On the way home (Dial-Up Warning)

From Irwin, PA, K and I stopped at the New River Gorge Bridge in Fayette Station, WV. I have driven over it many times, but never stopped to look. K and I have also been under it whitewater rafting, but that was many years ago. This time, we stopped.

This is a bridge they close once per year for about 4-6 hours so that people having a higher level of insanity than me can base jump off, as it is about 1000 feet up from the river bed. On normal days, help vehicles are near-by in case you break down as they want no one on the bridge, to prevent other silly ideas.

A warning to my brother: if you look at the pictures, you will stare at the center of the bridge, and not at the edges, you might fall off.

Travels over the weekend

This weekend, K and I went on a road trip to Irwin, PA for a memorial service for Aunt L, a wonderful, dignified lady that was a great person to around. She was married to my mom's brother for 59 years before succumbing to cancer in the spring. There were 20 or so people in attendance, some from both sides of their family with K and I representing ours.

It was a time for remembering fun things we did, memories of family members now gone and share news of our lives as they happen in the place where we all say our family started. Uncle J, Aunt L, B, B and J had a great relationship inside their family and with my family and for that I am grateful.

Below are some pics:

My Uncle J

J, B and B
B and her family M and T

My cousin B, in a silly moment after having her picture taken many times.



I also want to thank my Aunt W for taking such great care of many of my family members grave sites. This one is from my sister and Great Aunt, however, my Mom's and other Aunt's look great as well.

Happy Father's Day, Dad

56k, no way. I found this video on youtube, it is 9+ minutes long and says much without saying too much. Anyway, Dad, Happy Father's Day, you taugh me much about being a Dad, thanks.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z-c_wgKAs-8

New Responsibilities

I have new job responsibilities. I will be responsible for the Municipal market in Georgia, Alabama and the Florida panhandle. It should be interesting as I have called it the "Dark Side" for many years. It was offered to me without opportunity to decline, if you know what I mean. This is an add-on with no responsibilities removed. We shall see.

With A home for

The summer, things around here are quite hectic. A has 3 jobs and is taking an Anatomy class at the local UNC campus.

A has her lifeguard job, she coaches the pool swim team (and gets paid for it) and works at a local relatively fast food restaurant called Cook-Out at night when the pool is closed. By at night, this is from 9PM or so until close. These folks close at 2AM Sunday through Wednesday and until 4AM on Thursday, Friday and Saturday. A gets home around 3AM on some days and around 5AM when she works the weekends.

When she is not working, she is studying or sleeping. The best part about this is she has very little time to get into too much trouble. She is either working, studying or sleeping.

I think that A is getting exposed to more of America than she expected. Cook-out is a drive through/walk-up only type restaurant with no indoor seating on a busy corner. She is the only person of her race working at this restaurant. She has seen: many people ordering at the drive through with guns in their laps, some pretty wicked fights in a parking lot across the street and even a gunshot or two from her perch at the restaurant. This restaurant is only about 3 miles from our home, yet a world away.

The place has a significant safety program in place for closers at 3/4/5 AM to prevent possible problems. All of the money goes into the safe that cannot be opened by any single person. Also, when it is time to leave, some of the people go to their cars while others remain in the building. Once safely in their cars, locked, cell phones in hand and started, the others then head for their cars.

It has been really interesting to hear the stories that A brings home, even at 5 AM. I told you the drama would increase, but you did not believe me.

Hope your week is a good one.

The New VW Passat

Just an update on a previous post, the Passat was taken for a 30 mile test drive last night. It drove very smoothly and without issues. Tomorrow comes a better test, a drive to Raleigh and back. I do not expect any issues.

Car Situation - C has wheels

While all of the previous post was happening, I was cruising the Internet on Sunday May 20, seeing what was out there for vehicles for C. I was looking on Craigslist, Cars.com and eBay.

On eBay, I found a 1999 VW Jetta Wolfsburg Edition, green in color, used by a college student that just graduated from Villanova near Philadelphia. He was selling it because he did not want the hassle of moving it to Las Vegas where he was moving to take a job. It had a couple of minor issues, but in general seemed OK. Needless to say, I won the auction. This is Sunday at about 2PM. I left my phone number and he called me at about 2:30PM.

He indicated that he was leaving Philly on Monday at 5PM. I told him that I would check into a few things and get back with him, but could he make arrangements to have a friend complete the transaction in a couple of days.

With gasoline prices as they are, it would take about $150 worth of gas to drive to Philly and back for the van, plus 16 hours of K and my time. I looked into flying, but thought on short notice, they were going to get me. I was wrong. Southwest had flights from Raleigh to Philly for $58 ($49 plus taxes), so I booked my flight. I also ordered the parts needed to fix the known issues. I called the seller, making arrangements to be met at the airport at 1:30PM the next day (Monday).

