The Lementing of Christ

Starting with the vigil mass tonight, the Catholic Church begins Holy Week. It starts with Palm Sunday and the Passion of Christ which is read, during all masses. It makes mass about twenty minutes longer. I read the part of the narrator, and did pretty well save for the part that I said I laminated Jesus instead of lamenting him. That little slip up, is giving my lovely bride a few laughs at my expense, and even had me chuckling, as I didn't know that I had said it until she pointed it.

Hopefully God will forgive my little faux pas. Which I am sure he will.

and I even prepared myself intensely prior to mass tonight by reading my parts thoroughly.

Sorry Jesus

--gfo

Britain Versus Iran

As is being reported by the AP a British marine (one of the 15 being held captive) appeared on the Irani's Arabic language TV and apologized for entering Irani waters, without permission, (according to published reports, and GPS readings, the British ship was at least 1 mile outside of Irani Territorial waters).

I am sure the young marine, is real sincere in his apology, and was not coerced or threatened at all by his captors. Although he appears to not have been physically harmed, what you don't see is what is off camera (read a couple of AK-47 pointed at his head from a distance), or what was said to him prior to his appearence.

I hope the Irani's come to their senses soon, and release (unharmed) these sailors and marines soon, but given the whack job's that they are, they will probably want something in return. I don't see this ending anytime soon. The Irani's are getting what they want, some press and attention.

Maybe a tomahawk or ten might make the Irani's think a little differently.

--gfo

An Entire Weekend Off

After working the last couple of Saturday's, I have my first full weekend off. The Mrs is working so, I will be unable to come in.

We have been real busy in the office as we are in the process of converting our accounting system, and there is a lot of clean up work that needs to be done on the old system, plus learning the new system, and keeping up with our regular daily duties. Sometimes it seems as if there are not enough hours in the day to get everything done.

I'm not overdoing it, but I am putting my fair share of overtime

--gfo

Guess This Was A Hint

This morning, when I got into the office, I found a bottle of Lysol® Sanitizing Wipes on my desk. Along with that, I noticed that a lot of things were shifted all around. About once a week, the cleaners wipe down our desks, and they do a great job. I admit that my desk can get kind of messy, usually ink, whiteout, or toner stains, nothing major, but I think the biggest offender is the crap the accumulates in, on, under, and around my keyboard, including but not limited to, crumbs, staples, paper clips, and other objects which often times can't be identified positively.

I try and wipe my desk off with cleaner at least once a week, but I have been so busy lately that I haven't had time to do it. Maybe now I will make a more conscious effort to do so.

I am the cubicle that they probably hate to come near at night, I usually have some remnants of my work somewhere on the floor, mostly some of the aforementioned, but sometimes, my hole puncher will explode, and leave a really big mess.

Guess I need to be a little bit neater at my desk

My desk is nice and shiny now

(and I kept the bottle, its locked in my drawer, its about ½ full, giggle)

--gfo

What A Surprise

When I left the office yesterday around 1730, when I stepped outside, it was actually hot out. I took off my jacket as soon as I got to my car. When I got home about a ½ hour later, and checked the temperature on the computer it was 80°. I actually went around and opened some windows in the house.

and surprisingly we had the fan on in our room last night, although it was warm in our room, I didn't open our windows until around 2030 so it hadn't cooled off yet. When I got up this morning, it sure had cooled off. It was in the low 50's

It appears as if I won the cover war last night

*Snicker*

--gfo

A Change of Tone

My last few blog entries have been pretty low, and sad, I figured I'd post an upbeat entry to change the tone and send out some more positive vibes...heck we could all use some good vibes, yes

Spring is here, the windows are open, its daylight longer at night, the heat is off, Easter is right around the corner, as is the boy's first communion. There are a lot of things to be happy for. I have a beautiful wife, loving children, great friends, and family. We live in a great country, sure it has its faults and problems, but what a great place to live and call home

I have somewhat good health, hell I am typing this, that's a plus.

Now that felt pretty darn good typing all of that out.

Smile

--gfo

Back To The Grind

Well I am not feeling 100%, but well enough to come into the office today. I spent most of the day yesterday (1100-1500) in bed, then I was up and around for the remainder still feeling a little on the blah side. I made dinner, then the Mrs and I went to Sharkey's viewing. Boy there was a lot of people there. We waited in line for at least 45 minutes.

