Turning into traffic

Mobile blogging?

2011-03-07T12:14:00.001-05:00

I have installed the Blogger App to my beloved Droid. Will I start blogging regularly? Who knows!

Zoom, Emma, Zoom!

2008-04-28T13:46:00.002-04:00

After about a yer of Emma wanting nothing more from her Tricycle than to be pushed, she has decided it is more fun to peddle.

She was off like a shot. "I wanna go fast, Daddy!" As she barrelled down the sidewalk.

We made two circuits of Lexington/Castine walk, once in the morning to wear her down for her nap, and again after dinner.

She loved it!

Emma's Ears are A-OK!

2008-04-21T23:04:00.003-04:00

Today we went to see the ENT specialist for her most recent follow-up for her tubes. Well, it was the LAST! They has migrated far enough down teh ear canal that he could just reach in an grab them (with some very interesting forceps). Bonus, he used a scope that had a video camera in it and we got to watch him do everything on a big screen mounted to the wall of the room.

On top of that, the pressure test showed that, even without the tubes in place, fluid was not building up and she was draining normally. It helps taht she has a bit of an earn infection and a mild case of tonsillitis right down, because he could really see the draining occurring. All in all, that news was well worth the over 2 hours we spent at the office.

So, we're keeping her tubes. I'll clean them off at work and either put them on a string or in a bottle for posterity. They may look a little gross now, but they are Teflon and should clean up nicely...and I do have access to a sonicator and plenty of solvents at work...

We capped off the evening with the first Dollar Night of the season at Covaleski Field. We got to see Mayor Joe as we were waiting in line. He's fantastic there, actually helping people carry their food and wrangle kids. You won't see George Steinbrenner doing that when the Yankees play. I'm glad he's involved with the organization and is committed to keeping the Silver Hawks in South bend. Anyway...Emma enjoyed the 3 innings of the ball game that we could stay for. She got to hug Swoop, eat ballpark food, win a frisbee, and dance and clap to the music.

Being a home owner can be fun!

2008-04-14T23:11:00.003-04:00

Quick note tonight. Christy found a leak in the laundry room this evening, so after I was finished doing the whole weekend's worth of dishes, I get to run downstairs and see what she's found.

Lucky! That's what we are! It was just a clog in the drain. Some liquid snake and a medium cycle worth of hot water and it as fine. But that little bit of scare in having to deal with some plumbing repair really gets to you. The "what if is this is a bigger problem" really sucks when I was trying to reassure Christy that it would be work just fine.

Good new is that Emma didn't seem to care at all. She was more than content to just play in the living room while Christy and I hovered over the Washing machine. But believe me, I wouldn't trade all the little problems with plumbing getting clogged, lawns being attacked my critters, fencing falling down in the wind and outside lights shorting out in a rain storm for an apartment again to save my life!

Do you own a watch?

2008-04-09T10:35:00.007-04:00

Well first of all, I don't own a watch. I dislike watches in fact. But I am keenly aware of time.

I sit here in my cubicle, in my lab waiting, wondering where the Grad Student that was supposed to be here a half hour ago is. I wonder if she still expects that I will be able to provide the training needed for her to complete her work. Does she even realize there are other duties I have to fulfill while here?

I doubt it. At least I have had time to defrag my computer and clean off my desk a bit.

But I sit here and wait. I type and I wait. I mutter and I wait. I straighten up all my certificates of attendance to this seminar or that class, and I wait. My cubicle will be tidy by the end of this...

Waiting is easy, sitting is hard.

Walk or run?

2008-04-07T10:22:00.004-04:00

Well, I stepped on a scale for the first time in about a year yesterday. WOW! 291.2 pounds! AN all time high! I knew I was slipping, but I've gained about 16 pounds during Emma's lifetime...by this rate I'll be over 350 when she graduated high school!

