Sleeping in the Cold!

Greetings from frozen Illinois! This last weekend, I had the particular joy of spending time with my Boy Scout Troop at the Annual Klondike Derby. Unlike the last two years, it was actually cold this year, but with not much more snow than the last two Klondikes. (More frozen mud and grass than snow.) For many of you out there, spending two nights in below freezing temperatures may not sound like a lot of fun to you, but this is one of the highlights of my year. Camping with the scouts is always fun, but joining them in the Klondike, trying to take home the prize and then working with them to stay warm, entertained and fed is also enjoyable. This year was no different. We did have a few scouts that were not as well prepared for the weather as they should have been and it did affect our performance, and most certainly theirs. We tried our best to get them comfortable, but in the end, I think it will be a learning experience for those boys.

One of the things I like best about hanging out with the Scouts is interacting with them on a level of not a scout leader but as a friend. I usually try to involve myself in some of their conversations, games and activities. I have even begun to be the game master for the troop. The boys love having some of the new and different games that I bring along to play after all the planned activities have ended. Let's face it, sometimes even Boy Scout Camp can be boring after hours, so I figured that having fun, easy to play games ready to go would help keep them from getting in trouble or at least keep the whining down.

All of the boys, or at least a very large majority of them, are a sheer pleasure to be around. I like to think that while they see me as one of their leaders they also see me as a friend. And even more so, I really am starting to see how my son is starting to take a role as a leader in the group, especially with some of the younger ones. And he is even starting to stand out among the older boys, even if he does not stand up for himself strongly enough. A case in point is during one of the activities at the Klondike, my son had the correct answer and method for accomplishing a goal, but the older boys decided to do it their own way, which in the end, turned out to be wrong. They should have worked together and listened to their other fellow scouts and maybe they would have done better.

Over all, the whole scouting experience is a great thing for me. I never got to be in Scouts as a kid so I am kind of experiencing this whole adventure along with my son. So far, it has been a fun ride.

Until next time!

later!

Book Recommendations...

Greetings!
I don't think I have given any book recommendations in a while, or any for that matter. But recentlyI have read a book that was such fun and heartwarming to read that I must encourage the rest of you to read it. It is "Marley and Me: Life and Love with the World's Worst Dog." byt Jack Grogan. For anyone that is a dog owner, especially a big dog owner, you must read this book. It is the misadventures of a horribly behaved dog that does so much wrong but get it right at just the precise time that he will remind you or your own dog eventually. It is a true story and filled with laugh out loud stories, stories that will tug your heart strings and maybe make you cry, and with good lessons for all of us two legged animals that only a dog can teach us. And for those of you who have an older dog, or maybe have recently lost your dog, it will be amazingly hard to read the last three chapters, so I warn you now, be prepared, not so much as the sadness of the end, but more so for the insight into the passing of a pet. Believe me, it will make so much sense to you that you will wish that you had thought of it yourself.

So go out and get "Marley and Me." You will not be disappointed.

Other Quickie Recommendations:

Quicksilver by Neal Stephenson (Historical Fiction)
The Complete Roman Army by Adrian Goldsworthy (Military History)
Eragon by Christopher Paolini (Fantasy)

What's new and what was old...

Welcome to 2007! The first post of the new year! I have not posted in such a long time, the last time being the posts from Las Vegas, because it has just been too darned busy to write a blog entry. Bad for me... I will endeavor to do better...

Since the last post, an anniversary, Christmas, New Years, and a 40th Birthday have come and gone.

My wife and I celebrated our 16th anniversary in late December with a quite dinner together and a get together with some friends at a local watering hole. It was a nice time, but I cannot wait until these bars in our area are SMOKE FREE! Yee-gahds I hate smelling like tobacco smoke. I supposed that if cigarette smoke smelled like pipe tobacco, people might not mind as much, but as it is, good riddance to the smokers, or at least to their nasty little habit.

Christmas is always a good time, however, it is not my favorite time of the year, nor my favorite holiday. Too much goes into making Christmas the holiday we expect... lots of lights, bigs trees, lots of food, tons of gifts and all the other things that make it what it is. I often wonder what Christmas' were like 200-300 years ago. I think I might like that level of celebration better. Now, mind you, I for one am not complaining about the great gifts I receive or give, but maybe some of the effort and money spent on getting these gifts and making the big parties and the elborate decorations might be better spent on spending more time together in a quieter setting. But then again, with my family, there is nothing small or quiet and yet, it is still a great time and would not miss it for the world. Maybe this is what makes Christmas such a delima for me. I am wanting more (or less, more specifically) but really enjoy and look forward to the chaos that celebrating Christmas with my family is. This year was especially good, because my sister
and brother came up with family from Texas and we had a great time together. It was good having everyone back in one place.

