Puppetmaster2u: My Blog

Are we there yet?

2011-07-06T23:05:00.001-04:00

1633 miles of fun later; I finally got to post pics from the recent Deals Gap trip w/ Dave and Chris :-)

We found a new waterfall, but don't remember where LOL
Dave and I rolled up the Dragon on Friday night; a little wet still, and a lot of fog; so I lifted the hood shine a light up through it.
Saturday we took the Blue Ridge Parkway to Grandfather Mountain - both should be considered a "must see". The view from Grandfather Mountain - very cool (and extremely windy). The ranger said you could see for about 60-80 miles
Funny "high wind" sign b/c (1) it really is that windy, and (2) note the trees in the background lol
The Mile High Suspension Bridge on Grandfather Mountain
Saturday on the way back, the weather was rollin in... so we pulled off to wait it out and found a brewery.
Sapphire Mountain Brewing Company to specific. Nice place, but, if you want a shirt with this logo on it.... $25?!?! I wanted a shirt b/c I thought they looked cool, but I didn't want it for that much...
I like this shot, but I'm no Killboy...

4th weekend

2011-07-04T18:09:00.005-04:00

Pics from the weekend:

Woodland Mound water park

One of my favorite things, watching the Crew game w/ Jack

One of Jack's favorite things, the bounce house across the street @ the 4th party

Pretending to be Harry Potter w/ sparklers

Quited Barn Tour

2011-07-01T20:35:00.001-04:00

A few months ago I got a smart phone. Like all other smart phones, it can scan bar codes etc, and the other day while at Deals Gap/Tail of the Dragon, I saw a barn quilt. Since bar codes can be any size big or small, I wondered why I hadn't see this on any of them yet... I thought it'd be creative...
(Now of course, I fabricated the image above from this image I took during the last Barn Quilt Tour we did so don't expect to see it out there....yet.... Yes, the UPC code works, tho I think you have to click the picture to get a clearer image) ;-)

Are we there yet? 2

2011-06-27T23:05:00.002-04:00

Colleen scored some tickets to Sunday night's Columbus Crew game, and was gracious enough to see if I wanted to take Jackson. Not about to turn down a game, we were happy to attend.

We got there early; and was able to meet Crew Cat

The Wall: Jack wanted to do the rock wall. He tried once and fell about a third of the way up, but as we passed it on the way to our seats, he wanted to try it again. This time, he slipped again about a third of the way up, but managed to hang on, regain his hand hold and footing, and continue up to the top :-)

He was SUPER proud of himself - heart beating out of his chest:

Happy Fathers Day

2011-06-19T16:16:00.000-04:00

I was looking for something for Jackson and I to do together, and came across the Red Toolbox series at Lowes, the last time I was over there. I saw birdhouses, boats, and other misc wood projects, so I took him there last week to pick something out, and he found the Red Toolbox Air Hockey Kit.

He had to use the saw to cut the wood, the file to knock the rough cuts down, sand paper to smooth it over, and a screwdriver to put it all together. He did 99% of it - I only finished a few of the screws for him after they got too hard to turn.

The look of determination

First game

Finished!

Win!

Futbol of a different sort

Sunday we went to the Cincinnati Zoo, where today, Fathers got in free. :-) Jack has been askin me to take him to the zoo, so today I couldn't pass it up.

Jack's favorite exhibit

He could be a red-tailed hawk

Thankfully Jackson was there b/c a reptile got out and he was able to wrestle it into submission!

After all that, he was totally worn out...

Dead leaves

2011-06-15T20:51:00.005-04:00

So... tonight, Jackson and I were working in his cub scout book. One of the chapters has him identifying 5 tools and what they're used for, so out to the work bench we went. We were on our third tool when I noticed a couple of dead leaves on the edge of the bench;

and right as I went to brush it off...I realized it wasn't dead leaves...

After several minutes of goose bumps... I had to get it out of my house / the garage... I don't like moths... so I grabbed a stick...

ok, it was the longest walking stick I had LOL & got him outa there

Afterwords, Jack wanted to pick him up :-) (not me though...)

Here's a great video of Jack and I discussing whether it is actually dead, or alive. Wait for around the 2 min mark ;-)

Vuvuzela Awakening

2011-06-09T23:03:00.001-04:00

Oh yeah, I almost forgot about this video. After the Columbus Crew v Real Salt Lake game I joked with Jackson that I'd wake him with the vuvuzela when we got home; after driving the 2 hrs, that's what I did ;-)

Impromptu

2011-06-09T00:29:00.006-04:00

So, last Sunday when Jack and I were watching the game... the announcer game on inviting everyone to the next home game, Wednesday June 8th, at 7:30pm. Jack looks up at me and says, "Hey, we should go?! I don't have school on Thursday!"
-What a great idea pal...so we went.

All smiles on the way up

...although it is a long drive if you're six...

Sound the horns*! We're here!(It's a vuvuzela)

Spirit

Gettin some drills in before the game... Dad fail... I guess flip flops were a bad idea...

Jackson caught a shirt pre-game, and a soccer ball at half time!

GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAL!

Final, Columbus Crew 2 - Real Salt Lake 1 :-)

The long ride home.. The pic I took prior to this shows the clock saying 10pm, and the outside temperature at 91 degrees. It was hot! lol

Regardless...Great idea Jack - we'll have to do it again soon!

Gone fishin

2011-06-05T23:40:00.001-04:00

Jack's been begging me to go fishing... so this morning we woke up early and went at about 8:30am. 2 hrs later he caught a small fish, about 4 inches long :-)
After the heat of the day settled in, we came back to watch the Columbus Crew game from last night. What a great final goal.

