Deputy Sheriff Eck and Baby Sam

Stayed at my brother's last night. We all slept in. The baby kept my brother and sister-in-law awake. Janine made a wonderful breakfast. Then Todd, Jerry, and I went off to Todd's office and then the rifle range. Todd wanted to practice some.

It was a good opportunity to give Jerry a taste of what he might get to do if he joins the military. Jerry is talking about the Marines. I would be just as happy if he went into the Army or Navy.

Janine grilled some steaks and burgers for dinner. And again, it was wonderful.


Jerry spent some time with his 'cousin' Sam. Sam liked Jerry a lot. I think Jerry will make a great father someday. He did really well with Sam.

Ruggle's Mine

Jerry talked me into taking him to the Ruggle's Mine. It was a bit pricey ($20 each) to get into the quarry. We did get a bucket of rocks with some small gems in them.


That little speck in the middle of the above picture is Jerry.

Now we need to find a tumbler.

Sculpted Rocks Swimming Hole

Second Day of New Hampshire Trip

Went to a swimming spot called Sculpted Rocks. Turned out to be a great day to go swimming. The weather was the best we would experience on the trip. Made a video. You get to watch it.

Leaving for New Hampshire

Took off this morning for New Hampshire for a short vacation.

Saw a car wreck just in front of us on the way up. We were in New York and a car zipped across both lanes from left to right and into the grass. Jerry and I stopped to help. The car that went off the road backed up onto the road and took off. Before we could merge back into traffic, a State Police Officer pulled in behind us. A few minutes of explanation later and we were back on the road.

We stayed near Dartmouth College. After a dinner of steak (and for Jerry that means 'just steak'), we walked around the campus. Jerry found a Hookah bar and thought it was funny that they actually advertised that they smoked tobacco in the Hookah. A group of summer students was out front dancing to the beat of some bongo drums being beatin' on by some other students. Jerry also bought a huge Grateful Dead poster.

'Tis never boring

So Jerry and I are waiting for Junior to call. We were going to go out for dinner at Greshee's (I know I screwed up the spelling). I take a shower. Paige comes up stairs. I get into a compromising position. Jerry trots up the steps. Oh my.

Then Junior calls. Mia is on her way to the hospital. She is in an ambulance. Loss of feeling in one of her arms. Off Jerry and I go to the ER at Giesinger. Lots of other people hanging out in the waiting room. Dan is there. He was with Mia when she had her problem. Mia is to wired for visitors (according to her hubby), so I take Dan and Junior's two boys home with Jerry and I where we get into 3 hours of head-to-head Halo 2.

Did I mention that X-Boxes are down to $80 and Dan, Jerry, and I bought two just so we can play against each other on separate TVs. Way Cool!

So Junior's two boys are sleeping in the big bedroom. Jerry finally went to sleep. Dan went home. I'm sitting here typing this crap. Yippppeeee!

Into the Wild

Into the Wild

Add to My Profile | More Videos

I know I'm getting a little video heavy, but this trailer really caught my attention.

I used to get out into the wild. What happened? I have kids (other peoples kids) that require attention, bills to pay, 30 or 40 extra pounds of fat, and to many years of wear. But that never stopped Roy! Maybe I need to rethink some things?

Dane Cook

Jerry introduced me to a new (to me) comedian. His name is Dane Cook. I hear that he is in the movie 'Mr. Brooks'. You can Google or YouTube the guy and get lots of hits. He has some very funny bits in his acts. His comedy is made more hilarious because he deals with the truth. He is one of those people who can see and then report the state of the human condition; making you laugh while he does it. Here is a short clip.



Today I happened upon an interview with Dane Cook in PEOPLE Magazine. When questioned about what the future Mrs. Cook needed to know, Dane replied that he doesn't drink. "I've never had a drink or a drug. I want someone who wants to feel the moments of life and doesn't need a substance to enhance or decrease the experience."

Count Down to Summer Vacation

PacMan Fever

I put a classic version of Pacman on the bottom of the page. Page down and take a look. It should bring back fond memories.