Next, was the New Years eve party. We have started in the last few years, a travelling, or progressive dinner party with friends from the neighborhood. It has been a really good time with some really great meals. No one, except for the person that hosts the end of the evening party really has to deal with much of a mess for very long and the guests only stay about 1.5 hours at each dinner site. It is a good time for my family. We really enjoy it. But this year, something changed! My son decided to head off on his own for a party with some of his friends. It was kind of weird not having him around. I guess I should start getting used to this. As he grows, he is going to be doing less and less with us and more with his friends. Hopefully he was taught well and there will be nothing for us to worry about as he heads out on his own more often.

Resolutions are something that were missing from this new year party again. No one mentioned that they had any, so I guess they are gonna keep doing what they have been doing in the past. My resolutions, and I make some every year are pretty short. First: To count to 10 more often and handle my kids like I do my dog. Second: To help my wife get back into shape. She is too sexy to be out of shape! That is it, but I still have to keep up with the other resolutions from years past... they don't expire, you know!

Finally, to end the holiday, or to start the New Year, my wonderful wife turned 40 on the 4th! With her help we planned a party at a friends house and invited a large number of people to join us. However, even though it was my wife who was turning 40, it was a large number of our friends who were acting either childish, or very old and could not come out and play with us. It was a bit of a disappointment for my wife, but to those who came to the party, it turned out to be a very fun one. It was great to have the family and friends who came and I thank them for it. It was however, a disappointment to have many people say they were coming to attend but then, with out notice, not make a showing. Too bad for them. Not only that, it seems to be to be rude. It did upset my wife a bit, and that makes me sad, and a bit angry, because my wife deserves the best. She sacrificed her 40th birthday present of planning a cruise, in lieu of sending our son to Europe on an ambassador trip, and I wanted to make it as nice as possible. And the gifts... not that she needed any, but sometimes a nice gift on your birthday from someone who gave it some thought, makes you feel good about yourself and gives you that warm fuzzy feeling. However, aside from a few gifts from myself and family, what upset me (and I am sure her) was the lack of communication or gifts from her family on her big day. They failed miserably. That is all I will say about that. But it was sad comment on the lack of effort on such a big day. I know it bothered her but she did not say anything.

So that is all for now on what has been happening since I last posted. I will endeavor to do better. The writing muse has been sleeping lately, and little has come to mind to post about, but I will try.

Until then however,

Happy New Year!

Later

Vegas Day Six. Geek day, last day...

The last official day in Las Vegas for us and the first half was dedicated to being a Star Trek Geek... We took the monorail over to LV Hilton and the Star Trek Experience. We went on the 2 interactive, 4D type of shows. They were pretty fun and I even think I got a bit motion sick! They had a nice display of props and stuff from the TV series and the movies and a pretty cool gift shop full of stuff for Star Trek fans. We then headed down to Quark's bar which was made up to look like the set from the DS9 tv series. The food was pretty good and decently priced. My wife even got to rub the ears of the resident Ferengi owner. Apparently not every one can do that for free! I even enjoyed a glass of Romulan Ale, direct from the Neutal Zone! It was a good time and a good way to spend part of the last day. After that we went to the convention center where there was a Cowboy Christmas going on that was there for the Rodeo Finals. I have never been to something like this but there were more hats and boots and creased denim than you can shake a stick at. I many ways, it was no different than the gaming conventions I have been to, except that the geeks at this convention call themselves cowboys and cowgirls and the ones I go to, we call ourselves geeks....

Later than night we decided to eat late as we had been eating pretty much all day long, and we had a free $50 certificate to Nine Fine Irishmen, compliments of the Tahiti Village sales seminar... So to pass the time we walked over to the M&M store again for some gifts for the kids and then over to the Coyote Uglybar at New York, New York. Coyote Ugly, if you have never been before is a bar run for and by women. And the women who work there are smart, sassy and sexy. They control everything that goes on at the bar. The only male presence I saw were the two bouncers and they were under the direct control of the ladies at the bar. They gave all the women in the establishment free shots. (my wife did partake of about 6 of them!) and they made the guys pay for the music on the jukebox and required us to do certain things to get shots. I volunteered to get shots but didn't know what to expect. Luckily they only made us do a dance off. Me and three other guys in the middle of the bar dancing for a shot from between the bar mistress's legs... what guys will do for a pretty girl with free drinks... I did my best but got beat out because some cowboy had like a 1000 of his friends there and I lost and took 2nd. he got the shots, I got a kiss from my wife... I think I won in the end after all! It was really cool and very fun. I would definately go back there.
After that we had reservations for 9pm at Nine Fine Irishmen and eat some great(Free) food and listened to a great Irish band with a stepdancer that could have been in RiverDance. It was a great way to end the week in Vegas. It was very late and we were to leave for home tomorrow in the morning so it was the end of the vacation. Time well spent and much money not very well spent. Next time we go we will have to go with a bunch of friends. I think it would be even more fun!

