Polar Bears

With Amy in Dallas till Wednesday, I took Monday off work and thought I'd take the kids to the NC Zoo in Asheboro. I've posted images before of a previous trip, but that was the 'African' side of the zoo. Today, we went to the 'North American' side.

It was pushing 100 degrees by the time we got there, so we weren't expecting too much activity from the animals. I was initially proved right when we went past the lounging kangaroos & wallabies, both sacked out in the shade. We strolled over to the sea lions and got a small treat. A family of three were playing and the kids were fired up.

Right next to the sea lions were the Polar Bears; honestly, I was not expecting much. I've seen Polar Bear exibits before at a few zoos and those big northerners don't take kindly to warm weather, especially a day like today. As you can see from the pictures, I was quite mistaken. They were all about having fun. From the upper observation deck, we could see a few of them playing in the water, so we went down to where you could view them from below. I wish I could post all the shots I took. Absolutely AMAZING. I've never seen anything like it. A couple of them were playing right up against the glass. The coolest part was that we were the first ones down there, and when one of the bears saw us, they stopped and he wanted to play with us. He grabbed a little rubber washer toy he had and kept pressing it up to the glass like he wanted to play 'catch' or something. It was really incredible.

The pictures don't even do the size of this thing justice either. Their paws alone seemed as large as my torso. This went on for about 10-15 minutes until it appeared he wanted to go back and play with the other bear. Jude and kerrigan were beside themselves. The only thing that suprised me more than the bears was the kids nerves. They weren't scared or intimidated at all. They were right up on the glass wanting to get as close as possible.

So glad I had the camera.

Polar Bears Cont...

Polar Bear wanting to play with Jude.

Polar Bears Cont...

I think Jude wanted to play with him, too.

Burrito Eating Contest Results

Here's how the competetive eating went:

There were waves of contestants. The first wave had five eaters, the second wave also had five and the third wave had four. I was in the third one. The guy on the furthest left, Marc (to my right), is my boss at work.

I didn't stand a chance. The first wave's winner ate all three burritos in 5 min 2 sec. The second wave's winner ate all three in 4 min 22 sec! The winner of my wave won in a marathon 8 min 30 sec!! Marc,was a bite shy of winning our round. I got through the first one on pace with everyone, but I couldn't keep it up. Those black beans were killing me! Hard and gritty, they were tough to swallow without much water. Especially since 'chewing' was at most optional. Once I ran out of water, I gave up.

I ended up eating only 1-1/2 burritos when it was all said and done. I took the third one home and ate at for dinner.




I'm full... I'm going to go take a nap.

This really threw Jude for a loop

He couldn't quite process how we could be in the same picture together like this...

Kerrigan's Summer Haircut

Kerrigan AFTER her haircut tonight...

She was very excited about it.

Kerrigan's Summer Haircut

Kerrigan BEFORE her haircut tonight...

Doug's first day of school

Found it...

Wow, not too much different from Jude's.

I guess that this would be back in '79?

Jude's first day of school

Last Monday was Jude's first day of Kindergarten. He has had such a great time and loves school very much.

If you're wondering why he's staring school in July, it because it is a year-round school. Very good actually; 9 weeks on, 3 weeks off for the whole year. Not bad. Seems to be a great system and much of Raleigh is on this schedule.

On Thursday, we had a meet the teacher night at his school already. We all went together and got to meet his friends from class, their parents and Jude's teachers.

When I saw this picture, I couldn't help but think of the picture of my first day of school. I'll post that one when I find it.

This is us on vacation with Amy's family earlier last month... sorry, I forgot to post this one sooner. Probably the most recent 'family shot' we have. We had a great time. Well, Amy and the kids had a great time. I drove them to the beach (4 hours, one way from Raleigh) on a Friday, then I had to come back alone to be back at work that Monday. I got to go back at the end of the week and enjoyed the weekend with them, then we all came back home together on Sunday morning.

Still, it was a great time!

Moe's National Burrito Eating Contest

A few of the guys and I from work are regulars at a local burrito joint, called Moe's (a lot like 'Chipotle' for you guys back in Cleveland). A few weeks ago, my boss and I saw a store promotion for a burrito eating contest where you could win Moe's burritos for life, so we filled out the card and entered.

