Raleigh 2005 Photo Album
Wednesday, November 30, 2005
Raleigh Pictures
Tracy took a few pictures on the Raleigh trip and I put them online. Click on the camera below to view.
Raleigh 2005 Photo Album
Raleigh 2005 Photo Album
40 & Falling Apart
Turning 40 has both its good points and bad points. Reaching this advanced age has allowed me to add more life experience to an already imposing intellect invoking awe and wonder for those who know me. It also has its bad points. Jimmy Gallant and I took our boys out to a local trail to ride about two weeks ago and at some point during the ride I demonstrated the proper use of the rear brake on a dirt bike to slide through turns. The point of this exercise being that this enables you to take the turn faster. I am firm believer that if you are not trying to ride faster, then don't bother to ride at all. I successfully demonstrated this maneuver to Austin a number of times, then let him back on the bike.
Some time later, Austin wrecked the bike on a back trail. I heard the bike stop, ran over to investigate and found him sitting on the ground next to the bike. A quick physical check revealed no problems, but the bike was a little worse for the wear. There were big clumps of dirt covered the throttle controls, and once cleaned off, the bike looked fine. I started the bike and the throttle was stuck open. I had overlooked the broken throttle cable. When I put the bike in gear, it immeadiately wheelied on me, and I had to shut it down. Jimmy and I figured out how to adjust the throttle cable so the idle was normal. A life lesson that I learned from my Dad is that once you wreck a bike, the best possible thing to do is get back on it, even if you don't want to. The idea being that you must not be afraid of a motorcycle. Respect the bike, but don't fear it. With this mantra in mind, I told Austin to ride it back to the truck. He told me that he was having trouble bending his hand and could not grip the throttle. Fearing further injury, I told him to walk back to the truck and I would check the bike over under power. We talked about the wreck and we looked at the scene. There was a dried rut in the trail, he had hit it going too fast and the bars were turnd on him. Once this happened, he went down. I explained to him that wrecking while you are going too fast is how you learn to ride. This is how you get faster.
On the way back, I did one more power slide through the last turn. This turned out to be a bad idea. I was going too fast and the small motorcycle slid out from under me. My reaction was to put my left leg out to steady the bike and my shoe grabbed something on the ground. I felt my knee pop and I stopped the bike. Please note that the bike did not fall over. I was unable to put any weight on the knee for awhile, but the pain quickly went away.
The next morning, all was not well. I could not walk without a limp, so I went to the doctor to get it xrayed. No broken bones, but I had a pull anterior ligament. Ice, Ibuprofen, and a couple of weeks would take care of the problem. Two weeks later, I am fine. I still can't run on it and I had to cancel the triathlon I was planning to run next week, but there is always another one.
For the record, Austin's hand was merely sprained and was fine by the next day.
Some time later, Austin wrecked the bike on a back trail. I heard the bike stop, ran over to investigate and found him sitting on the ground next to the bike. A quick physical check revealed no problems, but the bike was a little worse for the wear. There were big clumps of dirt covered the throttle controls, and once cleaned off, the bike looked fine. I started the bike and the throttle was stuck open. I had overlooked the broken throttle cable. When I put the bike in gear, it immeadiately wheelied on me, and I had to shut it down. Jimmy and I figured out how to adjust the throttle cable so the idle was normal. A life lesson that I learned from my Dad is that once you wreck a bike, the best possible thing to do is get back on it, even if you don't want to. The idea being that you must not be afraid of a motorcycle. Respect the bike, but don't fear it. With this mantra in mind, I told Austin to ride it back to the truck. He told me that he was having trouble bending his hand and could not grip the throttle. Fearing further injury, I told him to walk back to the truck and I would check the bike over under power. We talked about the wreck and we looked at the scene. There was a dried rut in the trail, he had hit it going too fast and the bars were turnd on him. Once this happened, he went down. I explained to him that wrecking while you are going too fast is how you learn to ride. This is how you get faster.
On the way back, I did one more power slide through the last turn. This turned out to be a bad idea. I was going too fast and the small motorcycle slid out from under me. My reaction was to put my left leg out to steady the bike and my shoe grabbed something on the ground. I felt my knee pop and I stopped the bike. Please note that the bike did not fall over. I was unable to put any weight on the knee for awhile, but the pain quickly went away.
The next morning, all was not well. I could not walk without a limp, so I went to the doctor to get it xrayed. No broken bones, but I had a pull anterior ligament. Ice, Ibuprofen, and a couple of weeks would take care of the problem. Two weeks later, I am fine. I still can't run on it and I had to cancel the triathlon I was planning to run next week, but there is always another one.
