New Toy

My wife got a cool little figurine for me this weekend - it is a Marian Hossa Thrashers "Sculptured" Action Figure. It is extremely realistic looking. I brought it in to work today and everybody thought it looked really cool! I know it is kind of geeky to have stuff like this at work, but that's what I am. I have him right beside my Darth Tater. I am sure my little office collection will grow - but it makes me feel at home and the cube is my personal space...

Build A Sandcastle

I had the absolute best time building this virtual sandcastle online. I was really disappointed this year to find out that we would not be able to go on vacation. All the time that we had was used up with my wife being out on maternity leave with our newest son. I used up all my leave staying out to take care of her and spend time with my boys.

No worries, though, because I was able to Build A Sandcastle online with my 4 year old! This has got to be one of the neatest things to do. Not only can you choose from a variety of walls, towers and entrances, but they give you the option to add water, colorize each piece and move the items in front or behind each other. If you don't like something you did, it allows you to revert that particular shape to its original settings. You can also re size the item or completely remove it.

If that wasn't enough, you can add accessories to it like starfish, shells and flags. Once you are finished with the sandcastle, you can e-mail it to anyone you want or you can save it to your computer to make into a desktop. As you can see from our creation, it is extremely realistic looking. I think my son and I are going to make a couple more and experiment with all the options we can!

Practical Steps: Solving Immigration, American Identity and Border Security

For national security reasons, it is vital we regain control of our border. Congress should pass a narrowly written emergency border bill to finish the necessary fence in less than a year and to have complete border control within two years.

I think we need to go a little further and allow anyone that discovers an illegal to report them. For instance, school districts don't have the right or authority to report someone if they are here illegally. This is a criminal we are talking about - someone who does not respect the law - to me it is no different than someone walking into our childrens' schools and taking whatever they want. You would report that, wouldn't you? Then why should we not have the right to report this type of crime...

I downloaded and read this article from Newt.org about these "deja vu" comments made during the first Ammnisty mess back in 1986 as comapred to comments being made today concerning the current bill.

read more digg story

Irritating Commercials

I have some commercials that I hate so much I actually refuse to listen or be a patron. For example - those stupid D.Geller & Son commercials. This last one with the helium has to be the most moronic I've ever heard! What about this British guy from Simply Direct Mortgage that turns southern when he says words like "five", "line" and "fight". Unless you've heard it, it will not make sense to you. How about the stupid money lover guy from Burger King that does nothing but whisper. I just have to turn the radio down or switch stations when this fool comes on. Finally, this guy talking about Lance Crackers draws out the word "cracker" with a northern accent about as bad as Jessie Ventura drawing out "Minnesota". It's like he says Minesoooooooooooooooota. This guy says craaaaaaaaacker. I just realized I spend way to much time on the road!!!

The Police are back!

Win a New York fly-away to see The Police live.

I was so excited to find out that The Police were going on tour again. I am certain that it will be a great show. They have so many songs that I enjoy listening to. The cool thing is that the new "Best of" police cd has ALL good songs on it.

I think out of all the songs on the album, I can say that "Wrapped Around Your Finger" is probably my top pick. The style of this song is a little bit of a departure of their normal Reggae inspired sound. It is more of a Reggae Ballad, which is extremely unique. I am certain that Sting's powerful vocals are still as strong today as they were when these songs were written. I don't know anyone who can match his vocal style! Stewart Copeland and Andy Summers are truly talented as well to be a part of a 3 piece and produce as much sound as they do.

The Police have definitely influenced others to think outside the box when it comes to music. They took a style of music, put their own artistic freedom and made it into a beloved classic. I think bands like The English Beat and the Mighty Mighty Bosstones owe a debt of gratitude to the The Police for giving this brand of music a voice in contemporary art. I can't wait to get my hands on a copy of this police cd!

New Chair

I got into work this morning and was happy to find that I had a new chair waiting for me. I have been having bad back problems lately. It could be carrying around this 14 pound child in a 15 pound carrier...

Anyway, this thing has just about everything adjustable. The one thing I really like is the fact that the seat bottom is adjustable making it easier for me to sit back all the way and have the chair actually keep me sitting up straight. It also has arm rests that are more for your elbows which is perfect for a computer geek like myself.

Finally, I am really pleased because, as we were looking for chairs, I made sure that I got one that had a 5+ hour work time logo next to the photo. This means that the chair is comfortable all day at work. The other one that I had, I was usually hurting by lunch time.

Meade MySKY

With Father's Day right around the corner, I hear women complaining constantly about finding a gift for their husbands. One of the local radio stations had a segment yesterday with all kinds of cool gadgets. Everything that they had on there had some sort of link back to what the dad loved.

Although I am not super knowledgeable in the area of Astronomy, I am extremely fascinated with the thought that some of the light we see in the night sky has been traveling for thousand of years. Also, it is interesting to me that sailors would use the stars to guide their way.

Like most dads, I enjoy spending time with my son, and it is a lot of fun when I can educate him on things he is genuinely interested in. We talk about the starts and the moon a lot. Although he is only 4, I always encourage him to learn as much as he can about anything he show an interest in.

So that is why I think that the Meade MySKY would be a perfect gift for any dad who may be interested in Astronomy or want to share knowledge of the night sky with their children. Since Meade makes some of the best telescopes, this addition will guide you with everything you could need to help you understand what you are looking at. The bright LCD gives you a great, rich multimedia experience. How cool would it me just to point the viewfinder into the night sky and get a quick lesson on the celestial object? This is something I know I would enjoy - I am sure the sailors back in the day had no clue something like this would ever be available!

This is a sponsored post!

Beach Ball Day

The boy is always doing things that make me laugh. I had to share this one from earlier today:

After finishing my shower this morning, I walked into the hall to get my clothes out of the dryer. As I looked into his room, he is standing there watching television with his t-shirt on and nothing else. I asked him why he didn't have his underwear on to which he replied, "It's Beach Ball day at school - I don't have to wear any underwear." he then proceeded to put on his swim trunks. I supposed that anything with the word beach in it is an automatic clue to beach-wear! He is so funny!