FFAF Installment 3a

HAPPY FRIDAY, ALL!!!

It's Mother's Day Weekend so say something nice about your mom, or the mom of your kids.

I'll go first.

My Mom:

One of the things I've been thinking about lately is my childhood with my mom. I don't know why, but for the last year or so one specific moment of my childhood has been replaying in my mind. It's a moment when my mom and I were on the couch and I was laying down with my head resting on her lap. I remember her hand gently caressing my forehead and brushing my hair back. It was one of the most wonderfully euphoric moments I can remember during my 43 years.  And I remember thinking to myself "This is the epitome of a mothers love." (Yeah...I was young and didn't realize how much more was involved in "mommy-ing.") I still get the same warm fuzzies whenever I think about it, though.

Thanks, Mom, for that moment, and for everything you've done.

The Mother of my children:

There are women who learn to nurture their children, and there are women for whom nurturing is a natural instinct. For Lisa, nurturing comes naturally. I can't count how many times folks have said, "Wow, Lisa! You have such amazing patience with your children." It's true. Lisa simply knows how the value of being patient and utilizing a "teaching moment" as opposed to giving the kids "a good what-fer." She will say that she needs to grow in her patience. But many of us watching her wish we could attain to what she already has. When my children are grown and have children of their own, they will think back to their own mommy, and have an excellent example to imitate in how to nurture.

Lisa, I could not have imagined a better mother for my kids. You teach them...and me.

From the Inbox

I doubt you've seen anything like this before!!! This thing is SO life-like! Watch the video on the link and I promise you will start to feel sorry for the thing as it slips on ice and stuff.

BigDog is the alpha male of the Boston Dynamics family of robots. It is a quadruped robot that walks, runs, and climbs on rough terrain and carries heavy loads. BigDog is powered by a gasoline engine that drives a hydraulic actuation system. BigDog's legs are articulated like an animal’s, and have compliant elements that absorb shock and recycle energy from one step to the next. BigDog is the size of a large dog or small mule, measuring 1 meter long, 0.7 meters tall and 75 kg weight.

In separate trials, BigDog runs at 4 mph, climbs slopes up to 35 degrees, walks across rubble, and carries a 340 lb load.

The screenshot above is one of the creators giving the thing a SERIOUS kick to know if over, and it doesn't fall.

FFAF: Installment 2a

On the previous post about my beautiful wife's birthday, Chic asked a great question:

I'm sure we (probably just me, actually) would love to know what it is that you (Lisa) first saw in DK. Hey, maybe that should be a separate post:

So the question for today's FFAF is:

What attracted you to your better half?

I would LOVE to hear from Lisa on this one. (hint-hint)

On this day...

Today is a very special day. On this day, some time ago, the Lord chose to bless this world with one of the most valuable riches this world would ever hope to see. And while the world was blessed, I was blessed tremendously more. On this day, some time ago, the Lord presented a little baby girl to this world. And that baby girl would grow up to be a woman who would love the Lord more than most anyone ever would, or even could. And the Lord gave that woman the ability to see others through the eyes of Jesus...filled with love, grace, and vision. And only because this woman sees through the eyes of Jesus, when she looked at me she saw something worth loving...for a lifetime.

I thank God for my bride of 17 years...my queen...my rose...my love...my friend...my wonderful wife.

Happy Birthday, Lisa. I love you.

A potential Winner...

One of the men who works with me has a daughter (Gail) getting married in October. Every year, the New England Marriotts hold a contest for a free wedding, hosted and catered by one of 7 or 8 local Marriotts. The potential winner has to submit a video that meets specific criteria. Well, the bride-to-be is best friends with the daughter (Aimee) of another of my coworkers. And this friend is a broadcast journalist. Sooo....

Aimee thought it would be cool if they submitted a video in a "newsbyte" style. Aimee could do the videotaping, the b-roll, the tracks, and everything else...except one thing: She didn't know how to do A/B  video editing. But Aimee's mom, the one I work with, knew someone who does A/B video editing...ME!