Time to go!

later!

Vegas... Day five Real estate and proof that real men eat PINK!

Okay.. so this is day five and we are gonna pay for being naive and obvious tourists. The very first day and not more than three hours on the ground and we get suckered into one of the many "Free show and dinner specials" that it seems everyone wants to give you. We got snagged in New York, New York, and we were talked into doing a 2.5 hour seminar/business pitch to look at some time share property in Vegas. For doing it, we would get a free show... Lance Burton, magician, and $50 in meal tickets to a decent restaurant. Ok. So we did it. We were picked up at 8:45am to go tot Tahiti Village to have people talk to us about how cheap and smart for us to buy into a time share. Sure it would be if you liked coming back to Vegas every year and you consider $1200 a year cheap for a vacation. It was funny though that the guy trying to sell us on this deal was from Broadlands, Illinois! Small freaking world. He should have known right off the bat that midwestern, central Illinoisians are not going to give over $4,000 down in a matter of minutes while on vacation... Anyway, we got our tickets and certificate and a thank you and we were dropped back off where we got on. So now what... It was near noon and we would have to try and get and get a ride to the Star Trek experience. Sounded like a lot of work so we decided to go back to the hotel and make use of our room..............................................

Later that day..... We headed out and got some food at Planet Hollywood and then hoofed it over to the Monte Carlo to see the show. Surprisingly, we had some good seats and the show was darned good and fun! Not bad for sitting through a sales pitch! On the way back we caught another Bellagio fountain show... very nice as always... and decided to go get some more fabulous desserts at the little French style dessert stand. That is when I got my Rose Macaroon. The bright pink dessert! Man was it good, and man was it pink! It had a rose petal encrusted in sugar, fresh raspberries and custard inside with cookie type top and bottom. You had to work hard to get the goodies in between the pink parts but once you got there, it is sooo good that you want to go back and get more as soon as possible! (Breakfast??!?!)

Well, then it was late and we headed back to the Caesar and its friendly confines. Oh and I have not mentioned... one of the coolest things about walking the Strip.... there is a constant music soundtrack everywhere you go. Like carrying your XM radio on your favorite channel all day long! It was off for a short while at the hotel and it was like everything was shut down. I missed it! Weird...

Well that is all for now... Tomorrow... Geek Day.

Later

Vegas Day four...Chocolate and gambling

Today was a very lazy day, and at some points, boring. Yeah.. go figure! Bored in Las Vegas... but it can happen, especially if you can't justify over priced shopping or are not going to gamble and you don't have a car!

The conference was in its final day and was expected to last well into the afternoon, so i spend a big part of the day doing some reading and some tv watching. No Star Trek Experience today...
I did go out and do some people watching which can be quite entertaining in itself.

I talked with the kids and even got to talk to the dog, all of which made me a bit homesick, but it was better once my wife was done with the conference. When we got together, we decided to walk over to the Bellagio, the one hotel we had not been in yet. When we got there, we saw a very impressive set of Christmas decorations made up of giant polar bears and reindeer made up of carnations and pecans. They also have a huge tree with dancing water spouts around it. But that was nothing compared to the chocolate fountain at the little shop around the corner at Jean Phillipe's You can see part of it on the last photo. We couldn't resist the temptation to buy come good European chocolate and shared a small chocolate mousse cake. WOW was it good!

Later we went back to the Caesar and had some food and did a bit of gambling. The photo was not supposed to be taken in the casino, but the guy at the wheel of fortune said he would look the other way. We did not do to badly, turning $10 into $34. So, there. We gambled in Las Vegas. Now we are official non-virgins to Vegas.

Tomorrow we are planned to do a tour at a time share to get free tickets and dinner, something most wide eyed tourists get roped into while in Vegas. So. until day Five, see you later.

Vegas... Day three... lots to do!