So, last week I had been mulling around the idea of participating in the Sunburst 5K "fun run" (two words I have never been able to associate with each other). I am now doubting I could do that in the time between then and now. So what I think I will do is the Family Walk on Friday May 30th and then the 5K "Fitness Walk" on Saturday morning!

Christy can be talked into the Fitness Walk, and it will be fun. early in the morning so we can still have a whole lot of the Holiday Saturday to play with!

Only when you're in a hurry...

2008-04-02T09:43:00.002-04:00

So how come slow trains, octogenarian drivers and broken stoplights all wait for you to be in a hurry before all aligning into some commuting hell trifecta?

Seriously, 25 minutes at a train crossing in morning traffic, which the car behind be so close I couldn't try to run around and find another route, even if there was one! Oh well, at least the technician that was supposed to be here by 9 am is late as well.

My Saturday night dinner

2008-03-31T23:17:00.003-04:00

So Saturday Christy and I went to J. Willy's Bar and Grille with Casey and Kelly. Christy had been jonesin' to go there since Gordon Ramsey was there a few weeks ago. Christy was sick when he was there, so she didn't get to go "see" the transformation.

See Christy is really impressed with Gordon Ramsey's Kitchen Nightmares show on BBC. She was excited to here that he might be in the area for the American version (Airing on Fox this fall). Craptastic thing was that she decided to get sick as a dog only to wake up from cold/flu medicine induced nap to the noon news that Ramsey was in own tight then. Oh well, that's Murphy messin' with ya.

So we finally got a nice night away from kid and decided that since Casey and Kelly were in the same boat we should at least go see what he place looks like. I was impressed.

It's a laid back, but very nice looking place. quite a few 4 top tables and "horse shoe" shaped booths that look like they could sit between 4-6 folks, with a bunch of 6 tops set into another section. A separate, but opened bar (so no smoking at all, I am still grateful for that St/ Joseph county!). TVs out of the way but visible and two GIGANTIC projection screen TVs right smack dab in the middle of the dining area (very nice for tourney time, even if the hockey game was on some small one in the corner).

Any way, the food was very good and not too expensive. Hell, the four of us couldn't break $100 even with 2 appetizers, 4 entrees drinks, some more drinks (c'mon it was me and Casey), and deserts.

All in all, it was a very good dinner. Much better than some cookie-cutter T.G Appleganili's, that for sure. We talked to our waitress and found out that the whole menu is Gordon Ramsey's input and everything is made there, even the fantastic chocolate pie I had.

We'll defiantly go back there. I wonder if Emma would like the grilled cheese?

2008-03-31T09:35:00.003-04:00

I haven't kept up with this in forever!

I know that one of the best ways to keep creative , professionally, at home an in general, is to BE creative everyday. So I'm going to try to put more words on paper, well pixels on screen at least, starting today. I may rant ramble or even just muse, but I will write.

I do know that, technically speaking, my writing is not the best. I love the run on sentence so much I never see it coming. Hopefully, I can work on proper writing while I throw word out to make sense.

So a quick catch up since June 2006 when I last bothered to commit any time to this space..

My daughter is growing up VERY fast! She's fantastic and I can't honestly imagine my life without her anymore.
My career is doing well. I've settled into the fact that I am a technician and i like it! I'm not going to get rich, but we'll get by. I just enjoy my work and the thing I get to do with it to contemplate leaving right now.
I'm still a dork...I've cut back considerably on my comic book reading/buying, but at heart, i love them and if I could I'd bring hone almost all of them every week!
I still a bigger dork...on top of playing HeroClix for almost 6 years now, 6 months ago I volunteered to be a"regional" envoy. Envoy is the term that Wizkids uses for the poor saps that agreed to give away a big chunk of their free time to facilitate game play. Well as a Regional Envoy, I have the responsibility to keep in contact with area venues (places that host games) and other envoys, make sure that all the rules are being followed and to help monitor the game's health in the local market.
Christy is working for a wood distribution company, if she wants to tell people about that I'll let her do it.

