February 2012
1 post
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Atheism in America
Here is a link to a fantastic story by Julian Baggini on Slate.com. It really details the struggles atheists in our country go through. Now don’t get me wrong I am not saying you should feel sorry for me or my family, we can take care of ourselves. If you don’t want to read 4 pages then just skip to the end and read the final paragraph.. it really does say it all.
Click here for...
January 2012
5 posts
1 tag
Can you do it?
This is a fantastic video explaining how simple it is to stay healthy. Even if you are in a high risk category it is simple to do. That said I still don’t do it… but I am going to start tonight! Thank you Dr Mike Evans.
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Cheesecake Factory.. Customer Service Success!
It’s time to talk about good customer service. While on my trip to CES in Las Vegas this week we ate at The Cheesecake Factory. And even though they stole my idea of a hamburger coupled with macaroni and cheese they did a good job with what could have been a customer service fail. The table placed the orders and all seemed fine. We then got our meals and instead of my order I got a...
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CES Day 1 - Non Technical Review
I will post more technical review on products as I dig in as the week goes. Here is a quick update on some non technical items that I saw today.
Here is my next Audi.
Here was a cute little robot that could balance itself even when completely still. Very impressive.
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China, The Future Is Now...
This video tells us all we need to know about why the United States is going to be relegated to playing backup quarterback in the future. Now I am not an expert in construction or unions (which I am not a fan) but.. Building a 30 story building in the United States would take months if not years. The costs for a project like this would probably be 100x the amount as well. And with the...
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My Unwanted Xmas Present
Every year I tell Mandee and the boys that I don’t want them to waste the money on a present for me. Sometimes they listen and sometimes they don’t. This year I made the comment once again but of course they didn’t listen.
If you know me you know I am a bit of a coffee snob. I use a french press at home and have decided that is as good as it gets.. period. So when I opened...
November 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Jerry Sandusky & Penn State... Disgusting
Normally I don’t care about college politics and power. In this case I can’t stop thinking about the Jerry Sandusky situation and Penn State. By this time we all know the details about how Sandusky molested young boys and how Penn State and Joe Paterno knew about it but did nothing.. other than allowing him to retire a hero etc.
I think the higher ups at Penn State will eventually...
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Middle Men - Good Movie!
If you want to learn a little about how commerce on the Internet (and every other medium) really takes off you should watch Middle Men. You guessed it, the porn industry pushes innovation that others then copy. This movie isn’t overly dirty but just enough to keep your attention.
October 2011
2 posts
1 tag
Just be happy!
Here is a great short video about being happy from the man.. Gary Vay-ner-chuk!
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Great Story About Christopher Hitchens →
September 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Great Company Creed
“I will never stop learning. I won’t just work on things that are assigned to me. I know there’s no such thing as a status quo. I will build our business sustainably through passionate and loyal customers. I will never pass up an opportunity to help out a colleague, and I’ll remember the days before I knew everything. I am more motivated by impact than money, and I know that Open Source is...
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Fantastic Idea!
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Blake's Final Update
Blake had his final checkup on Monday and it couldn’t have gone better. He was given clearance to go back to work and most importantly for him.. start driving again. Mandee went riding around with him later that day and it was like riding a bike. He still has to work on his strength to get ready for tennis next spring but he is pretty much back to normal.
Now that he is through his rehab...
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Standing Desks.. All the Rage!
For those that know me they know I am a big fan of standing desks. Here is another great story about them with some information on where to get one so you don’t have to have one built like I did… enjoy!
Being A Desk Jockey Makes You Sick. Design, To The Rescue
August 2011
5 posts
1 tag
Blake's Recovery Update
Yesterday was a good day. Blake was able to hit some tennis balls against the wall while Bryce and I played a quick set. It was good to see Blake out there and if you didn’t know what he went through you would have had no idea by his performance. He looked like the Blake of old. I am confident once the Dr. gives him a complete clean bill of health he will be back to 100% soon. Once that...
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Khan Academy, tell your kids.
While watching some recent TED videos I ran across the Khan Academy. Initially I was a little disappointed Ricardo Montalban didn’t walk onstage but I got over it pretty quick. Here is the TED Talk explaining what the Khan Academy is.
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Super.. Fun Movie
Anytime you mix Rainn Wilson, Ellen Page & Kevin Bacon a movie has to be good. It is a good independent film and definitely has that feeling. The beatings are nice and gruesome with a comedic air about them. I would recommend it to those who are looking for a fun movie with no thinking needed.