After that we went for a bike ride; Jack wanted to ride up to school, so we did; where we saw work being done at the Willowville Elementary playground. I remembered they asked for volunteers last week, so Jackson and I stopped to lend a hand. He was a big help :-)

Finally, we rounded out the day with a water fight to cool off

Busy weekend!

Raingutter Regatta

2011-06-04T21:58:00.000-04:00

Saturday morning was Jack's Cub Scout Raingutter Regatta. He did great making his boat. He picked the colors, drew the flames, and painted the whole thing. The concentration.... the look of determination...

The only thing I did... was cut a stencil for his sail. I copied a skull/crossbones, and his pack number in "pirate font" on top of the sail.. he spray painted it though and peeled it up to reveal the finished sail. There was however.... one problem...

Dad fail. LOL Nobody said anything? ;-)

This one looks like it should say Olan Mills in the bottom corner or something ;-)

Taryn Graduation

2011-06-03T23:12:00.005-04:00

Taryn graduated tonight. Jackson and I got dressed up to go.
She's big now.

At one point, while all the other names were being called, my mind flashed through the past 13-14 years that I've known her, and I started to get a tiny bit emotional - I s'pose that's pretty normal - but I held it back/together. Then afterwords, they had to leave their caps and gowns, so, I wasn't able to get a picture of her with that stuff on :- \ That was a bummer.

No matter though, she made it! :-) Cheese(ball) ;-)

Less Fun

2011-06-01T20:57:00.000-04:00

I rode my bicycle to work today... and for whatever reason, it wasn't as fun as I anticipated it LOL. It's 2 miles each way, but I really thought I'd enjoy it more.

Streetball

2011-05-30T20:30:00.002-04:00

I'm happy it hasn't been raining out over the last few days. Once the sun went down today the kids came out and played soccer in the street :-)

No job "to" small!

2011-05-26T19:18:00.003-04:00

Cincinnati United Tryouts

2011-05-25T21:05:00.005-04:00

Cincinnati United tryouts were today and tomorrow as well, so I took Jack up for their U8 team. We'll see if he makes it, in a week or so. He had a good time and got a tshirt for participating.

Updated: He made it :-)

Comin to getcha

2011-05-23T19:34:00.000-04:00

Giddy yup

2011-05-22T18:31:00.000-04:00

The view from here

2011-05-22T11:23:00.004-04:00

Saturday after his soccer game, Jackson asked me what time the Columbus Crew game was on TV. :-) I told him it was a late game, 10:30pm & then he asked me if I would wait until the next morning (this morning) and watch it with him. I am absolutely ok w/ that!

This morning when I woke, we had breakfast then sat down to watch the Crew ... only to find Jack recorded Pirates of the Caribbean, and somehow maybe stopped the game from recording... :- \

"At least we have Pirates to watch!?" he said. LOL

8th grade funny

2011-05-19T21:58:00.004-04:00

Just got back from a quick Michigan trip. During my travels I came across this exit. I didn't catch the humor at first, which is odd - but once it was pointed out, I laughed, and had to share.

Spring fever

2011-05-15T20:17:00.001-04:00

It's been a while since I've posted stuff so, here's some recent stuff:

Friday, there was a play at school & Jackson was Pete Charming

I think it's been raining for 80% of the last 6 weeks... Jack agrees. Saturday we actually got a soccer game in. It sprinkled a little, but it didnt matter b/c the away field was astro turf or something.

Make yourself big!

With all the rain... Jack has had a bit of cabin fever - gotta work off the excess energy... even in the rain!

Other kids were out as well....all bogging down this power wheels :-)

Just about every day I see this face I'm reminded of how lucky I am :-)

Walk of shame

2011-04-28T23:54:00.004-04:00

Came across this accident on the way home from work tonight on Old 74 and Schoolhouse Rd...

Victim
Perp-Testing-Testing-1-2-3
Test Fail
The Walk of Shame

Some wherrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrre

2011-04-28T20:31:00.000-04:00

View from today after mowing the grass

Easter Sunday

2011-04-24T21:21:00.001-04:00

Nice shirt tail. The rain let up finally, and the kids were able to get out and run and find Easter eggs. :-)
And jump rope.
Air time w/ Grammaw
Dave made some massive bubbles for the kids to play with
Guess what happened next?(he saved it) ;-)
Happy Easter :-)

The view from here

2011-04-23T18:22:00.002-04:00

Watching Toronto vs Columbus Crew :-)

Fischer Fail

2011-04-22T21:11:00.003-04:00

Noticed today as I was running with Jack on a house they're trying to sell:
Drain pipe from rain water ending right behind the connections for electric, phone, and cable service... Might be ok, just struck me as amusing

Hole in Two

2011-04-21T21:26:00.003-04:00

It's Jack's Spring Break today and tomorrow. Since it's supposed to rain tomorrow & this weekend, today's the day to get out and do something outside. Off to Eastgate Adventures we went.
He likes golfing there and stuff, but I think he really just likes the big mountain / climbing on the rocks :-)
And of course the gokarts
Afterwords he had soccer practice where he got his foot on the ball a bit

I dunno buddy, it must shake a lot...

2011-04-20T18:17:00.001-04:00

So this morning, Jackson and I are sitting at the bakery drive through, when both he and I spy the Pontiac Vibe in front of us...
Of course from the back I hear, "Daddy, Why does that car say 'The Vibrator'?"

New ride

2011-04-17T21:20:00.002-04:00

Since Jack has 2 houses now, he needed a bicycle at each; so we went to the store and picked out a bigger one.
He kept going around to everyone asking if they liked his new bike, and promptly telling them "It's a 20 inch".

