John's Ramble My Average Life.

Snowtober

2011-10-30T09:00:00.001-04:00

Snowtober storm

2011-10-30T08:14:00.001-04:00

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My poor trees took a beating

Nathan lighting the canon

2011-07-04T07:37:00.002-04:00

Mechanics torn on Right to Repair Bill | WWLP.com

2011-06-28T20:58:00.000-04:00

Mechanics torn on Right to Repair Bill | WWLP.com

Devastation at home: A retrospective of tornado damage

2011-06-04T08:54:00.000-04:00

Devastation at home: A retrospective of tornado damage

Travel day

2011-04-20T17:14:00.001-04:00

Our first day of vacation was spent traveling. We woke up in the hotel after a very poor nights sleep. They had sleep number beds and sheets that felt like wax paper. Don't believe the adds sleep number beds suck. The hotel shuttled us to the airport in plenty of time for our flight. The first half of our flight was nice the airplane was only half full. The second half unfortunately was a full flight and I got stuck sitting next to a smelly old woman. Luckily the flight came in a half hour early. Once we got our luggage we headed to the grandparents condo which was about an hour and a half ride. By the time we arrived it was dinner time so we headed over to Olive garden for a nice dinner. After dinner we took a walk on the beach. After that we went back to the condo and crashed. It was a long day but its good to be on vacation.

Vacation time

2011-04-18T22:14:00.001-04:00

We are leaving for April vacation in the morning. We were supposed to go on vacation in February but work got in the way. Tonight we are staying at the Radison near the airport tonight. We did this because we can park our car at the hotel while we are gone and it's cheaper than paying for parking at the airport. This also saves us the stress of getting to the airport in the morning because the hotel shuttles us over. This is a great way to save some money and it alleviates a lot of stress. If you plan on traveling I would recommend doing this. We got to the hotel about 7:30 tonight and after checking in we went to dinner at legal seafood next to the hotel. It's like our vacation has already started. Flying out at 10:50 in the morning so it's nice to be close to the airport that way we don't have to get up too early.

THE BEST PLAY GROUND

2011-03-21T22:03:00.000-04:00

Winter is almost over time to go out.
I took my daughter and her friend for a hike in the woods yesterday. Because of all the snow we have had it's the first time in a while we have been able to get out and go for a hike. It was great to finally get out of the house after being stuck inside all winter..
We went into the woods behind our house. I am very familiar with these woods because I grew up playing out here when I was a kid.
Some of my best memories growing up were playing outside in the woods. I can remember leaving the house in the morning and heading out to the woods, only to come back when we were hungry or someone was calling us to come back in.
I remember playing for hours on this rock as a kid.

I can even remember the tree to the right of the rock except it was a lot smaller then, We used to use it as a sort of fire pole to get down off the rock. We even had a name for this rock. we called it Big Rock I know not very creative but we all knew where to go when we said let's meet at big rock.
The woods were a great place to grow up in it beat any play ground that you could go to. there is nothing more magical then being out in the forest.

This little pond is in the middle of nowhere as a kid you can almost imagine the lady of the lake rising up to give you excalibur. Can't you picture Pooh with a balloon tied around his waist floating up to this hole in the tree trying to get hunny from the bee's.

I love being out in the woods it makes me feel like a kid again and I am glad I getting the opportunity to share it with my kids.

Gone but not forgotten

2010-12-30T13:21:00.000-05:00

It's been a long time since my last actual blog post. A lot has happened since my last actual post. we have sold our house,moved,my wife and I have both changed our jobs and our kids lives as they get older seem to become more and more demanding. It seems we are always running around from place to place. Because of all that it's been extremely difficult to find time to sit down to post.
I was debating weather or not I should delete my blog altogether.
I actually signed on today with the intention of doing just that.
But as I started looking through my posts I realized that I couldn't do it. Those posts had become sort of a diary for me and a history of where I was and what I was thinking and I just couldn't wipe it away.
I want to return to the blog one of these days. I don't know when, it could be next year next month or tomorrow.

Until next time whenever that may be.

Nathan going to semi formal

2010-10-30T17:56:00.001-04:00

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Carving pumpkins

2010-10-30T16:02:00.001-04:00

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Julia dancing at the YMCA.

2010-04-10T22:00:00.001-04:00

Video I took this morning before work. Make sure you make it past the wind noise.

2010-02-26T20:57:00.002-05:00

My son as the scarecrow in the gateway production of the wizard of oz.

2010-02-15T18:17:00.001-05:00

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Test picture

2010-02-14T17:42:00.001-05:00

test

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Test picture

2010-02-14T16:23:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2010-02-05T22:00:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2010-02-05T21:05:00.001-05:00

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At the bruins home

2010-02-05T20:19:00.001-05:00

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Working late tonight

2010-02-05T19:33:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2010-01-30T22:31:00.001-05:00

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Untitled

2010-01-30T19:45:00.001-05:00

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The brain bee kids

2010-01-30T19:42:00.001-05:00

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John looking very nervous

2010-01-30T18:16:00.001-05:00

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The ten finalists.

2010-01-30T18:00:00.001-05:00

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Our group waiting

2010-01-30T17:20:00.001-05:00

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Waiting for the competition to start

2010-01-30T17:17:00.001-05:00

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Home

2009-09-20T22:27:00.000-04:00

Last week my wife and I decided to sell our house. This was not an easy decision for us because this was our first home. We bought our house a year after we were married. It was only the 2nd house that we looked at when we were house hunting but we immediately fell in love with it. The house was an old victorian style and had so much character. This house was our dream home and at the time we could never have envisioned that we would own such a house let alone that we would ever be selling it. We thought that we would live in this house forever. After all it was a beautiful home with a big yard. The house was in our home town and our families were close by.
But as things often do our lives have changed. When we first bought our house it was just me and my wife and the house was huge for 2 people. Since then we have had 2 children.
I used to work about 15 minutes away from home. My job has now changed and I currently have to commute anywhere from 1 hour to 2 hours one way. I have to tell you after driving this for almost 2 years it is getting very old. My wife also used to be about 10 minutes from work now her commute is a half hour to 45 minutes. Not only has our drives changed but our children are getting older now and it seems the older they get the smaller the house gets.
We still love our house but with these factors it has become clear to us that it is time to move on.
It's kind of scary because we still don't know where we will end up when our house sells.
Our future is a wide open.
The good thing is no matter where we end up it will still be home as long as we have each other.
A house is just wood and brick a home is where your family is.

My Social Life

2009-08-29T19:53:00.021-04:00

Social network sites for many of us have become part of our everyday lives. Here is a rundown of some that I have used.

You will be familiar with some of them and some you may never have heard of.

Facebook is the one that is the most widely known. It seems these days that everyone is using facebook from teenagers to

grandparents.

My wife was the first in our family to have a Facebook account in our house. I would walk by the computer and see her on it messaging friends or playing games. I never thought it would be

something I would use. She had her account for about a year before I decided to give it a try.

What made me take the plunge was The word twist game. It looked interesting so I signed up

and quickly became addicted to it. I took the newbie approach and almost immediatly started sending pokes and flairs to my friends and family. When I first joined there were very few people I knew that used facebook but recently it seems that everyone from my graduating class has joined. I have friended most of the people that I have found or who have found me. Even though I may not have deep discusions with these people it has been nice re-connecting with them.

If it wasn't for facebook I would never have known where these old friends were or what had happend to them.

Twitter is different from Facebook.

On twitter you post within the limits of 140 characters what you are doing either from your computer or from your phone. Your posts will then show up on the twitter site for friends and family or perfect strangers to see.

I first started using twitter as a way to update my status on facebook but I quickly started to use it more than facebook. I can't explain why I like it I just do. Twitter is something you either get it or you don't. You can read my previous post #iranelection for more on Twitter.

Flickr is the first social network site that I used.