Astrological Sign Stuff

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In a sorta 'Homage' to Paige, I added a Sign Widget for a few days. Check to see if we are compatible.

Magic Carpet Ride

Let's all go for a magic carpet ride!

I just did a YMCA Core Value Training at the Sunbury YMCA. It is so much fun to go train with these people. They are so motivated and smart. We did a team building exercise called 'Magic Carpet'. (We being Heather Hieny and myself) We thought it would take about 20 minutes and three or four restarts for the forty participants to flip the carpet over with their feet. It only took about eight.

The training was for Day Camp Staff. Many of the participants came from YMCAs other than Sunbury. They were all quality staff members. The Directors at these camps know how to pick people. These day camp staff members are going to be great with their kids this summer.

Personally, I really enjoyed two things in this training. First was returning to the YMCA to meet old friends. Liz is still a hoot, Bonnie (who I see all the time) brings so much energy into everything she does, and I straight up miss being around Lori - she is just a super caring person. All the new faces bring excitement and mystery into the mix.

Second was working with Heather. I had never worked in a training with Heather. I know she is a wonderful people person from working near her at Bethesda. She is the ace caseworker on the day treatment side (while I am a lowly math teacher at the soon to be done for the summer alternative ed.). She is as great a facilitator as she is a caseworker. I want to do more trainings with her.

Magic Carpet this year -- hopefully next year I will get invited back again and we can try something else new and exciting.

Pardee Rope Swing

I have a new neighbor. He moved into the third floor apartment next to mine. He had a U-haul truck full of stuff (some of it very big) and no-one to help unload it. I started to help him. Jimmie and Jerry helped when they got home. And then Eddie and a friend of Juniors joined in. It took quite a while to move everything.

After we got done I took the lads up to Pardee to let them try the rope swing. Jerry is a veteran.

Chuck Norris

It is sad, but I have really gotten into the Chuck Norris Jokes. You know them.

"You know how some kids wear superman pajamas to bed; Superman wears Chuck Norris Pajamas."

"If Chuck Norris were an element on the periodic table, what element would he be? The element of surprise, of course."

I've added a random Chuck Norris Fact Generator. Click the reload button to get a new fact.

The Big Leak

Not a good Friday morning. The sewer line on the third floor clogged and the wax seal on the toilet gave out. The resulting mess streamed through the horse hair plaster ceiling of the dining room.


All the plaster over the book shelf eventually fell . It is a mess. I don't think that the rest of the ceiling is going to fall. It looks like I have a summer project now!

At World's End

Jack Sparrow will be back soon. Check out the movie trailer at the very bottom of the page!

Newspaper Article

Yippee! I made the newspaper!

You can read the article. I was flattered to be in the paper and represent Bethesda Day Treatment Center.

Grain Truck

On my way to work, I see this truck parked in the lot near the gas station that I get my coffee at.




























"What could have done this?", I ask myself.











































Well . . . I guess you do need to read those signs on the overpasses!

What I've been up to

The anthem of most Bloggers - sorry I haven't posted lately.

Blah, Blah, Blah.

I just have not found the time, motivation, or reason to Blog. I have been, as often happens, experimenting with other things geeky.

I've also been reading. I'll probably post on that later.

On to important matters --

Pennies for Patience is done. Pictures first --

Mr. Matt plays guitar while Mr. Jim sings me a redneck love song.

Ms. Tiff chugs a 'concoction' of Octopus, rotten spaghetti, spoiled yogurt, and several other tasty items.

And the Grand totals --

Young Class $247.97
Middle Class $378.44
Old Class $377.83

Total $1004.24

Not bad for only thirty some students!

Adoption - four years down

It was four years ago today that Dan and I sealed the adoption deal. And oh what a deal! Three different homes, a broken rake, busted lock boxes, three trips to the emergency room, one 90 day D&A program, one thirty day boot camp, a job at the truck wash, and several bottles of Excedrin. Cussing, swearing, taking off in the middle of the night, knife holes in doors, strange people in my home, and girlfriends. MDEs, IEPs, and 'Five Star'. What fun we have had.

