Arrrr You Reading This Post?

So yesterday was talk like a Pirate Day. I figured I would check to see how much of a pirate I am...And I do like my booty! Or other's booty! Ha!

You Are 50% Pirate

Garrrr, yer a true pirate down to yer bones. Yer an originial sea dog, an' ye certainly have earned yer sea legs. No one be goin' to accuse ye o' bein' a landlubber. Ye got yer eye on the prize, an' yer willin' to go pillagin' fer some booty.

Would You Make a Good Pirate?

Fall Is Here!

Wow...what a nice change from the summer. We have had some days of mid 70s and lows in the 50s. How nice has this been! Let's just hope it continues. What I like is the ability to just go out and play outside, or go to the playground, or a spontaneous trip to Durant Nature Park, like we did yesterday. And it was so nice--we pretty much had the park to ourselves!
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Busy weekend--Lucy has a birthday party today. Tomorrow we will help Kerry's folks with their storage unit-although I do hear Rudino's pizza and some Yuenling may be the compensation!

Bizzzzz--eeee!

Well, I am tired of saying that in every post, but we are sooo busy. As evidenced by my lack of posts this month.
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Kerry's folks are in North Carolina officially. They came down last Wednesday and spent their first night in the house Thursday. We went over on Friday to visit, then went back over on Sunday to help hook some equipment up and help unpack. The girls are really going to love having their grandparents close by. They just tore around the house--funny! They even have a whole closet dedicated to their toys. Then Kerry's dad and I went and bought two big screen tvs yesterday. Unfortunately no buy 2 get one free for Chris, but I am definitely excited to go over there to watch some hockey games!
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The new job is good as well. It keeps me busy, but I really enjoy the leadership that I receive. Have a staff under me is a new experience as well, but I feel I need this experience to grow professionally as well. In three weeks, I definitely have grown!

MORE COWBELL!

	Make your own at MoreCowbell.dj

So This One Definitely Has Me Pegged...

You Are a Realist

You don't see the glass as half empty or half full. You see what's exactly in the glass. You never try to make a bad situation seem better than it is... But you also never sabotage any good things you have going on. You are brutally honest in your assessments of situations - and this always seems to help you cope.

Are You An Optimist or Pessimist?

More From PA...

Our Visit to Trampoline, PA...

That's really what the trip was all about! Our girls pretty much lived in that trampoline, as you can see from the pictures. We did enjoy our visit, and look forward to seeing Nana and PapPap in October in Raleigh!
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Last day here at the Downtown office. On Thursday I will officially begin my Director of Technology and Media position. Looking forward to that, seeing the focus of technology they have and the support given to technology and media programs from the system, school board, and community.

Annual Summer Pilgrimmage to PA...

Must be August, as we'll be heading up to Pennsylvania tomorrow. While not looking forward to that 7 hour car ride with a 3 1/2 year old who gets carsick in the summer and an 18 mos. old who screams upon entering the car these days, I know the girls will have fun with their Nana and PapPap, plus Aunt Jenny and Cole. Should be a fun time, but then we'll have the carride back on Sunday...
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Getting ready to take my new position as Director of Technology and Media. I will begin next Thursday and have two days with the existing director before her retirement, then will be on my own! I am excited, as I feel well qualified and can bring some great ideas into a technology-supported district. We shall see!

Smashing Pumpkins in Raleigh

So two nights ago I saw the Pumpkins yet again Downtown at the Memorial Auditorium. Pretty neat venue for a rock concert, and rock is just what they did. Yes, some may complain that this is still Billy's band, but it always was, just with folks interchanged.
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They played a nice variety of music and faves (first time I heard Mayo LIVE!). Tonight, Tonight and Today were good. They had this acoustic-ish session, and then for the encore, the kazooing for 'We Only Come Out at Night' and 'In the Summertime.' So cool! more info later...

August Makes You Want to Growlll!

Can you believe we are midway through the month? This month represents so much change, which would be why I am exhausted! Kerry's folks' house will by completed this week. That in itself would be a lot of change, having family within 20 minutes, but coupled with my job switch, to become Director of Technology and Media in that county will be sure to add more fuel to an already busy time. Yes, I did accept the position--what a great move for me. I will become the youngest technology director in my state, which impresses me. That will also align me for great future prospects moving forward.
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The girls are doing well. In fact, we are sitting here together now watching Sesame Street! Kerry is out for a long run, still training for November's marathon, so I earn some special time with my girls!