Flickr is a photo sharing site. I am not a profesional photographer by any means but I do enjoy taking pictures. Flickr is a site that you can upload your pictures and share them with people. Once you upload a picture you can join groups and post your pictures on those groups for other people to comment on and give you tips.

Through creative commons a trade mark service. Your pictures that you add if you choose to allow it can be used by other people for commercial or non commercial use. I do allow my pictures to be used for non commercial non profit use only.

This is a great site for amateur photographers like myself who want to improve their pictures.

With Flickr you can see the world through pictures without ever leaving your chair.

Brightkite which is my favorite site of all is more obscure than the others.

The simplified version is that it's Twitter with pictures.

The truth is the Brightkite community is a small

er more interesting group of people than the twitter community.

On Brightkite people post pictures where they are what they are doing and they always post what they are eating. Noms!!!

When you post a picture you add a comment and then your friends will add their comments under your picture. The best thing is the comments don't get lost in the stream.

I first started with brightkite because as I mentioned I enjoy pictures. I enjoy seeing places around the world that I would never get to visit. Brightkite to the dismay of my wife has become an addiction for me. everything I do or eat gets posted. The first thing I check when I have internet access is the Brightkite sight. If I don't I feel like I am missing something.

The friends I have made on Brightkite truly feel like friends.

Friend feed may change they were just purchased by Facebook.

Friend feed is a real time site which collects your posts from other sites.

BK,Flickr,Twitter,Blip FM and many more and then posts them all on the friend feed site. This way you can go to one location for all your posts.

Do you like Music?

Have you ever wanted to be a DJ.

If you answered Yes yo either question then Blip.fm is for you.

On Blip you become your own DJ. You blip songs that you like and people will then give you props on the songs you choose.

You can just use it to listen to songs or use it to create playlists.

a very enjoyable site.

These are some of my favorite sites but there are many more.

So stay in and be social....

Follow me here at John's Ramble and at the following as @JonF119.

Brightkite,Blipfm,Twitter,Flickr,Current,Digg,Friendfeed,picocool,Zapatag,Yublog and Facebook.

#iranelection

2009-06-14T14:43:00.013-04:00

Where were you when it all changed?

If you read the title of this post and understood what it meant then you know where you were and you know what I am talking about.

But what changed?

The title would suggest that I am talking about the elections in Iran. Which in a way I am but the change I am refering to is how we now receive our news.

A little background.

On June 12th Iran held their presidential elections. On June 13th it was announced that the landslide winner was incumbent president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad.

Supporters of reform candidate Mir Hossein Mousavi angered at the results and with accusations of voter fraud took to the streets in protest. The protests which were mostly non violent at first became increasingly more violent when the government tried to stop them using unnecesary force.

The riots quickly escalated and have now gone on for a week and a half with no immediate end in sight.

The rights of human beings are being violated daily. The government Today in Iran may not be the same government in the weeks ahead. Iran has not seen an uprising like this since the 1979 revolution.

Who do you think broke the news of these riots?

Was it the newspapers? No News papers no longer seem relevant if you are looking for current news.

Was it the first 24 hour news network CNN, who's reports from the original Gulf war made them the predominate player in news reporting and changed the way we watch the news.

No they were too busy showing repeats of Larry King.

Was it Fox news who's coverage of 911 made them Americas news network? Did their fair and balanced news reporting show the events in Iran?

Nope they missed it as well.

The breaking news came from Twitter. A social media sight that with posts of 140 characters each broke the story. With trending topics of #CNNfail and #iranelection. The people in Iran with no other way to get their message out started twittering.

They posted what was happening. They posted about being teargassed. They posted about arrests. They posted about beatings. They posted about where to go to assemble. They posted about how to get medical attention. They posted links to facebook. They posted links t

o youtube showing the injustices happening all over Tehran.

Most importantly they posted a video about Neda. An innocent young woman who was tragically shot during Saturdays protests. With the graphic video of her death circulating Neda has become the tragic face of this revolution.

These are the realities that you will not find on the networks. This is the news that is happening now. This is the real reporting from the people that are affected by these events.

This is life uncensored.

Human rights are being violated. Don't wait for the news to come to you.

Stay informed

#iranelection you can make a difference.........

NEDA.

Happy anniversary.

2009-05-31T15:26:00.005-04:00

It's been 17 years since my Wife and I have gotten married. We started to date in high school so we have actually been together for about 25 years.

The years seem to have gone by very quickly but I still love my wife as much today as the day I married her.

In all these years together we have never seperated and we have never had any major fights. This does not mean that we don't disagree or bicker with each other. We do. We have just never let anything get to the point where it would create problems with our marriage. We have always had a relationship that we could talk about anything without causing a fight.

It helps that I didn't just marry the person I loved but I also married my best friend.

This may sound corny but I actually like to spend time with my wife. It's not because we share the same interests. We don't.

We don't like the same music,We don't like the same tv shows,We don't like the same movies, and We don't like the same books.

Our relationship has always worked because we enjoy being with each other.

There is no one I would rather be with.

Here's to another 17 years and more.

Happy anniversary.

Its the law.

2009-05-27T21:40:00.002-04:00

This law was written by my daughter.

I had to share.

The bike ride.

2009-05-03T08:53:00.006-04:00

For the past 2 weeks since the weather started to get better. My daughter has wanted me to take her for a bike ride. Saturday was a beautiful day so so we decided to head out. This was our first time out on bikes this season so we weren't going to go on a very long ride.

The ride started out nicely. We rode out towards the golf course which is not far from our house.

We got to the golf course and there was no one golfing so we decided to take the cart path.

When we ride I always follow behind in case anything happens and also to watch for cars.

So while we were on the path I was directly behind her. On the path is a small bridge that goes over a little stream. While riding over bridge Julia's handle bars caught on the bridge railing which caused her to lose control and crash on the tarred path. Now this happened very quickly. I was directly behind her and because of this I squeezed the brakes so I wouldn't drive over her. Because I did this so quickly this caused me to go right over the handlebars of my own bike and I crashed right behind her. Of course at this time Julia was already crying and screaming. I got up quickly to make sure she didn't brake anything. She was alright except for some cuts and scrapes. I immediately called home so my wife could come and pick her up and there was no answer. So I called her cell phone and again no answer. Keep in mind until this point I was pretty calm even though I had a crying and bleeding girl next to me. I called the home phone one more time and my son answered I asked him where is mother was. He said she was outside so calmly I asked him to let me talk to her. He said ok but let me tie the dog first. Keep in mind I had a screaming crying child and this was the 3rd call to try to get in touch with someone. So thats when I lost it I yelled at my son (unfairly I may add.)

LET ME TALK TO YOUR MOTHER!!!!!

He quickly put her on the phone and I explained what happened. My wife came and picked up my daughter and her bike. My wife cleaned up my daughter's cuts and she turned out to be just fine.

I wish I could say the same for myself. I landed on my leg and can barely walk today but at least nothing is broken.

My only regret is no one was video taping this.

We could have been a winners on America's funniest video's.

Road Rage

2009-04-22T19:43:00.005-04:00

Every day I commute to work which takes me just over an hour one way.

Most days my ride is pretty uneventful but there are days that my stress level can go through the roof. Usually this is caused by bad drivers. You know the ones.

There are the aggressive drivers that come right up behind you and tailgate until you pull over.

You have the ones that cut you off without ever using a directional.

How about the inconsiderate ones that refuse to let you merge into traffic because it delays them 10 seconds.

The grandmother in the fast lane driving below the speed limit. there is the last minute turning decision with no directional. The jerk that just misses you when he goes through a red light. The worst of all the dummy swerving because he is on his cell phone.

I am a patient person but when you commute every day these people can really raise your blood pressure. What can you do about it? No giving someone the finger is not the answer.

Besides the fact that this is rude, in this day and age it could get you killed.