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Boys First Tattoo
Well our normal guy (Chris Garcia, Club Tattoo) was on vacation so we decided to try a new shop. After checking out yelp.com we went with Atomic City Tattoo. We all got our tattoos from Johnny Vegas and they are all solid. Since the boys are 17 I made sure they got something they wouldn’t regret. We all agreed as long as they were family oriented there would be no regret. Here are some...
July 2011
3 posts
1 tag
Great Idea.
When you run across a great idea you should share it. Pizza is one of the two or three food groups in our house so needless to say we eat quite a bit of pizza. Now that is it clear that I am a pizza expert I wanted to share something.
Not only does the Great Value brand from Wal-Mart taste good their packaging is the best by far. They make it so easy to just peel the top right off the plastic...
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Horrible Bosses... Great Movie
This was a great movie tonight. Jason Bateman and Jason Sudeikis are always fantastic but Charlie Day from It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia fame was the best. If you haven’t watched It’s Always Sunny you are missing one of the best shows on tv.
Jennifer Aniston was a very believable sexually abusive boss as well. Overall I recommend it highly.
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Liberal Bee Jays... Really?
Check the picture.
June 2011
7 posts
1 tag
Great day at Future of Web Apps
I had a few personal goals on my trip this week. Thanks to some very down to earth guys I was able to accomplish them all. I have followed Gary Vaynerchuk (@garyvee) for a few years and he is amazing. I wanted a picture with him and voiala.. He is exactly as he seems in his videos on the web. Very down to earth and was genuinely happy to talk to anyone who wanted some of his time.
Next...
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Nick Charles, RIP.
He embraced death the way I hope I have the courage to. Watch this video interview to understand.
http://www.cnn.com/2011/US/04/06/nick.charles.facing.death/index.html
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True Grit... eh...
I was really looking forward to the new True Grit. I hate to say that I was disappointed. Jeff Bridges was fantastic as always and the little girl was pretty good as well. Other than those two the acting was questionable and the writing overall just wasn’t as good as I had hoped. I don’t recommend this one at all. I now need to go back and watch the original to see if it was just...
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2011 Spring Tennis Tournament.. Success!
Even though it took 13 hours to complete the tournament yesterday was a huge success. We had 21 entries for singles and 16 for the doubles tournament. We had some great matches and overall the competition was fantastic.
My body hates me this morning but it was worth it to get that may people (especially the kids) out there to enhance their game. Brett Jensen was the stud of the day winning the...
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Blake Update - 6/14/11
Today Blake had his first follow-up appointment with the Neurosurgeon in Wichita to read his latest x-rays. It was a very good appointment and left us even more confident that he is on the right track to get back to 100%. He still has six weeks of back/neck brace but so far so good.
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Your Own Art Museum
I ran across this cool site from Intel this week. It basically creates your own personal art museum based on your Facebook profile. I was skeptical at first but I have watched my own a couple of times and each time feel more sentimental about what great family and friends I have. I am sure you will feel the same way, enjoy. (don’t forget to turn up the audio on your pc)
Just click here...
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Blake Update - 6/7/11
We are a month into the three month recovery and all is well. Blake got new x-rays today in preparation for his appointment with the Neurosurgeon next week. Here are some of the better x-rays we received but they are still tough to read due to his scoliosis so don’t be too worried when you see the views of his entire spine. It is pretty obvious where the broken vertebrae is but we have no...
May 2011
6 posts
2 tags
Too Big To Fail... Great Movie, Depressing Reality
You gotta love HBO. They come up with some of the best entertainment on television or the theater. We watched Too Big To Fail this weekend and it is a great movie.
I have paid close attention to the process our country went through with the recent economic downturn. And it is ridiculously depressing to understand how our country was raped by big business and the government. A movie like...
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Hangover 2.. Pretty Solid Sequel
It is extremely hard to follow one of the funniest movies of all time but director Todd Phillips did well. Although the previews are funny rest assured those aren’t the funny scenes. The best parts of the movie are just too dirty to show in the previews. Overall I give it a solid grade and do recommend you watch it in the theater so you can get the benefit of the oooohhhs and aaahhss...
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Mandee's New Ride
With the Honda out of commission Mandee had a long week trying to find just the right new car. After many phone calls to different dealers across the state she found what she wanted. It is a fun little crossover with all the features she was looking for. We tried to buy locally but there just wasn’t anything we wanted for the money. We ended up going to Salina yesterday to pick up her...
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MacGruber.. better than expected!
I had friends tell me MacGruber was a good movie but I just found it hard to believe. I finally took some time this morning to check it out. I have to admit it was much better than I expected. It is a very dumb humor movie and as long as you enjoy that type of thing then this one is for you.
Update for Blake - 5/9/11
Well 24 hours after we got home and all is well. Today was uneventful which is a good thing. He was obviously bored but the Internet and Xbox will make it a little easier to take. We moved him to the upstairs guest room and tried to get his area somewhat back to normal.