Google Olympic Map

As we are watching the Opening Ceremonies, came across this Google map...cool!

Paris for President

Good for her! This video makes me laugh!!!

See more Paris Hilton videos at Funny or Die

Home Again!

Good to be back in Rah-lee! The week went pretty well, although a week of facilitating a team, coupled with a humid summer at the beach will exhaust the most robust out there. I did receive a positive call--for the second interview tomorrow morning. Cross your fingers and wish me luck! More news hopefully soon! Also, you can see by the picture, we played Ladderball once again (aka redneck horseshoes!)
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Kerry's folks are also coming down this weekend again...and we have a DATE NIGHT planned! A movie? Dead Sea Scrolls? Who knows and who cares--the point is--DATE NIGHT!

What's On My Mind...

As usual, we continue to find ourselves busy. That in and of itself is not too unusual, but we look at the next few weeks with little to no let up, and more things on our mind. We begin with my annual retreat to Sunset Beach. Besides some yummy Calabash for dinner, it will be a week away from my girls! This is always a difficult thing to do, but I do believe in the work I will do that week, so all is good. Hoping to maybe even slip down to the new Hard Rock Park in Myrtle Beach.
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Smashing Pumpkins are coming to Raleigh! How cool! I believe I will try to score some tickets tomorrow morning. What is really interesting is the venue...I originally thought they would play at Reynolds Coliseum on NCSU's campus. Whether it changed or I was way off base, they will play at the Memorial Auditorium, in Downtown Raleigh. Coolness!
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Regardless of what happens with my recent 'news,' of which I should hear next week, I decided that path is definitely where I wish to move toward. To that end, I decided to begin working toward some certifications. While I move freely between Mac, XP, and Linux, having that nice little certificate will only help. At the moment, I am thinking of working toward my A+ and Linux+ certifications, of which I can always move forward from there. As Lucy would say, 'we will see!'

Lucy and the Reindeer

In the spirit of Christmas in July, a blast from the past--Lucy, a few years ago, giving BABAB a ride in Rudolph. Makes me laugh!

Busy Week to End July

Can you believe July ends next week? Don't worry though--the girls and I decided to go ahead and make it super busy so it goes even quicker. D'oh! Just some highlights include going to visit the Galbraiths tomorrow on the Outer Banks, two conference presentations on Thursday in Greensboro, and then a week at Sunset Beach starting Sunday. Phew!

Visit From The Texans!

So the Texas Flanigans had to pay us back for our trip to see them. The actually stayed with us for two days, before heading down to the wedding in Charleston, SC. We actually leave tomorrow for that trip. Should be fun. Have not been down that way since the Kiawah Island Marathon that Kerry and I both completed.
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Dontcha Love A Closet Full of eees?

 How neat to see a new school open, and each grade level will have a set of eeePCs.

Week O' Social Networking

So this week I am going to fully dive into using social networking. I have yet to see the reason for the fuss, so I figure a total submersion will hopefully help me. My major ones I am using include twitter, plurk, and than an interesting open source microblogger, identi.ca. I also hope to get invites to Jaiku (Google's recent acquisition) and Brightkite.

This Sounds Cool...

Hoping to get on the agenda as an education expert! (-:

Gotta Love Colbert...

Back Home Again...In North Caroooolina!

Made it back! The flights were not bad. My flight out of San Antonio took off late, and I made it to DFW with just 20 minutes before we boarded. Interesting that there were a lot of folks I knew on the plane from Raleigh and North Carolina. The girls were good--Myra actually fell asleep for part of the ride, which was good!
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Now we are back in Raleigh, enjoying a quiet Fourth of July. No large plans, just uploading pictures to send out and recuperating!

Asus Booth at NECC

I am very glad to see Asus have a booth here at NECC. For those not in the know, Asus makes the ultraportable eeePC machine that I am evaluating for work. Of course it runs Linux, as do all of their machines, so that makes me happy. I really see this trend in education continuing, as school districts look for ways to cut corners. While one MS license does not sound like much, multiplied by 100+ computers (per school) in a large district, plus licenses for an office suite, and other proprietary software. Phew! There is your budget, without upgrading your hardware.

