The Digital Turd

Ha, a new post!

2009-10-11T14:44:00.002-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since I posted. I haven't had anything to say.

I installed Windows 7 on my work desktop last week. There were some issues reading from the installation DVD, so it took me a couple of days. I'm not sure if the DVD was messed up or if my DVD drives are too old, but I ended up copying all of the install files to a flash drive, then booted from it and installed that way. I like Windows 7 so far. It is very similar to Vista, but adds a few extra features. The way the taskbar works has changed quite a bit. It adds some grouping, square minimized apps instead of rectangular, and real-time thumbnails of running apps. It also adds "libraries", virtual folders that put the contents of multiple folders all in one place. By default, there is a documents library, pictures library, and a music library. Windows 7 also has good hardware and software support. Most devices and applications that work with Vista also work with Windows 7. It even found all of the drivers for my hardware all by itself.

I signed up for Google Voice this week. If you haven't heard about it, you should check it out. It is still invite only, but you can request an invite from Google. It took a few weeks to get my invitation. Google Voice is one free phone number that can link to as many of your phones as you want. You choose your desired area code and phone number, then add which of your phones you want to ring when someone calls. You can also filter which phones ring depending on who is calling. You can also easily or automatically send people to your Google Voice voicemail. The voicemails are automatically transcribed and emailed to you. There are so many cool features to Google Voice. I even have a Google Voice app for my blackberry so it can look like I am calling from my Google Voice number instead of my cell phone number.

Football season has been good and exciting. I can't wait for basketball season though. I'm excited for Kentucky and Spurs basketball. Only 17 days until the NBA regular season starts!

The Tile Wounds

2009-08-04T15:42:00.003-05:00

We busted up all of the old tile in our kitchen this weekend. It was slightly dangerous, with broken tile flying everywhere. Here are some pics of the damage...

Bye Bye Floor

2009-07-25T14:23:00.003-05:00

We will be replacing our kitchen floor in a week or so. We put in ceramic tile in 2002, but we chose a light colored grout. No matter how much we cleaned and sealed it, it always looked filthy. We are going to put down darker tile with darker grout.

Here is what it originally looked like (this is the closet today, just ignore the unpainted trim):

Here is what it looks like now:

It has been a while...

2009-03-30T09:38:00.005-05:00

Since I have posted - or cleaned out my attic. I worked on getting out all of the empty boxes from my attic this weekend. I save the box from almost everything we buy and put it in the attic. Unfortunately, the attic was almost full, so I am throwing all of the empty boxes away. I don't think the trash people will be very happy with me. Hopefully all of the boxes won't still be sitting there when I get home.

$14,925

2009-02-24T09:11:00.002-06:00

That was the total cost of my surgeries to remove the melanoma from my face. That is more than Zoe's birth cost! Luckily we have good health insurance so we only had to pay our regular co-pay. I get to have more surgery on my back on March 20th to completely remove the rest of an atypical mole, so I'm sure my health insurance company loves me.

Rachel has been talking about going to midwifery school. Obviously nothing has been decided, she is just looking into it. We would have to move to another state after she completed midwifery school, because midwives cannot deliver babies in AL. She always mentions Tennessee and Indiana. Every time she mentions Indiana, I always think of this:

Happy Birthday to Andrea today!

Ha - I suck at posting

2009-01-12T18:32:00.004-06:00

Sorry for the long posting drought. I'm not promising to post more often, but maybe I will. We had a good Christmas and anniversary. I got lots of Blu-rays. New Years was interesting as I had to search far and wide to find a replacement lamp for my DLP TV. After calling many places and my dad calling many places, we finally found one place that had one in stock. I had to drive to East Lake near the airport, but I got the lamp put in so we could watch Kentucky's bowl game on my big TV. Next time I am going to plan ahead and purchase a lamp in advance online at a much cheaper price than I had to pay at the store.

I had a great workout today. I bench-pressed 295lbs 10 times! I had never done that before. That projects my max to be 384! We can build on this! Hopefully I can keep building on it anyway. I'm getting closer to my 400lb goal!

Maeve is still acting like Houdini. I thought I had the lock locked on her crate this morning, but apparently it wasn't latched all the way. When we got home, she came running out of the garage. She hadn't done much damage in the garage, but I can't believe she keeps escaping from her crate!

Fantasy football was fun. I came in second in one league and third in the other. Not quite as good as last year, but close. Congrats to Mark on winning one of the leagues. Fantasy basketball is going well. Our custom league is very competitive, with no one team holding a clear edge. In the other standard 10 team league I am in, I am in first place. There don't seem to be many good teams in that league. It is basically a three or four team race.

Why does Vista get such a bad rap? I've been using it for 2 years, and I really like it. It is more stable than XP, and I haven't run across very many application incompatibilties. As long as you aren't trying to use a really old program, there really aren't any problems. It is definitely a hardware hog, but as long as you have a dual-core processor, at least 2GB RAM, a good sized hard drive, and a nice video card for the fancy visual stuff, it will run awesome! Internet Explorer still sucks, but I like Firefox on Vista. Google Chrome and Opera run very fast, but both of them display some web pages a little strangely sometimes.

Kentucky's football team had a good year, with their 3rd straight bowl win. The basketball team is really coming along too. Jodie Meeks and Patrick Patterson are incredible. I feel like we can do pretty well in SEC play, and we should be in the tournament again this year.

The Spurs started out a little slow, with several injuries to key players slowing them down. After the slow start, the Spurs have really picked it up lately. They have been really clutch (and lucky) and won a few double overtime games and some other games on last second shots. I think they can really make some noise in the playoffs this year, but they may need one more decent player to make it to the Finals.

Survey From Rachel...From Meg...

2008-12-05T09:30:00.002-06:00

Three names you go by:
1. Dave
2. David
3. Quattro

Three things you are wearing right now:
1. Blue shirt
2. orange boxers
3. khaki pants

Two things you want very badly at the moment:
1. Computer parts (for the server, for my home computer)
2. For Christmas vacation to get here

Three people who will probably fill this out:
1. Your Mom
2. Your Dad
3. Your Grandma

Two things you did last night:
1. worked out with Vinny
2. had diarrhea in the middle of the night (I drank a bunch of expired egg nog because I was out of protein shake mix)

Two things you ate today:
1. Quaker Oatmeal Squares
2. granola bar

Two people you last talked to on the phone:
1. Rachel
2. Mark

Two things you are going to do tomorrow:
1. Take pictures at Target
2. Hang out with my family that is coming into town

Two longest rides you have taken:
1. From Bowling Green, KY to Canada
2. mountain biking 18 miles in three hours (it felt like longer)

Two favorite beverages:
1. water
2. wine

Should I Hang it up?

2008-10-30T09:23:00.003-05:00

Rachel says I should hang it up and quit blogging. Should I quit? Am I doing such an awful job of keeping up with my blog? I've seen worse. I don't want to quit.

Here is the survey thing I am supposed to do:

8 Favorite TV shows:

1: House
2: Criminal Minds
3: World's Dumbest...
4: Sportscenter
5: The Mentalist
6: Cold Case
7: Spongebob
8: Drake and Josh?

8 Favorite Restaurants:

1: Zoe's Kitchen
2: Cafe Trentuno
3: Olive Garden
4: Ruth's Chris
5: PF Chang's
6: California Pizza Kitchen
7: The Cheesecake Factory
8: Edgar's Bakery

8 things that happened yesterday:

1: Got up at 5:10
2: took the dogs for a walk at 5:50
3: took the kids to the bus stop and school
4: went to work
5: ate Zoe's Kitchen for lunch
6: took one of the luggage rack crossbars off of the 4Runner, then put it back on because it made the car look bald. (removing the crossbars on your luggage rack is supposed to decrease wind resistance improve gas mileage by 4-5% at 75mph).
7: microwaved some bacon for brinner
8: Something else before bed that I will not name...

8 things to look forward to:

1: the end of the election
2: the weekend, and my trip with Rachel
3: Christmas
4: Thanksgiving
5: beating Mark at fantasy basketball again
6: Getting 2 days off work next week
7: beating Mark at fantasy football again
8: food

8 things I love about fall:

1: colder weather
2: fires
3: roasting marshmallows
4: defrosting the car every morning
5: not being hot when I am outside anymore
6: eating Christmas candy
7: decorating the house
8: the girls' excitement about everything

8 things on my wish list:

1: I wish someone would stain our playset for me
2: ninja lessons
3: new monitor for our desktop computer
4: UK football to go to a bowl game again this year
5: UK basketball to be nationally relevant again
6: a clean, organized garage
7: Spurs to win another title
8: More pirate themed fantasy team names

The padlock worked...

2008-10-09T11:03:00.002-05:00

We put a combination padlock on Maeve's crate. It is the luggage type with three number dials so Zoe can work it easily. Houdini hasn't escaped since, although she has tried to chew the lock off.

Darbie has been acting weird since we got the new dog. She seems scared of her, and Darbie hasn't been eating as much as usual because Maeve keeps trying to eat every time Darbie does. Darbie normally eats 1 1/2 cups of Science Diet food each day. It seems to be the right amount, she is maintaining a healthy weight. Darbie tends to eat it over the course of the day as opposed to all at once. Maeve needs 2 1/3 cups of food because she is a growing puppy, and also eats it over the course of the day. Now they are sharing the puppy food and a food bowl (except sometimes when we give Darbie hers on a paper plate - poor Darbie).

Yesterday, I put 2 1/3 cups of food in the bowl and took Maeve outside, thinking Darbie wouldn't eat very much of it. When I came back inside, the bowl was empty. Darbie had eaten it all very quickly. A few minutes later I needed to go to Lowe's to get a new aerator and some plumber's tape for our kitchen faucet, so I decided to take Darbie with me. She could use the exercise, and Lowe's allows dogs in their store. Darbie normally only poops in the morning and/or evening - afternoon poops are rare. While we are in the plumbing aisle, Darbie suddenly starts trying to poop. She got a little turd out before I stopped her, then we got some paper towels from an associate to pick up the turd. On the way out of the store to throw away the turd and let Darbie poop outside, another turd flew out of her butt. I picked that one up with the paper towel and took Darbie outside. I threw the turds in the trash can right outside the store and Darbie proceeded to take a huge dump right on the sidewalk. Nice. I was a little embarrassed and afraid to walk Darbie around the store anymore so I put her in the car. I went back inside and bought the stuff I needed and acted like nothing had happened. All that food she had eaten forced the poop right out of her. I guess that will teach me to assume that Darbie won't eat all of the food in the bowl. She is a beagle, after all, and was probably doing it to spite the puppy.

Houdini Update

2008-10-07T15:50:00.003-05:00

Houdini (Maeve) escaped from her crate twice more - with weights anchoring all sides! I think we are going to buy a padlock or something. This is what the crate looked like when we got home today. I'm amazed she could fit through that tiny opening.

Maeve is Houdini

2008-10-06T08:18:00.002-05:00

Maeve, the new puppy, is like Houdini. She has escaped from her crate several times. She has mastered sticking her paw through the bars, lifting the latch and sliding it over. I tried using a twist-tie so she couldn't lift the latch, but she just chewed it off. Last night I put her crate up against something (my power tower in the garage) so she couldn't open the door and put a weight behind it so she couldn't push the crate away from my power tower to open the door. I came back to the garage 30 minutes later and she had escaped again. She had tilted the crate one direction far enough that she could get the door open. What a determined dog! After that I put the crate back up against the power tower and put weights on all sides of the crate so she couldn't push it in any direction. That seemed to work - at least for now.

Rachel just informed me that Maeve means "strong willed and determined", and Darbie means "free". I guess their names match them pretty well.

What happened to your face!...

2008-09-27T12:51:00.002-05:00

...was the first thing I heard as I opened my front door last night for the pizza delivery woman. I told her it was from surgery to remove skin cancer. She asked if it was ok now, and I told her that it was. Then she told me that her boyfriend was Mexican, worked construction, and never wore sunscreen. She said that she was worried about his skin. I told her I used to get burned a lot. She exclaimed, "But you are so white!". So then I explained to her that was the reason that I got burned - because I am so white. She then proceeded to tell me that I looked like her ex-husband. Ok....weirdo. Give me my pizza and get out of here. Not really, but what odd things to say to someone you do not know at all.

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2008-09-13T09:20:00.002-05:00

I hope you had a good birthday honey. Thanks for being there for my for all these years. I hope we have many more together, and many more birthdays!

The Friday Survey (on Saturday)

Would you like to put last night on repeat, and live it forever?
I don't think there is any day I would like to live forever. Yeah, me too.

Can you successfully blow up and tie a balloon?
Yep, and water balloons too.

What was your last purchase?
Papa John's pizza last night.

Does anyone like you?
Probably

Have you made anyone laugh while they were crying lately?
Rachel

What did you do Friday?
Went to work, went to the grocery, ordered pizza, ate pizza, celebrated my wife's birthday with her!