Timberrrrrrrr

2011-04-16T19:27:00.001-04:00

No love here lol as the hits keep on comin'
Last night's storm knocked another one down. I s'pose I'm gonna have to get out there and thin out all the dead trees so they'll stop falling down on my fence! On the bright side...at least the fence held up!

Segway-like

2011-04-11T17:59:00.000-04:00

I was at the mall last week and spied this thing rollin around. When I saw it first from a distance I thought "Oh that's funny, the mall security people have a Segway. Then as it got closer, I thought it even funnier because it's not a Segway at all (I dont think?) and looks like a Segway knockoff :-)

Sometimes

2011-04-10T21:54:00.002-04:00

Sometimes it's just like:

...not in a "dangerous to my health" way mind you. I remember standing on the edge of the platform and being really scared, apprehensive, etc. It's kinda like that.

I will say however, I think I underestimated how tough it was/is to say bye to the kids.

Kinda breathtaking

2011-04-05T23:36:00.001-04:00

Amateur photographer Sandra Critelli captured these images of a mass migration of Golden Rays while looking for whale sharks off the coast of Mexico in 2008. She said, “It was an unreal image, very difficult to describe. The surface of the water was covered by warm and different shades of gold and looked like a bed of autumn leaves gently moved by the wind. It’s hard to say exactly how many there were but in the range of a few thousand. We were surrounded by them without seeing the edge of the school and we could see many under the water surface too." Golden Rays grow up to seven feet across and migrate within the Caribbean.

Tell me this isn't the coolest thing you've seen today?

Heads or Tails

2011-04-04T21:12:00.000-04:00

..I laughed..

Woodless

2011-03-25T19:09:00.000-04:00

I think after too many more windstorms I'm not going to have any woods left back there? lol

Too many rules

2011-03-17T10:13:00.002-04:00

Govt regulations at their best. There is actually braille on the sign up there.

Almost time...

2011-03-09T22:16:00.000-05:00

Cool

2011-03-06T10:40:00.001-05:00

Source

Really???

2011-03-03T23:34:00.000-05:00

So, the Batavia office is hiring for a PT teller position... and surprisingly there appears to be some interest close by.....which, strikes me like

Walking on water

2011-03-02T21:04:00.000-05:00

Mini Rocketman Concept

2011-02-25T15:59:00.003-05:00

I really like the way Classic Mini Coopers look. Probably my all time favorite is the Mini Cooper Mk VII, made from 1996-2000. This one was at Mini Meet East 2010 - I think they were giving it away or something. I drooled all over it...

Anyhow, second to the Mk VII is the R50/R52/R53 body style we currently have.

After that, the newer versions (R55/R56), I never could get into. I never really liked them. Maybe a few more recent concepts that will be out later this year and next have been nice, but still based on the ugly R55/R56 design.

This newest concept though, called the Mini Rocketman Concept (it's just a working title - not the real name) - I really like. I like the classic themed grill opening, and the R50+ styled headlights. Maybe not the tail lights so much - but over all - pretty nice. More pictures in the link above.

Ahhhhhh

2011-02-21T22:42:00.002-05:00

Today, Colleen and I started our days off with a massage from Mandy May, LMT at the Loveland Massage Center. I went in first thing and got an ashiatsu massage, which I've never had before but Mandy told me about it when she came to our office a few weeks ago. It's like this:
...and was great. I like a lot of pressure so this really hit the spot so to speak. Colleen came in a little later and got a bamboo massage, and reports also that it was one of her best massages she'd had. :-) All in all, it was a very good morning.

Loveland Massage Center
412 W. Loveland Ave.
Loveland, OH 45140
513-583-5600

2011 Cincinnati Auto Expo

2011-02-20T10:25:00.006-05:00

This weekend Jack and I went to this year's auto show. I like checking out the new cars and Jack likes getting in and sitting in the car's driver's seat :-)

Speaking of which, we hadn't even gotten into the exhibits when Jack spied several Soap Box Derby cars

So we got inside and immediately Jack grabbed my hand; pulling "Come here! Come here! Come here!" and waiving toward something in the distance...This Boss 302 Mustang was probably his favorite cars. Ford seemed to have a massive showing...maybe even more cars on the floor than anyone.

This Impreza WRX was probably my favorite.

These other two are my "Really??" pictures.

Here, Volvo created a hard top convertible - with nearly no trunk space?

Here, the Camaro's trunk opening seems to be surprisingly small. It almost looks like it's too small to be usable.

Pie makers

2011-02-19T22:21:00.000-05:00

Colleen and Jackson made a homemade pizza for themselves :-) First, the crust needs spread. "Do it just like this"

Then ya spread yer sauce

Then add pepperonis to your side

One for the pizza, one for me

Add the cheese

And the bacon to your side

And the artichoke hearts to Mommy's side, and bake!

Rescue Mission concept video

2011-02-18T21:33:00.002-05:00

I'm getting a little better with the helicopter - though I can only fly from a single perspective - with the nose pointed away from me.

Anyhow, while I have been flying around the house I thought "Jack and I should bust out the lincoln logs and army men and stage a rescue?!" lol I tried originally with a single hook but that didn't work well so I cobbled together 3 hooks (from paper clips LOL) and made a grappling hook....so this is/was a concept video I made as I tried to see if I could "rescue" an army man with the heli.

Big Time

2011-02-17T06:06:00.001-05:00

"roar"

"ROAR"

Feb 16th

2011-02-16T07:03:00.000-05:00

Happy Birthday Colleen!!!!

Celebrating the 23rd anniversary of her 21st birthday! ;-)

Since Colleen's at school tonight, we went ahead and had her birthday dinner yesterday at Fuji Steakhouse in Eastgate. It was yummy. This was Jack's first time at a Japanese hibachi grill - he was amused :-)

Da boys:

Happy Birthday!

