Tooth Pain

Yesterday evening was pretty rough. The pain in my tooth continued to increase, to the point that I thought I'd have to go to the emergency room at one point. I had my wife get some Anbesol, and used an ice pack to help manage it. While the pain was pretty bad, it eventually settled back to a dull ache. This morning, I called the dentist at his home residence and discussed my options. He said he could do a root canal today if the pain was unbearable, or if it could wait until tomorrow, to call right away in the morning to see when they could fit me in. I decided to wait as the pain was just a dull ache, and decided to just tough it out. It will be a long day.

An Ice Storm

We experienced an ice storm today. It started about 4 am this morning, and lingered through much of the day. Ice accumulations locally were around one quarter inch, but by early afternoon, a warm front moved through the area and shot temperatures up to near 50. So, the ice melted pretty quickly, and there wasn't too much damage. There were a few downed limbs and trees here and there, but overall, just a quick shot.

I did have a tooth ache today. Back in August, I had a cavity filled. The dentist said that it was deeper than he thought, and questioned whether or not I might eventually need a root canal on the tooth. I haven't had much trouble over the last few months, except some acute sensitivity to hot and cold. Otherwise, that's been it. But, I think something is definitely wrong, as now it's a constant, dull ache that just won't go away.

We also had to cancel the wedding shower for my niece, which was scheduled for 2 pm in Fairbury. With the ice storm, they all felt it just wasn't worth it to have people on the roads risking their lives. She's getting married at the end of December so they'll have to push the shower back to January. That's too bad.

Another Day, Another Storm

We've had rain over the previous 3 days, with about three tenths of an inch Tuesday morning, and another 1.1 this morning. Thus, the grass continues to grow like crazy. I just mowed Monday, and now it needs it again. Oh well, at least it's good exercise.

On a side note, I was out of town last weekend attending a professional conference. The first night there, while eating dinner with everyone else, I played a little Keno. I don't play very often, and it was something different. Well, I played 5 games, picked 10 numbers, and won $142, with $2 in game 3, and $140 in game 4. Wow, that was amazing. I picked 7 out of 10 I believe, and it was a complete surprise, as I could only find 6. But, who's to argue with the computer. Woohoo!

We're having a big family party at our house this coming weekend. Finally, by then, it should be dry, cool, and pleasant. It sounds like a big turnout (I have 7 brothers and sisters), so it should be a fun evening.

One Last Waterpark Visit

My daughter starts school in two days, and thus, we decided to get one last waterpark visit in. It was supposed to very hot today with a high around 100, so we needed something to keep us cool. We decided to head to Mahoney State Park one more time as it's close, and always fun with the huge waves. Today was no different. For a Monday, there were a lot of people there, but I'm guessing everyone else had the same idea, i.e. one last blast before school starts, plus it was so hot. It was packed, and by 2 pm, it was wall to wall people in the wave pool. It's fun when there are so many people, but also a little dangerous too. In fact, by mid afternoon, my daughter gave up trying to use the innertube and just body surfed. I did have to laugh though, I witnessed a 50-something lady (with leathery skin) putting on a full course of makeup, including base, powder, eye shadow, lip stick, lip liner, and she even curled her eyelashes. Doh! What a piece of work. I rolled my eyes to the guy sitting next to me, and shrugged his shoulders. Then he asked her why she was putting on makeup. She made a comment that she wanted to look good, and that she was only here for the sun and not the water. Ugh. No wonder her skin looked like a crocodile shell. Oh well.

Would You Believe It

Well, another storm rolled through yesterday afternoon and produced another 1.24 inches of rain at my house. It also produced wind gusts from 50 to 70 mph. We didn't experience any damage, but a lot of trees were blown down across town and some power lines were downed. In fact, I was at the gym around 6 pm. The main line had already blown through, and it was just raining very hard. I had just stepped onto the elliptical trainer when the lights went out. I thought about sticking it out, but decided to head to the gym at another location instead. The grass sure looks great and I'm sure the farmers are very happy at this point. The crops sure look good, and estimates now are that they'll experience a record harvest, and grain prices are very high. For what it's worth, it looked like the deck is OK. The stain that I'm using requires a solid 24 hours to dry, but it only made it about 18. But, it was another very hot day today (before the rain arrived) and that probably helped.

Am I Crazy?

I've been meaning to re-stain my deck as it's been 3 1/2 years since it was last done. But, we do have a covered deck, so it seems to weather the weather a bit better than an uncovered deck. But, it's a big deck, 12 x 20, and 15 steps up, so I've been putting it off, not really wanting to tackle the big project. Plus, I've never stained a deck myself, so was a little nervous about the whole process. So, I waited until the hottest and most humid week of the year to do it. Ha. Actually, I stained the stairs a couple of days ago, and spent about 5 hours this afternoon and evening staining the spindles. It sure is tedious work as I'm using a brush. But, it does look really good. I still have another couple of spindle sections to complete, the floor boards, and the undercarriage. At least I won't have to do it for another 3 years. It's supposed to rain tomorrow night, so I wanted to get as much done as possible.

Another Storm

Well, yet another storm rolled through late last night, shortly after midnight, producing another 1.34 inches of rain. Wow, just amazing. I'm glad I did begin the staining process on my deck yesterday or I would have been mad as the rain was not in the forecast. Instead, we headed to the Pawnee Plunge waterpark in Columbus, Nebraska. It was a fun park, probably even better than Mahoney State Park, and definitely better than the water park in Fremont. We spent about four hours there, and had a great time, although my feet were very sore near the end from walking on all the concrete. Got some great sun, not a burn, but definitely more color.

More Rain

Well, the rains have really been plentiful over the last 2 to 3 weeks. The pattern has shifted such that we're getting periodic, beneficial rains. Today, we've received another 1.35 inches, and we could get some more tonight. The yard needed to be mowed, as garbage collection is tomorrow. It was still wet, but I plowed through it anyhow. Well, the grass wasn't so wet, but the ground sure was. Soggy in fact. But, it's done, and looks great. The humidity over the last week has really been oppressive as well. Dewpoints have been in the mid to upper 70s. That's very moist. In fact, so moist, that when you walk outside, you immediately break into a sweat.

A Deluge

After another day of rains, I measured 1.83 inches. Most of that fell yesterday, just under one and one half inches, and a bit more fell overnight. I'm sure the grass will be growing like a hayfield in the coming days. But, we really needed it, it's been a week without any rain at all.

Smoke and Rain

It was supposed to rain early this morning, and boy did it ever. It was a hot day yesterday with highs in the 90s and high humidity with dewpoints in the 70s. I spent most of the day inside working on an upcoming work project, even though I'm still on vacation. I thought about trying to get some sun, but spent most of the afternoon at the computer.

The cold front finally arrived early this morning. I drifted off to sleep around 1 am, only to be awoken at around 2 by the smell of smoke of the sound of thunder. It was raining very heavy, and I swore the house was filling with smoke. I woke up quickly, in a panic thinking that the house had been struck by lightning. I'm not sure why I thought there was smoke in the air, but everything was fine, and I sat up and enjoyed the rain for the next hour. We ended up getting 2.90 inches in just over an hour, wow that was a heavy rain. We sure needed it!

But, while sitting here typing this message, watching Driving Miss Daisy on TV, I heard a drip in the living room. Sure enough, there was water dripping from the archway in our dining room. It's directly below our chimney flue, so I'm guessing because the rain was so heavy that some rain got in and dripped down between the wall. I peered up into the attic but couldn't find anythings, and there aren't any stains in the dryway or ceiling, so it seems to be between the wall. Ugh.

Traveling Home

We stopped by the Amana Colonies in Iowa on our way home to shop a bit. We had a nice lunch at a local German restaurant, then had an uneventful trip home. We picked up our dogs at the vet, and enjoyed a BBQ Chicken pizza from Papa Johns.

Chicago Day Two

Museum of Science and Industry
Top of the John Hancock Building
Navy Pier
Lodging along the banks of the Mississippi River in the Quad Cities.

Chicago Frustrations

The main reason for visiting Chicago was my wife was meeting several of her Internet chat board members for the weekend. They've been chatting on their cross stitch discussion board for months and decided to meet in a central location for a fun weekend. Thus, the plan for today was that she'd be busy with her friends at the hotel, and myself and my daughter would head out on the town to do a little sight seeing.

After a complimentary breakfast buffet (part of our hotel package), we got in the car and started to drive. I studied the city map quite a bit last night, and thought I had an overall feel of where we were and where we intended to go. We left the hotel around 930 am, and immediately encountered the most horrible traffic I've ever been in. We were well in the suburbs, and downtown Chicago was at least 30 miles away, if not more. Basically, it was bumper to bumper the whole way, driving at 15 to 30 mph as we inched past Ohare Airport. I really thought the traffic wouldn't be that bad for a weekend, but that was a very bad assumption. It was a nightmare.

We did finally arrive downtown and drove along Lakeshore Drive, next to Lake Michigan. It was a beautiful lake, and a gorgeous day. We really enjoyed that. The speed limit along the highway there was 35 to 45 mph, but people weren't happy unless I was driving 15 to 20 mph over. I really just wanted to drive the speed limit and take in the sights, but everyone kept honking at me. It quickly became apparent that Chicago is one the most impatient cities I've ever been in.

After driving for awhile, we arrived in South Chicago. It definitely didn't seem to be the best neighborhood, and we quickly decided to turn around. We were severely short on gas, with about 400 miles on the tank thus far and the needle flirting with empty. But, I really didn't want to stop at either of the 2 gas stations that we did see as it seemed very unsafe to do so.