Fishing trips to Canada, Christmas Holidays, Risk, Milk Money, and other games. Shooting guns, gutting fish, trying to make his life better was my wish. Satisfaction has finally come in seeing Dan become a trusted and respected craftsman. Thank You Mia!

Was it all worth it, I ask myself? Answer - Hell Yea!

The Tan Man is a poet

Nicole's son Tanner wrote a piece of poetry. I asked if I could share it. Here it is!

If I Were In Charge Of The World

I'd cancel long school days,

Music classes in school ,

Unnecessary doctors appointments,and also

Nasty tasting broccoli.

If I were in charge of the world

There'd be extra food in school,

A lot more gym,and

Dolphins for pets.

If I were in charge of the world

You wouldn't have household chores.

You wouldn't have any harmful animals.

You wouldn't have homework,

or "wake up it's time for school."

You wouldn't have mean brothers (only nice ones).

If I were in charge of the world

There would be no more war.

And the countries would be united with one name.

And a person who has a cold,

And is really getting old,

Would still be allowed to be

In charge of the world!

Alive in Baghdad

One of the first video podcasts that I started viewing regularly was 'Alive In Baghdad'. AiB was started in 2005 when a disgruntled(?) reporter did not like what was being sent to American news viewers. The "sound-bite driven" news models needed to be countered. The gist of AiB is that Iraqis film and produce segments from their perspective with the help of their American counterparts. AiB attempts to post a new segment each week.

The podcast has been very informative and does a great job of presenting a third view to what is going on in Iraq. The site is well worth checking out. Earlier in the school, when we had fewer students and I had more time, I would show the AiB segments to the students in the morning.

Click on the banner to go to the Alive in Baghdad site.

February Stats in Brief (very brief)

I have, with the help of Google Analytics, calculated the number of visits to 'Ecksclamation'.

In February their were 82 visits to the Ecksclamations. Just over half of those were new visitors who had not been to the site before. Keep on checking out the Blog and Thanks for the support!

Where are you politically? A short Test.

I have found an interesting little quiz for you to take. It rates your political stance. It is very short (eight questions), requires no registration, and prints your results on a cool little chart.

First, Go to the Test --

Then come back here and post your result so we can see how we score as a group.

Get Free Opinion Polls

I look forward to seeing our results!

A discussion will follow.

Yeaaa!! I can post again!!!!!

Being down was not cool. Although it was annoying and I dropped a few explicit expletives about Google, I'd have to say that they did not take overly long in clearing my blog after their Spam-Bot attacked it and shut me down.

So -- Back to blogging!

My Bro.

I have lots of pictures in lots of shoe boxes. I keep trying to find common themes or series. I don't always have a lot of luck. These pictures of my brother are from different 'eras' and I thought they went together some-how.

The last two include his wife Janine.


I remember flying home for the wedding. I was in Hawaii and took leave to come back to PA for the wedding.

Spam-Prevention Robot!!!!!

What the (pardon me) HELL!

I have been locked out of my Blog effective the 28th of February until some twit headed geek at Google decides I am not a spammer. I am still allowed to create drafts (which is where this is being saved for later ranting) for future posting if I get approved(?).

I probably should not rant. The internet nazis might take away my free blog space.

Till whenever ...

Red Candle on Camp-K Blog

I have, with a lot of help from Dan and Steve, posted the Red Candle story on the Camp-K Blog. Dan wrote the story and Steve had kept it archived over the past few years. They were nice enough to share the story with me. Check out the story at this link - The Red Candle.

Computer Crashes can have an upside

Friday morning I tried to start up my computer at work and . . .

. . .

. . .

. . . nothing happened!!!

It sucked and is still sucking!

I ended up taking the whole thing to circuit city and literally shouting 'FIREDOG"! to the customer service person. I nice tech-geek named Shane helped me come to the conclusion that I needed to wipe my hard drive and start over.

There is good news in this. We were able to save my recent work documents before wiping the drive. Most of my other stuff was backed up in one way or another. My music was on my Zen player. Other documents and pictures were backed up on an external drive. I did lose many of my downloaded programs. I also lost my Neverwinter Nights characters and saves.

