Deal or No Deal

Deal or No Deal (online game) is probably the hottest new game on Television. Howie Mandel hosts the show that starts out with 26 suitcases, goes through a process of elimination, deals to quit and finally a final dollar amount.

This is a prime time NBC show that is starting to get a whole lot of attention lately, kinda like when Who wants to be a Millionaire first came out.

The Show's Official site.

Happy Birthday Terri

Today is my middle sister Terri's birthday. I do believe it's her 21st plus birthday, kind of like the ones that I like to have.

I am very fortunate to have a sister like Terri. She's a very special person in my and everyone elses life. She's always been a person with an open door and one to help someone in need without hesitation.

Happy Birthday Terri, I hope that all your dreams coem true on this day.

Car problems at the right time I guess

The last couple of days, I have been having some car problems. I took yesterday off and did some minor maintenance to the car, but to no avail. I then took the car the Cool Ride, Michael Toth's shop, to have it diagnosed. Turns out I have a bad Digital EGR valve. You could out your hand on it and it would cook an egg.

They are rather pricely, so we experimented with the idea of simply unplugging it and then running the car. The car ran much better, but the true test was this mornign when I had to top the mountainous regions at 5:00 in the morning.

My car didn't perform that well and I didn't feel safe on driving 70 miles in the early wee hours of the morning. I'm going to have to replace the valve today, and that's bottom line.

However, when I called into work at about the time I would have got there, I was informed that they were in a White Out. The picture is a picture of my office as I'm sure a few of you have seen previously.

Good time to have car problems, almost killed two birds with one stone.

Welcome back Amy

Wow, do you believe it. I have managed to add two Blogs in two days now. My niece Amy who previously published a Blog a couple years ago has decided to re-enter the world of Cyber Blogging and has started Amy's Blog.

She started one a couple years ago but quickly lost interest on Blogging. Hopefully she will keep it active and up to date. When you are a blogger, it's easy to forget that there are actually people out in the cyber world who manage to read your blog from time to time.

It's a great way as I'm sure all of you reading this knows to keep up with what is going on in the lives of some very special people. When we make that commitment to start a blog, we have to go in knowing that your Blog is only as good as you make it. If you're not active, people won't keep visiting to read the same post day after day and month after month.

You you keep an active Blog, you are taking a days thoughts, dreams or observations and capturing it in time for all to share. Every post doesn't have to be dramatic, it could be something simple like I spoke with .... today or I think I want to do this in the near future or simply I'm mad as hell because...

When you do this enough and make it a habit, you build a story, a small piece of history about your life of moments that could very well have been lost in time had it not been for a blog entry.

I've been blogging about a year and a half now. There are archives and stories of my thoughts. I've shared the joys in life, the hardships, the dreams or just the good times over the past eighteen or so months. Look back through my archives to a certain time period and see what was going on a year ago from today. (It was the day I started at VARGIS) or what happened on someone's birthday.

Blog's are a magical gift, they give you the ability to write a very important story. Maybe there most important story in your life because it's about your life. With a small amount of effort once a week or so, you can create a magical story about the time you spent on this earth for you or anyone else to read in the future.

Have a good day.



How we spend our days is, of course, how we spend our lives.-- Annie Dillard

New BLOG Added

I was chatting with my mentor in the world of GIS this morning and he told me he has been starting to do some web design and he is also doing an "ACTIVE" Blog. So, I decided to add it to my Sidebar and linked JB's BLOG to mine.

For those of you who don't know, JB is the man who took me under his wing and taught me a good bit of what I know about GIS. I consider myself very lucky to have learned it the way I did, and JB was one of the main reasons I am as good as I am at it today.

Ironically JB lives in Frostburg and used to commute to Morgantown everyday, a few months later the tables were turned and he left the NRAC to work here in Frostburg and I started driving to Frostburg on a daily basis.

Small world, we used to work a couple office down the hall, now we work about a half-mile down the road from each other.

Welcome to the world of Blogging JB.

Poker Night at the SanJulians's Part II

Last night Kim and Robert once again hosted Poker Night at The SanJulians. A group of eight players got together and played a game of Texas Hold'em. For the second time in a row, I finished in 3rd place. There is no money for third place, so there is no honor and there is no glory.

It was an enjoyable game, but even though there wee more players this time, the game seemed to go a little quicker and was pretty interesting. Kim showed me she is a seasoned Texas Hold Em player once again, but she finished in fourth place.

I started to get ready for the night by practicing on my favorite Texas Hold em site, PartyPoker.net. They had an upgrade to the system recently, so I upgraded the software and played a few tournaments to get ready for the nights festivities. I did win the last one that I played in, so I thought I was ready to win this tournament.

This is the final hand when the whole tournament was culminating and a winner was declared.



Thank you Kim and Robert for hosting a great night of entertainment, I'm already anticipating the next game, that I intend of winning.

An example of what I do

A co-worker of mine pointed this site out to me today, this is specifically data that we compiled and I assembled here at work.

Allegany County

Enjoy and hopefully it's educational for you.

Tuesday's Tidbits

* Today is Tuesday, and I thought it would be a nice time to do a tidbits since I haven't done one in quite some time.

* Good news from work that will be directly affecting me, we won a vary large contract to Los Angeles County. We have already flown the area and started the processes, this was just the official press release. They are planning on intergrating the information to a web based application, so yours truly will have a lot of work lined up to oversee in the next couple of years. I already wrote what I think is a pretty time effective and fail safe methodology for another project, so if the Planametric data comes my way, and I have a feeling it will, I'll just re-write some of the specifics and some of the code and plug it into this project.

* We have our first official softball practice this evening at 6:00. I'm pretty excited about it, and I'm really anticipating hitting the field with everyone again. I'll take my camera and hopefully I'll get a shot or two.

* Speaking of bringing my camera, yesterday driving to work I saw what I thought as a fantastic photo opportunity. The sun rising in the east, I was going to call it "Dawn of a new day". I brought my camera to work with me this morning, unfortunately it wasn't as clear of a morning as it was yesterday and my timing was wrong. Time changes next week, so I'll have three more days to get the shot.

* Speaking of time changes, remember we set our clocks up an hour this weekend. It's spring foreword, so you'll lose an hour's sleep and it will be a shorter weekend.

* Kim Messaged me yesterday, she's going to try to have another Texas Hold 'Em tournament this weekend. Should be fun, I plan on winning the tournament this time though.