Do you trust all of your friends?
Most of them.

Morning or night person?
Morning.

Do people underestimate your intelligence?
I doubt it. Is the intelligence of computers guys usually underestimated?

Last person you watched a movie with?
Rach and the kids.

Do you hide your emotions?
Mostly.

Do you prefer to take showers at night or in the morning?
The morning.

If you could either float on the moon, or snorkel in the ocean, which would you choose?
Snorkeling in the ocean is fun.

Do you think you'll be married in 5 years?
Totally.

Have you been to New York City?
Nope, I guess I should go sometime.

Who was the last person you talked to on the phone?
Rachel. She is on her way back from a CPR class.

Do you think you have made a difference in anyone's life?
I hope so.

Where is your phone?
In my pocket.

Do you need to say anything to anyone?
Huh?

What were you doing at 7am?
Lying in bed.

Can you legally drink?
Yeah.

When was the last time you saw your mother?
July.

Do you believe in karma?
A little.

What was the last thing you drank?
Water

Do you know how to play poker?
Yep.

Do you hold grudges?
Not really.

Do you sing in the car?
A little.

When was the last time you had butterflies in your stomach?
Hmmm, probably my last surgery on my melanoma.

How late did you stay up last night?
Maybe 10.

Was there anything you regret about yesterday?
Yeah.

What will you do tomorrow?
Go to church, do laundry, watch some football.

Are you wearing a necklace, who got it for you?
No.

Did the one person who hurt you most in your life apologize?
Yes.

Are you mean?
It depends on whom you ask.

How is your hair?
The same as always

Latest you stayed up in the past week? and why?
10:00. Cause it was bedtime.

Where were you at 2:02 pm?
Publix.

Are you excited about anything?
Yes.

Do you enjoy life?
Most of the time.

What was on your mind mostly today?
Not much.

Have you held hands with anyone today?
Rachel

Plans for the weekend?
Go out with Rachel tonight.

How many kids to you want to have?
2 is good.

Are you afraid to grow up?
I am a grown-up

Do you have a good relationship with your parents?
I think so.

Do you want a small or big wedding?
My wedding was very small. I think total there were less than 10 people there.

What woke you up this morning?
My alarm clock I got in fourth grade.

Where are you?
At my desk at home.

He-Man

2008-08-27T11:37:00.003-05:00

You may think the title of this post must be about me. Actually, it is referring to the old cartoon I loved when I was a kid. Dad gave me a DVD of the best of He-Man several months ago. I didn't ever think about watching it, but Addie found it on Monday and wanted to watch it. I was a little scared that if I watched it, it would ruin my awesome memories of He-Man. Did it ever! That was one of the worst shows ever! If you don't believe me you can borrow the DVD. The show is really simple and stupid. There is barely a plot, no development of anything, the music is awful, and the way things happen in the show makes no sense. It makes SpongeBob look like the greatest show ever (which it is, BTW). Addie made it through the first 5 episodes, then had enough of He-Man and the Masters of the Universe.

We had a good time in KY, seeing Andrea, Mark, Ashley, my new niece and my grandparents. Mark and I decided to climb the climbing wall at Dick's after we couldn't talk Zoe into it. The climbing guy talked us into climbing the most difficult route. There were six different climbing routes with varying handholds, and three of them had a rock overhang you had to climb over. Neither Mark or I made it past the overhang part, which was about two-thirds of the way up the wall. I fell off like 4 or 5 times, and hung by my rope in the air for a while before giving up. My hands just couldn't hold on tight enough anymore. I felt like I had plenty of upper body strength left, I just couldn't hold onto the wall anymore. The climbing was much more difficult than it looked. Next time I am going to try an easier route to try and get my climbing confidence up.

I have to take Addie to a birthday party for someone in her class at 6:15 tonight. Is that not the worst time for a 4 year birthday party? Addie normally take a bath at 6:45 and goes to bed at 7:15. A weeknight at 6:15 seems like a bad idea, but it is at one of those inflatable party places so I'm sure it will be fun. I think the parents decided on a weeknight because the parties are cheaper at that time since no one wants to have their party then.

Finally - A Post!

2008-08-22T08:40:00.002-05:00

Sorry everyone. I have been very busy taking vacations this summer and then trying to catch up with work stuff from being gone on vacation. I think I am almost caught up. I don't know what to post about, but I figured I need a post regardless.

I've been excited about Team USA basketball this summer. They have been steamrolling everyone. LeBron James and Dwayne Wade have been incredible. They play Argentina in their second to last Olympic game in a few minutes. Luckily, I can watch it online, but I have also been DVRing every game so far. It is really nice to have something else going on besides baseball in the summer. Exciting stuff.

My melanoma surgery scar is looking pretty cool. It is healing up quite nicely. Kids ask me about it all the time. I tell them I had surgery, and then they proceed to tell me they had surgery once. Addie always tells everyone I had to have surgery because I didn't wear "scunscreen" when I was little. I told the surgeon yesterday at my followup appointment that I thought it was looking really good. He just said "We'll see". I think he is overly critical of his own work. He is a very serious guy, no joking around. He is a great surgeon though.

Disney World was fun, as always. We are heading to Louisville in a few hours to see my new niece (and her parents). It should be a fun trip, just like this post.

In Situ

2008-07-15T14:48:00.002-05:00

That is my melanoma...in situ. In Situ, aka Stage 0 melanoma, means that the melanoma is confined to the epidermis only. The 5 year mortality rate for in situ melanoma is less than 1%. Even though my first surgical pass came back positive, as 30% do, only 5% of the second passes come back positive for possible melanoma. I survived my surgery today with no passing out. The doctor was much quicker with the cutting and stitching this time. Rachel and I feel much better about the melanoma now.

We had our church leaders pray for healing and anoint me with oil on Sunday. They ended up praying over almost everyone present on Sunday - it was a moving service. Everyone continue to pray that my second pass comes back negative for abnormal skin cells. Thank you for all of your prayers so far!

One Surgery Down...

2008-07-10T06:46:00.002-05:00

...One to go? Hopefully I will hear from the doctor today or tomorrow about how many more "procedures" I will have to have. Rachel has a nice recap of the last one on her blog. Please continue to pray that the pathology report from Monday's surgery comes back clean. Everyone, especially Rachel, has been very supportive through my skin cancer so far.

I feel like I am slacking with my working out lately. We have been out of town a lot, and I felt weird about trying to work out with a pressure bandage on my head - so I didn't. (Although I did mow the yard with the pressure bandage on my head.) I did lift weights yesterday and will hopefully run tomorrow. I did body weight-only pull-ups and dips last week instead of using my dipping belt. I was surprised - I got 20 pull-ups on my first set. I got 16 wide-grip pull-ups on the second and third sets. The dips surprised me - even though I do sets of 10 with 80 extra lbs on me, I only got 27 reps per set. I guess I am just not used to doing that many in a row.

On our way home from KY last weekend, there was a message on the big sign above I-65 that tells you about wrecks, road construction, amber alerts, etc. It said "One fatality is to many - slow down". Way to go guys, way to misspell a word for all of the hundreds of thousands of cars that drive down I-65 every day to see. Apparently one fatality is too many, and seemingly so is 2 Os.

The Beast...

2008-07-01T20:34:00.002-05:00

is now hooked up and running. It has an incredible amount of power. It goes louder than I would ever want it. Addie likes it - she kept telling me she wanted it "louder". It sounds great. With the 910 watts from the receiver and 770 watts from the subs, there is now 1680 watts of power!

The wood floors are done. They look great. We are very happy with them. We are still waiting on a couple of thresholds to finish everything up. Rachel will probably post some pictures after we get the thresholds in.

So...my melanoma was a surprise. I initially wasn't aware that melanoma was the WORST kind of skin cancer, I thought it was a less worrisome kind. Melanoma sounds less scary than carcinoma. I was wrong, melanoma is bad. Luckily, mine seems to be very small, and they think they can get the whole thing in a couple of surgeries.

The Beast - THX Certified

2008-06-11T10:17:00.003-05:00

...is arriving today. 130 watts x 7 of THX Ultra2 certified power. It is an early birthday present from Rachel. At 50lbs, it is double the weight of my current receiver, as well as 3 inches deeper. Since it will not fit on the shelf my current one is on, I am going to have to put it on top of the bookcase next to the TV. Our wood floors we ordered are also in at Home Depot, so I am going to try and wait until we put the new floor in the living room. Otherwise, right after I set it up and calibrate it, I will have to take it back down and do it all over again. I guess this will give me motivation to get the floors done as soon as possible.

Ouch...

2008-05-30T08:44:00.002-05:00

Running hurts. I started running again this week. The last time I ran was last October, on a treadmill. I ran 3 miles at 7 mph that day. I thought I was still in decent shape. Once I started running on Tuesday, I realized that was a myth. Today was even worse, as I got a major stitch in my side halfway through my run. I finished the run, but it wasn't fun. My quads have been really sore all week. Does anyone know if running on a treadmill is much easier, or is running real hills just that much harder? Getting ripped hurts!

It also hurts that the Spurs got knocked out of the playoffs by the Lakers last night. There were a couple of games in the series that it really seemed like the Spurs should have won. They were up 20 points in the 3rd quarter in Game 1, but ended up losing the game. They made a couple of major mistakes in the final minute of Game 4, they could have won that game. The Spurs should be up 3-2 right now, heading back home to finish off the Lakers in Game 6. Oh well, some years things go your way, and some years they don't. Every year since 2004, you can find just a couple of plays that would have changed the course of an entire playoff series. The Spurs could have had 5 straight championships if they had had a little better luck in even numbered years. Next year is an odd year again, so things should be better. The Spurs definitely need to replace some of their old guys. Horry and Finley definitely, and Barry and Thomas may not have much left either. It just seems like the Spurs were too old and tired from their 7 game series against the Hornets. Since there was never more than a day between games in this series, they never got a chance to recover. I guess it is time to pull for one of the remaining Kentucky guys, Rondo and Prince - Celtics or Pistons. The stupid Lakers only let west coast guys and foreign dudes on their roster.

Maybe think this through...

2008-05-29T16:55:00.002-05:00

Before purchasing a domain name for your company. I got this as an email forward, and I thought it was funny enough to pass along:

The following are all legitimate companies that didn't spend quite enough time considering how their online domain name might appear ... and be misread.

1. Who Represents is where you can find the name of the agent that represents any celebrity. Their Web site is: www.whorepresents.com

2 . Experts Exchange is a knowledge base where programmers can exchange advice and views at: www.expertsexchange.com

3. Looking for a pen? Look no further than Pen Island at: www.penisland.net

4. Need a therapist? Try Therapist Finder at: www.therapistfinder.com

5. There's the Italian Power Generator company: www.powergenitalia.com

6. And don't forget the Mole Station Native Nursery in New South Wales: www.molestationnursery.com

7. If you're looking for IP computer software, there's always: www.ipanywhere.com

8. The First Cumming Methodist Church Web site is: www.cummingfirst.com

9. And the designers at Speed of Art await you at their wacky Web site: www.speedofart.com

Ode to Rachel

2008-05-23T09:09:00.004-05:00

I've been wanting to post this, but I didn't want it to be too cheesy. Rachel had an awesome Ode to me, so I only hope this one doesn't suck.

Rachel is the most important earthly person in my life. When she is happy, I'm happy. When she is unhappy, I'm unhappy. She makes me so happy.

Proverbs 31:10 A wife of noble character who can find? She is worth far more than rubies.

Rachel is very noble, and worth more to me than any earthly thing.

Proverbs 31:26 She speaks with wisdom, and faithful instruction is on her tongue.

Rachel is super smart, I don't think I know anyone smarter than her. I'm glad I married someone so smart. She always has words of wisdom for me.

It is unbelievable all that Rachel does just to make me happy. She sacrifices so much for me.

Rachel always hand washes the dishes because she knows I don't like to.

Rachel lets me watch basketball almost every night - and sometimes even watches it with me!

Rachel puts up with my flatulence, my manly smells, and my body hair.

Rachel works really hard on her looks everyday; exercising, fixing her hair, etc.

Rachel is really beautiful. She has the most beautiful smile in the world.

Rachel works hard on my hair, she cuts it and fixes it so it doesn't look stupid.

Rachel is encouraging and always says nice things to me.

Rachel is a godly woman and pushes me to be a more godly man.

Rachel is an awesome mom and the kids really love her.

I really appreciate everything she does for me.

I love Rachel so much and want to be with her for the rest of my life. Thanks for putting up with me Rachel.

I'm Making Progress...