Report From San Antonio

Happy July! Hard to believe we are in the middle of the summer. And you know what that means: Christmas in July, so Christmas music month!
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I am enjoying some good sessions here at NECC in San Antonio. San Antonio is a nice town, but I am not sure what the buzz is about. Yes, the Riverwalk is nice, the Alamo is neat to see, but there are many shuttered storefront and lots of graffiti. While glad to have the chance to visit it, I do not think this is a place I must attend again, unlike San Francisco. And yes, I did visit the Alamo, as you can see!

Segways in San Antonio

Boy, that's a title for a book if I ever heard one! As I walked to the convention center last evening to pick up my swag, this is what I saw--a training class of Segway users!

Made it To San Antonio

Phew! A rough ride, but made it to my hotel last night around 6:20. We diverted west on the flight due to some storms, and still managed to have some pretty rough turbulence. I guess that was payback for me saying to Mark, "After riding these coasters, no flight could be worse!" Then once I was on the ground, I made it through San Antonio International--a smaller than thought airport. Boarded a shuttle bus of about 20 people, and I was the LAST person off. I walked around a little, toured the Riverwalk and Alamo, then had dinner at Fuddruckers. How is that for taking in the culture! (-:
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Sitting now in a session on 'Welcome to NECC' (the conference I am at). One of the large names in Open Source, David Thornburg, is up next.

Another, clearer pic...

So that motion shot was pretty blurry! Here's another

Deep in The Heart of Texas!

Currently waiting at DFW airport, awaiting my trip to San Antonio for NECC. Had a great evening with the Flangians and an AWESOME morning--we took the kids to Six Flags over Texas-Arlington, and I had some coaster rides! They actually have some decent coasters. Mark and I hit Batman, a pretty speedy invert. Then we went to Mr. Freeze, which is one of those laucher coasters (0-70 in 4 seconds), with a tall spike you fly up. Took a ride on Titan, a pretty sweet megacoaster...with an inverted helix. And then the Texas Giant--a mega-woodie that reminds me of Mean Streak at Cedar Point, but the second half shook me apart.
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And Lucy got on her first coaster with Daddy! Proud moment!! All I remember are all the wheees! So funny! She went on everything to keep up with her buddy, Aidan. Myra rode a bunch too--so fun!!! But I miss all three of my girls already!

Sheetz Goes Global!

So many of you know my infatuation with Sheetz. After growing up with it up North, I was thrilled a few years ago to hear they were moving down to North Carolina. Now, we have about 20 or so Sheetz, stretching from Greenville, an hour and a half east to High Point, two hours to the west. Our local Sheetz is only four miles from our house. Great times!

Now, it seems like they want to further expand. They recently began offering 'Sheetz Bros.' premium coffees to rival Starbucks. While of similar quality, the cost is much cheaper. With this release, they also began a 'poem' contest, playing on the jazz coffee shop metaphor. And offering a cool $5 grand. Well, the other evening, while surfing around, I found a Sheetz ad in the unlikeliest of places. First--do not judge me for the video I watched on YouTube in the image attached to this post. Yes, it is New Kids on the Block, but I heard they had a new song (yuck!), and wanted to hear it. While my ears burned, I noticed the ad. I usually just tune out any advertisements, but since I did not want to watch the NKoTB video, I gazed at the ad--and it was the Sheetz ad for the contest. So in a way, I owe New Kids for noticing Sheetz advertising globally. Pretty neat!!

See--I Am Even Smarter Than an 8th Grader!

You Passed 8th Grade US History

Congratulations, you got 8/8 correct!

Could You Pass 8th Grade History?

One Week Until Our Flight

What a busy week! Between all the work things going on, working with a large group on professional development, we also continued to plan out the trip to Texas next weekend. Kerry did such a good job with the girls--they played 'security checkpoint.' Too funny! They brought out a table, and this was the 'x-ray machine,' and Lucy and Myra had to push their suitcases through it. They both had a ticket too and pushed their suitcases all over. Makes me smile!
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The other large thing going on, looking at that other position, will begin interviewing on July 13th. I have yet to hear about an interview, but I heard my endorsement from a former supervisor was shared! We will see!