* Things are a little slow at work right now, but I should be bombarded in work as soon as one of our subcontractors makes a delivery.

* Hey, I've tried my hot air popcorn popper out a few times. This thing is great and I love it. I may just put home made ice cream on the agenda this summer.

* I found out from Kim yesterday what her big surprise is that she is getting. I'm not going to spoil it, so readers of her BLOG will just have to pay attention for updates.

* I haven't talked to Nick or Terri lately, so I guess I'll need to maybe stop by the bar one day later this week.

* Have a good day, I'm going to.


If we had no winter, the spring would not be so pleasant; if we did not sometimes taste of adversity, prosperity would not be so welcome.- Anne Bradstreet

The Weekend

It's been a great weekend for me so far, even though my beloved WVU Mountaineers are not playing today with a chance to advance to the Final 4. Ironically we have played both teams who are already in the final four and we have played the two number one seeds that play today with a chance to go to the final four. So, there is a good chance that we will have played all four teams left in the NCAA Basketball tournament at one time or another during the regular season and have a 2-2 record against these four teams.
Last night we had our fantasy baseball draft. It's going to be a pure trophy league this year and the guys that are in my league are all members of my softball team with the exception one owner. It was a great time last night getting together with the guys I will be spending this summer with playing softball.

It's a continual process for us, Softball and then when that's over Mountaineer football starts, when that's over Mountaineer Basketball starts and when that is over we return to Softball. I had a blast playing with these guys last year, and I'm looking foreword to playing with them again this season.

We are going to have our first practice this Tuesday, so I'm a little excited about being about being able to hit the field again this season with these guys.

I did get a chance to talk to Chris and he informed me that we are picking up a new player this season who owns a paintball battle ground at Rich's Farms. He's toying with the idea of having a private day late in April where we are going to do a Prime Thyme Softball v WVAQ paintball battle. They are eying up like April 22 at Rich's Farms for the potential day and date. Chris (Hector) told Kevin last night that we will see where his loyalty lies, however Chris is also on the morning show and might be setting us up. We'll have to wait and see.

I was really happy with how my draft ended up. I'm traditionally the guy who comes in last place. Remember that these guys are all in radio and television or have worked for a team, so I'm usually in trouble every year. I feel confident this year though that the Morgantown Fantasy Baseball trophy (you can see the football trophy in one of the pics) will be residing at my place come October.

I did buy myself a nice little toy this morning. I was in the mood for some popcorn and was with all the Micro-Wave popcorn. I noticed a jar of Orville Redenbacher sitting there. It's been a really long time since I would have "Real Popcorn" at home. Seems like we always go for convenience and get the microwave stuff. It never seems to pop right, gets burnt or is dried out too much. So, I went and bought a hot air popcorn popper.

I don't think I have had real home made popcorn in over a decade or better. You know the kind, where you Melt the butter and pour it over top a big bowl of freshly popped pop corn. Well worth the minimal investment (I think I paid $16.00 for the popper), other than movie theatre, this is the best popcorn I've had in years.

Maybe this summer I will venture into making Home Made Ice Cream.

It's amazing how we forget the simpler and finer things in life.

Hope you've had a great weekend.

My Little Home in West Virginia

This is an old movie file that I did a couple years ago, but just never published. I came across it this morning on my computer and had forgotten all about it.

The Music is a song my grandfather recorded for RCA Victor in either the late 40's or early 50's called My Little Home in West Virginia. Enjoy.

Happy Birthday Amy

Today is my Neice Amy's birthday. It has been a true joy watching her grown up and develop into the very lovely young lady that she is today. She is a very loving individual who loves to be in the presence of kids, and from about every observation I have ever made, she is a kid magnet. Young Children just seem to adore her.














Happy Birthday Amy




"We are not born all at once, but by bits. The body first, and the spirit later; and the birth and growth of the spirit, in those who are attentive to their own inner life, are slow and exceedingly painful. Our mothers are racked with the pains of our physical birth; we ourselves suffer the longer pains of our spiritual growth." -- Mary Antin, 1912

It's Been a good weekend so far.

I will say that it has been a fairly decent weekend for me so far. It started Friday and my 68 mile drive home from work when WVU beat Southern Illinois 64-46 in the first round of the NCAA Tournament. We play Northwestern State this afternoon in the second round. The winner will advance to the Sweet 16 of the NCAA Basketball tournament in Atlanta. I will say it has been a pleasure to watch these seniors play the past four seasons.

Saturday was a decent day, I went to Jean's and took a few pictures of her for her new pet, an African Grey named Gussy. Gussy is pictured with Bunkey, Jean's toy poodle that she also has. Gussy has an already very large vocabulary and just being around her is very entertaining. She states her previous owners address and telephone number for sta
rters. Jean told me a little story that she usually gets up by 5:00 and decided to sleep in one morning. A little after 5:00 Bunky was barking so Jean got out of bed, as soon as she got out she looked down and there was Gussy walking into her bedroom. Gussy looks up at her and states....."What's Your Problem?" I have a funny feeling Gussy will touch a few peoples lives over the years.

I did have a nice little pleasant surprise yesterday in a phone call from my best friend throughout college Ginger. Her and Tony were in town yesterday morning, and will be returning in a couple months. Hopefully the next time they come back into town we can all go out to dinner or something. She did however tell me that they bought a new house and will have DSL at their new house. I'm really lloking foreward to being back in contact with her with MSN again. If you find a friend like this once in your lifetime, you are pretty lucky.

I'm not sure what the rest of my weekend holds in store other than my typical day, but if it's anything like the first part of the weekend it's going to be a good day.


"Friendship is a plant of slow growth and must undergo and withstand the shocks of adversity before it is entitled to the appellation."--George Washington

Happy St. Patrick's Day

I hope everyone is wearing a touch of green today, because it is St. Patricks Day. Watch me be the one that screws around and forgets to wear it when I get ready for work in a few minutes.

Today is also the day of of an attempt at a record breaking Guinness Toast. BRILLIANT!




Here is wishing everyone a Happy, Safe, and Green FRIDAY and St. Patricks Day.

The snow this morning

Was nothing short of a figment of everyone's imagination. There was NOT any snow on the road this morning when I was driving to Frostburg and there was NOT snow falling from the sky. It was just a very bad dream, summer is right around the corner and it's been six weeks since that rat saw his shadow in Punxsutawney. Please resume with your normal summertime plans.