Day three and I think that we had our busiest of the days so far. After my wife's conference was done in the afternoon, we headed out on foot to go see the sites. And we did a bunch! We went and hobnobbed with the stars at Madam Tossouds Wax Museum. It is creepy how life like they are!

Then we were off to see some of the other sites at the hotels along the strip. We went in to most of them and compared to the Ceasar's, they seem to be of lesser quality. We have yet to see the inside of the Bellagio so we will can't comment on that yet.

We did take the ride up to the top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris-Las Vegas. It afforded a great veiw of the strip and the surrounding countryside. We even saw the fountains do their dance again from 50 stories up!

We headed south on the strip again and checked out the Luxor which is just HUGE! But like so many of the others, the Casino is the main attraction and it looked just like all the others. On the way back up the strip we stopped at the M&MM World store and shopped around. You can see in the photo all the 22 colors of M&M's bu we only ever get to see about 7 of them in the commercial market. We bought some for the kids. It was neat to see the colors you never see in packages.

We got back to the hotel later that afternoon and made use of the huge jaccuzzi and got ready to head out for dinner. We got to eat at SPAGOS, which is the famous restaurant owned by Wolfgang Puck. Man, it was some good food, but like everything else in Vegas, expensive.

Later we headed over to the Venetian for a gondola ride and a bit of shopping at the Blue Man Group store. My son Julian would love this store...

I purchased tickets for the Star Trek Experience which we will do on Wednesday so expect some photos of geeks tomorrow!

Gotta run! Later!

Las Vegas .. Day 2. The expensive and the ridiculous

Hey! Day 2 in Las Vegas and we still have not gambled. Probably because it cost so much for everything else that I can't hardly stand to give out the last few dollars in my pocket... Let's see, $5 for a water, $35 for breakfast, and $12 a day to just use the internet. But in the end, a big portion will be paid back from the conference re-imbursement. Monday was a lazy day. I headed out to the Forum Shops and quickly found that if you do not make at least $100.000 annually, you really can't afford to shop there. There are some high class establishments there that sell some really nice stuff and I would love to relieve them of some of their inventory, but alas, it is far to expensive. We did alot of window shopping which can be just as tiring as the real shopping. A nap was definately in order for the afternoon. We did not really have any plans other than exploring the strip a little more and a nice dinner out, especially since the last place was kind of a disappointment.
We set out but not before my wife tried her hand goosing the 16ft DAVID statue in the middle of the Appian Way in the Hotel.

Our dinner reservation was at a place called Sushi Roku, which looked nice from the description. And we were not dissappointed! It had a great selection and a great view. Nicely priced and great service. I even found a new appetizer that I will have to try to make at home!

After the our meal we headed in the opposite direction that we traveled last time and went to see the pirate show at Treasure Island but found it shut down for renovation. Oh well. More walking and we finally ended up at the Venetian Hotel. Nice looking place but it smelled funny. It is supposed to look like Venice with a canal and Gondola boats and all. Very cool. We are gonna go back for a boat ride I think. We walked around the shopping area, which you can see looks like a town square. It was here that I found the most ridiculous and expensive thing I have ever seen. It was at a watch and timepeice shop. A watch caught my eye and I asked about it. The clerk said they carried it and there were only two of them left and were $56,000.00 each. It did not register to me immediately that he had just said $56,000.00 for a watch! It was about 10 seconds later when I saw the price tag that it sunk in. There is a watch on the market that costs more than it cost me to buy my house! And then looking more closely, my wife pointed out a pocket watch that was $66,000.00!!! You gotta be kidding! Who buys this stuff!?

anyway... we walked some more and made our plans for Tuesday and it should be fun. The Tossaud's wax museum, the Eiffel tower and the M&M store! Funny, no mention of gambling yet.. maybe we should do that.

Later!

Vegas... Day one

Hey Hey! We are in Vegas! Cool city! The flight was great as we got bumped to first class with a great meal, glasses of wine and a very talkative flight attendant. Nice comfy chairs too!

We got in around 1pm Vegas time and went right to Ceasar Palace where we a staying. Lots of cool Roman design! This is neat as I am exploring doing a Roman Persona for history demos and school demos and such. Very, very nice place! And Huge! I was a bit dissappointed that there are no Roman types here and it seems that there is no vomitorium.... dang... I thought for Vegas, something as tacky as that would be here.

Anyway, the room is nice and the bathroom is great! Big shower, jaccuzzi tub and two sinks. Big soft bed and plenty of room.