While my plane was a few minutes late, he met me at baggage claim and we drove off to the National Car Rental car return. His parents were in town for his graduation, and were returning their rental car. He, his parents and I completed the transaction in the parking lot of the National Car Rental. I left for home by 2:30PM and they took the shuttle to catch their planes.

I got home around 11PM, going down the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake Bay on 301 to avoid the DC evening drive time. As I had not been down that way, it was a very scenic drive. My computer GPS guided me the whole way, more for knowing that I was going the right direction than actual directing.

As a potential interesting footnote, I found out that the guy I bought the car from was going to try to make it in the world of professional poker. When I Googled his name, he already has a reputation and has won a significant amount of money in only a few tournaments. He is going to do the WSOP for a year, then off to grad school for an MBA in Finance. I had no clue, nor really cared.

So we are now a 3 VW family. A and C drive Jettas and I drive a Passat. All with manual transmissions. We will NOT be trading in the van for a Microbus or Bug, thank you very much. Happy motoring.

Update on the car situation 2

This will be a rather boring post about our car travails. As many of you know, my Intrepid died at 329k miles. It had only one new transmission put into it, which was amazing for the Dodge product. Now, the rest of the story.

We were down to two cars with spring break a coming. Then the transmission went thump in the van and we were down to one. $1500 and a week later, we were back with two.

For many years, I have wanted to rebuild/replace an engine in a car. I thought it would be fun and stress relieving. Well, I was cruising eBay in mid-April and saw this car. It needed an engine and could be had for a decent price, so I purchased it.

The car, a 1999 VW Passat with a V6 engine, had the timing belt break, doing valve damage. I thought it would be a great learning experience to rebuild this engine. So I bought the how to repair book, and set about tearing into the engine. When viewing the engine heads, all of the exhaust valves were bent from contact with the pistons. One intake valve was visibly bent, but the others seemed fine.

I attempted to purchase used heads from an automotive recycler unsuccessfully, so the heads were taken to the local machine shop. $600 later, the heads were as good as new. The reassembly could begin.

Keep in mind that during this time, work had me travel to NY for a trade show for a full week and then give a tour of industrial and biopharm facilities for my Brazilian counterparts, again for another full week.

The reassembly went rather well once the heads were in my possession. Everything went back together extremely well. Along with the rebuilt heads, I put a new timing belt, water pump, thermostat, tensioner pulley, idler pulley, and upper control arm on the car. When the time came to fire up the car, it idled well. No check engine lights.

As K and I went for a test drive down our street, as the RPM got to 1400, the engine would buck, hesitate and in general raise havoc, the check engine light came on as well. The engine reached operating temperature fine and immediate turn back for home occurred.

I purchased a $22 cable and $100 software for my computer for doing diagnosis taking a couple of days while the materials arrived. Doing some analysis of the the trouble code using the Internet VW forums, it was determined that the throttle body electronic positioner was not communicating with the main engine computer.

I took out the offending part, cleaned it and re-installed it. Same problem. Did it again, slightly better, but same problem. After several posts on the VW forum (both VWVortex and PassatWorld) someone suggested a different cleaning method, but that I was definitely on the correct part.

So I tried their method and... no improvement. I ordered a new Throttle Body with sensor (that is the only way they come) and began the wait for it to arrive. While waiting, the old throttle body and sensor were disassembled by me as I had nothing left to loose. If I broke it or was unable to fix it, the new one would be there in a day or two. If I fixed it, then I could return the new part for a small restocking fee. I completely disassembled the position sensor, cleaned it with electrical contact cleaner, throttle body cleaner and used a can of computer compressed air to blow out any residue. The part was left to dry completely overnight.

The next day, as the old part was being installed, the new part arrived. I finished installing the completely cleaned old part and checked through my computer that the part was "visible" to the engine computer. It was, so the existing "Check Engine Light" codes were cleared and the engine was tested. It met with initial success in the carport, but would it stand up to being driven.

So K and I went on a short, 3-mile, test drive and the car drove wonderfully. No problems. Later today we will get license plates and insurance for the car so it can be street legal. The next step will be to do a 15-20 mile test drive just to make sure before I go gallivanting around the countryside using this as my daily driver.

The Tradewinds, they are a blowin'

As we were puttering around the house on Sunday evening, we got a call from some relatives that were in a neighboring city. AW and UJ were in Raleigh for a wedding of a grand-niece or nephew and wanted to come by to visit on Monday. We were happy to see them, come on by!

As always, it is good to see them as we enjoy lively conversation regarding all topics, past, future and current. We relived many of my childhood escapades for my daughters, and shared some escapades by siblings that were least embarrassing. We had a great time.