So don't get mad get even. Recently I had the chance to be a beta tester on a new social site. Zapatag... On Zapatag you have the ability to tag license plates. The next time someone cuts you off zap them. Take there plate #twitter it to Zapatag and post what they did wrong for everyone to see. Its kind of like commuter therapy.

Zapatag is not only a place for posting bad things , you can also post the good things.

If you see a car you like take a picture and upload it to zapatag for everyone to enjoy.

You can also follow plates you tag. Tag your own plate and follow it. If anyone tags you you will get a notice. This is good for businesses with fleets. Tag all your vehicles plates If one of your drivers gets tagged you will receive a notice.

Since I have been using this service my middle finger has been well rested.

So remember don't get mad..... GET EVEN!!!!! Zapatag check it out.

Report bad drivers

Date Night.

2009-04-19T21:52:00.015-04:00

This weekend my wife and I went to game 2 of the Bruins playoffs against the Canadiens. It's not often that we get to do anything just the 2 of us. Usually whenever we go anywhere we have the kids with us.

So it was a pretty big deal that just the 2 of us were going out alone. We decided to make a night of it and go out to eat in boston before the game.

We left home about 4:00 so that we would have plenty of time to eat and get to the game on time.

We made good time until we got close to Boston where the traffic was backed up about 8 miles before the tolls. No problem we had plenty of time to spare. We made it through the traffic to find that the streets I wanted to go through blocked off for the farmers market. Traffic was all screwed up so I followed the GPS directions which worked out great until it told me to turn left the wrong way on a one way. As soon as I realized this I immediately stopped unfortunately too late because a cruiser pulled up right in front of me. We explained what happened but the officer didn't seem to believe us and took my license to run it. I don't mind getting a ticket because it was my stupidity. The thing that bothered me most was being pulled over in the middle of the city facing the wrong way on a one way street with everyone looking at us and laughing. After what seemed like forever, the officer came back to my amazement only gave us a warning.To make it even better he backed up and directed us right into the parking garage. This cop was awesome. Thank you Boston police!!!!

We parked the car and headed towards Boston beer works to have a drink and grab something to eat before the game.

The streets were packed with fans and you could feel the excitement in the air. Boston fans are very loyal and very vocal.

We came across a couple of Canadian fans and I felt really bad for them. They were being followed by a couple of Bruins fans that were yelling and swearing at them while they walked down the street. Well maybe I didn't feel that bad. (in fact I believe I was laughing.)

It was not a good night to wear red in Boston. while we were waiting for a table at the Beer works, some Canadian fans came down the stairs and the whole bar booed them as they left the bar. I love Boston.!!

After dinner we went into the Garden to find our seats. We had level 6 suite seats that I had gotten from work. The suite was awesome!! We had a great view, beer and a small buffet. This was definitely the way to go to a game.

The excitement at the game was incredible.

The fans were loud and you could tell it was going to be a great night.

I was on the edge of my seat all night.

The Bruins ended up beating the Canadiens 5-1 and the fans were wild.

Not only was this the greatest game I have been to but I was able to enjoy it with the greatest person.

" The Gipper "

2009-04-09T20:40:00.004-04:00

I recently had these ronald reagan quotes sent to me and I thought I would share them.

I have been feeling nostalgic lately.

Enjoy!

'Here's my strategy on the Cold War:
We win, they lose.' - Ronald Reagan

'The most terrifying words in the English language are: I'm from
the government and I'm here to help.' -Ronald Reagan

'The trouble with our liberal friends is not that they're
ignorant; it's just that they know so much that isn't so.' -
Ronald Reagan

'Of the four wars in my lifetime, none came about because the
U.S. was too strong.' - Ronald Reagan

'I have wondered at times about what the Ten Commandments would
have looked like if Moses had run them through the U.S. Congress.'
- Ronald Reagan

'The taxpayer: That's someone who works for the federal government
but doesn't have to take the civil service examination.' -
Ronald Reagan

'Government is like a baby: An alimentary canal with a big
appetite at one end and no sense of responsibility at the other.'
- Ronald Reagan

'The nearest thing to eternal life we will ever see on this earth
is a government program..' - Ronald Reagan

'It has been said that politics is the second oldest profession. I
have learned that it bears a striking resemblance to the first.'
Ronald Reagan

'Government's view of the economy could be summed up in a few
short phrases: If it moves, tax it.. If it keeps moving, regulate
it. And if it stops moving, subsidize it' - Ronald Reagan

'Politics is not a bad profession. If you succeed, there are many
rewards; if you disgrace yourself, you can always write a book.'
- Ronald Reagan

'No arsenal, or no weapon in the arsenals of the world, is as
formidable as the will and moral courage of free men and women.' -
Ronald Reagan

'If we ever forget that we're one nation under God, then we will
be a nation gone under.' - Ronald Reagan

I really miss this man!!!

You are what you eat.

2009-04-04T20:03:00.010-04:00

We went grocery shopping today and I did something terrible that I haven't done in over 25 years.

I bought a box of Twinkies.

I didn't actually buy them to eat. (My cholesterol will not allow it.) We purchased them as a joke.

(long story)

Anyway As we were in the checkout my wife commented that we had purchased a lot of junk this week. It wasn't entirely true we had purchased healthy food as well but that one box of Twinkies really stood out. I started to worry that people would judge us on what we were buying.

The reason I thought that? I judge other people on the things they buy. Come on now who doesn't look at the food that other people are buying? I do it every time I go grocery shopping. For example the person in line behind us today was an older gentleman probably in his late 50's. These are some of the items that he was putting on the belt to buy. Skim milk,Sugar free ice cream,sugar free cookies,sugar free jello pudding. This man was probably a diabetic that loves sweets but refuses to give up snacking. Now I don't know this person but I profiled him based on what he bought.

Who hasn't been behind a horizontally challenged family and watched them load up the checkout counter with nothing but crap and thought no wonder they look that way they probably live in a trailer. We have all thought the same things. It's not right but it's what we do.

What about the quiet middle aged woman who has a cart filled with cat food,cat treats and kitty litter. Crazy cat lady right? She probably has 10 or 20 cats at home.

How about the thin 30 something woman buying nothing but vegetables, yogurt,diet soda,boneless chicken breasts,bottled water. This is probably a single woman that spends all her time at work at the gym or at the clubs hoping to land a man.

Ok one more the elderly woman with her 2 apples, a bunch of bananas, 1 box of cookies, half gallon of milk,1 pork chop. This is an old widow living on a fixed budget who buys a box of cookies to have for her grandchildren if they visit.

Am I the only crazy person that profiles these people that way or do we all do it?

Here is the list of food that we bought this week.

Ground turkey,ground beef,boneless chicken breast,honey nut cheerios,nacho chips,salsa,Pringles,frozen pizza,lettuce,onions,grapes,ritz crackers,Eggo's,frozen vegetables,1%milk,butter,sour cream,v8 juice,rice and of course a box of Twinkies.

Let the judging begin!!!

My Life in High Def

2009-03-24T20:41:00.010-04:00

Last week after 41 years I had to get my first pair of glasses. To most people this would not be a big deal. but if you read one of my earlier posts you will understand how upsetting this was to me. I am much too vain to have 4 eyes.

I have known for about a year now that I would need them but last year when I went to have my eyes checked the doctor gave me an out. She told me that getting them would help but I didn't have to have to get them yet. All I heard was you don't need glasses. Hooray vanity wins!!!

Because of my vanity I was able to go a whole year with impaired vision. Yay I won? Well I guess not. Turns out this past year my job has required me to do a lot more driving than I used to. I realized lately that I was having more trouble focusing on distances and driving at night.

So I went back to the eye doctor and this time came out with a prescription. I still did not want glasses but knew I needed them. So we went to walmart picked out frames and ordered my extra set of eyes. When they came in last week the time had come I couldn't put it off anymore. I had to put them on. I put them on and WOW!!! All of a sudden everything was different. I had no idea how bad my vision had been. Looking out the window everything was now clearer and more defined. I could now see the details of the branches on the trees I could make out the license plates on the cars and clouds were more defined.