So its back to work, I am staying a little later today, as we are pretty busy here in the office.

--gfo

Still Under The Weather

I stayed home from the office today, as I am still not feeling well. In fact, at one point last night, I put a sweatshirt on because I had the chills so bad. I didn't sleep real well last night either. I have no appetite whatsoever, last night we made burgers on the grill, and I can usually eat two with no problems, I just barely at one.

Maybe being home today and taking it easy will work this bug through my system.

--gfo

Under The Weather

It started last night with a stuffy nose. I woke up this morning with chills, and a slight fever (100°). As I am typing this I have an afghan wrapped around me.

Hopefully this gets through me real quick.

Feeling like crap sucks

--gfo

F-Bomb Movie Analysis (Update)

In the F-bomb per minute category, which I have previously blogged about. The movie Jarhead is now the winner, with an amazing 2.26 f-bombs per minute. It is said 278 times, in 123 minutes, it should be noted, that mother is prefixes the f-bomb 38 times throughout the movie.

I was watching this movie this morning while riding my bike. I have seen most of the movie in pieces but not the whole thing. I like the idea of following a small unit through a long time frame, much like the Band of Brothers mini-series. You see and learn the mentality, and kinship of soldiers who live, fight, and die together, in small cohesive units.

Jamie Foxx was phenomenal in his role, and did an excellent job portraying SSGT Sykes.

As I find more movies with higher F-bomb usage I will update accordingly...Heck I am a spreadsheeter, I live for this kind of stuff...and yes I have an active spreadsheet with formulas to help tabulate the FBPM (f bomb per minute) tally

--gfo

Rest In Peace Sharkey

It is with great sadness that today William "Sharkey" Friel passed away suddenly and peacefully at home earlier this afternoon. He was 77

Sharkey was known and loved by many people, I don't think there are many people who have a bad thing to say about him.

The world lost a good man today. Sharkey has touched many lives, and that will be his legacy.

He leaves behind his wife of 52 years, Genevieve, two sons, Jerry and Bill, and two grandchildren, Katelyn, and Liam (who is my son's best friend), and a whole lot of dear friends.

My thought and prayers are with the Friel family in this time of great sadness.

It was a pleasure knowing you Sharkey, you are one of a kind

--gfo

Welcome Back Coach Reid

Philadelphia Eagles Head Coach Andy Reid, is scheduled to return to the team, after a month long leave of absence to attend to family matters. During his absence the Eagles were very active in the free agent market, although he was not physically in the office he had contact with the team.

Hopefully things worked out for the Reid family, and things are back on track, and the family can move forward from their troubles

Welcome back Coach

--gfo

Red Means Stop

Yellow means slow down and green means go. Why is this so hard for some drivers to understand. Its amazing the difference in driver's mentality between the suburbs (where I live) and the city (where I work).

I drive into the city every work day, and the amount of near misses between cars and pedestrians is beyond comprehension. I just walked to and from the bank, which is a six block walk, and that walk is an adventure in and above itself. Crossing an intersection, even with the light is at your own risk. People seem to forget that pedestrians have the right of way, or don't really give a crap...probably the latter.

The biggest offender is the damn taxi's. They seem to have no care in the world. I know I am generalizing here, but the multi lane changes, running red lights, and right turns from the left lane, with no regard for others is annoying. I am really surprised that more people aren't injured and/or killed by these reckless drivers.

but I am back in the office now, with a Venti Hot Chocolate from Starbucks® so everything is good now.

--gfo

A Different Look At Numbers

A lot is being said lately about the casualty rate's the US has suffered during the Iraq war, over 3,200 dead, and 24,000 wounded.

I did my own research and found that in the years 2001-2005 there were over 16,000 murder's, each year in the United States. In the year 2000, there were over 15,000.

I have data from 1981, and the highest murder rate was in 1993, where there were 24,526 murders. The lowest number in that time frame was, 2000. In the 1980's through the mid 1990's numbers were consistently over 21,000

Although the murder numbers over the last ten years are less, they are still astronomically high.

While the number of war dead is high, in comparison, they are a drop in the bucket to the killings in our own country.