For the record, Austin's hand was merely sprained and was fine by the next day.
Sunday, November 27, 2005
Back Handspring
Time Stamp: 7:06PM, November 27, 2005
Location: RAH! Cheerleading Gym
Everyone who knows her is aware that Kellie takes her cheerleading seriously. For the past several years, young Kellie has been laboring towards the next step in cheerleading stunts. The stunt that she has been attempting to master is the back handspring.
This maneuver involves jumping backwards from a standing position, arching your back, landing on your hands, and rotating back to a standing position. Here is an example sequence. Try and picture it without the training aid shown here:
Kellie has been to private sessions to get this down, Gymnastic classes, and has attempted this nearly every cheer practice for years. All her instructors said that she has the mechanics down, the problem is all between the ears. They were right. At the timestamp above, I observed Kellie effortlessly throw a back handspring twice is succession. I don't know what happened to allow this sudden development, but she now knows that she can do it, and that's all she needed.
The next time you see her, congratulations are in order. She has worked very hard for this.
Location: RAH! Cheerleading Gym
Everyone who knows her is aware that Kellie takes her cheerleading seriously. For the past several years, young Kellie has been laboring towards the next step in cheerleading stunts. The stunt that she has been attempting to master is the back handspring.
This maneuver involves jumping backwards from a standing position, arching your back, landing on your hands, and rotating back to a standing position. Here is an example sequence. Try and picture it without the training aid shown here:
Kellie has been to private sessions to get this down, Gymnastic classes, and has attempted this nearly every cheer practice for years. All her instructors said that she has the mechanics down, the problem is all between the ears. They were right. At the timestamp above, I observed Kellie effortlessly throw a back handspring twice is succession. I don't know what happened to allow this sudden development, but she now knows that she can do it, and that's all she needed.
The next time you see her, congratulations are in order. She has worked very hard for this.
Raleigh Road Trip
The day after Thanksgiving, we packed the car and the kids up and headed to Raleigh to attend NC State's last home game. Tracy and Uncle Mike had talked for some time about attending a State game. It all came together on the last game of the season. The ride was uneventful as the significant event of the day was waiting for us in Raleigh.
When we arrived at chez Ché, I placed the Sequoia keys into the pocket of my pullover. I took a few steps toward the house and decided that it was little hot for the pullover, took it off and placed it into the truck. I closed the door, watched Tracy close the passenger door and remembering the keys, opened the door to get the keys back. Rather, I tried to open the door, which was now locked. Needless to say, I was little pissed off, but contrary to public opinion, I was not pissed at Tracy as it was clearly my fault. When things had settled down a bit, Ché called the county sheriff's office and two deputies arrived a short time later to try and get the doors unlocked. They each worked on the front doors with a slim jim, but eventually gave up and left. We called a locksmith, who arrived much later that expected, and he also tried the slim jim approach. Lesson: Don't try and open a Toyota Sequoia with a slim jim. You will be wasting your time.
Eventually the locksmith used an air bladder and extension rod to actually push a metal rod into the car to try and unlock the door by pulling on the door lock lever. This simple act was compounded by the Toyota's anti-theft feature of auto locking the doors. When he pulled on the lever, the car locked itself and repeatedly honked the horn. He tried this for a long time, and just when I was about to secure a large rock from Ché's backyard, Natalie's father Mike came out to investigate. The locksmith told Mike that he was trying to engage the door handle at the same time the locking lever was moved and thereby opening the door before the car could lock itself again. Mike offered to try the door handle while the locksmith worked the lever. I was admittedly skeptical as I had seen this attempted several times that night. The locksmith pulled the lever, Mike pulled the handle, and the door popped open on the first try.
I owe Mike a heartfelt thanks for his mad door opening skills. I retrieved the keys, paid the locksmith and closed this sad event of my day. Please note that Mike's intervention did not save me any money. The locksmith insisted on his fee despite the assisstance. If you need a SUV and are financially prone to stealing one, you might want to try a Chevy Tahoe instead. I am speaking from experience.
We went back to the hotel and made plans to see everyone the next day. We arrived at Party Tent #5 at around 10:00 teh next morning. Uncle Mike had arranged (paid?) for a party tent in front of the RBC Center (Basketball/Hockey Arena). We were in front of the party zone which featured vendors and other activies before the game. My girls got their faces painted with NCSU logos. This, coupled with the NC State hooded sweatshirts we had picked up at WalMart the night before, enabled them to look the part of seasoned Wolfpack fans.
