Merry Christmas And Other Stuff

I know I'm a couple of days early for wishing everyone a Merry Christmas but there is a reason for it coming now. I've decided to take the rest of the year off. Off of Facebook, Twitter, Google+, E-mail, Blogger and just about everything else that has caused irritation as of late. I'll be deleting apps from my phone (USA Today is a big one). Don't worry, I'll be back on January 1st (and to my boss, if she's reading thsi, I'll be at work every day from now until the end of the year).

I've been an angry elf these past few days. Several things have been setting me off. Stories of our inept government. Issues with my current house (which I'll be vacating in the next few weeks). Questions about the transaction with my new/used car deal. It's all taking it's toll as we wind down 2011. I find myself getting wrapped up too deep into these issues that in some instances are really not that big of a deal.

So, with that said I'm writing this last blog post for the year. I hope everyone has a great Christmas. Yes, I'm calling it Christmas. Not Happy Holiday's or whatever generic, pc term some people drag out for this time of year. You can call it what you want, I'll call it what I want and we can all be happy! Please be responsible during your New Years celebrations. I hope everyone can take a moment to reflect back on this year, see all of the good things that have happened to you and appreciate all that you have.

Merry Christmas to you and yours and cheers to all for a Happy New Years!
Jim

Ghost Stories

Do you believe in ghosts? A recent study on the news indicated about 40% of Americans do. 59% of those claim to have had an 'experience' with the supernatural.

As you know, I believe that I have met the Angel of Death (aka Ray Liotta). I believe in the afterlife though I have no idea what it might entail. Is there a heaven? Hell? I really don't know, I haven't yet made it that far. I do believe there are ghosts and I believe I've experienced one first hand (twice), though I didn't actually see him.

My wife and I moved to the tiny town of Croton (where the hell is Croton), Ohio about 15 years ago. The home we moved into was old. Really old. Easily 125 years old and probably 150+. It was small, relatively plain on the outside and decent enough on the inside. The land it sat on was beautiful. A lake with a dam in the back yard. The lake, as I understand, was used to fill the steam engines of the old locomotives that ran through the area. You could still see old railroad ties in the front yard. I liked living there, but sometimes felt uneasy.

A few years after moving in our twins were born and I guess that's when things started picking up. The first of my two encounters was somewhat indirect. The entire family left the house in the early afternoon. When we came home that night every (and I mean every) light in the house was turned on. It is common for us to leave one or two lights on when we leave but my wife and I know there was no way every one of them was on when we left (including the basement). The first thing we did before walking in was to call my sister-in-law to see if perhaps she had stopped by while we were gone and maybe left some lights on? No, was her response. We then cautiously entered house. We checked all of the doors and windows and there was no indication that anyone had come into the home. Weird.

The next incident came at night. My wife and I had settled into bed for the evening. Our bedroom in this house was huge. As is typical in a master bedroom we had our bed along one wall with side tables on each side and lamps on each of them. Being out in the country there was no outside light coming into the room once all of our lights were turned off. I had just drifted off to sleep when I felt a 'presence' standing over me. I started awake and the lamp on my side of the bed was lit. There was no one else in the room except my sleeping wife. I woke her up and asked her if she had turned on my light. Groggily she said no, turned over and went back to sleep. Needless to say it took me a while to fall back to sleep. Scary.

Now these two incidents might not be enough for the average person to believe. Let me enlighten you about my son. He sees dead people. But it's not like Sixth Sense, they don't ask him for anything and they aren't scary looking. Just normal and honestly (according to him) they don't talk much. The ghost in our house in Croton was named John Thomas. He was kind of tall, had blond hair and wore old clothes.

After several years living there we moved. We wanted something in a better school district and a little closer to work. We found a house in Sunbury and moved in. It was a new build and there were no ghosts, at first. Sadly, my wife's father passed away shortly before we moved out. Sam saw Grandpa Doc a couple of times before we moved. 

We moved again, finding something a little less expensive and still in the same great school district. This next house was old, but not nearly as old as the home in Croton (where is that again?). I would guess the old portion was built in the early 1900's and the addition maybe 40 years later. I felt pretty good about this house, after all it was the old parsonage for the church it sits in front of. Grandpa Doc followed us, we found out because he kept moving some of the personal possessions of his that my wife had. She would grill the kids about moving these things and they all insisted that they weren't doing it. She finally just said, "Dad, if you are here please quit moving your stuff. I will keep a close eye on it and make sure it's safe." After she did that, the objects quit being misplaced.

My son informed us shortly after moving in that a little girl lived here. Her name was Courtney. She liked to play tricks on the kids. She would knock on the bathroom door while they were taking showers. One time she scared our son by standing at the foot of his bed wearing a mask.

Now, I personally have never experienced anything directly with Grandpa Doc or Courtney. But here's the one that gets me... My grandfather died a few years back. He lived down in Florida and my children never had an opportunity to meet him. I kept a picture of him and Grandma hanging in my office. Because my children didn't know him we chose not to tell them about his passing, however the day after he passed my son told us that an old man was standing in my office staring at that picture. When we asked him what he looked like, he said he looked like the man in the picture. The funeral was held here in Columbus, the kids did not attend. The following morning we met my parents for breakfast at Bob Evans. All during breakfast my son had an uneasy, funny look on his face. After breakfast we asked him what was wrong. He told us the old guy standing in our house the other day just stood beside Grandpa Tom (my dad, Grandpa's son) the entire time we were there. For several weeks after the funeral my wife and I would detect a hint of cigarette smoke in the house, but it only happened when we were watching Law & Order. That show happened to be my grandfathers favorite show and he was a heavy smoker from the age of 16 until he died. Was he there looking over us? Like I said, my kids didn't know him and we weren't on speaking terms at the time he passed. I honestly don't know.

These incidents viewed individually would not be enough to convince me, but when you put them all together I feel very positive that there is more for us after death. Is there a transition period that we get to hang out and check in on the loved ones we left behind? Play tricks on people we don't know just to get attention? What does the afterlife look like or entail? I don't have these answers but I also don't despair about my demise on this Earth.

Poison Nut (aka Buckeye) Greatest Game?