The best way to describe it is the difference between a color TV with an antenna compared to a High Definition TV with a satellite dish.

Now that I see what I have been missing I can't believe I let myself go that long without glasses.

I let my vanity rule out over what was best for me.

No more!! from now on the hell with vanity. I am going to do what I think is best not what I think looks best.

So from now on I am going to wear clothes that are comfortable not stylish.

I am no longer going to lay in the sun to tan.

I am going to eat what I want.

If my hair starts to fall out I will embrace the change.

If I start to lose my hearing I will get a hearing aid.

I will not worry about my weight.

From now on as I age I will let nature takes it course on my body I will no longer try to fight it.

So the next time you see a pale four eyed over weight person wearing sweatpants and slippers waiting in line at the pharmacy for their hearing aid batteries and cholesterol medication.

Come on over and say Hi.

High school hell?

2009-03-15T09:58:00.014-04:00

This weekend I had the opportunity to go back to High School. Well not really go back but to revisit.

My wife and I had to work concessions and tickets for my daughters school. They were hosting a basketball tournament at our old school Southbridge High.

Now I can count on 1 hand the number of times that I have returned to this school.

The High School is literally around the corner from where I live and my son is currently a freshman at the school. This being the case you would think we would have visited the school more often but we haven't.

The only times that I can recall returning was to vote because it was used as a polling place. Even then we never went past the Gymnasium. This weekend we spent 5 hours working at the school and it was amazing to me how familiar it was being back in that building. When you walk through the doors it feels more like you are returning from summer vacation not returning after(holy shit )24 years.

I graduated High school in 1985 and at the time was more than happy to leave. I will be the first to admit that I was not the most studious person. In fact I went out of my way not to study. School to me was not a place of learning it was a place you had to go to until the weekend.

Walking back in all the memories of being a teenager come back to you the good and the bad.

Lets start with the bad.

I am not talking about bad things like homework and tests.(these were just things to avoid)

I am talking about the things that made going to High School Hell. Every kid that goes to high school wants to fit in some way and somewhere and no one wants to be left out.Lunch could be one of the most stressful times of day. The cafeteria is where the high school cliques are the most evident. Where you sat determined your status at the school. No one wanted to sit with the geeks or the freaks everyone wanted to sit at the cool table. There was nothing worse than to show up at lunch late and not to be able to sit at your table. To have to sit with the geeks is the kiss of death. I can still remember the anxiety of coming out of the lunch line with a full tray and no where to sit.

Almost as bad as lunch was gym class. Gym to me wasn't as bad but it could still be very stressful. The biggest form of torture for a kid is when the gym teacher picks captains and tells them to choose teams. As soon as this happens the anxiety begins. The worst thing is to be the last pick. Even being 2nd to last gives you a stay of execution but being last is once again. the kiss of death. Nothing I repeat nothing is worse

Just the act of walking through the halls could be a stressful experience.

It didn't help that your class could be on the opposite end of the school from your last class and you only had 2 minutes to get there. You always had to be watchful of the ass that could walk behind you and tip the books out of your hands. Making you late for class and worse making you look like an idiot in the hallway.

These were just some of the bad things that students forever will have to deal with but there were good things as well.

Some of the best things about high school was just hanging out with your friends at school and on the weekends. Most of our week was spent trying to find someone to buy us beer for Friday and Saturday and then where to go to drink it.

We never went anywhere special on the weekends. Most of the time we would just hang out in front of the school until the police would break us up. then we would all disperse and an hour later we would all be back. As boring as this sounds these were some of the best times.

I can remember up to 50 kids just hanging out with no where to go.

We did this until we started getting our licenses then we would venture further away. getting a license gave us the freedom to go to the movies or to go to the beach on the weekend.

The best part about high school is your first girlfriend and in my case the last as well. I can remember weeks of just working up the nerve to ask her out. Even when I did I had to have a couple of beers in me for courage. To my amazement she said yes. We ended up together all through high school and four proms a house and 2 kids later we are still happily married.

As I said earlier when I graduated I was more than happy to leave it all behind me even so I wouldn't trade the memories of those 4 years at that school for anything.

It was nice to visit the old school and to revisit the old memories but thank god I don't have to go through it again.

Thanks

2009-03-08T09:06:00.020-04:00

Every day across the country, people wake up in the morning get dressed and go to work.

Why do we do this? We need to work to satisfy our 3 basic needs all of which cost money.

Here are the 3 basic needs we have.

Food, Clothing and Shelter.

Thats it nothing more than that. That is all we need to survive right?

Wrong.

We need more than that don't we.

How many of you walk to work everyday raise your hands.

I'll bet not too many hands went up. (if it did what are you thinking, I can't see you.)

So for us to go to work we need to add transportation to our needs.

So we have 4 basic needs.

Food,clothing,Shelter and transportation.

So If we have a job,clothes,food,a bus pass, and an apartment, we should be all set right?

Well not exactly. Lets break down these categories.

Transportation, Ok we all know that most of us do not take the bus to work, so most of us will need to purchase a car. So do we buy basic transportation? No If we did we would all be driving chevy Aveo's. Instead we buy gas guzzling Suv's, mini vans and the worst of all Hummers. None of which are necessary for an average commute. and do we buy 1 car, oh no most families have 2 or more cars in the driveway.

Clothing, We all need to wear clothing not only for protection from the elements, but because lets face it. Most of us should not be seen naked. So do we buy clothing that is strictly practical?

No we don't.We spend way too much on designer labels and the most current fashions.

We have closets full of shoes and shirts and pants, some of which we never wear.

Food, So food is a no brainer, we eat only to survive right? Well wrong again. Just eating for nourishment went out with the cavemen. Eating is a social activity. We eat together,we eat at parties, we eat in public and we eat in our cars. We also eat when we are bored and depressed.

We go out to eat on a regular basis. We buy prepared meals at the grocery store. We buy junk food and snacks.

Last of all shelter. Shelter is also a basic need that could be satisfied in a home with a kitchen to cook in, a bedroom to sleep in, and a bathroom to well you know. So if we have these things we should be satisfied right? Wrong again. Most of us want and depending on the size of our families need more from our homes. The average family needs 3 bedrooms,a bath, a kitchen and a living room. What we want is the following. We want 2 to 3 bathrooms, we want 3 to 4 bedrooms, we want a huge kitchen to entertain in, we want a dining room, we want a family room, we want office space and we want a 2 car garage. To make things worse once we have these things we have to buy things to fill these rooms up. We need sub zero appliances for the kitchen, a big screen tv for the family room,a computer for the office, a big table for the dining room, furniture for all the rooms, and lets not forget all the pictures and nicknacks that we have around the house.

There is nothing wrong with wanting all these things. in fact getting things you want is what drives people to work hard. That is what's great about living in a capitalistic economy.

The American way is to work really hard and do a good job. If you do this you will be rewarded with better pay and the ability to buy these things that you want right?

Wrong thats the old American way of thinking.

The new American way is this.

If you work hard and earn a lot of money. The government is now going to step in and take more of your money and distribute it the people they they feel deserve it more than you. You just earned it right? That doesn't mean it belongs to you.

So if you have been working hard to pay your mortgage and buy the things you want Thanks.

But because we the government have put your neighbor in a house that he couldn't afford.

We are going to raise your taxes and renegotiate your neighbors mortgage to make it more affordable for him and We are also going to forgive his second mortgage so he won't actually have to pay for the motor home and jet ski's parked in his driveway.

While we are at it we are going to eliminate all the Clinton Welfare reforms. That way we can take more of your money and give it to the 2nd and 3rd generation welfare recipients, so that they can buy a car,buy groceries,pay their rent and go to school all on your hard earned dime.

All without working for it.

Thank you for working so others don't have to.