Well, let's see if I can keep this up for more than a few days before getting bored and forgetting all about it again!

Our family's great loss

2006-06-15T22:01:00.000-04:00

On Sunday June 12th, I lost perhaps the toughest human being I have ever known, my Grandmother. The funeral home prepared a beautiful story of life and a memorial film that can be found at Life Story Funeral Homes.

It is so wonderful though, that I wanted to include it here so the folks that know me, but never had a chance to meet my Grandmother can know her through this.

Bernice Loftus was a caring and compassionate woman who had gained much wisdom and strength throughout her lifetime. She faced challenges that came her way with perseverance and found ways to turn tragedy into beauty. She adored her loved ones and taught her children to value honesty, hard work, and education.

The decade of the 1920s was a time of optimism and change in the United States. William and Caroline (Berning) Bradtmueller of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, welcomed several of their children into the world during this time, and on December 27, 1927, they were thrilled to receive their eleventh bundle of joy, little Bernice. Bernice grew up chasing after her big brothers and sisters and was later joined by two younger siblings. The Bradtmueller's were of German descent and raised their children with a strong sense of right and wrong as well as a sense of accountability to others, character traits that remained with Bernice all of her life.

In the midst of such a large family, Bernice quickly learned to share and to pitch in around the house. The stock market crash of 1929 meant that financial resources became even more strained than usual, and Bernice learned to appreciate simple pleasures in life, a quality that would be most helpful when life sent hardship her way. Just a few short days before Bernice's fourteenth birthday, hardship showed up in a big way. The United States Naval Base at Pearl Harbor, Hawaii, was attacked by the Japanese, drawing the U.S. into World War II. Bernice prayed and sacrificed along with the rest of the country and after four long years she rejoiced when the conflict finally ended.

In early June of 1942, the United States Navy had won a decisive victory against the Japanese at the Battle of Midway in the Pacific Theatre. On the seventh anniversary of that event, Bernice attended a Navy ball. It was there that she met a young man named Donmicheal 'Mike' Loftus. The two quickly hit it off and eventually fell in love. On February 18, 1950, they exchanged vows and began their journey through life together that would last for over fifty years. Bernice and Mike had four wonderful children. Bernice took great joy in being a mother and always wanted the best for her kids. She taught every one of them the basics of reading and writing before they attended school at St. Monica's.

In 1957, Bernice endured a horrific injury, sustaining burns in a house fire that damaged seventy percent of her body. She was confined to the hospital for four long months of healing and grueling rehabilitation. Over the next several years, she chose not to go out in public and had to undergo at least twenty-five plastic surgeries. She found comfort in tending to roses and eventually became a member of the Rose Society, an organization that became an outlet for her creativity and a source of relaxation and peace. Her entrance into 'rose shows' was innocent enough as she and Mike were on their way out of town so they dropped off a cut a rose at Wedel's. Despite her innocence of the 'how you do it', they later heard on the radio that her cutting received the top prize-she was hooked. Bernice was a member of the Rose Society for over forty years and specialized in delicate, remarkable miniature roses. She received many awards as a result of her skillful cultivation and was admired for her patience and dedication to her craft. In fact Mike shared the enthusiasm with her and showed some roses himself.

Bernice managed the home and also worked at a couple of outside jobs. As a young woman, she seamed nylon hose and later worked at Jolly Kids' Clothes as a seamstress. In fact, her son Greg said that mom was constantly crocheting or knitting. Weddings and births were the times that she presented her handy work that included, baby blankets, highly detailed table cloths other finely made apparel. Many family members have Bernice made items that they treasure and she even donated some of her work to benefit worthy causes.

She also became a licensed beautician. The job she got the most satisfaction from outside of motherhood was babysitting. She cared for her charges with the same fairness that she had with her own children and also taught educational fundamentals to the children she watched. Several children owe their ability to read and write to Bernice as she saw to teaching them before they attended school. She was highly respected for her emphasis on ethics and personal responsibility.