Hardly workin'

2011-02-13T17:46:00.002-05:00

Saturday afternoon, I was just about to fly my helicopter around the house for practice when I got called into work - so since no one was there I took the opportunity after I was done working :-)

New toy: Blade 120 SR

2011-02-09T21:00:00.005-05:00

Over the past month, I sold a bunch of old CDs on eBay; as well as several items that were laying around in the storage room (20 yr old stereo equip, etc) on Craigslist; all in an effort to fund something I've been wanting to do for several years - get an RC helicopter. :-) $345 worth of sales later, I went out to Pit Row Hobby Shop across from the Kenwood Towne Center I spent a portion of it on an e-Flight Blade 120 SR helicopter.

Right off the bat, I tried it and was intimidated. I thought, "Damn, I should have gotten the slightly smaller helicopter so I could practice maneuvering" since a smaller heli could more easily be flown indoors - but I really wanted a heli I could fly outside too, so that's why I picked up the 120 SR.

Anyhow - the first couple of flights were barely lifting off the ground, trying not knock into the couch or wall or even the floor. I watched a few tips/tricks videos on YouTube where someone made a simple suggestion, and it made flying a bit easier. Below is a video of me on my 2nd day of flying :-)

When we were kids on base @ the air shows, every year they'd have model air shows too @ same time & we'd go check that out. Fun times. They'd have model airplane "dog fights" where each plane would have long streamers attached to back of planes & if your streamer was cut (presumably by the other propeller) then you were considered "shot down". That's how I remember it @ least? lol Yep - a quick YouTube search showed a streamer dogfight. :-)

BBC's Top Gear

2011-02-07T23:55:00.000-05:00

OMG - BBC America's Top Gear was back on tonight with a "Season 15 Special" - and I had to mention it.

Top Gear (on BBC America) is one of my favorite shows. I swear to god, I'm not even 60 seconds into the "preview" for what's coming up this Season 15, and I already can't wait. I miss it.

Two more things:

The History Channel/american version of Top Gear sucks ass
I am The Stig

Use the force

2011-02-04T00:20:00.000-05:00

This new commercial from VW made me laugh :-) Enjoy:

The video actually reminds me of this picture from Halloween 2009 even though character may not be exactly the same:

Skin gun

2011-02-02T20:38:00.000-05:00

This is the coolest thing I've seen today

You're a Blast!

2011-01-29T18:56:00.003-05:00

With our EFW-lite in full swing; Taryn at her new job filling out some paperwork and Colleen at bookclub; Jack and I got started on the Valentine's Day stuff for his class:

No kidding.........this assembly line process for 30 rockets took almost 5 hours; but all done!

While we were doing this, we were watching some Monster Jam shows on TV that I had recorded for us - so I said "Hey let's take a picture of us just chillin"...

Yeah - he's mine :-)

Spread em

2011-01-28T21:42:00.000-05:00

Jack and I spied this bad day on the way home...That's gonna be a problem

Hot Wheels Video Racer

2011-01-22T10:38:00.000-05:00

It seems I am 2 years ahead of my time... Last week at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas, Mattel had on display their latest Hot Wheels toy, the Video Racer; available in the fall 2011.

It's a Hot Wheels car that has a VGA video camera on the front to record the 1st person view of your track, and a LCD on the bottom to play back your clips. Hot Wheels Video Racer records video at 30 to 60 frames per second and can store up to 12 minutes of video. Here's some video:

I saw this... and immediately thought, "Wow, I want one. That's pretty cool." :-)

"Now Jack and I will have to remake all those Hot Wheels tracks again - shucks" ;-)

"How much would I pay for something like this, $10? Maybe as much as $20?"

All these things I'm thinking in my head as I watch the video...right until the very end of the clip when she says the MSRP is $59.99... $60 bucks?! Wow, that's a little too steep for me I think. I do think it's pretty slick that (1) it does 12 mins of video (2) has a video screen & (3) is portable/can be mounted on other stuff.

There's also a case allowing you to clip the Video Racer to your bicycle, helmet, skateboard, etc, but I can't tell if it is included, or in an accessory - I don't know why this wouldn't be simply included though given the high price?

Here's some pictures that I didn't take

Funny how the mind works

2011-01-20T22:50:00.011-05:00

It's funny how the mind works; twisting and turning, sometimes leading you in directions you never thought about before; never intended.

Today I'm at work and an article comes across my email about Facebook, and privacy settings, regarding your addresses/phone numbers, etc; and how each time there's a new revamp of privacy rules, the settings are dumbed down or reset. Interesting article, but that made me wonder about my own Facebook account and what the privacy settings are?

It'd been several years since I set stuff on the account so I logged in & looked it over to make sure my address/etc wasn't in there, etc. I noted my high school, college, etc and the name of the college was spelled wrong? Weird.. ok, fixed that; & then verified the other schools I had listed... Goshen High School - check. Douglas - hmmm, is that what it was called? I don't see it listed so I thought, "I'll look it up on Google Maps, I know where it is." Bam, yes Douglas High School - done. Hmmm, they've built a new HS in the 20 years since I've been there, zoom in, check it out. Google Maps images kinda suck compared to Bing's "Bird's Eye View" so I pop over and check it out. Pretty cool.

From there my mind wanders, remembers the fun stuff we used to do when we lived in South Dakota, so I pop back to Google Maps... ...the 3 mile cross country route around the high school; ...riding bikes to middle school (Google Maps showed me it was one mile away); ...putting fishing poles on my handlebars and riding to the fishing late (Google Maps showed me it was 1.4 miles away), etc. I can't believe we did all these things as a kid LOL.