After recharging from the plane ride, we set out to find New York, New York, where we would eat and then see out first show in Vegas. We ate in an Italian restaurant that had great food but crappy service, so I will speak no more of it. The show we were to see was in the same area so we strolled around and waited for the doors to open. It is Zumanity by Cirque Du Soleil. WOW! It is a show that celebrates sexuality, sensuality and erotic humanity with a bit of drama, acrobatics, dancing, and singing with lots of great music. Performed mostly by primarily naked or topless Cirque peformers, it is a show that can take you out of your comfort zone, especially when the performers come down to your seat and interact with you in ways, that most strangers do not on a regular basis. (think groping and dry humping in some aspects) Overall, it was a fantastic performance! (the photo on the right is one of the performers... Antonio el 7", who made it his job to take us out of our comfort zone.)

After the show were walked back past the Bilagio and watched the fountains. It was cool.

Back to the hotel and to bed. My wife's conference is tomorrow. I will go out and explore and see what there is do see. More tomorrow then! I will try to post photos if possible!

The photos were added after I wrote this so, they are out of order. The first one is of me on a BED at the pool where you could relax, sleep or conceivably, have sex on (draw the curtains) if you so desired while visiting the pool. The second photo is one of my famous "arm shots" at the New York, New York casino. The thirds is explained above.

Later!

Rootin' Tootin' good holiday!

Hello all! It has been a while since I have felt the creative urge to write anything! I still do not feel all the creative, but I thought I would put down what a traditional Thanksgiving Holiday is for my family. Thanksgiving, is as you know, the forgotten holiday... it gets forgotten between Halloween and Christmas, except by those brave souls that venture out for the early morning Black Friday shopping extravaganza.

However, Thanksgiving is not forgotten by our family. No.. as a matter of fact, it is something that is looked forward to. Not just because we get together and eat more than we should, but because we break out our shootin' irons and have a great time shooting at clay pigeons, stationary targets, beer cans, dirt clods, etc. etc.... It is a great time. This last weekend for the holiday, we had wonderful weather and made the most of it. We gobbled (no pun intended) our food down and headed out behind my dad's barn and started blasting! This was even better for me, because for the first time, my son was able to join in with his own shotgun, and he showed himself to be a very good shot and very responsible with the gun... maybe more so than some of the adults! And to top it off, my wife joined in and also proved to be pretty good! I think she was the best shooter of the girls that were also shooting with us! It was kick ass! It is a real treat for me to see my family do well at stuff like this, especially since it is such a big part of my and my family tradition! But more importantly it is great to see us all having such a great time. My dad keeps talking about wanting to sell his place and move to the big city of 850 people down the road. I can understand his reasoning, but a move like this will kill a tradition like our Turkey Day shoot out. But, that is neither here not there and as long as we can get together as a family to do this stuff and keep on having a great time together, we will. Christmas is coming up and it is looking to be another big family get together. And I am sure that there will be more good times like there were for Thanksgiving. Who says that guns can't create family togetherness!


Later!

ps..
I am headed to Las Vegas in a day or two... Maybe I will post some stuff from Sin City! We will see! What goes on in Las Vegas is not necessarily supposed to leave Las Vegas!

2 year anniversary!

Well! It has been two years since I started this little blog. In that time I think it has become more of an open diary than anything else. What will the next two years bring? Maybe somewhere, way down the line, like 70 years from now, someone will use it to add stuff to my eulogy. (yes, I plan to be around for the next Halley's comet) Anyway, rather than add something new, I am going to republish some of my first writings for you. So here is one of my early favorites.
Enjoy!

MY Manifesto....
This is something I had prepared for a Survivor Audition Tape but at the last minute decided to do something different. However, everything in my little manifesto is still true. Never did get on that stupid show...
Who I am is a husband, a father, and a son. Who I am is someone who believes that without the Father, Son and Holy Ghost, you can never find real happiness or prosperity.

I believe that it takes a real man to find a woman who is your soul-mate and love her for the rest of your life.

I believe that most modern Americans are soft, lazy and over legislated, but we are still the greatest nation history has ever known.

Politically, I think most left wingers and liberals are self-loathing whiners who want Americans to be hand fed by the government.
I believe that to hunt, track and kill wild game is the best way to get closer to being a natural person, not wearing sandals, eating tofu and hugging trees. Vegetarianism is unnatural.

And speaking of things like hunting, gun control is hitting your target on the first shot.

Drugs, even casual use drugs, are for losers. I’ve never used them, never will.

I have never much been interested in athletics, but believe that to let oneself go physically is a sin. I believe in staying in the best shape that one can.

And speaking of athletes, I think most professional athletes are over-sexed, over-medicated, moral degenerates that have no place being role models for our kids.

