Taking some time off

I hate all those posts I see on people's blogs where they talk about why they haven't been posting for the last month. Well, maybe not hate, but why do they (we) do that? It isn't like anyone is waiting eagerly to see what the hell I've got to say. This is my place dangit, and I'll post when I've got something to say. That is... I'll post when I've got something to say or when Wifey says "hey, you haven't posted in a while - over a month actually - why is that?"

Guess I didn't realize how long it'd been. And to be honest, I didn't really have an answer at first. After thinking about it, I think I came up with something... not much has been going on lately. I use this space mostly to document events, or post pictures, and during the long days of late winter there hasn't been much to talk about other than the monumental snow or the stomach bug and/or strep throat constantly destroying weekend plans including a long-anticipated date night tonight. Yup, good fun at the ol' homestead.

There are some blog-potential events coming up soon. Today was supposed to be tryouts for JAM's first year of real baseball until three days of rain put a stop to that. We did start working out earlier this week though, that was awesome. I'm proud of him, he didn't lose that much over the winter, fielding-wise. Hitting is another story but I think some time at the batting cages will help with that. And I'm proud of me that I didn't get annoyingly upset when he was making mistakes. That's something I've been working hard on these last few years. Here's to progress! So as the spring moves along I'm looking forward to seeing how he does in real baseball. No more coaches on the field, no more machine pitch, real kids throwing real baseballs with real hits and real strikeouts. It'll be interesting to see how he deals with disappointment in front of peers in a competitive environment. We'll have our work cut out for us that's for sure.

I've got a trip coming up in a week that should be fun as long as I'm not sick as a dog when I'm supposed to leave. Unfortunately, Wifey and the kids aren't able to join me (we tried - 4 plane tickets were too expensive) but I'll be headed down to Orlando for four days for an e-Learning conference. Looking forward to hearing what other people in my field are doing in a pretty nice place - right across the street from Downtown Disney. Would have been heaven to have someone come hang out with the kids and have Wifey join me but we're not that lucky.

Red's b-day is coming up and poor Pudge keeps saying, pretty much every day, that it's Wifey's birthday because he knows his birthday can't come until after hers passes. Sorry kid, that ain't 'till November. :)

I did start something that I've been meaning to do for years. I bought a used guitar and our friend C took some time one night to begin my lessons. We'll see how the lessons go but I've been enjoying playing for about 20-30 minutes most nights. I must be doing something right because I pretty much can't feel the tips of my fingers on my left hand. Oh, and I can play Marry Had a Little Lamb, the whole C scale and about 4 chords. I know... Metallica will be calling me any day now.

That's it. Looking forward to some warmer days...

Oh, I wish!

With 5 inches of new snow on the ground (up to a possible 12 tonight - on top of the 2+ feet we got the other day), a fire in the fireplace, hanging with the Wife, life feels kind of good right now. To top it all off, work is already closed for tomorrow so there is no stress to be seen.

So before heading off to bed I wanted to check the weather, just to see what they're saying lately. Going on to weather.com I was presented with this...

THAT is what I call beautifully targeted advertising.

Baby It's Cold Everywhere!

19 degrees outside, 64 degrees inside. Can't turn the heat on because the heat pump is snowed under and I don't want it to burn out. Wouldn't do much good anyway, what kind of heat can a heat pump get out of 19 degree weather? Can't make a fire in the stove because we're out of wood in the holding bin outside and I haven't shoveled a walkway to the wood pile yet. Did I mention it was 19 degrees out there?

So, what's a guy to do?

Make bacon and eat apple cake of course! Oh, and a steaming mug of hot Tang helps too. Good, good times. And when Wifey adds a couple fried eggs to the mix the world is a very good place.

What's apple cake you ask? Even if you didn't, I'ma tell you anyway. It's cake people! That you can, and should, be encouraged to eat for breakfast! In all its apple-cinnamony-sugary goodness!

Witness-

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It usually comes out a bit more firm than these pics let on, but who cares, a crumbly pile of apple cake is way better than anything else you can eat in the morning! And, if you're so inclined (read - this is for P if she wants to try it out):

Apple Cake - courtesy of my mom-

• Cut 4 apples into small chunks. Mix with 2 tbsp of cinnamon and 1/2 cup of sugar. Set aside.
• Mix the following together until nice and thick - make sure there are no clumps of flour left, they don't taste good if you don't mix them in well:
• 2 cups sugar
• 4 eggs
• 3/4 cup oil
• 1/2 cup orange juice
• 3 cups flour
• 3 tsp baking powder
• 1/4 tsp salt
• 1 tsp vanilla
• Fold apples into the batter (it will be thick).
• Pour into a greased circle tube pan - don't use the fancy bundt pan, the cake will stick too much.
• Bake 75 minutes at 350 degrees.
• Enjoy your cakey goodness.
  