The stadium has undergone a radical change since my last visit. There is a new fieldhouse, new stands on the south end, and a huge addition to the alumni side that contains the new pressbox and luxury suites. The Wolfpack are big-time compared to the teams that played during my tenure.
Of the kids, Austin enjoyed the game the most, as he was the only one to watch the entire game. Of course, he is the only one of my kids who understands the game. Kara is too young, and Kellie spent the entire game dazzled by the Wolfpack cheerleading squad, only looking at the game if cheers erupted from the crowd.
Once the game was over, we went back the party tent where everybody was anyway. The only people to watch the entire game were Uncle Mike, Dad, Tabitha, Rudy, Austin, Natalie's dad Mike, and myself. We wound down a little and everyone met up at Ché's house for the after party. I managed to keep the keys in my hand this time.
Who was there? Here is who I remember attending:
The highlight of the weekend was getting together with family and friends to have a good time. I don't have the luxury of having my family around on a daily basis and its good to see everyone again. I got to spend time with my Mom and Dad, Uncle Mike, Ché, and Dawa. Natalie's parents are great to talk with and have made themselves a real part of the family.
As far as the game goes, the Wolfpack did me proud. After a slow first half, they rallied and sent Maryland home for the season. The Wolfpack became bowl eligible and will continue their season for another game.
Final Score:
When we arrived at chez Ché, I placed the Sequoia keys into the pocket of my pullover. I took a few steps toward the house and decided that it was little hot for the pullover, took it off and placed it into the truck. I closed the door, watched Tracy close the passenger door and remembering the keys, opened the door to get the keys back. Rather, I tried to open the door, which was now locked. Needless to say, I was little pissed off, but contrary to public opinion, I was not pissed at Tracy as it was clearly my fault. When things had settled down a bit, Ché called the county sheriff's office and two deputies arrived a short time later to try and get the doors unlocked. They each worked on the front doors with a slim jim, but eventually gave up and left. We called a locksmith, who arrived much later that expected, and he also tried the slim jim approach. Lesson: Don't try and open a Toyota Sequoia with a slim jim. You will be wasting your time.
Eventually the locksmith used an air bladder and extension rod to actually push a metal rod into the car to try and unlock the door by pulling on the door lock lever. This simple act was compounded by the Toyota's anti-theft feature of auto locking the doors. When he pulled on the lever, the car locked itself and repeatedly honked the horn. He tried this for a long time, and just when I was about to secure a large rock from Ché's backyard, Natalie's father Mike came out to investigate. The locksmith told Mike that he was trying to engage the door handle at the same time the locking lever was moved and thereby opening the door before the car could lock itself again. Mike offered to try the door handle while the locksmith worked the lever. I was admittedly skeptical as I had seen this attempted several times that night. The locksmith pulled the lever, Mike pulled the handle, and the door popped open on the first try.
I owe Mike a heartfelt thanks for his mad door opening skills. I retrieved the keys, paid the locksmith and closed this sad event of my day. Please note that Mike's intervention did not save me any money. The locksmith insisted on his fee despite the assisstance. If you need a SUV and are financially prone to stealing one, you might want to try a Chevy Tahoe instead. I am speaking from experience.
We went back to the hotel and made plans to see everyone the next day. We arrived at Party Tent #5 at around 10:00 teh next morning. Uncle Mike had arranged (paid?) for a party tent in front of the RBC Center (Basketball/Hockey Arena). We were in front of the party zone which featured vendors and other activies before the game. My girls got their faces painted with NCSU logos. This, coupled with the NC State hooded sweatshirts we had picked up at WalMart the night before, enabled them to look the part of seasoned Wolfpack fans.
The stadium has undergone a radical change since my last visit. There is a new fieldhouse, new stands on the south end, and a huge addition to the alumni side that contains the new pressbox and luxury suites. The Wolfpack are big-time compared to the teams that played during my tenure.
Of the kids, Austin enjoyed the game the most, as he was the only one to watch the entire game. Of course, he is the only one of my kids who understands the game. Kara is too young, and Kellie spent the entire game dazzled by the Wolfpack cheerleading squad, only looking at the game if cheers erupted from the crowd.
Once the game was over, we went back the party tent where everybody was anyway. The only people to watch the entire game were Uncle Mike, Dad, Tabitha, Rudy, Austin, Natalie's dad Mike, and myself. We wound down a little and everyone met up at Ché's house for the after party. I managed to keep the keys in my hand this time.