This is where we lived (red arrow):
My mind continues on auto pilot, "Hmm, I wonder if there's a Street View of our old house?"

Nope...we lived on base - no Street View for me.

Let's pop back over to the Bird's Eye View to see if Microsoft's Bing can do any better?
Ugh...
They've torn it down. The whole street of houses; no one lives in the neighborhood any more; all of them gone; they even demo'd the sidewalks; and where each house was, was a tiny, tidy little pile of dirt similar to what is left after a grave is dug.

Feeling a little bit sad, and disappointed, I sat there thinking about all those times in that house & how the house is no more & how that's all that's left. It wasn't even a house per se but rather a four-plex condo-like building - but it's where I grew up. :-) That was my room right up there.
I was just reading an article a few minutes ago - how the heck did I get here? It's funny how the mind works.

Family Sports Night

2011-01-19T20:46:00.005-05:00

Tonight was Jack's "family sports night" at school where the kids plus a family member competes in various competitions. Taryn wanted to do it so she did & I took pictures and video.

Jumping Rope
I don't recall what this event is called
Taryn's celebratory head bang. Just kidding, she was doing the "long" jump :-)

Jackson prepping for his long jump
Both had fun :-)

Columbus Crew Lego

2011-01-18T22:00:00.000-05:00

Saw this, thought it was cool, wanted to post it.

Monster X Cincinnati

2011-01-08T17:21:00.006-05:00

MONSTER TRUCKS!!!!
I've commented before about how as a kid, I remember doing fun things with our family - one of the fun things was going to see monster truck shows - so I took Jack last night get a burger and shake at Steak and Shake, and then to check out the Monster X Tour at US Bank Arena. There were 6 trucks, 3 motorcycles and a smaller monster truck driven by a 7 yr old. Here's a pre-show picture
Bounty Hunter action shot
CrushStation about to lift off
Here's a video I took during the show...

While generally pretty cool, somehow, I deleted the video I took of the monster truck Ghost Ryder's backflip :-( but it looked something like this one
All in all Jack had a good time - but I don't know that I'd go to this specific event again. It started at 7:30pm, and finished a little after 10pm - 2.5 hrs of fun right? Not quite. Apparently the organizers of the motor sports event failed to account for the motor sports byproduct - exhaust??? - and the Cincinnati Fire Dept shut down the show not long after it started. So, they opened all the doors in the place (brrr) to help ventilate the place. Of the 2.5 hrs, we probably watched monster trucks run, maybe 30 mins, motorcycles for 30 mins, and waited in total for 90 minutes. I think those monster truck times may be a little generous...

Poor planning by the organizers, promoters, or whomever, in my mind made this event fail to live up to the hype, but Jack didn't know the difference, he thought it was great. :-)

Buckle Up

2011-01-03T21:15:00.000-05:00

Posting this because I thought it was a really great, creative commercial to convey a simple message.

Tin Can Robot

2011-01-01T20:20:00.005-05:00

For Christmas, Jack got a Tin Can Robot. He couldn't wait to put together & tonight we finally got the chance :-)

The finished product!

Taryn at Studio G

2010-12-29T21:24:00.008-05:00

Taryn got her senior pictures back from Kierston at Studio G in Ft Thomas & they look great :-)

Studio G Photography
118 N. Ft. Thomas Ave
Fort Thomas, KY 41075
Phone: 859-441-8222

Merry Christmas

2010-12-23T16:28:00.003-05:00

Jack had his Christmas party today. They ate snacks, made crafts & played games. Here's his "serious" look while workin on his craft project :-)
Here's him, his friend, and his teacher, Mrs. Stidham.

So, I'm standing there talking to his teacher; and Jack's rummaging through his desk, and she says to me, "I know he gets this from you."

Confused, I ask, "Get's what?"

"Wait till you see Jack's Christmas Card to Santa..."

And then I busted out laughing :-D Merry Christmas!

Blowing bubbles

2010-12-22T20:11:00.000-05:00

Yep this is a new one for me. Jack showed me how to blow soap bubbles :-)

Snow day fun

2010-12-21T20:39:00.008-05:00

I picked up Jack from school yesterday so we headed out into the snow :-) He with his sled (I wonder where he got this idea...)

And I with my Traxxas Slash, we made got the best of the snow.
Then it was time to clean up LOL (this was even WITH the body on the truck...I think it'd accumulate LESS snow with the body off?)

Yeah, it's cold out

2010-12-19T23:36:00.000-05:00

Generally speaking, I think lighthouses are pretty cool; have a nice picture of one in my office. Anyway, lst week I ran across the Cleveland Harbor West Pierhead Lighthouse. Apparently with the subzero temperatures & the waves/spray - it was coated in a multiple layers of ice - and I think it looks awesome - almost magical, like something out of Disney.

Here's what it looks like normally.

And here's video of the spray and water forming the ice lighthouse :-)

p.s. I obviously didn't take these pictures or video...I google searched and found them.

Dawg

2010-12-17T09:23:00.004-05:00

Lately, there's been a bit of rumbling around the house about getting another dog...an idea which, generally I am opposed. I don't know if it's coincidence or not, but it's also been one year since Chloe passed away.
And even though I don't particularly want to get another dog, I still get a little choked up thinking about Chloe because of course, she was such a good dog & I do miss her. I thought it was just me that had those thoughts until the other day; Colleen copied a note to me that Taryn wrote on Facebook that made my dumb ass tear up. It was touching, and made me see that it wasn't just me that missed our good dog.

"Some part of me is wanting a puppy,
hoping she'll be just like you. :-)
The other part of me, just wants another friend,
one who can keep my secrets like you used to."