My biggest regret is not joining the military service. I would have made a great soldier.

Living outdoors, sleeping under the stars, without a whole lot, or very little modern conveniences, is what I call a vacation.

I am a great liar. But I have a guilty conscience so, I hate to lie. But when needed, you will never know I am doing it.

I believe that in order to have friends, you must be, and act like a friend.

Are you in a play or something?

As many of you know, I will at times, give historical demos and talks at local schools or for schools around the area. Part of the reason I do it is to justify the time and cost that goes into making up a "kit" for these demos. Another reason is to get a bit of money on the side. But most importantly, I like doing them so that I can make learning history fun and exciting. Many would agree that history classes can be dreadfully boring, especially with all the names and dates and such. However, having someone like a re-enactor come in to show students the clothing, equipment, weapons and armor of a soldier from a by gone time, can fuel some real enthusiasm in some kids. Below is a letter that was forwarded to me from a teacher at a school were I did a talk on the Middle Ages. This was in the spring of this current year, but I recently came across it and thought I would share it with you all. It is letters like this that makes doing these demos all the more rewarding...


Hello all,
> > Just wanted you to know that Ryan LOVED Medieval Day,
> and that is
> > an understatement! He raved about it all Friday night and
> at 10 P.M.
> > asked me if I wanted to hear all about from start to finish
> and I said
> > sure.
> > "Well, we started with the Pledge of Allegiance . . ."
> (honest!)
> > and I think I heard every detail of the day until I told
> him we both
> > had to go to bed at midnight. It was a beautiful day of integrated
> > learning for him and he was full of questions, ideas, and,
> most of all
> > enthusiasm. It provoked discussions of Eastern and Western
> cultures,
> > the role of alchemy in evolution of chemistry, cooking and eating
> > habits, weapons and defense, falconry, and much more. As he is
> > relating all this to me while he is jumping, jumping,
> jumping on his
> > trampoline, he exclaimed, "I think it was the best day of
> my life!"
> > Then he paused and said that perhaps that was an exaggeration and
> > thought about it for a minute and then said, "I can't think
> of any better ones."
> > His good mood lasted all weekend as his dad reported to me that
> > Ryan was as happy, and as good, as he has ever seen him.
> > So thank you all - it sounds like it was a tremendous amount of
> > work and I wanted you to know that it was also a tremendous success.
> > With thanks, Buffie

So there you go... proof that history can be fun for kids, if done correctly.

Later!

Things I learned as a substitute teacher

Recently, I got the priviledge to substitute teach for an ECE class. (Early Childhood Education) Basically this is a pre-school class within the regular school system, but all the kids in this class have some form of learning disability or special needs. Some of them were light cases, where others were extreme cases. While spendind the day with them I learned a few things.

One, it is okay if you don't get things done precisely, or for that matter, correctly. With these kids, some progress or some attempt is better than nothing.

Two, the teachers and teacher's aides are not paid enough. They are fantastic people. I only have to deal with the kids on a irregular basis while they deal with them almost everyday. I truly doubt I could do that.

Three, these kids don't know they have difficulties. To them, it is just the way things are. We are the ones that perceive them as abnormal or disabled.

And lastly, and most importantly, I learned that everyone who has a "normal" child and complains about them, should spend a week helping out in a class like this. After that much time, they will come away from it knowing that things could be a lot worse for them and that they should be thankful for what kind of kid they have. In this class there are students for whom the simple act of writing their name will be Herculean effort, or an act that they will never accomplish. There is also a child who was the victim of a violent act that they will never recover from. Many people might think that this child would have been better off not surviving the incident, but after spending time with this child, I think I know their purpose in life. It is to show people like me that we should appreciate our normal kids more and quit the bitching about them, because, but for the Grace of God, we could easily be in the same situation.

So, the next time you find yourself complaining about your "normal", go spend some time with a special needs kids. You will find it rewarding, certainly entertaining, and you will gain a better understanding of what normal is!

later!

Politically Incorrect....

This year will be the 15th time my wife and I have hosted a Halloween Party with a theme. Our themes have run the gamut of ideas, from traditional to more intellectual. This year's theme is come as you favorite politically incorrect person, place or thing. I thought long and hard about my costume, only to have two of the ideas shot down due to reasons of being maybe a little too much over the top. (Okay, I will admit, one of them, in today's current environment, might have been a bit too much.)

So eventually I settled on a different idea and came up with a list of politically incorrect ideas and statements, which, while being non-PC, are very much true statements from me. I am thinking of having them printed on a T-shirt for my costume. Here is the list so far...