Just today, I got the call from a Moe's rep saying I was selected for the contest. Sweeeet. I think Marc was a bit bummed he got dissed. Sorry, Marc.

Here's the deal, next Saturday (July 29th) I show up at Moe's with approx. 29 other burrito bashers. The first to eat three 'Joey Bag of Donuts' burritos wins, and advances to the next level... Uh, I don't even know what the 'next level' is... I think a state-wide burrito eating contest or something.

Anyway, I'll have Amy take pictures so you can see my burrito gorged grill. Should be fun. A bunch of my co-workers are coming and I'm going to see if some friends from church will drop by as well... what a riot this should be.

Win or lose, I still get to eat free Moe's burritos next Saturday!

Praying for you, Tiffany !!!

Just got some sobering news from our dearest friends in Virginia Beach, Rob & Tiffany Jeffers, that Tiffany has gestational trophoblastic disease (neoplasia). It is a cancerous growth that is on her lungs. I do not know many details, other than that Tiff has had her first chemotherapy treatment today and that she is and always has been the text-book definition of optimism and amazing attitude.

We are going to try to go up to visit this weekend. All of our hope, love and prayers are with them.

Rob and Tiffany's blog is here, though I will try to post here all her progress as we get word.

Dilly Bar Conspiracy

It seems that Dilly Bars aren't quite as big as they used to be.

I concede that this may just be a case of things seeming smaller because everything seemed bigger when we were kids, but I remeber when I'd get these things and they seemed like they were like dinner plates. Okay, an exaggeration, but they did seem big.

Tonight, I picked up some DQ treats for Amy and the kids... we got a few things and a dilly bar (for the first time in years), and it looked so small! I put a ruler to it and it was only 3" diameter.

Like I said earlier, maybe it's just me, but I think they are significantly smaller than I remember them being.

Kids with Friends

Amy took the kids to our friend Eva's house while I was in Cleveland. These are Eva's children, Laurel and Davis. They had fun playing in the pool and also with all the water balloons.

Mocha the neighborhood cat

A neighborhood cat spent a couple days outside our house last week. We had never seen her before so we called the number on her collar. The owners said she was an outside cat and liked to spend time away. So, she holed up on our back porch a few nights. Kerrigan loved her very much and played with her a ton. Farewell, Mocha, wherever you may roam.

Satchmo Dies : July 6, 1971

35 years ago today...

Louis "Satchmo" Armstrong, one of the most influential musicians of the 20th century, dies in New York City at the age of 69. A world-renowned jazz trumpeter and vocalist, he pioneered jazz improvisation and the style known as swing. LouisDaniel Armstrong was born in New Orleans, the birth place of jazz, in 1901. He grew up in poverty and from a young age was interested in music.

His joyous voice, both coarse and exuberant, was one of the most distinctive in popular music. His music had a major effect on the swing and big band sound that dominated popular music in the 1930s and '40s. In 1947, he formed a small ensemble, the All-Stars, which he led until 1968. Louis Armstrong hadmany nicknames, including Satchmo, short for "Satchelmouth"; "Dippermouth"; and "Pops." Because he spread jazz around the world through his extensive travels and hit songs, many called him "Ambassador Satch." Although in declining health in his later years, he continued to perform until his death on July 6, 1971.

So why Cleveland

I put up a post about my 16 hour episode at the Cleveland hopkins International Airport, but I failed to mention the reason for the trip.

My good friend, Ryan Painter, had a suprise 30th birthday thrown for him by his wife, Karin. She wrote to me a month or so ago to see if I could make it. At the time, it was a long shot, but we checked out prices and found a decent flight.

I had a great time at Ryan's party, even though he found out by accident effectively removing the 'suprise' from suprise birthday party. However, he was suprised to see someone from North Carolina make it up to Toledo, Ohio for a party. Mission: Accomplished. Happy Birthday, Ryan. You're the MAN.

