So, Do You Think We're Ready For Christmas?

I do just love Christmas time. Here we are, Thanksgiving Weekend, 2008, and my girls are so excited. Yesterday we ventured off as a family to Home Depot to pick up our tree, brought it home, lit it, and hung the ornaments. The girls are so excited! Today after naps, we plan to go to the used book store, then stop by K-Mart. Simple things, but so much fun this time of year!
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Busy week, as I head off to Greensboro for the annual NCETC technology conference. While the program does not look especially enticing, I will be there with many friends, dinner at Bonefish, and just some good times.

Christmas Is Next!

So we had a nice Thanksgiving yesterday, and Kerry is out and about now for Black Friday, but the exciting news is the next holiday is Christmas!

We went out to Hidden Lake to spend Thanksgiving with Kerry's folks and Shannon. Had a really nice visit. Kerry, her dad, and I spent some of the time trying to install a basketball hoop with limited success. Who woulda thunk that many pieces go into setting up a hoop. We did not finish, so I am sure this project will continue for me. After a yummy meal, we went for a little walk, and Lucy and I hiked through the woods.
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This morning Kerry is out shopping with her Mom and sister. They planned to leave at 5:30, and I cannot confirm or deny that, as I was fast asleep! I have a big day of eRate--woohoo!

Edubuntu At Work

So here I am, working on adding Edubuntu to an old desktop that is ready for the warehouse. Warehouse of course, meaning the graveyard. So I swiped it and want to try my devious plan in loading a stand-alone Edubuntu on it. I plan to remove the network card so that if these do get placed back in the classrooms, they could not be placed on the network.

What I am really looking to do is provide some stand-alone machines that teachers can allow students to work on. They can type on them, use a spreadsheet, play educational games, and many other tasks. In essence, it will provide more workstations in a classroom. So we will see what happens! If it works, then it will be a matter of convincing my colleagues.

Raleigh Christmas Parade...

Another year, another parade. Although this year it was quite cold! We all dressed in layers, then Kerry and I hunched down on blankets on the road and both girls snuggled in close to us. Kerry's folks went with us, so that made it more fun! Definitely got us all in the Christmas spirit. We stayed busy this weekend, stringing lights (the girls love helping!), finishing some presents, and a trip to Target. Kerry and I plan to go out shopping soon, then we actually have a hockey game coming up.

Myra and Elmo

The girl loves her some Elmo! She was in such a good mood during this...she could've gone on for quite awhile chasing him!

Snow in Raleigh Today!

Yup, on my way to work, I had snow as I drove in. And we still had school! It was pretty though, snow coming down hard, laying on the trees. And 101.5 began to play 24 hours of Christmas music. So of course I jammed out! Tomorrow we go downtown for the Raleigh Christmas Parade. It will begin in the 20s, then rise to the high temps of 30s. Brrrr! The Flanigans will accompany us on the trip. Fun!

Computer Ease

Yup, I believe I *finally* can say things are up and working in the home. Rearranged some equipment, moved the laser printer to the bookshelf, and the XPS continues to stay on! Some other equipment for the E1705 laptop, we downgraded 8.10 to 8.04 (feels like Vista a little), and everything is running smoothly. I am actually typing this on the Mac, and considering using this just for the girls. The mp3 players are good too! All is well in the technology universe.

Tingles the Christmas Tension

Growing up in Johnstown, PA, this makes me smile! There was a series of videos from the 50s, Hardrock, Coco, and Joe, Suzy Snowflake, and Frosty that were always shown. This kinda pokes some fun at them! Heehee!

Christmas Is Here!

Spent the past 30 minutes scouring YouTube for Christmas-ish videos--yup, commericals, Charlie Brown, and music. Then we were dancing to Baby It's Cold Outside, Jingle Bell Rock, and more. I true get a natural high from seeing the join in my girls' eyes as we get excited for Christmas. It will be such a fun time!
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So I'm Back to Amarok...