They are off to see the Biltmore Estate in Asheville, NC before winding their way back home to PA.

Thanks for stopping by, travel safe.

Cuz, It was great to see ya

I popped in to see my DC burb cousin MEH yesterday. Although she was not feeling well, it was great to see her, her husband and their children. I was going to take a picture or two, but because ME was not feeling well, the camera was not used.

K and Sh had to go to to a school ensemble concert, so I did not see much of them early, but I stayed long enough to get some conversation afterward.

We discussed much, solved many of the world's problems and in general enjoyed the company. Thanks ME and K for the delightful evening.

Wow, It is May the 8th

Much has occurred over the past 2 weeks. I will try to cover it in as few words as possible.

1) Interphex was Interphex. As all trade shows are being attended less, so it was with Interphex. There were abour 30% fewer people there this year than last. Tuesday and Wednesday were ok from a people walking by standpoint, but Thursday was very slow. Fortunately for me, my company had a couple of new people with us at the show and asked me to take them around to some of the show to explain how our equipment works in systems. That part was fun.

2) I want to thank my boss for the cold he shared with everyone at Interphex. I have the left over sinus congestion but am otherwise back.

3) Last week, it was my responsibility to help show some of my Brazilian counterparts equipment in operation. This took the entire week and was a drain on my productive time. It did however help the Brazilian guys, even though there was a slight communication barrier. We went to paper mills, textile plants, chemical plants and Biopharm facilities. I think I gave them my cold.

4) A is home for the summer, so the drama has increased. She has been here only one day, yet there are conflicts between A and C. Nothing earth shattering, but C was the primary focus and now has to share the spotlight.

5) Item 4 above has created another issue. Since my Intrepid died, we have been making due with 2 cars. Now with 4 drivers, there will be more challenges. I am seeking a new vehicle. It does not, however, make sense to have 4 vehicles with 4 drivers when one of them will be away at school and cannot take a car with them (does it C?). We will only be inconvenienced during the summer months.

6) C's room is now 90% complete. There are some details that need to be completed (like widow coverings), but the paint is done and the closet shelving has been installed. Pictures will come later this week. Think Robbins Egg Blue with white trim.

More soon...

This weeks challenge

is to get through a trade show, Interphex (the International Pharmaceutical Exposition), at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York with out going crazy. It means standing in our 40x40 booth, for approximately 8 hours per day greeting customers to show them equipment that they already buy, then taking agents and customers out to dinner. It means sharing a hotel room with another company employee during my stay. It means being "on" 24hrs a day for 5 days.

I may post some pictures of NY if I get some free time.

One final thing

Did I mention that we are down to one vehicle for a short while. When my Intrepid died, that put us down to two. Last week, the transmission on the van started acting up and Friday, it was put into the shop.

We will get is back on Wednesday or Thursday, but for now, that leaves one car.

It really put the clamps on a certain 16YO, kinda like when I was a kid until I bought my own car.

Another thing

on which we have been working is C's room. The drywall is in and mostly finished (should be done in the next day or so) and we are beginning to put up trim. There is painting to do as well as floor covers, and a "closet system" to install. There is still much to do, and I will be traveling heavy for the next 2 weeks (NY for a trade show M-F this week and Bosses traveling with me M-Th the following)

A will be coming home for the summer in about 3 weeks.

It has been 11 days

Since my last post on my blog. Both a lot and nothing has happened during that time.

As was indicated on a previous post, C got accepted to the North Carolina School of Science and Math. Yesterday, we went for placement testing, scheduling and orientation. The dorm rooms are normal college size, meaning not very big. Each hall has community bathrooms/showers for about 30 girls or boys. Some rooms are singles, some are doubles and some are even triples.

The facilities are pretty typical of a college campus. The class rooms have the standard desks with white boards instead of the chalk boards to which I was accustom. The buildings condition is pretty good considering many are 100 years old. There is a great athletic facility for the students to use.

The whole campus is wireless, but with many popular sites blocked most of the time. MySpace, Facebook, and a couple of other social networking sites and the usual unsavory (IMO) are among those blocked. Access to the web is limited after midnight until 6:30AM, but AIM is live all night.

All classes take attendance and there is a demerit system if you miss too many. Likewise for missing curfew and check-in time. Much was stressed about safety, given the recent issues ate Virginia Tech. NCSSM has already begun the bidding process for a building and grounds monitoring system of cameras, and all buildings can be locked down from a central location if necessary.

Next year, C will be taking, Physics 1 and 2, Chemistry 1 and 2, Biology 1 and 2, Forensics, Calculus 1 and 2, Spanish 1,2 and 3 and American History (contains both History and English). Given the demands of the courses, she will be busy.