Feelin' HOT HOT HOT

So, summer arrived to Raleigh this week. We had 4 days of 100+ weather. Two days it reached 102, so needless to say, we spent much time indoors. Toward the end of the week, a COLD front went through, lowering the temps to a cool 93. Brrrr! But the girls enjoyed playing out in the yard with a sprinkler. Probably be the last time too for the summer, as with no rain, I anticipate the City of Raleigh enacting water restrictions any day now...

I am Changing!

I did this in 2005--and I have since turned more country...

Your Linguistic Profile:

50% General American English 20% Yankee 10% Dixie 10% Upper Midwestern 5% Midwestern

What Kind of American English Do You Speak?

So Who Do You Think I'll Vote for This November...

You Are 80% Democrat

You have a good deal of donkey running through your blood, and you're proud to be liberal. You don't fit every Democrat stereotype, but you definitely belong in the Democrat party.

How Democrat Are You?

Excited for NECC

I have a badge for NECC--w00t 4 me!


View my page on NECC 2008

North Carolina is Just the Coolest!

Our Governor Mike Easley and Barack Obama and their now infamous bump...

We're Leaving On a Jet Plane...

So, the big month of taking our girls on their first flight. We will leave RDU early early in the morning and end up in Dallas to visit Mark, Christie, Aidan, and Maeve. Then I will head on to NECC the next day in San Antonio. I just have a little trepidation of taking the girls, but I think we will take enough to keep them occupied that they will enjoy it as well. We're going to play 'security check'at home to prepare them for going through the line. I think Lucy will probably love that game, as she loves playing library as well.
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NECC will be enjoyable as well. I will attend with a co-worker, and then some folks from the LEAs I work with. We already made our reservations for an Alamo Ghost Tour. Should be fun! Lots of open source sessions on the agenda, along with hearing Nicholas Negroponte of the OLPC fame.

Linux and Loving It

Recently upgraded to Ubuntu 8.04, Hardy Heron. Gotta love Linux and open source software. I also have been tinkering with Firefox 3, and LOVE it. The tagging feature for bookmarks makes so much sense to me. Same with the address bar with titles and URLs. Just a bunch of common sense goes into these apps. I also just finished configuring VirtualBox on this laptop and our desktop in the kitchen. Looking forward to using that for any Windows necessities that may pop up.
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On a related note, my Dad brought down his computer and my Pap's computer for me to tinker with. I came so close to installing Ubuntu on both. I really think, for all the work my Pap uses his for (Internet and Soltaire), he could transition smoothly. We'll keep working on it. I did struggle with the lack of common sense in trying to complete simple tasks in XP. It just does not make sense. Yuck!

Heat Wave!

Phew--I know North Carolina gets hot, but this is the earliest it hit 100 in recorded history. Here we are, just at the beginning of June, and today will mark our third straight 100+ day. Forecast is 102 and we're at 97 at 1:13 PM. Phew! Needless to say, it makes it hard for us and the girls. No playground. No walks. We filled their kiddie pool yesterday morning, and were back inside by 10AM. I used the water for plants later that day, and the water was as warm as you would like a hot tub to be. Ouch! Cool down coming this week--low 90s! At least we'll be ready for Texas in a couple weeks.
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Had a great visit with Nana, PapPap, Aunt Jenny, and Cole, although it went too fast, as usual. No matter--we will see them in August--up there. Hopefully it will be a little cooler for us!
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The End of May

Another busy month. You can always tell when the number of blog posts decreases. Lots going on, plus a few illnesses by the girls will definitely slow things down.
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Interesting proposal came up for my professional life. A director with whom I have a deep level of respect and a shared vision for technology integration will retire in August. I truly believe my experience, both instructionally and technically, will greatly qualify me for this position, so my application is in for this. We will see at the end of June, when the position closes.
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Nana and PapPap come tomorrow for six days. I know the girls are excited--and so are the parents! (-:

Well...They Got Some Goals...

Good video to get you fired up! (-:

And We Come to the Stanley Cup Yet Again...

Gotta love the opportunity to have my new favorite (Hurricanes) wins the Cup in 06 and my 'growing-up' favorite team (Pens) are in the Finals this year. Of course it did not start too well last night with a 4-0 loss that was closer than the score. Really, three of the goals were due to large Pens errors. I believe they need to cut those down, and they may possibly be alright. We will see tomorrow night!