We are sorry that you have to work 50 to 60 hours a week to afford these thing for your family. We are sorry we can't help you with your mortgage. We are sorry you have to pay for your child's college.

Sorry we can't help you.

You made the mistake of working hard.

What do you mean I'm not immortal?

2009-03-01T13:28:00.021-05:00

For the first time in my life I have come to the realization that I may not live forever.

I know it's hard to believe , but this is why I am starting to think this way.

To start I have been in this life for 41 years and plan on going on indefinitely.

The way I look at it, age is only a state of mind and you only grow old if you think you start to think old. In my mind I am still 20 something. Unfortunately my mind seems to be at war with my body.

The war started about a year ago. I put on a few extra pounds, about 25 to be exact. Now this may not seem like the end of the world but in the past whenever I have gained weight I have always been able to take it off quickly. This time I haven't been able to lose it.

To make matters worse my doctor informed me that my bad cholesterol was well bad. So now I have to watch my diet. No more French fries for me.

The other morning I woke up and I almost couldn't get out of bed because I was so stiff. Not the morning stiffness I had in my younger days, but a painful stiffness in my lower back. To further add to this. I was getting dressed yesterday and pulled a muscle in my back while putting on a shirt. It still hurts today.

I have also started doing something that I never thought would happen to me. While watching TV at night I sometimes fall asleep. This never ever used to happen to me. There was a time I could stay up all night and still be ready to go the next day. But now my body just shuts down, even though my mind wants to keep going.

The final realization came today, when I went to lens crafters to have my eyes checked. All my life I have had 20/20 vision. But recently I have been having some difficulty seeing distances, hence the visit to the eye doctor. I didn't know what would happen. I thought maybe the doctor would tell me it was nothing, and that I just had to eat more carrots. Unfortunately this was not the case. The doctor proceeded to tell me that I was getting old and that I would die soon...

(In actuality it may have sounded more like this.)

You don't need to get glasses, but I recommended them if you tend to drive long distances or drive a lot at night. (Which of course I do.)

I took my new prescription and thanked the doctor for forcing me to face my mortality.

So now that I know my body will not cooperate with my forever young mind, I may have to come up with alternate ways to live forever.

I thought about cloning myself and transplanting my mind into a younger body. But I found out that for some reason cloning is still illegal and quite possibly immoral.

I thought about plastic surgery, but dismissed this quickly because thats just like painting a car with a blown engine. (besides you don't mess with perfection.)

My favorite idea is to have myself cryogenically frozen until they can find a way to keep people alive forever. Unfortunately this is a very expensive option and seeing as my last name is not Disney. Someone would have to foot the bill while I was frozen.

(Besides my wife said no.)

The most radical option I came up with is to extend my life through exercise and a healthy diet.

(I know that would never work.)

I have decided that until scientist come up with a permanent solution to my bodies slow decay.

The only thing I can do is the following.

I will live life to the fullest.

I will never think of myself as old.

I will always be active.

I will enjoy every day without complaint.

I may grow old but I will never grow up.

Most importantly I will live on through my children and grandchildren.

I will start all of this tomorrow.

Right now I need a nap.

Could someone pass me my shawl?

Disney vacation the end

2009-02-24T16:14:00.006-05:00

We woke up this morning at 3:00am, to get ready for our flight at 5:30am. As soon as we ot up we showered and got dressed. As soon as we were ready we called the valet to get us a cab.

By the time we got to the lobby the cab was waiting. We loaded up and headed to the airport, Disney was now behind us. Once we arrived at the airport, we checked our bags curbside and went to wait for our flight. We waited about 45 minutes before we were able to board. once boarded I thought I would have 2 seats to myself, but one of the last people to come on the plane was an annoying fat woman who had the seat next to me. Luckily this was only a 1 hour connector to Atlanta. When we arrived in Atlanta we only had a half hour to get to our connecting flight, which of course was in a different terminal. We ended up going the wrong way. by the time we got to our flight it was almost done boarding. We had just made it in time. Luckily on this flight the person next to me was of normal size, and I had a comfortable ride back to Hartford. We arrived in hartford without incident, gathered our bags and headed home.

The last thing we had to do was pick up our dog magenta. They say that dogs have no concept of time, but by her reactions at us being home. She knew we were gone a long time. With the dog picked up and the bags back in the house, our vacation was over. No matter how much fun vacation is, it is already great to be home.

Time to plan the next one.

Disney Vacation day 7 part 2

2009-02-24T15:37:00.010-05:00

So after giving up on the magic kingdom, we headed back to the hotel pool to spend a few hours relaxing before dinner.We have had such a busy week running around, it was nice to sit by the pool and have a couple of beers.

While the kids swam, Kim and I went over to the Hot tub. We stayed at the pool for a couple of hours, then headed back to the room to get ready for dinner. For dinner we went to downtown disney, and ate at the new T-Rex restaurant. T-Rex is a lot like the rainforest cafe, but with dinosaurs.

After dinner we went over to once upon a toy in the Disney marketplace. There was one thing we planned to do when we got to Disney. We went to build our own personalized lightsabers. (did I mention the part about being a geek.) Only Julia and I made them, Nathan decided not too, (not cool when you are a teenager.) All the while building it though Nathan was over my shoulder telling me how to do it. When they were complete, He regretted not making one.

For $20 apiece this is well worth it for any star wars fan.

The perfect end to our time at Disney.

With lightsabers in hand we boarded the bus back to the hotel. Since our flight was at 5:30am our vacation was officially over. The only thing left was the trip home...

Disney Vacation day 7 part 1

2009-02-23T08:28:00.009-05:00

Well this is out last day in disney, and we are going to try to make the most of it. that is if the teenager ever gets out of bed.

Our plan for the day is to go to the magic kingdom for the morning and to Epcot in the afternoon and to finish at downtown for the evening.

So we headed down to the bus stop with the intention of going to the magic kingdom. By the time we got there a line people were already waiting.We waited about 20 minutes, it was cold at the bus station because it remains shaded until late afternoon. When the magic kingdom bus pulled up were were freezing. Unfortunately the bus was already pretty full, by the time it was our turn to board they ran out of room. We changed our plans and went to the boat dock instead and took the boat into Epcot. We probably should have gone back to the room and gotten sweatshirts, but we thought once we were in the sun we would be warm. By the time we got to Epcot we were starting to warm up, but we became cold again as soon as we left the boat.

So the first thing we did was go to mouse works and we all bought new sweatshirts. Now that we were warm we were ready to start our day. Since we were in the area we went over to mission space. Only Julia and I went on the ride, Nathan and Kim decided to wait. When you go on they ask you if you want an intense ride or a less intense ride. I left it up to Julia and she chose intense. She had been on the ride 3 years earlier and was terrified, so I was a little concerned about going on intense. I had nothing to worry about, this time she loved it, and would have gone on again if we had the time.

After mission space we took a quick detour to club cool and had some more free soda, it always tastes better when it is free. After that we headed over to journey into imagination and rode the figment ride.

By this time it was almost noon so we headed to the monorail to go over to the magic kingdom for the last time. No Disney trip is complete without going on the monorail.

As soon as we got to the magic kingdom, we went to the hat shop to buy mickey ears, then we tried to go on some rides, but the park was packed with wall to wall people. So we stopped for lunch, and then gave up on the magic kingdom......

Disney vacation day 6 part 2

2009-02-22T23:11:00.005-05:00

When we got back to the hotel, I took the kids down to the pool, and Kim stayed and rested in the room.

While the kids swam I sat and had a couple of beers while watching them. We couldn't stay long, because we had dinner reservations at chefs de france. We let Nathan choose the restaurant he wanted to go to on his birthday.

I dragged the kids out of the pool and we went to get changed for dinner.

