Today while I went to get my hair cut, Norma took Aidan to the pool. Problem was - the pool was closed for a swimming match. Aidan didn't like that news very much. He was very upset. So Norma (being the smart and awesome Mom that she is) decided to bring him home and put him in the tub to play instead. Aidan wasn't too thrilled at first, but in the end he had a good time.
Saturday, June 09, 2007
Worse than terrorists attacking? Gays in the military
NYTimes: Ask Don't Translate - an OpED by an outed Arabic Translator
This is scary to me:
It does crack me up when Jon says, "Bueller... Buelller... Bueller..." I do that in class at the beginning of the year when checking attendance. Kids crack up (Those that remember Ferris Bueller's Day Off anyway.)
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My supervisors did not want to lose me. Most of my peers knew I was gay, and that didn’t bother them. I was always accepted as a member of the team. And my experience was not anomalous: polls of veterans from Iraq and Afghanistan show an overwhelming majority are comfortable with gays. Many were aware of at least one gay person in their unit and had no problem with it.Yeah, so listen closely to the GOP, we have one great thing to fear - "Terrorism." But, what is scarier? "Gays."
“Don’t ask, don’t tell” does nothing but deprive the military of talent it needs and invade the privacy of gay service members just trying to do their jobs and live their lives. Political and military leaders who support the current law may believe that homosexual soldiers threaten unit cohesion and military readiness, but the real damage is caused by denying enlistment to patriotic Americans and wrenching qualified individuals out of effective military units. This does not serve the military or the nation well.
Consider: more than 58 Arabic linguists have been kicked out since “don’t ask, don’t tell” was instituted. How much valuable intelligence could those men and women be providing today to troops in harm’s way?
This is scary to me:
It does crack me up when Jon says, "Bueller... Buelller... Bueller..." I do that in class at the beginning of the year when checking attendance. Kids crack up (Those that remember Ferris Bueller's Day Off anyway.)
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Thursday, June 07, 2007
Aidan's First Trip to the Dentist
Dr. Jai's Dentistry Website
We had a really great day with Aidan today. At 10am it was his first visit to the dentist. They don't make dentists offices the way they used to, thank god! Aidan's dentist is really awesome. The office has a 'jungle' theme with stuffed animals, trees, video games, toys, toys, toys. It's a really great atmosphere for kids. Half the time we were there he didn't have a clue he was at the torturous dentist office. And at the end he didn't want to leave. He wanted to go back to the waiting room and play some more.
After heading back to the offices, they wanted to get some x-rays of his teeth. Norma volunteered to hold him in the chair and they pretty much forced him to do it. He wasn't liking it, except for the 3 or 4 women clapping and cheering after each successful x-ray. I think he dug that pretty well.
Then they gave him a gold coin that he could use to get a prize out of one of the machines they have there - a neat idea. He then played with Thomas the Tank train sets and cars for a few minutes. Next they put him on the exam chair and cleaned his teeth. He was not into this at all. But, I knew that he needed it done. We brush him, but it is very difficult some nights to get back in his back teeth. Plus, he eats so much junk, like all kids do. Near the end he was actually doing okay and the 4 people holding him down didn't have to do it so much anymore. :)
He was so into it that he grabbed a stuffed animal snake and put it on the table and wanted to check the snake's teeth. It was so cute, I wish I had my camera there to see that one. The dental assistant was helping him with the snake and everything. It was awesome.
Next Dr. Jai came in and "counted" his teeth. That amounted to him using that damn poking and prodding pointed stick to prong his teeth. I even hate that and I didn't get upset that Aidan was pretty po'd about it. I don't blame him. But, the Doc gave him a high five and Aidan was pretty good about the whole thing.
It was a great, great trip. We are excited to find an office that really builds a relationship with their children patients and parents. Aidan did a great job and it is amazing to see how much more mature and how much bigger he is getting everyday. There were times during the office visit that I had tears in my eyes I was so damn proud of him!
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Wednesday, June 06, 2007
All Pro Football 2k8
Cover of the game. Looks great. Nice animated shot of Jerry Rice, John Elway, and Barry Sanders. Best part about the game is how they are adding a huge number of legend players. 2K sports does not have the rights to the NFL or team names, but the game is fully customizable and it won't be long until there are files available with current teams, players, uniforms and stadiums. Until then, I will be happy to play in the 2k8 universe a bit. You customize and draft your own team from the legends and players they added to the game. The goal is to create and draft the best team.