As if that weren't enough, I was able to spend the rest of the weekend with Brian 'Chicken Hawk' Thomas and the rest of the Thomas posse. The kids are so big and it was so good just to be with those guys. Brian, if you read this, thanks for being there, man. You helped make that day at the airport bareable. No joke. I wouldn't have made it without you.

Happy Anniversary, Amy!

Happy Anniversary, Amy!

Today, Amy and I have been married for 8 years. To celebrate, friends of ours across the street came over to watch the kids so Ames and I could go out. I had made reservations at a brand new restaurant in downtown Raleigh called '18 Seaboard'. By new, I mean that it just opened about a week ago. Very, very nice. Amy got a fire-roasted chicken with a nice Pinot Grigio (which she loved), and I ordered a grass-fed filet mignon with a classy Brooklyn Brown Ale. For desert, we split a lime angel food cake with orange slice and pineapple sorbet. Even the coffee was excellent.

It was so nice to get out and enjoy some time together at a slick restaurant. And, as Amy said best, it was nice to go somewhere that didn't have a kid's menu. So true.

So, if you happen to be downtown Raleigh, I highly recommend 18 Seaboard. Happy 8th, Sweetie!

NC Zoo

Sometimes I have a hard time just getting a 'normal' picture out of Jude. He always has to pose.

Same NC Zoo trip

Great view of a lioness and a lion. The lion was lounging under the tree when the lioness came out. We cracked up when she strolled over and crashed out next to him under the tree.

More NC Zoo

At the NC Zoo... These chimps were hanging out right next to the glass. The closest one was more entertained by us that we were of him, I think.

16 Hours at Cleveland Hopkins International Airport

Yes, 16 hours in a Cleveland airport last Monday is the story of the moment.

I had a flight out at 8AM, but volunteered (mistake) to take a $400 travel voucher to step aside because of over-booking. I was then booked on a 4PM flight and was also given a stand-by ticket for the 11AM flight. 11AM was also over-booked, so I waited for the 4PM flight for which I had a confirmed ticket.

You see where this is going, right?

Boarding for the 4PM flight finally starts. I wait in line and give the lady my ticket and gratefully start walking down the tunnel. Suddenly, as I'm half-way down the ramp to the jet, I get hailed back because I was apparently not booked for the flight. I tried to explain to them the situation earlier and they said they would get a supervisor for me to speak with, and the lady disappears. In the meantime, my plane backs out and goes off to taxi... long gone. THEN the supervisor comes to assist me. I ask him why I have a ticket yet I am still standing here while my plane is half-way across Ohio. After a bit of ticking through computer files, he says that it was a computer error... my stand-by ticket overrode my booked ticket and it booted me off the flight. Nice.

I received another $200 in travel vouchers and a couple dinner vouchers for my trouble, and also assure me that I will be on the next flight, 7PM, but it is delayed at the moment. I go to the Customer Service counter to collect my travel voucher and ask her what the status was for the 7PM flight as I heard that it was 'delayed'... Oh, it will be departing at 9.40PM!!! At this time I am near weeping openly. 9.40 comes and goes. Cleveland happens to get hit by a severe thunderstorm and grounds all flights for hours.

I didn't board my "7PM" flight untill 11.15PM, gettingme to Raleigh at a cool 1AM, meaning I was home and in bed by quarter of two. 16 hours in an airport... Lame.

Even though I walked away with $600 of travel vouchers, I wish I had never given up my seat that morning. Lesson learned.

Which one is the chimp?

On Saturday, the four of us took an impulsive trip to the NC Zoo in Ashboro, North Carolina. It was about an hour and a half drive, but definately worth it. I have a bunch of other great shots that hopefully I'll post later. It was a hot day, so the animals were obviously pretty lethargic, although the chimps where this photo was taken seemed to be more entertained by us as he sat next to the glass watching all of us. Hope we get to go back again soon.

Dave & Doug or Taylor & Jude???

Mom just gave me this picture from Dave's graduation back in '77.
It looks more like a picture of Taylor and Jude than me and Dave!

Coming Around to Hockey

Hi, my name is Doug, [ Hi, Doug... ] and I'm a hockey convert.

- gasp -

Maybe it's just because we just moved to Raleigh and the town is in the throws of a Stanley Cup Chamionship, but I have become a follower and even watched (gasp again) a whole game the other night.