Shezin

C got confirmation today online that she has been accepted to the North Carolin School of Science and Math! She is very excited about the opportunity and a bit apprehensive about the challenge before her. She will be among the top students in NC, in a college type setting, getting an excellent education opportunity. The official letter will come early next week.

There is a orientation at the end of the month for placement testing, class selection, etc

The web address is: http://www.ncssm.edu

K and I are also excited for her, but she is our baby and we will be empty nesters in the fall!

Please join us in congratulating C.

Today

Is A's 19th birthday. I will be getting her from college today and bringing her home for the Easter weekend. You can e-mail her a birthday greeting if you wish.

Hope your day will have less drama than mine.

Sorry about

Not blogging for a while, but K and I have been busy trying to finish C's room before A gets home from college in early May. We have hung much drywall and are trying to finish it as quickly and professionally as possible.

In the interim, here are some pic's of C:

It came in the mail

Unexpectedly, but A got a certificate indicating that last semester grades were good enough for the Dean's List.

Way to go, A!

Watch out if

You are in our state anytime soon, driving between 5AM and 9PM. C turned 16 last Thursday and now has a driver's license. The first trip was out to lunch with some friends and came back with a smile so big it nearly overlapped in the back of the head.

This is your only warning.

I am sorry

but it was raining very hard and my camera was in the car, but I stopped buy to see Dad tonight.

We went out to dinner at a Rib place on Monroe St. I spent about 4 hours with Dad before I needed to get back on the road toward Cleveland for my 8AM appointments today.

Dad looked great, and we had lively conversation. It was great to see him.

Hope your day was great.

It is with heavy heart :(

that I pass along to you the demise of my 1994 Intrepid. She has 329,653 miles on her when she passed away tonight. Apparently from a blown seal, all the oil leaked out on the highway and the engine appeared to die. As it was 13 years old and we had put 311,00 miles on the car while we owned her, we have received full value for what we paid.

The car was in need of several minor repairs, but now is in need of a major repair, probably far exceeding the value of the vehicle. I cleaned out all of the stuff from the back seat and trunk, filling up a minivan with pumps and support supplies. I am a pack rat in my car, so there was much stuff.

I also want to say thanks to my S-I-L LW for the help as the car died near her home in Sandusky and she took me to Toledo to pick up a rental car so I could finish my business trip and get home.

I stopped by

Brush Creek yesterday to say hi to Mom, two sisters and all of the relatives in the area. It was late, so I could not stay long. I did a little grass clean up in a couple of places because there was grass clippings in places where they should not have been. I could not, however find ALS and will have to inquire more before my next visit.

Afterward, I called AW to see if she was available for a short visit. As she was home and not previously committed, I stopped by and spent a wonderful evening talking with her and UJ. It was a wide ranging conversation, from Church issues to politics and beyond. Even though politically we do not necessarily agree, the discussion was very lively and thought provoking, an enjoyable evening for all, I believe.


Here is a picture of AW and UJ that I took while I was there.

Equal Time, Kinda

Here is a picture of A and C that was taken when A decided to come home for a weekend.

Dance Marathon

Below is a picture of A that we took when she was participating in the Dance Maraton. For those who contributed, the total raised for this University Childrens Hospital Fund Drive was over $236,000.

A had lots of fun, but at the end of the event was very weary from standing for 24 hours. We took her out to dinner, then back to her room. I think she was asleep before I got back in the car from helping her carry stuff to her room.

It is the first full

Week of March and we are mowing our grass already. It was 73 yesterday and 70 today. Really nice outside, but the grass is beginning to grow and the weeds have already grown, even with the cold so the lawn mower was running.

This and other activities like fixing cars, is what slows down the work on remodeling C's room

Our House

I write this from a hotel in Ringgold, GA, just south of Chattanooga, TN. K and I have begun a remodeling project, similar in scope to my cousin ME to the north. We are renovating C's room. C and all her stuff are living in A's room.

K and I have gutted her room to the studs, removing her existing closet, opened an exterior wall and are creating a 5x8 walk in closet, making the room bigger and adding much insulation as there was none, the house was built in the 50's (there is that number again). The prep work for the closet was done some time ago and it has been "dry" for aver a year. We are just now getting to the room re-do. We are in the re-assembly stage, having built a separation wall and finished drywalling the new closet.

With the traveling that I do, the projects happen over weekends, so they tend to take a long time. This also means that we live in chaos for a long time. No pictures for now, but I will post before and after when the room is completed.

The Hill

By most people's standards, I have officially reached "over-the-hill" status. Weird thing is, I feel like I am still climbing.

