight to Chicago was delayed by 90 minutes.
7:20am- I call United to ask them to rebook us on the non-stop, seeing as how they were rebooking us anyway.
7:25am- United says, "We can't rebook you on the non-stop, because it takes off after your rebooked flight."
7:26am- Danny says, "I'm flying with a pregnant woman who really shouldn't be in the air that long, can't you put us on the non-stop?"
7:27am- United says, "How many months pregnant?"
7:27:30am- Danny says, "7 1/2 months"
7:27:45am- United, "Is she visibly pregnant?"

** Timeout **

Now, I was speaking with a lady, and maybe she has never been pregnant herself, but surely she knows someone who has been pregnant in the past. I would think she'd realize that if someone is 7 1/2 months pregnant and you can't tell, something's amiss....

** End of Timeout **

7:27:52am- Danny, "Yes, you can defintely tell"
7:28am- United, "Hold on, let me see"
7:32am- United, "Okay, we can make an exception."

So we're good to go. A 4:15pm departure, a nice leisurely morning at home. Back to the timeline-

2:00pm- we get to the airport very early, just in case there are any hiccups with the rebooking, and because Dulles can get busy in the afternoons.
2:30pm- we're at our gate- that was easy.
2:33pm- I realize there's a message near the Memphis flight. Flight delayed
5:15pm- A full hour late, we finally depart.
6:3opm, Central Time- We arrive finally in Memphis.

Insert- nice weekend with in-laws.

Sunday
3pm- Leave for airport for 5:10pm departure.
4pm- Arrive and check in at airport. Almost as a foreshadow of things to come, I say, "Glad we're not going to Chicago," since the two Chicago flights were delayed.
4:15pm- At gate, we realize that Memphis flight is delayed 3o minutes
ETD (estimated time of departure)- 5:40pm
4:45pm- Announcement that our plane is coming from Chicago and hasn't left yet
5:10pm- Plane has left Chicago
ETD- 7:10pm (2 hours late)
7:00pm- Plane arrives from Chicago
7:15pm- Pilots walk off plane and disappear
7:25pm- Announcement that the plane has "completely shut down" and they are trying to "reboot the system"
7:45pm- They cannot fix the problem. They are calling a mechanic
ETD- Sometime before my child is born
8:30pm- Mechanic arrives
9pm- Can't fix problem. We're assured that they will leave any time of the night or morning, as long as the plane is fixed. Apparently (they tell us), all other flights to Dulles the next couple of days are oversold.
10pm- Can't fix problem
11pm- Can't fix problem

**Timeout**

By now, we know some of our fellow passengers better than we ever wanted to know them. We're all super frustrated, but as one person remarked, it was the nicest group of people that had ever been sitting in an airport for 7 hours. The worst part was, the Memphis airport basically shuts down at 7pm, and "security" literally shuts down at 9pm. No food, no vending machines, can't leave the secure area. We were truly stuck.

**End Timeout**

11:05pm- United tells us our bags are on carousel #2. No one had officially canceled the flight yet.
11:10pm- United cancels the flight.
11:30pm- I rebook us through Atlanta- rationale being I wanted to at least get half-way home, and could stay with my fam in Atlanta if needed. We leave the next morning at 10:15am (I forgot to ask for first class!).

Monday
9am- Arrive at Memphis airport
10:15am- Delta flight leaves on time
12:25pm- Delta flight arrives on time
1:59pm- Delta flight leaves on time
3:30pm- Delta flight arrives 20 minutes early, although we end up sitting for those 20 minutes waiting for our gate to open up....

So, who do you think I'm more inclined to fly with next time... =)

What my college education achieved

Does anyone else feel like their college experience totally ruined their desire to read? Maybe it's because I'm more of a math/tech guy, and books have never really been my thing.

But- I just don't read. It's horrible.

So imagine the surprise of my lovely, little pregnant wife when I managed to read two books over a weekend!! Well, I should clarify- I finished one book, and completely read the other. Since they are the last two books I've read, I shall recommend them both.

1) 1776, by David McCullough. Amazing book describing the first year of the Revolutionary War (War of American Independence, whatever you want to call it). The best part is the personal feel of the accounts- he uses an insane amount of journal entries and letters- most notably from George Washington. Quite intriguing to read the thoughts of this man during one of the hardest times in his life.

2) Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury. Simple, easy-reading book about life when there are no books, there is no history, and life is all about pleasure and happiness. Shows the result of living with no purpose and the desperate measures one will take when one seeks purpose in life. I had always heard of it, but never read it, so it was good and a quick read (i.e., short).

I'd add them to your list, if I were you.... ;)

Lefty does it again

Phil Mickelson won the Masters yesterday. All right! (I only got to see portions while we were shopping in JC Penney). There apparently wasn't too much drama- no huge break-down or major run by those trying to catch him.

The best quote I've seen is: "Mickelson finished this one with every professional golfer's favorite shot -- the tap-in bogey putt to win by two."

Hah- if it were only that easy. =)

Story here.

Cherry Blossoms, Take 5

It's a five year anniversary. Wow.

We joined our great friends from college for another jaunt around the Tidal Basin in DC. While it isn't anything really "new," it still is neat to go see the Cherry Blossoms each year. This year there seemed to be a lot more variation in the color of the blossoms.

That, and the wind was blowing, which created some pretty cool pictures.

Check out all the great pictures here