These iRiver players are about to be the death of me. Just when I think I fine-tuned everything, I decide I want to change things up. On my iRiver Clix, I used Rhythmbox in Ubuntu to download my podcasts, then gnomad to organize my song lists and transfer music to the Clix. Yes, it took an extra step, but it worked. Unlike my iRiver E100, which I dual boot into Windows to make work. So this weekend, as I finally repaired the XPS 400 (I think!), I decided to give Banshee a shot. Seems it would make a better organization, so why not? Well, it did not work, and then worse, it blocked my ability to sync music through gnomad. So I completely formatted the Clix, and now am using Amarok once again. If I can find how to transfer videos, I will be set!
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Yes, you did read right--the XPS 400 is, what I think, finally fully functioning. For the past six months or so, I had an intermittent problem where after a random amount of time, it would shutdown. Sometimes when off it would click on and boot by itself as well. My first thought, after some lengthy calls with Dell was the motherboard and power supply, which I both replaced. No change. Tried some changes with the OS, but again, nothing. My last shot was a new I/O Panel and ribbon cable, which I replaced this weekend, and after having it on all day, it has yet to shut off. We'll keep our fingers crossed.

It's Not Christmas Without Eat N Park...

If you grow up in Western or Central Pennsylvania, only one commercial means Christmas has come, the Eat N Park Christmas Tree commericial. Everyone knows it. I have even seen it at a Penguins' hockey game. So all of you unfamiliar with it, I provide it for your viewing pleasure.

Future for The Shearers

So, a State of the State for us? No, not as formal, but I just wanted to get out in text what we're working on, toward, and looking into the future. Of course with me, it continues as furthering my professional skill set. In doing this, I am looking at acquiring some professional certifications. Right now, I am working toward my A+ Certification, as that should not take too much effort. After that, I will work toward my Linux+ Certification. Of course, we love LINUX! (-: While I do not really want to go any further than those two, both will hopefully make me marketable down the road, should I choose that path.
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School continues for the girls. Both are doing well. Lucy continues to leave us speechless with her intellect. She is just so smart--it's scary at times. She has a huge sight word vocabulary, in addition to the 20-40+ books she can read from memory. And her number sense is just amazing. We brought home my old Sears electronic quiz book, and she already does 90% of the 7-8 year old book correctly. Wow! Myra is doing well also. She had a little gap recently due to a virus she could not get rid of, but is well on the mend now. Her speech continues--she can converse with us, and we understand her. I do think that her big sister pushes her for this, so that is another good influence.
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Kerry did amazing in her marathon--just over 4 hours. While the conditions (75 degrees by the end of her run) and the course (still hilly, even when reversed from last year) were not ideal, she still did awesome! We were so proud of her. The girls and I really enjoyed our time out on the course waiting for her! She amazes me everyday!

Wordle While You Work...

Pretty neat tool, this Wordle is. What this does is generate a tag cloud of popular words in your blog, a story, article, or any other written piece to show you interesting trends. Lots of application out and about in the education world as well.

I Could Get Used to This Image...

Besides all the good feelings for minorities, it feels good to know that our world image and reputation has gone up overnight. Yes, as Obama said, this is not the change, just the chance to create change, but now we know of a fresh start coming in January.

This Makes Me LOL!

Seriously though, it is time to move on and leave the woman alone. It was a tough, and at times nasty, campaign, and it is now over. Media--get over it and let her and Mr. McCain go back to their lives. And I am a Democrat-whoda thunk it!

Los homcimos! She Did It!

Kerry finished the 2nd Annual City of Oaks Marathon this morning. The girls and I were out on the course to cheer her on! More following, but just wanted to share this proud moment!
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Halloween, 2008

Christmas Music Begins!

Yes, we made it through October, and now November is here--and we know in our house--the Christmas music begins. In years past, I did it with some eyebrows raised by Kerry. Now, with Lucy and Myra being fired up, I have two strong Christmas lovers, so the music flows easily. Today we rocked out to some Brenda Lee among others. Hard to believe it is that time though!
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Hard to believe the election that we never thought would get here is HERE! Truly, I will be happy on Wednesday morning--provided McCain does not have a hissy fit and prolong the results ala' John Kerry and Al Gore a few years back.