Bernice's family appreciated the fact that her many talents included cooking. Everyone looked forward to lunch on Saturday because that was leftover day and they could enjoy all her creations from the previous week. Despite her skill, she did have a mishap or two, like the time she mistook pancake batter for gravy and made stew out of it. Bernice and Mike cared for five toy poodles over the years. Their most recent resident was named Penny and she was the friendliest of the bunch. Bernice loved being with Penny and the feeling was mutual.

Bernice's son Will honored his parents by having a Tropicana rose bush at some of his homes through out the years. The roses were a testament to Bernice's ability to see hope in the midst of suffering, the blossoms revealing the beauty that comes from patient, loving care. Bernice leaves her family with the example of a woman who worked hard to fulfill her responsibilities, found joy in the intricacies of a flower, and loved her family beyond measure. Her influence to appreciate the beauty in ordinary things will continue to be felt for years to come.

Bernice Loftus died June 12, 2006, at Bronson Methodist Hospital. She was preceded in death by her parents; two sisters and five brothers, Loretta Bandt, Della Knoblaugh, Carl, Norbert, Clarence, Gerhert and Otto Brandtmueller. She is survived by her husband, Mike; four children, William (Linda) Loftus of Elkhart, Indiana, Timothy (Cindy) Loftus of Sanford, North Carolina, Gregory (Conny) Loftus of Castle Rock, Colorado, and Diane Loftus of Kalamazoo; two grandchildren, Jon (Christy) Loftus of Mishawaka, Indiana, and Matthew Loftus of Cassopolis, Michigan; one great-granddaughter, Emma; three sisters and two brothers, Louise Tinsley of Ft. Wayne, Indiana, Marcella Berkey of Lake Placid, Florida, Bernadine Leiter of Warsaw, Indiana, Herman (Dorothy) Bradtmueller of Johnson City, Tennessee, and William Bradtmueller of Newton, North Carolina; one sister-and-law, Joann Bradtmueller of Ft. Wayne, Indiana; and many nieces, nephews, great-nieces, and great-nephews.

Mass of Christian Burial will be celebrated Thursday, June 15, at 10:30 a.m. at St. Augustine Cathedral. Food and fellowship will follow at the Fr. Crowley Cathedral Center. Private interment will take place at Ft. Custer National Cemetery. Please visit Bernice's personal memory page at www.lifestorynet.com where you may share a favorite memory, sign the online guest book, or make a memorial contribution to the American Rose Society.

Free Comic Book Day

2006-04-19T15:19:00.000-04:00

Free Comic Book Day is Saturday, May 6th. In South Bend, IN, you can join in the festivities at BuyMeToys.com in University Commons. Free Comic Book Day is a celebration of the comic book art form. You can get free copies of comics for all ages and all interests, from publishers large and small.

BuyMeToys.com will have special guests artists Gene Ha and Josh Medor signing and meeting fans in the afternoon. The free comics will be available all day but some titles may be limited by the publishers.

If you aren't in the South Bend, IN, area check out the Free Comic Book Day website to find the nearest retailer participating in the event!

To see all of the Free Comic Book day books available check out the list and brief summaries here.

Spring Cleaning and Other Ruckus

2006-04-06T11:11:00.000-04:00

Christy and I have started some home beautifying projects this spring. This morning a contractor started work on our brand new bath tub and surround. We have finished the downstairs living room and now only have the downstairs bathroom to attend to. We'll put up pictures later.

2006-01-27T14:24:00.000-05:00

OK here is something funny....when you are done type in what you are curious about see what neat "facts" show up.

Ten Top Trivia Tips about Lofcutus!