Snow Shots

2010-12-12T22:49:00.002-05:00

Did a little shopping today and while we were out, I thought the snow looked really pretty - and when I passed by this spot, I thought "Wow that was kinda nice" so I turned around to go back and get a shot of it. This is/was on Round Bottom Road, just off of Tealtown.
Across the street on Round Bottom Road.
Still on Round Bottom Road, I thought this barn looked kinda cool with the snow and all. I didn't get it exactly how I wanted it - the snow was kind of blurring in the shot.
So I tried putting the camera on "manual" so I could adjust the shutter speed...but that didn't work out to well as the flash inadvertently came on & I ended up with a picture of falling snow, with a cool barn in the background barely visible....

kind of the opposite of what I was looking for. LOL

Adult Truths

2010-12-06T21:58:00.001-05:00

These were forwarded to me by Colleen - I thought they were funny so here ya go.

I think part of a best friend's job should be to immediately clear your computer history if you die
Nothing sucks more than that moment during an argument when you realize you're wrong.
I totally take back all those times I didn't want to nap when I was younger
There is great need for a sarcasm font.
How the heck are you supposed to fold a fitted sheet?
Was learning cursive really necessary?
Map Quest really needs to start their directions on # 5. I'm pretty sure. I know how to get out of my neighborhood.
Obituaries would be a lot more interesting if they told you how the person died.
I can't remember the last time I wasn't at least kind of tired.
Bad decisions make good stories.
You never know when it will strike, but there comes a moment at work when you know that you just aren't going to do anything productive for the rest of the day.
Can we all just agree to ignore whatever comes after Blue Ray? I don't want to have to restart my collection...again.
I'm always slightly terrified when I exit out of Word and it asks me if I want to save any changes to my ten-page technical report that I swear I did not make any changes to.
I keep some people's phone numbers in my phone just so I know not to answer when they call.
I think the freezer deserves a light as well.
I disagree with Kay Jewelers. I would bet on any given Friday or Saturday night more kisses begin with Miller Lite than Kay.
I wish Google Maps had an "Avoid Ghetto" routing option.
I have a hard time deciphering the fine line between boredom and hunger.
How many times is it appropriate to say "What?" before you just nod and smile because you still didn't hear or understand a word they said?
I love the sense of camaraderie when an entire line of cars team up to prevent a jerk from cutting in at the front. Stay strong, brothers and sisters!
Shirts get dirty. Underwear gets dirty. Pants? Pants never get dirty, and you can wear them forever.
Sometimes I'll look down at my watch 3 consecutive times and still not know what time it is.
Even under ideal conditions people have trouble locating their car keys in a pocket, finding their cell phone, and Pinning the Tail on the Donkey - but I'd bet everyone can find and push the snooze button from 3 feet away, in about 1.7 seconds, eyes closed, first time, every time.
The first testicular guard, the "Cup," was used in Hockey in 1874 and the first helmet was used in 1974. That means it only took 100 years for men to realize that their brain is also important.

Cool Runnings

2010-12-04T12:47:00.009-05:00

This morning I woke up to this... a cold 28 degrees...and light snow...
...and went and did this...
here... The Jingle Bell Run is a 5k Run/Walk held each December to support the Arthritis Foundation. Dave and Dee said they were going this weekend & invited me so I thought why not :-) and did it. It was my first 5k (or any k) run and overall was a good time - but it was tough. I usually run on a treadmill & of course this was outside which is tougher, especially on my knees.

My final time was 35 mins 40 seconds; averaging 5.2264 mph; 11 mins 30 seconds per mile; 608th place overall out of 1153 participants; 28th out of 35-39 yr old males. Full results here.

I think there's some irony in the fact that, I can run 1.5 - 4 miles more/less daily on my treadmill with no problem, but when I run 3.125 miles outside to benefit the Arthritis Foundation, my knees hurt like there's no tomorrow. LOL Oh well... :-D

Where did I come from?

2010-11-30T21:17:00.000-05:00

I've often been asked, "Where did you get the nickname 'Puppetmaster'? For me the name dates back to around 1995, where Little Dave, Big Dave, Jay and myself would play the beautiful game of Risk. In the game, you have to attack and defend across multiple fronts. Often I would find myself under attack from another player (Jay or Little Dave for example) and the only thing I could do, is try to talk my way out of it so to speak... maybe by suggesting to my attacker, that they'd be better off attacking someone else (like Big Dave for example). Big Dave of course wasn't very happy about this and so one of his responses to the attacker, was for them to "cut the strings". This meant don't be a marionette and don't allow myself (the puppetmaster) to control how you play your game - & attack him as originally planned! "Are we cool here?"

That's more or less how I got the nickname Puppetmaster. I later added '2u' on the end of it because everyone had already taken the puppetmaster email address.

This suggestion that I was the Puppetmaster was solidified by Jay's mom, Janet. It was my birthday, and for it she decided she was going to make me a birthday cake, & personalize the cake with a figurine... after all my nickname was now the Puppetmaster... so she found this really evil looking monster guy. As if this evil looking monster guy wasn't evil enough - she added the puppeteer's tools... a stick, some string, and oh look, a few puppets!

