I turned 50 last week. That day was like almost any other. My wife was still in Canada for work, my youngest still needed to go to school, and I still needed to show up and work my 8 - 10 hours at my cubical before taking our daughter to her violin lesson at UConn. Not having my wife here pretty much stunk, but it would have still been work for her, school for our daughter, and work for me, then the drive to UConn for the hour lesson. I wouldn't even get to talk to my wife until after 9 that night.
When I first got home, I noticed that I had a box from Virginia friends on the counter. It was probably the highlight of my day, at least at that point. Seeing the return address from our friends Heather & Dave made me know that it was special. We've been friends with them for 11+ years now and Sue and Heather were pretty much joined at the hip for most of the last 8 years we were in Richmond. I have always thought of Heather as a little sister - sometimes a pain in the butt but most of the time just there to make me smile and laugh. After opening, I found out that this box was not just from Heather but from other friends as well. All the more to smile about.
Contents (click here for pictures):
50 Hershey Kisses
8 fancy blowers
A pack of birthday napkins and a pack of birthday cups
An easy to identify birthday boy pin
An office decoration party kit
A kiss and a promise package of candy (private story)
50 Hershey Hugs
50 life savers
50 pennies (for my thoughts?)
a 50 Post It Note heart
One Ode to Steve poem from Heather
and birthday cards from a few other great friends
Thank you ladies. I cannot tell you how much I appreciate the effort to help me celebrate my 50th birthday remotely!
Tuesday, October 26, 2010
Saturday, March 13, 2010
Keeping Tabs on the Dog
Our dog, Brewster, has started wandering. He’s not a very bright dog, just curious as he can be. We have a pond (ironically called a lake) about 100 yards from our property. On occasion, it becomes the temporary home for ducks and geese. Of course, those creatures are not the quietest of birds, so they are easy for Brewster to hear. He just wants to go visit, I suppose. That means that we have to keep an eye on him at all times - and becomes more of a challenge as he gets older and his attitude becomes bolder. The joys of owning a male dog, I presume. Seeing as we simply adore him, we needed to find a way to keep him both in our yard and safe.
We had toyed with getting an invisible-style fence for a while, but not thinking it would actually keep a Golden Retriever in our yard. However, Sue did her research and we decided to go for it. Yesterday, the installation technician came out and installed the wire that surrounds our yard (including through the driveway), and the control panel in the garage. Other than the obvious mistake that he made by connecting it to the circuit that turns off with our garage lights (doh!), he did an excellent job.
We now have the month-long task of working with Brew to make him aware of the perimeter that has been established for him. The collar that he wears has a beeper (first warning) and a mild shock mechanism if he walks through the initial warning. Right now, the collar has a rubberized cover over the connections, so that he will just have the audible clues. In another week or two, we will remove that protection so that he can get the shock if he gets too close. There are flags that are inside of the wire now, also providing a visual cue as to where the safe zone is located. In about 3 weeks, we remove every other flag, then a week later, remove the flags altogether.
My biggest concern is that Brew gets it, and doesn’t freak out the first time he gets shocked. He has established some routines very well in the past (like walking beside someone on the stairs, not pushing past them), so I have hope of this working.
There you have it, puppy. Be safe and enjoy the yard!
We had toyed with getting an invisible-style fence for a while, but not thinking it would actually keep a Golden Retriever in our yard. However, Sue did her research and we decided to go for it. Yesterday, the installation technician came out and installed the wire that surrounds our yard (including through the driveway), and the control panel in the garage. Other than the obvious mistake that he made by connecting it to the circuit that turns off with our garage lights (doh!), he did an excellent job.
We now have the month-long task of working with Brew to make him aware of the perimeter that has been established for him. The collar that he wears has a beeper (first warning) and a mild shock mechanism if he walks through the initial warning. Right now, the collar has a rubberized cover over the connections, so that he will just have the audible clues. In another week or two, we will remove that protection so that he can get the shock if he gets too close. There are flags that are inside of the wire now, also providing a visual cue as to where the safe zone is located. In about 3 weeks, we remove every other flag, then a week later, remove the flags altogether.
My biggest concern is that Brew gets it, and doesn’t freak out the first time he gets shocked. He has established some routines very well in the past (like walking beside someone on the stairs, not pushing past them), so I have hope of this working.