We then headed back north up Lakeshore Drive. I thought it would be fun to visit the Lincoln Park Zoo. While it was an OK zoo, it definitely doesn't rival the Henry Doorly Zoo here in Omaha, but it was a great way to pass the lunch hour. After leaving the zoo, we decided to head back to the hotel to rest. My daughter was furiously reading the new Harry Potter book that we purchased earlier in the morning, and just wanted to vedge. I was OK with that. However, we got stuck in downtown traffic (not intentionally) and a real panic began to set in. It was just as it appears on TV, bumper to bumper traffic, cabs driving like lunatics, everyone honking their horns as soon as lights would turn green, and thousands of people on the sidewalks. It was at that moment that the low fuel light came on in the car. I became very nervous. I thought we'd chug out in the middle of the chaos and would never get out. I usually don't pray a lot, but I did at that moment, quietly asking for a gas station. After a couple of turns, the situation became worse as we got stuck behind a construction project with cement trucks blocking the path. After pulling in front of a couple of lanes of traffic, I turned the corner, and low and behold, a gas station loomed in the next block. What dumb luck to find the only gas station in the middle of downtown Chicago. Needless to say, I was relieved beyond words.

We spent the part of the afternoon at Panera Bread. We enjoyed a nice snack, and just relaxed. Hannah read her book and I surfed the Internet. We then headed back to the hotel and enjoyed a mid afternoon swim. For dinner, I really wanted some Chicago style pizza. I looked in the yellow pages and found a nearby restaurant that sounded awesome and quite delicious. However, after driving there, I then realized that it was only a takeout place. After failing to find the mall (which I thought might have some food options), we drove upon another local pizza place and had a great dinner after all. After dinner, we headed to the movie Ratatouie, which was absolutely great. All the while, my wife really enjoyed her day with her Internet cross stitch friends, so all in all, we all had an OK day with lots of adventure.

I must say though, I guess I'm not too fond of Chicago after our first day. The traffic is just overwhelming (for a Saturday, geesh), and the impatient people are really just too much to put up with. I know, perhaps I have a closed mind, but that's what we mostly experienced.

Chicago, A New Experience

Our daughter came home from summer camp today. In fact, she didn't get dehydrated like we thought, and had a great time. It was very hot both Tuesday and Wednesday with highs in the mid to upper 90s, but when the cold front came in late Wednesday night, they had a pleasant day Thursday. She got home about 1pm, and we headed out the door for Chicago around 2 pm. After a pleasant 7 hour drive, we arrived at the Marriott Northwest hotel here in Northwest Chicago. I've never been to the windy city, and am somewhat nervous about the traffic. We traveled Interstate nearly the entire way, crusing steadily around 80 mph without seeing any police. We didn't really like the tollway, but that seems to be the norm.

First Day of Vacation

To celebrate my first day of vacation, we lounged around the house and enjoyed a mid afternoon movie at the dollar theatre. We watched Spiderman 3. While it was an OK movie, we thought the plot bounced around too much, and that the producers tried to squeeze too much into it. It was also a little long, between 2 and 2 1/2 hours, and I found myself peeking at my watch halfway through. Thus, it was OK, but definitely not as good as the movie we saw earlier this week.

Sweet Rain at Last

Well, the rain finally came. We had such a wet May, but since the beginning of June, it's been very dry. In fact, we're now several inches below normal for the summer, despite being above normal for the year. I ended up working late, which I didn't mind, and then enjoyed a nice rain through the remainder of the night. We ended up with 0.93 inches, which really hit the spot. It was especially timely, as I hung up my rain gauge just yesterday, which I discovered buried in a box in the garage.

As a side note, I'm now officially on vacation for the next 8 days. Woohoo! I'm so excited, I definitely needed some time off. We're heading to Chicago tomorrow, and will be back in town early next week.

Great Movie

After we dropped our daughter off at Camp, we headed out to a movie, Live Free or Die Hard, the next installment in the Die Hard series. It's been several years since the latest Die Hard movie had been released, and we were excited about getting out on the town. The movie was great, and was definitely better than both the 2nd and 3rd movie in the series. It had a nice plot, relevant to the 21st century, and had enough action to keep us interested for the 2 hour duration.

Unpleasant Necessities

I had to visit the dentist today for my bi-annual cleaning. I don't really enjoy going to the dentist, although I'm not sure anyone really enjoys this necessity of life. The anxiety leading up to the visit, the visit itself, then the guilt that you feel for not brushing well enough. And, to make matters worse, I have a cavity. I never get cavities. I think I've had like 5 in my whole life. Ugh. That put me into a really rotten mood, nevermind that it's supposed to be 95 today, and near 100 both tomorrow and Wednesday.

Speaking of the heat, our daughter is heading off to summer camp tonight. Last year, she attended camp during the absolutely hottest week of the year. On Thursday last year (1 day before the camp was over), she got sick with dehydration because she wasn't drinking enough water. This year, we've had a couple of hot spells, but unfortunately, it's setting up to be one of the hottest weeks of the summer, again! I remember my camp days attending Boy Scout camp, way back when. I don't remember the heat bothering me too much, but let's just say that sitting in sweltering heat, with no air conditioning at all doesn't sound like much fun at this point in my life. Maybe I've just gotten old and spoiled, but that's the absolute last thing I'd want to do. Oh well, hopefully she'll make it through this time, but I'm betting even money that we get a call later this week that she's sick with dehydration. We'll see.

Dinner, Drinks, and Dancing

We headed out for a night on the town with some college friends yesterday evening. In fact, this was my old college roommate. It's funny how life's travels take you from one place to another, and after many years, we've ended up in the same town.

We headed to Granite City for dinner, which is a small brewpub here in Omaha, although it appears to be a national chain as there are locations in several states. I had a barbecue chicken pizza which was delicious. I also had a couple of their light ales, and it was good too, although I'm not much into weird and chewy beers at all.

After dinner, we headed over to another bar in town, the Seven Monkeys. We joked about going to another bar for drinks and dancing after that, something we haven't done in many, many years. The band playing that night supposedly was known for its 80s repertoire, something that would really appeal to us. However, we never made it out of Monkeys as we sat there the remainder of the night and enjoyed many, many cocktails. My wife ended up drinking a Jungle Juice martini (wtf, never heard of it), then several more double chocolate martinis. I have to admit, they were tasty, even the one that she nearly spilled all over my arm.

After a few hours, we decided to call it a night. However, as we drove out of the parking lot, I joked about heading to the next bar where the band was playing. Even though my wife was already off her rocks, we ended up at the Arena Sports Bar to listen to a few songs. After a couple more chocolate martinis and a couple more Bud Lights, we headed for home.

We had a great time, although I think my wife is having second thoughts this morning. She didn't feel too well most of the day, but seems to be back to her old self this afternoon. Ah, we're not as young as we used to be. We commented that back in college, we could do this 2 or 3 times a week, get home at 2 am, and be up and ready to go to work the next morning at 7 or 8 without thinking twice. Now, it seems it takes nearly a day to recover from a drinking binge, and several more days just to catch up on sleep. Alas, to be young again.

A Visit to the New Waterpark

A new waterpark opened up in nearby Fremont, Nebraska this past week. Usually we drive to Mahoney State Park to visit the waterpark, which has a wave pool, a regular pool, and two slides. Fremont has been trying to build a waterpark for years, and the voters approved it this last year. I must say, the Splash Station Water Park was OK, but I was a little disappointed. We're used to the huge waves (3 to 6 feet) that can be found at Mahoney, but the waves at Fremont were very gentle, only 1 or 2 feet. The slides were fun though, and the Fremont water park did have a rope ladder/lilly pad area for the kids which seemed great. Plus, the tubes were free at Fremont, (versus $3 at Mahoney) and the admission was cheaper ($9.50 for 1 adult and 1 child versus $13 at Mahoney). So, overall, it was a nice waterpark, and I'd say we'd definitely go back. They did have about 5 huge umbrellas too (about 30 feet in diameter), which allowed for ample shade opportunities (which Mahoney doesn't have). So, given all that I've mentioned, I'd give the Fremont Water park an 8 out of 10.

On the Diet Yo Yo Again

Well, the day after the fourth of July was an eye opener for me. I woke up, and was about 2 pounds shy of my all-time highest weight. My clothes were getting tighter, and I just wasn't happy. So, I started a diet again. Sigh, it's a never-ending battle. In the past, I've had great success with a modified Atkins plan, although I can't really be as strict as that plan allows, and I can't really do it for a lengthy period. So, over the last week, I've cut out the carbs, limiting my intake to about 30g per day. The plan works, and 1 week later, I'm down 8 1/2 pounds. Granted, there isn't really any change in my overall size, except I've flushed out a lot of extra fat. The clothes fit just a bit better, and overall, I look better too. But, that's about enough. I now plan to ease back to a normal diet, watch the sweets, and eat balanced meals. We'll see what happens.

I've Got the Blues

Yesterday evening, I attended a live blues concert at a local bar. One of my coworkers supposedly loves jazzy blues (unbeknownst to me) and one of his favorite groups was making a stop here in Omaha. I've never really been much for blues-type music as I've always attributed it to a much slower beat that I normally desire. But, I must say, this was an awesome group, with mostly up-tempo songs (120 to 160 beats per minute) that really got my foot tapping. It was a fun evening, and I stayed for both sets, which lasted almost 3 hours (with a half hour break in between). I even danced to one of their songs. The group was the Candye Kayne Band. While the music was just a touch too loud, I suppose that's to be expected considering we were in a local bar, but otherwise, it was a great night to get out and enjoy something that I don't normally do.