So Aimee and I talked and coordinated and plotted and all that to see if we could pull this off. Well, let us know what you think! Watch the video below and see if you don't think it's worthy of a free Marriott wedding!

The Science Birthday Party!!!

My little boy turns seven in just a coupla days. We had his party last Saturday and what a fun time it was! It was, at his request, a science party. (Actually, it was originally a "green" party because his favorite color is green. So it ended up being a green-science party.)

We had some pretty cool experiments. Each kid, for the most part, got to do his/her own.

• We cleaned dirty pennies with vinager salt. (Not too big of a thrill, that one.)
• We made an electrical current with lemons, a copper wire, a paper clip, and their tongues. (This one got some kids to react quite strongly. But it didn't work for everyone.)
• We made eggs that normally sink in water, float in salt water. (This one took longer than it should have. But overall, it was fun.)
• We saw how the fat molecules in milk react to dish soap by adding droplets of food color to a bowl of milk. (This one got the ohhs and aahs I was hoping for!)
• And then we did this one:

• Yeah. Diet Coke and Mentos! That was fun. I couldn't get the Coke to go any higher than a coupla feet. But it thrilled the kids anyway. I know what I will do differently next time. (And yes...there WILL BE a next time!)

It was tons of fun, and I think the kids enjoyed it, too.

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SON! I LOVE YOU, YA' BIG 7 YEAR OLD!!!

FFAF: Installation 1a

So just before the server was hacked, I wanted to make a huge announcement. And I was pretty torched that some nitwit who does evil for a living kept me from doing so.  I still have some tweeking, and adjustments to do, but they should be minor. And alas, perhaps Chic is right and that NITU needed a bit of freshness breathed into it. I have to admit that having everything all new and squeeky-clean gives me a bit of bloggers ambition.

And so begins FFAF. Our little hacker friend only effected us temporarily, and we came out better for it. I harbor no bitter feelings toward whoever it was. May God bless him/her with better ways of spending time, and with better, more fruitful ways, of utilizing the knowledge stored up inside his/her brain.

And so now onto the FFAF...

The announcement I wanted to make was that my big, soon-to-be-seven, wicked smaht, son FLEW through his 1st grade homeschool evaluation last Monday. Yep! My boy is officially a 2nd grader and boy is he ever fired up about it! "I'M FREE OF 1st GRADE!!!" he shouts, as if there will be no more learning. And now he's all excited about going out and getting a job. Lisa and I remind him that he still has a few more things to learn, and a coupla years left of school.

And something happened to my little girl as a result of my big boy "graduating." Now SHE'S wantin' to learn stuff! This is a huge deal because she's the athletic one, not the mathletic one. But hey, if we can instill a love for both knowledge and sports into our little wonders...I'll be quite satisfied with their education.

So now I have a question. What about the banner at the top of the page? Should the pretty picture stay?

PS: Byevad, I have to recreate your admin user account. I'll let you know when I've done it right!

Welcome Back, NITU!!!

Well, NITU has obviously had a bit of a facelift since the Big Hack. I hope you like the new look. I basically deleted the old site and downloaded the latest version of Pivot and now we're starting from scratch.

All old posts are gone. But if you REALLY want access to a post from the old site, let me know. I might still have access to it. There will be some that I will bring over, like the alfredo sauce recipe that never made it to the person to whom it was promised.

The categories are gone, too, but I'll start them again soon.

I believe I managed to carry over all of your user information so you don't have to re-register. But let me know if that didn't work.

I'll be getting rid of the pretty banner at the top. There's just something wierd about having such a lovely picture of God's great earth spoiled by the (now clickable) text "Nothing Important." It just doesn't work, ya' know?

So let me know what you think of the new site. And feel free to tell me that something isn't working right.

WELCOME BACK, NITU!!!