Who was there? Here is who I remember attending:
| Denny & Tracy | Denny & Linda | Kellie | Austin |
| Kara | Kate Love (Kellie's friend) | Uncle Mike & Tabitha | Ché & Natalie |
| Rudy | Tito | Trent & Deborah | Rudy |
| Kyle & Donna | Mike & Gail | Dawa & David | Ché's friends |
The highlight of the weekend was getting together with family and friends to have a good time. I don't have the luxury of having my family around on a daily basis and its good to see everyone again. I got to spend time with my Mom and Dad, Uncle Mike, Ché, and Dawa. Natalie's parents are great to talk with and have made themselves a real part of the family.
As far as the game goes, the Wolfpack did me proud. After a slow first half, they rallied and sent Maryland home for the season. The Wolfpack became bowl eligible and will continue their season for another game.
Final Score:
| Maryland Terrapins at NC State Wolfpack | ||
 |  | |
| 14 | 20 | |
Thanksgiving 2005
This year Tracy and I hosted Thanksgiving here at our house. Chuck arrived the day before so that he could accompany Tracy and Kellie to the opening of the movie Rent. I never really could get a firm grasp of Chuck's impression of the movie, but Tracy and Kellie both gave a thumbs up, Five-Star review. Rent is in its 10th season on Broadway and is a musical that Tracy has seen nearly a dozen times, and Chuck has seen multiple times as well. Tracy already has plans to drag me to the 'Movie of the Year'.Chuck drove his 'vehicle' north for the visit. For those of you not well versed in Chuckspeak, the 'car' is the Boxster and the 'vehicle' is the Cayenne. Please contact him directly for further clarification.
The dinner was good and Alyce and Tracy outdid themselves as usual. Of particular note was the tangerine walnut cranberry sauce. This is an Alyce orginal that never grows old. We invited our neighbors Ron and Amanda McCormick over for the festivities as well. They were accompanied by their young sons Trey and Jackson.
In the event that Chuck or Tabitha forgot the score to the afternoon football game, I have placed it below for reference:
| Denver Broncos at Dallas Cowboys | ||
 |  | |
| 24 | 21 | |
Monday, November 21, 2005
Report Cards - Update
Kara
| Course | Grade |
| Reading | S |
| Writing | S |
| Speaking | S |
| Listening | S |
| Math | S |
| Social Studies | S |
| Science | S | Art | S |
| Physical Education | S |
| Music | S |
| Handwriting | S |
| Technology | S |
| Work Habits | S+ |
| Conduct | S+ |
Friday, November 18, 2005
Modern Communications
A few days ago Kellie brought her new laptop to me and wanted to know how to accept a file sent to her by a friend. I took a lookat the problem and saw that the file in question was being sent via an Instant Message (IM) client. In this case, the IM client was AOL Instant Messager (AIM). Being somewhat curious at this point, I began to observe what she was doing. It seems that one of her friends was having trouble with a homework assignment and had asked for Kellie's help. The problem in question was handed out that day in school. Since Kellie did not have the particulat piece of paper on hand, her classmate simply scanned the page on her scanner, sent the file to Kellie, and the two began to discuss the problem.
This doesn't sound particurlarly unusual until you understand that at no time during the discussion was there any spoken communication. The entire event took place during a chat session while Kellie typed happily away on her wireless laptop. Times have changed since I was in 7th grade!
I wonder sometimes if my kids truely understand the advantages in communication they have today. Kellie has at her fingertips quicker access to more information than my entire town library had when I was her age.
This doesn't sound particurlarly unusual until you understand that at no time during the discussion was there any spoken communication. The entire event took place during a chat session while Kellie typed happily away on her wireless laptop. Times have changed since I was in 7th grade!
I wonder sometimes if my kids truely understand the advantages in communication they have today. Kellie has at her fingertips quicker access to more information than my entire town library had when I was her age.
Wednesday, November 16, 2005
Report Cards
Report cards came out today. Read'em and weep.
Kellie
Austin
Kellie
| Course | Grade |
| Language Arts | A |
| Spanish | B |
| Social Studies | A |
| Science | A |
| Math | A |
| Physical Education | A |
| Chorus | A |
Austin
| Course | Grade |
| Reading | B+ |
| Writing | B+ |
| Math | C |
| Social Studies | C+ |
| Science | B |
Tuesday, November 01, 2005
Halloween
Last night, the kids celebrated Halloween and I thought you might want to see what they wore. Kellie: Little Miss Muffet, Austin: Zombie, Kara: Pirate.
This year we made it a party, invited several friends over to sit around the fire bowl, and set up a haunted house in our yard to scare all the kids for our amusement. I think the adults had much more fun than the kids. It seemed that we didn't have as many trick or treaters as we did last year, but I may have missed several of the kids, because not all of them dared to enter the haunted house.
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