furiousBlog - in my diatribe » iPhone

back to work and a sick pumpkin

furiousBall — Tue, 17 Jan 2012 14:45:05 +0000

Abbe is off to her first day at her new job. I’m very happy that she will be working again. Being unemployed really is rough on one’s pride, Abbe was no exception – she was having a tough time with it. Although I’ll miss her being home while I’m working, I’m happy that she’s going to be bringing home the bacon again.

Viv is home sick today with what sounds like the same tummy bug that Bubs had last week.

I think today is the day that I go sneak a couple mile in on the treadmill.

Ok, back to work!

Movie Reviews…

IMAX:Magnificent Desolation – Walking on the Moon – this was cool, although I am sure it would have been more impressive in an actual IMAX theater (as opposed to watching this on my PC). Great for kids interested in space.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

New Study: Heart Risk ‘Low’ in Distance Races - thanks Susan
Get low, get dirty, and have a good time

ain’t got no time for chitta chatta

furiousBall — Wed, 11 Jan 2012 13:47:29 +0000

First day back from Disney… you kidding? No time to blog, only time for the links you see below. Click them.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

book report and curbing your humper

furiousBall — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 14:03:14 +0000

Viv is proudly bringing her book report project to school this morning. She and Abbe worked very hard on it, and look at what a great job Viv did on the pigeon she drew for the front of the bag!

Abbe and I took Titan to Freedom Park’s leash-less dog park yesterday and our big boy just soaked up the playtime with other doggies. He found a group of pit bulls that were chasing each other and romped around with a beautiful 1 year old Great Dane.

I’m really perplexed why some dog owners think it’s OK to let their dog hump other dogs. Titan is big enough to get any dog off of him, but not all of the dogs are healthy, young dudes like him. There are plenty of senior dogs that come to romp a bit and also there are some dogs that just don’t react well to the dominance humping. Two different German Shepherds tried to hump Titan yesterday. The first was with an owner that had him off his leash next to the playground (although it was empty), well outside of the leash-less area. He tried to mount Titan three times and Titan fended him off fine, but after seeing the owner just sit there the third time, we called Titan to us and took him to another area. The owner shouted, “oh he’s just playing”. Really? Well how about you two just go play/hump each other at home? The other humper was a really tall, beautiful white shepherd and he was more playful, his owner called him off, and that was it. The white shepherd was growling, but it did seem to just be a play growl. Titan takes it all in stride though, he usually just moves on and finds another less humpy playmate.

I understand that dogs just do this naturally and there isn’t anything sexual involved. The point is that humping in a public dog park could lead to a dog or person being injured. Titan, is fine – he handles himself well and can stop any dog from mounting him. There are senior dogs that have just as much right to be at the park and could be injured from the humping or from trying to fend off the humper. And some dogs just react strongly to being humped. They might be OK with some rough play, but once those paws get on their back, it’s Cujo-time. When that happens, you just don’t know what is going to go down. An owner intervenes and gets bit – then you’ve really got trouble.

So owners, be respectful. It’s not wild kingdom at these dog parks, there are people here and dogs that just want to play.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

Mnemonics
Signs full of WTF (30 Photos)
Kim Jong-Il is dead And with it… we will also lose a great novelty Tumblog
Newt’s Nudes
The estimated scale of the universe by PrimaxStudio

this future NHLer’s first jersey and gentle pups

furiousBall — Thu, 01 Dec 2011 14:15:52 +0000

I love the people in my home so much. Abbe surprised Bubs by putting his name on his ice hockey jersey for him yesterday. Remember this picture, this is this future NHLer’s first jersey.

And here’s Abbe sharing a pretzel with Titan last night. The big guy was very gentle, just like another big lug I know.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

11 Unique Gifts for Runners - thanks Barbara
45,000 Told To Evacuate German Town Before Massive WWII Bomb Is Defused - thanks BLP
4 Stunning Revelations An Idiot Has About Running - thanks Jennifer
Scott Weiland – Winter Wonderland - thanks Abbe
Two Lesbians Raised a Baby and This is What They Got - thanks Doug
WE DON’T MAKE DEMANDS
Morrissey gets a job
Fun paper puzzle

chasing homeruns

furiousBall — Tue, 29 Nov 2011 14:09:13 +0000

You did it son, straight A’s for the first time. You did it while playing soccer and ice hockey, the later is probably the most time demanding sport available to a 10 year old. You did all of this with very little complaint if any at all.

Last week, while we were visiting the Mecks for Thanksgiving, Bubs and I were out back at Bruce and Jane’s home – me pitching wiffle balls to Bubs while he swatted balls into the pines. I would chase them down for him again and again and at one point he said, “It’s pretty cool having a marathoner for a Dad because you never get tired chasing all these homeruns I’m hitting.”

It’s pretty cool having you as a son too, kiddo. I love you Bubs with all my heart, always. And I’ll never tire chasing those homeruns.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

calm day?

furiousBall — Thu, 17 Nov 2011 14:35:25 +0000

Thankfully, today will be a little calmer (knock on wood) than the past couple of days. No activities after school lets out. Abbe and I are going to take the pup out for a few miles and maybe hit the library – but that’s (hopefully) it.

Last night, we had Bubs’ ice hockey team pictures and then we had to jet back to our neck of the woods for a really nice award…

Bubs received recognition along with several other students for his perfect score on the science portion of the NJASK last night. Here he is (far left) with a bunch of his buddies from 5th grade that also received awards last night at the BOE meeting. Great job boys!

