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.

A Winning Season

I finished up the softball season on Saturday. The team still has one more game plus the tourney, but I'm done because I'll be out of town for the next few weekends. We're currently 9 and 7...first in our division and currently seeded fourth for the tournament (which gets us a bye for the first week). No matter what happens next, for me, it's a winnin season.

Now, to some a 9 and 7 record wouldn't be something to celebrate, much less blog about, but after 5 straight seasons of losing records (most seasons only winning one or two games) it's a big deal for me.

It's like they say, 'One man's average season is another man's treasure season' (or something like that).

Georgia Football!

As of 6:00 pm tonight...
70 Days 23 Hours Till Georgia Football.
Go Dawgs!

Top or Bottom?

Trip got a new (to us) bunk bed from Mrs. Chris (our babysitter). He loves to climb up, and slide down the side. I asked him today what he thought about sleeping in his bunk bed last night. He said, "It's o.k."

It reminds me of the times when I spent the night over at a friend's house and he had a bunk bed (never had a set of bunks myself...an only child problem, I guess), we would always fight over who would get to sleep on the top bunk.

Aaah, those were the days!

Save Me From That Dog!

We were over at some friends house the other night. They have two little dogs. Quinn loves dogs and was all over these little guys. At one point Quinn started stomping his feet and one of the dogs, thinking he was wanting to play, started barking. The barking freaked Quinn out and he started crying. Trip happened to be standing right there and grabbed Quinn and in an all-in-one motion hugged him and moved in between the dog and Quinn. It was one of those big brother, "I'll protect you" moments. Later, when I asked Trip about why he hugged Quinn when the dog barked he said, "Quinn was scared and I wanted to help him."

The most fascinating thing is that Trip is, in general, a scared-ey cat (no pun intended) and typically gets a little freaked out by dogs. It was a great demonstration of selflessness. I could learn a lesson.

On a similar note, on a different day several months ago, we were at a birthday party. Quinn was playing with a toy and a bigger kid (about Trip's age) came and took the toy away from Quinn. I saw a look come across Trip's face that I've never seen before. It was one of those, "I'm about to take you out" looks. I assured Trip that everything was ok, and Quinn had already moved on to another toy. I think I saved that big bully kid's life. I think Quinn's pretty lucky to have such a good big brother. I think this is the only time in my life that I've ever missed having a sibling of my own. Ok...I'm over it now.

Consistency

Here is a great post on Consistency by Seth Godin.

Makes My Heart Sink

Before I start, a little history:
Typically, Trip gets out of bed once each night, not long after we put him down. We usually send him back to bed and tell him that he'll get in trouble if he gets up again. Usually he stays in bed and it's no big deal. Sometimes if he's sick coughing or something, he'll get up several times...no big deal...we comfort him and help him back to bed. There has been a time or two where he's gotten up multiple times for no apparent reason, and he usually gets a light spank on the bottom and that does the trick.

To the story:
Last night, as I'm getting ready to head to bed myself, I reach the top of the stairs and can see that his door is opened, but I can't see him. I was slightly aggravated that he had opened his door and gone back to bed, and headed toward it to close it (so I didn't wake him while I was getting ready for bed). As I rounded the corner, there he was sitting indian-style in the opening of his door. I don't know if I had wrath in my face or what, but as soon as we made eye contact, he bowed his head in shame.

My heart instantly sank in my chest and I went to pick him up. As I reached for him, he started crying, assuming that I was going to get upset with him and that he was in trouble. I hugged him, and assured him that all was right with the world. I asked him how long he'd been sitting there and he said, "3 minutes." Since he can't tell time, I was looking for more of a "just a few minutes" or "a really long time" response...so who knows how long he'd been sitting there.

After I'd determined that there was nothing wrong with him, Amy & I put him back in the bed. He was, by this time, smiling ear to ear and said, "Dad, I sure do love you."

What's remarkable to me is how quickly my attitude turned from frustration (that he'd gotten out of bed and opened his door) to empathy and love (once I saw his contriteness). And, I was also struck how much he appreciated my grace. I think you'd have to be there or you'd have to experience a similar situation with your children to understand the emotion within me during this episode, but I can't help but think about how God feels when we are sitting there helpless in our situation because we've disobeyed His instruction, and how He loves to forgive us when we're contrite. I hope, when I'm in a similar situation, that I can stop my (proverbial) weeping and look up at Him and say, "God, I sure do love you" when he gently and graciously lays me back down in the safety of the shelter that He's provided for me.

Old Faithful & A Little Child

I'm sitting here at Yellowstone waiting for Old Faithful to blow. Next to me sits an elderly couple with a small poodle. Next to them sits a dad and a little boy. The little boy looks to be about 2 yrs and doesn't give a rip about Old Fathful...he's totally facinated with the dog. I don't know what the lesson is in the story...but I love a kid who's in love with a dog.

safe

Is it better to be safe or is it better to go for it? I think in almost every situation (with the exception of matters that involve young children), it is almost always better to go for it - to be innovative, creative, fresh, new, surprising, remarkable, etc.

Why is it that every single situation, group decision, etc that I've witnessed or been a part of the past few days (or weeks, or years) has been safe and utterly unremarkable.

God is remarkable...and not very safe. He will supply all of our needs, but he's not safe.

I'm tired of safe.