Some 15 yrs later...looking at it still makes me laugh :-)

Tire Discounters Eastgate

2010-11-29T19:05:00.000-05:00

Sunday Colleen picked up a screw in the Hyundai's tire. I took the flat tire off, put on the spare, and called my normal tire place, Tire Discounters Eastgate, but since it was Sunday, they were closed. I called a few other shops, and got a wide range of prices to patch the tire... so I decide to wait until, Tire Discounters Eastgate opened on Monday. Good thing I did :-) they were able to get me in and out immediately and didn't charge anything for the couple of minutes it took to patch the tire. I've always liked them, so here's the plug for Eric, Brenda, Bob, and the rest of the people at , Tire Discounters Eastgate
1169 Ohio 32
Batavia, OH 45103
(513) 753-7777

This Thanksgiving I'm thankful for

2010-11-25T20:28:00.001-05:00

Standard answers will apply here of course: the kids, family, health. Thanksgiving night though I added one more - a backup sump pump. :-)
It felt like it had rained for 2 full days; a lot of water ... and Thanksgiving night, just as I had arrived at Colleen's family's house, I got a phone call from the alarm company letting me know my water bug had tripped. The sump pump wasn't functioning. :-(
So back to the house I headed...the whole time thinking "boy I'm glad I picked up a spare pump....NOTHING would be open Thanksgiving evening?!" :-)

After fixing that, I had a few hrs to myself since I left Colleen and the kids @ her family's & I ran across this:
This picture itself reminds me of a TooL video. The whole story can be found here and here - it's very cool. I like it. :-)

Cincinnati Kings vs Detroit Waza

2010-11-21T11:26:00.007-05:00

After talking about it for a few years, last night, for an Estrogen Free Evening, we finally got out to see the Cincinnati Kings play...
They played the Detroit Waza and dominated them 10-3. Jack got his picture taken w/ the King's mascot, the King of course ;-)
The boys wanted their picture taken as well :-)
Not quite the same as watching the Columbus Crew play but it was still very fun.

Date night

2010-11-19T18:45:00.002-05:00

The Mother/Son dance was at Willowville tonight & Colleen/Jackson were in attendance.

Gettin' ready
On the way home from school Jack and I were talking about the dance, cologne, flowers for girls, etc - ya know, "man stuff". At one point I suggested we pick up a flower for Mommy, because girls like flowers & while he did think it was a good idea...he also felt the need to clarify for me: "I'm not gonna hold it in my mouth...". LOL I have no idea?

On the way out

There we go

2010-11-17T23:01:00.001-05:00

With Colleen out for the evening and Taryn and Brent out to dinner; Jackson and I took the opportunity to do some testing. :-)

"What if we dropped the car down the V-Drop as far as it could go, and then made it jump UP as high as it could go...and landed it on a track?"

Toofless

2010-11-14T22:06:00.000-05:00

I guess he can scratch that off his Christmas Wish List...

Hot Wheels and 2 story Lincoln Logs house

2010-11-13T15:58:00.000-05:00

4 foot drop to loop to 1 foot jump over 2 story lincoln log house, off the table to criss cross crash, back up to the table, left turn to tunnel to right turn to booster to right turn to jump through loop, to u-turn to park in the garage of the 2 story house we jumped over.

Similar to last week, it's another EFW with Colleen out of town and Taryn at work. We changed up last week's track a bit by adding a 2nd story to jump over...

Then had it jump through the house's windows lol

Hiking

2010-11-13T14:53:00.001-05:00

This afternoon it was 70+ degrees out, perfect for a fall hike in the woods.

Stopped to have some lunch and enjoy the sights and soundsAnd hiked through the nearly dry creak bed

2x Fail

2010-11-07T20:55:00.002-05:00

2 "Fail"s today.

First, a gas station on Rt 50 and Walton Creek Rd just outside of Mariemont.
Second, me. Jackson and I were throwing the X-Zylo and sure enough, it went so high that it got on the neighbor's roof. :-( I was prepared to simply let the wind blow it down in the next week or two, when Jack suggested we throw the soccer ball at it. Ok - I can do that....until
...had to get a ladder.

Hot Wheels and Lincoln Logs :-)

2010-11-06T21:47:00.000-04:00

With Colleen out of town and Taryn out for the evening, it was an EFW-lite; & with the cold weather, that screamed out "Hot Wheels track". Actually, Jack asked to build a track earlier in the week so, it seemed like a good time. This time we changed it up a little and worked the Lincoln Logs in as well :-)

Here's what we came up with:
4 foot drop to loop to 1 foot jump over Lincoln Log house, off the table to criss cross crash, back up to the table, left turn to tunnel to right turn to booster to right turn to jump through the first loop, to u-turn, to park in the garage of the house we jumped over originally.

Trick or Treat

2010-10-31T21:13:00.006-04:00

Halloween 2010 :-)
Taryn (not pictured in this specific picture) was a "girl pirate", Ryan was a Clone Trooper, Davis was Anakin Skywalker, Beckett was Superman, Jack was a zombie, and Logan was Robin (from Teen Titans).
Taryn and Jack :-)
Zombie Jack
Dave Skywalker
Our pumpkins

Roman Numeral Fail

2010-10-31T14:05:00.003-04:00

When I was in school, I learned about Roman Numerals; how to write them, how to read them, etc (the subtractive principal... V = 5, IV = 4, etc) Of course the most common place I see them anymore is on clocks & to me, they normally look like this: (4=IV)

Years later, at the Tengler Tavern I learned sometimes the number 4 can be represented like this: (IIII)
Who knew, I thought it was an error at first. :-)

And today, at Garden Ridge, I saw 4 represented as VIII. There are two "VIII"s on this clock. I think this is definitely an error and looked it up on wikipedia to be sure LOL

End of the season

2010-10-31T13:04:00.002-04:00

It's the end of the soccer Hot Shots' U8 season & my first season coaching. All the boys signed a size 3 soccer ball for Coach Steve and myself, so that was nice & also funny because they're all 6 and 7 yrs old so a few had their numbers backwards, and some misspelled their last names, etc. I think our record was 1-6-3, and we scored a total of 6 goals. Good stuff :-)

For Rent

2010-10-30T16:39:00.003-04:00

Immediate OccupancySpacious; lots of rooms for the kids...