2008-05-13T09:42:00.002-05:00

Slowly. I laid the smack down with my weights yesterday. I told Rachel to watch me on my third set of bench press yesterday. I asked her to because I'm out in the garage doing manly things like lifting very heavy weights all the time and no one is there to see the cool things I can do. I also wanted my woman to see how manly I am, and so she can fully appreciate my manliness. I told her I was aiming for 8 reps with 295. I got myself psyched up, I told myself I have to get 8 since I told my woman I was going to do 8. I can normally do 8 reps with 295 on my third set, but sometimes I only get 7 and I have never done more than 8. Lo and behold, I did 9 reps! According to my 1 rep max chart, my max should now be 374! Only 26 more pounds to go! If I can get 295 10 times, then my max should be 384, so it really isn't too far away. To be able to bench 400, I will need to be able to bench 315 9 times. It sounds like a lot, but I am going to get there eventually.

On Sunday we were at the in-laws house for Mother's Day lunch. Addie and Zoe were watching a movie that papa had DVR'd for them. Here is a snippet of conversation that happened during the movie:

Papa: Addie, do you like this movie?
Addie: Yes.
Papa: Do you want me to make you a copy of it?
Addie: No, I don't like coffee. I already told you that.

Good stuff Addie. 3 year olds are hilarious.

So LeBron was huge last night. I think the Cavs have a chance to take this series, but they are going to have to win one in Boston. That is a very difficult thing to do. The Spurs play tonight, back in New Orleans. It should be a good game, but I would like to see the Spurs win. The second round of the NBA playoffs has been interesting since 3 of the 4 series are tied 2-2 right now. Go Spurs!

Rachel is going to the beach this weekend. We are going to miss her. Andrea is going to come down and hang out with us for a couple of days so we don't get too bored without Rachel around. I hope she has a good time at the beach.

I have a few magazines...

2008-05-07T20:07:00.002-05:00

In a stack by my dresser:

Rachel says I need to get rid of a few. That is only a few months worth of magazines. I have to throw out a huge stack every few months. I get lots of free computer magazines, mostly because they think I spend lots of money on computer stuff. I also get ESPN the magazine as part of my Insider subscription. My favorites are Consumer Reports, Car and Driver, and Road and Track. I also get Reader's Digest, but I don't think there are many of those in that stack. I told Rachel I wanted a magazine rack in the bathroom, but I think she thought it would end up looking like this.

I think I am going to try to get ripped along with Rachel. I want my six-pack back. I am already starting to change my diet a little, but I need to start running. As soon as school gets out, I can start running in the mornings. I'm not sure Darbie is the best running partner though. She always stops to try and sniff everything, and it seems like she gets tired quickly. It seems like everyone I know is joining the gym and getting fit. I have to keep up with everyone else!

Frank Caliendo....

2008-05-06T11:02:00.001-05:00

Does a good Charles Barkley impression. His Bill Walton impression is pretty good, too.

Funny stuff said this weekend...

2008-04-30T19:57:00.002-05:00

Luke talking to Keri and Rachel after church...
Luke (rubbing one of his pecs): "Do you like the new ones?"
Rachel and Keri: "New what?".
Luke (looking down): "Oh, I took my name tag off, I was talking about the new name tags."

Good stuff Luke.

Later that afternoon, before we got to the rock preserve...
Jared (talking to Keri): "Don't be such a girl."
Keri: "I'm not a girl!"
Me: "You aren't?"
Keri: "Oh, yes I am."

Very funny.

I forgot what this post was going to be about...

2008-04-17T09:40:00.003-05:00

Oh well. I'm a little down today about coming in second in fantasy basketball for the second year in a row. Just like last year I was #1 in the standings almost the entire season, then I lost in the Final. Bummer. Last year I got creamed in the final - this year I lost on a tiebreaker. I played the wrong guys last night and left a bunch of points on my bench. I ended up losing points by 2, and points are the first tiebreaker in the event of a tie. Dang. Anyway, so Mark won 3rd, and actually would have creamed everyone in the league this week.

The NBA playoffs start this weekend! There will be at least a game or two on TV every night until mid-May! I know Rachel must be excited. Although I know she is at least a little excited about the Suns starting on the road against the Spurs since it is likely they could wear their orange jerseys. It will definitely be an exciting series. Go Spurs!

There is this kid in Addie's class at school named Bryant. Everyone calls him Bear. Only in Alabama. We could call him Kobe or "Big Country" (Bryant "Big Country" Reeves used to play in the NBA). Bear Bryant is a legend in Alabama. On a related note, our next door neighbor, Bryant, was wearing a confederate army hat at the bus stop this morning. Very strange. We should start calling him Big Country.

I found a web page with the bench press maxes of several celebrities and sports figures. Since I supposedly bench press 370, I can out-bench many of them. I can bench more than:

President Bush 185lbs x5 reps
Brady Quinn (pre-NFL) 350lbs
Yao Ming 300lbs
Reggie Bush (pre-NFL) 335lbs
Matt Leinart
Jamarcus Russell (pre-NFL) 335lbs
Dwight Howard 345lbs
Hugh Jackman (during X-men) 315lbs
Michael Vick 335lbs
Tiger Woods 300lbs

Good stuff. Will Smith was impressively strong, and surprisely ripped in "I Am Legend". That movie was pretty cool - very intense. Also, I think Arnold's bench press max is incorrect. He weighed 250 in his competing days - I'm sure he could bench press at least double his body weight since I can almost do that and his body fat percentage was definitely lower than mine.

Title of Post

2008-04-03T20:09:00.003-05:00

I had an unfortunate incident at McDonald's last Saturday. We were going through the drive thru to pick up some lunch for the kids. We got there at 10:58 and they told us that they were still serving breakfast. They said they would be serving lunch at 11:00. So we pulled out of the drive thru into the parking lot. We waited there for a couple of minutes, then went back through the drive thru. When we got up to the speaker it was 11:03. Here was how the conversation went:

Rachel: I would like to order a happy meal and 2 hamburgers with fries.
Drive-thru lady: We are still serving breakfast.
Rachel: What time do you start serving lunch?
Drive-thru lady: Should be right now.
Me: So what are you serving right now?
Drive-thru lady: silence
Me: Mam? Hello?
Drive-thru lady: silence

At that point we drove off and went to Chick-Fil-A where they were actually serving lunch. As we were driving off I noticed the car behind us drove off as well. They must have heard what was said. I did call McDonald's complaint line and make a complaint.

The kids were watching Scooby-Doo the other day, and the mystery was something about a monster on a putt-putt course during a putt-putt tournament. The funny thing was that the big time famous putt-putt golfer's name was Cougar Forest. Get it? Tiger Woods -> Cougar Forest? I thought it was pretty funny.

Rachel and were doing our devotional last night, and we just went to the next devotional in our book, in order. The weird thing was that this devotional was exactly what we needed last night. That is not the first time this has happened. God gives us exactly what we need, when we need it - even if it mean re-arranging pages in our devotional book. God is awesome!

Mark and Ashley are coming to visit tomorrow. Mark and I are gonna watch basketball, play basketball outside, and play NBA 08 on the Wii. Rachel and Ashley are going to get massages and pedicures. It should be a blast!

(Did anyone get my reference in the title of my post to Filter's second album, "Title of Record"? I thought it was funny, but I think lots of stuff is funny.)

Random Stuff

2008-03-27T09:53:00.000-05:00

I need one of these in my bedroom:

My fantasy basketball team, Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs, finished the regular season #1. Now it is the playoffs, and I am waiting to see if Mark's team is going to win and face me next week. Our co-managed team, Crawford'sShinyDome, finished the regular season at #5. We are currently slugging it out with #4 in the playoffs.

March Madness has been exciting so far. It is a bummer not having Kentucky around for the Sweet Sixteen, but hopefully we will be there next year. I don't think Western Kentucky has much of a chance against UCLA tonight, but it would be amazing if they won.

The NBA playoffs are coming soon. Only three weeks left in the regular season. The Western Conference is really competitive. There are still 9 teams teams fighting for eight spots, and all 9 teams are so close in the standings.

I was reading about the new 2009 Nissan GT-R in my Car and Driver that came the other day. What an amazing car! It is an all-wheel drive supercar on par with a Porsche 911 Turbo. 0-60 in 3.3! A top speed of 193! 480hp out of a twin turbo V-6? Car and Driver did a dyno test, and the car had 480 at the wheels! Normally car makers rate their power for the amount of hp at the motor. Most cars lose 10-15% of their hp between the motor and the wheels, so this Nissan V-6 makes well over 500hp! All this for only $70,000. That is a steal when you compare this to the Ferraris and Lamborghinis that cost $200,000 to $400,000.

Dikembe Mutombo

2008-03-12T10:58:00.003-05:00

For those of you who do not know, Dikembe Mutombo (Deke) is a 7'2" NBA center. He has played in the NBA for 17 years, and is currently the oldest NBA player at 41. He went to college at Georgetown, but is originally from Congo, Africa. Deke is a funny guy because he sounds almost exactly like cookie monster, and who doesn't like cookie monster. Below are 2 videos about Deke. The first one is pretty old, it is from the 90s when he played for Denver. The second one is his current Rockets' teammates trying to imitate him. Both videos are fairly short.

I saved a buttload on my car insurance!

2008-03-04T08:59:00.001-06:00

Last week I went online and got a car insurance quote from Progressive. I was shocked at how low it was. Yesterday I called my Allstate agent and told him about it. He said he would look for any more discounts he could give me and rewrite my policy. He called me back a few hours later with the news. After rewriting my policy, adding an occupational discount for being a computer dude, and removing my Uninsured Motorist Coverage (it really isn't necessary if you have good health insurance) my 6 month premium changed from $730 to $385. My agent was very excited, as was I. Why didn't I call before? I think one of the main reasons it dropped so much was because of credit scores. Car insurance companies charge you a lot more if you have crummy credit. When I first got this policy at 19 years old, Rachel and I had very little credit, so we had a low credit score. I don't think Allstate checks your credit again unless you get a new policy. Rachel and I have excellent credit now, so that obviously makes a huge difference. We even got the new Your Choice Auto, where your deductible drops $100 for every year you do not have an accident.

I had a great workout yesterday. Sometimes, it is all about mental intensity - especially when you are weight training. You convince yourself that you can do it, concentrate, and pretend that that weight is not as heavy as it is. Mental intensity makes for a great workout. It also helps to be in a good mood when you start, at least for me.

Rachel and I watched 3:10 to Yuma on Blu-Ray this weekend. It was pretty good. There is a lot of action and shooting. It seems like almost everyone dies in the movie. I think I liked it more than Rachel did though. Has anyone else seen it? What did you think?

Another Survey

2008-03-04T08:30:00.002-06:00

1.)Do you like blue cheese? not really

2.)Have you ever smoked heroin? No way Jose.

3.)Do you own a gun? No, but I really enjoyed shooting all sorts of things with my air powered BB gun.

4.)What flavor do you add to your drink at Sonic? I don't get any drinks at Sonic.

5.)Do you get nervous before doctor appointments? Sometimes. I don't go very often.

6.)What do you think of hot dogs? Good stuff.

7.)Favorite Christmas movie? Christmas Vacation!

8.)What do you prefer to drink in the morning? Water. And my protein shake.

9.)Can you do push ups? Of course.

10.)What's your favorite piece of jewelry? My only piece of jewelry, my wedding ring.

11.)Favorite hobby? Home Theater

12.)Do you have A.D.D.? No.

13.) What's one trait you hate about yourself? I can't jump that high.

14.)Middle name? Louis, like my favorite character from Even Stevens.

15.)Name 3 thoughts at this exact moment… Why am I not working...What should I do first...Do the Spurs play tonight?

16.)Name 3 things you bought yesterday: Protein shake, food from Zoe's kitchen, sausage

17.)Name 3 drinks you regularly drink? Water, unsweet tea, protein shake (I'm seeing a pattern here...)

18.)Current worry? Ha!

19.)Current hate right now? Obama and Hillary

20.)Favorite place to be? My house

21.)How did you bring in the New Year? With my kids, wife, family and friends for our 10th anniversary.

22.)Where would you like to go? Back to Alaska

23.)Name three people who will complete this? Everyone already did it, I think I'm last.

24.)Do you own slippers? Yes, UK slippers

25.)What shirt are you wearing? A green plaid button up shirt

26.) Do you like sleeping on satin sheets? Never have

27.)Can you whistle? Yes

28.)Favorite colors? Green

29.)Would you be a pirate? What kind of question is that? Who doesn't like pirates?

30.)What songs do you sing in the shower? None

31.)Favorite girl's name? Rachel Lorie

32.)Favorite boy's name? Rip

33.) What's in your pocket right now? Left: Phone and keys, Right: pocket knife, office keys, fingernail clippers, gum, Back: wallet

34.)What's something that made you laugh today? Darbie trying to sit in Addie's little car bear chair.

35.)Best bed sheets as a child? I didn't pay attention to that.

36.)Worst injury you've ever had? I jacked up my knee pretty bad once when I was skiing.

37.)Do you love where you live? I guess

38.)How many TVs do you have in your house? Dos

39.)Who is your loudest friend? Spongebob

40.)How many dogs do you have? Uno

41.)Does someone have a crush on you? Rachel does!

42.)What is your favorite book? Hmmm, maybe "Into Thin Air".