Last nights Ohio State vs. Wisconsin game was amazing. They blew a lead in the last few minutes only to take it back on a Hail Mary in the last minute of the game. (Ironically, it was the second Hail Mary in as many weeks to take down what had been the previously undefeated Badgers, who lost to Michigan State the previous week.) It was definitely a lot of fun to watch and a great gift for my birthday (which was today - a friend told me that's what they got me this year). After the game I saw a few posts from my friends saying it was the greatest game they have witnessed/seen/experienced. While I think this was a great game, I'm not ready to declare it 'the greatest'. Here is a short list of some of the greatest OSU games I've seen in my lifetime (in order):

1. 2002 National Championship Game vs. Miami University. Double overtime, hardcore defense highlighted by the final drive of the game. Miami, thanks to a penalty, had 1st and goal at the 2. OSU stuffed them on three straight plays. The fourth was an attempted pass that was rushed thanks to the pass rush game of the OSU defense. I was literally on my knees the entire OT. Final score: 31-24.

2. 2006 Ohio State (#1) vs. Michigan (#2). The rivalry is known as "The Game", this was clearly The Game of Games and was dubbed "The Game of the Century" (kinda silly given we were only 6 years into the new century, but whatever). This match-up went against expectations and became a high scoring back and forth exchange (both teams had incredible defenses going into the game). While Michigan only had the lead once (at the beginning of the game) they were never really out of it. Final score: 42-39

3. 1995 Ohio State vs. Notre Dame. At the time this game set the record attendance for 'The Shoe' at 95,537. One of those fans in attendance - yours truly! Our seats were right above the tunnel that OSU ran out of. They all came out and were bunched just outside of the tunnel. Right there in front of me was Eddie George. My brother and I started screaming "Eddie, Eddie, Eddie". He turned around, gave us a smile and a wave and then with those freakishly large calves ran out onto the field. Goosebumps just thinking about it. This team was stacked: the aforementioned Eddie George, Bobby Hoying, Terry Glenn, Mike Vrable, Shawn Springs, Orlando Pace and many others. On the opposing side - The Legendary Lou Holtz. Notre Dame jumped up early and then the Bucks poured it on to a crushing 45-26 victory. Hands down the loudest 'anything' I've ever experienced and will hopefully never forget!

4. 2002 Ohio State vs. Purdue. Back to the National Championship season. This game stands out also because the entire season and any hope at a chance of a shot at the championship looked lost. Ohio State's offense was dismal in this game mustering only 3 points. Fortunately The Boilermakers had only managed 6. With less than 3 minutes on the clock OSU was facing a 3rd and 14 at midfield, given the lack of offense the chances of a win looked bleak. Craig Krenzel, the genius (seriously, he has a degree in molecular genetics!) completed a pass that was 1 yard short of a first down. Completely deflated because Tressel Ball was in full effect I thought for sure he would go for a near impossible 54-yard field goal. I mean, it was Nugent kicking and everything but still... Instead Tress shocked us all and went for it on 4th and 1 and 37 yards out. Instead of Krenzel throwing a safe short crossing pass he went for it all and connected with Michael Jenkins to put the Bucks up 10-6. The staunch defense wrapped up the win with a Gamble interception. Whew!

5. 2011 Ohio State vs. Wisconsin - maybe. Right now I can't think of another big game off the top of my head. This one was great because lets face it, The Buckeyes are down this season. Amid all of the turmoil with scandals, the loss of Jim Tressel and a seemingly inept offense being called by Jim Bollman, there wasn't a lot of hope for a win last night against what seemed like an incredible Badger team. The fact that the Buckeyes had the lead through most of the game, only to lose it in the last minutes of the fourth quarter and all seemed lost. We hadn't seen any 'big' moments at any time earlier this season. There was no reason to hope for a comeback, yet comeback they did. Braxton Miller, who has been known to move the ball more with his feet, had an open lane to run yet pulled up at the very last moment and heaved a Hail Mary. Devin Smith (who?) caught the ball in the end zone. 'The Shoe' erupted again in what I can only imagine was a near ear splitting roar. After the final seconds ticked off the clock the crowd rushed the field. An improbable victory on Home Coming weekend was clinched from the jaws of defeat. Final score: 33-29

What do you think about this list? Do you have a game that deserves to be here in place of one of these? If so, tell me about it in the comments below.

Thanksgiving!

Today is the 3 year anniversary for my wife being diagnosed with breast cancer. Well, that's not exactly true, this is the day she stopped working and started her grueling trek towards defeating that ugly beast. Coincidentally, today is the 2 year anniversary that I went into the hospital with H1N1.

So to look ahead to my favorite holiday of the year, here is an abbreviated list of what I am thankful for:

• My beautiful wife who made sure she was by my side every day I was down and who became a single mother for six months and kicked ass doing it
• My three amazing children who did their best to be strong while we were hurting
• My mom who spent a week of doing nothing but sitting at my side in the nursing home
• My boss and co-workers who were understanding of my needs when I returned to work
• My church family who provided spiritual support and gifts of food and house cleaning when it wasn't easy for us to do it ourselves, they even once took my children to the movies so they could feel normal even if just for a few hours
• The doctors and nurses who fought for our lives either through surgery for my wife or monitoring my life while I was in the coma
• The cheeseburger that was my first meal after not eating for 4 months
• My brother who brought me shredded garlic chicken from Hunan House
• The physical therapists who taught me to walk again
• The physical therapists who came to my house after I came home to get me on my feet
• The leg/foot brace that was fitted and allows me to walk without fear of falling
• The nurse that gave us gas cards to offset our cost for traveling from north of Columbus to the west side for treatments
• The specialists who administered the chemotherapy that saved my wife's life
• The person who dedicated her life to making women feel beautiful on the outside after they've lost their hair
• The people who took an afternoon to help my wife feel whole again
• My family, friends and co-workers that took the time to stop by and see me in the nursing home, where without visitors feels like a very lonely place
• Everyone who took time to send a get well card
• Everyone who has taken the time to express their love and support to our family in the past few years
• Everyone who continues the fight to find a cure for breast cancer and all cancers
• Skype that allows me to see my parents who are 1000 miles away
• Every day that I get to wake up and see my wife and kids

Even if you haven't had a traumatic incident (or two) in your life, I urge you to look around and recognize the beauty of the people, places and things that are in your life. Know that your life is a miracle and appreciate every day you get to participate.

iCon (or I Blame Jason)

Steve Jobs passed away on Wednesday. When I heard the news I felt supremely sad. A friend of mine asked me if I was going to write a blog post about it. Well, here it is, kind of.