Louisa May Alcott, author of 'Little Lofcutus', hated Lofcutus and only wrote the book at her publisher's request.
Lofcutus will become gaseous if his temperature rises above -42°C.
The International Space Station weighs about 500 tons and is the same size as Lofcutus!
The porpoise is second to Lofcutus as the most intelligent animal on the planet.
If Lofcutus was life size, he would stand 7 ft 2 inches tall and have a neck twice the size of a human.
Lofcutus is incapable of sleep.
The military salute is a motion that evolved from medieval times, when knights in armour raised their visors to reveal Lofcutus.
South Australia was the first place to allow Lofcutus to stand for parliament!
Lofcutus can live for up to a week without a head.
Birds do not sleep in Lofcutus, though they may rest in him from time to time.

Where the heck have I been?

2006-01-24T12:44:00.000-05:00

Well, It's been quite a while since I updated this space. I've been busy with quite a bit.

First thing, I was in an accident in November. My back was injured when I was hit by a drunk driver (at 5:30 in the evening) on the way home from work. Long story short, the "gentleman" attempted to run away, I detained him and South Bend's Finest dog-piled me and threw me in the back of a squad car instead of getting me medical help for my injuries. It has taken over two months and wasted a bunch of my money, but the assault charges were dropped. Yippie, fucking, skippy.

SOOOO....I spent Emma's 1st birthday drugged up and basically unaware of what was going on, but apparently it was a good time. Cake was had.

Christmas was a blast for us. Emma really got into opening presents and reacted very well to the overwhelming amount of new stuff. She got a few things that just made the day for her:
A Pillsbury Doughboy (that giggles when you poke him)
The Little People ABC Zoo
and the box set of Firefly (OPK, that was mine, but she really likes that Mal fella.)

OK, I promise to update this real soon with pictures and everything, but break time is about finished, so back to the grind.

Been a while...

2005-10-10T12:09:00.000-04:00

It's been a while since I updated the Emma info... She is standing by herself, she can get on her tip toes and she has just learned that she can crawl UP stairs!

She had a wonderful time in Cancun with her Mommy and Grammy! She discovered pelicans and Spanish, "Hola baby!" She is quite the picky eater right now though. She seems to have a thing for dry food, if its moist of wet, she won't try to pick it up at all.

Oh well, I'll post more later.

The only thing worse than having AOL is canceling AOL

2005-09-14T17:25:00.000-04:00

The only thing worse than having AOL is canceling AOL

So back in July I called AOl to cancel my service and the woman that worked there him hawed and pissed around and kept telling me that I should stay with AOL and that they would give me a free month. I said no that I wanted to cancel and to give me a reference number or whatever.

She said the account would be closed on the next billing date.

The next billing date arrives and I get billed from AOL.

1) they said they were giving me a free month, so what the fuck?

2) I Fucking cancelled AOL!

I called AOL today and they asked me for my cancellation confirmation number. I did not get one. "Well our record show you were given one free month and you were supposed to call again to cancel."

That lead me to further questioning the charge, and ended up with be asking if it was AOL's policy to lie and deceive their customers when they called to changes to their service. The dumbass said that there was no one that could help me with the charges that were already made to my credit card. A few more minutes of colorful shouting at him, I got a cancellation number!

Then I get to call the CC company. The guy I spoke with was an awesome help. He told me that this not the first time that he personally has had to deal with AOL billing their customers after cancellation.

Well I'm done venting. Remember AOL Sucks!

My little drummin' brother!

2005-09-13T09:40:00.000-04:00

My brother is in Elkhart Central High School's Marching band. Here they are at a competition in Goshen Indiana.

He's the white kid on the xylephone (that's a stupid word...) in the middle of the pic.

He tells me they placed well. Congrats.

And on the topic...One time at band camp.......

Comic (Book) Relief for the Evacuees of Katrina

2005-09-07T17:49:00.000-04:00

I decided yesterday that I would do what little I could to physically help with the stress and hardship of relocated evacuees from hurricane Katrina. I've given what money I can and I can't afford to take time away from my home and family to help in the Gulf Coast region.