Enough is Enough

Ok, it's July 5th and the Independence Day holiday is over. Will you please stop shooting fireworks? Over the last few nights, it's sounded (and occasionally felt) like a new world war had begun in our neighborhood and across the city as folks continuously shot off box after box of fireworks. I understand the need to celebrate, and I myself indulged in some pyrotechnics on Tuesday evening at my wife's sister husband's parents (did you get that) house. Each night, since about last Friday, the boom, boom, boom sound has sent our two dogs into a near violent fit each night. That's understandable, they are small dogs, at 7 and 12 lbs. They get scared when thunderstorms develop. Trying to get them to go the bathroom outside has been a near impossible feat. Even late into the night, the fireworks continued. On July 3rd, fireworks lasted until almost 1 am. Last night, they were going well past midnight. Well, tonight, they are still going. I tried to take the dogs outside around 930 pm, thinking we'd be safe, but sure enough, about 2 minutes later, boom, pop, bang, there they go again. Now I'm not a prude by any stretch of the means, but enough is enough. We've all wasted more than enough money on the fireworks, let's let the holiday go, and wait until next year.

A Quivering Pile Of Goo

Well, it's that time of year when we celebrate our independence by trying to blow up everything in site. It seems that there are more and more fireworks every year. I myself am looking forward to attending a friend's potluck party with an incredible amount of shells, canons, rockets, and whatnot. Everyone brings a sack full, and when combined, it fills an entire pickup truck. It's a non-stop barrage for a couple of hours at least. Unfortunately, our two dogs don't enjoy the excitement. In fact, they usually end up as quivering piles of goo each night that the fireworks are exploding. Poor dogs. For some reason, the same thing happens with thunderstorms, which usually results in a period of hyper ventilation, along with extreme anxiety. At least it's only for a week, but it seems we all might celebrate the independence holiday just a little too much?

Minor Pet Peeves

I'm sure that everyone has something (or someone) that just bugs them to no end. I have several, probably too numerous to mention in this post, but here goes:

I hate the wind. Living in Nebraska, we experience the wind on most any given day, and often, the wind is just too much for enjoyment. But, that's part of the sacrifice of living on the plains. Ha. But, the last couple of days, while I've been lying in the back yard soaking up a few sun rays, there hasn't been much wind. In fact, not even enough wind to blow the flys and mosquitoes away. So, while lying there baking in the sun, sweating profusely, I think every fly and nat within a 1 square mile area was attracted to me. Had the wind been blowing even a little, the breeze would not only helped cool me off, but also blow those pesky bugs away. So, it seems we have the wind when we don't want it, and don't have any wind when we need it the most.

You may recall, a few months ago, I got a new Ipod Nano. It's a great toy, and I use it almost every day. I have hundreds of my favorite songs on it, and I enjoy it very much. However, the earbuds really suck. They are the second-generation ear Ipod ear phones, and don't fit my ear very well. In fact, they fall out on a near-constant basis. Ugh. I hate that.

Have you ever wondered why they call it iced tea? Well, I think that means there is supposed to be ice in it. Well, duh. When driving through drive through for fast food, I often order an iced tea instead of soda. Especially when it's hot, the soda is often too sweet and just makes me feel crappy. But, more often than not, what I get is not a glass of iced tea, but a cup of luke-warm, brown colored liquid. Most of the iced tea is brewed, and is kept at room temperature (or warmer). With the paltry amount of ice that the fast food joints put in the cup (trying to give us more beverage for our buck), the tea melts the ice right away. Yuck. Fill the damn cup up with ice, then add the tea. It makes for a very refreshing drink. Thus, in this instance, I think I'd be better off walking in to do it myself. Ugh.

It seems that many modern stop lights have sensors embedded into the pavement to signal when the lights should turn. However, have you noticed that often, the sensors are buried in the "middle" of the lane, in between your tires? Thus, when you pull up to a light, more often than not, your tires straddle the sensor, but never trigger it. Then, you sit there for what seems like an eternity, waiting for the light to change, but it doesn't know that you're sitting there because you haven't triggered the sensor. Then, when you try to back up to hit it again, invariably, there is some yahoo right behind you. I definitely prefer more-modern stop lights that have cameras to sense when to change the lights.

And finally, hair cuts are something that everyone (well, just about) must endure. But, why do hair stylists feel the need to make small talk while cutting your hair? I'm perfectly content sitting in the chair staring into space letting them do their thing. I don't want to distract them and end up with a bad haircut. Plus, sometimes, I just don't want to chat. And then, when the hair cut is done, it seems that many times, I end up with uneven sideburns. Why is that? I mean, they measure on each side before trimming, but one always ends up longer than the other. Do I have a lopsided head? I don't think so, but I may have to have that checked.

By the way, my family (wife and daughter) are leaving me this week. They're heading to Kentucky to visit friends. Unfortunately, they're coming back. Ha. :)

Making Salsa

It's that time of year for the garden produce to be converted into tasty salsa. This year, I planted 6 tomato plants and 9 pepper plants. I planted 3 jalapeno plants, 1 chili plant, 1 habanero plant, 1 banana hot pepper, 1 banana sweet pepper, and 2 green pepper plants. We didn't have a late season freeze this year, thus I was able to get the plants in a little earlier than last year. Well, there were enough peppers and tomatos (mostly) to make my first batch of salsa. Making homemade salsa can be a real chore, but I love the taste so much that it's definitely worth it to me. I didn't quite have enough tomatoes, so I did buy a few tomatoes at the store. I miscalculated and still didn't have enough so ended up using a couple cans of diced tomatoes as well, one of which was Italian Style. So, the salsa turned out somewhat on the mild side, and has an italian flavor. Oh well. The canning process was uneventful and everything looked good. We'll see how it tastes in a few months.

Photographing Fireworks

One of the advantages of living where we do is we have an unobstructed view of 3 professional fireworks displays from the comfort of our deck. Tonight was the first of the season and I decided to photograph some of the displays. Unfortunately, the pictures didn't turn out as good as I'd hoped. They are OK, but are not the stellar fireworks images that you occasionally see. Oh well. I have a Canon Rebel Digital Rebel XT with the 28-135 IS lense. Overall, I really like the camera, but have been disappointed time and again with the results. Even though the lense was a bit pricey, I just don't think it's worth the money.

Omaha Summer Arts Festival

The Omaha Summer Arts Festival is this weekend. We've never attended, but decided to drive down to see what the vendors had to offer. It's held each summer in Downtown Omaha. This is similar to the St. James Art Fair that is held in Louisville, KY each fall. I'm sure many communities have something similar. We were quite disappointed. It was an eclectic mix of a lot of crap that wasn't really worth our time. We walked through a couple of times but didn't really see much of anything that sparked our interest. My wife did see some fruit/food paintings that were interesting. But, the prices were out of reach. An 11x17 painting of a bowl of fruit was about $500. My daughter just attended an art class this past week. She painted a beautiful 11x17 canvas of a beautiful flower. I'd much rather frame and hang that than pay thoses types of prices for a piece of common art.

More Storms Across Eastern Nebraska

After sleeping in a bit this morning, I was up and on the road around 10 am. The prospects for severe storms seemed real today, but the tornado threat was very marginal due to much less wind shear in the atmosphere. I decided to bag on another day of storm chasing and opted for a drive through the sandhills. I ended up at Calamus Reservoir, near Burwell, NE. A coworker goes there to fish quite often and I've never been there. It was a beautiful lake, about 8 miles long, nestled in the gently rolling sand hills. Actually, it was very picturesque. I wanted to do a little swimming but couldn't find the beach. So, I stopped on the shoreline, set up a lawn chair, and just laid in the sun for awhile and listened to my Ipod. It was a nice warm day, but not hot, with puffy cumulus clouds all around. After a couple of hours, I decided to head for home. Soon though, the cumulus clouds started to build, and it was quickly apparent that I'd be chasing thunderstorms all the way home. They were huge and were producing small hail and gusty winds. I was about 40 miles behind them the entire afternoon so had a good show the whole way. It was a good day, especially after the successful chase yesterday.

Chasing Storms Once Again

It's been awhile since I've had a chance to chase storms of any consequence. I had a couple of days off, and summertime thunderstorms were expected to fire today across the Dakotas, then slipping south into Nebraska tomorrow.

After getting off a midnight shift this morning, my original plan called for getting some sleep until about 1 pm or so, then I'd head north toward Sioux Falls (about a 3 hour drive) to see what I could see. Well, the storms were already firing by 9 am. That's a typical time that storms decrease in intensity, but not today. They continued to strengthen, and soon, a convective discussion was in effect for southeast South Dakota. So, I headed north at 10 am with no sleep.

By 1 pm, I caught up with the line of storms. I drove around a few back roads southwest of Sioux Falls, but the storms were all garbage. Some heavy rain, penny sized hail, and gusty winds. I decided to let the storms go and stopped for lunch. After lunch, I decided to head west to catch some of the storms that would develop across the Black Hills. I did stop at a rest area to get some sleep, but only slept for about 1/2 hour. It was enough to keep me going.