Several years ago, I can't remember when exactly, my friend Jason told me he was going to buy a Mac Mini to see what the whole Mac thing was all about. You see, Jason was my go to guy for all of my Sony Vaio problems (and being a windows machine, there were quite a few). So for him to be jumping ship and telling me that if this Mac thing goes good he's going to forget all about Windows (translation, hope your POS Vaio doesn't give you more problems than you can handle 'cause I won't be there to help you out). He proceeds to buy the base model Mini and falls in love. A month later he's telling me this thing is so awesome that he's willing to go out and buy the souped up model of the Mini to get the best experience out of it. When I hear this I offer to buy his first Mini from him and I get a great deal on a hardly used Mac. I have tasted the Kool-aid and I'm hooked. Shortly after, our Vaio died a horrible Hard Drive crash. (It's a PATA drive and I have pictures on there still that I need to get off and have no idea how without losing a limb, but that's another story.)

I loved my base model G4 Mac Mini. It smoked my work computer. It held it's own against my wife's current HP Laptop that we bought 2 years later. It lived a great life and eventually suffered a hard drive crash of it's own and was retired while I'm out of commission (in a coma). My wife, who insisted on keeping something Windows (hence the HP laptop) went out and bought a new Mac Mini for the family. God love her. Not only was she nursing me back from Ray Liotta's - er - death's door, but she kept the Mac legacy running in the home.

My new Mini is now a couple of generations old but still destroys the HP and does heavy duty work in my house running my digital library of music and videos, storing all of the family photos (except those pesky ones still on the POS Vaio) and being the primary research computer for all of my kids school projects and homework. It feeds my Apple TV and keeps all of my iPods and iPhones synced and running smoothly. Everything is backed up on my Apple Time Capsule. It's a complete Apple/Mac ecosystem in my house with the two exceptions: My work computer and my wife's still chugging HP.

A couple of years after the introduction to the Mac Mini, the first iPhone came out. Jason is an early adopter but I hold off because I'm in the middle of a contract and those first iPhones were damn expensive! After playing around with his iPhone I'm hooked. This is the smoothest running smart phone with the first real Internet interface I had ever seen. My wife had a Samsung BlackJack from AT&T and I hated the Internet experience on it. It was practically unusable. The iPhone's Internet looked exactly like the Internet I was using on my Mac. Perfect. I was hooked again so I stood in line with Jason to buy my iPhone 3G. And my 3Gs. I started passing my old iPhones down to my kids. Everyone in the family now has an iPhone with the exception of my son who for some odd reason said he didn't want one. (He does now, but has to wait until someone upgrades to the iPhone 4s.)

So clearly, long story short, it's Jason's fault I felt so sad on Wednesday. Jason introduced me to all things Apple and Mac and I fell in love.

By the way, Jason also introduced me to the Harry Potter books. They, along with the audio version that I have, have gone on to become the most re-read and re-listened to books in my library. I have all of the movies on DVD (except #7 - which will be corrected when the 2nd one comes out on Blu-Ray).

Jason, damn you for being such an influence on me, or rather - thank you.

R.I.P. Steve Jobs. The greatest innovator of my time. You have changed the way I will forever interact with the world through your inventions. You have helped mold the world that my children see. I hold you in the same regards as Michael Jordan, Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali. May your legacy be immortal.

Wishlist

I really, really like Pearl Jam. Their old stuff mainly. I stumbled upon this song in my play list today and wanted to share with all of you. I'm also including the lyrics below, though they are really pretty straight forward and easy to understand.

I wish I was a neutron bomb, for once I could go off
I wish I was a sacrifice but somehow still lived on
I wish I was a sentimental ornament you hung on
The Christmas tree, I wish I was the star that went on top
I wish I was the evidence, I wish I was the grounds
For 50 million hands upraised and open toward the sky

I wish I was a sailor with someone who waited for me
I wish I was as fortunate, as fortunate as me
I wish I was a messenger and all the news was good
I wish I was the full moon shining off a Camaro's hood

I wish I was an alien at home behind the sun
I wish I was the souvenir you kept your house key on
I wish I was the pedal brake that you depended on
I wish I was the verb 'to trust' and never let you down

I wish I was a radio song, the one that you turned up
I wish...
I wish...

My favorites are the "pedal brake that you depended on" and the "full moon shining off a Camaro's hood". I would also wish for Eddie's good looks and incredible talent, or at least 1/10th of it because he is incredible.

What is on your wish list?

Ten Years

I felt it important enough to write about today, however I questioned what I should write about. I could tell everyone where I was 10 years ago, the emotions running through me as I watched the plane hit and the towers fall. I decided though to let my friends say it all with the posts they put up today on Facebook. So below you find what people you may know have been saying.

God Bless America on this important memorial day.

God Bless America.

- John O.

Never forget......

- Heath W.

10 Years. A thousand tears cried. That day still etched in my mind. The day that changed us all forever. We will remember ALL who were lost on 911 and those lost fighting for our freedoms since.

- Diane M.

¤*¨¨*¤.¸¸ ...¸.¤\
\ 9/11 AMERICA \
.\¸.¤*¨¨*¤ .¸¸.¸.¤*
..\
☻/
/▌
/ \ NEVER FORGET!!!

- Amanda C.

Like every American who remembers the events that happened on September 11, 2001, I spend part of this day reflecting on what happened on that terrible day. However, this year is different. This year I do it knowing that the last breath Osama Bin Laden took was when he was staring down the barrel of a gun that was held by a U.S. Navy Seal. I thank everyone who had anything to do with that mission, including the President, for making that happen.

- Drew H.

Burkey and I had just landed on a red eye flight from LA, 45 minutes before the tragedy began that day. We landed we went home to sleep after our overnight flight across the country. I woke hours later to find out our world had stopped! With uncertainty of where the transcontinental flights had taken off from in the early hours, it became quite a scare for those who didn't if we were home safely or not!

- Chad L.

BREAKING: The better question to ask is, "Where are you now?"

- Fake Dispatch

(I include this one not because I feel it's important to forget what happened 10 years ago but rather to reflect on how you've changed since then.)

Heading to Church this morning... Thankful to be able to live my life w/ my wife and 4 children... On this day it saddens me to think some TERRIBLE people decided to ruin thousands of lives they NEVER meet... I will be praying for all that were damaged by this tragic event... I truly LOVE being an American and thank God he has given us Americans what we have today... God bless us ALL...

- Trevis M.

Not sure how you all are feeling today, sad is one way I feel but also very, very grateful and proud to be an American. It is good to remember even if it hurts. I was working 09/11/01 and all I wanted to do was flee and gather my sons and other loved ones by my side. May God truly Bless The USA!

- Sherry M.

I remember 3 days of silence.

- Troy S.

In remembrance- 911. We'll never forget..........

- Jean P.

I have to admit I was a bit apprehensive to turn on the TV this morning. I can't believe it has been 10 years. May we continue to heal.