So here’s to a keeping the agenda short today.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

and they wasted no time reveling in there sock monkey hat-dom…

furiousBall — Fri, 11 Nov 2011 13:31:23 +0000

Viv got her very own sock monkey hat (thanks Memom!) and Abbe and Viv wasted no time reveling in there sock monkey hat-dom…

They even read bedtime stories in them…

Oh and Titan’s fear of brooms makes for very easy doggy gates…

Small Business/Tech Links…

3 Onsite SEO Touchups
9 Strategies For Ranking Higher In Search Engines
Apple releases iOS 5.0.1, fixes bugs plaguing battery life and document syncing - and here’s the other thing, it’s Apple’s first Over-the Air update… How to Get Apple’s First Over-the-Air iOS Update
What Is the Best Mobile Platform for HTML5 Development?
5 Google Paid Search Products You Need to Know

Funny/Interesting Links…

Sail
Hulkursion loop
Why the Muppets Need to Host the Oscars
Simply Beautiful (slv) - “Live simply so other people can simply live.”

kids helping kids?

furiousBall — Fri, 04 Nov 2011 12:34:31 +0000

Whoa nelly, I might be on to something here… below is a picture of brother and sister quizzing each other last night to help each other study for their tests. And yes, they were having fun… interesting *tents fingers*…

Here’s a shot of Bubs and his pup… or Titan and his boy… all depends on who you ask…

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

rocking the 3G, a good catch by a reader, and a healing pup

furiousBall — Thu, 03 Nov 2011 14:19:14 +0000

Well, at some point yesterday, my Verizon FIOS Internet and TV service went down, so I’m rocking a 3G connection from my iPhone until Verizon gets this working again. I believe it is due to the winter storm that hit several days ago (although we did not get much in my area).

A blog reader this morning pointed out a bit of hypocrisy on my part in yesterday’s post, the ads. Here I am spouting off to buy local and I’m showing ads on my blog from Office Depot and Amazon. Well, if you noticed – they’re gone now. Truth is, those ads have amounted to probably $20 over the past year. Wasted space in the grand scheme of things for sure.

Now, don’t get me wrong – I fault absolutely no one for shopping at Wal-Mart or Office Depot because their prices are low. We are all faced with tough times and saving money for my family is absolutely my top purchasing decision point. If there is a local merchant that is at least competitive with their prices, great. There is nothing wrong with shopping at a national/international chain store at all when there is no local option. Or heck, what if the guy at the local shop is a dick - by all means, shop at the non-dick run store.

The point of my post yesterday was squarely aimed at the folks that are distraught at the cheese shoppe’s closing that never shopped there and to a larger extent, the folks that complain about the sad state of Main Street and do nothing to help.

In addition to taking those ads down, I will offer ad space on my blog to any local merchant for $10 a year (for either a 468×60 banner – between the posts or a 160×600 skyscraper – sidebar). Only caveats are no porn, violence, or gambling links. My blog averages around 1,300 uniques per month, this is a very fair deal – but if any business owner has another offer, I’m all ears.

On the lighter side… Titan is doing well after a visit with Dr. Frame on Tuesday. He either pulled a muscle in his back leg or bruised something while hopping up into the back of the car. He was whimpering whenever he put weight on his back leg going up stairs, but was walking without a limp. He is going up stairs with no pain and hopping back onto the couch (when he has permission) just fine already… see?

And this is really sweet… all Viv asked for when we were searching for a dog was a big doggy she could put her head on and cuddle with when she watched TV at night. Mission accomplished. Good boy, Titan!

Movie Review…

Source Code - I think this was the strongest of the recently released alternate reality films (Limitless, Adjustment Bureau). The story, acting, and action were all much better.

The Greatest Movie Ever Sold – what a great concept and although the material was sorta weak, Spurlock’s personality and directing really carry the film. Abbe and I really enjoyed this one.

Small Business/Tech Links…

Funny/Interesting Links…

discordant discourse

furiousBall — Sun, 23 Oct 2011 13:07:14 +0000

I miss Abbe. I am heading out in about a half hour to go do my long training run of the week (10 miles) without her. She has to work today, which is in by no means a complaint about her having a job. Don’t get me wrong, hard work is no problem for myself or Abbe. We are extremely proud of the tired feeling in the evening from an honest days’ effort.

We Are the 53% and a fairly very well done response - my take on this is that both sides are making generalizations that are far too broad.

The divide between the wealthy and poor has grown out of control. The middle class has become an endangered species.

I do not fear taxing the rich fairly but I also do not think anarchy is the answer.

On the other side, I don’t support forgiving student loans and as much as I think universal healthcare needs to happen, the infrastructure just can not be laid in the current economy and the healthcare/insurance company backed political interest groups funding so many politicians.

I also do not think telling the Occupy Movement to “shut up and take a shower, you hippies” will fix this problem. I believe in hard work and like the former marine (mentioned in the open letter linked above), I also regularly work 60-70 work weeks. I raise money to fight cancer. I support my local businesses, like the Medford Works festival website I put together to promote businesses in my town (done for free).

A conversation needs to be had, that’s all I’ve got at this point. So if you want to comment and debate, do it respectfully. I am absolutely willing to hear both sides tell me I’m wrong here – but if you call me stupid, I’m not listening any more. I deserve respect, just as you do.