43.)What is your favorite candy bar? Three Musketeers

44) Favorite Sports Team? UK and the Spurs!

45.)What song do you want played at your funeral? I don't care, I won't be able to hear it.

46.)What were you doing 12 AM last night? Sleeping

47.) What was the first thing you thought of when you woke up? Is it raining? I'm going to get wet walking the dog.

THE Survey

2008-03-01T14:23:00.003-06:00

You know the rules. I am not tagging anyone. Everyone I know has already been tagged. I also may not follow the rules.

1. I can bench press 370lbs. Well, at least according to my chart I can. The most I ever attempted was 350, and I successfully benched that.

2. I did dips Thursday with 70 extra pounds. I think I need to add more since I could still do 10 reps.

3. I am bummed about Patrick Patterson being done for the season. I guess there is always next year. Go Cats!

4. I like keeping everything clean - but only on the outside. If you ever look in my drawers or closets at home or work, you will see that I just stuff everything in there.

5. I flunked band my senior year of high school. I think I got a 40%. BTW, I also dropped out of high school.

6. My feet stink, and I do not have a toenail on my right big toe.

7. I was Rachel's paperboy when we started dating. That is how I got her phone number. I always gave them extra free samples on Sundays.

8. I like the Spurs. San Antonio is fun. Go Spurs!

9. I used to get croup when I went camping as a child. Those trips to the hospital in the middle of the night are no fun. At least that doesn't happen now.

10. I wore thick glasses from kindergarten to 8th grade. Suddenly my vision was great, and I haven't worn glasses since.

Bonus: I love being married to Rachel. Go Marriage!

Two Posts in 1 day!

2008-02-27T09:28:00.002-06:00

Kentucky has been playing well lately. After their win over Arkansas on Saturday, they are 9-3 in the SEC. If they keep winning like this, they should make the NCAA tournament. Pat Forde thinks they are going to the NIT. Oh Ye of little faith. We have to keep it up by beating Ole Miss in Lexington tonight. Go Cats!

The Spurs are playing much better lately as well. They are currently sitting as the number 2 seed in the West. Just two weeks ago, they were the 6 seed. The West is so competitive, only 5.5 games separate the 1 seed from the 8 seed. The seeding could change quite a bit before the playoffs start. At least if the Spurs keep #2 and the Lakers keep #1, they won't be playing each other until the conference finals. Who would have thought the Lakers would be this good? Everyone better watch out for the Spurs when the playoffs start though. Go Spurs!

We still have not found the missing earring. I have been checking Darbie poo even though the x-ray didn't show anything, just in case. I think Darbie wonders why I am playing with her poo. At least it has been cold enough where I can't really smell it. I'm sure it would be much worse if it were 90 degrees outside.

My fantasy basketball teams are doing pretty well. Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs is hanging onto first place, even though I've lost 3 out of the last 4 weeks. The second place team has also been losing. I'm just hoping to hold onto the 1 seed for the next 4 weeks. Then I get a bye the first week of the playoffs, and get the easiest path to the finals. This time of year it seems everyone is dealing with injuries and the flu. It seems my team's success is mostly hinging on Chris Paul, Baron Davis, and Danny Granger. Come on, Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs, play better! Mark's team has been holding onto the third seed. If he stays there, we can meet in the finals, just like in football (and you are going down again Mark)! Mark and I's co-managed team, Crawford'sShinyDome (way to go with the name change, I told you it would help!), has really been playing well lately. We moved from 9th place to 5th within the last three weeks. LeBron and Ginobili have been incredible lately, and we've been getting good contributions from Al Jefferson, Chris Bosh, and Al Horford.

I got my power tower set up last week. I used it for the first time on Thursday. I also purchased a dipping belt so I could maximize my gains from pull-ups and dips. Last week I did pull-ups with an extra 25 pounds. I think that is about right for now, as my sets were between 6 and 9 reps. For dips, I was using 45 extra pounds, but I don't think that was enough, as I managed 10 reps on every set. I like to aim for 7-8 reps per set, except for leg exercises. Using the amount of weight for legs that I can only do 7-8 times is very heavy, and thus more dangerous. Time to add more weight! Since I started using Creatine a couple of weeks ago, my weight seems to have stabilized. I only vary 1 pound from day to day. Before, I could vary as much as 4 pounds from one day to the next.

My Woman

2008-02-27T09:10:00.002-06:00

What's her name? Rachel Lorie Benz

How long have you been married? >10 years

How old is she? 28

Who eats more? I do

Who said I love you first? I did

Who is taller? Me

Who sings better? Rachel. She had voice lessons at some point.

Who has a worse temper? Rachel.

Who does the laundry? We both do, but I like it when Rachel sorts the clothes. I'm indecisive about what constitutes a light or a dark.

Who does the dishes? I put away clean dishes, we both load dirty ones, and she does the hand washing. Otherwise, the items that need to be handwashed will sit on the counter by the sink indefinitely. Rachel left them there for me once to see how long it would take before I would wash them. I think I did wash some after a week had passed.

Who sleeps on the right side of the bed? If you are sitting or lying in the bed, Rachel.

Who mows the lawn? I do.

Who drives when you are together? Me. I like to drive - Rachel doesn't

Who cooks dinner? Both. I grill outside, Rachel cooks in the kitchen.

Who pays the bills? Both of us.

Who is more stubborn? Hmmm. What was Rachel's answer?

Who is the first to admit they are wrong? Both of us.

Who has more friends? Mark. He has all the seasons on DVD.

Who wears the pants in the family? I have the final say on things, but Rachel definitely makes her opinions known.

Blu-Ray Wins!

2008-02-20T10:57:00.002-06:00

For those of you that haven't heard, Blu-Ray won the hi-def format war! HD-DVD officially threw in the towel yesterday morning. Universal and Paramount should start releasing movies on Blu-Ray in the coming weeks. It is exciting that now I will be able to get any new release on Blu-Ray, as opposed to some on DVD and some on Blu-Ray.

Now some industry analysts are saying that hi-def movie downloads will soon displace Blu-Ray as well. I disagree. Phillip Swann wrote an excellent article about this.

A Survey

2008-02-19T08:40:00.003-06:00

1. What is your occupation? Information Systems Specialist II
2. What color are your socks right now? brown
3. What are you listening to right now? The whirring on the fans in my servers and some music on Pandora
4. What was the last thing you ate? a banana
5. Can you drive a stick shift? Yep
6. If you were a crayon, what color would you be? green
7. Last person you spoke to on the phone? Rachel
8. Do you like the person who sent this to you? Rachel made me do it, so of course!
9. How old are you today? 28
10. Favorite drink? water
11. What is your favorite sport to watch? basketball
12. Have you ever dyed your hair? yes, several times.
13. Pets? Darbie Benz
14. Favorite food? meat
15. What was the last movie you watched? Harry Potter and the "Goblin" of Fire
16. What was the last book you read? I'm still currently reading "Under the Banner of Heaven". I keep forgetting to finish reading it.
17. What do you do to vent anger? maybe listen to music?
18. What was your favorite toy as a child? He-Man
19. What is your favorite season? Fall
20. Do you want your friends to email you back? I'm not sending it on e-mail!
21. Who is most likely to respond? Mark
22. Who is least likely to respond? Jo Mama
23. Living arrangements? Me and Rachel, and the kids, and the dog in the house we bought in AL
24. When was the last time you cried? When I heard Rick Burgess' memorial service message.
25. What is on the floor of your closet? too many shoes
26 Who is the *friend* you have known the longest you are sending this to? I am not sending this. You'll be lucky if I even post it after the number of times you have asked questions like this.
27. What did you do last night? Hung out with Luke and the kids, ate dinner, walked Darbie, bathed Addie, took a dump, walked Darbie, put Zoe to bed, then went to prayer group.
28. Favorite smells? I cannot tell you.
29. What or who inspires you? Lots of things.
30. What are you afraid of? Darbie peeing in the floor one more time...(she made it through yesterday without peeing in the house)
31. Plain, cheese or spicy hamburgers? cheese and bacon
32. Favorite breed? #7 on Nevermind
33. What is on your key ring? Keys
34. How many years at your current job? 5
35 Favorite day of the week? Saturday
36. How many states have you lived in? 2
37 Favorite holiday? Christmas
38. Ever driven a Motorcycle or heavy machinery? Yes, I drove a backhoe, a forklift, and a crane truck when I worked construction.

Monthly Expenses

2008-01-30T20:19:00.000-06:00

Since Shaq is going through a divorce right now, his monthly expenses are now on public record. Check some of this out...

$468,345 for 3 home mortgages

$110,505 on vacations.

$60,417 on gifts.

$26,560 on babysitters.

$24,300 on gasoline.

$22,190 on maids.

$17,220 on clothes.

$12,775 on food.

He also pays about $500,000 per month in income taxes. His monthly pay is listed at $1.8 million.

Da Survey

2008-01-25T20:23:00.000-06:00

What month were you born in?
August

Where do you live?
Alabaster

…Describe Your…

Wallet:
new, brown, and it says L.L.Bean

Dream car:
Maybe a BMW M5

Toothbrush:
white and orange

Jewelry worn daily:
wedding ring

Pillow Case:
Land's End sateen white

Eyes:
hazel, green, blue, or something

Room:
My bedroom is red with dark brown furniture and a beige faux suede bedcover.

Love life:
Married to the finest and hottest of women.

Cologne/Perfume:
Not very often. I have some Escape and Pleasures for Men

Cd in stereo:
Biohazard's "State of the World Address"... don't laugh at me. All of my good CDs are in the garage.

Piercings:
None.

Wearing:
t-shirt and boxers.

Wanting:
to have the best marriage ever.

What does your headline mean:
nothing. it is stupid.

Last thing you ate:
pizza from Cafe Trentuno

Something you are afraid of:
Losing a child. We all know why, and I know they belong to God, but it would be hard.

do you like candles:
sure

Do you like the taste of blood:
What kind of question is that?

Do you believe in love:
Absolutely

do you believe in soul mates"
I think so. Not in the weird way though

Do you like seafood:
Sure, it is pretty good.

Do you remember your dreams:
Not very often.

Do you consider yourself a study freak
No. Absolutely not.

What’s your favorite thing to do in the place where you live?
Hang with the kids and Rachel

Do you like tattoos:
Sure

Do you burn easily in the sun:
pretty much

Do you speak another language other than English:
A little German and Spanish, mostly numbers

What’s something you wish you could understand better:
Statistics

Are you shy around a crush?
I don't have one.

What book would you recommend to anyone?
Into Thin Air

Last show you watched an entire episode of?
Drake and Josh

Last movie you watched at home
Evan Almighty

Got any plans for the weekend
Not much. Watch UK play and hang with my fam.

Do you miss anyone?
My family that is far away

Last incoming call on your cell phone?
Rachel

What is the last thing you downloaded onto your computer
An Opera browser update

What’s your favorite restaurant?
Ruth's Chris

Last time you swam in a pool?
October

What was the last thing you bought?
pizza and salads at Cafe trentuno

A secret about you?
I can't think of any...

Ever made a prank phone call?
Yeah, a couple of times.

Where did Waldo go?
Well that guy was everywhere... those books were awesome.

Do you really know all the words to your national anthem
Yes!

What did your last text message say
Prayer meeting tonight @ 8:30

outgoing:
Is Luke going?

Have you ever been in a beauty pageant?
All the time, I'm a jock.

Have you ever written poetry
Only for school

Have you ever won a trophy?
Yes. For an undefeated baseball season and second place in soccer.

Are you a good cook
If it is in a box or on a grill

Do you know how to pump your own gas
I think so

Think fast, who do you hate right now?
Duke. Satan.

first thing that popped into my head.
Forensic Files is a predictable show.

Who was the last person you visited in the hospital
Jared and Keri

What do you think about most?
My woman.

the one person you wanna be with right now
Rachel. Wake up honey!

Go Cats!

2008-01-23T10:06:00.000-06:00

Kentucky got a big win last night over #5 ranked Tennessee. Hopefully they can build on this and play well the rest of the season. The tournament seems out of reach, unless we just absolutely dominate the SEC. Maybe we could make the NIT though. We need to get some more good recruits for next year.

We had fun bowling on Zoe's birthday. I came in 1st place with a 154. I ended up with 4 strikes, 3 of them in a row. 2 of my strikes were perfectly banked off the the bumpers we were using for Zoe's sake. It wasn't intentional, but it worked out well.

Addie has been acting up at school a lot lately. I had to go to her school twice yesterday because she was biting her "friends". I talked to her sternly and gave her a spanking one of the trips. I told her she needed to be a big girl like Zoe and not bite people. Addie was like "Zoe not bite people"? Correct Addie. Zoe does not, nor has she ever bitten people. Not only was Addie biting, but she was also hitting and kicking her "friends". We reminded her of the privileges she will lose if she bites. We will see if she acts better today. It seems to vary greatly depending upon which teacher she has.