There you have it, puppy. Be safe and enjoy the yard!
Saturday, January 30, 2010
Winter Has Settled In
After a week of spring like weather, it looks like winter has it’s firm grip on New England. We have been quite lucky this winter, only a few weeks of cold and only a few snowstorms. Thursday, I decided to work from home since I had to get my annual physical. The snow came that afternoon and made for a terrible commute from what my co-workers told me on Friday. Springfield, MA has a terrible reputation for managing their roads during the winter, so I was not expecting any changes this year. The Friday commute was very easy, right up to the point where I left I-91 and turned onto Springfield streets.
It was at that moment that my commute turned to more of an ice dance. While I have driven on many icy roads in my life, this was, by far, the worst. I settled in quickly, but continued to worry about someone else sliding into me. There was a full inch or more of ice over the entire road surface - clear indication that Springfield did nothing since the snow had started. Happily, I made it to work unscathed (both me and the car). Fortunately, the city workers had cleared the roads by the time I headed home. I’m certain that there were a few angry calls to the city that day, likely from accident victims.
There are times like this that I feel fortunate to live in a small town, where roads are cleared before I get out of bed, and continuously throughout an winter weather event. We made the right choice to move here - and this is just one more reason!
It was at that moment that my commute turned to more of an ice dance. While I have driven on many icy roads in my life, this was, by far, the worst. I settled in quickly, but continued to worry about someone else sliding into me. There was a full inch or more of ice over the entire road surface - clear indication that Springfield did nothing since the snow had started. Happily, I made it to work unscathed (both me and the car). Fortunately, the city workers had cleared the roads by the time I headed home. I’m certain that there were a few angry calls to the city that day, likely from accident victims.
There are times like this that I feel fortunate to live in a small town, where roads are cleared before I get out of bed, and continuously throughout an winter weather event. We made the right choice to move here - and this is just one more reason!
Saturday, January 23, 2010
Finally, a smartphone
Later today, I will be ordering a new Motorola Droid from Verizon. My old phone is not a smartphone, although it has a descent camera and is a fine phone. It is 3+ years old, so I’m eligible to upgrade with a $100 credit. I waited until there was an actual device I wanted since I’m not thrilled with the BlackBerry devices. I have used a BlackBerry through work for almost five years. I’ve installed a few apps on them to test some items for work, but they are pretty crippled in function and not overly usable. When the Droid came out, it was finally the device I was looking for. Not wanting to be a first adopter, several months of use have occurred and several co-workers have used them. After listening to the co-workers thrilling reports, I was convinced.
I’ve ended up putting several apps on my iPod Touch lately, but they are pretty useless unless you have connectivity (and it’s Wi-Fi only). With my continued use of twitter and facebook to connect with the “Run Net” community, having a device that can utilize this full time is key. Our family is a Verizon one, and I have a pretty decent discount on the primary line (mine) which includes a discounted data plan. So, for under $100 up front, and under $30 per month, I’ll be officially connected.
I’ve ended up putting several apps on my iPod Touch lately, but they are pretty useless unless you have connectivity (and it’s Wi-Fi only). With my continued use of twitter and facebook to connect with the “Run Net” community, having a device that can utilize this full time is key. Our family is a Verizon one, and I have a pretty decent discount on the primary line (mine) which includes a discounted data plan. So, for under $100 up front, and under $30 per month, I’ll be officially connected.
Monday, January 18, 2010
Ready to go in 2010
Today is Monday, the day that we have set aside to honor Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr. As such, both the kids and I are home. Some people have called this a national day of service, but we're not performing service today. After a long day on Saturday, and robotics both days for Jake, we're enjoying some downtime and homework time for the kids. I have Pandora playing in the background on my iPod - a jazz station that is very upbeat, and decided today was a good day to update some long overdue blogs.
We have a new contest at work. It is called the Biggest Winner, fashioned, of course, around the TV show with a similar name. It is not a 1-on-1 competition however. We are on teams of our own choosing, or on assigned teams if we joined as an individual. I am the captain of our four-person team that consists of a husband and wife, a manager in another part of our IT group, and me. All we have done to date is pick a team name, then a captain. I volunteered so I could hold everyone, including myself, accountable. I can't be a slacker if I have to ask others about their goals, now can I?
