Tuesday, April 21, 2009

Bloggin from work

I don't usually blog from work, but I thought I should give you all (all one of you) an update of what's going on in my life. Just a couple posts ago I talked about how I wanted to get back in the habit of blogging more consistently, but then our laptop became a virus factory. Nothing would work and I had to take it in to a repair shop who is wiping it clean. This process takes several days, of course.

We won't get it back until tomorrow and then I won't be blogging because my parents are coming into town and we're headed off to Canada to visit my Grandma and Grandpa Teal.

I'll be back soon. Promise.

Tuesday, April 14, 2009

Bubbles gets a makeover

Detroit is hurtin' these days. In addition to the well documented struggles of the Big Three, the Detroit public school system is shutting down 23 schools and laying off 600 teachers and staff. The D can't catch a break. But one of the city's most troubled citizens is getting a facelift this year.

Bubbles.

You may know him as the logo for the Detroit Lions.

I have no idea how or why he is named Bubbles, he just is. I first heard about this from sports insider Robbie Bolton who told me that the lions website was liquidating all the old gear. The rumor is that the new logo may be publicly revealed sometime around the upcoming NFL draft. But, it appears that a copy of the image was leaked onto the internet, so here's a sneak peak:

(new logo on the left, old one on the right. new font underneath)



I like it. I'm glad they left the colors the same and it's not drastically different from the old one, but it's one step removed from that 0-16 season. Bubbles is looking gooood.

What do you think?

Monday, April 13, 2009

graboids

Right now Becky and I are watching "Tremors" on T.V. Right away, how many of you have seen this cult classic? I mean, my mom even loves it.



I've seen it tons of times and it never gets old. Cheesy, but fun. I don't think you can really classify it as a horror film since it's not really scary. The Comcast on screen guide calls it a "good- natured spoof", but I don't think it's quite that light. Regardless of whatever section of the movie rental store you find it in (which is probably going out of business) it's irresistibly watchable. Kevin Bacon and Fred Ward have really chemistry as two old buddies stuck going nowhere in a tiny town in the middle of the desert and decide to leave "Perfection" just one day too late. Monsters and mayhem ensue and Michael Gross and Reba McEntire are hilarious as gun loving isolationists.

It requires watching anytime you come across it. I find the same thing with Die Hard. If it's on, I've gotta watch it.

What movie will you watch when you find it on T.V., no matter how many times you've watched it before?

april update

Apologies to my dedicated readers for not blogging lately. No excuse or reason, just wasn't participating the global interweb community.

I actually don't have anything to blog about now; I'm just trying to get back in the habit. I enjoy posting my thoughts and web gems that I come across, not to mention reading your comments. It's widely known that one of the keys to having a successful blog is consistent updates. Consider yourself updated!

Saturday, April 04, 2009

SPARTANS


Way to go STATE!! I didn't get a chance to watch all of the game but was excited that our homestate Spartans will be playing in the big game on Monday night. I must admit I'm primarily a Michigan fan, but I'm not hardcore enough that I want Michigan State to fail (unlike the Lopez's:). The way I see it, their success reflects well on all of the Big Ten. Plus Michigan certainly can use all the good news we can get these days.

Thursday, April 02, 2009

Big NFL news


Jay Cutler was finally traded today to the Chicago Bears. (source) Chicago gave the Broncos starting quarterback Kyle Orton and a few draft picks. For those of you who haven't been following this story here's the short version: Cutler is a very talented young quarterback who lead the second t offense in football last year. However, the Broncos defense is horrible and they missed the playoffs. So they fired the head coach and brought in a new guy from New England to coach the team. The new coach tried to trade Cutler for Matt Cassel (who had a great year for the Patriots) and when Jay found out about it he lost it. He asked to be traded and refused to talk to the coach or owner. Now he'll be starting for one of the worst offenses in the league and I think he's totally ruined his reputation (I'm not the only one who thinks so).

Last week I was hoping the the Lions might trade for him since they have plenty of draft picks to negotiate with, but I'm really glad we didn't get him. The way that he has handled this situation has shown his selfishness and immaturity. The Lions certainly need as much help as they can get, but we also need the right guys. Jay ain't one of 'em.

Wednesday, April 01, 2009

Kindygarden

I hate it when people call Kindergarten "kindygarden". I try hard not to be the pronunciation police, but there are some words too annoying to be ignored. But I digress...

Becky and I have been traveling around the Kindergarten circuit in preparation for Evan's entrance into academia next fall. The state of Michigan is mandating that all schools must transition to all day Kindergaten in 2010, but the Dearborn district has decided to be ahead of the curve and the public schools are all implementing full day K starting this fall.

When I first heard about this I was pretty put off by the concept. I know that having our kids at home with mom puts us in the minority these days, but it seems like a major challenge to put kids into school all day instead of easing the transition with a half day program. Last night we went to the open house for the local public elementary school (Snow) and I have to admit that I left the meeting much more open minded about the possibility than I've been the last few weeks.

The two things that stood out to me are:
1) It give the teachers more time to teach each subject. Instead of rushing from writing to math to recess the students are able to work on each topic with greater flexibility and less pressure to power through it.
2) It allows more time for social interaction and communal learning. I think this is one of the most important things for Evan to get from Kindergarten; a full day program gives the students time to interact that doesn't exist in half day K.

So here I am, harnessing the limitless potential of the internet, asking you readers what your take is. Have any of you sent your kids to full day K? or experienced it yourself?

pwnage

Jesus Pwn3d U - barats and bereta