By late afternoon, storms were firing in both northwest and southwest South Dakota. There were still another 3 hours away, and I really didn't want to drive that far. At the same time, storms started to fire in north central Nebraska. These storms were about 80 miles to my south, a much more appealing target.

So, I drove south on 183, watching the storms continue to grow. They were quickly strong enough to produce severe weather, and eventually a tornado warning was issued. (Picture below is the storm about 20 minutes after the warning was issued, about 50 miles away.



I finally caught up with the storm around 8 pm. I had lost my cell phone connection, thus I didn't have radar data, so was chasing blind, but using NOAA Weather Radio for positioning. I core punched the storm and ended up about 3 miles southeast of the mesocylone. It was a good ride. I never did see a tornado, but did see a funnel cloud (image below). This was just a couple of miles to my west.


Unfortunately, the road I was on dead-ended (turned into a cattle path), and I had to turn around a backtrack through country dirt roads that had already received a lot of rain. That wasn't very fun, but I eventually made it back to Oneill, Nebraska where I'm staying tonight.

All in all, I've been awake for almost 24 hours, with only 30 mintues of sleep, and almost 600 miles later. Wow, adrenaline can do weird things!

New Exercise Routine

Boys and Their Toys

Linoma Beach, A Fun Afternoon

Disappointed in Local Beaches

The beaches at Branced Oak Lake west of Lincoln aren't the best.

Mahoney State Park Fun

Big Mac Attack

14 Years

We celebrated our 14th anniversary today! We had a great time while in Kearney and got to see some new things. This morning, we visited Pioneer Village, which is located in Minden, NE. It has a huge collection of various things, including cars, boats, trains, tractors, furniture, and so forth. The collection spans the beginning of each piece, and has numerous pieces through modern history. I visted the place once on a field trip in Elementary School, and I believe I may have visited it once with my folks. It's ironic, nothing has changed about the place over those last 20 years. It was still the same as it always was. It's an interesting museum, definitely worth a visit.

Below, mom and daughter and dad and daughter enjoy a break.

Getting Away for Our Anniversary

New Furniture

Spring is Here

Well, spring has arrived. About two weeks ago, it really warmed up, and it's been so incredibly nice. Spring is probably my favorite time of year. All of trees come back to life, the lawns green up, and the flowers begin to bloom. It's just such a nice time, and everything is alive. However, along with that comes responsibility. It's also time to clean out the flower beds, get the yard ready, rake up the old leaves, pull winter weeds, and just generally clean up. I should get the yard power raked and aerated again. That's a big job, and it's getting a bit late since everything came to life so soon, but I suppose if I don't get it done, it will still be OK. I guess that's why they always call it spring cleaning.

I started the big job today, and it will likely take a couple of weeks to get everything done. Our yard need special attention. Our two dogs have really done a job on the front yard. There are a lot of dead spots, and I need to get the old grass up, and plant some new grass. That will probably not happen for a couple of weeks, still too much of a chance that it will get too cold at night to kill the new seedlings. I did put down fertilizer this morning. The forecast calls for rain today, and again tomorrow night and Thursday, heavy rain at that. So, the heavy rain should really soak the fertilizer in.

I also have a large sink hole on the side of the house that I need to get filled. I'm calling the landscaper today. Also, the water shut off valve in front of our house has sunk about 8 to 12 inches below grade, and I need to get that fixed too. There's always something. While I'm at it, I intend to get the roof vents replaced on top of our house, as they squeak from time to time (they're the spinning kind) and I'm just tired of listening to them. We also need to get our deck re-stained this year. I'm really not looking forward to doing that, in fact, I downright dread it. We paid a professional to do it the first time when we built the house 3 years ago, but I think I'll just have to bite the bullet and take a weekend in May to get it done myself. And, I need to repaint the trim around our garage. The paint has started to peel there, and I need to scrape it off, prime, and paint again. The construction is nearly complete in our neighborhood. There are only about 10 lots left, but nothing near us. Thus, the dust should be considerably less this year, since we're surrounded by grass now. But, the dust from last year is still thick on the outside of the house. Thus, I need to get some house wash and dig out the power sprayer to wash things down. And while I'm at it, I intend to wash all of the windows too. I've got one of those long 16' poles to be able to reach the windows on the back side. Another odd job regarding windows is to revarnish the trim on the inside of the windows, but only on the bottom, it's flaking off on the bottom piece, from 3 years of sun and condensation when it gets really cold outside. I also need to get the A/C checked, oiled, cleaned, and prepped for the summer. And sometime in there, I need to really clean out the garage. There are about 20 boxes of junk that I need to get rid of, I need to put up some more shelves, need to sweep out the corners, and get it spiffied back up. I won't even mention our basement. I think it's beyond repair, and not much we can do about that, except hide it. That's our strategy for now. Ha.

Busy, busy, busy. Wish I could hire a crew to come in and just get everything done. Unfortunately, when you're lazy like I am, all this stuff piles up beyond belief. It seems like I'll never get any of it done, but I just need to concentrate on thing at a time, and eventually, I'll tackle this mountain of chores. I don't really have any help, so it may take me a couple of years. Ha. Oh well. Imagine what it would be like next year, the list will probably be twice as big.

Getting Older, Falling Apart

I'm getting older. I'm not really that old by modern standards, but I can definitely tell a difference. I'm heading for my 37th birthday this year. I'm getting gray hair. My temples temporarily went grey about 3 years ago when my daughter suffered a health crisis, but now, it's an everyday occurrence. Not completely grey, but a few more hairs go grey each month. My right shoulder has been giving me problems over the last 2 months or so. I think it's in the process of becoming frozen, although it could be a referred pain associated with gall bladder rouble. I did have an attack of which may have been gall bladder related about 3 weeks ago at work, but it only lasted a minute, and was the only one I received. Of course, there's my back, which gives me periodic trouble. Whenever I throw it out, it takes between 2 and 10 days to get back to normal. I have dry skin during winter. I think the correct term is seborrheic dermatitis, but it really affect my eye lids and ear lobes. Nothing seems to help. I developed a ganglion cyst on my right index finger a month or two ago (I developed one back in college on my wrist, but it went away). And last but not least, I've overweight. Of course, none of that is serious or life threatening in any way. We all have our aches and pains. I'm sure the list will only continue to grow.

Winter's Grip

We had another small snow yesterday. Here in Omaha, we received 3 to 4 inches, but from 6 to 8 inches fell across southeast Nebraska. In fact, school was canceled for today, mainly because the buses would have had a hard time getting into the neighborhoods. It was the first snow day this year. Over the last couple of weeks, we've had a couple of minor snows, an inch or two each time. But, it's been very cold. I'm not looking forward to seeing our gas bill for this month, I know it will be quite high, even though we've got a programmable thermostat, and generally keep things on the cool side. Definitely looking forward to spring, and present indications suggest it should warm back up later this week, with highs in the 40s and 50s next week. Thankfully. I guess I don't mind winter so much anymore (I used to really hate it), as long as it's not cold. Speaking of winter though, our garage is a mess. The floor is just a disaster with week upon week of salt and crud accumulating underneath of the vehicles. Bring on the winter thaw.

Annual Church Fundraiser

Yesterday was our annual church fund raiser. This year, we were raffling off a house worth $275,000. I won the cash grand prize of $3000 last year, so was almost positive that we wouldn't win this year. It was a really nice evening, the food was good, and our table mates were colleagues of my wife at school. We thought it was perhaps a little too crowded, with a lot of shoulder and elbow bumping, but that's OK. They also had free alcohol all night long, of which I made sure I got my money's worth. Ha. I was definitely feeling it by the end of the night (but not so bad this morning). We did bid on a couple of items, and won one. We purchased my wife's boss as a lawn boy for a day! Woohoo! I doubt we'll ever cash it in, but it's fun holding it over his head. We also went in with 2 other couples and purchased a wine tasting/gourmet dinner. It was a little expensive ($125 per person), but the money goes to our church so it's for a good cause. It sounds fun, and is something we've never done before.

The Tax Man Giveth

This year was the second year in a row that we received a tax refund from both federal and state. Yeah! Actually, our taxes really aren't that complicated, thus it's an easy matter to enter the data into our tax program. I figure if we're getting a refund back, we might as well do them early, and have access to the money now, rather than later. All in all, we're getting back just over $1000 this year. I initially thought we might just spend the money on a spring break vacation, but then again, we may just save it for a rainy day. It's a good feeling knowing that they're done though for another year though.

Daughter Doing OK

My daughter had her bi-annual checkup with her orthopedic surgeon today. Everything is OK. The pain she was experiencing a couple of weeks ago hopefully can be attributed to doing crunches in her PE class. Overall, she's doing great. In fact, the curve in her spine is now at 67 degrees, down from 73 degrees 6 months ago. And, she's grown an inch. Her doctor thinks that because the front of her spine is still allowed to grow (whereas the back of the spine is fused), that her kyphosis should continue to improve with age. That's a good thing. We'll see. But otherwise, Hannah is doing great, and her doctor is very pleased. Hannah did ask if she could ever ride a horse. The doctor paused, with great consternation, but did agree to her request. Now, she wants to go to horse camp. I'm not so sure about that, but at least she could ride a horse if she wanted.

