A Seinfield-Style Post

I haven't had any profound thoughts or anything lately, and thus, no posts. But, I know how you, my devoted readers check daily...even hourly...for the latest musings from the steel trap inside my head, so here is a posting about absolutely nothing for you to chew on until I see another dead squirrel or something. (Did I just use the words chew and dead squirrel in the same sentence?)

PS Remind me to tell you about the orange dessert sometime.

TV Food For Thought

I ran across a Nielsen report today that said the average American spends an average of 4 hours per day watching TV. If you do the math that's:
1+ full days per week
60+ days per year
8+ years over a 50 year period.

If the average person works on their computer an average of 6 hours per day...
2+ days per week
90+ days per year
12.5 ish years in front of the computation machine over 50 years.

What if we spend 4 hours of undivided time with our spouse, kids, or God per day? I'm just sayin'...

Go Dawgs In Germany

I was flying to Germany and at the McDonalds in the Frankfurt airport and saw a girl with a UGA football shirt on.  It's a small world, and that was a welcome site in a foreign place.  Just thought I'd share it with you.

Germany Thoughts

Right now I am on a flight back from Germany (once you are able to read this, I will be home) and I wanted to share a couple of thoughts that I picked up in Germany.

I'm proud to be an American. I (smugly) think Americans are the best at most of what we do. However, there are a few things that Germans do better than us IMHO:

(1) Transportation: I'm not a big 'green' guy. I don't mind if people drive SUV's (I have one myself). I don't think that global warming is a big danger to the world (if it even exists at all). I don't even think that the world is in real danger of running out of oil any time soon. However, there are a few things that I think the Germans do well. Their public transportation system is phenomenal (I was in Leipzig - a medium sized city in East Germany...I also visited Berlin - a large city). They have 'trams' and buses that a person can use to get pretty much anywhere in the city easily. Also, they have the city set up for easily riding bikes (bike trails and shortcuts, along with bike trails on the side of the road). Like I said above, I don't have a problem with Americans driving everywhere, but if someone did want to ride a bike, it is so much effort that the negatives outweigh the benefits. I like the idea of riding my bike to places. It gets me exercise and gets me outdoors. Gives me some much needed recreation.

(2) Recreation: Speaking of recreation, there isn't a lot to do in Germany. Yes, there is a nice beach (at a lake) and they do have things like movie theaters and bowling allys, as well as opera houses, concerts, pubs, etc. (OK, I take it back, there is plenty to do in Germany...I just didn't have time to do much of it...stick with me, the point I intend to make is still valid); but what was striking to me is how much the German people were outside. They have lots of parks and lots of people use the parks. As mentioned above, people ride their bikes and are just outside in general. I spend too much time indoors. Granted, it's typically a good bit hotter or colder where I live than the place I visited in Germany, but I digress...

(3) Efficiency: From building buildings that don't have to be heated and cooled as much to driving smaller cars so that they can parallel park instead of standard parking, Germans know a thing or two about efficiency.

(4) Affection: I've never been a huge fan of PDA (that's public displays of affection for those of you who have been living under a rock for the past century). The Germans are the poster-people for PDA. Everywhere you look someone is playing tonsil hockey, giving someone a squeeze on the bottom, etc. All couples hold hands if they are within an arm's reach of their sweetie. Even the way to casually say goodbye to a friend is by giving a hug. At first it was a little disturbing (but not quite as much of a culture-shock as the nude beach that Thomas took me to...that's a whole different post topic). However, the more I thought about it, the more I think us Americans could stand to be a little (LITTLE being the key word here) more snuggly with the ones we love. If you truly love someone, why is it necessary only to show it in private? Now, I'm not advocating that we become as 'open' as the Germans...but I think a little more affection might be a good thing. We'll see what Amy thinks about it. (Side Note: The foreign couple sitting in the seat in front of me just gave each other a pop kiss...what perfect timing).

Fisherman

Here's a photo of Trip at the Cabin doing a little fishing. He didn't catch anything...but at least he gave it a shot.

Here's a link to a bunch of other cabin photos.

Final Post From FL - Photos

We leave tomorrow. How very sad. It's been fun. Here is a photo montage from the week.

Long Awaited Shark Photo

On day two of our vacation a kid just down the way from us caught a "sand shark."







And...as promised, the photo proof of Trip in pursuit of a "summer love."

UGA Football

Florida Vacation - Day 4 - In The Pool

Sorry that I didn't get a "Day 3" video up...we were too busy...watched fireworks in Destin, etc.

Hopefully this video will make up for it. Look for upcoming photos of Trip and his summer girlfriend and the shark catcher (got to get those photos from Nikki). Also, watch for a post about my dessert tonight.

Here's the video for Day 4:

Florida Vacation - Day 2 - At The Beach

Today was the boy's first day at the beach. They both loved the water, and both loved playing in the sand. We also played in the pool...but it was so cold that Quinn wasn't a big fan. Trip, on the other hand, is a dad-gum fish! He loves swimming in the pool with his life vest on.

One kid down at the beach caught a baby shark not 100 feet away from us. I think Nikki took a picture and if so, I'll post it here soon.

Here is a short video I produced using our flip camera & windows movie maker (which is a yucky video editor!).

Florida Vacation - Day One

Here is a low resolution video that I took with our new flip camera that I took from our vacation - day one. It primarily just gives you a look at our facility. Pretty sweet, huh?

Dogs (not the UGA ones)

I was in a wedding this past weekend. The rehearsal dinner was outside under a tent at the groom's parent's house. They have a big dog (think 125 lbs) that got out of its pen and darted toward the food table like a scene from a movie. Luckily they got him under control before any damage was done.

Earlier in the day, while we were doing some set-up work, the groom had his dog tied to a tree across the yard. The entire time we were working both dogs were barking feverishly at each other.

Yesterday we were at the family cabin and several of Amy's relatives had their dogs with them. I spent a few minutes sipping on a Sam Adams and watching them. It was interesting how all four of them would go from bush to tree to log and so on peeing one right after the other...marking their territory. You'd think the first guy would notice that the second one came right behind him and trumped his mark.

I don't know if I really have a point except that we homo sapiens are not all that much different than the canine whateverous. They're territorial...so are we. After being caged up for a short while, they'll dart for the food table when given a chance. You get the point.