I figured, I like comic books, I bet there are people (kids and adults) in shelters and these 'shelter cities' like the Astrodome that could use the distraction and relief that 20 minutes reading a comic book could bring.

So in conjunction with my good friends at BuyMeToys.com I'm asking folks to buy comics and I will send them to shelters on my own dime. If you are a customer of BMT.c and want to do this just buy an extra book and give it to Casey or Kelly. If you don't shop there regularly make an effort to stop in and buy a book. If you don't read ask Case or Kel what is a good book for all ages and they'll tell you what is good. Or ask me, I think I know what is OK for kids and adults.

I'll send the first batch to the Astrodome on Friday afternoon. The next will go to the Indiana State Fairgrounds, then to Ft. Custer in Battle Creek Michigan. From there I'll just Google where people are at and keep sending stuff as long as people keep contributing books to the cause.

I'm only sending Comics. If anyone wants to send something else, I'll be making quite the list of addresses.

Emma's 9 month pictures

2005-09-02T17:31:00.000-04:00

Christy took Emma to get pictures done while I was in Chicago this week. My Emma (If I may say so) is a DOLL!!!

She took Abu with her. (Abu is the furry one)

She still loves to have her picture taken. And will go from grumpy baby to smilin' sunshine when you take out your camera.

The pictures of her in the basket are great! I can't believe she left her hat on long enough for the picture.

We'll have these picture sin a few weeks so if any of the family wants a specific one let us know.

This last one is my new favorite. To me it says, "OK, this is the last one then I want some applesauce!"

Best find at Wizard World Chicago

2005-08-26T13:43:00.000-04:00

Three weeks back and I'm still going through and reading the stuff I got at WWC. The best thing I picked up was a whole set of A Monk's Tale from KonSequencial studios.

For $20 I got 0-5 of the comic, two anthologies, three linen bound sketch books and some promo material (cards, bookmarks, ect.); plus I scored some great sketches in my '60 Second Sketchbook' from Kendrix Foong and Laurie Breitkreuz.

The story is about 3 young Chinese monks. It is set in a remote village of 'ancient' China. The local government is corrupt and the citizens of the village the monks are passing through are being subjugated by the local military. One of the monks decides to stop some soldiers from abusing a young woman and that involves the three in the village's struggle.

During the course of the action the leader of the three monks get arrested with the father of the young girl. Both are scheduled to be executed when the monk discovers hat some of the local military are at odds with their leadership and want to rebel and fight for the people.

All of that is issues 1-5. The story is set to be concluded in issue 6 due out sometime this fall or winter. Issue 0 served as a bridge between the short stories where the young monk's where introduced (in the two anthologies, Short Term Konsquences). When we initially meet them, they are children, by the end of the story they are all young men ready to start the journey we see in issue 1.

Individually the books are a bit expensive (2.25-3.25 cover price) for the greatly decompressed but action filled story, but the deal at the con made them a great buy. I now am anxiously looking forwards to both issue 6 and the redrawn story featuring covers by Greg Horn, starting in 2006.

Emma's a Big Girl!

2005-08-26T13:42:00.000-04:00

Well, Emma had her 9 month check up this week. She is 21 lbs 11 oz and 29 inches long! She impressed the doctor with her attention to him and the stethoscope. He was concerned (for us) that she was interested in walking already, and gave us the generic good doctor "baby proof your house" spiel.

After that she had to get some blood taken for some test that ate mandatory in Indiana. She HATED that. The tech in the lab was good though and Emma only insanely cried for a few minutes after the whole needle ordeal.

Other than that no news from our house.

Emma will get her picture taken next week and I'll post some when we get them.

Pretty (gross) Baby...