Oh, and for a brief public service announcement - Oscar Mayer bacon is the guvment cheese of the bacon world. This stuff is horrible. Almost no meat on this at all. What's that you ask? Of course I'm going to eat it, what kind of dumb question was that? Oh, you didn't ask that? Good, 'cause that would have been a really dumb question.

Posting the past

I've recently been thinking about my blog in terms of its original intent - that of a place for me to look back on as time passes. And, as I wrote here, having that public component always keeps me interested in adding, sharing, and making sure times get recorded. As I think back to my past attempts at keeping a journal in a far more private way (I used to keep up with a web site I built on my computer that wasn't shared with anyone) I realize I spent a lot of time, during a brief period, recording events and posting pics. I always knew they were just languishing in anonymity and now I want to get 'em out there.

As such, I've started posting some of these old journal entries. If you look over to the right you'll see an archives list. As time goes by that list will get far more comprehensive as I post past entries with their original dates going back to perhaps even before JAM was born - we'll see. This is a very enjoyable exercise for me to do - it gives me an opportunity to go through all these old pics, post the pics that are really fun to see, and read about all the fun we've had. Good times....

Ouch

Back from my PT appointment this morning. Everything was going swell, going through my workout, lifting weights and stretching without any worries. No, it still didn't want to bend but I was pushing it and even though it hurt a bit I was making it go further than I had. All was good. Until she stepped in. My therapist decided today was the day to make a push. And she pushed. She pushed hard. I've never felt such pain. Yes, I'm a wuss but when I'm sitting in the middle of a very crowded PT office I really can't let the expletives fly. That sucked because I had a string of choice words ready for her.

Sorta like this -

I don't like that place at all. I was in such a foul mood when I came back to the office that there was only one thing in the world that could make me feel better. Today was the first day of a new employee orientation program that we do like three times a year, and they always feed those people going through it. When the breakfast is over the extra food gets brought back to our office and I was so looking forward to it. Yup, a big plate of bacon, sausage and hash browns. OHHHHHHHHHH sooooo good. I'ma drown my sorrows in fried meat and potatoes and there's nothing you can do to stop me.

Oh, and in trying to find the video above (apparently there are no just clean scenes of the waxing part - Universal Pictures sucks) I found this other video - http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Hj-xmcpPP8g. That is some funny stuff! And they turned off the embed code, which I thought was pretty crappy, but the video is funny nonetheless.

Now, on to my bacon.

On the Road Again

Took three big steps toward getting back to normal in the last two days. First, I had my first PT appointment yesterday for my knee. And, as my colleague is fond of saying, her PT guy told her that PT actually stood for Pain and Torture. This was pretty accurate, and we didn't even get into any of the hard stuff yet. As I indicated in my initial post about my injury, when referring to the slightly less than masculine whelp I let out when the fat man fell on me, I'm a wuss when it comes to pain. I'm a firm believer that if men had to give birth we'd have established a social caste just for that purpose. But, I'm looking forward to the next three weeks as Hina, my torturer/therapist, makes me do horribly painful things in order to get back to normal. It will be nice to be able to put on my shoes without shifting into three different positions, or be able to sleep on my side again.

The second of my big steps is a pretty simple one. I took off my brace all day yesterday, and it's off again today. Except for sleeping, and for what I'm about to relate in item #3, the brace has been off. Gotta build that muscle back up and learn to walk correctly again and that's not going to happen with the brace on.

Finally, and this was perhaps the biggest mental hurdle of all so far, I went back to the gym this morning. Wednesdays and Fridays were my regular basketball mornings and I've missed going so much that I'm sure it was a huge piece of my recent mental malaise. But, with the start of my PT I'm looking to get back into some form of "in shape" so I thought it might be good to get back into the habit of getting up early and getting out of the house to go to the gym. It was a good thing. When I walked into the gym all the guys went right back to busting my balls which was nice. It's good to know things haven't changed. I know it's only been a month for them but it's felt like a millennium to me. No, I didn't play, but I did lift weights for a while and yes, I bounced a ball and shot for a few minutes. I even jumped (little white boy hops really) once or twice just to see how it would feel and all was well.