Since the first half of the first month of 2010 is past, it's time for me to get serious on my goals. I have only a few goals, mostly health related. While I remain in good to excellent health, I have a few things within my grasp before I hit 50 in October. Losing the 20 pounds will likely be the most challenging, but I would love to go into my next decade without the stigma of being classified as obese. I certainly don't feel obese, but according to the standard, I am. My legs, for example, are significantly stronger than most. I can run further and, for the most part, faster than almost everyone I know outside of the running community. Not many obese people can run 4 miles non-stop at 9 miles per hour. So, while I think the standards are not quite right, they are goals for which I will aim. If I lose the 20 lbs., I will be at or just under 200. When I graduated from college, I was at about 180, but was what my wife refers to as too thin. I really didn't eat much (or have much money to eat, for that matter), and I ran non-stop from early each morning until late each day with my low-pay job. I wasn't sitting at a desk like I do now, and didn't have a cafeteria with whatever I really want to eat a few floors down.
I have been eating much better until the past few days. My wife is an excellent cook, and is very conscious of fats, proteins, fiber, and so on, at least 5 days per week. We do splurge at home on occasion, but never two meals in one day. For example, this morning's relaxed breakfast had the kids playing with breakfast pizzas (including plopping a raw egg for one edition), and Sue and I had waffles. For one, I put a piece of bacon on top of the batter, then flipped the maker over (it's like the ones you find in many hotels). It was way better than I thought it would be!
So tomorrow, I head back to the gym and get serious about getting back in shape. I've been doing it right along, so am not starting as a couch potato or anything. But, I will be eating better, working more on my core and not just running, and leading the team at the contest at work. The waffle shown here will be the last one I eat for a while, so I wanted to be sure I would enjoy every last bite. The recipe for this is actually in the book that came with the waffle maker, and is just below the one we used. Since we had cooked bacon for the kids, it was only logical to try it! As Emeril Lagasse says, pork fat rules!
We have a new contest at work. It is called the Biggest Winner, fashioned, of course, around the TV show with a similar name. It is not a 1-on-1 competition however. We are on teams of our own choosing, or on assigned teams if we joined as an individual. I am the captain of our four-person team that consists of a husband and wife, a manager in another part of our IT group, and me. All we have done to date is pick a team name, then a captain. I volunteered so I could hold everyone, including myself, accountable. I can't be a slacker if I have to ask others about their goals, now can I?
Since the first half of the first month of 2010 is past, it's time for me to get serious on my goals. I have only a few goals, mostly health related. While I remain in good to excellent health, I have a few things within my grasp before I hit 50 in October. Losing the 20 pounds will likely be the most challenging, but I would love to go into my next decade without the stigma of being classified as obese. I certainly don't feel obese, but according to the standard, I am. My legs, for example, are significantly stronger than most. I can run further and, for the most part, faster than almost everyone I know outside of the running community. Not many obese people can run 4 miles non-stop at 9 miles per hour. So, while I think the standards are not quite right, they are goals for which I will aim. If I lose the 20 lbs., I will be at or just under 200. When I graduated from college, I was at about 180, but was what my wife refers to as too thin. I really didn't eat much (or have much money to eat, for that matter), and I ran non-stop from early each morning until late each day with my low-pay job. I wasn't sitting at a desk like I do now, and didn't have a cafeteria with whatever I really want to eat a few floors down.
I have been eating much better until the past few days. My wife is an excellent cook, and is very conscious of fats, proteins, fiber, and so on, at least 5 days per week. We do splurge at home on occasion, but never two meals in one day. For example, this morning's relaxed breakfast had the kids playing with breakfast pizzas (including plopping a raw egg for one edition), and Sue and I had waffles. For one, I put a piece of bacon on top of the batter, then flipped the maker over (it's like the ones you find in many hotels). It was way better than I thought it would be!
So tomorrow, I head back to the gym and get serious about getting back in shape. I've been doing it right along, so am not starting as a couch potato or anything. But, I will be eating better, working more on my core and not just running, and leading the team at the contest at work. The waffle shown here will be the last one I eat for a while, so I wanted to be sure I would enjoy every last bite. The recipe for this is actually in the book that came with the waffle maker, and is just below the one we used. Since we had cooked bacon for the kids, it was only logical to try it! As Emeril Lagasse says, pork fat rules!
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