- Kathleen S.

Look back. Remember the sorrow, hurt and pain but also the unity, strength and resolve. Look present. Thankful for those around you and those that serve to keep us safe. Look forward. Never forget.

- Victor P.

‎"10yr Anniversary of 9/11 that day showed the worst and best in humanity all in the same day that out of complete chaos and tremendous loss there is always HOPE & LOVE to be found" God Bless America...

- Jared T.

No American will ever forget the horrific events of September 11, 2001. I am praying today for the families who lost loved ones on that day, for the emergency response heroes that gave unselfishly to help the victims and for our military heroes who fought for justice and to preserve our freedom. I am also praying for the spiritual resolve of our Nation, to look to Jesus Christ for salvation, peace and comfort....

- Eric C.

To all that served during in the attack but mostly to and the people that lost there life on that horrible day. I will never forget and I will make sure my children know too. (Video was included in her post, but I did not include it here.)

- Barbara B.

I can't not watch these 9/11 ceremonies. 10 years ago seems like yesterday on this date. We lost many lives that sad and frightful day. America will never forget and we will persevere! Bless America!!!!

- Brett F.

"Gone but never forgotten." Remember all the brave souls who sacrificed themselves to save others. And remember that tragic day 10 years ago but know that there is hope and there will always be hope.
Remember 9/11 ♥

- Meagan G.

GOD Bless America!

- Ron T.

To those who died 10 years on this day that shook the entire world, you will never be forgotten. You and your families are in the hearts of millions of people you never even knew their prayers go out to your loved ones and their tears are cried for every innocent life taken due to this tragedy.

- Harley M.

Every firefighter and police officer who died trying to save the lives that they could save are true heroes along with the men and women who have been fighting for our country to prevent more acts of terrorism for years. Don't take your life and the lives of others for granted, you never know when they will take their last breath. Never forget 9/11/01 ♥

- Harley M. (She put up two.)

 

Freedom isn't free...god bless America......

- Charlotte P.

Seasons Greetings

Before the season starts in 37 minutes I wanted to write down some of my thoughts on what to expect in the upcoming run for the title.

NFC East
- Teams who made significant changes at key positions will not fair well this year. This means the Philadelphia Eagles. Did you know they replaced 80% of their offensive line? And one of those guys is a rookie. Vick is not known for his durability (he has yet to play a full season) and with a weak O-Line he will probably be knocked out at some point during the season. Given this, I don't think they will make the playoffs.
- If the Cowboys remain healthy they should be a shoo-in to win the division. Don't look for them to go far in the playoffs though.

NFC West
- I don't see anything changing from last season. All four teams look dismal. That being said I think the Rams will separate themselves enough from the rest of the pack to win this division.

NFC North
- Love the Packers. I'm a Cheesehead though, so of course I love them. They are healthy, very little changes in the off-season and have one of the best QB's in the game right now. They are my pick to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl.
- I believe the Bears will once again do enough to earn a wild card birth. I only say this because I feel bad for my brother and my dad who are die hard Bears fan (and I will admit I loved the '85 Bears team - probably the best team I've ever seen take the field).
- The Lions will be much improved but still won't have enough to get into the playoffs. And just forget about the Vikings. Much of their playoff team with Favre a few years ago is gone.

NFC South
- Atlanta is the darling pick of most people to go to the SB this year for the NFC. I don't think they'll have the fire power to take down the Pack, but they will be tough. They have one of the best up and coming QB's in the game.
- Saint's ain't the Aint's any more. They are good. And probably even better with Bush gone. I don't know how it was legal for them to draft Ingram, but I have to say it just wasn't fair.

AFC East
- New England is getting old, thank God. Just not old enough to not make the playoffs. They will get one of the wild card slots.
- The Jets are my other pick to make the Super Bowl this year. Yep, an all green game and it doesn't include Phily...
- Miami is a mess at QB and picked up Reggie Bush - hahahaha.
- Buffalo, they still have a team?

AFC West
- This is a tough division for me. I don't know much about any of these team. I will say the Raiders looked really good in the one game I saw of them this year. I heard San Diego was picked by one ESPN'er that I listen to in the morning so maybe. If I had to guess though, I'll go with Oakland.
- I hope Tebow gets to start this year. I like the guy (though I have no idea why - he did beat up on OSU while with Florida). At least lets see if he can or can't play and get all of this guessing out of the way.

AFC North
- This should be a hotly contested division. I've already given away one of the wild card slots so that only leaves one left. The Steelers should be solid this year, despite their QB (well, he's good - he's just a d'bag).
- I really like the Browns as my dark horse team to make the playoffs. That means they'll have to beat up on the Ravens, but they deserve to get it handed to them by the Browns. Revenge is sweet.
- The Bengals are a joke. Unfortunately it's not a laughing matter.

AFC South
- Last year I thought the Titans would go to the Super Bowl. My pre-season match up was them against the Packers. I got that one 1/2 right. This year everyone seems to be gone from the Titans except for their running back, but even Chris won't be enough to carry this team anywhere.
- With Manning out and the Colts being dumb enough to go with Collins, this division is ripe for the Texans to finally do something. They (the Texans) are my pick to win this division.

Can't wait for the game to start (which is in one minute) and we get this season underway. I wrote at the end of last season that we probably wouldn't see this season at all. I'm glad I was wrong on that one. I'll be interested to see how wrong I am about my predictions above as we go through the season.

I encourage you to add your thoughts on this season in the comments on this blog!

Poison Nut Nation

Being a Cubs fan, this summer has been a brutal one. I am so happy to have football back again. I admit I was rather apprehensive of what I might see from those Buckeyes I love so much. After all, they lost several key players from last year to suspension (or defection). They also lost one of the best coaches to ever walk the sidelines for The Ohio State University. (Perhaps the position is cursed?) My fears were for not as was proven with today's game.

Here are some of my thoughts and observations from today.

Coach Fickel
I didn't think it would be possible for the Silver Bullets to get better. One of Coach Fickel's best moves since taking over was to bring Mike Vrabel on to the staff as Linebackers Coach. Vrabel was a dominate player as a Buckeye, a New England Patriot and I'm sure learned a lot from one of the best run organizations in the NFL. Bringing that knowledge to OSU will make this defense possibly the best in the the Big Ten and maybe even in the NCAA. Ohio State could already recruit top picks with their reputation as an excellent defensive team but adding a Pro Bowl caliber and Super Bowl winning defensive beast should ensure strong recruiting classes on defense for years to come (given both Fickel and Vrabel stick around).