We are two days away from St. Patricks's day and less than a week away from the Vernal Equinox, so that means we can't have any more snow. It's the start of Spring and leading into summer, and everyone knows it doesn't snow during the summer. Sheesh.

Ok, everyone think warm thoughts. Think about being on the lake or walking outside in warm weather and shorts. Think about cookouts and summer Holidays, and let's not forget that Christmas is three months behind us, the Super Bowl was played a month and a half ago and NASCAR is in full motion.

It's softball weather, not snowball weather. Think warm thoughts.

Tragic News

By ERIN CARLSON
Associated Press Writer

NEW YORK (AP) -- Isaac Hayes has quit "South Park," where he voices Chef, saying he can no longer stomach its take on religion.

Hayes, who has played the ladies' man/school cook in the animated Comedy Central satire since 1997, said in a statement Monday that he feels a line has been crossed.

"There is a place in this world for satire, but there is a time when satire ends and intolerance and bigotry towards religious beliefs of others begins," the 63-year-old soul singer and outspoken Scientologist said.

"Religious beliefs are sacred to people, and at all times should be respected and honored," he continued. "As a civil rights activist of the past 40 years, I cannot support a show that disrespects those beliefs and practices."

"South Park" co-creator Matt Stone responded sharply in an interview with The Associated Press Monday, saying, "This is 100 percent having to do with his faith of Scientology... He has no problem -- and he's cashed plenty of checks -- with our show making fun of Christians."

Last November, "South Park" targeted the Church of Scientology and its celebrity followers, including actors Tom Cruise and John Travolta, in a top-rated episode called "Trapped in the Closet." In the episode, Stan, one of the show's four mischievous fourth graders, is hailed as a reluctant savior by Scientology leaders, while a cartoon Cruise locks himself in a closet and won't come out.

Stone told The AP he and co-creator Trey Parker "never heard a peep out of Isaac in any way until we did Scientology. He wants a different standard for religions other than his own, and to me, that is where intolerance and bigotry begin."




NOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!! Is this the end for the envelope pushing cartoon?

Winter is unofficially over

Winter has to unofficially be over with. It's been in the 70's or planning on being in the 70's the entire weekend and into early next week.

I secured my Jimmy Buffett ticket for his Pittsburgh Concert this summer, I spent the day walking around in shorts, t-shirt and sandals and there was actually a co-ed softball tournament this weekend at Boparc.

Softball, shorts, Sandals, Buffett. Yep, I would have to say that better weather days are just around the corner. Day's when girls will start walking around in shorts and tank tops, and when we can finally put the winter jacket up for the season.

Even in Frostburg you can notice all the birds starting to migrate back to the area. Mother Nature could be playing a nasty trick on me, but I don't think that she is this time. I think Spring is starting to roll in a little early.

Temps going up, days are starting to get noticeably longer and noticing people wearing shorts.

I will have to say that with the exception of this past October when Mother Nature threw us a strange and heavy early storm that this did turn out to be a fairly mild winter. I hit a couple days when traveling in the early morning was pretty treacherous, but those days were pretty much few and far between.

Hopefully this will be a great summer.

Got My Ticket!!!!!!

WOO HOO!!!!!






EDIT:


Just checked again 45 minutes after they went on sale....SOLD OUT!!!

T - 30 Minutes

Jimmy Buffett tickets go on sale in 30, no make that 28 minutes. Got my fingers crossed on this one, they are hard to get.

Would you say these people are having a good time?

WOW

I just got what I would consider the ultimate professional compliment. As everyone know's I am a Geographer and my specialty is in a field called GIS. What GIS is is basically manipulatable computer maps, with a huge database on the back end. I have been working in the GIS field for five years now. I'm the lead GIS guy for my company that ironically has GIS in it's name. Part of the reason possibly I was named Employee of the Year for 2005.

In every field, especially in computers and software there are companies that are leaders in the industry. Obviously if you think computers, you think Microsoft. They basically revolutionized the computer operating system and and could honestly be considered the leaders of computer operating systems. I'm sure there are those who will disagree with me, but for the most part it's Microsoft.

In the Field of GIS, the innovators of the discipline is a company called ESRI. They manufacture and developed the software, those produce all kinds of data for anyone to use and they the support, the lifeblood and the very breath of GIS. They are it's heartbeat.

I got an e-mail today from ESRI expressing interest in me to be an ESRI instructor Tysons Corner, Virginia. The ironic part, this is them contacting me and not the other way around. They are inquiring about what it would take for me to relocate.

Talk about the ultimate professional compliment.

New Blog Added

I just updated my Blogger page, I had to add Kim's Yahoo 360 page because this is the one she is primarily using at the moment. I did have the honor of adding a new Blog, my niece Brittany Dae has decided to enter the world of Blogging. It will be nice to be able to keep up with her and what she has been up to. I know that currently she is in town for Spring Break. She attends Linsley Prep in Wheeling and is in her Freshman year there.

Jimmy Buffett concert announced

yes, it's that magical time of the year again when local parrot heads scramble to get tickets to see Jimmy Buffett in concert at their local venue.

Last year was my first time at going to a Buffett concert at PNC Park, and I will say it was one of the best concerts that I had ever attended. I went with Mark and Denise DeVault and had a blast in the 90+ degree day in downtown Pittsburgh that was simucast.

If anyone gets a chance, they shoudl make every attempt possible in going to see this once in a lifetime type of show.

Goodbye Mike, we'll miss you

Today, VARGIS lost our facilities manager. As I said earlier this was Mike's last day, as I am writing this he is on transit back home to San Antonio, Texas where he sent his wife and daughters a few weeks ago. All the corporate personel showed up including Ram from India, he is the #2 man at our parent company InfoTech. Our President and Production Manager showed up from the VARGIS corporate office to square a few things away.

Texas was home to Mike and his family, even though he was a transplanted New Yorker, he says he is a Texan and I have a place to stay if I ever want to visit San Antonio. Mike we wish you well in your new ventures.

Our company President told us that we are going to have a company name change in the next few months to be similar with out parent company InfoTech. Damn, I even broke out the VARGIS shirt today too.

No real changes at our facility other than the name on the door, we have some pretty large contracts that we have won, so if anything the place will be getting bigger. There are still a few growing pains as a company, but I think that this is going to be a solid company for years to come, whether I am there or not.