It was good just being there again to be honest. I need things to be back to normal. I need to feel well enough to finish all the jobs that are sorta-started around the house and I need to not have to rest on the couch after a simple trip to the store.

These last two days were a good start I think. I'm on the road again...

Update from the land of the gimp

Went to the Dr. this morning. The update on my knee is that the healing has finished as far as he can tell. His moving my knee all around didn't even hurt so he's reasonably comfortable with me starting PT next week. I'm glad he's comfortable with it because I know it's going to hurt like a bitch. Right now I can't bend my knee enough to even drive without pain but after a month of PT and a bottle of 800mg Motrin I'm hoping to be able to at least climb the stairs like a normal person.

Wish me luck, cause this is gonna sting a bit.

Oh, and as an aside - do you think I was wrong to give him some S&%T about making me wait 45 minutes for a 9am appointment? I took that appointment because it was his first slot of the day and I still had to wait until 9:45 for him to walk through the door. When he finally did come through, and asked me how I was, my first response was "annoyed." He gave the same song and dance that all doctors do about each patient taking time and the front desk not knowing how long appointments will take but when they schedule appointments every 15 minutes, AND PURPOSEFULLY DOUBLE BOOK EACH SLOT, don't we have a right to be annoyed?

What do people think about that? Does anyone else say anything about it when the Dr. comes in? This is now the second time I've done it and the one time before this was with the pediatrician and she's bent over backwards since getting us the first appointment of the day. That doesn't mean she's done anything to fix the problem but it certainly worked for us.

Excuse you?

That's it Mr. Orange!

I'm ashamed. I'm flabbergasted. I just don't know you any more. How could you not watch something like this, from America's Best Dance Crew, and not be entertained????

And I apologize for the popups, it had the best quality.

You're dead inside dude!

I'm back baby!

Yes, I'm back. The crisis at work is over and I'm able to bring my laptop home again. No more fat fingers on tiny keys on Wifey's netbook. Oh the joy. I've got so much to catch up on I don't know where to start...

Probably too much for tonight, I'll get back in the swing of things tomorrow.

But it's good to be back.

Putting these to rest - long, sorry

Two items on my mind recently. Bloody noses and bug spray. Wow, now there's an example of a sentence I never thought I'd write. Anyhow, these two items have been on my mind tonight and I wanted to do a little bit of research to give me a better understanding and to share what I learn with my adoring public (i.e. - Wifey and maybe one or two other strange, bored people).

First, bloody noses. JAM has been complaining about bloody noses. Not that he's causing them of course. Nope, these are the run of the mill immaculate bloody noses - definitely not the result of a finger or some other foreign body being shoved up any nostrils here buddy. As we were in the car tonight on our way to a fantastic night of Chipotle (super-yum), 5 Guys and a bonfire in DBCJ's back yard, JAM tells us he's got a bloody nose. Not much, from what I could tell, just a little bit. Again, as he assured us, definitely not caused by anything being shoved up there. So I started thinking about it, and he brought it up a few minutes later, what's the best way to deal with a ruptured schnoz?

Wifey contends that the old way was to pinch it closed and lean your head back but the right way is to pinch it, lean forward, and if necessary you can put a cold compress on your neck. So, let's find out shall we?

Oh, I hate it when she's right....
If there was anyone to take seriously, I guess it would have to be the National Institutes of Health huh? http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/ency/article/003106.htm

But, I was happy to hear that nosebleeds "can be frightening for some patients, but are rarely life threatening." Oh joy - I most likely won't die from a nosebleed.

One down, one to go - bug spray is next. I guess you can call this little investigation, "To Deet or not to Deet." Or, "What the hell is Picaridin?"

I did look this one up a while back, and from what I remember, Deet is good hooch, but not exactly for little kids. When I went to the local Targé to get this spring's supply of Off, I looked for pure Deet for me, and something less skin-peeling for the little ones. Pure Deet you ask? Oh yes, pure Deet. I had gotten a small bottle of Off Deep Woods a few years back (I'm pretty sure it was a sample attached to another bottle of something) that was 100% Deet. Seriously, this stuff was amazing. Bugs wouldn't come within a hectare of me. I loved it, but I think Wifey was kind of scared we'd ever be able to have kids after this stuff got on me. (Seriously? With my potency? lol)

Anyhow, apparently Target doesn't want to put something so potent back into the untrained hands of suburban backyard warriors anymore, so all I could find was something with 25% Deet for me and something with 5% of something purely natural called Picaridin. I think what we need to do first is figure out what the hell Deet and Picaridin are.

