There is a video of my presentation at MIX06 posted to the web. I watched a bit of it the other night and came to the conclusion that it is somewhat uncomfortable to watch one’s self on film. I spent the entire time critiquing every gesture, word, and movement and I realize there is so much to work on. I guess as long as I don’t plan to go on a professional speaking circuit any time soon that I’ll be all right 
Today was ‘little league’ day at Safeco field. Nathan’s T-ball coach organized it so that we could order tickets ahead of time and situate the team and their families next to each other. The day started out a bit sketchy, but it ended up being sunny, so the roof was open. It wasn’t enough however, as the Mariners lost to Cleveland. Not that any of the kids would have realized that though They were too busy enjoying their cotton candy to notice. As usual, I took my camera and came away with a few good shots which I’ve posted. Click on the picture above to visit the gallery.
Nathan and Ian both love the XBox and they have Cole hooked now as well. Of course he just sits there with a controller thinking that he is playing, but I digress. We use the XBox as a deterrent/incentive for good behavior during the week and limit them to playing on the weekends. As a result however, they are up at the crack of dawn on Saturday, ready to play. I’ve posted some candid shots of the kids playing XBox and hanging out around the house today.
Enjoy!
I posted the first of many items to Craig’s List today.
I still can’t believe the amount of stuff we accumulated over the years. We’re sorry to see the Love Sac go, but we just don’t have the room anymore. They are great for home theaters. If you want to buy it, say you saw it on my blog and I’ll give you $25 off.
I sound like a used car salesman already 
Here’s one of my favorite summertime recipes. Make sure and follow the directions though. I wouldn’t want you to end up like Steve (Furrygoat); more on that later….
Another benefit of staying home for a couple days is that I get to actually participate in my children’s lives. This morning I took Nathan to his bi-weekly Tai Kwon Do class. I would have taken more pictures except that my memory card corrupted after just a few shots, so you’ll have to settle for just one this time.
11 years ago I bought a Ducane gas grill. They were hard to find and at the time they were quite expensive, but definitely worth it. In the 11 years I owned it, I never had a problem and only had to replace the burner and grate once throughout the entire time. After 4 homes and 11 years, it was time to buy a new one. I was visiting Home Depot the other day, picking up lumber for the sand box project, and I found a Ducane Grill that cost the same as my old one, but which was about twice the size with better features. I couldn’t resist picking one up.
I like the fact that Weber bought Ducane. It makes the Ducane’s easier to find and it has allowed them to reduce their prices substantially to better compete. So long as the quality is still there, everyone wins!
There’s something about Springtime, a good marinade, meat, beer and a grill……oh, and I wouldn’t want to forget my family in there too
I decided to take today and tomorrow off from work so that I could catch up on a number of house projects. When we lived in Ohio, I built a massive sandbox for the kids which was moved to Washington and has since found a permanent spot in our backyard, but which requires a bunch of TLC before it can be used. So that’s project #1.
When we bought our house last March, Erin was happy to find a shed in the backyard (for some reason houses in the NW don’t tend to have much storage). We found however, that the roof leaked badly. Whoever built the shed decided that it would be a good idea to simply nail cedar shakes into 2″x4″ cross members with a little tar paper in between and call it a day So a month ago I ripped the old roof off, cut some plywood sheathing and laid down new tar paper. Project #2 is finishing the roof on the shed.
Project #3 is about simplification. I need to organize clean and catalog everything from my Harley Davidson, leather chair, baby stuff, electronics, guitar gear and other items that will be subsequently placed on ebay, the Micronews (Microsoft weekly periodical) and/or Craig’s list. It is going to feel great to unload all of that stuff. And it won’t hurt that the proceeds will easily pay for a much needed family vacation among other things. So that’s my day. I better get to it!
I found the Thirst Relief organization while perusing Gary Fong’s blog a while back. I added it to my favorites and finally did my follow up research this past weekend and decided to make a donation. Here’s a sobering fact. 1.1 billion people or 17% of the world’s population lacks access to clean drinking water.
Thirst Relief builds concrete sand filters that can bring clean water to people in remote areas that wouldn’t otherwise have access to it. And the cool part is that they can build and deliver one of these filters for as little as $50.
Anyway, just doing my part to spread the word. If you are interested, check out their website.