I have always somewhat respected the game, even going to a few minor league games (The Lumberjacks) when we lived in Cleveland (I even caught a puck in the stands) but never had a good grasp of the rules and just never embraced it. Honestly, when last season was cancelled altogether because of labor disputes, I couldn't have cared less and was even a bit glad of it.

BUT... since we moved here last October, we have seen the Hurricanes have an amazing season, leading them to a strong playoff spot. Hockey may not be what comes to mind when you think of Raleigh, North Carolina, but it is huge here. When I watched the second game of the Stanley Cup Finals the other night, the Canes were already ahead one game to none, which they won in the last seconds of the game 5-4. They ended up winning that second game 5-0!

I can't tell you exactlty what it is that brought be around to being an involved fan, and maybe if the Canes were having a flat year things may be different, but as it is I love it and in the meantime I hope to figure out what "Icing" is...

Go Canes!

Throwback to '73

I was just thinking about my sister Angie and wanted to throw out an old-school picture of her.

That's me (Doug) with my sister Angie and my brother Ralph when I was just a few months old. They are my godparents, so it's a good guess that this picture was taken the day of my baptism.

Looking good, guys!

Taylor & Doug

Just a picture I really liked from a few years back (October of '04) when Dave & Tari came to visit while we were still living in Virginia Beach.

This is my nephew Taylor and I on the beach.

Jude's Graduation

Wednesday night was Jude's graduation from pre-school. Kerrigan was so proud of her big brother...

Hulk Art

Hulk Art

Samuel Langhorne Clemens

"It ain't the parts of the Bible that I can't understand that bother me, it is the parts that I do understand."

- Mark Twain

Daddy & Moo Moo

got diastema?

As all of you know, I have always had a gap in my top teeth. Whether my folks couldn't afford braces or if mom just liked the way it looked, I don't know, but it was never fixed, and it has always been a slight point of insecurity for me. Anyway, the other day I was listening to one of my favorite radio shows, This American Life on NPR, and there was a guy, Noel Franus, being interviewed that has a website geared specifically toward diastematics (gappers). He even accidentally started a national stir when he half-jokingly held an on-line protest back in '96 when a stamp of Vince Lombardi was to be released but the artwork left Vince quite gap-less. Here is the story:

In late 1996, the US Postal Service issued the art proposed for a Vince Lombardi stamp. Strangely, Noel Franus noticed the gap-toothed coach of the Green Bay Packers had a diastema-free smile in the art.

Amused and outraged at the gall of it, Franus organized an online protest, which in turn was widely reported by major media (it didn't hurt that the Packers were going to the Superbowl that year). Turns out that as a result of the uproar, the stamp program had to defend the charges of altering an image to the Postal Board of Governors. Meanwhile, the artist who rendered the Lombardi art was claiming professional defamation.

Franus, more of a goof than a hothead, saw that the fallout of his protest had gotten out of control. He called the artist to apologize, dropped the protest and the stamp was published in all its artificially gapless glory.

Funny stuff. Anyway, after the interview, I went online to find this website and in my search came across a community of fellow gappers at Love That Diastema! on tribe.net.

I may still be a bit insecure about it, but just not enough to get it fixed.

Always, the Gappa'

At the park

We all went to a small fastival at the park a few days ago. The kids had a great time!

Rainbows Rule

This was a great moment!

This afternoon, there was a great rain shower. Jude, Kerrigan and I sat out on the front porch and watched the rain come down. When it was done, we went inside and played. A short time later, Jude looked out the window and shouted for us to come look. This picture does not do it justice, but it was the biggest, fullest and richest rainbow I'd personal ever seen. It stretched accross the horizon in a full arch. If I had a decent camera, I may have captured a bit more of it's true beauty. Anyway, we played outside and looked at the rainbow till it disappeared, Jude thanked God for giving us such a beautiful rainbow and then we trekked back inside. If you look carefully, you can barely see a second rainbow just to the left of the arch. Very, very beautiful!