Self Respect... Do You Have Any?
Here is a link to a great story about self respect. If you always do the right thing and don’t worry about what others think then it isn’t for you… if not then it’s worth the read. Stop Caring About What Other People Think and Get Back Your Self-Respect.
April 2011
13 posts
Colby Meet, Great Results
The Hays High Tennis Team did great today. Everyone ended up taking 2nd place and the team took 2nd overall. This was a great warm up for our conference tournament on Monday and Regionals next Friday. I am very proud of the effort the guys are putting out.
1 tag
Smart 1st pick for the Dallas Cowboys.
Jerry finally broke the tradition of not taking an offensive lineman in the first round of the draft. Although it isn’t sexy it is a very smart pick. Tyron Smith will be able to come in and fill a gaping hole at right tackle. As of now Jerry looks pretty relaxed so I don’t think we will see him trading up to get back in the first round. Guess we will have to wait for tomorrow night...
1 tag
Tendinitis is Fun!
Oh how I love getting old. Between tennis, bowling, volleyball, golf and 17 years of working a mouse and keyboard for too many hours a day I am now feeling the pain. I am now in this fabulous custom wrist brace and physical therapy twice a week for six weeks.
I am a terrible patient considering I played tennis without the brace today.. not to mention I am writing this blog post without it...
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Geico.. genius!
I never thought they would come up with a commercial funnier than the Caveman series but this one makes me laugh out loud every time I see it.
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Good pics!
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I am dying slower than you!
A few weeks ago I started a test at work, a standing desk. I had read about them for years but never took the time to build one. When I started having trouble with my wrist I decided to look at my entire routine and thought, why not give a standing desk a try. After the first two weeks I had a cool metal desk built and it looks and works fantastic. I did keep my sitting desk for paperwork but...
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Prom, Prom, Prom.. nuff said
Tonight is our first prom as parents. Here are the pics before the prom. The boys and their dates look nice. Hopefully the boys have a lot of fun and don’t get into too much trouble after.
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Soccer Saturday
Even though Blake and Bryce are done with soccer on Saturday’s it doesn’t mean I can sit on my a— playing xbox. Here is a sweet save by my nephew Tabasco.. yes that is his real name.
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Hays Invitational 2011
Well the day didn’t go as well as planned but it wasn’t horrible either. Overall the team is ahead of where we were last year so that is a plus. One of my main goals for the team was to improve and they are holding up their end of the bargain there.
Here is a link to the Hays Daily News story.
2 tags
Tennis in Cimarron 2011
Our second varsity meet is in the books. After a rough start for the team we came on strong. Taylor Ermoian dominated the tournament going 3-0 and taking first place. Blake and Bryce had a rough first match but figured it out to go 2-1 to take third place. Ben Glassman’s road to third was much like Blake & Bryce’s. Hunter & Cody had a tough day all around going 1-2 taking...
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Live Life to the Fullest!
I remember watching Nick Charles growing up. He was never an influence or someone I thought much about. Now that he is dying of terminal cancer I am thinking of him. This very short video from CNN will make sure I think of him often. He has a great attitude and is thinking about what is important in life. With all of our daily struggles we should take a break and try to live with a different...
2 tags
Colt.45 at Battle of the Bands 2011
Last night was an awesome show for Colt.45. There were 6 bands in all and the boys should have gotten 3rd place but they were overlooked for some reason. Oh well it was easily their best show so far. Blake went to prom in Damar and made it back with literally minutes before they would have lost the opportunity to play. Here are the videos from the evening.
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Tennis is Officially Here!
Well our first tennis tournament of 2011 is in the books. Blake & Bryce played pretty solid all day but ran into a buzz saw in their first match against Salina South. They beat Derby in their second round match and then lost to Buhler in the 5th/6th place match. We have some work to do but I am proud of how they stayed positive and played hard.
March 2011
8 posts
1 tag
Karate Kid Johnny Sighting
We watched Hot Tub Time Machine for the umpteenth time last night which was good as usual. But this time was a little different. For the first time I noticed an actor I hadn’t before. The gambling guy in the bar with the gun is William Zabka or better known as Johnny Lawrence from Karate Kid. So not only does the movie take my back to my childhood with the music and obvious 80’s...
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Gotta Love Steve Martin
Mandee forwarded this to me the other day. Enjoy the song and if you don’t follow Steve Martin on Twitter you should. @SteveMartinToGo
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Freakonomics... Great Movie!
If you care at all about analyzing data to make better economic decisions this movie is for you. It grabs you right from the start and doesn’t let go. Best of all it’s on Netflix as a Play Now.