Second was his handling of the transition from Tressel to himself as head coach. I love that he is not addressing the past. He can't do anything about it so he is focusing on now and the future of the program. I feel confident OSU has done enough to self sanction that the NCAA should not step in with any more penalties. The recent suspension of 3 players for accepting gift bags at a charity function shows they are on top of the players and not afraid to do what is necessary when wrong doing is discovered (regardless of how ridiculous I think situation was).

Finally, the man looked like he was having fun and enjoying himself on the sidelines. Granted this was just Akron and the Buckeyes were expected to win. But everything went right today, and that is a show of great leadership and planning on his behalf. I'm very excited for the direction coach Fickel is taking the program.

Defense
90 Yards. 0 Points. Doesn't that say it all? Again, it was only Akron, but how many times in the past have we seen a team like that break out and have one or two drives because the defense falls asleep. Didn't happen today. Stand out player to me: Andrew Sweat, Sr. LB. The Linebackers at OSU always seem to just reload and Sweat looks like he's going to be the one to watch this season.

Offense
Joe Bauserman is the man. That was made clear today. Unless he breaks something or has some kind of meltdown there should be no calls for Freshman Braxton Miller to step up as the starter. During the next few weeks though it will be important for Braxton to get a good share of time on the field, shoring him up as the solid number 2 and getting him ready to take the helm next year. Stand out player to me: Carlos Hyde, So. RB. Haven't we seen great running backs at OSU named Carlos before? (Carlos Snow baby!) This guy is a sophomore and looked dominant today. One other area that stood out to me was the offensive line. I know I keep reminding myself that it was only Akron but in years past I've watched the O-Line get pushed around by these lesser teams. There was none of that today.

Conditioning
Watching a lot of football today one of the things that really stood out to me is that OSU's strength and conditioning during the off season was outstanding! I know they have one of the best training centers in all of sports (not just college) but it shows that they were taking full advantage of it. Remember it was easily 100+ degrees on the field during the game. In other games I saw so many players going down to cramping and injuries, not so with the Buckeyes. Kudos to the strength and conditioning folks.

I know it was just one game and it was just Akron (haven't I said that already?) but I feel really good about what I saw from the program today. Everything was executed with high precision and that speaks volumes for the coaching staff and the mindset of the players.

My prediction for the season - 10-2 and a Bowl Game if the NCAA allows it. Nebraska and Wisconsin are going to be the class of the Big Ten this year.

GO BUCKEYES!

St. Arbucks

A friend of mine of Facebook continually refers to Starbucks as St. Arbucks. I don't know the origin behind the change. Perhaps it was a typo initially and his phone just auto-corrects to it now? Perhaps he just believes that highly in Starbucks.

Another friend of mine posted an article from the Huffington Post about the CEO of Starbucks and his feelings about all of the recent turmoil in Washington. I read the article, which includes a letter written by Howard Schultz, and thought it was good enough to share again here. We need revolutions like this in our political system to get us back on the right track. Here is the letter:

August 15, 2011

Dear Fellow Concerned Americans:

Our country is better than this.

Over the last few weeks and months, our national elected officials from both parties have failed to lead. They have chosen to put partisan and ideological purity over the well-being of the people. They have undermined the full faith and credit of the United States. They have stirred up fears about our economic prospects without doing anything to truly address those fears. They have spent a resource even more precious than the dollar: our collective confidence in each other, in the future, and in our ability to solve problems together.

As leaders in business, we have watched all this unfold, first with frustration and then with dismay. Like so many of our employees and customers, we are gravely concerned about the current situation. Today, with both humility and urgency, we propose to do something about it.

First, we aim to push our elected leaders to face the nation's long-term fiscal challenges with civility, honesty, and a willingness to sacrifice their own re-election. This means not kicking the can anymore. It means reaching a deal on debt, revenue, and spending long before the deadline arrives this fall. It means considering all options, from entitlement programs to taxes.

This is what so many common-sense Americans want. That is why we today pledge to withhold any further campaign contributions to the President and all members of Congress until a fair, bipartisan deal is reached that sets our nation on stronger long-term fiscal footing. And we invite leaders of businesses – indeed, all concerned Americans – to join us in this pledge.

We also believe in leading by positive example. And we believe that while the long-term fiscal challenge is serious, even more painful to millions of Americans today is the immediate crisis of jobs. Tens of millions are unemployed and underemployed. Right now our economy is frozen in a cycle of fear and uncertainty. Companies are afraid to hire. Consumers are afraid to spend. Banks are afraid to lend. Record levels of cash are piling up in corporate treasuries, idling. That cash is not being used to expand operations, train new workers, underwrite new ventures, or spark innovation.

The only way to break this cycle of fear is to break it. The only way to get the country’s economic circulatory system flowing again is to start pumping lifeblood through it. That is why we today issue a second pledge. Our companies are going to hire. We are going to accelerate growth, employment, and investment in jobs.

We do this because we want to set in motion an upward spiral of confidence. We are not waiting for government to create an incentive program or a stimulus. We are not waiting for economic indicators to tell us it’s safe to act. We are hiring more people now. We invite leaders of businesses across the country to join us in this pledge as well – and to bring their stakeholders into the effort. Confidence is contagious. The best thing we can do now is to spread it.

This is a time for citizenship, not partisanship. It is a time for action. We don't pretend that our two pledges are quick fixes. We just believe that in this moment of great uncertainty, the government needs discipline, the people need jobs – and leaders need to lead.

Our country is better than this. Let’s get things moving now.

Respectfully,
Howard Schultz

Compartments

Compartment n. 1. a separate division or section; 2. one of the parts into which an enclosed space is divided.

I try to be honest. I try to be open. I think that has come through on some of my previous posts, both here and on Facebook. I was told once several years ago by my wife that there is a 'work Jim' and a 'home Jim'. I thought it was kind of odd and certainly didn't like hearing it. I mean, I was young(er) and thought 'nah, I'm the same old me everywhere I go'. Lets face it, most of us don't always take personal criticism all that well. I was hurt and didn't want to believe it but think subconsciously it stuck with me and I started changing that. I didn't want to be two different people.

A few years later the office that I worked at was closed. A lot of people were suddenly forced to find new jobs. Several people that used to work for me when I was a manager ended up being hired on at my wife's employer. One of those new employes met my wife and when she found out that I was her husband she said, "I know Jim. I used to work for him and he's a weeny". (I know!) My wife laughed of course then assured her that I may have been a weeny before but I'm certainly not that way now. Over time this employee got to hear about me and meet me again several times and I was able to convince her that I was no weeny.