When we arrived at Epcot we stopped at guest services, because if you go to the park on your birthday you get free admission. We already had our passes so instead they gave Nathan a $75 gift card to use. while they registered for the gift card I went to the bathroom, (2 beers at the pool remember) The reason I mention this is because of this sign. Now I have seen these signs all through the park.

What bothers me is that all the signs are in english only. Disney receives visitors from all over the world, and the people speak many different languages. Are we americans the only ones that are too stupid to know how to wash our hands without instructions.

so with my freshly cleaned hands we went off to dinner.

The meal was fantastic as well as the service. The kids enjoyed it as well. By the time dinner was over it was getting late, but we decided to go over to Japan to look around before heading back to the hotel for the evening. On the way back from Japan we stopped to watch the fireworks for a little while, but we left before the end to beat the crowds out of the park.

We ended up walking back to the hotel. The advantage of staying at one of the Epcot resorts is the ability to walk back and forth to your hotel. We walked down the boardwalk, where disney has street performers, and carnival games, and plenty of places to get a late night snack. We were all tired so we just walked through.

We ended up back at the hotel around 9:30. It was a busy day, but I believe Nathan had a very nice birthday.

Disney Vacation day 6 part 1

2009-02-22T22:15:00.000-05:00

Today was Nathan's birthday, so we let him chose which park we went to. His choice was Animal kingdom. We got up early so that we could get to the park for opening. The trick to Animal Kingdom is to arrive when the gates open. This way you can be one of the first to get to Kilimanjaro safari's. If you go early the animals are more active because they have just come out for the day. This increases your chances to see more of the animals.

We arrived just as the gates were opened and we quickly headed to the left of the tree of life towards Africa. We walked right on to the safari ride without any wait. After the safari ride we headed directly to Expedition everest. This is a new ride and is very popular. The wait time was only 40 minutes, so we went in. Even though the posted time was 40 minutes, it only took us about 20. We have found that the wait times have been conservative and the actual times have been shorter. The Everest ride was probably the most enjoyable ride in all of Disney. We all loved it. After Everest we went to the flame tree barbecue to grab an early lunch before all the crowds got there. The flame tree is one of the better quick service restaurants in disney. It is much better than the standard burgers and fries you find in the other parks. The dining area is also very nice, you go down a path and sit and eat in a quiet area away from all the crowds. This is really nice when you have had your fill of all the pushing and shoving. During lunch we were joined by some ducks looking for a free meal.After lunch Nathan and I rode the Kali river rapids. It was still cool and Kim and Julia didn't want to get wet so they opted out. After the rapids were got fast passes for everest so we could go on again later. We headed to Dino land and stopped at the primeval whirl for a spin.(bad joke) After that we headed to dinosaur. Half way through the ride everything shut down and the lights came on. Kind off spoils the illusion, but it was sort of cool to see the ride lit up.

After this we went back to asia to walk the maharajah jungle trek and the Pangani forest trail in Africa. By this time we were tired, so we went back to Everest to use our fast pass. The ride was just as much fun the second time. After the ride we headed out of the park to go back to the hotel to chill before dinner.

Disney vacation day 5 part 2

2009-02-21T22:45:00.000-05:00

We went to Epcot, specifically to go on test track and to have lunch. The reason test track is important is because of an incident 3 years prior.

3 years ago we went to Disney, and the four of us were waiting in line for test track. Before we got in line I had asked the kids if anyone had to go to the bathroom. Of course no one did. after waiting in line for half an hour Julia had to go, so i took her out of line and Kim and Nathan went on without us. julia cried because she missed the ride, so we promised we would come back again. As fate would have it we never got another opportunity during that trip to go back. of course she never forgot this. so this time no matter what we had to go on test track. Julia loved it. it took 3 years but we fulfilled a promise.

after test track we headed over to Le Cellier for lunch. We had made reservations in the morning, because if you don't you end up eating crappy junk food. Lunch was great, Julia and i had steak, Kim had mushroom ravioli and Nathan had salmon. For dessert Kim and I had chocolate moose, it was fantastic, and looked like a moose.

After dinner we went on the Canadian circle vision, this is something I have wanted to do for 20 years, but I could not convince my wife to go on. Now that we have she said she would go on again in another 20 years. From there we went back to the hotel so the kids could go swimming. They were all parked out. The kids went in the pool and Kim and I went into the hot tub. It was very relaxing. Done with swimming we got dressed and went down to the boardwalk to get snacks at the bakery, while down there Julia had a hair braid put in. the walk back to the room was nice, because from the boardwalk we could see the fireworks at Epcot, the advantage of staying on disney property. We got back to the hotel and crashed, big day tomorrow Nathan's birthday.

Disney Vacation day 5 part 1

2009-02-21T08:47:00.000-05:00

Woke up late today about 7:45, got dressed and went down for coffee. I grabbed 2 to jump start my brain. We are going to park hop today. We want to try and hit all the rides we have missed. So we will start at the magic Kingdom then on to Epcot, and then we will end our day at Disney Studios. That is if Nathan ever gets out of the bathroom. Lets see how the plan goes..

Ok so our plan went to Hell right out of the gate. The bus to the Magic Kingdom was way overcrowded, so we figured the park would be to. We changed our plans and instead decided to start at the Disney studios. Julia wanted to see the new American Idol experience , and it's something none of us had seen. When we first got there we went over to the Tower of terror. I wanted to bring Nathan on, he had never been before.While waiting in line Nathan was very scared. but once the ride was over he had loved it.

After the tower of terror we rode the rock N roller coaster again, before heading over to american Idol. When you walk in the studio looks just like it does on TV. Julia was thrilled, she loves Idol. The show started and they have 3 contestants that they actually choose from park guests in the morning. the winner goes on to the finale at the end of the day, the winner of the finale gets a golden ticket to any of the real auditions. The 1st singer was fantastic and ended up winning. the other 2 were ok. I didn't think that I would enjoy this, but I actually did. I would strongly recommend this to anyone going to Disney.

After Idol we left Disney studios we went back to epcot...

Disney vacation day 4 part 2

2009-02-20T21:56:00.000-05:00

To get to Epcot we took the monorail to the ticket and transportation center, and then transfered to the monorail to Epcot. Most people don't realize how easy it can be to park hop. You can go from the magic kingdom to Epcot to Boardwalk to Disney Studios, all without ever getting on a bus. In fact you could walk from Epcot to disney Studio's if you chose to.

Anyway when we got to Epcot we went on to space ship earth. (the golf ball) I didn't realize that it had been updated since the last time we were on it. The updates were definitely needed, technology had surpassed what was considered future tech on the ride.

After this ride we went over to club cool (formerly ice station cool).

This is where you can try different coca cola products from around the world.(for free) All the drinks are good except the Beverly from Italy , don't drink the Beverly.

From here we went over to Soaring. This is another ride that we had never been on. By this time all the fast passes for the day had been distributed, and the ride was an 80 minute wait. We were all getting tired so we thought the wait wouldn't be a bad idea. The 8o minutes turned into about 60 minutes, not too bad. No matter what the wait was, it would have been worth it. this ride was a lot of fun. You sit in seats that are supposed to represent a hang glider. The seats get raised in front of a wide screen that shows a movie flying over California, all the while blowing wind and scents at you. This was very cool and you almost think that you are really flying. From soaring we went over to The Seas with Nemo and Friends. (formerly the living seas) This is another attraction that received a well deserved make over. Gone is the sea lab and the hydrolators, now you ride to the bottom of the sea in shells while trying to find Nemo.

I always loved this attraction and I wasn't sure I would like the updates but they were done right. Another very fun attraction.

After this we were all exhausted, and decided to go back to the Hotel for the night. We had dinner in the hotel cafeteria, then headed to the room for the night. wiped out again.....

Disney Vacation day 4 part 1

2009-02-20T21:22:00.000-05:00

I woke up around 6:30 this morning before everyone else, got dressed and went downstairs to get a coffee. I was not going to be the cause of missing the boat or bus again. Kim woke up shortly after me, but we let the kids sleep in. We wanted them to be well rested.