2005-08-16T17:53:00.000-04:00

Emma, at my brother's house for Makhayla's 1st birthday party, really enjoying her carrots. This is perhaps the most frightening picture of the monkey-girl every taken. Thanks Kati for having your camera handy!

A slightly more normal pose.

My daughter the woodchuck...

2005-08-12T16:44:00.000-04:00

So Emma has teeth. Two in on the bottom, they've been there a while, and now two on top with two more coming in on top and at least one more on the bottom.

Yesterday Christy walked in on her chewing on her crib. Of course it was on the part that will be her footboard when it is converted into a bed. We are off to get some of those bad tasting bumper pads this evening.

Jay-Emma now has more hair than you.

Wizard World Chicago '05

2005-08-10T12:28:00.000-04:00

Wow.

So Three days later, I'm still picking up the pieces. The convention was very good this year, better than last year's, not as good as 03's. I had a great time in Artist Alley this year. I filled out my 60 second sketch book with a Thor from Walt Simonson, a Poison Ivy from Steve Leiber, and sketches from up and comers Jeremy Dale and Casey Heying (I have no shame, pimpin' my buds).

I also was very reserved on my comic purchases. Sure I found a few deals; a Star Wars trade and Chaykin's Might Love for $5 each, a few neat new books, A Monk's Tale from Konequential Studios, but it was nothing like in the past.

I also found some neat stuff to buy. Palisades' Super Grover Figure and Litho and the Rainbow Connection Kermit were picked up on Thursday's Preview night ( a great addition), I picked up The Dark Phoenix and some European Indy Clix at Wizkids' booth on Saturday. I played no Clix, and couldn't even find the Envoy appreciation night on Friday (not that I was trying that hard).

Christy and I also found Corrie Doerrfeld (she is great!) on Saturday and picked up her new Leah book, Leah Loves Pink and a new one called Bananagins for Emma.

Friday evening also found us hanging out with the guys from the Comic Creators Syndicate, a local group that put out their first anthology last spring, Syndication. While in the Hyatt bar we also laughed our asses off at the most unprofessional "agent" in the history of representation. She was flirting with Mark Waid, of the famous '03 Mark-Waid-Fight, and falling out of her top. Listen girl, I don't care who your daddy is, buy a mirror and shut up!

Saturday evening we had Pizza and bummed around the lobby, saw a dude get tased...good times. Sunday evening was much more mellow, a bunch of us walked to Maria's Mexican restaurant (again) and had a huge (and cheap) dinner. Then ended up in the bar for dessert!

The weekend was fun and stressful at the same time, we only made it to one and a half panels (but got free swag at each of those), the fan awards and those dinners at Maria's (damn good Mexican Food!) was almost worth the drive to Chi-town.

Only 51 weeks until WWC '06!

Dude, I gotta Dell

2005-07-28T12:11:00.000-04:00

So I bought a new computer this week. It should be here any day now. We also are getting rid of AOL (after 9 years of crappy service). Bad news for me is that our phone lines are not up to date enough and have to get a new wall jack installed in the "office" for the SBC DSL line to work.

We actually saw that coming, since all the phone and cable lines are strung through the vents. I'll be sending out my new e-mail when we change, I still will answer my work emails and 1(because I have to check them every half hour anyway) its usually a faster way to get in touch with me anyway.

I'll probably be posting a ranting diatribe on changing over to my new computer soon.

Emma news, she's crawling! Actual, baby-style crawling now, not that scooting thing. She's also fascinated with standing. She stands all the time! She can pick herself up on AYTHING and will stand either totally on her own with a hand on whatever she can reach for comfort, or the traditional baby-standing-next-to-the-coffee-table-and walking around-it-for-hours-of-fun. We also put her down in the grass yesterday. She started picking at it and throwing it everywhere.

Very fun. I'll put up some more picture later.

Oh yeah, only 7 days until WWC!

I need to keep up with this better

2005-07-21T12:21:00.000-04:00

So keeping up with my comings and goings is harder than I thought.