I got the best comment from A the other day (I think). She said; "You are the youngest acting 50 year old person I know." How many 50 year old people does she know? And what does she want?

Last Week

I traveled with the President of the company where I work (WMB). From Monday morning at 9AM until Friday at 1PM when hew was dropped off at the airport. We traveled over 1100 miles in 3 states and at the end of it all, I was mentally exhausted.

The President of WMB is an ok person, but is a person you would picture as an Engineer, sans pocket protector. Dry, not very engaging, technically smart but conversations are strained. Also a strong micro-manager.

I did not discover the real reason for this visit, so had to be on my best behavior for the whole week, really tough to do!

Possible New School

Yesterday, C, K and I went to Discovery Day" at North Carolina School for Science and Mathematics (NCSSM) in Durham, NC.

What you may ask is NCSSM? It is a State funded residence type High School for students with an aptitude for Science and Math. To get into the school, each of the 13 congressional districts are approximately represented equally. This prevents any one High School from dominating due to high achievement area (like Raleigh area or Chapel Hill) The average congressional district initially gets about 25 offers to students, but all must qualify to the standards. There is no backing down the standards.

Should a student decide to decline the offer, the offer goes to the next highest qualifying student, not necessarily from the congressional district. This way, the school gets the best students available, while fulfilling the mandate for balance from each congressional district.

C really liked what she saw, as did K and I. The HS is run like a college, with most classes being chosen and specialty concentrations available. The thinking is that C is really unchallenged in her HS and this will help prepare her for the demands of college. She is the one that chose to investigate this school.

The State of NC funds it, so there is no direct cost. No cars are permitted. It will require a notebook computer.

The people that we saw did NOT look like geeks and nerds. All were very bright kids, but no pocket protectors, slide rules, and the stereotypical crazed looks. It would be like going to a HS where all the kids are high achieving kids. There are many varsity sports to join, like basketball, baseball, softball, volleyball, swimming, all the normal HS sports except Football.

The final advantage of going to NCSSM is that tuition for any NC State funded University is waived for 4 years upon graduation from NCSSM. Books, Room and Board are extra, but tuition is free.

It is a very competitive process, one that has been very interesting for C. Keep her in your thoughts and prayers as she will find out in Mid-April.

Somebody came home for a day.

A came home from college Friday night and spent part of the weekend with us. She went back on Saturday evening, after Mass and dinner. While she was home, I took the opportunity to snap a few pictures of C and her. A came home to get her hair cut, which is why she has straight hair, it make it easier to cut, and to ask questions about her physics homework. She also made a cake for K's birthday, although it is not until Tuesday. Hope you enjoy the pictures, the cake was good.

The SAT

With little to no preparation, C took the new SAT about 2 weeks ago. She is trying to get into the NC School of Science and Math, a magnet school for students with abilities in Math or Science, and taking the SAT is part of the entrance requirements. The results came back this morning. She received a 640 verbal, 680 math and 610 writing scores.

Her local HS thinks it is good if the total score is over 1800 (1200 for the math and verbal) and this totals 1930. We think she did good!

Only by attempting the absurd can we achieve the impossible. Have a wonderful day.

Work Post, February

I am a bit confused.

My manager talks with us regularly about what is happening, giving appropriate direction, etc. The President of our company says "we must get out of our comfort zone", what ever that means. The President is trying to do the Marketing, National Sales Manager's (3 of them), District Sales Manager's, and Finance (he's a Chemical Engineer with no financial training) jobs, and sending out motivational email telling us the sales performance and that the exchange rate is having an adverse effect on profits (like any of us can do anything about the exchange rate)

The big question to me is: Who is doing the President's job, while he is busy doing tasks his people are to do?

Another weekend, another swim meet, the last

C had the final HS swim meet for the year today. She swam the 200 Free in the NC 3A HS state championships. Due to her qualifying time, she got stuck in lane 8 in her heat. After swimming, she indicated that she felt like swimming in a milkshake, no matter how hard she tried, there was tremendous drag. She finished 21 out of 24.

We are still very proud of her and look forward to doing this again, next year though.

This weekend, Part 2

K and I attended the funeral of my Aunt in Athens, GA. She was 81. She and her family are some of our favorite people to visit as they are always positive, going somewhere people. Aunt L was a picture of dignity, grace, and poise. A nurse by training, a wife by marriage, mother to 3 and grandmother to 5, she was the embodiment of a Proverbs 31 woman, and it showed by the number of people attending her funeral.

Cousins B (from NC), J and a brother of Aunt L's did wonderful eulogies, speaking of growing up with Aunt L as mom or sister and the strength of Aunt L, even to the end.