Um... wow. Apparently Deet had a homepage. Yup, http://www.deet.com/. That isn't a good sign. If you need to create a web site for a chemical, presumably to either control the spin or counter what I would assume to be negative press, it can't be positive right? That's like water having it's one web site. Oh, wait. Never mind - http://www.water.com/. Not quite the same thing, but I just thought it was funny that someone thought to grab water.com back when the internets were young.

Back on message. I didn't want to get some slanted opinion or collection of carefully chosen "facts" though. So, sorry deet.com, you're out. How about the EPA? Yup, found a page there - http://www.epa.gov/pesticides/factsheets/chemicals/deet.htm.

End result? "After completing a comprehensive re-assessment of DEET, EPA concluded that, as long as consumers follow label directions and take proper precautions, insect repellents containing DEET do not present a health concern."

The main precautions are pretty easy to follow, and are listed on that page so I'll not waste space putting them here. I was happy to see that contrary to what I'd heard in passing conversation, nothing said specifically that children should not use Deet. Obviously you shouldn't let kids put it on themselves, and you shouldn't put it on young children's hands, or near their eyes or mouth. In fact, they even said "DEET is approved for use on children with no age restriction. There is no restriction on the percentage of DEET in the product for use on children, since data do not show any difference in effects between young animals and adult animals in tests done for product registration."

I know, that was just the EPA. Who can trust those government clowns right? How about the CDC then? Oh, they're feds too huh? Well, let's just see what they have to say first... http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/dvbid/westnile/qa/insect_repellent.htm

According to the CDC, and backed up by the American Academy of Pediatrics, Deet is fine. The basic idea is, the more Deet in the spray, the longer it says effective. Although there have been no definitive studies showing what concentration to use on which age group, the AAP states that parents should determine how long the child will be exposed to the pests (no, not siblings) and choose a level appropriate to that time frame. 10% is good for two hours, 24% is good for up to five hours. The interesting part is that you don't need to reapply, even if you go swimming or sweat a lot - Deet isn't water soluble.

Alright, so Deet is fine. Now what about this Picaridin stuff?

Oh boy. I found a fun filled, six-page fact sheet on 2-(2-hydroxyethyl)-1-piperidinecarboxylic acid 1-methyl propyl ester. Oh, right, you don't go around calling things by their scientific names either? Well fine - Picaridin it is. And here's the fact sheet - pdf style - http://www.epa.gov/opprd001/factsheets/picaridin.pdf Yuppers, I actually looked at it too! Result? Safe. Even to birds and rainbow trout apparently.

Other than that, and a mention in the previously linked article by the AAP, not much is out there on Picaridin. The general consensus is that it is safe, but nothing long term has been done on any of this stuff.

In the future, I'm going to stick with Deet.

All I wanted was some chicken!

Apparently I wasn't the only one with the Popeyes idea. In fact, everyone and their brother decided to go get some chicken today. I was soooo looking forward to my chicken, too. I stopped by on the way home from work and this is what I ran into...

I know, the picture stinks (taken with my crappy cell phone camera), but it tells a bit of the story. The line was so long outside - cars wrapped all the way around the building - and not moving that I went inside. What was I greeted with when I entered? More than 30 people in line already. The line wrapped all the way around the seating area and back out into the front toward the door again. How nuts am I? I got in line. I WANTED MY CHICKEN!!! Well, that lasted about 10 minutes or so until I finally gave up. I only gave up when I heard the girl behind the counter telling someone that "it was going to be 12 minutes." I didn't know what "it" was, but if she was telling him that, and he was more than 30 people in front of me, with another two dozen or more waiting in cars outside, there was no way I was going to get food before midnight.

Yup, the line beat me.

But, I wasn't going down without a fight! After we punted and I whipped up some toasted cheese sandwiches for the kids and a Wifey put together a quick quiche for us, then tubby and bedtimes, I had to run out to Target. Then, as I was leaving there what do you think I saw, just across the parking lot? Why, it was none other than the Popeyes that had beaten me earlier. I thought, seeing as how it was almost 9:30, that I shouldn't have any trouble grabbing some chicken to save for lunch tomorrow. Oh, was I wrong. When I got there, at 9:30 mind you, there were still cars lined up around the building but only a few people on line inside. Applauding myself for not being as lazy as the mopes waiting in their cars, I parked and walked to the door - only to find it locked with a 16-year-old girl standing guard. When I asked what was up she told me that had run out of chicken.

Um, I'm sorry, can you repeat that?

Popeyes ran out of chicken. A CHICKEN JOINT RAN OUT OF CHICKEN!!!!! And I was pissed. I wasn't mad at all earlier, I appreciated the popularity of their event so how could I be mad? I was a little ticked that they hadn't had the foresight to bring in another fryer or whatever they needed to keep up but to actually run out of the one food you serve? That was just stupid. And I let them know it. I went onto their web site and sent the following:

I visited the restaurant for your PayDay event and had a horrible experience. At about 5:15pm I saw a line of cars around the building waiting for the drive through so I went inside. As I got in line there were 32 people in line ahead of me. I waited for just under 15 minutes and the line did not move at all. We heard the workers at the counter saying they were waiting for chicken to cook! I couldn't believe that there wasn't ample prepared chicken ready for the crowd you knew you'd get for this event. I left after that. Then, I was out again this evening and I visited the same store at 9:30 only to find the door locked with a worker telling us that they were out of chicken. I tried twice today to visit your store, and neither time were you ready to receive me. I pass your restaurant every day going to and from work, but my experience today doesn't make me want to return in the future.

Yup, I had practically sworn off of their food before this, but their smartly planned event got me back in the door. After this? I doubt I'll be back. It's like they say - let 'em know with your wallet right?

Looking forward to the next Ben and Jerry's free cone day.

.

What's for dinner?

Spread the word - the universe's best tasting (and surprisingly, not as bad for you as you might otherwise get*) chicken is on sale tonight!

Oh yes, I do mean !!!!! Or, as a much younger JAM used to call it - Pop-Yes.

Apparently, today is Popeyes Payday. I don't care what they call it, if it means cheap chicken then I'm all for it! That's right, 8 pieces of chicken for $4.99. I... am.... THERE!

Enjoy - just make sure you take a nice hot shower after you're done. That stuff is so greasy it follows you around for a while.

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*Thanks to The Daily Plate for the following little comparison I put together-

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Does this mean I officially need help?

They say the first step toward recovery is admitting you've got a problem. Well, I'm not sure I have a problem, but if my lovely children have anything to say about it, I'm due at Dr. Drew's rehab house tomorrow.

Example #1 - JAM was invited out for the day with a friend and her Mom on a trip to the Air and Space Museum out at Dulles. Apparently a good time was had by all, and a funny story came home with them. Have you ever heard the song "Down by the Bay?" The version we know is sung by Raffi.

Witness...

So JAM comes home and tells us that the three of them were waiting in line for something and ended up singing this song but making up silly lyrics to go with it. "Have you ever seen a moose, kissing a goose" and stuff like that. What could possibly make this story fit in with my intro and my impending committal? One of JAM's lines? "Have you ever seen a notch, drinking some scotch?" Oh lordy. How proud were we that we taught him that line from Anchorman? You know the one... "Lamp! I love lamp!" We twisted that a bit and the joke around the house became "What does Daddy like? Scotch!" Oh yes, we're so proud. And JAM has decided to spread it for all the world to hear.



Example #2 -
I'm out on our back patio, doin' man stuff - you know, grillin' some meat for dinner - when Wifey asks me what I would like to drink for dinner. After the whole ceiling debacle, I thought a beer might hit the spot. So, as my lovely bride is taking a beautiful, refreshing cold Killians out of the fridge for me my little man Pudge points to it and with a huge smile on his face yells - "Dada!"

Yes, my one year old beautiful, innocent little boy has now associated his father with the tall bottle of the Gods.

I've got my bags packed. Feel free to call child services whenever you want.

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Two great things that go great together!

It's spring and Wifey is going nutso over her favorite combo of all time...

In keeping with this tradition, I wanted to post something that I just saw. Two of my favorite things smushed together. And I'm not ashamed to say that if you asked me to dream up a commercial with two more different groups of people I couldn't have come up with a more scary/bizarre combination.

Witness...

This guy is my new hero!

Amazing, simply amazing. I've got to get myself a workshop someday.

A pointless post

Alright, except for the Wii last year Wifey and I don't buy things that we would have to categorize as wants, especially for ourselves, and I like to pretend that the Wii was mostly for JAM when it comes down to it. We've watched with hardly veiled jealousy as people around us stock up on cool stuff. TVs, cars, computers, trips, paint for their walls, you know - the fancy stuff. But, we know its not in the cards for us right now. We're almost okay with that, really! Until tonight. I mean come on!!! We're watching ER and there is this one scene where one character is sitting across the screen from the other and WE CAN'T SEE EITHER OF THEM!!!! Honestly!