Below are the number of homicides in the US for the last six years, 2006 data was unavailable at this time

• 2005, 16,692
• 2004, 16,137
• 2003, 16,528
• 2002, 16,204
• 2001, 16,037
• 2000, 15,117

If you assume the murder rate for the year 2006 is around the average of 16,000 per year, that is well over 113,000 homicides just in this decade alone.

Where is the real war?

Source: FBI UCR Report's

--gfo

Spring Has Sprung

As of 2004 local time last night, but someone forgot to tell mother nature. This morning, it was 30° out, and dummy me wore a light jacket. It is supposed to warm up to the latter part of the week.

For the most part this winter wasn't bad at all. We had a couple of minor snow storms, but for the most part it was bitterly cold, although in late December we had a couple of 50-60° days.

Oh well, at least spring is officially here, now I need to catch up with my oil company and pay that bill

--gfo

The Luck of The Irish

Must have been with me yesterday. Every year our parish has a ten week club, in which participants buy chances for $25.00 each. The prizes are $500.00, $85.00, and two $50.00 each week. Each parishioners is asked to sell/buy two. Every year I just buy two. Last year I won three times (I covered the $50.00 and then some).

Last night was the first drawing, and I won $85.00, so I have already covered my $50.00 for the ten weeks, and there are still nine more weeks.

Hopefully my lucky streak continues

(Full disclosure, I am only part Irish, my paternal grandmother is Irish, but I am married to an Irish girl)

--gfo

What An Embarrassment

In what was the biggest home loss in franchise history, the Philadelphia 76ers were spanked by the Houston Rockets, 124-74. Looking at the box score for this game, it looks as if the Sixers only showed in the second period.

I haven't been a real fan of the Sixers for the last few years, (and of pro basketball in general), but this got my attention.

Anyone who was at the game (if there was anyone left) ought to get a refund, and an apology from the Sixers for that horrible performance. As much as people pay for tickets these days, as well as parking, concessions, etc, you should at least expect a team to show some effort.

I am embarrassed to say that I live in this city after a game like that.

--gfo

Oh To Be A Cat

It must be tough being a cat, you sleeping 20-22 hours a day, eating/drinking when you feel like it, you can go to the bathroom whenever you want and you don't have to clean it up. You even get to go outside and if you want to, stay out all night and not get in trouble.

Plus you get this blogger's attention a lot, and up until a few months ago, got to sleep in the master bedroom, until the Mrs's allergies banned the loving cat to the hallway or our daughter's room.

In my next life I definitely want to be a cat. (although the neutering and declawing thing wouldn't be necessary)

--gfo

Sleeping Late

Yesterday, I actually slept past 0900 in the morning which is very rare for me. I (like my boy) tend to be an early riser. What was surprising is that we went to bed around 2300, and I had taken a two and half hour nap late Saturday afternoon.

During the work week I average around 5-6 hours depending on what time I go to bed or if I get up earlier to ride my bike or go into the office early.

It did feel good to sleep that long, haven't slept that late or long in awhile.

One nice thing about the kids being older is now they get up and entertain themselves and let us sleep in.

--gfo

Taxes Are Done

For the last Turbo Tax online to file my federal and state income taxes. It usually takes me about 45 minutes and then I file everything electronically. It only cost about $20.00 to file both and its well worth it. I get a PDF copy for my records and I don't have to worry about calculation errors.

I should get my refund in a little over a week. I actually filed later than I normally do, really haven't had the time.

Filing electronically is the way to go, and using Turbo Tax really simplifies the process, and since its not a whole lot of money its well worth the slight expense.

--gfo

The Outlaw Josey Wales

Last night the Mrs and I are were relaxing at home, and we decided to pop the movie The Outlaw Josey Wales in the DVD player. It is one of my favorite Eastwood westerns. As I was watching the movie, I got to thinking what an amazing career Eastwood has had as both and actor and director. He has won two Oscars®, (Million Dollar Baby-Director, Unforgiven-Director) and has been nominated for a couple of others, and has won many other awards.

One interesting fact that I learned when I looked up Josey Wales, was that in all the westerns that he has done, he has never killed an Indian.

My favorite role of his is the Dirty Harry series. I own most of them on DVD and just love his renegade style that he plays so well.

and at 77 years old, he is still going strong.

Look forward to more films by or featuring him for years to come.

--gfo

Working on A Saturday

We are in the process of upgrading our twenty year old (no that is not a typo) accounting system to a state of the system. We have had some introductory training to the system this past week, and for the last few weeks, I have been reading the various manuals that accompany the software.

I was tasked earlier this week with coming up with some templates for our invoices. I have been here nearly two hours, and I still trying to configure the first and simplest one. Boy this is frustrating.

Plus getting here this morning was an adventure in and of itself. We got a snow storm last night, and it made driving into the office interesting, as most of the streets have not been plowed, but they have been salted. Heck I almost couldn't get out of my garage. I initially got stuck when I tried to pull out, but I was able to back up as far as I could then gun the engine and I was able to plow through the snow that had accumulated in front of the garage.

I plan on staying until a little after noon, then heading home.

One thing that is nice, is that I am the only one here, so I can blast my tunes, which makes it a little bit easier to be here. I just hope nobody walks in when I am singing.

I am making progress albeit slowly.

--gfo

Just Two Days Ago

I was blogging about having the windows open in the house, and open during the night, The temperatures were close to 80° and it was 56° at night. Right now, we are getting a combination of snow and rain, and its downright ugly outside. Very slippery, and the snow is starting to accumulate. Its 32° right now.

The ten day forecast is looking a little bit better toward the latter part of the forecast, with temperatures getting back into the 60's toward mid next week. For the next few days, its going to be in the upper 30's to low 40's

Boy what a crazy time of year, amazing how different the weather can be in the matter of days

--gfo

Morning Person

I have been a morning person my whole life, and much to the chagrin of my lovely bride who is a night person and quite the opposite of me in the morning, it makes for some very interesting mornings at my house.

As for our children, my son is a morning person and my daughter is definitely not a morning person.

I am convinced that one is born a morning person, (read DNA encoded) and cannot be made. One of these days maybe the NIH can do a study on that. Heck the government already wastes a lot of money on meaningless studies, why not study morning personism.

When I am home in the mornings and get the kids up for school I hear many grunts and groans, especially from the females. I actually kind of enjoy torturing them...one of the burdens of parenthood.

--gfo

Bread and Milk From The Comfort of Your Car

One of the best things about living in this area are the local Swiss Farm Stores that are all around us. The basic concept is ingenious. Its a drive through store, that sells milk, bread, bacon, etc. You just pull up to one of the drive throughs, place your order, and the friendly folks there hand you whatever you order. Simple as that.

Over the last few years they have expanded their product line, and extended their hours, which has helped them steadily grow throughout the years.

We go there at least three times a week. Mostly for milk, and diet iced tea, but occasionally for other items, like bread, bacon, juice or chips.

The prices are as competitive if not less than other stores, and the fact that you don't have to leave your car is a bonus, especially if you have small kids, or the weather is bad.

--gfo

A Little Slip Up

This year for lent, I decided to give up soda. The other day, at our lunch meeting all they had to drink was diet and regular soda. My hoagie was kind of spicy, and I needed something to drink so, had two small glasses of diet Pepsi. Normally they have water bottles at these type of functions.

Other than that little slip up, I have been really good with not drinking soda.

although my diet iced tea and H₂O consumption are way up. The latter isn't so bad, I suppose, although I tend to drink more water at the office.

--gfo

The Windows Are Open

Its nice to get some fresh air in the house, and last night the windows in our bedroom were open. Not all the screens are in yet, as is supposed to get colder again this weekend...I wish the weather would make up its mind.

Its been nice to have the windows open, combined with it being light longer, its nice to actually get outside and play with the kids, or just lounge on the patio.

--gfo

Steak On The Grill

Today it got to over 70° outside. We decided to have steak for dinner. The Mrs had them marinating when I got home, and at about 1800 local time, I fired up the grill for the first time this year. Nothing like steak on the grill. I have a gas grill that I got for my birthday/father's day last year, to replace the one that we got right after we got married in 1993, so the old one had served us very well.

Had this been a Friday or Saturday night, I probably would have cracked open a cold brew, but I have some work to do later on, so I decided to go with diet decaf tea.

Now that the weather is getting more spring like we will probably be using the grill 2-3 times a week, which is fine with me.

I love this time of year, but especially love cooking on the grill

--gfo

Free Stuff and Free Lunch

Today I attended a lunch seminar presented by our local Office Max representative. It was an hour long, and included demonstrations on the latest pens, and time saving devices. I always like going to these things, because there is usually lot's of free stuff, and there is a free lunch involved.

It was also very informative, as she demonstrated how a check can be washed, therefore used in fraudulently. I actually have been using the Uniball 207 pen since it came out, and have been very happy with it.

The rep was very nice and friendly and did a fantastic job presenting to a large group.

--gfo

A Long Day

I was up early this morning, actually later than I normally would have been had I not had a doctor's appointment today. I got up around 0600 rode the bike for about 38 minutes (14 miles), got the kids and Mrs up for school and work, then goofed around on the computer until about 0830. Jumped in the shower, got dressed and headed out to the doctor's. From there I headed to the office, I got to the office about 1045,expecting to be spreadsheeting the remainder of the day. The boss sent me and a few other folks an email about coming to the computer training room, to learn some thing about the new accounting software we are getting, from Deltek. Headed down there about 1230 and was there until a little after 1700. Since I came in late today, I decided to stick around a little bit, and work on some stuff. Stayed in the office until about 1815 then headed home, for dinner, and some down time. Realized we needed milk, and the Mrs needed gas, so I headed out to the local Wawa to get gas and milk...and ice cream at the request of the Mrs.

I really should do some more reading to help me prepare for more training tomorrow morning, but I am kind of tired, and I really could use some downtime.

I may just read for about a ½ hour, and then call it a night. Its been a long day

--gfo

Doctor's Visits

Well in the last seven days I have been to three different doctors, and I am happy to report that all is well for the most part. Here is a quick recap:

• Last Tuesday I was at the Neurologist who has been following me for about nine months for an as of yet undetermined neurological problem. We thought it may have been MS, but all test so far have ruled it out. The doctor doesn't like the way my legs are twitching, as well as my right arm. So he increased the muscle relaxant that I am on, from three times a day, to every three hours (which is sometimes tough to do, so I have my watch(es) set to go off every three hours), and I take ten milligrams of Valium at night. Not sure what is on the agenda for the next visit, but at this point he is trying to treat the symptoms.


• Last Friday, I saw my cardiologist for my semiannual visit. That visit was uneventful, he kept all the medications that I am taking the same, and encouraged me to keep up my current level of fitness. I honestly can say since I started seeing him about two years ago, my heart problems while still present my condition is pretty stable. It took a couple of years but he was finally able to find the right combination of medications to keep me stable.


• Today I visit the electrophysiologist office for my quarterly AICD (defibrillator/pacemaker) checkup. They do this to make sure its functioning okay, and to see if there are any problems with the heart that the device picked up. This ¼ there were no problems recorded and the device is functioning okay. Blood pressure was 104/75

So save for the neurology visit/problems things are going well. I am doing consistent mileage on the bike, and for the most part feel pretty good.

--gfo

Another One Bites The Dust

Another Eagles free agent is leaving town, WR Donte Stallworth signed a 30 million dollar, six year deal with the New England Patriots. Sure Stallworth had some injury problems early in the year, but he was a great receiver when he played and contributed (38 catches/five touchdowns) a lot to the Eagles this past season.

I can't say that I am happy about Stallworth leaving, I wish they would have kept him. When Stallworth is/was healthy he was productive as I noted above. Reggie Brown looks like he will be the go to guy this year, along with Hank Baskett and Greg Lewis. Jason Avant is developing and will probably see more time this year. They have a couple of other receivers on the roster, but none of them are fully developed or ready to step up to to the big time. I still wish the Eagles would sign and keep a stud receiver. I know receivers don't win games, but having a really good one as a threat helps the other aspects of the offensive game.

The Eagles have already lost, Michael Lewis, Jeff Garcia, and Rod Hood to free agency. Let's hope they don't lose anymore.

--gfo

My Final Four

• Georgetown
• Florida
• Ohio State
• Kansas

I have Florida and Ohio State in the final, with Florida winning. I watch the Gators play Saturday afternoon and they looked great. It should be a good tournament.

--gfo

March Madness

Well tonight, the brackets will be finalized and one of the most popular activities will begin. The filling out of the brackets. I honestly am only a casual college basketball fan, and really only take an interest during the tournament, but I have been filling out brackets, playing with colleagues, or online for almost twenty years. It makes the tourney more interesting, and fun to play. I have actually won a few times, most of the time I always come out with a winning record, even though I don't really pay much attention during the regular season.

Bring on the tournament, and the brackets.

--gfo

A Sure Sign Of Spring

A sure sign that spring is coming in the Philadelphia area is that the Rita's Water Ice opens for the season. They make home water ice from scratch with real ingredients, and boy is it good.

Last night I made our first trip to the local store to pick up our first batch. I usually get individual ones for each of us, but they have a special where if you buy two quarts you get one free, so I bought the two quarts. One Cherry, One Grape, and One Blueberry.

My personal favorite are Cherry and Wild Black Cherry. They also make gelati's, misto's, and blendini's.

If you are ever in the Philadelphia area in the spring, summer, or early fall, pick up a Rita's ice, you will not be disappointed.

--gfo

Movie Car Chases Revisited

This morning whilst riding the bike in the basement, I was flipping through the channels to find something to watch, and I stumbled upon the movie, Bullitt. As I have previously blogged about, this ranks up on my personal list as one of the best movie car chases scenes ever. The driving in this movie is incredible, often the speeds exceed 100 MPH. Even though some of the editing was off, some of the goofs during the chase itself, actually made into the movie. The picture above, that shows Bullitt backing his car up, was actually a mistake by Steve McQueen (who did some of his own stunt driving) who over steered on one of the turns. Another goof is when the Charger over steers and hits a camera that was mounted on a pole, you actually see the shot blur at impact.

Although the movie itself isn't really that good, the movie is well worth watching just to see some amazing driving through the streets of San Francisco.

Watching this movie many years ago, is what really got me interested in Mustangs, especially the 60's era versions, and I bought the DVD just because of it.

I actually rode my bike seven extra miles just so I could watch the chase scene. That's how good this scene is.

--gfo

Daylight Savings Time

Well we have to turn our clocks ahead tonight, a few weeks earlier than usual, which screws just about everything up. It will be nice having more daylight, but its a real PITA because a lot of the electronics we use are setup under the old system, so now everything has to be adjusted manually. I think my computer is okay, as Microsoft sent a patch out. Palm sent me something last night to adjust the palm pilots. I think one of my VCR's automatically adjusts, so I will have to do that manually tonight, along with all the rest of the clocks in my house.

*PUBLIC SERVICE ANNOUNCEMENT*

This also means I (you) should check the battery in smoke detector to make sure it is okay, it only takes a few seconds, and is something you should do more often than twice a year...I check mine at least once a month.

--gfo

Bye Bye Winter?

Well it looks as if old man winter is leaving us for good. Temperatures are expected to get into the 50's today, and the outlook for the next ten days is pretty much the same.

We got lucky this year, we didn't really get hammered by any real bad storms, but to make up for that, we had some bitterly cold streaks, although in December we had some days with temperatures in the 60's.

Makes dressing for the weather a little tricky.

--gfo

A Boring Day Off

I had a 1000 cardiology appointment so I took the whole day off, since I work ½ days on Friday. Pretty uneventful day to say the least. Got up early and rode my bike for a little bit, got the kids up and off to to school, then I went to the doctor's

Everything at the doctors went well, no changes in medication and my condition is pretty stable.

After that I went to the Pretzel store and grabbed six pretzels, (three for me and three for the Mrs), then went to CVS to get some prescriptions filled, I waited there for about fifteen minutes and then headed home.

I played some free cell on the computer, then plopped down on the sofa and took a little snooze. Picked up the kids from the bus, and the rest of the day will probably as dull as the rest.

Supposedly the weather is to get warmer, its 39° right now, so its a lot warmer than it has been, and the bonus is that there is no wind.

--gfo

Wednesday Night TV

There aren't too many shows on TV that I look forward to watching, and try to make a point of being available to watch. I have never been a real fan of reality TV, until a year or so ago, when I stumbled upon the show Pinks® on SpeedTV. The basic premise of the show is that two cars street cars (heavily modified for racing) are lined up on a ¼ mile drag strip, and whichever car wins three out of five drag races wins the other guy's car, basically racing for pink slips or owners cards.