Reloading everything had some benefits. Lots of little programs that were constantly running in the background got wiped out. I decided to ditch Internet Explorer and loaded Mozilla Firefox as my web browser. I had one heck of a time getting my VONGO player running. I finally got that figured out late Saturday night.

So, in the end I have learned that it is a great idea to keep your files backed up and that I am way to attached to my computer. I'm back up and running! Now, more posts!

The Eck Men

Sam was home to Mom and Dad's. We were there late today so I'm posting a pic and getting to bed.

I missed a Lifeguard picture

I missed a picture of a lifeguard class. Thought I would post it. It has some people who are still around.

I also found an older B&W polaroid (Polaroids? Instant satisfaction for picture takers before digital came along) of Jack Williams, Brian Guffy, and myself. Eric Erdman is on the deck sporting the oversized cooling fins on the side of his head that earned him the nickname 'wingnut'.

I'm excited about this picture. It is really touched up or restored. The Black and White Polaroids bleach to white over time and this doctored scan is much nicer than the original. And I did it all by myself (pat self on back).

24

I won't take the time to link to all the left wing web sites that are carrying critiques of all the torture scenes in '24' and using the fall-out to slam the Bush White House. Just google '24 torture' and you will get enough hits to keep you busy. Well . . . Ok, here are a few sites -

http://www.usatoday.com/life/television/news/2005-03-13-24-torture_x.htm
http://www.starpulse.com/news/index.php/2007/02/13/us_military_slams_24_torture_scenes http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0212/p99s01-duts.html
http://thinkprogress.org/2007/02/13/torture-on-24/

BOTTOM LINE -- '24' is a FICTIONAL TV SHOW!!!!!

It is not real. Most of the show is not even plausible. To think that people in the military use Jack Bauer as a model for conducting interrogation is . . .Lame. Sure, Jack is inflicting pain on the bad guys every week and the rag heads are always the bad guys (and that is not even true).

But Boy-oh-boy -- It is good entertainment. It is like the old cliff hangers. Mom and I make a point of watching it every Monday Night. She missed last weeks episode because she was at a Red Hat meeting. In the end, Jack Buaer will probably find out that the whole conspiracy being masterminded by the Red Hat Society. Or, is that real life? I can't remember.

Children of the Crow

This is something my brother and I did over Thanksgiving. It is an original piece of music he and I created. We tried to keep it 'pink floydish'. It does get a little loud at times. I like the second half the best.

We called the piece "Children of the Crow".

MyMusicCode.com

More Yahoooo!

My brother and I spent more time on messanger today. We found a new way to share photos. Now we don't have to download them to each other. They just open in the chat box on a seperate side screen. He sent me some more pictures from Canada and a few of my nephew Sam.

This picture has my Mom, Sam, Cramer (the dog), Dad, and Sean Hannity (on the TV).

Bay Watch - Milton Style

This is a little gag reel I made right after I bought my computer. It kinda ties in with yesterdays post, so I thought I would put it up for your amusement.

Y do I care about lifeguard training

For years I ran the Red Cross Lifeguard Course at the Milton YMCA. Then, two years ago, Ann L. started running the course. I was not asked to help, I was not told I would no longer be running the course, I was just 'black balled' without notice.

And it is OK. I spent many, many hours prepping and running the course. I called in favors from several friends. The end result was a superior program that produced quality lifeguards. No-one has run a lifeguard course as well as I did; and I did it with the help of pros like Jack Williams, Brian White, Keith Yiako, Eric Erdman and others.

It is a loss for the YMCA. It is a gain for me, for I have found other opportunities to fill the time I would have spent managing the lifeguard course. Ultimately, I enjoyed the process of teaching. Now I do that every day.

Tomorrow, Bay Watch - Milton Style

More Snow!

It continued to snow today. And, best of all, it was a snow day, a 'no go to school' day.

There was very little traffic in Milton and an awful lot of snow.

Let it Snow!

Finally, it has snowed.