Unfortunately for everyone, I neglected to bring my camera after unloading if from the car from the previous day at the pool (see the previous post), so pictures of Uncle J, B, B, J and their families are unavailable.

To my brother and sisters, I passed along your love and sympathies for Aunt L. I bragged about you, your accomplishments and your families, bringing everyone up to date on your lives and activities as I know them. Uncle J, B, B and J pass along their thanks and appreciation for your love, prayers, support and best wishes over the past couple of months as they went through this illness with Aunt L.

Together, we are all saddened at the passing of a wonderful woman, Aunt L, supportive of Uncle J and our cousins in their time of mourning and comforted in the knowledge that Aunt L is no longer in pain, made whole by the healing power of God.

This weekend, Part 1

After traveling all week, I got home Friday night at about 9:15PM, only to get back in the car and drive another 150 miles to the Regional Swim Meet for C's HS. She had to be there at 7 AM, so we decided to spend the evening there to make the trip easier.

In all 3 events C swam (medley relay, 200 Free and 500 Free), she or her team qualified for the evening session. Between sessions, we had reserved our hotel suite for 2 nights, so all of the swimmers hung out in our room watching movies. There were 9 people there, so it was lively with 7 girls and 2 boys.

In the evening session, C qualified for the State meet in the 200 Free. She went low at about the 300 point during her 500 free, missing qualifying for State by 2 places and about 3 seconds, but still cut 3 seconds off her qualifying time. Her relay team also missed qualifying for the State meet, although C swam a great opening Backstroke.

We are very proud of C and the hard wok she put in to do this. On to the State meet, next weekend.

I tried to take pictures, but given how far we were from the action, the pictures are less than useful. Sorry

Hey, I didn't

expect this. I am in Chillicothe, OH on business where there is now 1 inch of new snow on the ground. Some schools up north of Columbus are closed, but not here.

I traveled here last night, but before leaving, I checked Weather.com where they said nothing about new snow until later this week. That is not fair!

However, a coat of new snow makes things very clean and pretty. Hope your day is a good one.

On to Regionals

C has qualified for the regional HS swim meet in the 200IM, 200 Free and 500 Free. As she can only swim 2 individual events, she will need to choose where she thinks she can do her best. 2 of her relay teams also qualified for team events.

At the conference swim meet, C placed 5 in the 200 free and 2nd in the 500 free. Just before swimming in the 200 free, she had a BGR of 44 and was cramming food in her face between Event 1 (200 Medley Relay, she swims back) and Event 3 (200 free). She was going low in her relay, but finished fine. Her 200 time was her worst and if not for the low blood sugar, probably would have placed second. She had recovered, and probably was high by the time she swam the 500 free event

We are still very proud of her and are looking forward to Regional Swim meet in Goldsboro, Feb 4

I have determined

That one of things I have allergies to is artificial cherry flavoring. It seems that a Diet Cherry Coke (or Pepsi) started this and I have eaten several other things flavored artificially with cherry. I ate something Saturday with the offending flavor and nearly immediately broke out in hives on my hands.

I enjoy cherry flavored things, too bad I will not be enjoying them as often.

New Pictures

C was having some fun with the digital camera and thought she was looking really good last night after her dance routine at the HS basketball game. And she took some pictures to prove it. I thought I would post a couple to let everyone see the latest.

Some random thoughts from a recent trip..

To FL, I did not take any more pictures, so you will have to suffice with the previously posted pic's below. We never left the Marriott Resort during daylight hours and every day looked the same, minimal fluorescent lights in a conference room with a temperature too warm to stay awake watching presenters read to a college educated audience mindless PowerPoint presentation after PowerPoint presentation while outside is was mostly sunny with a high around 8oF. We got to see the outside at lunch for about 15 minutes, then back to the cave. When we finished at 5PM we had about 45 minutes of daylight left before the sun went down, but there were more "small group" meetings to attend for discussions of what had been discussed, before going to dinner at 7PM, so that sun was missed as well.

At dinner, it was watching many people drink heavily to numb the pain of the day and to begin numbing the pain of tomorrow. Then, back to the hotel bar where those same people drank heavily. Sometimes, it was fun to watch, knowing how silly they looked. I feel sad for them, however, that their personal lives are not full enough without drowning the world with $750 bar tabs. It was good, however, to see one of the guys at the meeting. His youngest daughter, age 27, died tragically on Christmas day and getting together to focus on something other than his daughter seemed to lift him a bit and help the grieving process along. I pray for his strength.

There were 4 of us that did not drink, so if and when we left the Marriott for any reason, we were the designated drivers to keep things safe.

I came back from FL just as white as I went. I guess they did not want us to taste what we are missing. And this is to be a reward for a year of hard work! I hope we do not have a bad year.

