Dylan and I got a chance to take a trip together to Florida. We had incredible fun at Busch Gardens and at Universal Studio's Island of Adventure.One of the fun things about our trip was that I finagled a free upgrade on my rental car. So we drove around Florida in a nice, new Mustang. The big V8 had a powerful basso and a lot of acceleration. Too bad it sucked down the gas like a mutha.We went to two amusement parks, my favorite was Busch Gardens in Tampa. It was less crowded and less expensive, but the rides were easily as good, if not better than Islands of Adventure. Islands of Adventure … [Read more...]
Sock Hoppin’
March 28, 2008 by Leave a Comment
It was an incredibly crowded night at the elementary school for the annual sock hop. We loaded up the entire posse, all 3 Joslyn girls and 2 Kline girls, and headed out for some fun. It was pretty chaotic. But overall, everybody had fun. … [Read more...]
Coins
March 27, 2008 by Leave a Comment
When I was a child of maybe 4 or 5, I got to participate with my dad in his coin collecting hobby. It was a lot of fun for me and a memorable way to learn how to count by 5's, 10's, and 25's. Despite the fact that it's been decades since I'd really done any sort of coin collecting, the experience always stayed with me as something enjoyable. It seemed like a sort of happy thing for a parent and a child to do, like fishing is for some families.So, on a whim, I bought a few coin collecting books while at Barnes & Noble with Rachel. They weren't anything special, just the latest books for … [Read more...]
BIG MAC
March 26, 2008 by 2 Comments
I came home from a run to McDonald's to pick up a meal for me, mine, and Rachel and hers. One of the kids (Emily, I think) burst out "That's a huge frickin bag!" I hadn't thought of it until she said so, but it really was big. … [Read more...]
So much to blog about and so little time
March 26, 2008 by 2 Comments
I'm sorry that I've fallen off the bandwagon. There's so much to do, but never enough time to do it.A couple things I'm thinking about right now are:Getting estimates from contractors on finishing one, if not two, unfinished rooms in the house. This is great because the unfinished rooms have always made the house feel, well, unfinished. I'll feel a certain emotional emancipation by having those rooms finished. It's like having a puzzle with a couple pieces not yet in place. Yes, it's a beautiful image, but it ain't finished yet.Maybe possibly potentially getting a new(ish) car for me. I … [Read more...]
Welcome to England
March 4, 2008 by 4 Comments
I'm off on my first international trip of the year and, let me tell you, the economic problems at home in the USA have a direct impact on my wallet. Look at these currency prices:In case you're having trouble reading the sign, it says that you can buy 229 pound sterling with change for $500. That means that every steak, fish & chips, soda, and newspaper costs more than twice what it does in the USA. Aaaagh! … [Read more...]
The Passing of a Good Friend
February 12, 2008 by 1 Comment
I've been in a real funk lately since my good friend, Ken Henderson, passed away unexpectedly two Sundays ago. It's taken me this long to get into a place where I feel like I can blog again.Ken was 40, a father with young kids, and a happy marriage. I don't know the exact cause of his death, but it was very much a surprise. Ken was a SQL Server expert and author like me and we often shared a beer at the various conferences every year, as well as emailed and talked often.If you read my blog with any regularity, you might've noticed a link on the lower left entitled The Antichristian … [Read more...]
If I Were President, Episode #3
January 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment
The newspapers are filled with news about how hard it is for the Army to find foot soldiers for duty in Iraq. It's ironic that the USA has over 2 million people serving in active duty roles in all branches of the military, but we have great difficulty fielding more that 130,000 fighting men in Iraq. This fact of military organization is metaphorically known as "the point of the spear". The idea being that it takes an even larger pool of cooks, logistics officers, car pool mechanics, administrative assistants, and others in total to field a large group of fighters. I can't remember the exact … [Read more...]
Rethinking Sears
January 21, 2008 by Leave a Comment
I gave up on Sears back in the late 80's when the stopped taking Visa, Mastercard, and American Express in order to shill the Discover Card. Although I liked their product lines, especially Craftsman tools with their unlimited lifetime warranty, I decided I didn't want to buy from any company that didn't want to take my money on my terms. (And why is it that big, successful American companies, think GM and others, always seem to get so arrogant like that?)Anyway, I received a possible chain letter from a friend, shown below:I know I needed this reminder since Sears isn't always my first … [Read more...]
Vasovagal Syncope
January 7, 2008 by 4 Comments
Ok, it happened again.Twice now in the past two Februaries, I've had a situation where I had a terrible fainting problem that caused my heart to stop beating. It's known as vasovagal syncope (that's pronounced "sin-cope-ee") and it's actually rather common. About 1 in 200 people have it, but for 90% of them, it simply causes dizziness when they stand up quickly. For a few of them, it will cause outright fainting. And for a very few, it causes our hearts to stop.On the previous two occurrences, I was very sick with stomach flu and quite dehydrated. This is one of the triggers of vasovagal … [Read more...]