I snapped a quick pick off of my back porch (a roof) for proof.

Yahoooooo (messenger)

I have been having so much fun with Yahoo Messenger. I finally convinced my brother to get his computer set up with messanger. The first time we got online to audio chat he sent me a few videos from a past canada trip. In one of them Dave W. and I are riding on a jet ski. Darned if Dave doesn't call me on my cell phone. Within a few minutes Dave is online and giving my brother and I a web cam tour of his apartment. Then my son Dan gets online with us. We were having a four way phone call with video. How cool is that?!



This past weekend my brother and I got online together and played some games together and talked for almost an hour and a half. He lives in New Hampshire. It didn't cost anything more than my internet bill which I would be paying anyway!! That is super cool!

Now, tonight, Todd figured out we can share our music files with each other. Yipeee!

He sent me "Smoke on the Water". A 'must have' for your mp3 player.

God and Equus

I have been reading "The Language of God" by Francis Collins. Collins was the key researcher and program leader of the Human Genome Project. The book examines the evidence, both intellectual and scientific, for a belief in God. Then, I see Harry Potter (Daniel Radcliffe) is getting naked for his role in a revival of "Equus".




I had to get the play and read it. Equus is a complex play by Peter Shaffer. It was originally written and performed in 1973. It remains as valid today as it did in 1973. It was interesting that I came across it when I did. It dove tails nicely into the thoughts presented in "Language of the Gods" and what is going on in my life today.

Shaffer, in his play, portrays how materialism and convenience have ruined societies capacity to worship or see God in our world. This thought works in well with the material presented in Collins book.

The shrink in Equus must weigh the decision to 'cure' his patient and, in the process, destroy the patients passion. Dysart (the shrink in the play) must choose between two bad decisions. He must decide which bad plan is less bad. I know this dilemma.

Both the book and the play are good reads. I recommend them both.

New Blog

I started a new blog . . . Like an "official" blog .. with purpose.

It is a Blog for Camp Pictures and postings of Camp memories, stories, and recollections.

CAMP K

A New Year - A new gadget

I found a new widget thingy. I think anyone can pin stuff on it.

Have No Fear -- Underdog is HERE!

Yep . . . I found a picture. Coming this summer to a theater near you.

I'm almost as excited about this as I am about the Transformers movie.

Adding more e-geek

I've added a hit counter at the bottom, two site stat counters (google analytic and feedburner), and an e-mail subscription. If people actually subscribe, I'll have to be better at generating appropriate content.

Mom's Cat

Cool Slideshows

My Mom's Cat - Sparkle - passed away just after the Holidays. Sparkle was about 15 years old (?). Near as I can figure, that is something like 275 in human years. So, my little tribute with a new geeky photo thingy.

I chose poorly

I chose the wrong team for the first game. I figured New Orleans would win.

WRONG!

Now I am waiting to see if my second pick comes through. I picked the Patriots. I'd rather the Colts win, but I had to pick who I thought would win, not who I wanted to win.

I saw a neat preview on the Disney channel today (joys of raising kids - I get to watch Disney Channel). Looks like they are making a live action version of Underdog. I will see if I can find a trailer on the net.

Meanwhile, here is a pic or two from '300'.


I saw a "making of" on this movie. The actors all wear virtual chests and have their bodies digitized. They are not as studly as they appear. Still, looks like a cool action flick.

Feed Burner

I'm just making a post to try and get my feedburner to work.

New Feedburner

I tried setting up an RSS feed. I'm not sure how it works. I will let you know how to set up a feed just as soon as I figure it out.

Baby Go Boom!!!

My brother thought it would be a good idea to place a camera in the changing room. It was!

This is my edit of his encounter with a locked and loaded baby. Ready, Aim, Fire!

Added a Picture of me

Nothing to great. I added a picture from my trip to the Tetons. It is a few years old, but it is one of my favorites of me.

My Nephew

It took a while, but I finally got a picture of my nephew. Mom and Dad (my Mom and Dad; the babies Grandparents) took pictures when they visited.















My Brother Todd and his little boy.