Google Map Updates

So I needed to get directions from Downtown to a meeting location for this afternoon. Where do I go? Google Maps of course. I hesitated for a second though, once arriving to the page, as the colors and layout were just the slightest different. Then I noticed the 'Survey' button. Seems Google Maps is switching interfaces, at least for today, and asking for feedback. I completed the survey, and it asked exclusively of my experience with Google Maps TODAY. Yup, they are trying some new features and a cleaner, bluish interface. Some things have moved around, and it runs just a slight faster. Gotta love Google!

Penguins Must Like Summers in Pittsburgh...

Pens continue to play well. As I watch game two, the score should really be 3-2 Pens. So much for conspiracy theories--they STOLE a goal from us. Oh well, lots of firepower left for the third!

While my father-in-law believes me to be brainwashing my girls, they are just showing the Pens Pride:

Boy, How I Love Some Apple Smashing

The Apple fanboys of the world will be upset, but you gotta love Lenovo's shot at them. With the manilla envelope commercials showing the Macbook Air fitting in the envelope. What Lenovo did was show what extra peripherals were necessary to compute on a day to day basis (like a CD drive). Lenovo's comes attached!

Enjoyable April Days!

Lots of fun around N. Raleigh these days. Probably the reason for the dwindling blog posts. I took two days off this week to go into Lucy's preschool for Camp Day and then yesterday we went to the NC Zoological Park in Asheboro.
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Let's Go Pens!

Well NY Rangers fans, I guess you do not need to whine yet after game 1. You were given a gimme goal on the high stick. Favoritism to the Pens and Sidney? Nah! Wake up!

This is About Right...

You Belong in Generation X

You fit in best with people born between 1961 and 1981. You are fun, laid back, and very independent. You are willing to take risks and live your life however you see fit. You are casual, accepting, and friendly. You see everyone as your equal.

What Generation Do You Belong In?

What's Going On in April?

So, same 'ole story here--we've been busy! Lots going on--Lucy busy in the 'hockey players' pre-school, Daddy busy with work, Mommy possibly preparing for the City of Oaks marathon this November, and Myra trying so hard to talk (ba, dada, lusssssss for Lucy). Times are busy, but quite enjoyable!

How Cool!

Best of both worlds--Andy Warhol and Linux

March is More a Bear!

What a month! I am exhausted, and we're only to St. Patrick's Day. After no real travel since November, I spent a weekend at NCCAT in Cullowhee, NC, two nights at a conference in Concord, and now on Wednesday will spend one night in Asheville. All before our Easter trip to Pennsylvania.
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This weekend I sold myself to the Flanigans in the name of free labor. They brought a truck load of furniture down to their storage unit. Then yesterday we spent the day limbing up their trees. I can't believe how far along their house is though. The have the roof started, and are about ready to begin hanging sheetrock now. Estimated completion has moved up to July. Wow!

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Excited to see some snow in PA!

One Year of Linux, and Everything A-OK!

Like I mentioned recently, how cool when my 3 1/2 year old can tell me 'I love Linux!' I asked her what our computers ran, and she goes Linux. Then I ask what kind of Linux--Ubuntu, Daddy!

So a year into our switch, and I am more confident everyday. Kerry and Lucy can both navigate around the GUI rather easy, and I find myself more and more comfortable with the command line everyday. In the past year, I estimate possibly 10 times using Windows. I actually used it yesterday in helping my dad attach pictures in Thunderbird. I really do not know my way around a Windows OS anymore--and that's fine by me! I am seriously considering switching him to Ubuntu soon--time will tell with that.

For My Irish Girl...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

Enjoy a Virtual Shamrock Stout! To: Kerry From: Chris

What Virtual St. Patrick's Day Gift Should You Give?

Riding Her Dump Truck...

Beware the Ides of March...

Ok, so I'm a little more poetic than I need to be. Hard to believe we are rolling out March 1st, 2008. Seems like we just celebrated Christmas, and then Myra's first birthday. Now it's March. Phew!

Things are well for the Shearer family. Lucy continues to thrive at school. It is really amazing all the things she does there. And how the girl can read a book from memory! There are probably about 10-15 books here in the house (mostly Dora, of course!) that she can pick up and 'read' word for work. It is cute when she does that for Myra. Cute because that means Myra is sitting still. Ha! Myra is quite the little busy body these days. And boy--the temper!!!!! She is our little monkey, climbing all over the place.

Looks like we will head to Dallas this summer to visit Mark, Christie, and the kids. Then I will hop down to San Antonio for the NECC Conference. Looking forward to a fun year!

eeePC for Me

So we have an eeePC to test and play around with. Lucy thinks it's hers, of course, but even as I type this on our laptop, she sits right beside me, typing on her own. She told me she will now type my name. How cool!! I love how my three-year old daughter can recognize the word Ubuntu and tell me...

I love Ubuntu and I love Linux.

How many three-year olds can say that!! So neat!

Anyway, I think we're all pretty impressed with Asus' eeePC. I used it in a meeting the other day as my 'notepad,' and I was able to share all about it with many folks. Spreading Linux all over! Gotta love it!

February In NC

Typical February in North Carolina. 60s yesterday, 50s today. No rain, threat of continued drought, and word in the N&O this morning that Falls Lake, our primary water source, could dry up this summer.
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Enjoying things here. The girls are doing well. We went to visit the Flanigans' land yesterday, and construction continues. Definitely exciting that they will be moving down here this summer/fall. It will be nice to have more family close by. Of course Lucy B was a little disappointed that Grammie was not there, as she had a difficult time understanding they are only building their house by 'their Sheetz,' and not actually living there yet.

Happy Birthday To Myra Jeanne!

She officially turns one today! Can you believe that? A year ago today, she came into the world, and blessed us yet again. What a terrific family we have!

My University Teaching Debut...

Who'd thunk I would someday teach at a university? Ok, so I won't actually teach tonight, but I will give a presentation on the IMPACT Model at UNC-Chapel Hill for a fellow colleague's class. Should be interesting!
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We're also enjoying our time with Nana and PapPap. The girls are loving it! They are exhausted from all the fun! (-:

Funneee Video

But kinda scary, as this is not too far off...

The Search--aka Google's Attempts to Take Over the World

Ok, so I will be cautious, lest any googlebots are probing my blog. If so, they are probably the only ones to view my blog. Anyway...just finished Battelle's The Search, which discussed web searching, with a heavy focus on Google.

Many interesting things throughout, especially just reading about Stanford and the whole Silicon Valley area and how so many of these great tools began there.

Just a few tidbits as well:

-35% of all internet traffic is commercial in nature

IBM's Webfountain that is trying to be the 'end all' in search

Big Weekend for Myra J!

Can you believe it--my youngest will turn one this weekend, actually Monday. I cannot believe it. How old I am! (-: Nana and PapPap will arrive tomorrow for a nice, long weekend. Grammie and Grandpa will arrive Saturday for the party. We will definitely enjoy it, especially Sunday, when Kerry and I can go on a date! Do you believe it!

Hurricanes Game

It was a hockey night in Raleeeee! Unfortunately the Canes did not get that memo, as few of them showed up. Seems like that is occurring more and more these days. I think half the team is either out hurt or sick. Lots of good experience for the AHLers though--so hopefully that will help down the year. It was teacher appreciate night, so I actually ran in to many old teachers I taught with, which I appreciated!

I Know What You're Thinking...

And yes, we did wash Myra's sweater before letting her eat it! (-:

First Hockey Game Tonight!

Ok, so we are halfway through the season, but tonight will be my first game I attend. Can you believe it? After a stretch of seven years attending every opening night, January 10th will be my first game of the year.
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Switch to the North Central has gone smoothly so far. I am excited, as I get to work with a school I previously taught in, systems I worked in, so I do know a variety of folks.

Go Seahawks!

Woot--on to Green Bay. A good day, about gave it away to Washington, but they recovered nicely. If they play the entire game like they played at times, we can go far. And I did not tease my father in law too much!

More From First Night

Welcome 2008!

Enjoyed the First Night celebration last night. A lot more people showed up this year, though. Made for some cramped quarters, but all four of us enjoyed it! Another year began earlier to fireworks from our neighbourhood pieros and fireworks in the form of screams from our Little Bear.
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Now, we're sitting here watching the Pens play the Sabres in the outdoor game in Buffalo. Looks cold!