Here We Go Again

About 3 1/2 years ago, our daughter had a medical crisis beyond belief. We discovered that her spinal cord was being pinched off by misshaped vertebrate at the base of her neck. She was diagnosed with an extreme case of kyphosis, and underwent two massive surgeries to help correct the problem. Her second surgery was almost 3 years ago exactly on this date, and overall, while it was a long, tough battle in the beginning, the majority of the last 3 years have been trouble free. Thankfully. But, I'm concerned that may be changing. Our daughter really isn't growing a lot, and actually hasn't grown very much over the last 2 years, period. Maybe a little, but definitely not as much as she normally should be. And, today, my wife informed me that our daughter has been having neck pain. That's the first time she's complained of any pain in a really long time. So, I don't know if something has happened, or if this was to be expected. Hannah has been so normal over the last couple of years, something she definitely needed. I pray to God with all of my being that it's nothing serious, but it's in the back of my mind that we may be going down an unwanted path once again.

On the Wagon

I've decided to eliminate caffeine from my diet. I know, you may think I'm crazy, but overall, whenever I go off caffeine, I typically feel much better, and I thought perhaps that caffeine was contributing to making me so tired, in spite of the difficult shifts that I work. So, over the last few days or so, I've been weaning myself off, and as of now, have not had any caffeine for the last 48 hours. But man, the headaches have been hard to cope with, especially the last 3 days. It's not been a mind splitting headache by any means, but more of a dull ache that just won't go away. I know it's from the caffeine withdrawal, and that the blood vessels in my head are more dilated, thus causing the throbbing pain. The headaches should go away in another day or so, and hopefully, I'll be healthier in the end. Or, I may fall off the wagon altogether, who knows.

My Schedule Sucks

My job requires me to work very odd hours. It's a schedule that I've worked for almost 15 years, but still have not really gotten used to it. I work different shifts all of the time, and often, work 3 different shifts in any given week. It's hell, and I never really know if I'm coming, going, or otherwise. I do get 3 and 4 day weekends during the winter twice every 5 weeks, but at the expense of working 7 days in a row for the remainder of the time. During the summer, I have quick turnarounds, only 1 day off at a time, and so forth. Essentially, it sucks. My sleep patterns are so bizarre, enough to drive a normal person crazy. Today was a perfect example. I was so tired after working my shifts this past weekend, I slept for 11 straight hours today. I went to bed at 2 am last night, and woke up at 1 pm this afternoon. That's typical. Working night shifts, day shifts, and evening shifts all in the same work can drive a person insane. Research has also indicated that shift work definitely makes for a poorer quality of life, with the stress of continually shifting one's schedule detrimental to your overall health. I suppose that's why I'm always tired, often grouchy, and never truly happy. But, that's my job, and it's a career that I chose, and unfortunately, am somewhat locked in for the rest of my life. That's the price I pay I suppose. Ugh.

Giving Up On The Beard

OK, I've decided to give up on the beard. I've come to the conclusion that I'll never be able to grow one. Things haven't changed in 5 years, and I just don't have dense enough whiskers. Oh well, while the thought was nice, I look better with a clean shaven face.

Technology Sucks Sometimes

My laptop computer is having problems. In fact, it's the same identical problem that my wife's laptop had, as we have the same exact model, a Dell 600m Inspiron. Her laptop developed a problem where the battery would no longer charge, and the power cord would short circuit the system. Thankfully, her computer was under warranty, and Dell replaced the motherboard, which solved the problem. Now, my laptop is having the same exact issue. It's not shorting out, but the battery will not charge, and I suspect it's the power connection on the motherboard, in fact, the same exact problem with the other laptop. Unfortunately, my laptop is out of warranty, and there's nothing I can do about it. The service tech that replaced my wife's motherboard said it was the most common failure on this model of laptop, due to the flimsy components. Now I'm pissed. I can live without a battery in the laptop, as I don't really go mobile very often. It's just that the laptop components should last longer than 18 months. I can make do, but if I really needed the mobile capability, I'd be even more upset than I am now.

Snow Pet Peaves

We received a big snow over the weekend, from 6 to 8 inches. There was so much snow that I couldn't get into the driveway without shoveling first. Snow blowers make quick work of a big job, and I'm so thankful I have one. I was diligent though, and made sure that the snow ended up in my yard, and not in the street. Some of my other neighbors weren't so nice. The snow plows came through the neighborhood very quickly, and the streets were clear. But, several yahoos on the street proceeded to blow all of their snow right back into the street. Idiots! And, there were several other people who didn't bother to scoop their driveways or sidewalks at all. It's county ordinance that you at least have to scoop the sidewalk within 24 hours after the snow ends. Let's just say it's not nice to have to walk through someone else's laziness. I guess I'm just being picky, it's been a long day and I'm tired and crabby.

Trouble With Ebay

We've been using Ebay for a long time. In fact, I think I signed up for an account when Ebay was first created. We're not power users by any means, our rating is 81, but 100% positive. We've bought a lot of things, sold a few things, and overall, have been very pleased. In other words, we've never had a bad experience, until now that is. At the end of December, my wife purchased a Nintendo game guide for one of my daughter's games. Typically after an auction, I use Paypal immediately to send the money. It's quick, painless, and allows for a very quick transaction. This was December 27th. I was a little leary of this Ebay seller, after reading his feedback, which included numerous negative comments, many very recent. The main complaint was very slow shipping, no response from emails, and some folks who just downright didn't get their merchandise. Sure enough, that happened to us. He did send 2 emails over the course of 3 weeks, each one stating that there was a delay in the shipment, but that the order was still being processed. So, I think this guy didn't actually have the game guide when he listed the auction, but was stringing us along. At least that appeared to be his operating procedure with other folks. So, after 3 weeks, I sent an email inquiring about the item, and that if it wasn't shipped immediately, to please refund my money. After reading the feedback, I was prepared for a lengthy battle, and threatened to file a claim with Ebay, Paypal, and file a fraud claim with the Federal Trade Commission. Low and behold, 2 days after the email was sent, my money was refunded. I didn't have to file a claim at all, and now am off the hook. So, what started out as a very negative experience turned out OK in the end. I was set on leaving negative feedback for for this loser, but decided to leave neutral feedback considering he refunded my money very promptly when asked. So, we're in the pursuit of another game guide, as it's one that you can't find locally at the stores.

Growing a Beard

I never have had the ability to grow a decent beard. I've always been like that. My dad was like that though to some degree too, but it's never really bothered me. I did try once about 5 years ago, but my whiskers just aren't thick enough to make it look good. Well, I decided to give it one more try. So, I haven't shaved since January 1st, and will give it another couple of weeks to see what happens. My whiskers are definitely a bit thicker than last time, but I still think it may end up a little thin. We'll see. LOL

Losing Weight

Well, it's that time of year that I start thinking about losing weight again. It is after all a new year, and I didn't exactly make any specific resolutions. I've essentially been the same weight for the last seven months, except for an increase or decrease of a couple of pounds here and there. Right now, I weigh 199. Am I fat? Not really, but not really skinny either. I guess I'm just normal. In reality, I would like to lose about 15 lbs I think, and if I could drop my maintenance weight to about 185, I think I'd be happy. So, that's my goal, and hopefully, by summer, I'll be down in the range. Of course, that means I have to commit to exercising more, eating better, and watching the junk food. It's always easier said than done, but I'm not getting any younger, and eventually, it might be hard to accomplish my goals if I don't get busy now. In fact, the sooner the better. But not too soon, I think I'll start my next "lifestyle change" (as my wife calls it) next week, and will use this week as my last hurrah. Funny though, it always seems that next week becomes the week after that, and then next month, and in 6 months, I'll be complaining that I'm still the same old weight. It's an evil cycle.

New Toy

Well, after much research, I decided to buy a new Ipod. I mentioned this last month, but just now decided to go ahead and do it. At first, I didn't want to buy an Ipod, as I thought there were better bargains out there. While that's true, you still can't beat the availability of accessories for the Ipods. They dominate the market, period. They are a little bit more pricey when compared to similar models by other manufacturers, but perhaps that's a worthy price, I'm not sure. Right now, I've got about 1400 songs in my collection, consuming about 5 1/2 gigs of space. That includes most of my all time favorite songs, so I'm happy, and don't really see myself adding huge amounts of new music, until new songs come out, etc. So, I settled on the Ipod 8gb Nano, which is an amazingly small player, and very stylish. I opted for the Product Red line, which essentially Apple will donate money to the fight against Aids for each unit purchased. It's an awesome mp3 player, sounds great, and definitely fits my needs perfectly right now. I decided to forgo the 30gb video version for the same price, as I don't really have a need (or time) to watch video in that manner, plus the Nano is much cooler in my opinion, and will probably be more reliable in the end because it's a flash-based player, versus a hard-drive based player (on the 30gb model for example).

Fluorescent Light Update

Recall from a few posts ago that we converted nearly our entire home to compact fluorescent lights. Actually, from my perspective, the light is much brighter, once the bulbs warm up that is. When you first turn them on, especially if they've been all for a long time, it's downright dark, but sure enough, the light continues to steadily increase to full brightness, in about a minute or less. So, we have to learn to put up with the dimness at first, but otherwise, I'm happy with the light. My wife stated that she wanted a dimmer installed on the bedroom lights. Perhaps she thinks it's now too bright, I'm not sure, but at least we're saving money. Ha.