Other than that, it's been a pretty nice day.

Tuesday's thoughts

I felt that I should do a BLOG entry this evening to keep it active. Not much has been happening other than that ugly white stuff that I keep seeing on the ground. I'm ready for summer and softball.

Tomorrow should be an interesting day at work, it's my bosses last day. He's moving back to Texas, I don't think his family ever really adjusted to Frostburg Maryland and his kids wanted to go home. When he told me that a couple of months ago I had a strange feeling he would be leaving in the near future. Our corporate number two man from the home office in India will be in the office tomorrow also, so needless to say it should be semi-interesting. I'll take my camera tomorrow and get a few pics.

How about the Mountaineers beating Pitt last night. It was the last game these seniors will ever play in the coliseum. They have captured our hearts like no other class before them. They came in on a low note and leave the program in the best shape in nearly 50 years.

That's my BLOG, have a nice day.

RIP Don Knotts

Morgantown's most well know celebrity Don Knotts has reportedly passed away in Los Angeles.

OK, is spring now around the corner?

Right now it's 48 degrees! Add another 30-40 and I will be really happy. I went to work yesterday morning and I ended up driving through a blizzard to get there. Have I ever mentioned that I really don't like snow? LOL

I don't know what I'm going to get into today, but it started off with me catching up with Jean this morning and getting some updates on everyone.

I hear that Amy is now back to work, or should this be starting to work, at Nick and Terri's. I'm going to have to make a trip down there today to say hello to everyone. I hear they are doing pretty well so far, so we all need to keep our fingers crossd for them.

One thing I forgot to post recently is that Moke has been accepted to Fairmont State. I think he's really wanting to see what WVU says though. It is nice to know that he already has an acceptance letter from one of the schools he applied to though.

I guess I should be thinkful that it doesn't look like this outside. Have a good weekend.

It;'s Friday!!!! How about a tidbits

* It's been a long week, but Friday is finally here. Woo Hoo.

* Anyone notice I haven't done any survivor posts this season other than a cheap one on the first episode, that's because I honestly haven't watched it. I just haven't seen anything this season, so I really don't know what is going on with the show.

* Talked to Kim once this week, she seems to be feeling much better. Robert has been off work with her for a while and is planning on going back to work next week.

* Hopefully I can get out and do something this weekend, I'm hating this cold weather and I think I am starting to suffer from SAD. Have I ever mentioned that I hate snow? I'm ready for the spring and summer.

* The Morgantown Fantasy Baseball League is going to be back in action this summer after a one year hiatus. I plan on once again getting my butt handed to me, maybe I shoudl play with people who don't live, drink and breath sports.

* I did find a really nice site this week for job searches. Not only inmy field but for any company in any zip code or state. indeed.com is pretty simple, but it's a pretty poweerful search engine. Someone showed it to me and I was really impressed.

* The Mountaineer Basketball team is on a three game losing streak, but 2 of our 3 losses are to teams who have won a National Championship within the last three seasons. We'll rebound and be ready for the Big East Tournament.

* Have a great day

My years goals to date.

First off, it was 1 degree this morning when I woke up. It was in the 60's on Friday. What's up with that? Did I ever mention I hate snow?

I don't make New Years resolutions, they are usually things that are done on a whim and never really realize their fruition. I take the approach a little differently, I try to set up what I would call obtainable goals that I would like to meet throughout the year following year. Resolutions we can easily let go in a day or two, but goals are something you work for year round. These are some of my goals for 2006 and where I am currently at.

Family Situation

Over the last few years we have some family feuds, sometimes resulting in people not talking and this being carried on for a while. In 2005 I ended my feud with my sister Kim and she also took the steps to repair another relationship in the family.

There are still a few hurdles to get over, but they are getting smaller and smaller and could be obtainable. Everyone makes mistakes, I think the question we must ask ourselves is how long those mistakes are being held against anyone else or being held against us. Anyone can hold a grudge, but it takes a person of real integrity and character to say enough is enough.

Unconditional love has no conditions, and we all need to remember this sometimes. I love everyone in my family and would bend over backwards to do what I could to help any of them. I have swallowed my pride, I have accepted accountability on things that I have done rather than make excuses and most importantly, I've tried to put others first. I could be wrong, but the true testament of that statement is that I really don;t see anyone contradicting it. I could be wrong, but that is the only true measure that we have.

This year I would like to see a complete family portrait at Christmas time. There is something incomplete about this picture, I don't want it to happen again.



Career

Wow, this is a big one. I said earlier this year I would re-market myself in 2006 and I have done this. I updated my resume and placed it on a few sites that it could be seen. I have been contacted by at least one head-hunter so far this year about at least one job. Anyone who knows me knows I was pretty excited when I found out the details of who was looking for me and where it is located. Don't know how it's all going to turn out, but the ball is rolling on this one and it looks like there could be prosperous times ahead of me.

Health

I've got my insurance information finally organized, but I still need to name a Primary Physician sometime in the near future. It is all organized for now on my part as far as everything else goes.

I did manage to step on a scale this morning and check my weight, my pants were starting to get a little loose and I just wanted to check, sure enough without trying I have dropped 10% of my body weight since early November. It must be getting close to softball season. I have been much more energetic over the past few months, I guess this confirms why.

Personal life

Steelers won the Super Bowl, WVU is the defending Sugar Bowl Champions and Morgantown High is the two time defending State Football Champions. The WVU basketball team lost to #1 UCONN yesterday, but we'll get them. So sports wise my goals are all my favorite teams to repeat.

Relationships

The one thing that comes and goes in my life. I've put any and all relationships on hold since I decided to go to college way back last century. I haven't allowed myself to get involved with anyone because I had goals that were more important to me at the time and I wanted to complete them.

In 2006 my goal is to find a soulmate. It's early, but I have signed up for at least one (like the specifics) dating site and posted my profile. I've sent a few messages in people that look to be able to keep my interest, we'll see how things turn out. It's been a long time since I was in a relationship. My last real relationship was a real educational experience for me. It taught me that if you don't have trust, you don't have anything. I also learned that trust is earned, and it's just not given. I have always tried to be honest, and I never really asked for anything other than that mutual respect in return.

Hopefully I can find someone like this in 2006.