Taylor vs. Mailbox

This is my nephew, Taylor.
My brother's family came to visit this week from Charlotte and we had a blast!! This particular photo was a classic moment. Taylor, Dave and myself were playing catch with a nerf football from our backyard, over our house to across the street. Needless to say, this one ended badly. Luckily, Taylor didn't uproot any of the neighbors flowers... oh yeah, he was okay, too. You can even see the nerf in the yard behind him...

Jump the Shark - Music Style

Jump the Shark, or in this case, Jump the Stage.

In the spirit of the great website Jump the Shark.com, I wanted to start something new. Well, not really new... I've since seen it on Wikipedia. Anyway, I wanted to put a couple thoughts of my own on this site, since no one really reads it anyway.

First, Jump the Shark is a site that has an extraordinary deep list of TV shows and people vote as to when it started to turn south. In case you didn't know, 'jumping the shark' is a reference to when Fonzie (uh, from Happy Days) jumps a shark while on water skis, signifying a memorable moment when the show turned for the worse. Most TV shows have one or several (sometimes NONE) of these such moments that define the collapse of the show.

My thought is that the same is true for a lot of bands. Here's a short list of possibilities:

Metallica: 1) When Cliff Burton died, 2) When they released their first video, 3) When the Black album came out, 3) When they cut their hair, 4) When Jason Newsted left, 5) Never jumped.

Van Halen: 1) Jump, 2) When David Lee Roth left, 3) When Sammy Hagar came aboard, 4) When Eddie cut his hair, 5) When Sammy Hagar left.

U2: 1) Rattle & Hum, 2) Impossible to live up to expectations after Joshua Tree, 3) Never jumped.

Bob Dylan: 1) Full band, 2) Saved, 3) Traveling Wilbury's, 4) Never jumped.

Kiss: 1) Beth, 2) Peter Criss leaves, 3) Make-up comes off, 4) Make-up back on.

That's just a few off the top of my head. I hope to slowly put together a better list. Please vote or add your own thoughts. I'll try to keep adding them here.

Final thought: The Beatles never jumped.

Happy, uh, Cinco De Mayo

"We need to hire people who speak Hispanish because Hispanic is an important language."

- Maryland lieutenant governor Kathleen Kennedy Townsend, when running for governor

Wallace & Gromit

One reason for this post is because I know Jude and Kerrigan will love it.

Without a doubt the 'in' thing right now with them is Wallace & Gromit.

Thanks to Wallace & Gromit, my children:


* can say the word 'Wensleydale', and know that it's cheese.
* know what 'porridge' is.
* know what 'trousers' are.
* think robots can dream and ski.
* can sing the entire theme song over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over and over again...

... and I still love it.

You Are So Not Gellin'

Ferdinand Magellan must have wished he had his Dr. Scholl's.

On this date in history (April 27, 1521) he was killed in the Philippines during a tribal skirmish after traveling over three-quarters around the globe.

Poor dude. You are so not gellin'.

PS. Thanks for the cool Global Positioning System.

If you feel a slight breeze from the North, no need to check the weather... it was just the collective sigh of relief from the entire state of Wisconsin (and one lone soul in North Carolina).

Not only is Brett coming back, but Green Bay also signed cornerback Charles Woodson of the Raiders to a multi-year deal. Now, if we have a good draft, I think this could turn out to be an outstanding year for the Pack.

Chess Boxing?

Can you guess what these guys are doing??

A strange new hybrid-sport called Chess Boxing. You can see the official site here. One round consists of 4 minutes of chess then 2 minutes of boxing. This goes for eleven rounds or until an opponent is knocked out. There are other disqualifications but they are not worth getting into at this time.

That's all I can say about that... I honestly am speechless about it.

Doug & Kerigan in '05

This picture is from June of '05, but I like it, so here it is...

Doug & Jude

Jude & Kerrigan's Adventure

Birthday Cake

Even though Jude's birthday was last November, I thought I'd put the birthday cake I got to make for him on here for you all to see.

Not bad, eh?

Passover

Couldn't help but post this one. Amy said something to me tonight that made me do a double-take and laugh...

"The only holiday in the Bible is Passover and it's the only one we don't celebrate."

