Family Debt

Its been a while since I have posted to my blog.  I am thankful for the opportunity to do so.

Just like the Obama's after a few months of very trying times for our family it was high time to pay off that HUGE family debt...

Welcome to the family! Lily is our new dog!

We all love her!

Casual Fridays

Today, Friday August 8 2008, my office (like many large corporate cultures) has casual Fridays for dress code (jeans, etc.). I thought this video from the series Retarded Policeman by Mediocre Films was a funny spoof on this silly corporate tradition that I would share with my friends.

Oh sh*t! I have a teen once again!

I was reminded again this weekend that I have a kid growing into a teen. We took Olivia to her Jonas Brothers concert in Hershey, PA.



Funny thing was that Miley Cyrus appeared on the Today Show on Friday 7/25 just outside the window where I work. Had she not wanted to get up that early on her summer break, she would have wanted to go to that as well. I had forgotten what it was like to have teens in the house.

East River ‘Waterfalls’

We took a boat ride from the Hudson River last Saturday over to the East River to view Olafur Eliasson’s “New York City Waterfalls”.

I was a little skeptical but it was actually a very interesting display for a hot summer day. I highly recommend it.

Jamaica Man!

Just got back from a great family vacation to the Caribbean on Carnival Cruise Lines (more on that later). My favorite place was in our last port of call Ocho Rios, Jamaica.

Dunn's River Falls is a famous waterfall near Ocho Rios, Jamaica and a major Caribbean tourist attraction. The falls empty into the Caribbean Sea. It is one of the very few rivers in the world that actually fall directly into the sea.
The waterfalls are staggered and span some 600 feet, several small lagoons exist interspersed between the vertical sections of the falls. Climbing up the waterfalls is a popular tourist activity and is often, but not exclusively performed with the help of tour guides from the park. The falls can be walked up with relative ease, often a human chain is used snaking up the falls behind the tour guide.

Great fun and highly recommended if you are ever there!
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My Sundays and Meet the Press

I used to watch NBC's Meet the Press religiously on Sunday morning largely because of Tim Russert. It has now been over a week since his death and I watched Brian Williams do the show this morning.  It really won't quite be the same with Tim gone.  While Williams is a great journalist and a superb anchor, he just doesn't quite bring the same flare to the program that Tim did.



I think one of the things that Tim and I shared was our love of sports and politics.  Part of the reason I love both (sports and politics) so much is that consequences and outcomes are "real".  Everybody has something at stake. Everybody has "skin in the game". It's real.

I think it is this quality that Tim so frequently brought out in his guests and his co-hosts over the years.  I will truly miss him and his broadcasts.

End of another school year

Friday marked another school year in the books for my kids.  Olivia finished up 7th grade at Liberty Middle School and will attend next year as an 8th grader.  Zachary finished up as a 6th grader and will attend Liberty Middle school with his sister next year as a 7th grader.

We celebrated the passing of another year with a ritual we have done for several years now -- a bonfire party for all the kids to burn their homework.  It has become quite a tradition with a large bonfire a barbeque, fireworks and of course boxes and boxes of old homework.