I think that goes to show, appreciated or not, that little bit of feedback has helped make me a better person. Here I was a few years back compartmentalizing my life and acting different around different people. Reflecting back I think it's a crazy way to be. Don't get me wrong, I think it's perfectly fine to separate work life from home life and vice-versa, but who you are at work, home or out with friends shouldn't be any different than who you are any other time.

I felt this topic of compartmentalizing our lives is relevant for a few reasons. First, it was the focus of the sermon delivered two weeks ago at my church. The pastor asked the congregation why people would only represent God in certain aspects of their lives. Why would religion/church be separate from your work, social or home compartment? If you believe in something, you should feel comfortable with it and allow it into all parts of your life.

Second, Politicians. I see politicians doing this with their party affiliation. It's been very prevalent these past few weeks during the debt ceiling debates. Republicans only voting for Boehner's proposal and the Democrats voting only for Reid's proposal. Are you really telling me that these guys thought the ideas thrown up by their own party was absolutely the best - on both sides? Were they voting their heart or were they voting their political career? Do we really need these ridged party compartments? A person I'm friends with on Facebook once told me that he would always vote Republican because in his opinion the worst Republican was always better than the best Democrat. I also think that line of reasoning is crazy.

I guess the bottom line here is - take a hard look at yourself and see if you are showing the best version of you all of the time, or just when you think it counts.

(Gee, I hit both politics and religion in one post!)

No Excuses

Music is a very powerful thing. It can instantly take you back to a time and/or place. Yesterday I posted on Facebook that I was listening to Alice in Chains (AIC). They happen to be one of my favorite bands. Back in 1994 they released an EP called Jar of Flies. On that EP is a single called No Excuses.


Back in High School I had a best friend. He was a year younger and a grade behind me. My senior year if I wasn't in class or out golfing I was hanging out with him. We did everything together. We were so in-tune that we even had the same car, just different colors.


We recorded music.
We climbed rocks.
We raced our cars.
We played games.
We even got picked up by the police together.


He was the one person I could always count on.


Our friendship ended shortly after I graduated. The fault was mine. It ended over, of all things, a girl. That girl eventually became my wife and we've been married 18 years now. Since that time though, I've never had a better friend. When I heard No Excuses for the first time a few years later I instantly thought of my lost friendship. It has since become (and forever will be) my favorite song.

I know I have a great life now and wouldn't trade it for all of world but... I like listening to my iPod, being transported to different times and wondering how the lost people of my past are doing. I still miss my best friend.

Ray Liotta

From IMDb - "Intense is the word for Ray Liotta. He specializes in psychopathic characters who hide behind cultivated charm. Even in his nice guy roles in Field of Dreams and Operation Dumbo Drop, you get the impression that something is smoldering inside of him."

Last weekend my kids asked me if I saw a bright light when I was in my coma. I can't remember what prompted the conversation but I assure you we were just joking around. I told them no, but I did see the Angel of Death twice.

They stopped giggling and replied in a very serious tone, "really?".

"Yes, remember your dad almost died several times while he was in the hospital." was my wife's response to them.

"What did he look like?"

"Ray Liotta, from Wild Hogs." I said in a very serious tone. Laughter erupted in the car again.

I was serious though. I don't know why my mind made this angel look like Ray. I just remember he was very rough looking. Leather jacket and scruffy face. Scary yet handsome at the same time. He came to me twice. Both times I was on a gurney by an elevator. I was paralyzed, unable to move an inch (ironically, I was paralyzed when I woke up from my coma also). He was standing at the end of the rolling table waiting for the elevator doors to open. He told me it was time to go. I protested and told him I wasn't ready yet. I needed to stay for my family. He didn't like it but agreed and that was it.

The second time he came he told me I didn't have a choice this time. I again protested saying I wasn't ready to go, pleading that I needed to be here for my kids. They still needed their father. After a bit, he told me OK and left me be.

When I got home I started doing some research on the real Ray Liotta. I laughed a little when I read the quote in IMDb at the top of this post. The real Ray seems to be a lot like his angelic counterpart. To this day I still have problems falling asleep worried that I'll run into Angel Ray again and this time I won't be able to tell him no. What bothers me even more is I don't know which way that elevator was going to go. Up or down.

18 Years

Most people associate 18 years with the age one becomes 'legal'. Today I associate it with the number of years I've been married. Good, bad or indifferent - it's been 18 years.

Blood, sweat and tears seems to just scratch the surface.

In 18 years I started a family, watched a family divide, have owned quite a few automobiles, held down a job with only one employer - worked in customer service, been a manager, run a correspondence unit and been a financial analyst (none of which I would have ever imagined if you'd have asked me before this 18 year run began).

I've made my very fair share of mistakes. I've caused my very fair share of pain. I've left. I've come back.

I've faced mortality and help beat it back with a stick. I've also seen it win.

These 18 years has changed me immensely. I am no where near the naive little boy from so many years ago who had no idea what he was doing. I don't have all of the answers yet, but I've learned a lot along the way and I've got a pretty good idea on the meaning of life.

Food for thought...

I tend to shy away from religious posts. Political ones, too. People have their own unique way of looking at things and when you cause question to those beliefs people can become upset. When you deal with radicals you can potentially die for your beliefs (religious and political).

As many of you know from my Facebook posts, I do believe in God. My relationship with Him is a personal one. It's kind of an informal one as you see me refer to Him sometimes as Big Guy. What I've experienced in my 38 years has shown me He's there. Maybe not how I'd hope or expect him to be, but He is around. You won't often find me trying to push my opinions and beliefs upon you. If you have questions I'd be happy to talk to you about them but don't expect me to get into a debate with you about Him.

Now to the reason for this post. I came across this article on CNN in Twitter. It was shared there by Roger Ebert. I don't know Mr. Ebert's viewpoints on God so I don't know his reason behind sharing. What I do know is that this article mirror's nearly 100% by viewpoint on Evolution. It was written by Karl W. Giberson, Ph.D. and I couldn't have said it better myself. Let me reiterate, I am not trying to change your view point on Creationism vs. Evolution - I'm just sharing mine.

You can click here to be directed to the article.

Jesus once famously said, “I am the Truth.”

Christianity at its best embodies this provocative idea and has long been committed to preserving, expanding and sharing truth. Most of the great universities of the world were founded by Christians committed to the truth—in all its forms—and to training new generations to carry it forward.

When science began in the 17th century, Christians eagerly applied the new knowledge to alleviate suffering and improve living conditions.