Thanks for the cold, whomever gave it to me.

Business Activities

Today, after the meetings, we went and played golf at at local course. The teams were divided to be as fair as possible. A "Captains Choice" format was played to keep things moving. The team I was playing with won with a team score of -6. Everyone contributed equally and we all had fun. I was also fortunate to win the long drive contest, with a drive of about 260, but only because I hit the fairway. There were longer drives, but longest drive in the fairway was the requirement.

Beginning tomorrow, it is boring meeting city. I know, you feel for me!

Pictures from

As I said in one of my previous posts, I am in south FL on a business meeting and here are the pictures to prove it. We are staying at the Mariott Hotel and Resort in Key Largo. One picture is the view from my room.

The other is a shot from another room.

I am off to...

This week, my wife and kids are jealous of me because I will be in Key Largo, FL at a business meeting. What they do not understand is that these business meetings spend from 9AM until 5 PM sitting in conference rooms talking about things that would normally take only 2-3 hours if they were held in the office. This goes on for 4 days. Then, in the evenings, most of the attendees drown their displeasure about work or family life by drinking very heavily and acting foolishly. The evening festivities are fun to watch, as I do very little, if any, drinking other than diet coke.

I will post the occasional picture as available. It will be 81 for highs, 65 for lows. There will be one afternoon of Golf in Homestead, FL.

Was it something I ate?

Beginning last Saturday Evening, I noticed a weird itching sensation on my hands. I paid little attention to it. It got a little worse on Sunday and Monday, but noting that could not be tolerated.

I left on Tuesday to go on a business trip to Atlanta, noticing a little more itching. By the time I got to Atlanta, with business stops in Charlotte, NC and Greenville, SC, there were welts on my hands arms and ears. When I got up on Wednesday AM, my left eye was swollen nearly shut. I called my business contact in Atlanta and told him that I was unable to meet with him for the planned sales calls (I looked like a figure from a horror film) and told him I was going to the doctor.

I drove home (my philosophy is that if it is within ~7 driving hours, drive it, because the process of using commercial air service takes 7 hours to get almost anywhere) and went to the doctor.

The doctor indicated that they did not know the cause, called it "contact dermatitis" and gave me a steroid cream to stop the swelling and itching. Occasionally a new blister show up, but when it does, I put some 'roid cream on it and the itching and blister go away in a very short time. So, I am no longer eligible for any Hall of Fame and fear the Grand Jury and Congressional testimony, but I am much better.

No pictures of this, because it was gross. Now to figure out what I ate or touched to caused this.

Swim Team, Part 2

On Wednesday, C had another HS swim meet. Her team lost, but not due to C. In C's events, she got a first in the 200 Freestyle, and a second in the 100 Backstroke. In the Relays, her Medley team got a second (C lead off with a great backstroke, leading when she touched).

In the 4x100 Freestyle relay, her team was behind about 4 body lengths after 2 swimmers. The swimmer before C made up about half the distance. C was able to help here team finish 1st by a body length. As I said in a previous post, she has heart and competitiveness.

Swim Team

Tonight was a high school swim meet with C. While they are not typically held on a Friday evening, this was a good meet. We swam against the powerhouse team in our conference, a team that has many students that participate in year-round swimming and is generally good.

They overwhelmed our team with numbers, being larger than our team by a factor of 3, but we still did well. C placed 1st in both of her individual events, the 200 Freestyle and 100 backstroke. Her relay team got two 2nd place finishes, the 400 Freestyle and the 200 medley relays.

C has such a great attitude about swimming in that she tries very hard in all of her races. She has great heart, swimming hard, even when behind.

I am proud of her.

Happy New Year

K, C and I enjoyed each others company last evening, A went out to a friends house, spending the night. It was a quiet, and uneventful New Years Eve for us. Safe too! Hope yours was as exciting as you desired.

Test Post

A setting on blogger says that I can post by sending an e-mail. This is my first attempt at doing this. If it works, it could allow me to post more easily.

I have also tried to add a picture of K, from this past fall. Lets see what happens.

Update: A) Mail-to-Blogger goes into drafts, this is good, sometimes.

B) Mail-to-Blogger does not accept pictures at this time, so it is a text only. Bummer

Christmas Pictures

These pictures are in semi random order, but represent a smattering of photos from Christmas gatherings.


This is a picture of A and C, while A was testing her new digital camera.

The above is a picture of my mother-in-law.

The above is a picture of K and niece B.

The above is a great (in my opinion) picture of sister in law L and her daughter K.

Above is M, L and K. Missing in this picture is A their son who was off playing with his cousin N.

The above picture is of my Brothers in Law, M, D R and B. This photo was taken at the family party on K's side.