That one deserves a bit of study. I've already done a quick online search of the word Passover, and saw that it is only listed 3x in the New Testament, not including the four Gospels. And although I know there are other holidays mentioned in the Old Testament, I concede that in general, it is a true statement and is a bit funny.

I'm not about to drop all my holiday celebration, but it is something interesting that caught my attention.

The White Stripes

The White Stripes is a band I have been following for the past five years and I thought I'd post an entry about them in case some of you hadn't heard their music. They'd been around for a while (formed in '97) before I finally cottoned on to them.

They are a two-man band out of Detroit, Michigan, though at first impression you'd think they were straight out of Liverpool. For a while I thought they were a Brit band. Meg White (Megan Martha White) plays drums and occasional vocals and Jack White (John Anthony Gillis) plays guitar, piano & vocals.

It has been said that they are brother & sister, but then it was retorted that they at one time had been married then divorced. Either way, their music is amazing.

Anyway, back to the 'band'. To date, they have five CD's out: White Stripes, De Stijl, White Blood Cells, Elephant & Get Behind Me Satan. All of which are top notch. They also have a live dvd called "Under Blackpool Lights" recorded in England in 2004. Great show!

I'm not a music reviewer, so I can't tell you how song one hits with the force of a howitzer, or how song two brings a spine-tingling xylaphone ballad... All I know is that there is so much musical diversity in their repitoire I don't know how to categorize them. They have such a unique sound and play with such texture and fullness that you have to often remind yourself that it is just the two of them.

I remember when they played on Late Night with Conan O'Brien for an entire week a couple years back when they were promoting Elephant. That was the first time I saw them live and they blew me away. They are one of those bands that their live presence is better than their studio work.

I raise a toast to Jack & Meg. I hope that the conception of Jack's new band 'The Raconteurs' doesn't mean an end to the Dynamic-Duo.

If you haven't heard or seen them, give them a chance. They're not to everyone's taste, but they're my favorite.

Comments on Jesus Walking on Ice story

The following story was featured briefly on Yahoo News:

Jesus Could Have Walked on Ice, Scientist Says

Rare conditions could have conspired to create hard-to-see ice on the Sea of Galilee that a person could have walked on back when Jesus is said to have walked on water, a scientist said today.

The study, which examines a combination of favorable water and environmental conditions, proposes that Jesus could have walked on an isolated patch of floating ice on what is now known as Lake Kinneret in northern Israel.

Looking at temperature records of the Mediterranean Sea surface and using analytical ice and statistical models, scientists considered a small section of the cold freshwater surface of the lake. The area studied, about 10,000 square feet, was near salty springs that empty into it.

The results suggest temperatures dropped to 25 degrees Fahrenheit (-4 degrees Celsius) during one of the two cold periods 2,500 –1,500 years ago for up to two days, the same decades during which Jesus lived.

With such conditions, a floating patch of ice could develop above the plumes resulting from the salty springs along the lake's western shore in Tabgha. Tabgha is the town where many archeological findings related to Jesus have been found.

"We simply explain that unique freezing processes probably happened in that region only a handful of times during the last 12,000 years," said Doron Nof, a Florida State University Professor of Oceanography. "We leave to others the question of whether or not our research explains the biblical account."

Nof figures that in the last 120 centuries, the odds of such conditions on the low latitude Lake Kinneret are most likely 1-in-1,000. But during the time period when Jesus lived, such “spring ice” may have formed once every 30 to 60 years.

Such floating ice in the unfrozen waters of the lake would be hard to spot, especially if rain had smoothed its surface.

"In today's climate, the chance of springs ice forming in northern Israel is effectively zero, or about once in more than 10,000 years," Nof said.

The findings are detailed in the April 2006 Journal of Paleolimnology.

Well, -that- was interesting. Here's Matthew's account of the event:

Jesus Walks on the Water (MT 14.22-27)

22Immediately Jesus made the disciples get into the boat and go on ahead of him to the other side, while he dismissed the crowd. 23After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. When evening came, he was there alone, 24but the boat was already a considerable distance from land, buffeted by the waves because the wind was against it.

25During the fourth watch of the night Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. 26When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear.

27But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid."