But when it comes to the truth of evolution, many Christians feel compelled to look the other way. They hold on to a particular interpretation of an ancient story in Genesis that they have fashioned into a modern account of origins - a story that began as an oral tradition for a wandering tribe of Jews thousands of years ago.

This is the view on display in a $27 million dollar Creation Museum in Kentucky. It inspired the Institute for Creation Research, which purports to offer scientific support for creationism.

And it’s hardly a fringe view. A 2010 Gallup poll indicated that 4 in 10 Americans think that “God created human beings pretty much in their present form at one time within the last 10,000 years or so.” (http://www.gallup.com/poll/145286/four-americans-believe-strict-creationism.aspx)

While Genesis contains wonderful insights into the relationship between God and the creation, it simply does not contain scientific ideas about the origin of the universe, the age of the earth or the development of life.

For more than two centuries, careful scientific research, much of it done by Christians, has demonstrated clearly that the earth is billions years old, not mere thousands, as many creationists argue. We now know that the human race began millions of years ago in Africa - not thousands of years ago in the Middle East, as the story in Genesis suggests.

And all life forms are related to each other though evolution. These are important truths that science has discovered through careful research. They are not “opinions” that can be set aside if you don’t like them.

Anyone who values truth must take these ideas seriously, for they have been established as true beyond any reasonable doubt.

There is much evidence for evolution. The most compelling comes from the study of genes, especially now that the Human Genome Project has been completed and the genomes of many other species being constantly mapped.

In particular, humans share an unfortunate “broken gene” with many other primates, including chimpanzees, orangutans, and macaques. This gene, which works fine in most mammals, enables the production of Vitamin C. Species with broken versions of the gene can’t make Vitamin C and must get it from foods like oranges and lemons.

Thousands of hapless sailors died painful deaths scurvy during the age of exploration because their “Vitamin C” gene was broken.

How can different species have identical broken genes? The only reasonable explanation is that they inherited it from a common ancestor.

Not surprisingly, evolution since the time of Darwin has claimed that humans, orangutans, chimpanzees, and macaques evolved recently from a common ancestor. The new evidence from genetics corroborates this.

Such evidence proves common ancestry with a level of certainty comparable to the evidence that the earth goes around the sun.

This is but one of many, many evidences that support the truth of evolution - that make it a “sacred fact” that Christians must embrace in the name of truth. And they should embrace this truth with enthusiasm, for this is the world that God created.

Christians must come to welcome - rather than fear - the ideas of evolution. Truths about Nature are sacred, for they speak of our Creator. Such truths constitute “God’s second book” for Christians to read alongside the Bible.

In the 17th century, Galileo used the metaphor of the “two books” to help Christians of his generation understand the sacred truth that the earth moves about the sun. “The Bible,” he liked to say, “tells us how to go to heaven, not how the heavens ago.”

To understand how the heavens go we must read the book of Nature, not the Bible.

The Book of nature reveals the truth that God created the world through gradual processes over billions of years, rather than over the course of six days, as many creationists believe.

Evolution does not contradict the Bible unless you force an unreasonable interpretation on that ancient book.

To suppose, as the so-called young earth creationists do, that God dictated modern scientific ideas to ancient and uncomprehending scribes is to distort the biblical message beyond recognition. Modern science was not in the worldview of the biblical authors and it is not in the Bible.

Science is not a sinister enterprise aimed at destroying faith. It’s an honest exploration of the wonderful world that God created.

We are often asked to think about what Jesus would do, if he lived among us today. Who would Jesus vote for? What car would he drive?

To these questions we should add “What would Jesus believe about origins?”

And the answer? Jesus would believe evolution, of course. He cares for the Truth.

Just Because

Today the Supreme Court upheld the rights of a radical Christian Church to protest at military funerals claiming that God is killing our soldiers due to His intolerance of gay people. I'm not going to touch the religious aspect of this, my issue for today's blog post is around Free Speech.

On January 8th, 2011 there was a tragic shooting in Arizona. U.S. Representative Gabrielle Giffords was targeted by an unstable man. In the hours and days after the shooting speculation was pointed towards Sarah Palin because of her rhetoric pointed towards "removing" certain members of Congress. There were a lot of passionate comments posted by readers on-line in regards to these allegations. One person said she's allowed to say things like this because it's her Right to Freedom of Speech. When I read that statement my thought was "this guy completely missed the point". I'm not saying Sarah Palin is responsible in any way, shape or form for that shooting. I don't know and I don't think any of us will ever know. What I do know is that the temperature of the political debate during this past years elections seemed to be turned up to extreme levels. Those levels are dangerous and can potentially have devastating results. Instead of defending her right to free speech I would have hoped for self reflection and a change for the better.

As Americans we should recognize the power of our words and the impact they can have on the people around us. Just because it's our Right doesn't make it right.

Mortality

I'm going to state the obvious here - mortality sucks!

I had a hard slap of my own mortality a year and a half ago. But that's another story. Soon.

These past few days have been tough. I got a call Saturday from my dad that scared the crap out of me. "Jim, we think mom has had a heart attack. We took her to the hospital. They are taking her back to run tests. I've already told Will, will you call Andy and tell him? I'm going to go back to be with mom."

I've made mistakes. I've handled situations incorrectly. I have one of those "if I could go back and do something different I would" scenarios. Because of the way I handled a certain situation I lost several years with my mom and dad. Those are years I know I'll never get back and wish I could. When I got this call from dad all I could think was "I have her back in my life, I can't lose her again now!". I worry about my dad's health too. I just can't imagine life with out them. I hope I don't have to realize life without them any time soon.

Fortunately all tests ruled out a heart attack. She's following up with a cardiologist though and she needs to make some changes to improve her health. So does dad. I want them around to enjoy their Great Grand Kids in 20 or so years...

In addition to all of that, this morning I get a call from my wife that an ex-employee of mine (who happens to now work with Lynette) was in a horrific accident. She had to be life-flighted to the hospital and the latest update says it's hour by hour. This person has a son still in school. They just lost their husband/father a few years ago. I won't lie and say I was really close to this person, but when you work with someone for several years and are responsible for them on a day to day basis as their boss you form an attachment.

Being reminded of my fragile mortality through these two instances helps remind me of how precious our time here is.

The Diet(s)

I've been kinda cranky this past week. I get that way when I'm deprived of things I like. I know, "boo hoo for me". I'm on two diets of sorts.