The above picture is of the ladies of K's family, L, K, Mom A, L and J

This is a picture of my nephew N. Please look at N and ignore the feet.

Nephew A (the one with the cup) and N catch a snack after dinner.

Here is another of A and C. No C did not taste the Champagne. In the background is B-I-L R and nephew M

Here is the happy couple.

And a picture of Dad opening his newest technology, a Cell phone from us kids.

Another picture of niece B and one of her husband S below.

Below, Niece K seems to enjoy the present she is opening.

Niece S is also enjoying a present that she opened.

It was a quick trip, up Friday, back Tuesday, but we got to see most of the friends and family. It was good to hear all of the cousins trading stories of their college days, the good and the bad.

Merry Christmas to all.

Better Late than Never, Part 2

K and J sit and chat.
A and M read together.

Blogger would only let me post so many pictures, so here are 3 more from the trip to Toledo.

Better Late than Never

Although these are late, I thought I would at least post them to let everyone see pictures I took while in Toledo at Thanksgiving. As shown below, L (aka the King) did not spend the entire time mad! Of course when you have pretty girls holding you, it makes the day a little brighter.

Even though E and J get plehty of publicity, the west coast blogger can be seen, she does exist!




E and the Kentucky blogger get some sharing time.

One other thing

We did when K and I were in Virginia at B and K's Christmas Party was to teach B how to use his nice digital camera to take pictures of his salt water aquarium and the fish. We spent about an hour and a half taking pictures of his fish, starfish, crabs, etc.

B has a fully automatic Canon EOS Rebel digital SLR. It has auto-focus and can do many things. However the glass on the aquarium confuses the autofocus, so his prior attempts at pictures were out of focus. B learned how to use the manual focus and to set the aperture for proper depth of field for the aquarium.

I will ask him to forward some of the pictures and post them when I get them.

Digital Cameras

One of the best uses of the digital camera is documentation. When in the middle of some project, I can take a picture of something, send K off to the local Hardware store with the statement: " I need to have some of these". While K is very knowledgeable and helps a lot, she does not know all of the terminology, so she pulls out the camera and says" "My husband sent me to get this, can you help?" It saves 3 cell phone calls and an extra trip to the store by me.

It also helps me remember how things go back together. I am usually pretty good at disassembly and re-assembly, but sometimes back-up is needed. By taking a picture of the before, the after can get back to the way it was designed, with fewer extra parts.

Digital cameras are also good for parts identification without removal. By using the Macro mode, the ID label on parts can be viewed, even when on the wrong side of the part. And if the photo is taken with high enough resolution, it can be enlarged on the computer so that every digit can be interpreted properly.

Digital cameras are great!

Homecoming

A has come home from her first semester at college this past Thursday. Life is no longer quite the same here at home. There is much more drama here, with the comings and goings of a college freshman.

There are people to see, shopping to be done and all around disruption of the parents routines to do. All in the name of "it is what I did when I was at UNC!, Duh!"

We are glad to have her and happy that she is enjoying her time at school. Life is fun, and never boring.

Work Post

At this time of the year, the leaders at the company I work for severely curtail overnight travel for all people. This is fine with me as I get to spend more time with K, A and C.

C has to be either at the school at 5:30Am or at the practice pool (not at her school) at 6 AM. Since I can drive C to either location, get back into bed by 6:15, asleep by 6:20, I really loose no sleep. It is a trait handed down from my mom. Any place, any time, I can fall asleep. But never when driving.

K really appreciates the mandated no travel. Anytime K's feet hit the floor, she will be awake for 2 hours. This allows her to remain at home, saving for the time, after the first of the year when I start traveling again. I am happy to do it.

I will

Get more pictures soon, I promise.

Last weekend

K and I went to a Christmas party at B and K place in Virginia. I would show the pictures, but the camera chose that time to get weird and the photo's look like something that belong in a horror movie or ghoulish Andy Warhol painting. I think the CCD in the camera is becoming uncoupled.

Attending the party were K's sister Catherine, Mom S, and nephew A. A was the ring bearer at the wedding and is still very cute. S has custody of A while her son and D-i-L are deployed overseas in Kosovo. Also attending the party was V (best man at the wedding), J (bridesmaid) and another couple who are teachers at the local HS along with their children.

The food was prepared by K and S, and all of what I ate was great. The house looked wonderful and the conversation was lively. A good time was had by K and I.

New addition to the family

K and I have purchased a new to us auto to replace the last Civic that was wrecked. It will be used by A and C as a combined car. The car is a 1998 VW Jetta. It has a sunroof, electric everyting and is a 5 speed. It should be good for a while.

I have not

Posted for a while and am busy for the next day or so, but will post soon.