The heating and air dudes finished up the installation of our new heat pump. They said our old one had insufficient duct work. It was working at only 2/3 capacity because of that. They added additional duct work when they installed the new unit. The air definitely blows much harder out of the the vents now. Hopefully we will save money on our electric bill with this new, more efficient system and programmable thermostat.

First Snow in 6 years...

2008-01-19T14:30:00.000-06:00

Not much, but it is something. Now it is all melted. Oh well.

Just for old time's sake, here is the last time I saw significant snow. I miss it. This was 12/27/2004 in Kentucky. The first one is Mark buried in the snow by Zoe.

Kids are awesome

2008-01-14T20:20:00.000-06:00

Last night, Addie said "I want to watch Blu-Ray". I'm not sure exactly what she meant, but she does like to watch movies. I like to watch Blu-Ray also Addie. You never know what Addie wants to watch. The most recent movies she watched were King Kong, Phantom of the Opera (on Blu-Ray), Aladdin, and Spider-Man. Fun stuff.

Apparently Zoe and Rachel are enjoying NBA Live 08 on the Wii almost as much as me. The other night Zoe was playing against Rachel, Suns vs Spurs. The crowd was chanting "De-fense". Zoe started chanting along, "Steve-Nash". Close, but not quite, Zoe. The game was in San Antonio.

Kentucky's basketball team took a step forward this weekend by beating previously undefeated Vanderbilt in double overtime. Hopefully they will only get better from here, have an excellent SEC season, and get into the tournament.

Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs is still in first place. Mark and I were matched up against each other last week. It was very close, but I barely won on the last night of the week. Mark and I's co-managed team, Manu's Schnozz, is stinking pretty bad lately. We lost 8-1 last week and are now in 8th place out of 12 teams. I think it is time for a fantasy team name change. That always shakes things up. It would also reduce confusion as Mark's other team is also Manu's Schnozz. I think we should rename it "Captain Jack's Skanky Dreads", "Sasquatch's Schnozz", "Squidward's Schnozz", "Manu's Bald Spot", or "Joe Crawford's Shiny Bald Head". I had a couple of other names in mind, but I can't remember them right now. Vote for your favorite or nominate another one. Maybe this will invigorate our team.

Fantasy Football Champ!

2008-01-02T20:18:00.000-06:00

Sorry if the pic is kinda small - if you click on it, you can see a larger image. Mark and I had to battle it out for the championship, but somehow I came out ahead.

Christmas and our anniversary party were both great. It was fun spending lots of time with family and friends. The girls got a Wii for Christmas, so that has been fun. I got some cool stuff like a wireless thermometer, a headlamp, and some nice shirts. We also got the entire set of Harry Potter movies on Blu-Ray, as well as all three Pirate movies on Blu-Ray. We have watched most of them in the past week. It was awesome spending so much time with Rachel!

Way to go Kentucky football, with back to back bowl wins for the first time since 51-52. If only the basketball team could win some games. My fantasy basketball team (Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs) is still in 1st place, but mine and Mark's co-managed team is struggling along in 7th place (out of 12 teams). LeBron needs to step up and help our fantasy team. No more missed games from sprained fingers buddy.

The World's Biggest Flashlight

2007-12-16T14:56:00.000-06:00

I got an early Christmas present yesterday - a 17.5 million candlepower spotlight with a rechargeable battery. It is incredibly bright. The box says "We've captured the sun!".

Blu-Ray

2007-12-04T10:44:00.000-06:00

Blu-Ray rules. As many of you know, Rachel gave me an early anniversary present, a Samsung BDP-1400 Blu-Ray player! The first movie I bought was "The League of Extraordinary Gentlemen". Lots of stuff blows up, lots of gunshots, etc. Good stuff. The Blu-Ray looks awesome. All backgrounds actually have texture, crowds of people are well-defined. Impressive. I feel like the DTS-HD Master audio sounded better than DVD as well. Thank you Rachel! I can't wait to watch more Blu-Ray movies!

Apparently it is bad luck to brag about your fantasy football team on your blog. Right after posting about my team, I got slaughtered the next week. The same thing happened to Mark. Oh well. I recovered from the slaughtering and beat the juggernaut that is "Sasquatch" (Mark's team). I ended up with the second best record in the league and the #3 playoff spot. I get to play a team that stumbled into the playoffs on a 3 week losing streak. Hopefully Sasquatch and I will be playing each other for the championship in 2 weeks.

Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs (my basketball team) did not falter after posting about them on here. They have an ever increasing choke hold on 1st place. We will see if my overperforming big men can keep it up (Kaman, Bogut, Wilcox). The team Mark and I co-manage in another league is doing pretty well. We are sitting at 4th place out of 12 teams. The other managers in that league seem to know what they are doing, so it is a difficult league.

I got Rachel an early anniversary present that should be coming tomorrow...

Amazing, Posts on Consecutive Days!

2007-11-29T10:25:00.000-06:00

SuperDad or SuperVillain?

This picture is from the pumpkin patch almost 2 months ago. I just got around to posting it. I am on one of those gigantic inflatable slides. Addie and Kaela both really wanted to go down it with me. After I climbed the absurdly tall stairs with them, they both started freaking out at the top. "I want my Daddy!" "I don't want to go down!" So I grabbed them both and we went sliding down, both of them screaming and crying. Luke took a picture of us at the bottom. You can see the feet of the kid coming down the slide behind me. That kid slid right into me right after this picture was taken.

This Ref's Call is Hilarious!

2007-11-28T15:28:00.000-06:00

Granny's Got a Gun...

2007-11-21T17:58:00.001-06:00

Tonight, Addie started singing a song that seemed to combine several songs together. It started out, "Granny's got a gun, Oh what fun it is to ride in a one horse open sleigh!" Here is a picture of Addie at her Thanksgiving feast at school. I gave Addie a cookie, it broke in half and half of it fell in the floor. Addie picked up the floor half and gave it to the kid next to her. Nice. Most of the kids thought Thanksgiving was someone's birthday because there were cupcakes involved. 3 year olds are so funny.

Fantasy Sports Update

2007-11-20T08:04:00.000-06:00

I know you all are as excited about this as I am:

These are my fantasy football league standings. My team is Alaska SomethingBetter. It was originally called Alabama SomethingStupid, but I changed it once my team started kicking butt. Zoe didn't like the old name. My team started out 0-3 and was 2-4 before my current 5 game winning streak. That is Mark's team in first place, so we might as well call this the Benz fantasy league since Mark and I are dominating. I think I am pretty lucky to be in 2nd place since my top 2 draft picks (Rudi Johnson and Lawrence Mulroney) are really bad. It does help to have the #1 fantasy player, Tom Brady.

My team has resumed where they left off last year - in first place! Ye Olde Scurvy Dogs is a little point guard heavy (Steve Nash, Chris Paul, Baron Davis, Leandro Barbosa, and Kirk Hinrich), but I have some overperforming centers keeping me competitive in all categories.

Zoe's Diarama

2007-11-18T18:07:00.001-06:00

Here is Zoe's tundra diarama that Rachel and Zoe made yesterday.

This is a new post

2007-11-06T08:08:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted in a while. I've been on vacation. I did work out a few times on vacation. I ran on a treadmill twice (I ran 3 miles on Friday!), and lifted weights once. Running on a treadmill is definitely easier than running in my neighhood, which is all hills. Yesterday I lifted weights at home, and I was surprisingly strong! I benched 275 11 times and 285 9 times - neither of which I had ever attained before! I wonder if I was stronger because I was well rested from sleeping in all last week and only lifting weights once, or if working out on those machines last week actually helped me with my bench press. According to my chart, benching 285 9 times translates to a one rep max of 362. Not bad for my third set, when my muscles aren't full strength. Maybe it is because I gained some weight - I am up to 189! Well, I was until this morning when taking a dump 2 hours after every meal for the past 2 days caught up with me - this morning I weighed in at 185.5. It must have been the insane amount of food I ate in Disney World.

I've given up on my vertical leaping quest. I am still doing squats and leg presses, but they don't seem to be helping me jump higher. I guess I am too heavy now. My quads, glutes, and calves are bigger and stronger though. Doing squats definitely builds muscle, especially in da booty. I've ripped huge holes in two pairs of shorts this summer with my booty while doing squats. I hope you have been entertained by this post - I think it is funny.

Rachel is home sick today. Please pray that she feels better.

Cold must be a relative term

2007-10-26T16:20:00.000-05:00

It seems like cold is definitely a relative term. This afternoon it was 57 degrees outside, and this is how the neighbor kids were dressed - wearing fleece jackets and wool hats. You'll notice Zoe hanging from the monkey bars - she is not wearing a jacket. I thought this was too funny to not take a picture.

It has been awhile...

2007-10-17T20:11:00.000-05:00

since I last posted. I've been very excited about Kentucky's football team. They have been doing awesome lately. I was disappointed about the South Carolina loss, but the LSU win was huge. I cannot believe UK is #7 in the BCS right now. They are #4 in the computer rankings. That is the first time they have ever been in the BCS rankings. ESPN Gameday is going to Lexington for the UK-Florida game this weekend. That is the first time Gameday has ever come to Lexington for a football game. Awesome! Go Cats!

Two weeks ago, we worked hard for several days on our slate floor in the entryway. Now everything is done except for the quarter round. It looks great. The next project is to get a new front door.

Last weekend we were in Bowling Green, KY for my Dad's 60th birthday. It was fun, other than Addie's coughing/croup issue. We got to watch most of the UK-LSU game, even though the party was in the middle of the game.

I've got an awesome men's camping trip coming up on Friday. It should be fun!

Rachel has got lots going on with school and two jobs. She has been very busy lately. Go Grad School! Go Marriage! Go Rachel!

Tuition Assistance...

2007-10-01T20:38:00.000-05:00

sucks? Rachel gets tuition assistance from UAB since I am an employee. (She also works for UAB, but receives no benefits). Apparently graduate tuition assistance for spouses and dependants is considered taxable. Undergraduate assistance for spouses or dependants is not taxable, nor is assistance for graduate or undergrad for the employee. We were not aware of this until my most recent monthly paycheck was $104 less. They taxed $386 of the tuition assistance on this paycheck at a 27% tax rate. I was shocked at this at first, so I called payroll and they explained the tax rules to me. What they did not explain to me was that they will be taking these extra taxes out of my check as long as Rachel received tuition assistance from me. So imagine my surprise when I received a letter in the mail today saying that they will be taking that $104 in taxes out of my paycheck every month for the rest of the semester (and any other semester Rachel received tuition assistance from me). So even though Rachel received $1500 in tuition assistance from UAB, that will end up costing us $416. The main reason this sucks is because Rachel also has an education account with quite a bit of money still in it. Should we take the assistance now, or wait until later after the education account is empty? Hopefully we will get much of this money back when we file our taxes. These stupid tax laws take away much of the value of tuition assistance.

Some Pics

2007-09-25T19:39:00.000-05:00

Here is a pic of the girls in their new UK shirts.

Here is a picture of Addie's very pink room that we painted this weekend

Firsts

2007-09-14T08:40:00.000-05:00

1.Who was your first prom date?
Rachel

2. Who was your first roommate?
Andrea, Mark, Mark, Adam

3. What was your first alcoholic drink?
Zima (I'm embarrassed to admit)

4. What was your first job?
Paper boy

5. What was your first car?
1980 Honda Civic - it was also Rachel's first car!

6. Who was the first person you texted today?
I did not text anyone today.

7. Who is the first person you thought of this morning?
Rachel

8. Who was your first grade teacher?
Ms. Van Slyke

9. Where did you go on your first ride on an airplane?
Nashville (from Bham after the Saturn went off the cliff)

10. When you snuck out of your house for the first time, who was with you?
No one, but I did sneak out quite a bit - out the window, out the garage, out the front door. I had to use the breathing on the thermostat trick to turn on the A/C. I once even used ice on the thermostat to turn on the heat.

11. Who was your first best friend and are you still friends with them?
My first best friend was Matt, and no, I haven't seen or spoken to Matt since 8th grade.

12. Where was your first sleep over?
At my grandparents' house I guess

13. First Kiss?
Rachel, unless you count second grade

14. Whose wedding were you in the first time?
Mark's, I was his best dude.

15. What is the first thing you do in the morning?
Turn off the alarm, go pee, take a shower.

16. What was the first concert you ever went to?
Bush, the Toadies, and Hum at Vanderbilt Memorial Gymnasium

17. First tattoo or piercing?
N/A

18. First foreign country you went to?
Canada

19. First crush?
No idea

20. When was your first detention?
9th grade, I got detention for being tardy all the time.

21. What was the first state you lived in?
KY

22. Who was your first love?
Jesus and Rachel

23. Who was the first person to break your heart?
Rachel

24. Who will be the first to repost this?
Who knows

Happy Birthday Rachel!