SOMETIMES……

· War is the only answer.
· Kids need a spanking.
· God needs to be acknowledged.
· Some people just need to be killed.
· It is possible to admire a group’s accomplishments while despising their ideology.
· A flag is sometimes more than just a piece of cloth.
· Having a bad childhood is not an excuse for being crappy adult.
· The color of your skin is not a qualification for a job.
· Halloween is a cool holiday and should be celebrated (same goes for Christmas).
· I DO NOT have to agree with you just because you think I should.
· Dead White Men of history deserve credit instead of criticism for what they did.
· Playing dodge ball builds character.
· Hunting animals for food and clothing is good for everyone involved.
· Guns in schools can be educational instruments.
· Alternative lifestyles are just un-natural.

I imagine that there are many out there who will get pissed at these statements, but if they stopped and thought about them for a bit, I bet they would agree with alot of them. And if you happen to think of any more, please feel free to comment and add your own!

Later!

Leave it to a German....

to invent the national drink of Mexico...

From the June 2006 edition of German World:

Did you know that Mexico owes its national drink, Tequila, to the German botanist Franz Weber? Although there have been tequila like drinks in Mexico for 400 years, it was only in 1896 that from 136 kinds of agave plants that Weber discovered the one best suited for making Tequila. Before Weber, conducted his studies, in the state of Jalisco near the village of Tequila, nobady had heard the word "Tequila." Today, in honor of Weber, the blue agave plant is still call Agave Tequilana Weber. Source: "Auch ja!?", Humboldt-Verlag.


Hmm... tequila is a big part of my family as both of my children are direct results of tequila intoxication... So I guess I am indebted to Herr Weber! Vielen Dank, Herr Weber!

Funny clothes, birthdays, and HALO

Wow! It is only the end of the first week of October and I have had a busy few days!

Let's see now... On Monday, I substituted for the 7th grade Social Studies teacher that my son has. He was really stoked to think that I would be his teacher for two classes! I was quite happy to be doing Social Studies as that is one of my strong points and there would be no math involved! Truth is, the day was pretty much already planned out for me so it would be a breeze. But what really made it special was the excitement that many of the students had when they knew I would be a substitute! I have known most of these kids for about 10 years now and they know me by my first name or as "Julian's Dad." It was a real ego boost to see how happy they were to see me behind the desk and to hear comments like "Alright! Julian's dad!" or "Yeah! He's cool!" It also was great to hear them say good things about Julian too. And if I can somehow help his level of "Coolness" in school, all the better too! It was really great and I look forward to it again! I think it proves that you can be involved in your kid's life and school activities and not be considered the enemy. You just have to identify with them and let them be kids and show that you can be a kid too! But at the same time, they really crave attention and direction from adults.. and if you treat them with respect, they will respect you back! It was a great day!

Then later that same week... I did two demo as local schools talking about the Middle Ages. Once again, despite what many whiney liberal types might think, having weapons in schools and using them for educational purposes will always get and hold their attention more than a dusty book. As a matter of fact, I now have a rule that if a school wants me to come talk about the Middle Ages or the Revolutionary War, but does not want me to bring in the historically accurate weapons of the time, then they really don't want to talk about the history and I won't do it. Sorry, but that is just the way it is. All the knee jerk laws restricting weapons in schools sometimes gets in the way of education!

And then there was my birthday! Nothing like my 40th birthday celebration... This one was much smaller, but I think I worked just as hard! Let's see, my family and I made home meade apple cider with the help of other family members and friends, we made homemade ice cream and we had a wiener roast with more food than truly was necessary! It was alot of fun, but maybe more work than needed. Birthdays are very important to me.. everyone needs to have there one special day... whether you are famous or not! And you should take the day off from work, just like a national holiday! Why not?!?! God gave this one day to call your own and that seems like good enough reason for me! Now, truth be said, we celebrated my birhtday one day early because the next day, my actually birthday, would be dedicated almost solely to playing the greatest video game yet created.... HALO: Combat evolved.

On the 8th, my good friend Dave and I, set up and ran a Halo tournament to help raise funds for the local Share And Care Senior Center. It was a blast! 10 teams of 4 people each! Four systems linked together! It was a blast! We raised over $800 for the center and had many people ask if we were going to do it again! We had kids from 8 years old to over 40! And everyone got along great and despite some mis-steps we had a great tournament! We had lots of good help and great support from some members of the community! Many people say that violent video games are no good, and in some cases they might be, but it is my feeling that anything in too large amount can be bad. However, instead of trying to get rid of them, maybe more people should do stuff like this and use it for good! It was a blast, and normally more work than I like for my birthday, but now that I think about it, it wasn't really work, but more like play, and that is what you should do on your birthday... have fun.. play games... enjoy the day.