Was up on the roof today cleaning out gutters when I found it...it's the same one from this post a few months earlier... :-)

Beat Box

2010-10-24T22:21:00.000-04:00

The other day he said to me "Daddy, do you want to hear me beat box?" I dunno where this came from or how he decided he could to this LOL

10 before 10

2010-10-20T22:13:00.002-04:00

A few weeks ago, Jackson competed in a U8 juggling competition. He didn't place, but I told him "I bet if you continue to practice, you'll easily get 10 kicks/juggles, before you reach 10 years old...10 before 10." (Really, I think he could get 10 before he's 8)

So the other day he asks how many kicks I could do - and at that time, it was like, 24; so that's what I told him. What does he say? "I bet you can get 30 before you're 40" lol

And so the challenge was set:

I know...it's all sloppy and stuff, but I got 34 :-)

Jolly Rancher

2010-10-19T22:57:00.000-04:00

So, from school Jack got some Jolly Rancher candies... and he's in the back seat enjoying them & we're talking about them & which flavors are the best, etc when he asks if I've ever had them before?

Of course I had - I had them as a kid too - and shared that with him, when he quickly busted out, "They had stores when you were a kid???"
Speechless I was. Finally after composing myself, the 1st thing I thought of was: "Yeah they had STORES when I was kid boy!"

And the second, "I think you're thinking of your mother!" ;-) (just kidding)

Craiglook - RIP

2010-10-18T20:17:00.001-04:00

Craigslist kinda sucks... Craiglook, I'll miss ya :-(

http://techcrunch.com/2010/10/17/craigslist-shuts-down-aggregator-craiglook/

Fish Tale

2010-10-17T20:15:00.002-04:00

Today the neighbors busted out several new fishing poles & we all went fishing at the lake :-) but didn't catch anything :- \ Oh well ... next time. I s'pose if ya caught fish every time ya went out -- it wouldn't be any fun.

After the long day Jack settled in for some quiet time before bed & is now reading in bed before falling asleep. Tonight we put his headlight on him to help him see & he loved it :-) I thought it made a funny picture...

Say Cheese

2010-10-14T10:13:00.001-04:00

Here's a couple of pictures from a few weeks ago :-)

First up, Taryn dressed up for homecoming:
And Jack's 1st grade school picture:

Big Cat

2010-10-11T21:26:00.006-04:00

Jackson talked Colleen into taking him fishing today since we had the day off... ...and they came back with the biggest fish tale (story).

Apparently on their last bit of bait (isn't that how it always is), Colleen was packing up the tackle box when Jack got a bite & started hollering. Colleen said it took HER nearly 4 or 5 mins to real it in & when they did - they both were surprised. It was a catfish just over 2 feet long - chest high on him. Jack didn't even want to hold it up himself because the fish was so big :-) which made me laugh.

"Two feet?" I asked, "Was it really that big?"

Oh yeah, they had pictures for proof LOL

I'm an expert

2010-10-11T21:00:00.001-04:00

Oh yeah - almost forgot this one from earlier in the month :-)

Hot Shots...FTW (For The Win!)

2010-10-10T16:04:00.004-04:00

It was unseasonably hot today... and with several kids unable to make it to today's game we played with no substitutions through 3 quarters. All of our players hustled their butts off through the heat & not only scored their first goal of the season, but scored 4 more after that to win their first game 5-1.
Good job boys! :-)

2010 Hot Shots

2010-10-09T18:00:00.002-04:00

The boy :-)
The team :-)

He who laughs last

2010-09-29T23:28:00.002-04:00

So, I'm outside kicking the soccer ball with Jackson & his friend Dominic. We're kickin it around for a little while and Dominic goes inside to use the restroom. Afterwords he comes out and I throw out something like "Hey welcome back Dominic - everything come out ok?"

I immediately chuckle and wonder if I should have asked that and say "I'm just kidding, don't answer that..... just a little bathroom humor" and continue to kick the ball.

Then about one and a half, maybe 2 full minutes later Jackson starts laughing his ass off saying "I get it, I get it!!" :-)

O'Brother, blueVenus and Lunic

2010-09-25T14:37:00.007-04:00

Last night after work we went to Midpoint Music Festival on Fountain Square for some live music - it definitely a good time. Live music is good for ya :-) Got to check out several bands there like:

Lunic (http://www.mpmf.com/bands/view/lunic) I thought they were pretty good.

http://www.myspace.com/lunic

http://www.twitter.com/lunic

http://lunicmusic.com

http://www.facebook.com/lunicmusic

blueVenus (http://www.mpmf.com/bands/view/bluevenus) Colleen liked them.

http://www.myspace.com/bluevenusmusic

http://twitter.com/blueVenus

http://www.bluevenusmusic.com

and my favorite O'Brother (http://www.mpmf.com/bands/view/obrother). Got a cd and shirt.

http://www.facebook.com/OBrotherMusic

http://www.myspace.com/obrothermusic

http://twitter.com/obrothermusic

http://obrothermusic.blogspot.com/

http://fburls.com/32-vT0Z9kgF

Anyway - after the festival Colleen wanted to head over to Rhino's where, apparently the new pick-up line is: "Hey! You got babies? I got babies too!!!" LOL

Do not enter

2010-09-25T08:31:00.000-04:00

Woke up and found this beast guarding the back yard?!
A closer look

Picture time

2010-09-23T20:29:00.004-04:00

While I was away I picked up a little paper airplane instruction book & when I got back, we made some sweet flying planes
Tonight we had soccer pictures taken. Good stuff :-)

Blue

2010-09-19T22:31:00.000-04:00

From the Blue Man Group show: They rocked.

Q-bert

2010-09-16T13:54:00.001-04:00

@ The Venetian