2007-09-12T09:20:00.000-05:00

Happy 28th Birthday Rachel! Now you are as old as me! I can't believe we are both 28. It doesn't seem like that long ago that we were in high school, getting married, then having children. Time is flying, but I am glad I am spending it with you. I hope you have a great birthday honey!

Rinse off the Cheese and Get out

2007-09-06T20:21:00.000-05:00

That is what I said to Addie when it was time for her to get out of the bathtub tonight. She had a plastic piece of cheese she had just finished putting soap all over. Not surprisingly, the fake cheese has several bite marks on it. Addie and Zoe really like cheese. I'm sure if we had fake fruit, it would have bite marks on it too.

I am thoroughly enjoying Dish Network's new HD channels. We've been watching a lot of Animal Planet HD - it seems like most animal shows are shot in HD. We've also been watching a lot of Discovery HD lately. We've started watching Survivorman, Man vs. Wild, and my favorite, Dirty Jobs. Mike Rowe is hilarious. Rachel and I looked him up, and apparently he used to be an opera singer as well as the host of worst case scenario. He sang on the show a couple of times - he has quite a voice.

2 Things

2007-09-01T20:39:00.000-05:00

Two Names You Go By:
1. Dave
2. Daddy

Two Things You Are Wearing Right Now:
1. Watch
2. belt

Three Things You Would Want (or have) in a Relationship:
1. Love
2. Laughter
3. Sex

Two of Your Favorite Things to do:
1. Hang out with my friends and family
2. Play basketball

Two Things You Want Very Badly At The Moment
1. Addie to go to sleep
2. Rachel to be able to stand up straight

Two Things you did Last Night:
1. Watched a crappy movie
2. Had sex

Two things you ate today:
1. Cheerio's
2. Bison burger at Ted's

Two people you Last Talked To:
1. Rachel
2. Keith (my neighbor)

Two Things You're doing tomorrow:
1. Going to church
2. Laundry

Two longest car rides:
1. Owensboro to Orlando
2. Birmingham to Chicago

Favorite Holidays:
1. Thanksgiving
2. Christmas

Two Favorite Beverages:
1. Chocolate Milk
2. Water

Two Things About Me you may not have known:
1. I got married during my senior year of high school.
2. I dropped out of high school.

Two jobs I have had in my life:
1. Pizza delivery dude
2. Paper boy

Two Movies I would watch over and over:
1. Signs
2. Napoleon Dynamite

Places I have lived:
1. Bowling Green, KY
2. Alabaster, AL

Two of my Favorite Foods:
1. Steak
2. Cheeseburger

Two places I'd rather be right now:
1. in bed
2. Alaska

Survey From Rachel

2007-08-27T13:25:00.000-05:00

1. What bill do you hate paying the most?
My eternal student loan payments.

2. Where was the last place you had a romantic dinner?
I can't even tell you when the last time I had a romantic anything was. Well, we did have a softly lit dinner at Longhorn on Saturday, but Jared and Keri were there.

3. Do you regret losing your virginity to who you lost it to?
Absolutely not! ;0)

4. If you could go back and change one thing what would it be?
What's the point?

5. Name of your first grade teacher?
Mrs. Van Slyke. I had her for 1st, 2nd, and 3rd grade. Her husband owned Van Slyke Toyota in Owensboro.

6. What do you really want to be doing right now?
Not working...

7. What did you want to be when you were growing up?
I wanted to own a Home Theater store or a speaker building company. Kinda like Bob Carver. That dude builds some awesome subs and amps.

8. How many colleges did you attend?
3

9. Why did you choose the shirt that you have on right now?
I saw it hiding in the closet and realized I hadn't worn it in like a year.

10. What are your thoughts on gas prices?
Better than they were.

11. If you could move anywhere and take someone with you where would it be?
Alaska

12. First thought when the alarm went off this morning?
Nothing. I hit the snooze button in my sleep.

13. Last thought before going to sleep last night?
I hope Rachel feels better.

16. What errand/chore do you despise?
None of them are fun.

17. If you didn't have to work, would you volunteer?
Hmmm. Volunteer doing what?

18. Get up early or sleep In?
I like to get up early because then I have more time in the day.

19. What is your favorite cartoon character?
Spongebob Squarepants

20. Favorite thing to do at night with the opposite sex?
You know.

21. Have you found real love yet?
Absolutely. When I was a child I gave my life to Jesus, and there is no more real love than that. Plus I have Rachel, and I really love her.

22. When did you first start feeling old?
When I started getting sore everytime I played basketball.

23. Favorite 80's movie?
Back to the Future

24, Favorite lunch meat?
Boar's Head

25. What do you get every time you go into Costco/Sams?
Nothing. We spent too much money there so we quit going.

26. Beach or lake?
Beach

27. Do you think marriage is an outdated ritual?
No way.

28. Do you own property?
The land I live on.

29. Favorite guilty pleasure?
Dunno.

30. Favorite movie you wouldn't want anyone to find out about?
I have no idea. Even if I did, why would I tell you if I didn't want anyone to find out?

31. What's your drink?
Water

32. Cowboys or Indians?
Football vs. Baseball? Football.

33. Cops or Robbers?
Cops.

34. Who from high school would you like to run in to?
I could think of some people I would like to run over. ;)

35. What radio station is your car radio set on?
89.1 for my Sirius radio.

36. Norm or Cliff?
Cliff….I love that guy… he's in like every Disney movie

37. 'The Cosby Show' or 'The Simpsons'?
Cosbys

38. Worst relationship mistake that you wish you could take back?
What kind of question is that?

39. Do you like the person who sits directly across from you at work?
There is no one across the hall from me.

40. What famous person would you like to have dinner with?
I don't like to dine with people I have never met before.

41. Indoors or Outdoors?
It's too stinking hot to go out right now.

42. Have you ever crashed your vehicle?
Many times. But not in the last 9 years!

43. Have you ever had to use a fire extinguisher for its actual purpose?
No.

44. Last book you read for real?
Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows for real. It was really good.

45. Do you have a teddy bear?
I gave mine old one to Zoe years ago.

46. Strangest place you have ever brushed your teeth?
a tent at a campsite?

47. Somewhere in California you've never been and would like to go?
anywhere in California. Never been there.

48. Do you go to church?
Totally.

49. At this point in your life would you rather start a new career ?
No.

50. Just how OLD are you?
28!

A New Post, Finally!

2007-08-25T07:40:00.001-05:00

Sorry it has been so long since I've posted anything on here. I just finished the 7th Harry Potter book. I thoroughly enjoyed it. I never expected to get so obsessed with finishing the book. The 7th book should make for an awesome movie, with loads of action and special effects.

I don't have a lot to post about right now, but I'll leave you with some old pictures - just for laughs.

My Birthday is Today!

2007-08-06T08:08:00.000-05:00

Today is my 28th Birthday! So far I've gotten a new Onkyo A/V receiver, an awesome universal remote, and a check. The new receiver and remote are great, and who could be upset about getting money?

Rachel thought I should post this picture of my Dad's birthday present. I couldn't find any wrapping paper, so I used shiny tissue paper. I couldn't find any clear tape, so I used masking tape. Needless to say, it looks like a 4 year old wrapped it. Hopefully it will make my Dad laugh for his 60th birthday.

P.S. I just found out I got a Consumer Reports subscription for my birthday as well!

Quiz from Rachel

2007-07-30T19:35:00.000-05:00

Hi, my name is: Dave

When I'm nervous: I sweat - first hands, then gluteous maximus, then armpits. Not cool.

The last song I listened to was: "Outcast" by P.O.D.

If I were to get married right now my Best Man/Maid of Honor would be: My bro, Mark

By this time next year: I hope to have less debt than I currently do.

I have a hard time understanding: French

If I won an award, the first person I would tell would be: Rachel

Most recent thing I’ve bought myself: "Into the Wild", by Jon Krakauer

Most recent thing someone else bought me: Rachel bought me a new Onkyo A/V receiver for my birthday!

My favorite redhead is: Rachel's is a little red ...???...

My favorite blonde is: My children

The last person I kissed was: Rachel, even though she is still sick.

My middle name is: Louis

The last person I called was: Jared

The last person that called me was: Rachel, but before that it was Jared

In the morning I: take a shower, pee, get dressed, brush my teeth - not in that order

Last night I was: watching TV with Rachel

If I was an animal I'd be: A Liger ;)

Tomorrow I am: Going to remove a virus or two from an infected computer at work.

Tonight I am: Doing this quiz, then watching "The Closer" with Rachel.

I'm going to miss: being 27

My favorite color is: green

My heart is: still beating...

I'm excited about: All the Benzes coming down to visit after Rachel's surgery.

Addie's Birthday

2007-07-21T14:42:00.000-05:00

This is a picture of Addie yesterday morning, looking at her birthday presents. We got her a purple backpack with coloring stuff in it, as well as a "Dora Knows Your Name" play phone. You plug the phone into a computer using one of those mini USB cables, and you can program it to say just about anyone's name. So now it says "Hola, Addie!", and "Bye, Addie!", among other things. Addie seems to like it, and she always likes more coloring stuff. This has been a very Dora birthday for her. Just about everything she got from everyone was Dora related.

Addie loved going to see the Harry Potter movie yesterday. It was a good movie - I enjoyed it. We also got the 6th and 7th Harry Potter books today.

Zoe had her friend Amari spend the night last night. I think they had a lot of fun. They kept us up late, then we all went swimming this morning.

I stink at writing blog posts, so I usually leave this stuff to Rachel. I hadn't posted anything in a while, so I thought I would since I beat Rachel to it.

First Thought

2007-07-12T17:33:00.000-05:00

1. Cigarettes: Stinky
2. Sex: oh yeah
3. Relationships: I love my family
4. Your Ex: None
5. Football: Wildcats
6. Crack: Plumber
7. Food: Hash brown casserole
8. President: Bush
9. War: Guns
10. Cars: Infiniti G35
11. Gas Prices: $2.88
12. Pina Colada: never tried one
13. Fear: public speaking
14. Beyonce: couldn't identify her
15. Blonde: My babies
16. Brunette: My wife
17. One Night Stands: not too bright
18. Cell phones: are essential
19. Vanilla Ice Cream: good stuff, even better with chocolate syrup
20. Porta potties: tipping
21. High school: BGHS
22. Pajamas: Boxers
23. Wet Socks: hiking boots
24. The word HATE: pickles
25. My best friend(s): Rachel
26. Heartbreak: love
27. Love: Rachel
28. Divorce: Doesn't sound like fun
29. Parents: dad and mom
30. Trees: Nooma
31. Coffee: Don't drink it
32. Music: metal
33. Soccer: shin guards
34. Work: computers
35. Babies: lots of people having them right now
36. Sunsets: Orange

A Sad Excuse for a Nerd

2007-06-30T11:38:00.001-05:00

New Blog Name

2007-06-25T13:44:00.000-05:00

Apparently "Dave Benz" was a dumb name for a blog. Recently we ordered a new digital camera from thedigitalnerds.com, only to find out days later that the camera we ordered was on backorder for weeks. The digital nerds I spoke to at the digital nerds weren't particularly cordial. That led me to cancel my order with them and I placed a new order for the same camera at beachcamera.com - the absolute best place to buy a camera or camcorder. Beach Camera shipped my order the next business day. That led Rachel and I to determine that the digital nerds are more like the digital turds. I was so enamored with that name that I decided it would be the new name for my blog.

51 Confessions?

2007-06-22T20:25:00.000-05:00

1. The phone rings. Who do you want it to be?
Rachel, or one of my siblings.

2. When shopping at the grocery store, do you return your cart?
I go to Publix...they do it for you!

3. If you had to kiss the last person you kissed, would you?
Yes.

4. Do you take compliments well?
Not particularly.

5. Do you play Sudoku?
What is Sudoku?

6. If abandoned alone in the wilderness would you survive?
Yes, I would kill animals with my bare hands!

7. If your house was on fire, what would be the first thing you would do?
Run and go get my kids.

8. Who was the last person you shared beds with?
Rachel

9. Who do you text the most?
I don't text at all. They are $0.15 each now!

10. Favorite children's book?
Oh The Places You’ll Go-Dr. Suess

11. What color are your eyes?
Hazel

12. How tall are you?
6'0"

13. If you could do it over again, start from scratch, would you?
If I could do it with the knowledge I have now, or not? I'd probably do the same stupid stuff over again, if not.

14. Any secret admirers?
If I do, they are keeping the secret from me!

15. When was the last time you were at Olive Garden?
We tried to go there with Andrea a couple of months ago, but the place was crazy crowded at 4PM!