Usually the first race is run as head's up which each car is given no advantage, and after that race, negotiation's take place. The loser of the race ask for lengths of car's or whether or not nitrous can or cannot be used. Usually these negotiation's are heated, and the winning driver generally doesn't want to give to much, and the loser wants to try and get as much of an edge as he/she possible can. Sometimes the drivers play game's with each other during the actual races, like not running their car's all out, or backing off, etc. It generally takes until the third or fourth race until you actually see what the car's are really capable of.

The best shows are when the winner is decided in a fifth and deciding race. It can get annoying when the driver's play game's with each other, or start asking for ridiculous car lengths, or yelling at each other and accusing the other of playing games, but heck when your car is on the line, and most of the time a lot of time, money, and effort goes into these cars, you want the best possible advantage you can get.

It is really cool to see some of the car's that are modified and how fast they really are. Its American muscle car's and true grit speed at its best.

Even the Mrs will sit down and watch it with me, and the boy loves the show too. I try and tape it for him, because it is on after his bed time

Lose the race, lose your ride...

--gfo

My Newest Dream Car

Is the Audi R8, coming in at around 110K, is a beautiful car. The major car magazines have done feature articles on this. Car and Driver had a very well done article and its the one that really tickled my fancy about wanting to drive this car.

I have nearly really cared much for Audi car's but this car is really nice, fast (0-60 in 4.6, top speed 185 MPH), and affordable, well not for me, but still cheaper than a Lamborghini or Ferrari.

I tried to get the neurologist to write me a prescription for this car the other day when I saw him, although he agreed it was a nice car, he didn't think he could write me a script for it...it was worth a shot.

A guy can have dream's

--gfo

Music Library

At the last count, I have over 1500 songs (just over 5 GB's) of music on my hard drives. I have quite a variety, from jazz, to heavy metal, blues, a few love songs, lots of classic rock, some new stuff, and I even have on country song (Brooks & Dunn's My Maria).

I have a portable hard drive that I use here at the office that has all my tune's on it. I just plug it in, plug the headphones in, set the real player on shuffle and let it do its things. Its great hearing different sorts of music throughout the day, and realize what good taste in music I have.

I am sure there is a lot of untapped artist's out there that I would probably like, but really haven't found them yet.

One of these day's I'd like to get an Ipod and put all these songs on it, but for now, I am happy as a clam in the office, and in my own little world

--gfo

A Good Night's Sleep

Last night, I can honestly say that I got a great night's sleep. Its been a pretty hectic week at home and the office, and I have had minimal downtime, so it was nice to get a good night's sleep.

It was planning on working a little bit this Saturday, but it looks as if they may not be needed, it remains to be seen, I hope I don't have to come in, but if I do, its overtime.

I still wouldn't mind having the life of the big boned cat, sleeping 20-22 hours a day...boy that's the life.

--gfo

BRRR!

Man its cold out, I thought we were done with this cold weather, the damn groundhog said so...

It was 18° this morning, with winds that just bite through you. I think its in the early 20's now, but the wind really makes the difference. They are even calling for snow tomorrow. Last Friday and Saturday it was in the 60's, and I had shut the heat off

of course dummy me, got his hair cut real short, (read buzzed) and can't find his winter hat.

at least my hair dries quick though

--gfo

Thoughts On Eagles and Free Agency

Now that Jeff Garcia is gone (I am sure #5 and his mom are real happy), Donte Stallworth will probably be the next to go. I really liked him as a receiver, and had he not had injury trouble early on in the year, he probably would have gotten a multiyear deal. Gone too, will probably be Michael Lewis, who earlier in the year lost his starting job to Sean Considine. Considine who is younger and played a lot better than Lewis, earned his starting job, and as much as I like Lewis, Lewis had a bad year, and will probably be picked up by another team.

My thoughts on the Eagles not re-signing Garcia are mixed. While he had a great year, and is probably the only reason the Eagles made the playoffs, he is going to be 38 years old, and while he shows that he has plenty of spunk in him, and brought a lot of emotion to the game, the team and the city. I think McNabb would be constantly looking over his should if Garcia was still here, and given the way the fan's embraced Jeff this year, after a couple of Donny Mac worm killers, they would be calling for Garcia.