(see also Mark 6 & John 6)

Okay, let's assume for a moment that our scientist's data is correct and such icy conditions did occur two times over the past 2,500 years, which I humbly concede is entirely possible... I have two comments:

One - God's timing is sweet! Jesus would have been there at just the right time.

Two - Jesus was the world's first surfer! Righteous! Righteous!! Hang Ten Commandments, dude! (sorry for the shameless puns... I thought they were funny...)

To me, being a person who trusts the Bible and reasonably takes what it says at face value, I believe that this article is reaching. Like I mentioned earlier in the post, I understand that such an occurrence is scientifically reasonable and may have happened, but to suggest that this is an explaination for a recorded miracle is weak. If -anything- this only strengthens the miracle of the event. Whether Jesus walked on the water (H2O) or if he walked on the water (ice)... either way, it is a miracle. With that said, however, I do not believe that Jesus would have tried to deceive his friends by feigning walking on water by tip-toeing on ice, nor do I believe that if this -had- happened that the disciples wouldn't have seen it, nor failed to have recorded the event accurately.

Finally, Peter's brief walk on the water would have to be explained as such... he also stepped out onto the ice, but either slipped off the edge and fell in, or his portion of ice melted while Jesus' patch stayed firm enough to not only maintain his weight, but to pull Peter up...

Personally, I find this theory harder to rationalize than as it is recorded in the Bible. At the end of the day, God can work the way he chooses to work, and if he made a sheet of ice available for Jesus to stroll out to the boat on, then so be it. If that's the case, then he led that sheet of ice right out to their wind-tossed boat.

You go God. Sweeeeeeeeet.

Yankees hand A's historic beating: 15-2

OAKLAND, Calif. (AP) -- All spring, Alex Rodriguez noticed a quiet confidence about this Yankees team that he had yet to see before.
It wasn't so quiet in their opener -- and manager Joe Torre might be right about this lineup being among the best he's had.

Rodriguez hit a grand slam and drove in five runs, Johnny Damon drove in a run in his Yankees' debut, and Randy Johnson exhibited the dominant form he lacked for much of last year in a season-opening 15-2 rout of the Oakland Athletics on Monday night.

"We have a hungry bunch," A-Rod said. "We've had it since spring training on. I see a different attitude."

Rodriguez's 12th career grand slam highlighted New York's seven-run second inning that staked Johnson to a big lead early. Johnson allowed one run and five hits in seven strong innings, an impressive 106-pitch performance for the 42-year-old lefty to kick off his second season with the Yankees.

"You don't want to lose your focus that you're going to cruise through it by any means," Johnson said. "I was able to get some easy outs."

The 15 runs were the most allowed by the A's on Opening Day, surpassing the 14 the Philadelphia A's gave up in a 14-8 loss to the Washington Senators on April 17, 1945.

Goofy Kids

Jude & Kerrigan doing their best Gene Simmons impression.

I should Photoshop some kiss makeup on them...

Goofy kids.

V for Vendetta

"This visage, no mere veneer of vanity, is it vestige of the vox populi, now vacant, vanished, as the once vital voice of the verisimilitude now venerates what they once vilified. However, this valorous visitation of a by-gone vexation, stands vivified, and has vowed to vanquish these venal and virulent vermin van-guarding vice and vouchsafing the violently vicious and voracious violation of volition. The only verdict is vengeance; a vendetta, held as a votive, not in vain, for the value and veracity of such shall one day vindicate the vigilant and the virtuous. Verily, this vichyssoise of verbiage veers most verbose vis-à-vis an introduction, and so it is my very good honor to meet you and you may call me V."

Rob & Tiffany Visit

Our friends, Rob & Tiffany Jeffers, from Virginia Beach came down to visit this weekend. We all had such a great time and it was so nice to see them again! -Thanks for coming down guys!

The kids had a blast together. Kathy is getting so big, but she is such a tiny little thing.


Rob and I went to go see 'V for Vendetta' on Saturday night... I don't know how to review it in a few words. Amazing. I loved it and we talked about it the rest of the night and all through Sunday. Maybe I'll post my thoughts on it on a future blog, but not this day.