This is a nice side-by-side shot of the Madden08 cover boy (VY is certain to break a leg now that he is the Madden cover boy) and a screen from 2K8. Interesting. Screens mean little when it comes to game play though and 2K8 should have that down. I just can't stand the Madden degradation of NextGen football. :(
This looks like a signature Emmitt Smith move to me. Scores and points to the stands with the ball under his arm. Looks perfect. Signature moves like this from legends will be cool. Can't wait to see Chuck Knoll and Gregg Lloyd!
Here are the 3 cover boys at the midfield coin flip before a game. Looks cool. Can't wait to see this game!
Johnny Unitas lives!
I am totally pumped for this game to come out for the 360. Of course, I'll need to get my 360 back from being fixed. Hopefully that'll happen next week. Seeing all the old Sega NFL 2K footage as I have been reading about the 2k8 game online in forums makes me really wish I would have kept my old Xbox and been able to play the old 2K games on it. I made a big mistake trading it in. But, who would have thought I would have this much trouble keeping a 360 working?
Regardless, it is costing me 0$ to get it fixed. So I won't complain. I just need July 17th to get here already! It will be great because that's the week I come back from my conference in San Diego. I'll be ready to play!
Friday night/Saturday morning at 1am SPIKE TV will have the first footage of this game on tv. I can't wait to see it.
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Summer Update
Ran a mile and a 1/2 tonight and it has energized me. I am up too late again. But, I am really proud of myself and of Norma for starting to workout again.
So tonight I thought I would give you a taste of "Summer Life" at our house. This summer Aidan has been very hot on the show Ed, Edd and Eddy. He can't get enough. Right now I am downloading (although it is uploading, because my TiVo is downstairs and the PC that I'm copying the files to is upstairs in the office [smile]) about 14 episodes of the show to my computer. Actually that is about 30 episodes, since each 1/2 hour is actually 2 shows. He'll have a nice DVD out of this to watch whenever he needs to (which seems to be more than he actually "needs" to).
I don't know what the fascination is with the show? He has had a different show that grips him from time to time and that he is more interested in depending on his mood. But, the "Eds" always light his lamp.
He is also loving the pool (see previous post). We are growing gills in my house we are at the pool so much!
We also spent the morning at Chuck E Cheeses. Another of Aidan's favorites. Cheap pizza, tokens, and arcade games. Oh yeah, and Stuffed Animal Mascots! It was pretty funny today, Chuck E was there (in the stuffed mouse outfit) and there was a bus load of kids there all huddled around Chuck. They started screaming out songs, and Aidan freaked. He started saying, "ShhhhH!" and put his finger to his mouth. Then he would put his hands to his ears. It was funny.
Tomorrow we'll be on a mission to find him a tux for his Aunt Aimee's wedding in a few weeks. Plus, we are going to get a portable dvd player for the car. We'll be taking some trips this summer and that will come in handy for sure.
Fun, fun, fun in the summer time.
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So tonight I thought I would give you a taste of "Summer Life" at our house. This summer Aidan has been very hot on the show Ed, Edd and Eddy. He can't get enough. Right now I am downloading (although it is uploading, because my TiVo is downstairs and the PC that I'm copying the files to is upstairs in the office [smile]) about 14 episodes of the show to my computer. Actually that is about 30 episodes, since each 1/2 hour is actually 2 shows. He'll have a nice DVD out of this to watch whenever he needs to (which seems to be more than he actually "needs" to).
I don't know what the fascination is with the show? He has had a different show that grips him from time to time and that he is more interested in depending on his mood. But, the "Eds" always light his lamp.
He is also loving the pool (see previous post). We are growing gills in my house we are at the pool so much!
We also spent the morning at Chuck E Cheeses. Another of Aidan's favorites. Cheap pizza, tokens, and arcade games. Oh yeah, and Stuffed Animal Mascots! It was pretty funny today, Chuck E was there (in the stuffed mouse outfit) and there was a bus load of kids there all huddled around Chuck. They started screaming out songs, and Aidan freaked. He started saying, "ShhhhH!" and put his finger to his mouth. Then he would put his hands to his ears. It was funny.
Tomorrow we'll be on a mission to find him a tux for his Aunt Aimee's wedding in a few weeks. Plus, we are going to get a portable dvd player for the car. We'll be taking some trips this summer and that will come in handy for sure.
Fun, fun, fun in the summer time.
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Monday, June 04, 2007
Video at the Pool
Today was a lot of fun. I received my new camcorder from UPS and also got my return box in the mail from Microsoft to ship my dead Xbox360 back. Using the camera is as great as I had heard. I read scores of great reviews on the camera and I must say, so far I totally agree. It's a great camera.
