Getting it free no more

Well after 17 years the big antenna is coming down. Yes the Blisses are getting cable. Our kids grew up in a house without cable. I'm surprised that the authorities didn't come to our house with accusations of child abuse. Right now I'm looking at the Verizon truck in our front yard and wondering what it will be like with hundreds of channels. It may be too many to choose from.
The roof looks kinda empty with our the big antenna it was a landmark.
Now I wonder if anything good is on TV?

Hovering Helicopters

The SuperBowl is in town and the fun has started. The stadium is only a few miles from my house and I could see the helicopters hovering over the NFL Experience this afternoon. There were three and the only thing going on that I know of is the NFL gift shop is open and the NFL Experience which is a field full of football like games for the kids. Traffic is terrible around the stadium and the surrounding area. As the games gets closer I will probably be trapped in my house.

365 day 25

I have been photographing and posting a photograph a day for the last 25 day. I try and force myself during the day to create an image of find a moment that should be preserved. Some days it is easy others I forget till late in the evening and have to come up with something.
I have been using my cell phone camera for many of the images. It is quick and I always have it with me. I am going to start using the images as part of my blog because I'm having difficulty finding time for both so I might as well combine them.
Today's photo is of my daughter Jessica and her fiance Jared.

They came to Tampa this weekend for a quick visit and for Jessica and her mother Jan to go over some plans for her wedding. Jared is learning to tread carefully when offering his opinion about any thing related to the wedding. Good for him that talent will serve him well in marriage.

Off Line

Last Sunday I was checking the times that "24" came on and on the search result page I saw a site of Jack Bauer jokes. I should have known better.... This is what popped up next. Then page after page of ads started appearing on my page. Ooh pull the plug switch off the computer too late the damage was done.
I first tried running several virus, spyware ect ... programs that I have. Then I did research on the site that was the start of this. It appeared that there was no cure for the problem. I kept my computer off-line and tried to work the problem but every time I connected back on-line the windows would start popping up.
Aarg!!! Next I tried logging on as another user and as an local administrator on the computer. Oooh no problem, humm the issue was just with my profile on this computer. Ok I can solve this, just delete the problem user, me.
Fortunately I have been very careful as of late to be backing everything up in multiple locations. All of my bookmarks are stored on Foxmarks my photos on Flickr and music on an external hard drive and server.
This wasn't as bad as having my computer just flat out crash but I figure that even if that had happened I still would not have lost very much except time.

Oh! those darn kids, what are we to do?

Last Friday I read April Griffins blog “Things we used to teach our children...” and It really got me thinking.
First whether we, as teachers should be teaching manners and civility in the classroom. I have come to the conclusion that the answer is no. Should we demand civility and good manners from students? YES. But not spend valuable class time teaching it. I then thought about how my children learned manners. And I think it was from many people.

We were lucky that our children had many kind and loving people in their lives.
When they were young and went to day care we had “Big Mama and Big Daddy” take care of them. These two were great Big Daddy had retired from the military and some how talked his wife Dig Mama into opening a day care in their home.
Big Mama was the drill sergeant and Big Daddy was a big teddy bear, the kids loved it. And in their home my kids learned how to be friends with others and to play nice. They still have friends from that time.

Our church also played a big part in the lives of our children. Mrs. Flossie ran the childrens ministry and she taught the kids the power of a quiet voice. No one acted up in her Sunday school. If they did they were quietly but firmly redirected. My son was redirected often.
As my children became older they were Acolytes at our church and that taught them poise before a crowd.

My children were also involved in Scouts, both Boy and Girl Scouts. I think Scouts taught them that there is a time and a place for everything. My son went on in Scouts to become an Eagle Scout, a very proud moment in both our lives.
My daughter worked in high school at the YMCA and there she learned how to work pleasantly with other even if they really pissed you off.

Did my wife and I teach them anything? I hope so but probably not as much as we would have hoped. But we did provide as stable home environment as we could. Do I think that a school could have taught them to become the fine young adults they are. No it is too big a responsibility for one group or organization to handle

Happy New Year!

Ok I’m a few days behind. With Christmas break and all I’m just taking it easy.

So did everyone make a New Years Resolution? In the past I have made ones that were relatively unattainable: loose weight, make more money, grow hair, and others that well after a week or two lost their attraction.

So this year I decided to do a resolution that WAS attainable, one that I could and would do.

Take, post and comment on Flickr a photo each day for a year. I’ve seen and read of others that have taken on this project and most have said that it was a fun way to explore their lives. We will see. So follow me on my Flickr site and I’m sure some of the photos will be commented on here in this blog.