Later!

The making of a geek....

Well, intentional or not, my wife has announced to my son, that his father, me, has turned him into a geek. How, you might ask, can a mother be so mean and unfeeling to her son's feelings at such a tender age? Well, because she isn't telling him anything he doesn't already know...

Last night while sitting on the couch watching Disney Channel's Ned's Declassified School Notes with him... yes, it is a good show, I mentioned that after a recent D&D game I hosted, his character had advanced a level and I was telling him some of the details. He was excited and began to ask some questions when his mom came in and asked what we were talking about. He explained and she the proceeded to tell him that he had been turned into a geek by another geek... his father. But what makes this so funny, at least to me, is that despite the good natured ribbing that she gives he and I, she too is pretty geeky herself...

You see, she proved it by showing us the new Yierd Al Yankovic video, WHITE AND NERDY, which if you can follow along, pretty much details alot of what we as a family or as individuals do or have as hobbies. My wife included. She can quote Monty Python, spends times at Renaissance faires, designs websites and a number of other things mentioned in this video. The video is quite funny and you should check it out. But beware, you might find yourself identifying with it!!!

And do you know what? I like that my son has a bunch of my "geeky" interests... It give us more in common and brings us closer. (And it gives me someone to game with.) Even my daughter wrote on a school assignment, why I am someone she treasures... because I teach her... swordfighting... I can't wait to hear her teacher's reation to that one...

A friend of mine recently made some cool cards that are "Official Card Carrying Geek Cards" so that some of those deserving enough can be Official Card Carrying Geeks! I think that maybe I need to get some and hand them out to my family....

Well, I am off to do more geek work on my family... oh, and let it be known that my wife has agreed to accompany me to spend time together next year at, of all places... GenCon! Who is geeky now?!?!? (Another reason why I love her..)

later!

Gaming and Movie News...

First off, my wife sent me this about the new upcoming Halo Movie that I have posted on before, but mainly about the new video game that is related to HALO the XBOX game. I will have the news article at the bottom of this post. But what I really want to point out, that despite there being a really cool duo at the helm of a new HALO video game and movie, this means that any work on a HOBBIT prequel to the Lord of the Rings movies by Jackson will be pushed even further back! Come on Peter! Get the Hobbit movie rolling! Tolkein fans are dying to have it made! Okay... Now on to the news article, which despite my concern, is really really cool for gamers!


Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh to make new Halo game, original IP
2006/09/27
Microsoft has confirmed that the Academy Award-winning duo Peter Jackson and Fran Walsh (Lord of the Rings, King Kong) are set to create two "new interactive series" for Xbox 360 and XBLA. The first is a "collaborative effort with Bungie Studios to co-create the next great chapter in the Halo universe."

"It's not Halo 3," said Scott Henson, Director of the Game Development Group at Microsoft. "It's a brand new game based in the Halo IP. In a phone conversation with Joystiq, Henson disclosed that writing credits will be given to Jackson and Walsh. As for how the full-fledged game will fit within the continuity of the Halo universe among three installmen ts, a real-time strategy game, and a film, Henson was tight-lipped. "It's going to remain a mystery," he said.

The second title will be an entirely new intellectual property -- "completely from scratch," Henson clarified -- created with the intention of "bringing new audiences into the captivating world of interactive entertainment." The game will be made in conjunction with Wingnut Interactive, a new studio created via a collaboration with Jackson/Walsh and Microsoft Games Studio.

"Fran is a really big gamer and really excited about telling stories through games," said Henson. "We haven't talked about any details and we will when we're ready." If the focus is mass appeal, then Jackson/Walsh -- who managed to make Hobbits cool -- are the best people to have at the helm.

More proof that Star Trek lives!!!

The original Star Trek series will be given a new breath of life with the help of CGI's and digital remastering.

Read more about it in this Yahoo News link...

http://news.yahoo.com/s/eo/20060901/en_tv_eo/19912


For Trekkies out there, this will be a big gift for them! And it will be nice to see the old crew back up on the Television screen again!


Live Long and Prosper!

Good News from Germany!

The wolves of Germany are back! An unusual and unexpected result of the unification of East and West Germany!

Check out this article!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/nm/20060830/sc_nm/environment_germany_wolves_dc_2




HOOOOWWWWOOOOOOOOOOO!!!