Here is some footage that I shot and put together from today at the pool. Or as Aidan calls it, the "POLE!"
June 2007 "At the Pool" from fordee on Vimeo
Can't wait to use the camera in PA in a couple of weeks. That'll be great to shoot lots of pictures and video and be able to put together some great DVDs from our trip and from our summer. :) We are looking forward to seeing everyone.
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Here is some footage that I shot and put together from today at the pool. Or as Aidan calls it, the "POLE!"
June 2007 "At the Pool" from fordee on Vimeo
Can't wait to use the camera in PA in a couple of weeks. That'll be great to shoot lots of pictures and video and be able to put together some great DVDs from our trip and from our summer. :) We are looking forward to seeing everyone.
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Sunday, June 03, 2007
The End for Battlestar Galactica
The end is near for one of my very favorite shows on TV: Battlestar Galactica.
The ending of this year's show really surprised me. They showed the "final four" cylons and it shocked me. The whole "All Along the Watchtower" song thing was odd and strange... but, it worked in the end. Although the "Starbuck Vision" in the end was strange. Is there really only one race of humans? Did the Cylons actually create the human race in the beginning of time? Or what twisted idea are the writers coming up with???
One more season and BSG will be finished!
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The ending of this year's show really surprised me. They showed the "final four" cylons and it shocked me. The whole "All Along the Watchtower" song thing was odd and strange... but, it worked in the end. Although the "Starbuck Vision" in the end was strange. Is there really only one race of humans? Did the Cylons actually create the human race in the beginning of time? Or what twisted idea are the writers coming up with???
One more season and BSG will be finished!
Blogcritics Article on BSG End.
Bye-bye BSG.
It’s true, after months of rumor and speculation, hand-wringing among fans, statements from stars Edward James Olmos and Katee Sackhoff, Battlestar Galactica producers and the Sci-Fi Channel have announced that the upcoming 22 episode season will be the end of the series.
This not-so-surprising revelation was issued in a press release from NBC-Universal (the parent company of Sci-Fi). The release states that the choice to end the series at this point is that of Ronald D. Moore and David Eick, executive producers of the series.
"This show was always meant to have a beginning, a middle and finally, an end. Over the course of the last year, the story and the characters have been moving strongly toward that end and we've decided to listen to those internal voices and conclude the show on our own terms," stated Eick and Moore in the press release.
Sci Fi Channel had previously stated that they were looking at possible spin-off of Battlestar Galactica, entitled Caprica, which would focus on events that led up to those described in BSG. The press release did not mention anything about the future plans of this series.
A special two-hour episode entitled “Razor” will kick off the fourth season in November of this year. The rest of the season will then air beginning in early 2008.
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Friday, June 01, 2007
XBox 360 Dead Again
Earlier this week, celebrating my summer break from teaching, I turned on my Xbox 360. I was greeted with a lovely three flashing red lights on the ring of light. Yea! That means it's dead.
I made the service call to 1-800-myXbox and I am now waiting for the box they send me with the return service. Good thing is that it is still under warranty. Bad deal is that this is the 2nd time this has happened. They will send me a refurbished one. But, I am beginning to think this is ridiculous.
It is a real shame in this day and age that these kinds of problems occur. It's a great system. It has great games. I would not be happy with another product. But, these fried boxes are just absolutely stupid. Makes my head spin.
And to top it all off, we head to Pittsburgh on June 19th. So I will be hoping and praying I get the Xbox shipped here before we leave. Otherwise, I may not end up getting it. They could send it back! Very frustrating. We'll see. I'll call their service people if it is not here in time and maybe something can be worked out.
How stupid is it though that all spring I had NO TIME to play and now that I do... it's dead? Just my luck.
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I made the service call to 1-800-myXbox and I am now waiting for the box they send me with the return service. Good thing is that it is still under warranty. Bad deal is that this is the 2nd time this has happened. They will send me a refurbished one. But, I am beginning to think this is ridiculous.
It is a real shame in this day and age that these kinds of problems occur. It's a great system. It has great games. I would not be happy with another product. But, these fried boxes are just absolutely stupid. Makes my head spin.
And to top it all off, we head to Pittsburgh on June 19th. So I will be hoping and praying I get the Xbox shipped here before we leave. Otherwise, I may not end up getting it. They could send it back! Very frustrating. We'll see. I'll call their service people if it is not here in time and maybe something can be worked out.
How stupid is it though that all spring I had NO TIME to play and now that I do... it's dead? Just my luck.
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