More Snow on the Way

Well, we got another 4 inches of snow last weekend, and this upcoming weekend, we're expecting another 4 inches. Actually, these minor snowfalls really aren't that bad. It's a manageable amount, and you don't really get snowed in, except for maybe a few hours. I really dislike the wind that accompanies the snow. I could do without the wind, but now, I don't mind snow so much. It sure is peaceful when the snow is falling, and a fresh blanket of snow is actually quite beautiful. It's just after the snow that it gets ugly, when the beautiful, white snow becomes gray, slushy junk that just makes a mess everywhere. The inside of our garage is really gross. And, it hasn't really gotten warm enough where I can attach a hose to the outside faucet and clean it out. Oh well, it's winter, I wouldn't expect anything different.

Computer Software Updates

Computers are great, and have become so entrenched in everyday life. Everything is done on the computer now, including online banking, email, managing various accounts and so forth. The workhorse behind the productivity is the software. It's amazing at the strides that continue to be made, and the new features that come out with each new software build. But, at some point, it becomes overwhelming to manage the updates. Of course, there are the incremental updates that you must download and install, to keep your system fresh with the latest and greatest bug fixes available. But the complete new versions are overwhelming too, in that it seems like you're always spending money. I guess that's why the software companies stay in business, knowing that they really have a stranglehold on our lives now. And, if you don't upgrade your software, eventually, they stop supporting older versions, so it makes it more troublesome to get help if something goes wrong. It's a never-ending cycle it seems. And, with 4 Windows computers in the house, and 1 Linux box, it's a tangible mess to make sure all of the systems remain updated and safe.

Microsoft 2007 Launch

I attended the national launch yesterday of the Microsoft 2007 suite of products, including the new Windows Vista, Microsoft Office 2007, and Microsoft Exchange 2007. It was an event where the various products were showcased, allowing IT folks to get the inside scoop on all the new software. The new Windows Vista looks very cool, but is probably something the typical person can do without for now. In other words, the 4 computers we have that Run Windows will likely stay with Windows XP for now. Of course, new computers will be shipped with Vista starting February 1. Hmm, is a new computer in the pipeline for me? Ha, perhaps someday. The computer I use now is almost 5 years old, in other words, it's becoming ancient when compared to the computers of today. So, sometime this year, I'll probably upgrade, relegating my 2.0 gHz computer to my Linux box perhaps, and get a new, shiny, fast processor for my daily use. On another note, Office 2007 looks very impressive. I was amazed with all of the enhancements, and in fact, many of the features will save a lot of time. As a perk for attending the event, I did receive a full copy of Office 2007 Professional, and I think I will install it. We still use Office 2003 Professional at work, but the new 2007 Office suite is backwards compatible, and a vast improvement with so many great new features that it's hard to pass up.

Have You Noticed...

Have you ever noticed that the people who tend to get their Christmas lights up first are usually the ones who then get them down last? I never thought about this until day, but I think it's true. In our neighborhood, those folks that had their lights up before Thanksgiving are the ones that still have them up today. Some still turn them on, but most just leave them hang. I took an hour yesterday to take my lights down. It was about 50 degrees outside, and I wanted to take advantage of the good weather before the snow and cold arrive this weekend. It seemed they came down much easier than they went up. Imagine that.

Fluourescent Bulbs Take Two

After second thought, I think we may leave the vanity lights in our 3 bathrooms as standard incandescent globe lights, as the instant on feature is a desired feature in those locations. But, I did buy fluorescent bulbs for just about everything else, except for a few of the can lights where the compact fluorescents are cost prohibitive (because of the dimmer switches on those circuits). So far, I've spent $150 on the bulbs, and the projected savings over the life of the bulbs (up to 5 years) is almost $2000, with a combined saved wattage of 2590. Wow! That's amazing. Now, that $2000 is the expected savings if every light purchased is used for 3 to 5 hours per day. Some of the lights that were replaced only get turned on a few times per day, some of the lights are only turned on once or twice every few days. So, my top savings would be no where near $2000. The savings will really come in handy for those lights that stay on for long periods, such as the overhead lights in each room, the lights above our kitchen table, etc. Still, it all adds up, and amazingly fast. I couldn't find lights to replace the front eave PAR30 lights, but I will likely just leave those as-is, with halogen bulbs, and I doubt I'll replace the lights in the garage. Compact fluorescent lights don't do very well in the cold, with a shortened life, slow start times, and reduced output. All of the bulbs that I've purchased so far have a 5 year guarantee, and will be fully replaced if they fail before then. However, you have to submit your original receipt and UPC to receive full credit. That's probably more trouble than the average person is willing to go through, but I'll just throw the documentation in a file folder in my office file cabinet. Time will tell, but I'm guessing they won't last that long. It should be an interesting experiment to see if the warranty will hold up or not. All in all, I'm pleased with the investment.

Converting to Fluorescent

A couple of weeks ago, my father in law has converted his entire house to compact fluorescent bulbs. He made multiple trips to the store to get the various bulbs that he needed to replace every incandescent light to fluorescent. While I thought that might be a little extreme, it did made me think a little. I do have a few fluorescent bulbs in the basement and kitchen, but never really gave it much thought. Then, I decided to actually calculate how many watts of light we had in our house, and how much money would be saved if I converted my entire house to fluorescent too.

At first thought, it seems cost prohibitive to purchase the bulbs which are somewhat expensive. But, the bulbs have become increasingly cheaper and more readily available, and they supposedly last for up to 7 years. In our house, we have almost 6000 watts of available light. If I replaced every bulb with fluorescent bulbs, the total wattage drops to about 1600. Wow, that is an amazing difference. It all adds up pretty quickly. And, I think the savings could add up pretty quickly as well. For example, in our living room, we have a ceiling fan with a 5-light fixture, which is 300 watts. That light is on a lot, and with that fixture alone, we can save 230 watts. In our master bath, we have a 10-light vanity strip above our double sink. That's 400 watts, but drops to only 90 watts if using fluorescents. Wow. When you think about individual lights, it doesn't really make sense, but when you think about multi-light fixtures, I think the savings could be substantial. We typically leave the lights on during the night on the front of our house. That's 300 watts for up to 12 hours or longer. If using fluorescents, that's only 75 watts.

Of course, there's no easy quantitative way to measure the savings, but the qualitative savings should be very noticeable. The initial startup cost may be somewhat high, but I'm willing to absorb that for the significant savings we'll see in the long run. The lights do take about a minute to fully brighten, and are just a slightly different color than incandescents, but those are acceptable limitations.

Counting Coins

I cashed in $100 worth of rolled coins at the bank today. This is the amount of spare change that we've accumulated over the previous year or so. Typically, I roll a little bit at a time, and just keep adding the rolls to a shoebox that I keep in the closet. Today, much to my surprise, the bank now has a change counter, and rolled coins are no longer accepted. The clerk, acting somewhat perturbed, unrolled the 20 rolls of coins and dumped them into the machine. And, instead of $100, it came out to $101.27. The moral of this story, I don't need to roll my spare change anymore, which will save a lot of time and effort, and I gained an extra $1.27 that I didn't know I had. Wow, it's a great day. LOL

Let It Snow

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, and the fire is so delightful. The snow finally arrived. We've had a couple of rainy days yesterday and the day before with some generous amounts, almost 2 inches in some areas. Wow. And, initially, we weren't expecting much snow. That has changed. The rain changed over to snow early this morning, and now, we're supposed to get 3 to 5 inches. It's actually really nice. I've got the weekend off, and can relax and just watch the snow fall. We ventured out this morning to get some snow boots for my daughter, grab a baby gate to keep our dogs out of the basement, and grab a pizza at Papa Murphy's Pizza. All in all, it's a great day! And, I have to admit, the traction control on our car is wondrous invention. When the rain was changing over to snow, we did have a period of freezing rain. So, the inch or so of snow that we've already got was deposited on thin layer of ice. While other cars were spinning and sliding, our Honda Accord was driving through it like butter. You've gotta love technology! Happy New Year!

What Are The Odds?

A few months ago, my wife suggested that she'd like a Magic Bullet for Christmas. I'm sure you've seen the informercial on late-night TV. It's the little silver plastic blender that you can slice, dice, chop, grate, or blend just about anything in. I have to admit, I've looked at them myself, and thought they would be a neat appliance. My wife makes diet-drink smoothies every morning, so she thought it would be more convenient than the full sized blender. Little did she know on that day back in August that I was actually listening.

So, when Christmas rolled around, I thought I was being the most clever husband on the planet. I actually bought her the Magic Bullet. I knew she would have forgotten about her suggestion to me this past summer, and it would be a pleasant surprise. It was going to be a grand Christmas. That is, until she informed me yesterday (December 23rd) that she was very excited to open the present from her folks as it was a Magic Bullet. She said her Mom asked her about a month ago if she wanted one, and my wife said Yes. I about fell out of my chair. The Christmas gift that I thought would be the end-all be-all surprise was a dud. In other words, by the time my wife would open her gift from me, it would be a been-there done that experience. So, I confessed my little secret, and apologized that she wouldn't be having that great of a Christmas. I did have 2 other presents under the tree for her, and those would have to do.

Then, today during the family gift exchange, as my wife was opening her Christmas present from her sister, I again about fell off the couch. Lo and behold, she opened a new pair of pajamas. My wife had dropped hints that she'd like a new pair of pajamas for Christmas, but unfortunately, she dropped the same hint to both me and her sister. Yes, you guessed it, that was my second present for my wife, a new pair of pajamas. While they are different prints, it's the theme that counts. Ugh.

