Random thoughts

The past couple of weeks seemed to have gone by really quickly and I really haven't had the desire to blog much, but now it's late, I need a break, so here are my thoughts in no particular order.

1. First off here's an update on my NCAA bracket at work. I'm in 10th place out of 13 people. I have 7 out of 8 teams that can still make it to the elite eight status. Go me!
2. In the political world I find it frustrating that we have three people running for president that all seem to be less than the ideal. Hillary blantantly lied about landing in Bosnia under sniper fire. Barack has gone to a racist church for 20 years. I'm pretty sure he shares those sentiments to a certain degree. And John McCain, it would be nice if he had more of a back bone and stood for what his party represents. I dislike his wishy-washiness and desire to want to bring both sides together. Screw that! If he wants to get elected then present better ideas than the other folks and have people join him rather than trying to meet people half way. Lead, don't follow and don't try to be everyone's friend.
3. We need to stop calling ourselves African-American or Latino-Americans or any other hyphenated-Americans. You either are or aren't an American. Your skin color may differ, your accent may be different, but if you're a citizen of this country you should be proud of it. I'm not an Anglo-American, a Tall and Big-American, or a Geek-American. I'm an American. Period.
4. I have enjoyed the Olympics ever since 1984 when I got to watch record after record be broken by Carl Lewis. I was only eight, but I watched the games almost non-stop while they were on. That's why for me it's hard to think that this year the Olympics are going to be held in such an oppresive society as China's. Recent events only compound the fact that China does NOT represent the spirit of goodwill and brotherhood that the Olympic Games do. It's not going to happen, but the US should boycott the games this year.
5. I marvel at the strength of those that have lost much but still fight on. To those they have my utmost respect.
6. I learned over Easter weekend that a bad day with your family is still better than a day without them. I had to work some long hours and was not able to be with my family for much of it. Thinking about my wife or my sons always makes me happier when I'm away from them. Which reminds me, we recently made hamburgers for dinner, and when Jesse was putting ketchup on his plate he accidently put on more than he thought. He matter of factly stated "I didn't see that coming!" My beverage would have shot through my nose had I been drinking at the time.
7. Finally, I found a website that allows you to make your own "motivational poster" here. The possibilities are endless.
   
   

March Madness - a necessary evil

When it comes to college basketball, and college sports in general, I'm pretty clueless. I go to an online school which means I don't have a school football or basketball team, unless there is a secret Xbox league I'm unaware of. I don't care much for the University of Utah or BYU, the local powerhouses in the big dance this year, and the one college I do like (Weber State) didn't make it. So naturally I participated in my department's annual college basketball bracket contest. Go UCLA! Yeah, I really don't care who wins as long as I don't come in last place. It is fun to get together with others and see who's winning and who's losing, but I honestly don't care that much, but until it ends in early April I'll wear the psuedo-interested mask of a sports fan that wants not to win, but not to lose. Go March Madness!!!

Other People's Warmth

An office chair looks innocent enough, but it can be the source of one of the most awful experiences you can ever go through: Other People's Warmth. You know the feeling. You have to sit on a chair or toilet seat or something else who's previous occupant just barely left, and when you sit down you feel that warmth that just doesn't feel right. And, it's worse depending on the size of said occupant. What do you do? What can be done? Do we need cooled chairs? More cans of freon? Frosty jeans? Join the OPW club now, and say no to Other People's Warmth.

Happy Pi Day!

Happy 3.14159265358979323846264338327950288419716939937510582097494459230781640628620899862803482534211706798214808651328230664709384460955058223172535940812848111745028410270193852110555964462294895493038196442881097566593344612847564823378678316527120190914564856692346034861045432664821339360726024914127372458700660631558817488152092096282925409171536436789259036001133053054882046652138414695194151160943305727036575959195309218611738193261179310511854807446237996274956735188575272489122793818301194912983367336244065664308602139494639522473719070217986094370277053921717629317675238467481846766940513200056812714526356082778577134275778960917363717872146844090122495343014654958537105079227968925892354201995611212902196086403441815981362977477130996051870721134999999837297804995105973173281609631859502445945534690830264252230825334468503526193118817101000313783875288658753320838142061717766914730359825349042875546873115956286388235378759375195778185778053217122680661300192787661119590921642019893809525720106548586327886593615338182796823030195203530185296899577362259941389124972177528347913151557485724245415069595082953311686172785588907509838175463746493931925506040092770167113900984884012858361603563707660104710181942955596198946767837449448255379774726847104047534646208046684259069491293313677028989152104752162056966024058038150193511253382430035587640247496473263914199272604269922796782354781636009341721641219924586315030286182974555706749838505494588586926995690927210797509302955321165344987202755960236480665499119881834797753566369807426542527862551 Day. Go eat some pie.

Two Milestones Obtained

After months and months of studying Melissa finally passed the last of her tests for her jobs!!! Her last test was yesterday, and she passed it with flying colors! I'm so proud of her and the dedication and hard work she showed to pass these very difficult tests. Way to go Babe!!!

In a completely different context I had a very very minor accomplishment last night while both Melissa and I were playing Guitar Hero. I passed my first song on Hard difficulty. This is no where near as cool or important as what Melissa did, but it was fun :)

Free Comic Book Day

Last year was the first time I had ever heard of it, but every year on the first Saturday of May many comic book stores participate in Free Comic Book Day. I took Jesse to Hastur Comics in Midvale after his soccer game and had a fun time there. Jesse came away with a dozen free comics, including his favorite Spider-Man and Transformers ones that we still read for bedtime. He also got a couple posters and other swag items, so overall we had a great time and my son was able to start his own comic book collection. This year it will be on May 3rd, so go early for the best selection and enjoy some free comics!

mmmmm... roast

Like I need to post another recipe for all the world to see, but I feel very strongly about roast beef. My roast is different than what my mom used to make when I was a kid. I use a crock pot, and it's awesome! So step 1, procure yourself a nice 2-3 pound roast from your local grocery store. When you're ready to cook it try to cut off the big pieces of fat that may be on it. Fat on steaks, good. Fat on roasts, bad. Step 2, in your large crock pot add a pound of baby carrots then about 6 or 7 medium sized potatoes that are peeled and cut up into halves or quarters. Gently place the roast on top of that. Slice an onion about a third the way down so you have some nice onion rings. place those on top of the roast. Fill up the crock pot about 3/4ths the way up with water. Step 3 here you can get creative according to your likes. I like spicy food so I'll use Grill Mates Spicy Steak seasoning. Liberally apply that on the roast, followed by salt and pepper. If spicy isn't your thing then you can use italian seasoning and/or a half a stick of butter.
Step 4, set the temperature to high and let it cook for about 4 hours. After than turn it to low and add water as needed so the top of the roast doesn't dry out. The roast will be very tender when it's done, so pull it out with two pair of tongs. Scoop the potatoes and carrots into a serving bowl and you're good to go! I would recommend serving it with corn, a nice garden salad and chilled fruit punch kool-aid.