This is just my update on the year so far. It's now a blistering 10 degrees outside, is it softball yet? I do have another goal this year, and that is bigger trophies.

Nice short day

I had a nice short day at work today, seems like Frostburg Maryland had a main waterline break today and they shut the entire college down. I had already been there when they made the announcement, but I left at about 9:30 this morning and went and visited mom for a littlw while. Tweaked her computer a little and helped her find what she was missing.

I guess I have to go to work again tomorrow, they got the water line fixed and the evening shift came in a few hours late and the facility is back up and running this evening.

I can't let the BLOG go stale

Yep, it's me and I'm still alive. It's been six whole days since my last BLOG and I haven't BLOGGED since. My BLOG is getting very close to what I would consider a stale BLOG. That's when someone when the author writes something and doesn't touch it again for weeks if not months. That makes it really boring and people lose interest. I've always wanted to maintain the readers interest so that they would regularly return.

Readers need things to help keep the BLOG moving, they need pictures that help you tell a story, just like this one that I took from my phone last July at the Jimmy Buffet concert in Pittsburgh. They need something that gives the post a visual image to go along with your story so that they can see what you are talking about or get a sense of being where you were at. They need to be able to live the moments that you have lived through not only your words, but also through your eyes.

If you can manage to do that, I think you have managed to touch your readers heart. It's hard to get peoples attention sometimes, oh sure it's easy to get the attention of those we know and love, but for the reader that you have never met? I've met quite a few people over the last year whop claim to read my blog. Some do it to keep in touch with what's going on in life, some because they have met me or some because they have just viewed it once or twice and liked what they read or saw.

My sister Kim opened my eyes up a little more to the importance of BLOGGING just this past week. What she found is a place that takes your BLOG and turns it into a book. Yep, a hardback paper printed book. Pretty neat idea wouldn't you say? You think about it, I've spent a year and a half writing my ideas and thoughts down on the internet. I've done tidbits, I've been a news source, I've done multi media etc etc.

Kim said she is thinking of having her BLOG printed. It may not mean much to us right now, because we read them every day. However, think about down the road went he site or sites that host your blog dump their memory. Years after the authors have left this world and moved on. When the grandchildren and great grandchildren who have yet to be conceived walk this earth. Wouldn't it be nice if they could have something to help them better understand who they are, or where they came from.

We all depend on hearsay of family stories passed on down through the generations, and we know how hard that information is to confirm sometimes. This person says this, and that person says that. Wouldn't;t it be nice if something that I take five or ten minutes to do today, will be provide hours of education and entertainment for the next generations to come down the road?

Kim really hit on something and it is really making me think. What is it that I can do that can help the next generation understand who we were and what we were about. Who was doing what and when, and were there any pictures to go along with the story. My contribution has been this BLOG and my website. I try to take as many pictures as I can and add them to keep my site and BLOG up to date. Maybe someday when all of us who are reading this the day it was written are dead and gone, someone from the next generation will be able to see and read the same things and thoughts that we have experienced today.

Do A BLOG, Keep it active and give the next generations a very valuable gift.

A football fans tri-fecta

Wow, talk about a football fans tri-fecta. This year my High School Alma Mater completed it's second consecutive 14-0 State Championship Season. My College Alma Mater went 11-1, won it's third consecutive Big East Championship, won the Sugar Bowl and finished the regular season ranked #5. There have already been two AP voters who have indicated they are the Pre-season #1 next season.

Last night was the icing on my cake for the year. The Pittsburg Steelers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 21-10 in Super Bowl XL. I am a lifelong Steelers fan and have patiently waited 26 years for my beloved steelers to return as Super Bowl Champions once again.

Now, if the WVU Basketball team can bring it home, and they very well could, this could be double icing on my sports world cake.


WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO

Let's start them up again

Well, Jeff Probst is at it again, my favorite television show is premiering the second part of the TV viewing season tonight when sixteen survivors are let loose in Panama.

This time the survivors are going to be broken down into four different tribes, I'm assuming that it will be four tribes of four, so this is going to be something new.

In Survivor All-Stars, they broke them down into three tribes, but this will be the first time for four tribes.

Not going to say much about what did or will happen tonight, I'm just going to pay attention to what is happening rather than attempting to BLOG about it.

Didn't work

6 more weeks of winter. Damn Rat.

Different approach

OK, last year's approach wasn't successful and we managed to have snow after Ground Hogs day. This year I am seriously thinking about sneaking up to Punxsutawney PA and poking the varmits eyes out so that there is no possible way that we are going to get any more sbow.

It started here in October, October!!!! We got nailed with over a foot of heavy snow that knocked out power lines all over North central West Virginia.

I work in Frostburg (that shoudl be a hint) and I've seen enough of the white stuff already this year. I'm ready for warm weather, no snow on the roads, longer days and girls running around in thong bikini's.


If I poke Phil's eyes out there will be no way he can see his shadow.

Deigned a cute little webpage

A lot of time that I spend on the net, I spend posting with what could be called my cyber family over at the Blue and Gold News. Many times there are literally hundreds of us online, and when West Virginia University is playing a game we are online in a thread discussing the game.

I had a little inspiration this past fall when we played South Florida, they had a small site set up for their posters to go in and do an IRC chat. I thought to myself why don't I design one and actually bookmark the parent page.

I forgot all about it until yesterday when I was looking through my bookmarks and rediscovered the Parachat site. I remembered my idea from a month and a half ago and started to design a quick, simple, user-friendly page that my associates from Blue and Gold News and I could all use.

Yesterday I took a couple hours (mostly designing and deciding what links to use at the top) and designed a page. Ironically WVU plays St. Johns today at 2:30, so this will be a great chance for me to do a test run and get some feedback on the page.

Everyone is welcome if you want to come and enjoy some IRC company of some Mountaineer fans during the game by going to the Chat Page and enjoy some company as we cheer on the Mountaineers. Feedback appreciated.

Last Kim Update from Robert

Thanks to Robert for giving us daily information on her condition.

She's home! The doctor pulled out her drain tube and sent us home today. We got on the road around 12:00pm and arrived home by 3:00pm. Unfortunately the ride went as expected and was very very painful for Kim but she toughed it out and we made it home. Kim will have a catheter in for the next 2 weeks while she is recovering and then I will remove it here at home. I will also have to change her bandage where her drain tube was for the next few days until it heals over. Her staples will come out the end of next week and then stent comes out in 6 weeks. We hope to only have to make one more trip to Cleveland (for the stent removal) and then we're home free. We will be monitoring her vitals daily for any changes that might tell us that something is going wrong but for now all looks good. Kim is in good spirits but has a lot of pain. She will be spending the next few weeks resting and walking more and more each day. All things considered the stay in the hospital was a very good one.

Updtae #3 on Kim from Robert

Today was another good/bad day with much more good than bad. First of all we managed to get into a private room this afternoon which makes things much easier on us. The big concern for today were Kim's lungs. They were starting to fill up with fluid from her pain medicine (morphine) and her lack of activity. We were able to reverse this process, however, with a fair amount of walking and some breathing exercises. Her blood oxygen level is now in the upper 90's on it's own. Her temperature has stabilized and has been within normal levels all day. She is still in alot of pain but they removed her from her pain pump and she is back on a regular diet without any intravenous fluids. They left the IV in her arm just in case they need to administer something to her later. She also still has a drain tube in her abdomen to keep any excess fluids from building up in her abdomen and casing her more pain. With any luck she just might be able to go home tomorrow though we both know that the ride home will be excruciatingly painful for her. If all continues to go well the doctor will remove the drain tube tomorrow before we head home and then Kim will have her staples removed in about 3 weeks. The stent will remain in for about 6 weeks to allow her time to heal.

As far as mother nature goes I guess she decided she didn't want a piece of me after all. They were calling for 12 inches of snow with 30-40mph winds this morning but we only got about 2 inches. I guess the weathermen and Ruby doctors have something in common. If you know what I mean.

Talk to you all tomorrow hopefully from home.

Another Kim Update

Another e-mail from Robert


Good and bad news from today but I would say overall more good than bad. First Kim was able to get out of bed and walk a short distance around the hallway this afternoon and then again this evening. She is still in a lot of pain and remains on the pain pump for now. The biggest concern is that Kim is running a low grade fever off and on that I will be monitoring closley. Also her oxygen level in her blood went to new record low according to her nurse of 80%. Normal levels should be 96% or higher. She was put on oxygen and the level came up immediately but will also need to be monitored closely.

On another note mother nature now apparenlty want's a piece of me as they are calling for 8 inches of snow with 20-30mpg winds and snow drifts of 2-3 feet. Bring it!

Just for you Kim

I said i would get it for you, Original Steelers Polka

E-mail from Robert

For all those concerned, Robert is a little more specific.


All,

Kim's surgery went well and last for just over 2 1/2 hours. The doctor did say that the scarring on her ureter was much larger than what he had expected but that didn't really change the outcome of the procedure. He was able to re-implant the ureter into her bladder without any real problems. She has yet another stent for at least the next 3 weeks to give her time to heal and then if all goes well the stent will be removed and the nightmare will be over. For now she is in a semi-private room pending a private room freeing up. We did have some initial issues with getting her pain medicine ordered but all has been resolved and I WILL be taking that up with the doctor in the morning. For the most part she is resting well and hopes to be able to walk around some tomorrow. Cell phones are not allowed in the patient rooms so I only have limited access to call with updates but will do the best I can. That's it for now I will update you all again tomorrow.


In closing I just wanted to thank you for all your support. We could not have made it this far without it.

Updates on everything.

First off, I didn't get a chance to talk to Robert Yesterday, we were playing Phone tag trying to communicate on Kim's condition. I did however get a message from hima nd talked to Mom about Kim's condition.

I found out that she went in for surgery, roughly at 11:00, and the surgery lasted about two and a half hours. When we were playing phone tag yesterday, she was back in her room and in a little bit of expected pain.

Talking to Mom, who was talking to Robert when I was trying to call him, there appears to be no complications and the surgery was a success. I really have no more information than that other than she should be back home by the end of the week if all goes well. I know she's been through a lot through this whole ordeal, and I wish her a much needed speedy recovery and closure to this whole ordeal. I spoke to her a couple of hours prior to her surgery and she appeared to be in good spirits, she wanted me to find a copy of the Original Pittsburgh Steelers fight song for her. Reminder for self, get that song.

I'll try talking to her today and get a few more details for everyone. I know she has a fewcaring friends who check out my Blog for updates on her condition. I've got you covered and will help to keep everyone informed as best as I can.


Second, looks like I am going to be a Great-Uncle again. I was talking to Val and Bobby last night, and Val informed me that she is pregnant expecting another wonderful bundle of joy. Sje already has one that I'm trying to teach to say "Eat Shit Pitt". I have Erica doing the hand pumping, now we just needs the words to come.

Third, Terri and Nick are waiting for the technical bureaucracy to open up...Nick and Terri's Bar. Everything has already been approved, it's just a matter of the commissioner signing the License and assigning them their number so they can call the distributor and purchase their initial stock. I have a funny feeling this bar is going to be very successful, customers are stopping in left and right and they aren't even open yet.

Last and certainly not least, a couple of my softball friends had a baby this past week. Brian and Natalie Hill gave birth to their first bundle of joy (and future Hall of Fame Shortstop) Braedyn Alexander Hill. Braedyn Alexander Hill. Congrats to Brian and Nat.

Have a good day.

SUPER BOWL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Well, I think Bill Cowher has come up with the solution to winning the AFC Championship, don't play it at home.

This team for their leader Jerome Bettis, are on to Super Bowl XL in Detroit. This will end Jeromes illustrious career in his home city of Detroit.

WOOOO HOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Tidbits

* I thought I was a little over due for a tidbits post, so here it goes.

* I first have to start out with a couple belated birthdays. First Mom's was January 11, and I stayed true to form in never being able to remember anyone's birthday, so Belated Happy Birthday Mom. After this happened, I tried adding a few Birthdays to the calendar on my phone. Once again another belated birthday to Nick whose was January 19th. I got to come up with a better system, I'm horrible at remember dates.

* The weather has been unseasonably warm this January, I'm not complaining, I'm enjoying this very much.

* A couple weeks ago I pointed out that one Associated Press Voter had named the West Virginia University Football Team Pre-season #1 for 2006. I knew at least one would do that. Now make that two, ESPN
has us as the #1 team for the 2006 Pre-season.