Geesh, what's a guy to do? I thought I had put a lot thought into the gifts for my wife this year, and have now found out that 2 out of my 3 presents have been shot down. Damn. I wanted to head out to the mall for a last minute shopping spree, but alas, there wasn't time. So, my wife will have to return the two dud presents after the holidays, and get something that she really needs or wants. And, I guess in the end, ol' Scrooge has been scrooged himself, in that those gift receipts will need to be used after all.

An Extreme Case of Butterflys

After our Christmas Eve lunch, we attended Christmas Eve mass, which started at 430 pm. We had to be there at 330 pm, because our 10 year old daughter is in the children's choir, and it was their turn to sing. Plus, for the Christmas eve mass, you have to get there early if you want a seat. And, as an added bonus, our daughter was to be the cantor for this mass. A cantor is the person who leads the congregation in the responsorial psalms, and also also sings the verses solo. I was literally scared to death for our daughter, fearing that she'd choke under the pressure. She has before, and I didn't want it to happen again. She received the song about two weeks ago, but didn't spend a lot of time practicing. She knew the song well enough, but I didn't think she was practicing as much as she should have been. Right before she was scheduled for her solo debut, I literally thought I was going to throw up, I was that nervous. Wow. I haven't felt that way in a long time. Our daughter took the podium, looked at the 750 member congregation, and got this very nervous look on her face. I thought that was it, that she'd step down, but she completely surprised me. She adjusted the microphone, waited for the intro notes, and blasted out the most beautiful voice I've ever heard. She nailed it. She did awesome, and I couldn't have been more proud! This was going to be her make or break moment. I'm glad she was able to prove me wrong, and so happy for her that she was able to overcome her fear and make a great impression. Many friends came up to her after the service and congratulated her. We were all impressed and I think she was really excited at doing such a great job!

Sub Sandwiches

We had our family Christmas today at our house. My wife's two sisters and their families were in attendance, along with my wife's parents. We decided to have the gift exchange today, but still have another dinner tomorrow. Today, we decided to do a quick lunch, which included appetizers and a sub sandwich. We've ordered large sub sandwiches before and they've always been a hit. But, it occurred to me today that this may not be such a good deal. Here's the catch. You can go into any Subway and order a 1 foot Subway club for $6, which includes all of the condiments. Not bad. We ordered a 3' sub club sandwich which cost $12 per foot. So, why didn't we just order 3 1-foot long subs? We could have spent half as much. LOL. I'm not sure of the logic there, but I'm guessing that's why Subway does such a great business. To be fair, I think the 3-foot party sub was actually about 4 feet long, and it was twice as wide as their regular subs, so in essence, I believe we did get twice as much sub, but at first glance, it still seemed odd.

Wasting Time

It's no secret that I like to gamble. My parents used to gamble all of the time, whether it was weekly trips to the horse races, or yearly trips to Las Vegas. I suppose I inherited that gene from them. Although, I don't like to take a lot of risks in my personal life, I do enjoy playing Blackjack. Living close to a casino affords me the opportunity to occasionally play the game at least once a month (and occasionally more). All in all, over the course of playing the last 5 years, I'd say I'm about even. There have been days when I've won, days when I've lost, but in the end, I believe I've gained nothing. Yesterday was a prime example. It's ironic, I love to gamble, but have not been to Las Vegas myself as an adult. Life if funny that way.

I did have an ulterior motive yesterday though, in that I often take Iowa recyclable cans across the river to collect the 5 cent trade in value. While we don't drink pop at home, I have volunteered to take the cans from my workplace to help our snack fund's bottom line. So, if I have to make a trip for that reason, I may as well stop and play cards for awhile. See the logic? I also had another reason to visit yesterday, in that the casino occasionally offers a free tee shirt to its patrons. Since living in Omaha, I've received no less than 5 free casino tee shirts. It's kind of cool actually. Plus, I get a coupon once a month for $3 off the buffet at the casino, and it's a really good deal. So, I had "several" reasons to stop and gamble at the casino.

Unfortunately, and more often than not, you don't win big. That was the case yesterday. In total, I spent about 5 hours gambling, and only won $10. To make matters worse, the free tee shirt giveaway was "last" Monday, as I misread the coupon. Ugh. Yesterday, I got down very quickly, within the first hour or so, and it took another 4 hours to battle back. A little up, more down, a little up, even more down, a big gain, a tragic loss, and eventually, I was able to get my head above water again. Time was running out as I had obligations that I had to attend to. Plus, I had been awake for 24 straight hours, and it was time to go.

In the end, I was able to make enough money ($10) to pay for my lunch, plus the gallon and a half of gas that it cost to drive there. Not bad. Was it enough to buy me that shiny new MP3 player I've had my eye on? No. Or, was it enough for a down payment on the new Glock handgun I've been wanting to purchase? No. But, I didn't lose any money, had a great time while playing, and that's about as good as it can get. An extra $200 would have been nice, but there's always another day.

Christmas Scrooge

It's that time of year again when everyone goes crazy and completely overboard. And the preparations have been ongoing for at least a couple of months, with decorations, lights, parties, gifts, and more. I said the very same thing last year, and still feel the same. I think the holidays are overrated, and frankly, could do without them. A lot of people have forgotten the true meaning of the holidays, try to outdo or spend more than what they did last year, and truly aren't thankful for what they have. The whole concept of gift giving has gotten way out of hand. I mean, seriously, for as much time as people spend trying to "find" the right gift, it's often unappreciated, and the only question they ask includes, "Does it come with a gift receipt?" So, for that reason, I suppose I'll forever always be the holiday scrooge and that's OK. Some people love the holidays, and are able to truly revel in what the season really means. But, for the majority of folks, it's become a ommercial blitz of the senses with no real sense of what it all represents. Bah humbug!

Shuffling Money Take Two

You may have read in my last post that I've been shuffling money among various credit cards to take advantage of low monthly interest rates. Some may think it's crazy. I call it being frugal. A penny saved is a penny earned, and I like my pennies.

Speaking of interest rates, I recently opened a Citibank E-Savings account in hopes of earning more than the 1% offered by our local bank. Citibank has a deal right now where you can get 5% interest, as long as you open a checking account at the same time. Well, we already have a checking account at our local bank and don't need another one, but I would like to take advantage of the higher interest rate for our savings.

Over the last several years, I've been saving a little here and there, to build up an emergency fund. Of course, we've been saving elsewhere too by tucking money into our work-related 401k accounts, buying stocks, mutual funds, savings bonds, and so forth. But, cash is king, and you never know when you'll need a cushion to fall back on. Dave Ramsey, famed financial adviser, recommends 3 months salary as a good emergency fund. I've been feverishly trying to accumulate that, but let me tell you, it's hard. Especially when you "like" to spend money, have new things, and all the latest gadgets. Ha.

But, I think we're about to that point, but earning only 1% interest is not a desirable option right now. So, after some thought, I decided to transfer our emergency fund from our local bank to Citibank, to earn the 5% they offer. I'm not sure of any catches, but it seems there might be some withdrawal limits on the account, in that you can only withdraw a certain amount of money each business day, and can only have so many withdrawals each month. Plus, you have to do all the banking online, i.e. not in a branch, but I think the limits are something we can live with. The extra interest will be nice, and the money will be available if and when we need it.

Moving Money

While I'm not happy about it, I freely admit that we maintain a credit card balance. Despite my best efforts, we still manage to spend quite a bit each month, occasionally beyond our means. There, I've said it. LOL. It's the American dream afterall. We're not talking a huge amount of credit debt, but the national average, as listed by The Today show this morning. In fact, we're just slightly above the national average. Sigh.

Anyhow, I've become very adept at moving money around various accounts to try and get the best interest rates possible. It's been an easy task previously, but I'm beginning to think the gravy train may be drying up. In the past, I've usually been able to get balance transfers with no transaction fees, for anywhere from 2.9 to 6.9 percent. So, whichever credit card had the best rate would get my business. I'd shuffle money from card to card using balance transfers. Keep in mind, we've been making healthy payments each month, but we also keep spending. It's an evil cycle. Kaching! So, while this money shuffling has kept our interest payments low, we haven't made any significant progress in paying these damn things off. At this point, I think it may be a perpetual cycle that will be with us for our lifetime. I know, we'd fail the Dave Ramsey Financial Peace class with ease.

This month, all previous low interest rates had expired, and it was time to play the shuffle game once more. Although, this time, we didn't make such a great deal. All of the cards are now back to charging a transaction fee for the transfers (at least in our accounts), which is typically a 3% fee, with an upper limit. We did have one card that had a transaction free interest rate of 4.9%, but unfortunately, that was the card that all of the money was on this month. Crap. Oh well, it's not the end of the world. I did manage to find a balance transfer rate of 0.99% through April 2007, but with the dreaded 3% transaction fee. Let's just say, the 3% transaction fee will be cheaper than paying interest at 21%. And so, the chase begins anew. Note though, we're not opening new credit cards. We have 3 main credit cards, and we've been shuffling money through each of those 3 cards. So, it's not that bad, and in the end, we're getting some pretty good rates. I wonder if the credit cards have figured this out? I'm sure they have, but as long as they keep offering the good rates, I'm going to take advantage of it whenever I can.

Our Two Dogs

I don't write much about our two dogs, although they are definitely a part of our family. They are both toy rat terriers. Ginger, the white and sable dog is 2 years old, and we've had her since February 2005. She's a great dog, albeit a bit hefty. We have nicknamed her Petunia the Pork Barrel as she really loves to eat. She weighs about 11 1/2 lbs, and was only supposed to weigh 6 to 8 lbs. Hmm, I think she needs to go on a diet.


