Author: Joel

Summer Fun

I’ve been meaning to write about this earlier but life and work get in the way sometimes. But, first, I must give a shout-out to God for the rain! We’ve been needing a new roof since we moved into this house and right when we hire someone to do it it rains like crazy the day they were going to come down. Now that the roof is done (and the impending bill is possibly on the way) I was afraid that is wasn’t ever going to rain again. If anything to at least prove to us that our choice in roofer was a good one. The work done was proof number one and now the lack of leaking is proof number two. We’ll be passing around a plate to collect donations for the roof fund after this post. =)

Okay, now onto the summer fun portion of the show. I have always enjoyed catching lightning bugs on summer evenings. I got to share this enjoyment with the Young Extroverted One the other day and we had a blast! There’s just something about spotting that green flash and running towards it to only lose the thing because it turned it’s light off and kept flying. Once the YEO got the knack she was catching them like a pro. As we took a breather from all the running to and fro I pointed out the bats flitting back and forth catching bugs (hopefully mostly mosquitoes). YEO thought that was the coolest thing ever!

I have this bat house (not my house but actually a bat house) that I’ve been needing to hang somewhere but like every project on deck it gets put aside. I still haven’t finished the laundry nook (what’s smaller than a nook? cranny?) with the sanding and the hole filling and the painting. At least we can actually do the laundry! I’ve also been meaning to put up a swing on the front porch for the YEO. Because, according to her, the porch swing is booooriiiiing. Whew, I got some work to do. ugh.

Now listen to some money collecting tunes as we start the plate around . . .

Summer’s Here-Dad Loves His Work

More Hockey News

Vokoun Becomes a Florida Panther

According to TSN, Nashville Predators goaltender Tomas Vokoun becomes a Florida Panther and the Predators get the Panthers picks in return.

Obviously,
the Predators need to cut salary to trim payroll for reasons already
written and hashed about, but in terms of goaltending ability, if we
used Save Percentage testing the mettle of quality goaltenders, new
number one Predators goalie Chris Mason was ranked 2nd in Save Percentage last year behind Niklas Backstrom of the Minnesota Wild.

The guy can play and he can stop the puck. What is good for the Predators, he comes at a cheaper price than Vokoun.

He’s got a good point. I thought Vokoun was good. Just not that good. Now we’ll see if Mason can shine in the number one slot!

Blogged with Flock

‘The Great One’ Just Moved Down a Rung

globeandmail.com: Gretzky approves of potential Predators move

Gretzky approves of potential Predators move

 

TIM WHARNSBY AND ALLAN MAKI
From Thursday’s Globe and Mail
June 20, 2007 at 10:21 PM EDT

“First, it’s a great thing for [Balsillie],” Gretzky said. “Obviously,
he’s excited about it. If it actually works out that he gets to move
the team to Hamilton is something that we’ll have to follow over the
next little while.

“On the other side of it, I feel very disappointed for the people of
Nashville. But that’s business, that’s life. I will say this that if
the team is allowed to move to that area [Hamilton], it will be
tremendously successful.”

 

Damn you, Wayne! You do have a point. But Nashvillians and, hopefully, the businesses of Nashville aren’t going down without a fight.

I have said it before. While the potential for a move is there and I may not like it one bit that’s business. And EVERYBODY (for the most part) loves hockey in Canada. It would make better business sense (looking at Craig Leopold’s numbers) to move to a more receptive market.

Still, I love hockey and don’t want this team to move. If I had the cash I would buy several season tickets. Sigh . . .

*Props to my brother and his blog for this news.

Blogged with Flock

The Unloading Begins . . .

Flyers swap picks for rights to Hartnell, Timonen                                        Phil Coffey | NHL.com Editorial Director

Philadelphia acquired forward Scott Hartnell and defenseman Kimmo Timonen from the Nashville Predators in exchange for the 2007 first-round pick, No. 23, the Predators had sent to the Flyers in exchange for Peter Forsberg.

Both Hartnell, 25, and Timonen, 32,are two of the most anticipated unrestricted free agents expected to hit the market on July 1, but if things fall into place for the Flyers, they will have staged an impressive preemptive strike.