16. Favorite ex?
I don't have any exes

17. Where was the furthest place you traveled?
Alaska

18. Do you like mustard?
Nasty

19. Do you prefer to sleep or eat?
Eat

20. Do you look like your mom or dad?
Mom, except for Dad's nose

21. How long does it take you in the shower?
Around 10 minutes.

22. Can you do splits?
Absolutely not, unless my hips broke or something.

23. What movie do you want to see right now?
Ocean's 13

24. What did you do for New Year's Eve?
Stayed in. It's my anniversary. I think we ate some food... and watched a movie.

25. Do you think The Grudge 2 was crappy?
Didn't see it. It looked crappy.

26. Omitted by someone, or the counting was bad...per usual.

27. Was your mom a cheerleader?
I don't stink so!

28. What's the last letter of your middle name?
s

29. How many hours of sleep do you get a night?
around 8

30. Do you like care bears?
No way dude.

31. What do you buy at the Movies?
Bottled water and popcorn. Unless I sneak candy in.

32. Do you know how to play poker?
Yes

33. Do you wear your seatbelt?
Absolutely.

34. What do you wear to sleep?
Boxers

35. Anything big ever happen in your town?
Our wedding reenactment!

36. Also left out by the bad numberers.

37. Is your tongue pierced?
No

38. Do you like Liver and Onions?
Doesn't sound tasty.

39. Do you like funny or serious people better?
Funny

40. Ever been to L.A.?
No.

41. Who is on your mind right now?
That sexy woman sitting next to me.

42. Any plans for tonight?
Eat pizza and get laid. However, I was thinking about watching Mr. and Mrs. Smith.

43. What's your favorite song at the moment?
I dunno. I like lots of songs.

44. Do you hate chocolate?
That is an idiotic question. Of course I don't hate chocolate!

45. What do you and your parents fight about the most?
I have no idea.

46. Are you a gullible person?
I used to be.

47. Do you need a boyfriend/girlfriend to be happy?
I don't think I'd be happy without my Racho.

48. If you could work anywhere, where would it be?
I don't know.

49. Are you easy to get along with?
Probably.

50. What is your favorite time of day?
Business time.

51. Are you a generally happy person?
Yes, except for sometimes. I can get a funk on.

2007 NBA Champion San Antonio Spurs!

2007-06-15T09:34:00.000-05:00

Rachel wanted me to do this...

2007-06-12T15:55:00.000-05:00

Read my VisualDNA™ Get your own VisualDNA™

Everything is breaking

2007-06-09T20:22:00.000-05:00

First, my phone drowned. Then Addie dropped my Fossil watch Rachel gave me for our 1st anniversary and the face broke. Then the next day our digital camera broke. The screen is all jittery. What is up with everything breaking? I wanted to get a new A/V receiver this summer, but now I need a new watch and a new digital camera.

Of course, I did have fun riding the waves this week on the big turtle and the inflatable lounge chair (see Rachel's blog for pics). We also saw "Pirates of the Carribean: At World's End". It was a little long, so Addie got bored about 2 hours in. She made it through by roaming all over the theater (there was only one other person in there). It was a good movie though, and Zoe enjoyed it.

We got home today, and it is so hot! I guess we got used to the beach with mid 80s and a nice breeze all the time. Here, it is in the 90s and humid. Doesn't look like any rain in the forecast anytime soon either.

Go San Antonio Spurs! Soon to be 4 time NBA champions!

Finish the sentence...

2007-06-01T20:17:00.000-05:00

My ex... None. Rachel is the first and only.

Maybe I should... not sit on the toilet so long.

I love... my kids, and my wife... and basketball.

People would say that I'm...white and dorky. And strong.

I don't understand...Zoe with her palate expander in.

When I wake up in the morning... I take a shower? Weigh myself? Eat breakfast? Check the basketball scores.

I lost...the remote to my old Panasonic stereo. I found it later.

Life is full of... Family.

My past is... too weird.

I get annoyed when... people write checks at the store.

Parties are... occasionally fun.

I wish... I could spend all my time with my family...and watch basketball.

Dogs... are awesome.

Cats... are fun too.

Tomorrow... is Saturday!

I have low tolerance... for children with no respect for other people's property.

If I had a million dollars... I'd have a kick-butt home theater (Rachel says we already do).

I'm totally terrified... of dingleberries.

Oops

2007-05-30T12:10:00.000-05:00

My cell phone drowned yesterday. I put it in my swim trunks pocket when I walked to the pool. I thought (as I was putting it in my pocket) I would remember to take it out. When I got to the pool I took my shirt and flip-flops off and jumped into the pool. About 10 minutes later I saw a woman talking on her phone right next to our towels and stuff. I thought "Why is she standing so close to our stuff? Is she trying to take my phone?" Suddenly I realized that my phone was still in my pocket. Oops. One look at it revealed that it had drowned. The display on both sides was half full of water (it still is).

Needless to say, I had to go get a new phone this morning. It is a nice, basic phone about like I had before - it looks more slick and shiny (almost mirror-like) in person than in the picture. Sorry if anyone tried to call me before 11AM - but you can call me now! Unfortunately, I also lost all of my contacts (as well as my awesome Spurs and UK screensavers), but am in the process of trying to recreate them (thanks Luke and Andrea!). Thanks Rachel, for being so understanding of my stupidity.

A New Post

2007-05-24T20:00:00.000-05:00

I do not know what to post about. Rachel says I need a new post. I am currently watching the Cavs-Pistons game. It is very low scoring, thus, also kinda boring. When this series started, I really felt like the Cavs had no chance and Detroit would win in 5-6 games. Presently, it seems these two teams are very evenly matched. Both teams are obviously good defensive teams, but the Pistons' offense should be so much better. If the Pistons' offense does not improve, the Cavs have a shot to win this series.

Me being a Spurs fan, I want the team that comes out of the East to be a favorable matchup to the Spurs. It seems like the Cavs would have no chance at all in the Finals against the Spurs. The Pistons would be a more difficult team for the Spurs to play. Honestly though, the Spurs seem to be playing much better than any of the remaining teams. Assuming the Spurs keep playing this well, they can get ready for their 4th championship.

I know many people reading this did not want to read about basketball. Sorry, I didn't have anything else to post about.

Eight Random Facts About Me

2007-05-18T21:46:00.000-05:00

1. My hair sometimes drives my crazy. I like it short.

2. I have an ESPN.com addiction. I check it as often as my email when the NBA playoffs are going on.

3. I say "dude" too much. People think it is weird when I call my children "dude".

4. I am a spelling and grammer nazi. I am always trying to correct people's spelling and uses of their, there, they're, then, than, etc.

5. I only shave my face three days per week. I get bad razorburn otherwise.

6. I rarely read books. The last book I read was over a year ago. It was "Into Thin Air". The last book I read before that was 2 years prior, when I also read "Into Thin Air". I normally read magazines and stuff on the Internet, like ESPN.com. I have "Hannibal Rising" on my bedside table, and I am thinking about reading it.

7. I don't like math, but I like numbers and statistics.

8. I love my wife and kids very much!

Visiting the "dontist"

2007-05-16T19:28:00.000-05:00

Zoe, Addie and I went to the orthodontist yesterday. Zoe needed a checkup to see if we need to keep turning her palate expander. No surprise - we need to turn it for three more weeks. Addie seemed worried about being there, like she knew it was some kind of doctor. She kept calling it "Zoe's dontist". She eventually figured out he just wanted to look at Zoe's teeth. This morning, she called it the "o'dontist". She also took a dump in the dontist's bathroom. Nice.

The Suns-Spurs game should be interesting tonight in light of all of the suspensions. Go Spurs!

Addie Loves Superman

2007-05-08T21:02:00.000-05:00

When I went to Wal-Mart last Saturday to buy Rachel a bike, we bought "Night at the Museum" and "Superman Returns". As soon as we got home, Addie wanted to watch Superman. We watched Superman that day, and every day since. Addie loves Superman, and, according to Addie, Superman loves her. It is a cool movie though.

We went for a bike ride tonight. Addie wouldn't go with me in the bike trailer unless she had her "puter" (the portable DVD player). So she watched "Monster House" on our bike ride. I cannot believe how attached my kids are to technology.

The Spurs are playing the Suns again tonight. The Spurs won game 1, maybe they will also win game 2! Go Spurs!

New TV

2007-05-01T20:10:00.000-05:00

Here is the new TV for our bedroom. Our old one died a couple of days ago, so Rachel let me buy this one because it was a good deal (and she is awesome). It is a Sony WEGA XBR 34" HDTV. It is a beast (190lbs), but it looks awesome.

55 questions - From Rachel

2007-04-28T21:21:00.000-05:00

1. Where were you 3 hours ago? At my in-laws, eating steak.

2. Who are you in love with? Rachel

3. Have you ever eaten a crayon? No

4. Is there anything pink within 10 feet of you? No

5. When is the last time you went to the mall? Dunno

6. Are you wearing socks right now? No

7. Do you have a car worth over $2,000? Yes

8. When was the last time you drove out of town? When we went to KY a few weeks ago

9. Have you been to the movies in the last 5 days? No, I haven't been to the movies in the last 5 months

10. Are you single? No.

11. What is the last thing you had to drink? Water

12. What are you wearing right now? Boxers

13. Do you wash your clothes with whites and colors mixed together? Not very often

14. Favorite radio station? Sirius 90s alternative

15. Where were you last week at this time? At home, probably asleep since Rachel had to work Sunday, but didn't since Addie was sick and had to go to the doctor.

16. Have you bought any clothing items in the last week? Rachel bought me some shorts

17. When is the last time you ran? Today, when I played paintball

18. What's the last sporting event you watched? The Spurs vs the Nuggets tonight on ESPN HD

19. What is your favorite animal? turtle, cause I'm slow, and who doesn't like TMNT?

20. Your dream vacation? Alaska

21. Last person's house you were in? My in-laws

22. Last time you had sex? A few minutes ago.

23. Have you been in love? Yes

24. Do you miss anyone right now? No

25. Last play you saw? I think it was a pick and roll.

26. What is your secret weapon to lure in the opposite sex? My awesome tan.

27. What are your plans for tonight? Watch Spurs, have sex - but you already knew that

28. Who is the last person you sent a MySpace message or comment? I have no idea, I deleted my MySpace account.

29. Next trip you are going to take? I'm going to the beach

30. Do you wear clothes from Abercrombie or Hollister? What is Hollister?

31. Were you an honor roll student in school? Yes, until the last couple of years of high school

32. Did you make and fill out an NCAA basketball tournament bracket? 3 of them

33. Are you wearing any perfume or cologne? No

34. Are you due sometime this year for a doctor's visit? No

35. Where is your best friend? Sitting next to me

36. Do you smell EXPO markers? No

37. Do you have a tan? Not very often

38. What are you listening to right now? The Spurs game

39. Do you collect anything? Weight equipment

40. Who is the biggest gossiper you know? Dunno

41. Have you ever been drunk? Yes

42. Have you ever drank your soda from a straw? What kind of a question is that? Who hasn't?

43. What does your last text message say? I don't know, my phone is on the charger right now

44. Do you like hot sauce? Yes

45. Last time you took a shower? About 4 hours ago

46. Can you speak any foreign languages? Nein.

47. What was the last test you failed? In Computer Security class, but don't worry - I still got an A in the class.

48. Have you ever stolen anything? Yes, like a beer mug from Alaska.

49. What is your favorite holiday? Christmas

50.What are you doing now? Filling this out, watching the Rockets and Jazz now.

51. How do you feel about tattoos and piercings? whatever

52. Is your right toe bigger than your left toe? No, but my left toe does not have a toenail.

53. What city and state were you born in? Owensboro, KY

54. What is your favorite television show? 30 Rock?

55. What is your highest ACT score as of yet? I've never taken it.

Zoe is eating much better

2007-04-26T09:34:00.000-05:00

I think Zoe mostly figured out how to eat with her new orthodontic apparatus in her mouth. She ate steak and rolls last night, but said she couldn't eat cooked broccoli (yeah, right). This morning, she told me she couldn't eat chips. Her friend, Madelyn (sp?, everyone seems to spell this name differently), whom we drive to the bus stop every morning, also has a palate expander. She said, "Yes you can". Obviously Zoe still needs to get used to it some more. I think she is milking it for all it is worth, as we went out for ice cream again last night.

Addie seems to be feeling better, so Rachel just took her to day care this morning. She actually slept all through the night last night, so hopefully she will do well today. She said her neck still hurts though.

I'm sure Rachel will be proud that I actually posted something. I Love You Rachel!

Zoe got her palate expander today

2007-04-24T19:33:00.000-05:00

We thought she was going to get braces today as well, but no. I'm not sure when they are going to put on the braces. Maybe in a few months when the palate expander comes off. Zoe was scared about getting the expander put in, but it wasn't a big deal. She isn't having any pain, but is having trouble eating. We went and got milkshakes, and she also ate some bread and a fruit snack. I think she will be eating fine in a couple of days.

Addie still isn't feeling that great. Hopefully she will feel much better tomorrow (and sleep well tonight since we gave her some Lortab). We would like to thank everyone again for their prayers for Addie.

The NBA playoffs are here! Go Spurs!