The first is a financial diet. I ran our books before I got sick. Of course, being laid up for 6+ months Lynette had to take over cold and did a magnificent job of taking care of everything even with my reduced disability pay. Once I was recovered I took the bill paying back over. Unfortunately I like to spend money. I like to eat out so we were doing that a lot. I way overspent on my kids for Christmas. We had several emergency expenses come up related to the car. And while I managed fine I wasn't able to stay disciplined enough to pull off the major purchase I've been wanting now for 2+ years - a 13" MacBook Pro. So, Lynette is back in charge now and I'm hoping soon (rather than later) I'll have that sleek machine in my hands.

A side effect of my financial diet is my semi-self imposed nutritional diet. As I pointed out earlier, I like to eat. I love to go out to eat. It would get so bad that I'd often eat out several times a week. Now that I don't have free reign over the checkbook I have to really buckle down on when I can stop somewhere to eat lunch. I won't be able to just say "let's get Subway or Wendy's for dinner". An agreement that my wife and made during the transition of financial power was that we were going to plan out more meals during the week so we wouldn't fall into the trap of 'easy dinner's out'. That should help provide good left-overs for lunches.

Before I got sick in October '09 I was pushing 275 on the scales. I ended up losing a lot of weight from my illness but have managed to put some of it back on. Now that I'm watching more of what I eat I figured I'd also try other new steps to help my 'diet' along. I've created a second blog called "Jimbo's Diet". You can find the blog by following the link to the right of this post. In that blog I'll be posting what I'm eating, any type of exercise I'm doing, dietary information I come across and anything else that might help me out on this journey.

Hopefully these changes will lead to a better, happier Jim!

The End?

Super Sunday! Packers vs. Steelers for the title. Everything I've seen up to this point indicates this should be a really good game. I admit I am a Packer Fan and feel good about their chances to win the game.

The Super Bowl signifies the end of the season. This is especially true now that the NFL moved the Pro-Bowl to the week before the big game. One thing we have to keep in mind though is that this might be the last time we see pro ball in any fashion for a while. The owners and the players association have reached the end of their current labor agreement. Many experts predict we will lose the entire 2011-12 season. No pro football next fall and winter.

We experienced this recently with the NHL. Their last lock-out resulted in a completely lost season. Now I'm not a hockey fan so I can't really speak to the impacts to the game that lost season had. Back in the mid-'90's baseball also had a work stoppage. Being a baseball fan I can relate to that one a bit better. Baseball had been on the decline as America's favorite sport and with that lock-out they lost a lot of loyal fans. They opened the door for the NFL to step in and become America's favorite. Neither Hockey or Baseball have much to fall back on to fill the need of the average fan during a lock out. The NFL on the other-hand has both College Football (which is very well televised) and local high-school games for the average fan to fall back on.

So my questions to you are: Are we seeing the end of the NFL as we know it? Will the NFL be just as strong after a lock-out? Will you still be a loyal fan (if you're one now)? And will college and high school ball be enough to get you through next season? Let me know in the comments below.

(Written on the iPhone)

Zip It Up

We all understand how a zipper works, right? When you pull up the left side merges with the right side, one tooth at a time. When you're done everything is set in place and everyone is happy.

Driving should be the same way. When you come to a section of road that requires merging, act like a zipper. Let the person in front of you in. Don't be a d*** and try to jump ahead and certainly don't cut someone off. Highly educated engineers spent a lot of time and money in school to determine when designing roads and intersections if a merge is necessary to help traffic move smoothly. Please respect these engineers and your fellow drivers and zip it up when your driving along.

Imagine

WARNING: This is going to be a religious post...

I believe in God. I imagine a lot of you readers do too. I believe God helped guide my family through the very difficult past two years. Reflecting back on things I see His hand guiding us in certain directions. I'm not posting today about that, perhaps another time. Today I want to you to imagine how Jesus would view religion in our society now.

Imagine (hey, I said in the title that you would be doing this...) that you are a Mother or a Sibling and you are a member of a certain Christian Sect that believes in God and Jesus. As part of your religion you have very strict rules about how you should behave. Your Daughter/Sister also believes in God (the very same God) but worships at a different church that isn't part of your sect. Now that Daughter/Sister gets sick. She's facing something that could be potentially deadly. Because she doesn't worship under your guidelines you can't talk to her. You can't go to her and comfort her during her time of need. All you are allowed to do is go to her and preach about what she is doing wrong by not following your strict beliefs. Because she doesn't come around to your way of thinking and start attending your Meetings you are now not allowed to associate with her at all.

Do you think Jesus would look at you and say, "good job"? Is this really the type of person God wants you to be?

This is a very real scenario and it breaks my heart that it happened.

Enough!

Today my 12 year old son was threatened by a fellow classmate. Without going into detail, the boy told my son that he would kill him. The way it was presented was no idle threat. As far as I can tell, my son did nothing to provoke this. The other boy even went so far as to acknowledge that fact. This was a first time offense for this other boy. As far as anyone can tell me he's never caused any problems and there has never been any tension between him and anyone else. My son told me "it was totally random, Dad".

I was told by my wife. Apparently the school was smart enough to call her instead of me to share this information. I had to step away from my work desk to collect myself. I went into my bedroom, logged onto Facebook (because that seems to be what I do to collect myself). I subscribe to Yahoo News and the first thing on my wall was the story that broke today about 3 students being shot at a High School in California. Wow, I really didn't need that.

I called the school. Spoke with the Guidance Councellor that handled the situation and was told that the other student had been disciplined. The Guidance Councellor wouldn't tell me the other boy's name or what the discipline was. I don't really understand why I couldn't be told what either of those were. I got the kid's name from my son (like I wasn't going to find out that information). As for the level of discipline, I feel as the parent of a child who was threatened I have the right to know what level of punishment was given to the offending child. If I disagree with the punishment I can then appeal to the School Administrators. I just want to make sure this is taken seriously and that we reduce the chance of anything else happening.

I had been working on a blog entry to address the shootings in Arizona last weekend. I was having a hard time putting into words my thoughts on that one. When this all happened today it prompted me to action. So, what do we do about this as a society to rise above all of this? Do we censor media consumption by our youth? Video Games, TV, Movies, Music, etc...? To a degree, yes and no. Just like "guns don't kill people", this media doesn't make us bad. It's up to parents/adults to understand what our children are consuming and help them understand what it is they are consuming. We have to know what their limits are and hold them to it. It's up to us to set positive examples for them to follow. We have to rise above and show them how to contribute in a good way to society.

Wow.

Been awhile

In case you haven't noticed, and judging by the attendance you haven't... it's been awhile. Of course I'd like to think I've got a decent excuse. If you know me you know what I'm talking about. But I'm back. I've got a few topics in mind to write about so expect to see a few things from me in the coming weeks and months.