Maisy is our second dog. She's only 11 months old, and has been with us since May 2006. She is a very hyper dog, still very much has that puppy inside her. Hopefully, she settle down a little bit when she gets older. She's so firey, she's not afraid to take on the biggest dog in the neighborhood, even though she only weighs 6 lbs. They are both great companions though, and have become fine watch dogs.

Christmas Lights Complete

Ok, I know it doesn't look nearly as grand as it sounds, but trust me, there are 2500 lights in this picture. LOL! Each of the 3 icicle strands has 300 lights, there are 400 lights in the front tree (with the green trunk), and there are 1100 lights in the shrubs in the front, plus 100 lights in the spiral tree. Actually, it looks kind of puny in retrospect, but I'm happy with the display. Good enough for this year.

MP3 Tracks Galore

I've been working over the previous few days on my various MP3 tracks. Recall, I started the process a few days ago. I spend a little time each day, and now, I'm almost finished. I also grabbed all of our CDs, and ripped some of those songs as well. Right now, I've got about 900 MP3 files, all catgorized by genre, all properly tagged, and all properly named with the artist and song. Awesome! The collection now takes up about 3.5 GB, of which about 600 are my absolute all time favorite songs. Honestly, I can't imagine having a collection with thousands and thousands of songs, but I know they exist. I'm sure some people out there have collections of every song ever recorded.

Christmas Light Envy

Well, I decided that I'd better get my Christmas lights up before the colder weather sets in. We've had several nice, warm days this past week, but those are about to end. By the middle of next week, highs will only be reaching the 20s. Yikes. So, today, I started the process of untangling the lights. I really don't go all out like some people, but I do string lights in the bushes, in the tree in the front yard, and this year, I also plan to hang some icicle lights from the eaves. I sorted through the lights from last year, and decided that I needed to make a mad dash for the store to get more, as the bushes are bigger this year than last. Wow, the stores were crazy. Dozens of people clammering in the holiday isle for every last box of lights, and every last extension cord. I did manage to snag what I needed though, but had to visit a few more stores to get enough extension cords. Oh well. By the time I got home, sunset was approaching. I didn't quite have time to get it finished, but will put up the last few strings tomorrow. I'll take a picture when I'm done. It should look pretty good, about 2500 lights altogether. Again, a small display by comparison, but good enough for me.

Huskers Win the Big 12 North

The Huskers played Colorado today. We have already clinched the Big 12 North, so this game wasn't all that important, but still we were playing Colorado, one of our sworn rivals. It was a great game, and we really put it to Colorado in the second half. It was the last game of the regular season. We still have to play in the Big 12 Championship game. If we win that, we'll be playing in a BCS game, otherwise, it will be another smaller bowl game. Woohoo!

Sorting Through MP3 Tracks

I recently decided to organize my various MP3 tracks that I have scattered throughout my hard drive. A couple of years ago, I received an Ipod Shuffle for my birthday, and tried to organize the tracks then, with varied success. I was able to get a compilation of my favorite songs into Itunes, but that was about as far as I went.

I'm looking at getting another MP3 player, and thus have decided to begin organizing my files so I can use the player properly. However, another problem I have, a lot of my MP3 files have inconsistent naming schemes, no MP3 tags, etc. I discovered a database application called MediaMonkey which essentially manages the MP3 files, and takes care a lot of the tasks for you. For example, it will automatically retrieve MP3 tags from Amazon.com based on the filename, etc. It will also rename and move files as necessary to organize your collection.

So, I've begun the somewhat daunting task of going through every MP3 file I have, assigning tags, renaming with a consistent scheme, and organizing into folders. It's not an easy process, but one that is necessary. Last night, I categorized about 300 songs. I still have about 500 songs to go. These are really just my all-time favorites. Now I know this isn't a huge collection, but it's good enough for me. We do have 40 or 50 CDs that I'd like to rip a few songs from too. Ideally, I don't think I'll rip every song from every CD, but just my favorites.

After getting everything organized, perhaps a new MP3 player is in store. Just another toy. Ha.

Good Experience with Dell Tech Support

My wife and I each have a Dell 600m laptop. She uses her's for her job. I use mine for play. Unfortunately, my wife's laptop has been acting up lately, but thankfully, I purchased the Complete Care Dell Warranty option for her machine. Essentially, if anything breaks, it's covered for a 3 year period, a typical lifespan for a laptop. We've already used the coverage once, when a key broke on her keyboard. They sent a new keyboard right away. Lately, the laptop has been shorting out whenever you move it. This is not good. It's a laptop after all, it's supposed to be mobile. I originally thought it was a bad battery, but that doesn't seem to be the case. There's likely a short where her power adapter plugs into the case. So, I contacted Dell Tech support to see how to fix the problem. After a quick 10 minutes using their chat service, a new motherboard was ordered, and a tech will come to our house to fix it when the part arrives. Wow. I'm very impressed right now with Dell Tech Support, especially after hearing horror stories from other folks. Hopefully the install goes smoothly, but right now, I'd say the Complete Care Dell Warranty was the best thing I've purchased in a long time. Although, time will tell, perhaps we'll be trading one problem for another with a new (or potentially factory refurbished) motherboard.

Huskers Lose Again

Well, the Huskers lost again today. Bad. We played Oklahoma State, and were supposed to win. But, that didn't exactly happen, and we it was a horrible defeat. Ugh. For a program that had so many hopes early in the season, we're quickly tanking, and have settled back to mediocrity, something that we really wanted to avoid. Oh well, it's only a game, but still, it would have been nice to see the once mighty Cornhuskers fighting their way back to the glory days.

Aromatherapy Stinks

You may recall, awhile ago, I bought some eucalyptus oil to use in the sauna at the gym. I thought I might give aromatherapy a try at home too, to see if there's any claim to the hype. I ordered an oil diffuser, which is simply a small adobe lantern that holds a couple ounces of water and oil in the top, and a tea light candle below. There are dozens of essential oils, but the key is to find the right blend of essential oils that supposedly evoke different feelings and emotions. I ordered several samples from a mail order essential oil company, and I have to say, they are all junk. The blends I ordered were named Calming, Relaxing, Refreshing, Take 5, etc. Mostly, they are weird smells, nothing that I would choose to have in my house. So, I may just stick to standard essential oils, such as Sweet Orange, Lavender, Lemon, Cinnamon, etc. At least those are smells that I can tolerate, but the oil blends have to go.

Huskers Can't Beat Texas

The Huskers played an awesome game today against Texas. In fact, we had the game won, except for a fumble in the last 2 minutes of the game which allowed Texas to come back and kick a field goal. Ugh! But, we played on hell of a game, and even though we lost, it's not that bad. Actually, we'll probably be playing Texas again, in the Big 12 Championship game in early December.

Enjoying the Gym

I've been hitting the gym for the last 3 years or so, not to become a buff stud, but simply to stay active. I have a very sedentary job, and this is my way of adding exercise to my daily routine. I don't go everyday, but once every few days, and mainly just use the treadmill and the elliptical trainers. Occasionally, I go for a swim, but the water is very cold. One of the things I've come to enjoy the most is the sauna. The gym has both a dry and wet sauna. I've tried them both. They both are OK. The dry sauna gets to about 175 degrees, and the wet sauna gets to about 120 degrees, but with extremely high humidity.

A few weeks ago, one of the members put some eucalyptus oil in the wet sauna. It was a refreshing change, and helped to hide the gym odor that can sometimes be quite prevalent. So, I bought a bottle of oil, and now use it if I can. The problem, a lot of people are allergic to it, and thus you have to be considerate of your fellow gym members. It's such an invigorating experience. Now, I wish I could get a portable sauna for home use. They're not terribly expensive, the cheapest go for about $1000 at wholesale sites on the Internet. A pricey toy, but perhaps worth it if one can garner such enjoyment out of it.

Go Huskers

Well, the Nebraska Cornhuskers are now 6 and 1 for the season. We've got a really good team, and have finally cracked the Top 20 in the polls. I believe we're number 17 in the AP poll. Woohoo! We've got some tough teams coming up, so I'm not sure our winning streak will continue, but we've got a fighting chance.

Back in the Saddle

I made a trip across the river today to take over the Iowa deposit aluminum cans. And, it just happens that the dropoff location is just down the road from the casinos. Hmm. Plus, I had a coupon for lunch that I didn't want to waste. So, I enjoyed a grand lunch buffet, then sat down for about an hour to try my luck at Blackjack. I haven't played in a couple of months, and in fact, the last three times I did play, I lost each time. So, I was a little gunshy about trying my luck again. Ha. Well, Lady Luck returned, at least this day, and I walked away with $100 profit. Awesome! I'm getting a silver eagle commemorative coin set in a couple of weeks, and it costs exactly $100, so it's an even wash.

New Toys

We've had a DVR cable box for almost two years. It has revolutionized home recording, making the VCR obsolete. There's no need for tapes, and it's amazingly easy to record shows. However, we've found that with 3 people trying to record shows, often, there's conflict. So, I began to research options of setting up a PVR on our basement computer. I discovered Beyond TV, which when combined with a TV capture card, sets up the same capabilities on the PC. It's very cool, and should alleviate some of the bottleneck we've experienced on the DVR. And, I can convert the MPEG2 files into WMV files, so that I can take shows with me to use on other computers (laptops, work computers, etc). It's the technological age, and it's amazing at how many new toys there are
each year.