A New Post

2007-04-18T20:00:00.000-05:00

Well...I did not win my fantasy basketball league (unless something miraculous happens tonight). Second place will have to do. It was fun, but I got my butt kicked this final week.

As for my server last week, it turns out it was a firewall problem. I uninstalled the problem firewall, and configured and turned on Windows Firewall. Everything works fine now.

Poor Addie hasn't been feeling well lately. She keeps saying her stomach hurts, and she hasn't been eating as much as usual. Tonight she had those same symptoms, as well as a fever of 101. Addie hasn't been acting like herself. I hope she feels better soon. We may have to take her to the doctor tomorrow.

Zoe is excited about going to spend the night with her friend tomorrow night. Rachel seems to be having a good week - she has been much less stressed out since she found out she is switching to pool. Good job Rachel!

Sorry about the post drought...

2007-04-12T20:08:00.000-05:00

Maybe I am a blog post camel (you know, like a urine camel). I wish I could write awesome stuff like Rachel - but I can't. I know I said that I wouldn't write about my fantasy basketball until it was over, but I am in the final game! The worst I can do now is second place. I'll have the results for you next week - I know you can't wait.

Rachel is such an awesome wife. She writes nice stuff about me all the time. She makes food I love. She watches NBA basketball with me. She does so much to make me happy.

I had a rough day at work today. My main server lost power for a long time Monday, then took forever to boot up Tuesday - and logged several errors during the bootup process. This morning I installed Win2k3 Server Service Pack 2, then restarted the server. It never restarted. I had to turn it off manually, then it took even longer than forever to boot up. Finally, it booted up. But, 6 hours later, it locked up and I had to manually restart it and endure another horrifically long bootup process. I wonder if it will make it through the night without locking up. Stupid Windows!

I'll have a better post for you next time.

Hey! We made this up!

2007-03-29T20:27:00.000-05:00

1. Do you pick your nose when no one is watching? All the time.

2. Have you ever farted and blamed it on a child? Many times.

3. Who is your best friend? Rachel.

4. Do you know multiple pirate jokes? Yes, several.

5. What is the background on your cell phone currently? The Spurs!

6. How many states have you "visited"? 13 and Bermuda

7. Any surgeries? Toenail extraction, wisdom tooth extraction, tonsillectomy.

8. Have you ever been dumped? Only by Rachel.

9. What is the longest flight you've been on? 8 hours to Alaska.

10. What color are your sheets right now? khaki.

30. If you could spend the day with anyone, who would it be? Timmy and Doob. And play HORSE.

We have intentionally left some numbers out, just so you will feel as though this is a legitimate quiz.

Who's Number 1?

2007-03-29T12:43:00.000-05:00

Why, Bob of course!

These are the final standings before the fantasy playoffs. This is my bye week this week, but I have a matchup next week. If I win next week, I will be in the final, so I can come in no less than 2nd place then. Of course, if I lose next week the worst I could do is 4th place. You never really know how your team is going to play at this point in the season. The good teams rest their good players for the playoffs, and the bad teams rest their "injured" good players to try to get a better draft pick. We will see how it goes.

Mark, get ready for next year because you are going down again (I'm sure our wives don't want to hear that)!

Also, everyone make sure you watch the video from my last post if you can. I spent a lot of time on it. :)

Zoe Can Ride Her Bike!

2007-03-25T13:40:00.000-05:00

Zoe can finally ride her bike. After months of us trying to get her to ride it, it took a 10 year old neighbor (Anna Leigh) to teach her to ride it. She was too scared to ride when we tried to teach her, but she caved to the peer pressure after Anna Leigh taught the 5 year old girl next door.

Zoe is doing great with it. She loves it! She goes out to practice her bike riding every day, and each day she gets better. I think she is going to need a new bike soon - she has outgrown her old one. Addie loves to ride bikes with her too.

Check out this video of them riding their bikes.

Da Quiz

2007-03-22T20:22:00.000-05:00

1. Married to Whom? Rachel

2. How long have you been married? 9 years and 3 months

3. Where did you get married? Bowling Green, KY in a magistrate's house

4. Where did you propose or were proposed to? In my house

5. Have you ever been married before your current marriage? No

6. Who "wears the pants" in the house? We both do, but I do more nowadays.

7. Who is the "bread-winner"? Me, now.

8. Do you have any children? 2

9. Do you own a home or rent? Own.

10. How many times a week do just the two of you go out? A couple, but usually just to lunch.

11. Do you have separate checking accounts? No.

12. What side of the bed do you sleep on? Anatomically speaking, the left.

13. Who does the laundry? Depends who is home on laundry days. We actually share that job 50/50.

14. Do you share a vehicle or each have your own? We each have one.

15. Do you get along with your in-laws? Yes.

16. Do you argue? Sometimes.

17. What is one thing about your spouse no one knows? If no one knows, I can't tell you!

18. What is your favorite physical feature of your spouse? I cannot list that feature here. ;)

19. What is one thing you would change about your spouse? Her inability to sleep sometimes.

20. Name a movie that will always remind you of your spouse? The Patriot

Bob is still in 1st place!

2007-03-16T12:02:00.000-05:00

Bob is still number 1! Looks like I'm going to hold onto the #1 seed for the playoffs that start in 10 days.

Pics from the Spurs Game

2007-03-14T16:40:00.000-05:00

Mark and I outside the AT&T Center

Mark and I inside the AT&T Center

Go Ginobli!

Unrelated to the Spurs - Rachel and I outside the Alamo

Pic of the Girls

2007-03-07T19:53:00.000-06:00

Here is a picture of the girls sitting on the couch:

Another Post

2007-03-03T20:29:00.000-06:00

Zoe was the Student of the Month last month, as well as a responsible bus rider. I guess that means that she didn't throw things at the bus driver or smoke on the bus or something. She has been doing very well at school lately. She has been able to learn all of her math, and still spells very well. She is also reading very well now.

Addie is still working on her potty training. She only went once in her pullup today, and only had one accident. It will take some time, but she is coming along. Addie is doing ok at school. She had a pretty good week (very few hitting or kicking episodes). Hopefully she will continue to keep her emotions under control at school.

Rachel had a busy week. She worked really hard and ended up being really tired at the end of week. I'm glad she still has the patience to put up with me. At least she didn't get attacked by a ninja squirrel. We went out to dinner tonight for a friend's birthday. The food was good, and the company was entertaining. I hope Rachel has a better week this coming week. Only one more week until San Antonio!

A Post

2007-02-22T20:27:00.001-06:00

Rachel is sitting next to me, telling me to post something. She has 81 posts and I only have 39 counting this one. Maybe I need to take more cough medicine so I can post more and be cool like her.

Random Thought #1. How can Jim Carrey kill people in that new movie? Does he laugh them to death?

Random Thought #2. Rachel made a hash brown casserole today for the first time. I ate half of it with my dinner, then Rachel took it away from me. Mmmmm.

Random Thought #3. Two weeks (or so) until San Antonio!

Random Thought #4. I'm ready to be an uncle. Who is going to step up to the plate?

Something new

2007-02-21T12:28:00.000-06:00

I have been doing a poor job posting things lately. Some random thoughts...

1. Go Bob! I am still in first place in my fantasy basketball league.

2. Go Big Blue! Kentucky broke their three-game losing streak last night against LSU. I hope they play well against Vandy this weekend.

3. Go Spurs! The Spurs also won last night, blowing out the Nuggets. Ginobli and Parker were both excellent last night, so much so that Duncan didn't have to do much. I think the Spurs are finally coming rounding into championship form for the last part of the season.

4. Go Marriage! I've been married to the most wonderful woman for over 9 years now. She has really been into basketball lately, watching most games with me. She especially enjoyed the Barkley-Bavetta race during All-Star weekend. Very impressive Rachel.

5. Go Exercise! I've still been lifting weights regularly, but have been unable to find anyone to play basketball or ride bikes with. I quit running as a New Year's Resolution, hoping to replace it with biking, but it has been tough to find the time to do that (since I don't want to do that at 5AM like I did running). Many of my friends have been or will be having babies, so they do not have nearly as much spare time as they used to. Maybe I should just buy Rachel a bike so she can ride with me. I don't think she would mountain bike with me, but we could go tackle those giant hills in the back of our neighborhood.

Rachel is the best

2007-02-15T19:14:00.000-06:00

Rachel is awesome! We had a great Valentine's day. We didn't make a big deal out of it, but it was fun.

Addie got a Patrick (from Spongebob) toy at school with her Valentines. He had gel for his hands and feet, and would walk down the wall if you throw him at it. He was a pretty cool toy, except for the fact that Addie was scared of him! If you threw him at the wall, Addie would stare at him, terrified that he could move on his own down the wall. Later that night, Addie refused to walk out into the living room by herself (she wanted me to hold her), because she thought Patrick was roaming the living room walls. It was hilarious! Of course, by the end of the evening, Patrick had lost two hands and a leg, thanks to Zoe and Addie.

I made this one up

2007-02-07T08:09:00.000-06:00

10 questions

1. How tall are you? 6'0" (almost)

2. What are your favorite vacation destinations? Alaska! San Antonio, Disney World, KY

3. Favorite ways to get exercise: weightlifting, basketball, riding my bike

4. Name and location of your first elementary school: Highland Elementary, Owensboro, KY

5. Do you still have your tonsils? No, I had them out when I was 5.

6. Where do you normally do your grocery shopping? Publix (sometimes I make a quick run to Food Fart)

7. How many times you have had your right big toenail removed (if none, how many times have you had an ingrown toenail)? removed 3 times (twice, permanently - and it is growing back again on one side!)

8. Do you have stinky feet? According to my wife, I do.

9. What was your favorite job you've ever had? My job right now is pretty good, but the paper route produced some good memories!

10. What is the worst job you have ever had? Working at Krystal! Blah, I hate onions!

Bonus Question: How stupid was this survey? Very.

I'm sure someone wants me to do this

2007-02-02T09:24:00.000-06:00

41 Things You Never Think to Ask

1. Have you ever been searched by the cops? more than once - I had 14 run-ins with the police in high school

2. Do you close your eyes on roller coasters? not on purpose

3. When's the last time you've been sledding? 2 years ago

4. Would you rather sleep with someone else, or alone? With someone else.

5. Do you believe in ghost poops? no

6. Do you consider yourself creative? no

7. Do you think O.J. killed his wife? Probably

8. LeBron or D-Wade? Your mom

9. Do you stay friends with your ex's? I don't have any ex's

10. Do you know how to play poker? Yes

11. Have you ever been awake for 48 hours straight? Probably at some point in high school

12. What's your favorite commercial? The Nationwide commercials, especially the one where the kid builds the robot and then it destroys everything.

13. What are you allergic to? not much

14. If you're driving in the middle of the night, and no one is around do you run red lights? Yes

15. Do you have a secret that no one knows but you? I don't think so

16. San Antonio Spurs or Dallas Mavericks? Go Spurs!

17. Have you ever been Ice Skating? yes, I'm better at that than roller-skating

18. How often do you remember your dreams? Weekly

19. When was the last time you laughed so hard you cried? I can't remember

20. Can you name 5 songs by Metallica? totally

21. What's the one thing on your mind now? What is wrong with the Teleform computer? I just replaced the motherboard and reinstalled Windows, and now the $700 scanner attached to it is dead. What a waste of time, can I just smash it?

22. Do you believe in love at first sight? No

23. Do you know who Ghetto-ass barbie is? no

24. Do you always wear your seat belt? yes

25.What cell service do you use? Sprint

26. Do you like Steve Nash? He's ok

27. Have you ever narrowly avoided a fatal accident? many times

28. What do you wear to bed? boxers

29. Been caught stealing? no, I'm more stealthly than Mark

30. What shoe size do you have? 10.5

31. Do you truly hate anyone? No

32. Classic Rock or Rap? Both

33. If you could sleep with one famous person, who would it be? Rachel!

34. Are you a Virgin? No, I'm a Leo

35. Have you ever sang in front of the mirror? no, but I do flex in front of the mirror

36. What food do you find disgusting? pickles

37. Do you sing in the shower? not on weekdays

38. Did you ever play, "I'll show you mine, if you show me yours"? I don't know.

39. Have you ever made fun of your friends behind their back? Yeah, but I also make fun of my friends to their face.

40. Have you ever stood up for someone you hardly knew? I dunno

41. Have you ever been punched in the foot? No.

Addie enjoys food

2007-02-01T18:23:00.000-06:00

Zoe's Bowling Party Pics

2007-01-29T19:40:00.000-06:00

Here are some pics from Zoe's family bowling party

The Wound

2007-01-16T19:15:00.000-06:00

So here's a picture of Addie's wound that required 5 stitches:

Also, I love my wife very much!

Rachel stole my posting material

2007-01-16T12:23:00.000-06:00

Sorry I haven't posted lately. Rachel stole all my good posting material. She puts up all of the good pics before me. I'll think of something and get something good up soon. In the meantime, check out how Bob is doing in his fantasy basketball league - especially his record last week: