Found Thriller on YouTube

I do not normally look around YouTube, but I came across this link reading Reuters Technology channel on my BlackBerry. Pretty good stuff. It is amazing how much stuff people store and post now, and what information we can find in a few clicks on the Web. Enjoy!

Church Billboard

I saw a billboard in front of a small church the other day. The sign read:

Aim for Heaven. Enjoy Earth Enroute.

I think that is a good quote to live by. As we decide how much we should enjoy earth, we need to think about things to enjoy. For instance, getting on a plane to Hawaii has a large carbon footprint, but shouldn't everyone get a chance to see the wonders of the islands if they can. I think that things are created for us to enjoy in all parts of the world. Otherwise, why do they exist?

Simpsons Movie this month

The Simpson's Movie comes out 7/27/07. As quoted by Lisa,

If cartoons were meant for adults, they'd put them on in prime time.

The movie is rated PG-13. For all of us with younger kids but raised on the Simpsons through high school and college and now, we will find a way to have a date night to go watch a cartoon.

Jumping In

J is jumping into the pool from the deep end. C is jumping into the pool from the shallow end. J wanted to go to the pool today with Grandma and Grandpa so he could show them how he can jump in and swim around in the deep end. Without Ms Ann, we didn't get lessons for him or C this summer, but he is swimming better and better. If we can teach him to use his arms and breathe from the side, then I think he will be swimming better than me. Probably by the end of the summer... That may be wishful thinking on his part, but you never know. We need to find some way to keep C going on with the lessons. At age 4, J had Ms. Ann teaching him. Right now, C won't go in the water without the life vest. We need to think of something to keep her progressing...

Live Earth 7-7-07

Hopefully, you are enjoying some of the music provided by the concerts. The messages presented around the music are pretty important for us on the Earth as well. If you have the opportunity, then viewing the concert on Universal HD is the way to go. Click here to go to the official Live Earth blog. You can use the Carbon Footprint calculator to learn how much CO2 your lifestyle generates.

Because I am fairly lazy and I use IM, I downloaded the latest Windows Live Messenger. Just by changing my display name, Microsoft is making donations to different causes. If you already IM and use Windows Messenger, then how easy is that to do?

Touring Washington

See, here is a picture of us with my mom and brother, Greg, but where is my wife? She is back behind the camera taking the picture. That picture in the other post is probably worth a lot of money for an elusive picture that includes my wife...

In front of the White House

My brother and sister both live around DC. This summer's big vacation was to visit family in DC and in NJ. While were visiting my sister and brother and their families for a few days, we spent a Sunday seeing the sites around the National Mall. The crowds weren't too bad, and the weather worked out for us. I was surprised to see just a couple of protesters in front of the White House. One man was holding a sign about the illegal war in Iraq for oil and another man approached him to discuss the situation with him. They were talking pretty loud, but it was civil.

While we were walking around taking pictures, limos were dropping off couples in tuxedos and gowns for a gala that night. We couldn't tell what the event was about. Maybe Cheney was hosting a pre-commutation party for Libby.

Here is a picture of our whole family (probably one out of 200). In most of the other pictures, my wife took the picture. I took a couple with her in the picture, but very few pictures exist with her in them.

Visiting the Statue of Liberty

An appropriate picture of our trip last week on America's Independence Day... Everyone still wants to come to America. The Statue of Liberty symbolizes the America that everyone wants her to be.

On our family trip adventure last week to visit my brother and sister and grandmothers, uncles, and aunts in New Jersey, we took a day to go tour the Statue of Liberty. Here is a good picture that would go well in the marketing materials. At the time that we went through security to go into the pedestal, the line stretched past where we were standing for this picture. At this particular time, they must have had a break for the security staff before the next wave. When you get a ticket, you have a three-hour window of time to make it through security. After almost 2 hours waiting in line and going through security much more extensive than going through airport screening, we walked around for about 1/2 hour. The kids liked the pictures, and I was able to read some of the history of the statue.

We need to remember back to that time in the 1880's when we built up partnerships with countries and worked together to do grand things. Not really we, because I think that the American people get it. However, our executive branch and probably our legislative branch don't seem to get it. They seem to care only about power and elitism for their select interests. Can change happen? It can and it must, but it may take a while. I think that the American people will wake up as they always do to make things right, but sometimes it is easier to react rather than be proactive. America waited too long to enter WWII. Will we wait too long to correct what we are currently doing in the world?

Here is a picture of J on the ferry leaving the Monument area.

Hitch Carrier on Vacation

Here is my free advertising for etrailer.com and the Rola hitch carrier and bag that we used on our trip from SC to DC to NJ.

Some people thought that we were carrying a corpse in the back. To unhook it and move it around, two people carry it around like a stretcher. To keep the stuff from easy taking because it is within reach we unhooked the carrier at night, unbolted the hitch receiver (just 4 bolts) and put the 2-piece stretcher into the back of the Expedition.