I guess that’s all David Poile can do with an uncertain budget and ownership.  It makes me sad but if I had the money I would STILL buy season tickets.  So there!

Dad’s Day Reflections

  • Cuddling with the Young Extroverted One in bed while the Elder Extroverted Holy One showered.
  • YEO up in my face saying, “Happy Father’s Day, dada!”
  • YEO and EEHO making wonderful pancakes.
  • The neighbor taking YEO and her son to Maggie Moo’s for ice cream
  • Having a nice long talk with my dad and hearing some stories about his dad.

Dad: “Happy Father’s Day!”

me:   “Happy Father’s Day, back atcha!”

Dad: “That’s pretty cool, huh?”

me:   “Yeah . . . it is.”

And in Other Sad News . . .

I just heard about 30 minutes ago that the wonderful Ruth Graham just passed away.  I don’t have any words to describe what an absolute beautiful person she was.  I didn’t even know her personally.  But . . . wow.  So, I’ll let Reverend Graham do it:

“Ruth was my life partner, and we were called by God as a team,” Billy Graham said in a statement. “No one else could have borne the load that she carried. She was a vital and integral part of our ministry, and my work through the years would have been impossible without her encouragement and support.

“I am so grateful to the Lord that He gave me Ruth, and especially for these last few years we’ve had in the mountains together. We’ve rekindled the romance of our youth, and my love for her continued to grow deeper every day. I will miss her terribly, and look forward even more to the day I can join her in Heaven.”

Oof.

 

I only have a couple of ties to her and her wonderful family: I saw the Grahams at Tong Sing once. Tong Sing isn’t a classy Chinese food joint but the best one we have in Black Mountain. At the time I just happened to look up and see the Reverend Billy Graham return to his seat from the restroom. Of course, he was carried by four angels.  Once he got back to his seat I saw the rest of the Grahams sitting there eating Chinese food.  Or, rather being fed Chinese food. God has them hooked up! =)

 

Also, as a wilderness ranger for the Montreat Conference Center I had the pleasure of spending time with Franklin Graham’s mother-in-law.  She has volunteered down at the Nature Center (ranger hut) for countless years.  Through her I met her grandchildren, Franklin’s children.  They were very fun to be around, especially, when I was doing environmental education for the conference center’s Club’s program.

Um . . . wow . . . all I can say is the world lost a special person today.  God be with the family (as if I needed to say that) and especially Reverend Graham.

The Passing of a Science Legend

My heart dropped when I heard yesterday that Mr. Wizard (aka Don Herbert) passed away.  I watched “Mr. Wizard’s World” on Nickelodeon back in the mid-to-late ’80s.  I thought it was way cool when my dad would watch with me because he told me that he used to watch “Watch Mr. Wizard” when he was young.  Of course hearing that made Mr. Wizard seem that  much older to me.

The kids seemed kind of dorky (the same could have been said about me).  There was even one that I wasn’t quite sure if it was a boy or girl and had some gender neutral name like, Chris or Terry.  But the experiments they did always intrigued me and some I still remember today.

Maybe after work the Young Extroverted One and I will blow something up!

The Future Looks Bright . . . Someone Cut That Light Off!

It’s looking more like I am getting the Director of Event Technology gig at the Marriott at Vanderbilt University. It seems like an exciting venture but there is a little more involved than just technology. I have to check in regularly with the hotel sales staff to get audio/visual leads, call these leads, meet with clients and generally be a real good audio/visual presence with hotel staff. Unfortunately, my technical background of 15 years or more is not enough because I can set up some mad a/v gear for a presentation and then gaff tape the hell out of some cables.

So, there is a bit of apprehension about the people thing. As the name of this blog suggests I am not much of a people person. I do alright, generally speaking. But that’s every once in awhile. And after a couple of beers. Dealing with people everyday might just drive me to drink.

. . . oh wait. I already do that. Nevermind, I guess I’ll be alright. For the most part. Must . . . stay . . . sober . . . at . . . work.