* In a game that is reminiscent of the old Larry Bird - Michael Jordan nothing but net McDonald's commercials of the 1980's. West Virginia University Basketball's team show that they can play this game too. There is a writer for Sports Illustrated who names eight teams every year, out of these eight teams he guarantees the NCAA Champion to come out of these eight. Read his entire article, and don't forget to look on page two for the rest of the names of the eight teams named. The next 365 days could be very interesting here in Morgantown.

* Nick and Terri's is now officially Nick and Terri's. They have passed their Mon County Health Department inspection and have their liquor license approved. They OFFICIALLY Open for buisness Monday. It's amazing how much work they have done to this location. I'll swing by monday and get a few pictures from the official opening.

* It's the NFL's Conference Championship weekend. My Pittsburgh Steelers are going to try to see if they can have any better luck playing AFC Championship games on the road, since they haven't had too much success winning these games in Pittsburgh. Nick's Carolina Panthers are in the NFC Championship. Here's to my team beating his team in the Super Bowl.

Poker Night at the SanJulians

Tonight was Poker Night at the SanJulians. Kim had invited me up to play in a little Texas Hold em Tournament. I had a great night and it was really a challenging round with some really good players. I came in third and Kim managed to come in second.

A Few pics of the nights events.

I knew someone would say it.

The 2005 West Virginia University Football campaign was arguably it's most successful in school history. A season that started in Syracuse, New York with little to no flair ended up with a Big East Championship, a Sugar Bowl win and a #5 Post season ranking in the AP Poll. Pretty impressive considering that the season ended with their pre-season second string Quarterback and fourth string Running Back stealing the show.

When the season ended and the fact that we beat a very good Georgia team on the road I said then that we basically return everyone for next season. ESPN did a 2006 Pre-Season poll for the 2006 season right after the bowl games and predicted us as #3.

Since then, the Nations best player, Vince Young from Texas, and a few other talented underclassmen have opted to enter the NFL draft a year early.

I had a hunch remembering back to Beano Cook picking the Mountaineers #1 in his ESPN pre-season special in 1988, that someone would pick us #1 for the 2006 season in a pre-season poll. 1988 was the year we managed to play and lose to Notre Dame in the Fiesta Bowl for the National Championship.

We return a lot of talented players and Rich Rodriguez offense is one that other teams are starting to take notice and really give it a hard look. We return two very exciting players in Pat White and Steve Slaton as well as a whole lot of talented and experienced players in a supporting cast.

Well, I thought we would have to wait until this summer to have someone confirm my hunch that someone would name us #1 in the Pre-season polls. I was wrong, it was confirmed for me, by get this, The 2005 National Champions University of Texas's hometown Newspaper, The Statesman. Happy reading.





The pre-preseason Top 25 in college football
Friday, January 13, 2006

Picking t
Nine days removed from the greatest Rose Bowl in history, the last of the multicolored confetti has floated back to the ground and Austin has finally come back down to earth.

Right. Who are we kidding?


This party may not end until, well, what time is Texas' season opener next September?

That's fine by us, but we ask for a brief timeout before the Longhorns are worshipped one final time on Sunday night as we offer our annual pre-preseason Top 25 football forecast.

And who better to climb college football's highest mountain in 2006?

The Mountaineers, of course.

Bear with us here. Every team we looked at has warts, but remember that Oklahoma was ranked 19th in the preseason when it won the title in 2000.

In a tight decision, we settled on West Virginia just ahead of 2003 BCS champion Louisiana State and resurgent Notre Dame. Filling out our top five are Ohio State and Florida.

There's not much not to like about the Mountaineers, whose bowl performance made them look like the strongest team in college football that didn't play in the Rose Bowl or the Fiesta Bowl, in which the Buckeyes beat the Fighting Irish. West Virginia put up a 28-0 lead on eighth-ranked Georgia in the Sugar Bowl and held on for a riveting 38-35 victory in the second-most exciting postseason game.

West Virginia has everything a team needs to stake its claim to No. 1:

Good head coach. Rich Rodriguez is quietly building a monster in Morgantown. Did you see his gutsy fake punt call to seal the win over Georgia?

Solid quarterback. Pat White turned down a baseball offer from the Angels and a football scholarship from LSU and quickly took over the reins of the offense. He's part of the new generation of mobile quarterbacks.

Sensational running back. Like White, Steve Slaton burst upon the scene as a freshman, showed a quick burst through the hole and broke Tony Dorsett's Sugar Bowl record with 204 yards rushing. This guy's a star.

Top receivers. The team's three best are back.

Winnable schedule. The Mountaineers trade in Virginia Tech for Mississippi State and will sleepwalk through Marshall, Buffalo and Maryland. Only possible potholes come at Louisville and Pittsburgh.

Less competition. West Virginia is easily the class of the Big East, and with the talent losses at Texas and Southern California, no dynasty remains intact.

LSU can make a strong case for winning its second crown in four years after ripping Miami 40-3 in the Peach Bowl. Eleven starters return, with quarterbacks JaMarcus Russell (coming off a shoulder injury and wrist surgery) and Matt Flynn back for their junior seasons. Running back Justin Vincent should be full speed after knee surgery, but he'll have to fend off Alley Broussard, returning after knee surgery as well.

Les Miles does have to rebuild his defensive line since only former Longhorn Chase Pittman returns. He'll also have to find two new linebackers, and the schedule is torturous with trips to Florida, Auburn, Tennessee and Arkansas.

Notre Dame has the likely Heisman Trophy favorite in quarterback Brady Quinn, the most underrated receiver in college in Jeff Samardzija and 17 returning starters. But the Irish are still too slow and lacking in defensive playmakers, and they have a grueling slate with USC, UCLA, Penn State, Michigan and Georgia Tech.

Had Ohio State not been gutted on defense — where all three linebackers, including A.J. Hawk, are gone as well as perhaps all four defensive backs — the Buckeyes would have entered September at No. 1. They do return quarterback Troy Smith, game-breaker Ted Ginn Jr. and running back Antonio Pittman but will miss wideout Santonio Holmes.

Florida lost star receiver Chad Jackson to the NFL but returns veteran quarterback Chris Leak among 14 starters. Now that Urban Meyer knows the SEC is a little tougher than the Mountain West, he'll be restocking with the best high school talent in the nation.

Auburn could make a bid with returning quarterback Brandon Cox, a strong secondary and a weak nonconference schedule. Texas will be much better than most expect because of 14 returning starters, including every skill position player — ahem — except one. (And tight end David Thomas.)

USC lost three guys who could be NFL All-Pros soon. Still, it could reach the national championship game given the wideouts, the defensive returnees and an influx of great recruits. Don't count on Oklahoma staying down with the cocksure Rhett Bomar at quarterback and Adrian Peterson hellbent for contact, the Heisman Trophy and an NFL pass after next year.

Most of all, remember, this is January.



With the Mountaineer Basketball team already proving they can beat any team at any location this season (Lost by 1 point to #2 Texas, Beat #8 Oklahoma and #3 Villanova, all on the road), 2006 is shaping up to be a very good year for West Virginia University Athletics.

Nick and Terri's

I stopped down at the new bar last night to visit Terri and see how the bar was shaping up, boy was I surprised to walk in and see how far they have come in a short period of time in restoring and getting this old building ready to be an establishment again.

Every time I stop there are patrons from the other bar there working to help get this one up and running or a couple people stopping in to see if they are open yet. It's really amazing what some of their customers have done to get this up and running. I've been there twice now and a friend of theirs named Radar (Vietnam Vet) has just been busting his butt both times I stopped by helpign get this thing ready.

They should be open within the next couple weeks and I'll be sure to go and get a few pics. The first time I stopped Terri wished she had a before and after pic, and that was last week.

I'm really looking foreward at seeing this bar when it's done. They have really busted their hind ends on this project.

Decision Made

As I stated in one of my posts last week, I was faced with a decision as to continue to live in Morgantown or relocate to Frostburg. I had been wrestling with the decision since about mid November when the possibility of me working for a company in Morgantown arose. That is another story, and I think I have given up on that situation. I contacted them at the beginning of the year and heard nothing more from them. Lack of professional courtesy is one reason I am closing the book on that opportunity.

I said the day of my interview that if I was hired I would work there for two years and go from there. It would allow me the opportunity to get some professional experience outside of what many employers would probably deem an academic environment at WVU, even though this could be no further from the truth. I will continue to work at VARGIS, but I think I want to continue to explore other employment options.

I'm happy where I am at at this current time in my professional life, but I also want the best opportunity to grow. So, during the next 12 months I plan on remarketing myself and see if I can find a more suitable situation for me.

It honestly was a very tough decision for me, but I am going to continue to live in Morgantown for the next 12 months. If I am still working at VARGIS in 12 months, then I will relocate to the area, but for right now I think I want to try to market myself again and see what kind of opportunities present themselves.

There were some decisive factors in my decision to stay in Morgantown. Family being #1 on the list. Friends being #2 on the list financial situation played heavily in the decision.

I had to prioritize the things in my life that are most important to me, my goals, the climate of where I will be living and financial situation and come to a decision. This may not be a permanant decision, but this is the final decision concerning the next 12 months.

You guys are stuck with me for 12 more months. Is it softball yet?

2006 Sugar Bowl Highlight Video

Another great WVU Football video done by the guys at BloodyFlux

#5 in AP, #6 in USA TODAY

Final College football rankings for the 2005-6 season.


AP

1. Texas (65) 13-0 1,625
2. USC 12-1 1,560
3. Penn State 11-1 1,484
4. Ohio State 10-2 1,428
5. West Virginia 11-1 1,325
6. LSU 11-2 1,314
7. Virginia Tech 11-2 1,197
8. Alabama 10-2 1,081
9. Notre Dame 9-3 1,019
10. Georgia 10-3 994
11. TCU 11-1 937
12. Florida 9-3 817
12. Oregon 10-2 817
14. Auburn 9-3 799
15. Wisconsin 10-3 786
16. UCLA 10-2 778
17. Miami 9-3 589
18. Boston College 9-3 545
19. Louisville 9-3 410
20. Texas Tech 9-3 359
21. Clemson 8-4 339
22. Oklahoma 8-4 329
23. Florida State 8-5 232
24. Nebraska 8-4 128
25. California 8-4 45


USA Today

1. Texas (62) 13-0 1,550
2. USC 12-1 1,483
3. Penn State 11-1 1,421
4. Ohio State 10-2 1,357
5. LSU 11-2 1,281
6. West Virginia 11-1 1,235
7. Virginia Tech 11-2 1,176
8. Alabama 10-2 1,066
9. TCU 11-1 914
10. Georgia 10-3 900
11. Notre Dame 9-3 866
12. Oregon 10-2 837
13. UCLA 10-2 774
14. Auburn 9-3 760
15. Wisconsin 10-3 739
16. Florida 9-3 718
17. Boston College 9-3 584
18. Miami 9-3 558
19. Texas Tech 9-3 422
20. Louisville 9-3 342
21. Clemson 8-4 310
22. Oklahoma 8-4 274
23. Florida State 8-5 209
24. Nebraska 8-4 109
25. California 8-4 68

Sugar Bowl Champions

WOW, What a game that was last night. West Virginia became the 2005-6 Sugar Bowl Champions by defeated the University of Georgia 38-35 last night in the first and only Sugar Bowl game not played in New Orleans.

West Virginia went into Georgia's back yard and jumped ahead to an early 28-0 lead and never relinquished the lead. It was a bit of a nailbiter at times, but Rich Rodriguez had this team ready to play.

West Virginia finishes the season with an 11-1 record for the third time in school history (1988, 1993), but this is the first time we did it by winning our bowl game. It was sweet to sit there and watch us finally win the Big Game.

West Virginia was led by two Freshmen, Steve Slaton and Pat White. Slaton set a Sugar Bowl rushing for 204 yards, a personal career best at this time and managed to become the third WVU Freshman to even rush for 1,000 yards in a season. Amos Zereoue and Avon Cobourne being the other two freshmen WVU Running Backs to accomplish this task.

Pat White came within about 50 yards of ALSO rushing for 1,000 yards this season as a Freshman. We will definitely end up in the top 10 when the final polls come out, I'm hoping that we will finish 5th or 6th in the final polls which should be out in a few days.

Happy New Years!!!!

Auld Lang Syne

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
For auld lang syne, my dear,
for auld lang syne,
we'll take a cup of kindness yet,
for auld lang syne.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and never brought to mind?
Should auld acquaintance be forgot
and days of auld lang syne?
And here's a hand, my trusty friend
And gie's a hand o' thine
We'll tak' a cup o' kindness yet
For auld lang syne


Happy New Year Everyone. May everyone have a great and prosperous 2006!!!!