Update on the kid front, Emma has tooth #3 poised and ready to pop throu her upper gum any time now. She's started to "share" her toys with Mommy. By sharing I mean forcing them on her. She has a set of Link-a-do's that she chew on and plays with almost non stop. She was sitting in Mommy's lap Tuesday night and putting them in Mommy's mouth then laughing like a 2 foot tall maniac!

Work front, I had to go to Miami, OH last week on very short notice trip to get a piece of equipment. I was a quick trip and I got a lot done, but it was still a bit of a pain in the ass. I found a nice game shop, YottaQuest, in Cincinnatti to play Hero Clix at on Wednesday night.

Not too much going on to shout about this week. Christy and I are looking forward to our little vacation in two weeks. That's about it.

Fangs, Folks and Fangs

2005-07-06T17:19:00.000-04:00

BIG NEWS

Emma has two teeth now! They first showed their boney white faces on Sunday afternoon. Now, three short days later they are probably a third of the way out and she's stopped fussing so much about them and started to use them to mark her toys with 'lil grind marks!

As soon as she will allow us to document these pearly white beauties I'll throw a picture up. As yet, she's playing hard to get sticking her tongue out whenever we try to capture them on film.

The holiday weekend was quite busy for us. Saturday Christy Emma and I helped my Aunt Di move out of her home. Afterwards we stopped and my Grandparents and we all met their new addition, a toy poodle named Penny. Emma loved her. It was only the second dog she has "met" at close range, and despite Penny's excited frenzy, Emm giggled and smiled a great big happy smile when Penny was trying to "get" her.

Sunday was "the smallest wedding ever". That's an inside joke on the Bride and Groom's stature. I'm sure they will be happy together, but Jen and Lee are short enough to be happy in that annoying Geico "Tiny House" add. Afterwards Christy, Brad and I cooked out at Brad's and vegged out to cartoons. But since Monday was going to start early for us, Christy and I where home by 11.

Monday (the Fourth of July) a big chunk of the family visited my Great Aunt TeeDee in her nursing home. It was Emma's first time meeting her, and she seems to like her a lot. She also got to meet her cousins Killian and (his mom) Steph. It was a fun day.

That's all for know. I'm sure that was more than anyone needs to know about my weekend.

My little girl

2005-06-30T16:21:00.000-04:00

I want to share with you some of the pictures I have of my daughter. She was born in November and has lightened up my life in ways I could not have expected.

Left is Emma from her 1st Easter. She was about 16 pounds and 27 inches long. On the right is from just last week. She is about 18 pounds and 29 inches long. She's got a great "baby" look to her.

Luckily for her she doesn't look too much like either her mom or me. I hate when people compare children to their parents, its like they want to see miniature versions of them. Babies are their own people, just like adults.

She is still refusing to crawl, but she can stand for long periods of time. She pulls herself up on furniture, her toys and us. She like to play on her 'tummy', but movement is pretty restricted to rolling and short "scoots" forwards or back.

She is definitely a joy to be around and I love playing with her and reading to her and singing with her. Now don't tell anyone any of that stuff because I'll deny it...I have a rep as a grumpy dude to keep up!

Lofcutus' Blog, the what's and why's...

2005-06-30T15:19:00.000-04:00

So, I've had this space for several months and haven't done a thing with it. So I want to start that way my friends and family can keep up with me and I can rant and rave like a maniac on the petty things that tick me off.

I don't want to keep this up as a "hey look at me" place, but since blogging has become the biggest self-publishing exercise in the history of mankind, I figure I should give it a whirl.

A few things about me, if you're too lazy to hit the Profile button and don't know who I am. I'm a thirtyish guy, married to a great woman, and a new dad. I've got a decent house in a decent town, and have some dorkish hobbies. I'm opinionated and fairly blunt. That comes off as crass and superior in print...So sorry in advance.

That being said, welcome to my mind.