When the kids were ready, they decided on the Magic Kingdom for today's park. So we headed out to the bus stop. The first bus that stopped was ours, and we were on our way.

We showed up about a half hour after the park opened, and it looked like everyone else did to.

The trick to beating the morning crowds is to go directly to adventure land. Everyone that first arrives, goes straight to the castle and then they tend to head towards space mountain.

So we went straight to adventure land. There were very few people in the area,and we were able to go right on the flying carpets over Agrabah. Right after we decided to go on Pirates of the Caribbean. We haven't been on this ride since it was renovated. The changes they made to it by adding Jack Sparrow really made it more enjoyable. From this ride we headed over to Big thunder railroad, and got on in about 15 minutes. We didn't go on Splash mountain today, because it was cold today, and we didn't want to add wet to that. so instead we went over to the haunted mansion, from there we jumped on the mandatory it's a small world ride.

By this time it was almost noon so we went over to the crystal palace to see if we could get in. The restaurant was full, so we ended up eating crappy burgers and fries in tomorrow land.

After lunch we went on to Space Mountain, it was a 50 minute ride and we decided to wait.

By the time we came out, the park seemed to have filled up. We decided to go over to Epcot for the rest of the day to avoid the crowds .....

Disney vacation day 3 part 3

2009-02-20T09:09:00.000-05:00

So we went back to the hotel to relax a little before heading back out. We went for a walk around the Hotel to see what it was like. The pool area was beautiful, and the kids wanted to drop everything to go swimming. We told them we would come back, because it was starting to get cold and dark.

We decided to go to Disney Quest in downtown Disney. Disney Quest is someplace we have never been and we wanted to check it out.

We went out to the bus stop, to get our first bus ride of the trip. The bus came quickly, but it was a long ride to downtown because of all the stops.

When we arrived at downtown ,we got of the bus at the first stop. we walked by all the stores at downtown on the way to Disney quest. We also had to walk through pleasure Island which is now pretty much closed down. It looks like they are renovating all the clubs, and bringing in more restaurants. This was kind of depressing, because the first time we had gone to pleasure island,was on our honeymoon.

We arrived at Disney Quest, and had to wait for some idiot in front of us trying to get in without a pass. When we went in we checked out a few things. Then Nathan and I headed to the Virtual Space mountain area. This area was extremely cool. What you have to do is design a roller coaster and when you are done you go to another area and ride it. They put you in this large barrel. The barrel rolls and dips to whatever you designed. When you are in the barrel it feels just like a real roller coaster. We went back a second time because it was so much fun.

after that we headed to a virtual video game. What you had to do is screw some headgear on, that made you look like you ride the short bus. Once you have on the headgear you go over to the game and drop more headgear on that completely blocks your vision. Once the game starts you pick up a sword and fight super villains. the game was fun, but the headgear was very uncomfortable. nathan became nauseus from the game, so we all took a soda break.

It was getting late so we headed back to the bus stop. We had a few laughs with some people that were waiting for the same bus. The bus finally came and we went back to the hotel. It was a much quicker ride going back.

When we got back to the room Julia fell asleep within minutes, and we all followed.

Disney vacation day 3 part 2

2009-02-20T08:33:00.000-05:00

We chose to have lunch at the 50's prime time cafe. for those of you that have never been there before, the restaurant is set up like a house in the 50's, and the waitress is supposed to be your mom. The menu is pure comfort food, Meatloaf, fried chicken, and pot roast. The best part is the chocolate shake you can order. this is offered as a drink, but should really be dessert. Don't even try the straw, you must use a spoon.

After lunch we headed to Star Tours. I grew up on Star Wars, and I could not miss an opportunity to go on this ride. (refer to profile I am a geek.)

After Star Tours we went over to Muppet vision 3d. If you see nothing else at Disney, make sure you go into this,it is the funniest show at Disney. When we came out of the show the skies had opened up and it was down pouring. Now make a note, Rain at Disney does not wreck your vacation. It is funny to see all the miserable people when it is raining. Remember getting wet at disney is better than working. the best part about the rain is a lot of people leave the parks, and go back to their hotels. This shortens all the lines. If it rains on your vacation, don't complain just suck it up and make the most of it.

We went on to the great movie ride, and when we came out the rain had stopped and the sun was out. Sucks to be the people that left the park. the last thing we did in the park was the Beauty and the Beast show, we had never seen it before. The show was an abbreviated version of the play. It was very enjoyable. After the show we decided to head back to the hotel for a break, before going somewhere else....

Disney vacation day 3 part 1

2009-02-19T23:09:00.000-05:00

We all woke up this morning about 7:00 am. We decided quickly that we were going to go to the Disney studios. Julia really wanted to go on the Rock 'N' Roller coaster. So we all got ready and headed down to the boat dock. On the way down I stopped in the lobby to get a coffee.(I need my caffeine.) Once I had my fuel we went right to the dock, just in time to see our boat leaving. Of course I had to hear that if I hadn't stopped for coffee, we would have been on that boat. We didn't have to wait too long for the next boat. Once we arrived at the studio, we headed right over to The Rock 'N' roller coaster. The wait was only a half hour so we decided to wait instead of using the fast pass. I was a little nervous that Julia would be scared on the ride.

When we got to our turn Julia and I sat in the very front. After the ride Julia was speechless, she absolutely loved it and wanted to go on again.

Instead of riding again we decided to try the new toy story ride before the park became too full. When we got to it the wait showed 1 hour, but the fast pass return was 5:30 in the afternoon. We opted to wait in line instead of the fast pass.We have been to Disney so many times, that it is not often we get to do something new, So we were all a little excited about the new ride. We all love the buzz light year ride at the magic kingdom and heard that this was going to be like that. When you enter the ride it makes you feel like you are the size of a toy. all around you are classic toys and games. A giant view master,huge scrabble boards, giant, dominoes. And Disney being Disney always finds ways to entertain you even while waiting. There is a giant Mr. Potato head that talks to the children and makes jokes, very funny.

When we finally got to the boarding area it was just like being a toy in Andy's room. A giant bed, the clouds on the walls, and giant tinker toys. We grabbed some 3D glasses and all boarded the ride. In front of you there is a giant pop gun that when you pull the string shoots out different items. When you go in it is like entering a carnival with all the different carnival games. The ride stops in front of different screens which are different games, all the while keeping score. This was a lot of fun and worth the 1 hour wait.

By the time this was done it was 11:30, and it looked like it was going to rain. We decided to grab some lunch early, because if it rained we would never get in anywhere....

Disney vacation day 2 part 3

2009-02-19T08:11:00.000-05:00

From cocoa beach, it was only an hour ride to Orlando. after a while we started to see Disney signs. Now vacation really begins.

Before going to the Hotel we had to find a gas station to fill up the rental car before turning it in.

We set the GPS for the nearest gas station, and it brought us to a gas station right near the road for our hotel. Once we fueled up we went right to the hotel, pulled right up front unloaded, and turned in the car to the valet. We couldn't have asked for anything easier. We went to the desk to check in. the clerk was very helpful and pleasant. We were thrilled to learn that we were given a room upgrade. They gave us a room with a balcony. We found our room and it was beautiful, and the view from the balcony was fantastic. We have a great view of the Swan and the boat dock, very nice.

We dumped our bags and headed out to Epcot to eat and to watch illuminations. We were going to eat in the Paris pavilion, but the restaurant was full. We decided to just walk around the world showcase and see what we could find to eat. We ended up eating at the chinese pavilion, Julia and I had a beef noodle soup which was delicious, Kim had a nice looking salad and Nathan had orange chicken. Then we headed over to the best spot in Epcot to watch the fireworks. It is located between France and the United Kingdom, most people walk right by this area not even knowing it is there. While we waited for the fireworks. Nathan and I went to the united kingdom to get some fish and chips to snack on. The fireworks show was the same one that we saw 3 years ago when we were here. (Time to change it Disney.) After the show we went back to the hotel to sleep. It was the end of another long day, but it's nice to be on vacation.