McNabb is 30 years old, and has been injured three time in the last five years. The Eagles need to seriously think about bringing in a young quarterback to develop for the future, and as insurance in case of a career ending injury. A.J. Feeley should be sufficient as a backup and probable starter in the event of an injury to #5, but I don't think Feeley is the future of the franchise. I figure in the next two or three years the Eagles will draft a QB high in the draft as the future starter.

It was a great run with Garcia at the helm, its a shame that the Eagles didn't keep him, I think he brought a lot to the team. I wish him all the best in Tampa.

As for the rest of the team, I hope the Eagles pick up some much needed help in the linebacker position. They need to stop the run, and save for Trotter, the rest of the linebackers had an awful year.

Will curious to see how the Eagles draft this year.

--gfo

I'm Getting Old

When I was at the pediatrician's office this morning with my daughter, the doctor came in and looked like she should still be in high school. This is the first time that an attending doctor was actually younger than me. One of my cardiologist's is a year older than me, although he looks younger.

I have had many resident's over the years that were younger, but knowing they were resident's made me figure they were younger than me.

Still no black socks with shorts yet, but yeah, I am getting older

--gfo

A Busy Week

Today, I had to take a sick day because my oldest was sick. I took her to the doctors, they did a strep test on her which was negative, but they are going to send it out for further testing. We were there and back in an hour.

I am seeing neurology tomorrow so I will be going in to the office late, probably around lunch time. I will probably stay late. I am out of the office Friday for a cardiology appointment. So for all practical reasons I am only working two and ½ days this week.

We are converting to a new accounting system, and we have phone book size manuals to read, which I have been doing for an hour or so, at night and on the weekends. I will probably read a couple of hours today, just for lack of something to do.

Its boring being home

--gfo

I spoke too soon

The warm weather that I had been bragging about late last week has disappeared. I begrudgingly turned the heater back on after I came downstairs this morning to a temperature of 56° in the house. Right now its 36° and very windy.

Guess old man winter still has some spunk left in him.

--gfo

I spoke too soon

The warm weather that I had been bragging about late last week has disappeared. I begrudgingly turned the heater back on after I came downstairs this morning to a temperature of 56° in the house. Right now its 36° and very windy.

Guess old man winter still has some spunk left in him.

--gfo

How I Spent My Afternoon

My niece and nephew were over today, and again it was another nice day here in SE Pennsylvania, so the kids had plenty of time to play outside. My daughter and niece decided they wanted to fly kites, one problem the two kites were tangled together. So for approximately the next two hours, I tried in vain to untangle these darn kite...I made some progress but decided that after trying that any further effort would be frivolous and I decided to move on to greater endeavours (playing free cell)

I will get these kites untangled, I now have a mission, and I am stubborn SOB.

--gfo

A Real Nice Day

After the heavy rains this morning, when I stepped out of the office around noon, it was sunny and in the upper 50's. At one point, it hit 62°. Real nice. Kids had a one o'clock day, and as is customary, we go out to lunch. We decided to go to to Ruby Tuesday's which is a tough place to go during lent since their burgers are so good. I opted for the Louisiana shrimp and french fries, the kids got mac and cheese and mozzarella sticks.

After lunch me and the boy got a haircut (the girl was in tow, but kept herself occupied), then we came home.

The boy has a friend over, we ordered pizza, and it should be here in about 25 minutes.

Look forward to nice quiet night at home

--gfo

Its Raining, Is Pouring

and me the old man isn't snoring, swimming is more like it. Not only is it raining really hard its really windy. A nice bonus is that the temperatures are in the upper 50's. I actually shut the heat off...hopefully for good

When I got to the office, it wasn't raining, so I left my umbrella in the car, by the time I got to the street, it was raining again, so I got a lot wet.

I should dry off by the time I leave here around noon

but hey its better than snow

--gfo

I'm At A Loss

at what to blog about today. I'd like to post at least one entry a day, but I have been spinning my wheels since I got into the office as to what to blog about. Normally I have a couple of ideas or thoughts.

Maybe something will come to me later, or I am trying to hard.

--gfo