We want a new TV.

Oh well, someday. But wouldn't it be a shame if Pudge just happened to smash a Thomas train through the glass on the TV tomorrow?

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On a totally unrelated note, I just saw the funniest commercial. I can't find an English version, but what they say isn't even the point. I'm in love, let's just put it that way...

Learning about Web 2.0 tools

Listening to Tony Karrer speak about Learning 2.0 he brought up what seemed to be a lot of topics that were new to the audience. Apparently spending my years in education, focusing on tech integration, really put me in a great position to know about these tools and private industry is playing catch up.

So, as Tony was introducing each topic I kept wishing he would bring up the videos made by Lee Lefever. I posted about these videos more than a year ago, and they were created well before then. I know that Tony was under a time crunch so I'm wondering if he made an executive decision to not show some of these vids but I know they would have helped some of these new users understand what these tools do, the purpose behind the tools.


*Note - this goes along with my last post about Internet access - apparently someone pulled the plug on the wireless as I was writing this post yesterday while in Tony's session. This is just mind boggling that a tech conference does not have wall-to-wall coverage. I heard a rumor today that they are thinking about making coverage part of the cost of the conference next year but if the coverage they are planning on providing is anything like that which I've suffered through in my room these last few days then they should save their money. Trying to check email using the Rio's network was like watching paint dry.

Vegas Baby!!!!!!!

Yeah, that's right. I'm headed to Vegas tomorrow, for the first time ever. And you know the bestest part of all???? Work is picking up the tab. I'm going to the ASTD TechKnowledge2009 conference to do research on a new e-Learning platform for work but how cool is it that they're having it in Vegas?

Now, some may ask why I haven't brought this topic up prior to this late hour. Well, it really all boils down to one word... Wifey. Wifey hates me right now. I think by now you've figured out that Wifey will not be joining me on said trip. And that sucks. For both of us but wayyyyy more for her. We tried to make it happen but in the end the finances won out. Like I said, it sucks.

So, being the sensitive-to-all-of-her-needs (don't pay any attention to my last post and you may actually believe that) kind of guy that I am I've been mum about the trip. In fact, I've tried to not really even think about it at all, lest my excitement get the better of me. Like it is doing as I write these words. hehehehehehehehehehehe

Without boring you with too many details of how amazed I am at my luck (seriously, this kind of thing never happens to me), I wanted to point to the most in my face at the moment- the weather. The D.C. metro area is bracing for the worst storm of the last two years (seriously? they're expecting like an inch and the whole place is going gaga!!!) and I'll be enjoying suffering through 60 degree weather.

Witness...
A side-by-side weather comparison.

Yeah, Vegas so totally wins.

I LOVE YOU WIFEY!!!! PLEASE DON'T SELL THE KIDS WHILE I'M GONE!!!!!

Not being there

Way back in November, as the polls were closing and the realization that a new day was near, Wifey and I said we would be "there." "There" of course was the National Mall for the inauguration of Barack Obama. Living in the D.C. metro area provides us with a wealth of opportunity. We have world-class museums, often free of charge. We have restaurants, theater, music, comedy, national events, all within 11 miles of our house. However, living here also affords us a great deal of realism. We understand what it means to sit in hours of gridlock, traffic of epic proportions, delays on our substandard mass transit system that just can not move the amount of people who sometimes need to be moved.

All of those things collided this week as we realized that it would just be absolutely insane to try to get downtown for the ceremony. Even though this is a once in a lifetime opportunity we thought it would be wrong for us to try to drag our kids down there in single digit (wind chill puts it at a balmy 8 degrees) temperatures.

So as I sit in my office at work, enjoying a nice hot beverage and eating my breakfast, I watch the CNN newsfeed and all these jubilant but freezing people down on the Mall. I mourn my nonattendance but I realize that it was a good choice.

Good luck Mr. Obama, and stay warm.

Another "had to be shared" video

Now that the election is over, and Bush is safely being put out to pasture, I don't tune in to see Olberman much any more. I miss his rants, his far superior grasp of the words I'd love to be able to use, his style when calling someone a tool but being so smooth about it. So, when I came across this tonight it just brought a huge smile to my face. No, it's not my old friend Keith, this is a new face to me. I don't watch CNN much, if at all, so to some of you he may be well known. But he's got a new fan, let me tell you.

Thanks to Rick Sanchez for calling out Stupid the Plumber for the rest of us. He has that and a whole lot more coming to him...