Disney vacation day 2 part 2

2009-02-19T07:44:00.001-05:00

It was 1:30pm when we got on the road to disney. We were just over a 2 hour ride to Orlando from Stuart.

As excited as we were to be headed to Disney, we still decided to take a short side trip to Cocoa beach. It had been about 20 years since we had been to Cocoa beach, and we weren't sure when we would get the opportunity to go again. We wanted to go specifically for Ron Jon's surf shop.

Ron Jon's is a huge surf shop that sells nothing but surf clothes and surf gear. I still have a sweatshirt from there that I bought 20 years ago, and I still buy clothes from their website. When we arrived at Ron Jon's it looked just as I remembered it. The kids thought it was awesome. We all picked out some sweatshirts and t-shirts and $220. dollars later we were back on the road to Disney.

See you in another 20 years Cocoa beach.

Disney Vacation day 2 part 1

2009-02-18T22:40:00.000-05:00

Woke up around 5:30 this morning, got dressed and snuck out to Dunkin Donuts for an ice coffee.

I love getting up early when on vacation, it gives me more time to enjoy it.

When I got back to the condo, my wife was awake. She had heard me leave, and didn't know where I was going. A few minutes later the rest of the house woke up. We all took our showers and got dressed. When I am on vacation I like to get up get dressed and go. Hanging around the house was killing me. After breakfast we finally headed out to see the area. We headed to Turtle beach which was about 10 minutes away. When we got there we walked the beach and let the kids pick shells. There were very few people on the beach which was nice. after about an hour we left the beach to head back to downtown stuart. The downtown area is full of small shops. We walked around and let the kids get some ice cream. We headed over to the water where I walked to the end of the pier with Nathan and Julia. The kids spotted a stingray in the water.

When we were down downtown we headed back to the condo to gather our things so we could head out. Before we left Stuart we stopped at my brother in laws to say goodbye. With that out of the way, we finally left to head to Disney to start our real vacation.

Disney vacation day 1 part 2

2009-02-18T08:24:00.000-05:00

By the time we arrived in Stuart We were all exhausted. We had a tour of the condo and the grounds. The condo is beautiful and located right on the water. My wife's Mother had a barbecue planned for all of us for dinner. My Brother in law came with his wife and 2 kids .My mother in law made Lasagna, chicken, burgers, and dogs. Way too much food for all of us. It was a very quiet evening, which was nice because we were so exhausted.

shortly after my brother in law and his family left. we got ready for bed and crashed in minutes....

Disney vacation day 1

2009-02-18T07:52:00.000-05:00

Our day started with the wake up call at 4:00 AM. We awoke very grouchy having only slept about 2 full hours. We got showered and dressed quickly, packed up and headed down to the terminal. to start a long day of travel. We booked out trip late so we could not find an affordable direct flight. The first flight was from hartford to Atlanta. The flight was uneventful and we landed in atlanta safely.

when we landed we had to switch planes. We landed in Terminal B and our connecting flight was supposed to be in Terminal A. We checked the boards, and it turns out our connecting flight was moved to Terminal T. Our flight arrived early so we had plenty of time, no problem. We headed down to T to wait for our flight, and get something to eat. When we got there we settled in to wait. We were just about to get the kids some food, when they announced that our flight was moved back to Terminal A. We had passed A on our way to T, and now we had to grab our stuff and trudge back the way we came. When we got to A terminal we grabbed some food and finished just in time to board.

Our second flight was from Atlanta to Orlando this flight was only an hour long, we landed in Orlando at about 1:30. We could not wait to get off the plane.

We picked up our bags and got our rental car and started our last part of the trip for the day.

Before we go to Disney we are going to see my wife's family in stuart Florida, 2 hours south of Orlando. My wife's parents just bought a condo in stuart, and her brother lives there. We had never been there so we went to spend the night.

The night before.

2009-02-18T06:33:00.000-05:00

Our vacation for us actually started the day before we left. Our flight was leaving at 6:15 Am so we chose to stay at the Shereton Hotel at Bradley international airport in Hartford the night before. This way we figured we would not have to get up as early, and the kids would be better rested to travel. We arrived at the airport Hotel about 6:00Pm. We had the kids put on their bathing suits so we could go down to the pool and relax. The pool area was nice it had big windows that overlooked the runway, so you can see the planes land and take off. We were disappointed though because there was only 1 clean towel and the pool water was cold. the kids swam for a little while, then we went back to the room to get some sleep. (or so we thought.)

kids are naturally excited when you go on vacation add this to a strange Hotel room and you have a disaster waiting to happen. The room had 2 beds and my wife was sleeping with my daughter and I was sleeping with my son. about a half hour after going to bed my son started tossing and turning. I had just started to dose off and this woke me up. I thought he would stop and fall asleep, but it continued on, until I finally got sick of it. I took the blankets off the bed and the pillows, threw them on the floor and banished him from the bed. Keep in mind that my son is 15 and he has slept on the floor before, so this is not as mean as it sounds. My wife Kim feeling bad for our son decided to switch up the sleeping arrangements, my son slept on her bed my daughter slept on mine. This still did not solve the problem, my son continued to toss and turn, eventually ending up on the floor again, where he still did not sleep. He kept getting to get up to go to the bathroom, to check the time, and it seemed to do anything but sleep. This in turn kept my daughter up and she tossed and turned the whole night. This continued until 4:00 AM when we received our wake up call....

Disney Vacation

2009-02-17T20:17:00.000-05:00

Obviously from the title this is going to be about our vacation to Disney. I don't know if I will actually be able to blog daily but I will try.

Let me start by saying my wife and I are Disney people. My first trip to Disney was with my wife Kim while we were still dating. We even spent our Honeymoon at Disney. After our son was born we started to go almost every year, we continued when my daughter was born, but it became harder and more expensive to go. We have not been to Disney for 3 years, and we were starting to get withdrawals. So now we are finally going back. We are staying at the Dolphin which is not technically a Disney hotel, but is the most centrally located of all the Hotels and gives us walking access to Epcot and Disney Studios. So off we go...

Welcome!!!

2009-02-15T10:13:00.000-05:00

Hello. Welcome to my first attempt at blogging.

I am new at this but I will give it my best shot.

A little background first about my entrance to the internets social apps. My first social site that interested me was Flickr. I have always enjoyed taking pictures, although I do not claim to be a photographer. I enjoyed looking at everyones pictures from all around the world. I created an account and started to post my own pictures. For the longest time this was the only social site I belonged to and I was happy with it. I was aware of other social sites, like my space and Facebook, but they held no interest to me.

What did interest me were podcasts. I have a long commute to work and radio was very boring.

I have had an Ipod for a few years, but even with your whole music library in your pocket. you still get sick of the same songs. So I started downloading podcasts that interested me. The podcasts that interested me the most, were the lost podcast with Jay and Jack,the transmission, and Smodcast. After I started listening to these I started reading their message boards.

Around the same time I made fun of my wife because she had created a Facebook page. Every night she would sign in and play Scrabulous. Not long after that I created a Facebook page for myself and got hooked on scramble and Blackjack.

Shortly after joining Facebook I joined Twitter so I could update my status with my phone.

After joining Twitter I realized that a lot of the podcasters I listened to also had twitter accounts, so I started following them and twittering more myself.

Through Twitter and Facebook, I learned about Britekite.

Britekite added a whole new dimension to twittering, because now I could combine my pictures with my tweets. I enjoyed Twitter and Britekite the most, but sometimes I wanted to write more than could be expressed in a few short tweets.

So that brings me to this, my first blog.

I don't know where this will go but I hope it's interesting enough for people to take time out of their days to read it. I will try to improve as I go.

So thanks for joining me.